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Summary: Tara, Emma, and Sophie discuss their injuries in the Med Bay, and then… other things.
Date: July 5, 2011
Log Title: Grievous Wounds and Dating Advice
Rating: PG-13
Xavier Mansion - Medical Bay
The Medical Bay contains the latest medical equipment to patch up students and X-Men with the smallest and worst injuries. Six beds line the walls for injured patients. Equipment lines the walls, medicine in the cabinets, and more serious medical supplies locked in cabinets. One this about this room it screams sterilization.
Tara isn't in any particularly good shape after the showdown with upgraded and mindbended Shane and Robyn the other night. If it wasn't for Sophie being around, the large chunk of supherheated shrapnel that gave her a lower intestine piercing would have proven fatal. As it is, though, the other blind mutant can only do so much so Tara's condition is still critical, but no longer immediately life threatening. While the drugs that she's on for the pain keep her a bit woozy, she's stubborn enough to refuse to sleep, instead the time is spent fuming over about how very little effect she had in the melee the other night.
"You should sleep," murmurs Sophie. The blindfolded Spaniard sits in a chair at Tara's bedside. Her left arm is in a sling, and heavy bandages wrapped around her middle and chest show spots of blood in some places on her right, but she keeps her right hand held out in the air, just over Tara's belly. Her palm glows with a soft white light, radiating energy into Tara's body and inducing her cells to mutate and heal, at least for a while. "Your body needs it; you heal while you sleep, si?"
"Yes, she does." Comes a voice inside both of the other girl's heads as, at least for the people who can see, an image of Emma Frost appears in the room, looking at each of the vital diagnostic readouts in the medical bay. Turning her head back, she reaches out and 'touches' Tara's form, letting herself feel through the girl's mind for what has been done, "Please… think nothing of this little visit… but I've become a bit bored with being placed unconscious like I am… but a knife wound is a knife wound… and that will take time to recover."
Between Sophie and the advanced technology that's in the Xavier's medbay, Tara should be up and running within a week. Anywhere else and it might have taken months, and she'd have chronic problems afterward. No, like Emma, the thing that's killing her now is being holed up here, with nothing to do, other than to muse over the fight. "Feh. I heal when I'm awake, too. I've slept enough as it is."
Sophie's eyebrows rise sharply. "Headmistress!" Her hand wavers over Tara, but she catches herself and keeps up her efforts. "I… I am surprised, I did not know you could do this while asleep. It is good to hear your voice." She shakes her head and sighs softly. "You have not slept enough, Tara," comes her gentle admonishment. "And, I am trying to heal you as well, Headmistress, but I must divide my efforts between you, Tara, and Cloud… and I still tire quickly."
Tsking softly, and shaking her head, at least the visible psychic projection does, she replies to the pair, "Miss Decosta… you WILL take time and relax. Yes, you are a mutant healer… but before that you are a young woman with more compassion than ability… especially when stretching one's self like this. And neither of you argue. I am able to read your biometrics from your own minds." But there's a lightening of the tone as she then adds with something of a rueful tone, "But as this is a case of pot and kettle… we shall keep this to ourselves, right?"
"Really?" asks Tara, about the whole biometrics thing. "That's kind of cool. Scary, but cool." Which pretty much sums up Tara's opinion of the headmaster as a whole. "Yeah. I can keep a secret. So. How'd you get knifed, Ms Frost?"
"I am not dieing," protests Sophie, though only at the barest minimum of protest. "Others… have been, but are not now. But, si. It takes me hours to refresh myself, I have been sleeping, and praying, in between." She pauses, and relaxes long enough to rest her arm, and shake her muscles that ache from the sustained position, before bathing Tara in the soft white glow once more. "How does it feel, Tara? I shall have to give the Headmistress her turn in a moment, and then I shall get some rest."
Emma replies mentally, "Child… the reason I am in this position in the first place is because I am telling my body now to heal… I will not let you expend your resources where they are not required. But I thank you." And with that Emma Frost moves over and responds to Tara's question softly, "Upgrade decided that she needed a direct hand in matters, and took offense to me assaulting her daughter. Admittedly… I have no issue with striking a student to protect others… but apparently she did. Not to worry. I returned the knife to her. In kind." If either could see the smirk, they would, but instead they feel it, "Oh make no mistake… the White Queen is not merely a codename. It takes a long road of conviction to do bad things for good reasons."
"Better," answers Tara to Sophie. "It feels weird when you do that." She shakes her head when she hears that Upgrade was involved directly in the attack. She'd heard a rumor, sure, but this is the first time she's gotten a chance to really inquire about it. "What did they want? I mean, besides blowing up Cerebra." One doesn't need to be a psychic to hear Tara's bitterness over the fact that they succeeded in that objective.
"I… as you wish, Headmistress, but if your wound festers I will be giving you my full attentions, si? No arguments — I will sit whatever detention I must." Sophie smiles, and pauses in her healing once more to shake her wrist before resuming. "I think you view your objectives in the wrong order, Tara. You are… overly distressed at the damage to Cerebra, si? But Cerebra can be rebuilt. You did an excellent job of protecting me; and for that I am grateful."
"The girl has a point.", Emma replies with a mental chuckle, "Honestly… it's only technology… that that's merely money and time. I would be much more distressed if one of you had passed away doing something you should not have. You girls should not be throwing yourself into danger… you should be behaving yourselves and hiding away. But… there seems to be a long tradition of Xavier students launching themselves to the fray where others would be prudent." The sense of a smile remains in place, but so does an almost leonine sensation that passes over both, "Cerebra is a direct threat to their intentions… taking it out was only natural. But they fail to understand something… by showing themselves, they've made an error. I am hoping we will capitalize on this."
"Oh, please. Like you would run and hide when you were my age," Tara says, managing to quirk a grin. "Where's the fun in that?" To Sophie, she says grudgingly, "Yeah, well, us blind girls have to watch each other's backs, right?"
"Si." Sophie nods enthusiastically. "You are a strong leader, Tara. You gave direction and purpose, and kept your wits even faced with a foe that outclassed us significantly. I think nobody could have expected more." She closes her fingers, and draws back her hand; within a few moments Tara will feel the healing effect dissipating. "I think I must recharge for longer," she murmurs. "I have run dry sooner than I thought I would; I shall have to continue tomorrow." She tilts her head, and glances in the general direction of where she knows the physical Emma to by recuperating. "To think that I came here to escape danger." She smiles, and bobs her head. "It would seem that God intends me to walk in the shadow of the valley of death no matter where I go."
"When I was your page, Miss Kincaid… I had just spent the last two summers in a mental institution at my father's behest, and I was seducing his older friends in the Hellfire club. I was most certainly NOT putting myself in danger.", Emma replies with a smirk before her mental presence seems to put pressure on Sophie's head… but then it passes, and her voice resumes, "Pardon… there… I am simply attempting to help you recover…" Another pause, and she adds, "Interesting assessment… but not quite off the mark. However Miss DeCosta… it is better to be in danger around those prepared to assess and handle it, than be in danger alone. It only seems to be more prescient because this is a natural magnet for danger. Which is why we take security so seriously."
There's a long pause as Tara tries to work out how to respond. Finally she just settles with, "Older guys? Gross." She reaches out a hand to gently grab Sophie's wrist. "Hey. Don't strain yourself too much, okay? I'm not gonna die any time soon, and the equipment they've got here will patch me up, okay?"
"Si," replies Sophie. "I cannot stand to hear you suffer, Tara… I will do as much as I can, but I shall look after myself also, you need not worry. When you are better I shall buy you an ice cream, or… something, when you can manage food again." The grin she wears creeps into her voice, and she bobs her head. "I cannot help but smile, Headmistress. …I have never tried to date, well, anyone really. But if Hosea does not ask me out to dinner or something soon, I am going to ask him. Why is it that boys are all so tough, until they must talk to a girl?"
The chuckle that comes through Emma's mental voice carries through both girls quite richly, and if either could see, they would see her bent back in laughter, "Oh my dear girls? Don't you understand? Men are simple creatures… but need a woman's touch to truly show their simplicity." There's a feeling of her hand actually touching both your shoulders, letting you feel through her mental influences, "Not to… pry… into affairs not of my business… but." And the word is cut short in a mischievous manner, "Let him ask, and then tell him no. It will confound him, and make him wonder what he did wrong. This brings his attention directly on you, and suddenly… he will be thinking of nothing but you, and how to make amends."
"That's mean!" Tara protests. "I mean, sure boys are complete knuckleheads, but that doesn't mean you go and play around with them like that." A pause. "Well, okay, maybe you do, but it's like kicking a puppy!"
For her part, Sophie is completely flabbergasted at such a suggestion. Her cheeks burn as she blushes, and her mouth works, as she tries to come up with an appropriate response. Visions dance through her mind; a puppy receiving a kick from a very pointy boot (and making an appropriately aggrieved, mournful sound), Sophie's semi-accurate image of what Hosea might look like with an equally distressed expression, followed by an image of Hosea going on a date with somebody else. "I am not sure that I could bear to do that," mumbles Sophie at last.
If either of you could see, her hand would be waving dismissively, but again the rich and amused tone is felt while Emma continues to speak, "You are missing the point… you must test them… test their resolve and their willingness. Otherwise… if you depend just upon love, how will you know if that love will last? By refusing his date… you set the terms, young Sophie… you begin making the rules. Admittedly yes… it is cruel… it horribly crushes their hearts… but how a man takes a blow like that and recovers is often a testament of what to expect from him going forward."
Emma then adds, "And it's nothing like kicking a puppy… for one, they forgive you faster."
And this is the Emma that Tara witnessed methodically pushing Shane's buttons after she exploded, when the poor girl was naked and at her most vulnerable. "Yes, and how well did that work out for you?" she asks, through gritted teeth. It's probably not a question she would ask if she knew more of Emma's history.
The blind Spaniard's eyebrows rise. "I… I am still not sure I could do that," she mumbles. "But, do you remember the riot in Mutant Town, over the drugs? You rescued me, Headmistress. But when Hosea found out that I had been in danger, I felt the strength in his arms when he put them around me, and heard iron in his voice when he spoke. The thought that someone had threatened me put a deep rage into his heart; I heard it, and felt it, though he tried to hide it. I am sure that must speak for something, si?"
The mental purr resonates, but then Emma replies, "Well well… that would cause him to react. You were in danger… and he was unaware. He would probably be mad at himself for not being there, and be mad at whomever did that to you." The voice pauses and vanishes for a moment, then returns, "Do you know why Scott Summers and I began our relationship, Miss Kincaid? Honestly? Because I never lied to him. I never wanted anything from him, and WHEN I played my little games, I did so with his full knowledge that they were what they were. And he accepted that honesty… to a point. We broke things off, because ultimately? I cannot be the woman he needs in his life. As much as I would want to. I can do everything else, but sometimes… you must be strong enough to walk away."
"Wait a second," says Tara with surprise in her voice. "You were boinking Mr. Summers?" After all, the girl is a recent student and wasn't around for when the two headmasters of the school were an item.
"Boink—what? What kind of term is that?!" Sophie nearly falls out of her chair. There is a brief burst of laughter, followed by a loud groan, and a hand attached to an unbroken arm holding her side. "Alright… no more of that," she adds in a strained voice. "And… no. Hosea and I shall not be doing any of this… 'boinking'. Not unless we are both a few years older, and there are rings on our fingers, si? Si."
"Yes… intercourse, passion play, in flagrante delecto… pin whatever name to it you wish to speak in whatever language you choose… and yes… he most assuredly never fell short in that fashion, girls." Emma gives with no mental reversations, and then adds with a large mental sigh, "Take the advice or not, it is there… you have two choices with a man. Well… three, but the third I never entertain. You either wrap him around your finger and keep him there… or you allow the emotions of the moment to govern you both. Because I will not let a man manipulate me. I've seen too many of them, and done it too many times myself… the game is old and tired to one such as me."
~ Fin ~
