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xp_logsFollowing this meeting with Remy, Pete's next stop is Muir Island. The reception from Amanda is a lot less difficult than expected, but things have definitely changed between them.
Pete pulled his coat a bit tighter about him as he stepped off the boat. It was a bright and sunny day, but the temperature still wasn't more than a handful of degrees above freezing on Muir. Spring was definitely here, although there were still small patches of snow in sheltered spots about Muir island.
"Still the back of fucking beyond, then..." He muttered to himself, lighting a cigarette, before striding down the dock toward a small figure at the other end...
Funny how 'getting outside and recharging' looked a lot like 'having a smoke'. Amanda drew on the cigarette and closed her eyes, trying to focus on her mutant power. After that first floodgate moment when she'd finally let go of the subconscious blocks, Muir's energy was... diminished, somehow. Or maybe it was her power that was having trouble latching on. Either way, it meant having to actively focus on it instead of just letting things happen. With a shiver she hunched further into her coat. She loved Muir, the way the place and the people had welcomed her and taken her in, but it was still too bloody cold for her liking.
Footsteps caught her attention. Heavier than Moira's, so it had to be Curt. The other doctor tended to keep an eye on her when Moira was back at the mansion. Without looking she greeted him: "Hey, doc. Come to give me the talk about lung cancer again?"
"Yeah. Smoking is both big and clever. Keep it up."
Pete laughed as Amanda turned with a shocked look on her face.
"Afternoon, sunshine. How're you?"
"Pete! You scared me half to death!" For a second it seemed she'd hug him, but she pulled herself up short. Things were still too complicated, even moreso these days. Instead she gave him a crooked half-grin and a small shrug. "I'm doing better. Moira and Curt've been looking after me a treat. Everything's settled, as much as it's going to." Her look turned appraising. "What brings you up here?"
The smile faded from Pete's face.
"You do, as a matter of fact. As much as I'd love to say I'm just here for a visit, I ain't. I need your help. Romany's gotten mixed up in something big, and she's vanished."
"Vanished?" Honest concern coloured Amanda's voice and her expression grew worried. 'Something big' was never good in the Wisdom worlds. "I dunno what I can do to help, Pete - I haven't heard from her for a while, if that was what you were wondering."
Pete's expression grew grim.
"Wish it was that easy, but I just wanted to know if you'd heard from her, I'd have called. A couple of weeks back, she told me that if I hadn't heard from her in a couple of weeks, I should come looking. She'd spotted something dodgy going on, something to do with the government, but none of my my mates know what's going on."
A drag on the cigarette.
"This is going to get bad, Amanda, I can feel it. I'm willing to bet that this is going to piss off a lot of people. So I've quit Xavier's, for real this time. But I can't find her on my own."
Amanda shivered a little, this time nothing to do with the sharpness of the wind, biting her lip. "I want to help," she said at last. "But I really don't know what I can do for you, Pete. I gave up the magic - that hasn't changed just because my..." She paused, realising she hadn't really told him. "My powers came back," she finished, a little lamely. "Without the magic, I'm just an energy siphon. Power comes in, power goes out, that's all. I don't see what you need me for." And to be honest, she didn't want to know - she owed Romany and Pete her life in more ways than one, but the way Pete was talking... did she really want to go back to that again?
Pete blinked. "That was what the headaches were about?" Then he shook his head. "Look, god's honest, right now I don't give a shit if you
can do magic or not. I didn't come here looking for mystic power, I came here looking for you. You're bright, and even if you can't do magic, you know more about it than anyone else I know. You'll spot things that the rest of us might miss. And I'd trust you with my life. Or Romany's."
Now it was Amanda's turn to blink. He trusted her that much? "I don't know what..." she began, and then shook her head, impatient with herself. Hadn't Tante and Moira spent all this time telling her she was more than the magic? If Pete thought there was something she could do, then maybe there was. "'The rest of us'?" she asked instead. "You called in backup?" Not the X-Men, she hoped. That could be... awkward.
"LeBeau and Braddock. I'm not fucking about here, Amanda. I'm going to get her back, or I'm going to tear down whoever got her, and I want people that'll be able to get the job done."
Oh, this wasn't going to be good at all. Taking a long drag on her almost-forgotten cigarette, Amanda looked past Pete to the castle rising above the dock. Here, she was safe. Out there, particularly involved with whatever had gotten Romany in trouble, wouldn't be, not by a long shot. But it wasn't about being safe any more, was it? Not after everything she'd done. She exhaled, and looked back at Pete. "All right," she said at last. "Give me a couple of hours to square things with Curt and the rest and I'm all yours."
Pete nodded. "Thanks. Oh, and one other thing: I do not want you working yourself into the ground over this. I know how fucking stupid that sounds coming from me, and I know that once we get started, I'm going to forget about it, but I swear to god Amanda, if you need to stop, need a break, or just need to fuck off for a bit, you fucking say so. You aren't fucking expendable, and Romany will kill me if she thinks I've let you behave like you were."
That drew a chuckle from her. "Oh, don't worry about that - learned my lesson big time, and I've had Tante and Moira doing their best to remind me to look after myself. I'm different to what I was." Finishing her cigarette she stubbed it out on the railing and pitched the butt over the side into the water foaming below. "But since we're being straight about things... you're going to have to keep me in the loop, Pete. No secrets, no lies. If only so I don't mess things up 'cause I don't know what's going on." There was someting uncompromising about her posture, her _expression. "I'm not a kid any more."
"Funny, LeBeau said almost the same thing." Pete shrugged. "I ain't planning on doing any more jobs like that last one for a very fucking long time, so don't worry about me pulling that sort of stunt again."
"Remy's been looking out for me," she said simply, shrugging again. "Between him, Tante and Moira, I've started getting my head on straight again. So yeah, won't be repeating last year meself." It was said jokingly, but there was a certain seriousness underneath. "Right then, now that's settled, we should probably get moving," she continued, almost briskly. "You want to wait for me over at Billie and Anna's pub? I'll have to say something to them as well any way."
Pete shrugged. "Yeah, OK. I need to make some calls before we get to London anyway, get everything set up for when we get there. You got any special medical needs I should know about, or should I just order an extra couple of dozen packets of fags?"
She snorted, amused. "Extra fags never go astray. I've got some painkillers for the odd headache and I'll need a bit of me time every so often so I can power down when I need to, but otherwise, I'm fighting fit. Moira's got me on the books any way in case anything happens." Pushing away from the railing and shoving her hands into her pockets, she tilted her head at Pete. "I'll see you at the pub in a couple of hours. Round's on you."
Pete pulled his coat a bit tighter about him as he stepped off the boat. It was a bright and sunny day, but the temperature still wasn't more than a handful of degrees above freezing on Muir. Spring was definitely here, although there were still small patches of snow in sheltered spots about Muir island.
"Still the back of fucking beyond, then..." He muttered to himself, lighting a cigarette, before striding down the dock toward a small figure at the other end...
Funny how 'getting outside and recharging' looked a lot like 'having a smoke'. Amanda drew on the cigarette and closed her eyes, trying to focus on her mutant power. After that first floodgate moment when she'd finally let go of the subconscious blocks, Muir's energy was... diminished, somehow. Or maybe it was her power that was having trouble latching on. Either way, it meant having to actively focus on it instead of just letting things happen. With a shiver she hunched further into her coat. She loved Muir, the way the place and the people had welcomed her and taken her in, but it was still too bloody cold for her liking.
Footsteps caught her attention. Heavier than Moira's, so it had to be Curt. The other doctor tended to keep an eye on her when Moira was back at the mansion. Without looking she greeted him: "Hey, doc. Come to give me the talk about lung cancer again?"
"Yeah. Smoking is both big and clever. Keep it up."
Pete laughed as Amanda turned with a shocked look on her face.
"Afternoon, sunshine. How're you?"
"Pete! You scared me half to death!" For a second it seemed she'd hug him, but she pulled herself up short. Things were still too complicated, even moreso these days. Instead she gave him a crooked half-grin and a small shrug. "I'm doing better. Moira and Curt've been looking after me a treat. Everything's settled, as much as it's going to." Her look turned appraising. "What brings you up here?"
The smile faded from Pete's face.
"You do, as a matter of fact. As much as I'd love to say I'm just here for a visit, I ain't. I need your help. Romany's gotten mixed up in something big, and she's vanished."
"Vanished?" Honest concern coloured Amanda's voice and her expression grew worried. 'Something big' was never good in the Wisdom worlds. "I dunno what I can do to help, Pete - I haven't heard from her for a while, if that was what you were wondering."
Pete's expression grew grim.
"Wish it was that easy, but I just wanted to know if you'd heard from her, I'd have called. A couple of weeks back, she told me that if I hadn't heard from her in a couple of weeks, I should come looking. She'd spotted something dodgy going on, something to do with the government, but none of my my mates know what's going on."
A drag on the cigarette.
"This is going to get bad, Amanda, I can feel it. I'm willing to bet that this is going to piss off a lot of people. So I've quit Xavier's, for real this time. But I can't find her on my own."
Amanda shivered a little, this time nothing to do with the sharpness of the wind, biting her lip. "I want to help," she said at last. "But I really don't know what I can do for you, Pete. I gave up the magic - that hasn't changed just because my..." She paused, realising she hadn't really told him. "My powers came back," she finished, a little lamely. "Without the magic, I'm just an energy siphon. Power comes in, power goes out, that's all. I don't see what you need me for." And to be honest, she didn't want to know - she owed Romany and Pete her life in more ways than one, but the way Pete was talking... did she really want to go back to that again?
Pete blinked. "That was what the headaches were about?" Then he shook his head. "Look, god's honest, right now I don't give a shit if you
can do magic or not. I didn't come here looking for mystic power, I came here looking for you. You're bright, and even if you can't do magic, you know more about it than anyone else I know. You'll spot things that the rest of us might miss. And I'd trust you with my life. Or Romany's."
Now it was Amanda's turn to blink. He trusted her that much? "I don't know what..." she began, and then shook her head, impatient with herself. Hadn't Tante and Moira spent all this time telling her she was more than the magic? If Pete thought there was something she could do, then maybe there was. "'The rest of us'?" she asked instead. "You called in backup?" Not the X-Men, she hoped. That could be... awkward.
"LeBeau and Braddock. I'm not fucking about here, Amanda. I'm going to get her back, or I'm going to tear down whoever got her, and I want people that'll be able to get the job done."
Oh, this wasn't going to be good at all. Taking a long drag on her almost-forgotten cigarette, Amanda looked past Pete to the castle rising above the dock. Here, she was safe. Out there, particularly involved with whatever had gotten Romany in trouble, wouldn't be, not by a long shot. But it wasn't about being safe any more, was it? Not after everything she'd done. She exhaled, and looked back at Pete. "All right," she said at last. "Give me a couple of hours to square things with Curt and the rest and I'm all yours."
Pete nodded. "Thanks. Oh, and one other thing: I do not want you working yourself into the ground over this. I know how fucking stupid that sounds coming from me, and I know that once we get started, I'm going to forget about it, but I swear to god Amanda, if you need to stop, need a break, or just need to fuck off for a bit, you fucking say so. You aren't fucking expendable, and Romany will kill me if she thinks I've let you behave like you were."
That drew a chuckle from her. "Oh, don't worry about that - learned my lesson big time, and I've had Tante and Moira doing their best to remind me to look after myself. I'm different to what I was." Finishing her cigarette she stubbed it out on the railing and pitched the butt over the side into the water foaming below. "But since we're being straight about things... you're going to have to keep me in the loop, Pete. No secrets, no lies. If only so I don't mess things up 'cause I don't know what's going on." There was someting uncompromising about her posture, her _expression. "I'm not a kid any more."
"Funny, LeBeau said almost the same thing." Pete shrugged. "I ain't planning on doing any more jobs like that last one for a very fucking long time, so don't worry about me pulling that sort of stunt again."
"Remy's been looking out for me," she said simply, shrugging again. "Between him, Tante and Moira, I've started getting my head on straight again. So yeah, won't be repeating last year meself." It was said jokingly, but there was a certain seriousness underneath. "Right then, now that's settled, we should probably get moving," she continued, almost briskly. "You want to wait for me over at Billie and Anna's pub? I'll have to say something to them as well any way."
Pete shrugged. "Yeah, OK. I need to make some calls before we get to London anyway, get everything set up for when we get there. You got any special medical needs I should know about, or should I just order an extra couple of dozen packets of fags?"
She snorted, amused. "Extra fags never go astray. I've got some painkillers for the odd headache and I'll need a bit of me time every so often so I can power down when I need to, but otherwise, I'm fighting fit. Moira's got me on the books any way in case anything happens." Pushing away from the railing and shoving her hands into her pockets, she tilted her head at Pete. "I'll see you at the pub in a couple of hours. Round's on you."
