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| Next of Kin; Iceman | |
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| Topic Started: Jun 4 2012, 09:47 PM (307 Views) | |
| Doctor Nemesis | Jun 4 2012, 09:47 PM Post #1 |
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May 18th 10:30am JP Between Doctor Nemesis & Nightcrawler Eleven and a half hours ago, he’d been shooting the shit and sharing drinks with Hartley Lindwall. At the time though, he’d had no idea it would be for the last time. No one could see the future though, so he’d thought nothing of it when he went home. Seven and a half hours ago, he’d gotten that damn call and had to examine her broken corpse himself; that had hurt more than he’d admit. He respected Hartley’s drive to succeed and her ability to keep going through the most severe of hardships; this sort of death she hadn’t deserved, especially not so young. They’d determined a few things that were mostly obvious and a few that weren’t thanks to his unique abilities. The police had done their job after calling most of the X-Corpers to the scene, and after they’d done all they could, they left. Now it was up to him and the others to pick themselves up and keep doing their jobs. That was why he was sitting in his office with a phone in his hand. He’d been holding it for nearly five minutes with the number dialed in; he just couldn’t press the send button. Procrastinating would just make things worse when the person on the other line ended up hearing from third parties who would make things even worse than they already were. He sighed and hit the green button, waiting for the sound of the phone being picked up to speak. “Guten morgen, Herr Wagner. My name is James Bradley…I’m the head physician and medical staffer at X-Corp.” Kurt had already been awake for a number of hours. The news of X-Corps had not gone passed unnoticed, covering the TV ever since the first person had turn on the grand television Logan had made sure to get. They had not yet released the name of the murder victim, but it was worrying all the same. His tail wrapped around an empty bottle left from last night's stress-relieving session between the senior X-Men, idly carrying it to the kitchen as he sipped his second cup of tea for the day. The schedules of routine watch were not difficult and were rather sound: make a round through the building twice an hour to make sure all was all right. The blue devil had it incredibly easy with his ability to teleport, becoming a surprising presence down in the lobby for a brief moment, only to disappear once he had seen it was sound. Of course, he gave them the benefit of his image inducer to make the appearance more settling, but he was handsome either way, no? Putting the bottle in the recyclables, the demon set his hip against the counter, taking a moment to enjoy his tea in the stillness. Not everyone was awake just yet, so it was quiet. Some might have been out searching for Tommy again or Billy, but everyone was bound to enjoy a moment's respite. now and then. That was the case for Kurt, at least until the phone rang. His pointed tail slid under the phone which was nearby, lifting it off its hinge to skillfully press to green button to accept the call as he took another sip from his tea. Raising it to the side of his face, his tail held it there. "Worthington residence," he said pleasantly. "This is Kurt Wagner speaking." A brow arched over a yellow eye as he heard the voice on the other end. A call from X-Corps' physician? Perhaps the incident on the TV required more... ability than what the typical NYPD could offer. "Morgen, Herr Bradley. I hope things are going well down at your premesis despite the tragic events of the morning. How might I be of service?" He nodded like he could see Kurt when he bid him morning as well; he took another deep breath when he asked how he could help. This was the one part of the job that never got easy; informing loved ones about a person’s untimely passing. He was calling Kurt for this very reason and while he had no problem telling Robert himself…he felt the immense blow would be lessened if a close friend told him of the news instead of a complete stranger. He decided that it would be easier for Kurt to converse in his native German, and would also serve the purpose of throwing off anyone who might be listening on the line. The chance they knew the language was as good as anything else, but it was one of the few precautions he could take over the phone. <”I’m afraid they aren’t, Kurt…I’m afraid they aren’t. And the reason I called; you mentioned the incident. Well.”> How would he phrase this? <”I’ve been keeping up on the news, and I know they haven’t released the specifics of who the victim was or how it happened. I have to tell you so you can…pass the message on.”> He took a sip of liquor; it seemed to be a very welcome companion lately, and probably the only one who couldn’t betray him at any moment. <”At 2:05am this morning, a person was thrown through a reinforced window from the 10th Story of the X-Corp building. They were thrown from Hartley’s office.” Kurt's face hardened at the change of tone in the man's voice. His tail unfurled from the phone, his three-digit hand coming to hold it more securely as he looked at the fridge across from him. Someone had been thrown from so high out of those windows? He knew them to be reinforced and able to withstand quite the punishment. To be thrown out of the tenth story window with such terrible force to end up in the courtyard, it was not hard to divine the cause. <"It was a mutant that threw them, was it not?"> he replied in Deutsch. <"I can be over there in a matter of minutes if you need some aid in finding the--..."> Kurt cut himself off. The name Bradley spoke of... His voice fell to a whisper, his becoming aware of why he was calling. Out of Hartley's office... The girl that was with Bobby. <"Was it her?"> He nodded his head, still finding it easier to keep the conversation going with body language that Kurt couldn’t see through a phone line. <”It had to be. One of incredible strength. That glass was five inches thick, bulletproof and impact resistant. To send a human body through that surface requires several tons of force.”> He waited for it to sink in. The location of the murder should have clued him in further to why he’d called him. Realization with doubt set in; Kurt had to know it was her, but it was human nature to be in a state of disbelief when given crushing news like that. He sighed. <”Yes. I’m afraid to say it was Hartley. She was beaten, then thrown through the window. Luckily she died on impact. Now you know why I called.”> He pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment. <”I figured it would be easier for Bobby to hear it from one of his good friends than me. And please; keep the beating to yourself. He doesn’t need to hear that she was brutalized beforehand.”> The grevious news took its toll almost instantly. Though Kurt was not intimately familiar with Hartley, he was well aware that Bobby was. The boy talked of her often and it weighed on Kurt's soul as to how he could deliver such news. Kurt would could not deal with the death of one of his students without breaking, how would Bobby react to his lover's death? <"Yes... I am glad it was I who picked up, then."> He was frowning, his face worn with sorrow. This was a position and place no one wished to be, but it was for the best that it was him. Known for understanding and compassion, he had more than once been the shoulder for others to cry on, to grieve, to spill their woes out to. How might Logan handle this? Or Scott? He did not know how others might operate under this strain, but it was his duty. This is part of what being an X-Men was, helping those closest to you to pull through the worst of times. Kurt turned, wrought with understanding of the difficulty facing him, but far more concerned about Iceman. <"I will refrain... Just knowing that she was thrown out of the building will be too much."> He sighed over the phone, his other hand setting the tea down. Tail stilling behind him, his shoulders sunk, head bowed, his now free hand coming up to unconsciously cover the strain on his dark visage. <"God in Heaven, give us strength..."> he whispered, barely audible. <"Her body... Would it be wise to allow him to see her? Ten stories... I cannot imagine the damage."> It was hard to talk like this, even for him. Every death was another sliver taken from someone in his family, the family he had come to love and admire for many years. <"Have you contacted her family?"> As a doctor, he was used to sickness, well, health and of course death; they were all inevitable parts of life. But seeing someone die, informing their friends and family of that fact and hearing the silent grieving, the sobs, sometimes the downright shrieks. It never got any easier. Kurt wasn’t even well acquainted with Hartley he assumed since she never brought it up, but it was affecting him too. He didn’t say anything for a few terse moments; James didn’t blame him. It was his intense familiarity with things like this that let him maintain his composure no matter what; other people just weren’t used to this though, even X-Men. <”I agree. You have the best way with words among the people available at the moment. I’d dread to hear Logan tell him.”> Logan was the best at what he did, and very bad at very much else; him breaking the news that Hartley was dead would definitely not be the best thing for Bobby. The Nightcrawler was known in all circles as one of the most religious people around; even in a conversation like this he turned to God. James himself was also a firm believer in a higher power, despite being a scientist. There was just too much that science couldn’t explain or disprove. He shook his head when Kurt asked if Bobby could see the body; that was impossibility. “I advise against it. In fact, as Hartley’s doctor and one of her coroners, I’ll have to deny him access to seeing her until she’s made “proper” for the funeral service.”> She was just in too bad a shape to let someone like Bobby see her, someone who wore his emotions for all to see. <”This isn’t me being difficult mind you, it’s just…there’s no censored version or non-gruesome way to describe her; and seeing her is infinitely worse. She fell from 10 stories, Kurt. Her bones are, they’re basically gravel and poking the skin at horrible angles; and her organs are soup...liquefied upon impact. She’s got lacerations and bruises on over 60% of her body from the fight and the window. If Bobby were to see what’s left of her in this state, it could very well break him. And while I don’t question his control, he is one of the most powerful thermokinetics on this planet. The chance for him to lose control because of this is low, but the potential consequences if he did.”> Bobby could very well snap freeze an entire city block if he let loose…maybe even more. <”I’ll allow him to see her after she’s cleaned up. I’ll be performing the mortician duties myself as soon as possible, and I’ll make her beautiful again. And yes, I called her parents about an hour ago. They took it pretty badly. No parent wants to outlive their child, even if they know they have a dangerous profession. They’ll be coming to town to help with the funeral arrangements as soon as they can. I’m sure Bobby will want to talk with them.”> He had forgotten about the liquor in his cup, so he downed it, poured another, and downed that one. It was times like this that he wished he had the ability to be an alcoholic. <"I understand. It will be difficult to stop him from wanting to see her, but I will do my best,"> Kurt said with resigned recognition. Of course Bobby would want to see her. Who wouldn't want to see their loved one one last time. But Kurt had faith in the doctor's abilities, that he would be able to make the body presentable when the time for a funeral came. <"I cannot imagine what it must have been like. Ten stories is more than enough to kill a human being... Whomever did this to her not only wanted her dead, but wanted her to suffer. I know X-Corps had the incident with that cure, Doctor. There is potential for countless mutants to feel aggression against your organization. With Hartley as its head and as the director of X-Corps' expansion, she would be the likely target for many. However, I know your stance, which you have been very public about since it has come to light. I do not think any mutant would think this would have been allowed were you aware of it."> Kurt bit the inside of his cheek in thought for a moment. <"We have had an... incident here, Doctor, as you know. You know, the explosion of the Blackbird and the one here in the building. We have come to pass of the existence of a creature that our biokinetic cannot divine, one that takes on the essence of a person without sign of being another, which you know from your examinations with the other minds. With that incident in consideration, you would be wise to work with caution and be mindful of what is around you. If you or anyone at X-Corps were close to discovering, there is a chance you too will be endangered."> Giving a long sigh, Kurt steeled himself. <"Never the less, Doctor, I must attend to Mr. Drake. Thank you for contacting us as soon as you could.>" <”Thank you in advance for your efforts. This really is in his best interests.”> He hoped Kurt’s sincerity laden words delivered while explaining his logic would be enough to dissuade Bobby from trying to see Hartley. It took all of his training just to look at her; the others had all taken it much worse and none of them were intimate with her, just good friends. Her lover? Someone who genuinely loved her as a significant other? Seeing her was simply out of the question. <”You’re correct. From that high up, death is a certainty for one with normal human biology or with no healing factor to speak of. And as I said, she was beaten, savagely before she was thrown. They wanted to send a message; what it is though, I’m not sure of at the moment. And yes, whoever did this bypassed security systems that should have been impossible to get through; they were the best of the best.”> Hartley as the head of X-Corp was of course a target for mutant haters and mutants who got the outright lies passed on as information; for one to assassinate her though; it boggled the mind. He listened as Kurt informed him of the goings on and strange incidents that had been befalling them as well. He finished with information of the shapeshifting creature that had impersonated Tommy Shepard. <”The knowledge that that being, and more of his kind exist still sends shivers down my spine. And I hold no delusions that with Hartley’s demise, any of us are any safer. I believe the opposite in fact. We’re in more danger now that this person is under suspicion.”> He nodded a final time as Kurt thanked him for his practicality with informing him of this very sensitive information. It was the least he could do. <”Of course. I just wish this call had been under better circumstances; any…other circumstances but this. And I understand; I have more calls to make and business to attend to. But tell Robert… Tell him that he has all of our condolences here at X-Corp. We all knew Hartley and she touched everyone in her own way. She’ll be sorely missed.”> <"You should inform the rest of your colleagues about what you know of this creature. If they are in the dark now, they are both in danger and ignorant to it,"> Kurt warned lastly to the good doctor. <"Take care, my friend. Call upon us if you need assistance."> Releasing a long, winded sigh, the X-Man turned the phone to its proper place on its charger. Alone in the kitchen, Kurt folded his arms over the width of his chest, considering the news. The young woman had been killed in cold blood, brutalized by her attacker, and thrown out of a tenth story window into the courtyard. Adding that upon top of the disappearance of speed, the destruction of the Blackbird, the blocks in communication into the Savage realm, and who knew what else, it was plain to see that something was happening. But what? What could these creatures be doing? They could steal the identities of people, steal mutant powers, become them down to a genetic level, a transformation so refined that even Elixir could not tell the difference between the original and the fake until one had died. That made their situation even more dire. They could not truly find who it was that was the creature. Kurt had mulled over it innumerable times, debated with Logan, but in the end they had come to no conclusion. Kurt reasoned it was someone who was on that last trip here, including himself, Wolverine, Bobby, and a few others. It could have been anyone here in the building, too... And over-lapping both of those groups... There were only a handful that it could be. Bobby was one of them... Which meant Kurt would have to sheath his suspicions, no matter how improbable they were, while handling the news of Hartley. Steeling himself, the devil dropped his arms to the side and moved through the Worthington complex until he came upon Bobby's room. Thick knuckles tapped upon the door before opening it slowly. "Bobby. Do you have a moment? There is something you need to know." |
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| Bobby Drake | Jun 5 2012, 02:37 AM Post #2 |
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Bobby was fast asleep by the time news of X-Corps hit television sets everywhere. Not that he would have seen it, he hated the news. He was supposed to get up at nine but his dream, what a sweet dream. He woke up with a smile on his face and reached for his phone. He mumbled the words as he typed the text to Hart. “Mornin babe, had the best dream about you. Dinner, tonight? Call me. Xoxo –Icy” He stretched and rolled out of bed. He got changed and finished in time for Kurt to knock on his door. “Come in!” He shouted out. Kurt came in and asked if he had a moment, there was something he needed to tell him. “What? Logan’s ticked at me again?” He smiled, it wasn’t farfetched but it was always funny to hear the latest Logan-ism. “Wait a minute… Okay I know what this is about. I accidentally froze something didn’t I? Look man, sometimes it can’t be helped, tell me what it is and who it belong to, I’ll replace it.” He held up ‘I come in peace’ hand gestures. Kurt looked very serious and didn’t seem to be lightening up at his jokes. “Wow man… super serious, so early.” Bobby stopped moving and stopped to give Kurt his full attention, “What’s up?” He was slightly worried, and just hoping another part of the Complex hadn’t blown up. |
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| Nightcrawler | Jun 5 2012, 05:36 AM Post #3 |
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Come in! The devil opened the door slowly, regarding the boy with a very serious yet somber face. Kurt found the young mutant in there pulling his clothes on. As the boy changed, Kurt let his yellow eyes wander through the room. It wasn't messy, at least by Bobby's standards, but Kurt noticed the open phone on the lad's bed, the screen still lit. He could only pray that Bobby had not just sent a text that would never be received. Even the idea of that wounded Kurt more. "No, mein Freund. Logan is not 'ticked' at you and we did not find anything frozen. It is something else," he said quietly, his tail shutting the door behind him with a gentle click. On his toes, slightly slouched in his impish walk, Kurt stood where he was. Bobby caught his visage and commented on it, the end of his tail flicking pensively as he searched for the difficult words. It was hard to give such tragic news voice, to mold them into something comprehensible, empathetic, and understanding. But this news... Nothing could stop it. "Bobby..." he began, his voice even and quiet as morning. "I just received a call from one of the employees at X-Corps. It has been on the news all morning and..." He paused, brow knitting into a tangled, worn knot on his brow, his stomach twisting. A hand idly raised, touching the spot beneath his shirt where the silver cross around his neck always was. "Someone was thrown from the tenth floor into the courtyard below the building. Bobby..." His yellow eyes trained on the young mutant, stricken with apologetic grief. "It was Hartley, Bobby. Es tut mir Leid, it was Hartley. She's been killed." |
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| Bobby Drake | Jun 5 2012, 02:56 PM Post #4 |
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He blinked at the demon like he had just asked him a question he didn't know the answer to. It hadn't really hit him what Kurt had said. Like a bite from a Great White Shark. "She's been killed." This wasn't real. He had to have been dreaming still. He refused to believe that. After a moment of silence he spoke, "Okay... that is not a very funny joke, Kurt." He voice was even, but trying very hard to be light. He had to have been joking. But in his gut he knew the blue fuzz ball wouldn't joke about something like that. Deep down, he knew that was real. "It can't be real. It's not real. This isn't happening. Not to me. Not to her. This isn't real. Goddamnit, Bobby wake up. Go back to the good dream. Please don't let this be real." The iced mutant was stuck on an emotional train track, his foot was caught and he was trying to get away, but the tracks won't let him. And a dark blue freight train was approaching, fast. Later on he'd know that it wasn't Kurt's fault, that he was just the messenger, but right then his despair was in Kurt's hands. He saw him with his serious face, and terrible look and body stance. He was holding onto his cross. "No..." He spoke quietly. He felt a burn behind his eyes. His nose felt a little runny. "This isn't true." But the silence was telling more than words. It was daggers in his heart, each one bigger than the last. His heart wrenched and stomach dropped. His arms and hands started to shake, even though he wasn't cold. "Don't tell me that, Kurt. Tell me something, anything else. But don't repeat that..." Even if Kurt would repeat again what he had just said Bobby would hold up his hands and interrupt him, "Don't! Tell me... that she's dead!" The temperature in his room started to get more chilly. His voice started to get choked up and the warm liquid that was building in his eyes started to form but quickly turned to slush. His body was getting too cold to hold his tears, and he was starting to get more mad at Kurt for lying to him with something so horrible. But the devil's face, the look on it. Kurt was never known for cruelty. His heart raced, sniffled and spoke, eerily calm, "I want to see her." He was still in disbelief, maybe if he could just see her, he would see that she's okay and everything would be alright. Bobby would be ticked at Kurt for lying to him but as long as she was okay. She had to be okay. |
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| Nightcrawler | Jun 6 2012, 04:50 PM Post #5 |
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"Okay... That is not a very funny joke, Kurt," Bobby said, struggling to come to terms with what he said, the boy's voice lilted in a confused attempt at humor. Kurt gave a sigh. Bobby at first found it to be an idle joke, a cruel one, but a joke none the less. Kurt did not betray the notion of amusement nor did his expression give the slightest bit of humor. Somber and saddened, Kurt shook his head. "I would never jest at a time like this, mein Freund. Not like this. I am sorry." How could he comfort Bobby? Knowing that the boy had just experienced a grievous loss, there was little he could do but stand by and comfort him, be the shoulder to cry on. That was all that the devil could do, be there. Bobby knew that Kurt would never jest so cruelly. It was one thing for boys to tell each other something like this, to spark a notion of aggression and antagonism, but the devilish mutant was not like that. Despite his appearance, he was patient, kind, and gentle, and there would be no fragment of spite or sinister inclination for him to speak such words unless they were true. His brow fell into a flat line. Had Kurt something else to say to him, he would have. Yet there was nothing, no words for him to take back, no words beyond what he had said to comfort him. Kurt shook his head, feeling helpless, but unwilling to say it was a lie. It hurt him just to say the words and it hurt him more to see Bobby slowly crumble. There was a sudden chill in the air. Kurt expected that. The powers Bobby possessed were far reaching and, as his fellow X-Men theorized, potentially lethal to the world if they got out of hand. But Kurt would afford him a chill. His breath appeared in a fog before his lips and he shivered a little, his thin layer of fur providing him a small means of protection. "Sit," Kurt said, coming up to the young man and touching him gently by the elbow to guide Bobby to the bed. Kurt could see and feel the air temperature continue to drop, slush rising in Bobby's eye rather than tears. "I am afraid you cannot, Robert," he said coolly, regrettably. "The fall has..." he searched for the right words to say. "It has made her unrecognizable. Only her most familiar coworkers recognized her, the police wouldn't even with identification. You do not want the last memory of seeing her to be like that, Bobby. Her family has been contacted. They will be coming in to town soon. It would be good to see them, no?" His frown only became bigger. "Is there anything I can do for you, Bobby? Are you a man of faith? I know many of... our kind have denounced higher powers, but they teach us something. In troubled times, I find that faith to steel my resolve... He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man. Remember her as she was, Bobby. Remember her as you loved her and do not seek to tarnish that memory with the result of another man's crimes." |
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| Bobby Drake | Jun 8 2012, 02:38 AM Post #6 |
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Bobby shook his head when Kurt said he wouldn’t joke. Kurt reached for his elbow to guide him to the bed to get him to sit. When he was close enough to the bed to sit on it that was when he realized how far the devil guided him, he yanked his arm free from Kurt’s hand and spoke, “No! Don’t tell me to sit! I want to see her.” He didn’t realize it but when Kurt started to speak, that he couldn’t let him see her, he did sit down. Bobby was emotional and irrational. He talked about Hart’s family coming in, and that it would be good to see them. He put his hand over his mouth, God no, this was all real. It was truly happening. Kurt continued talking about if he was a man of faith, if there was anything, he could do, and to always remember her as she was. “Just stop!” He shot up and stood, walking away from his bed, “Stop talking!” He put his hands to his head, the slush in his eyes flowed down in clumps. “This can’t be real.” He started pacing, slowly. “How? Why? What the fuck did she do to deserve that?!” He voice wavered and broke. He couldn’t hold it back anymore; he couldn’t lie to himself anymore. “Oh god… She’s really dead…” The crushing heartbreak was unbearable. The emotional freight train finally hit. The slow, agonizing torture was too much. He let out a sob and felt to his knees. His hands on his head the Iceman cried out, “No!!” His anguishing cries carried beyond his door and into the hall. His tears were hidden by his hands, which had gotten so cold they started to turn blue. The chill coming off of him was evident in the hot air around him. He stayed crumpled on the floor. Curling up further by lowering his head and hands on the ground. Bobby’s sobs where loud, and pained. He tried to deny it but he knew it to be true. He quietly called out, as if his next words could be heard, in a pleading voice, “Babe… Hart… No…” Taking gasping breaths and short sobs between each word. The Iceman was broken, crushed, and devastated. How could he move on? “Please…” |
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2:16 PM Jul 11