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Terry comes to visit Tommy down in the medlab. Things go...not bad, but not good either.



The ceiling had 83 tiles and Tommy decided they weren't just white, they were slightly green. Probably from all the experiments performed on people down here, many of which Tommy knew weren't bad as his imagination thought up. Sighing, he started counting the tiles again, anything to keep him from thinking about where he was, what he was and why he was even alive at that very moment.

Terry gave Jean a look that she meant to be resolute and mature but probably just looked scared then knocked on the half open door to Tommy's room. Just check on him and go. Terry worried the direction over in her mind, keeping it as her mantra for why she was here. She just needed to see him. She wasn't going to let him upset her and she wasn't going to get in trouble by upsetting him. She pushed the door open a bit more and peered in.

Tommy sighed heavily when he heard the knock and schooled his expression back into the scowl that the doctors had come familiar with. He wasn't happy to be here and he wasn't going to let them forget it. Maybe I can get them to kick me out....

But his practiced expression fell when he saw who it was. "Terry..."

She looked at him impassively for a moment then spoke softly, "May I come in?"

He dumbly nodded. Tommy vaguely remembered being asked if she could see him...but he didn't think she'd actually come.

Terry glanced back at Jean then stepped inside, shutting the door but not all the way. Cautiously, she approached his bed, looking him over without trying to hide it. He looked dreadful, much worse than she'd expected and for a moment it was hard to breathe. She stopped out of reach and closed her eyes, fighting to control her reaction.

Tommy too had to look away. His first reaction to every new person who had come in was to lash out. But he couldn't do that to her. How do you tell someone that even though you hated their kind and beat the shit out of their best friend...you still thought about them everyday?

After a moment, Terry was able to look at him again, better when she focused just on his pale, drawn face than looking at the rest of his damaged body. "Hi," she ventured, wondering exactly what she should say other than that. 'How are you?' seemed dumb and 'You look like shit' seemed too obvious. "What do you do?" If he was a mutant now, it'd be nice to know what it was.

Tommy felt liked he'd been slapped. He visibly winced at the question, having not thought about it since waking up and none of the doctors had asked. And of course, the one person in the entire hellhole he wanted to see, brought it up to haunt him. "I turned a tree into lead by thinking about it, you figure it out." He managed to grind out, turn his face away so both the pain and shame wouldn't show.

"Did you touch it?" Terry figured she could ask Dr. MacTaggart later what it meant. If he was changing things just by thinking about them that would be dangerous. Not that new mutants weren't always just by their lack of control.

"I was leaning against it so yes. Did one of the doctors put you up to this? Figured I would talk to you over them?!" He couldn't stop himself as he snapped. Talking about it was only getting him frustrated and wishing even more he was anywhere but there. Tommy visibly winced but still wouldn't look at her. "Terry, I'm sorry..."

"No. In fact, I'll probably be in trouble for asking. More if you get upset." She shook her head, "You should be sorry. You hurt us. Me and my best friend and God only knows how many other people." She was fighting to keep from sympathy. She didn't want to feel bad for him. Would much rather hate him. Of course, if she wanted that then coming down here had been a bad idea.

Tommy composed himself and finally turned back to Terry, a defensive look on his face. "That's not what I was apologizing for and you know it. I don't regret anything of what I did, even if I am a freak now as well." He cut off before he added how he thought he was better of dead than here in this place he always thought of as hell on earth.

Terry hissed at him, temper flaring predictably. "You're the same person you were when I met you. Only thing that's changed is what you know. You know that I'm a mutant. You know that you are. And you know the real difference between your kind of people and mine. Your kind tried to kill you for an accident of birth. Mine saved your life in spite of your guilt." She stopped and shook her head, "I came down here because I wanted to hate you. But I can't. You're just pitiful. That's it. I just pity you."

Fine, pity me...I don't plan on staying around longer then I have to anyway... Tommy forced a sarcastic smirk on his face. "You're right, I'm still the same person. And my opinion of your kind and my kind has not changed. Take your pity somewhere else. I don't need it. On the other hand, maybe your little winged friend could use it...He is, after all, a freak twice over." He knew that had dug deep...but right now he wanted to her to leave and words were his only weapon and defense.

Terry didn't so much as bat an eyelash. "Jay doesn't need pity. He's a beautiful, loving person and it's my privilege to be his friend. You don't have to want my pity. I'll give it anyway." She stepped closer and looked down at him, thinking quietly for a moment. After a time, she spoke thoughtfully, weighing her words, "I don't think you're a waste of space, TMJ. I don't want you in my school, around the people I love but no one is completely hopeless. There are parts of you that aren't pathetic."

Tommy winced and seemed to close in on himself, both at her words, and the initials that had been used so fondly when they had dated. He closed his eyes and turned away again. "Get out," he managed to to get out, though it was mostly breath.

She was in so much trouble. "Don't be a fool, Tommy. I know what it's like to come here and hate it. But give us a chance. You'll see that it's not what you think." With that she turned on her heel and went back out, rushing past Dr. Grey with a murmured apology.

Keeping his eyes shut, Tommy carefully brought his 'good' hand up to rub his temples. That hadn't gone neary like he had hoped, but it just confirmed something for him. The sooner he could get out of this bed, the better.