Memories

Falling

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The woman plummeted to the ground, screaming "I HATE YOUUUU!" as she fell towards the earth, her arms pinwheeling out to try and slow her fall.

Tora flickered into existence and enveloped the younger, more innocent version of herself in the swirling waves. She slowly righted the flailing body and gently set her down with the slightest of bumps. Then, unable to resist, she brushed the hair out of nervous eyes and giggled before vanishing, not quite realising that without a physical body to restrain her that the energy spike that had surrounded her younger self had been as great as Dark Dragon's.

The masked woman smiled slightly.

"She always knew the being that caught her was benevolent. Maybe even a little cheeky."

Phoenix paused.

"She never mentioned it to me."

"Why should she? You were the one who dropped her in the first place."

"I resent that!"

She sat watching in a form of morbid curiosity as she fell and froze eternally on the event horizon of the black hole. Except that she was also falling, screaming in agony as she was ripped apart and crushed to an infinitely small point.

She only ever had a few hazy nightmares about this. Really, the last thing she remembered with any clarity was the agony of claws puncturing her lungs and heart. Then nightmares. Scott's fear. Shattering and beginning to reform. And the darkness overwhelming her. Screams. Madness. The never-ending expanse of space. And falling. Falling and falling but never hitting the ground. The nightmares had gotten worse after Kurt had died.

Tora turned away and wondered idly about catching a lift back to Earth on the borrowed ship. But then, with almost guaranteeable certainty, Jean would sense her and panic. So, hitching a lift was out. Oh well.

Did she want to see the events leading to Jean's death? No, probably not. It would be awful, to be stuck, unable to help. And she'd given up even pretending to wear anything remotely resembling a body. It was rather interesting, seeing when all you were was a flicker of thought, a twitch of power. Seeing without the restrictions of eyes. It meant she could see everything. From the cosmic tapestry to the confusion and chaos of the quantum world and everything in between. She could feel the spinning of the universe around her and for once, it didn't confuse her. She existed in every place in every moment. It should have made the details hellish to pick out but she could see those as well.

What now?

I think you should see the aftermath of our latest little…incident.

No. I…

You must.

This is emotional blackmail!

But she was already being swept up in the swirling mists of time and thrown about. She was really getting to hate the reptile with the sort of intensity she had reserved only for her errant clone.

"Reptile? Is that really correct? I mean, Dragon was big and scaly but wasn't really reptilian."

"Phoenix, are we only just having this conversation?"

Silence, then three sets of laughter rang out.

Curt lay coiled in his bunk, ignoring the swaying of the deck beneath him. The other three boys in his room were all asleep. The one below him was snoring too loudly for Curt's sensitive ears. It had been years since he slept in a bed. He preferred the web hammock that Poison created every night, warm and comforting with life flowing through it. But he couldn't make it, not here. And Poison had been relegated to underwear status, forcing Curt to wear real clothes for the first time in years. He hated it. He hated everything about this place, with its horrible, stuck-up passengers and its cheery "let's all work together" nights and stupid team-building exercises. Curt had a team. Well, actually, Curt had two teams. The Young Avengers and his school class. And "teambuilding" wasn't throwing balls around or falling into each other's arms. Teambuilding was laughing hysterically about the look on so-and-so's face when Tommy and Curt, using a combination of super-speed and chronokinesis had not only stolen their trousers, but drawn smiley faces all down their legs.

He lay back and tried to sleep, but couldn't. He could hear the breathing of the other boys and couldn't relax. Even Santo had the politeness to buy him ear defenders during the night, knowing that Curt's hearing was overly sensitive.

And then he almost felt something. Maman, like when he'd been ill with the flu following the Decimation. His immune system had sucked and he'd gone down with near enough every bug in the temporary refugee camp. Maman had sat up with him all night, holding him close and smoothing back his hair as she hummed under her breath. She may not have been able to sing but her humming was soothing and calming. She'd somehow managed to arrange for warm, soft food and drink that wasn't coffee –which for her was rather impressive- to be ferried up to his room at regular intervals while she remained with him.

He imagined Maman curled up next to him, softly humming the tune Dad sang to get Eva to sleep. Her hands gently stroked his head and her face had that serene understanding. The look that said "I am Maman. I will always look after you."

Tora was surprised to find herself in an almost-body after who knew how long. Time had kind of stopped having meaning for her. She stabbed at Dragon, no longer caring about seeming rude.

Why do I appear like I was?

He is Dragonborn. He can sense you and shape you. Do not be afraid of this. Think of it as…goodbye.

And Tora knew the importance of goodbyes, so she lay there, coiled around Curt, gently humming and smoothing his hair until he fell asleep, and for a few hours after that.

"Curt Logan. The boy who could see more than he should."

"Not quite. He was rather good at ignoring the stuff he really shouldn't see. He was exceptionally good at seeing the things he probably should see, even if it was against the rules."