Regeneration [Forge/Moira]
Nov. 22nd, 2006 09:47 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsForge pilfers his own medical records to discover a surprise about why he's been feeling odd for a while. Moira explains the surprising changes, and what they could mean.
The door to Forge's lab was partly closed but little things like that
didn't stop Moira. A quick rap was the only indication that she was
coming in before she pushed the door open, a hand on her hip. "'Tis a
good thin' I'm verra good at distractin' irritated doctors," she said
dryly, "or else Amelia'd be in 'ere breathin' down yer neck due ta those
files, Forge."
Forge didn't turn around, his attention still fixed on the two
full-body x-ray films hanging from a lighted cabinet on the wall. "I
don't see why she's pitching a fit," he said distractedly, "they're
my medical records. And I'd think if an anomaly shows up that
it'd be in my best interest to take a look at things myself."
He motioned for Moira to come forward, attention still focused on the
black and white images. "See this one here? This is the physical I had
back in the spring, after Masque attacked Kyle and Jay and I. All this
dark mass here," he pointed to the left side of the abdomen of one of
the films, "scar tissue from my accident. Missing spleen, three feet
of intestine, and a good chunk of the abdominal wall."
"This," he said sharply, poking his finger at the other set of
x-rays, "was taken yesterday. Notice what's missing?"
When she joined him, arms crossed loosely underneath her chest, Moira
didn't look shocked or surprised. "Amelia like things jus' so in her
laboratory o' Russian-ness," she mused quietly, despite the fact that
she actually liked the other doctor. Not as much as her previous
doctors in arms, though. "As for yer x-rays, well, I think 'tis nay a
matter o' wha's missin', Forge, but wha's suddenly there." It was more
than obvious that she'd been studying his file before that morning.
"Normally, this wouldnae do much but look..." Taking the older one, she
laid it over the newer one, to really showcase what the former missing
pieces were now filled in with.
Forge nodded, then tugged up his shirt. "When Marius used Masque's
powers to repair what was done, he... well, he took the scars away. I
thought it was just fixing things on the surface, you know? But it was
more than that."
He reached out, running a hand over the greyish images on the film.
"I've been feeling kind of sick for the last month or so, indigestion,
nausea, occasional dizzy spells. I thought it was just too much
caffeine and lack of sleep, so I cut back. But then I took a look at
these, and I realized what it's been." He reached into his pocket,
placing two empty pill bottles on the counter. "Every week, I take a
series of pills to prevent things like blood clots and keep my immune
system up, you know, like most people living without a spleen. And if
I'm right, for the past few months, this stuff's been building up in
my system, hence why I've been feeling sick."
He separated the two x-rays, looking from the old to the new, then
nodding at the latter. "Because that's a healthy spleen and
intestine. I don't know how he knew how to do it, but when he repaired
the scars, Marius put things back the way they were supposed to be."
Moira gave him a brilliant smile before turning back to the x-rays.
"Aye, it is. I was goin' over yer medical records after yer latest
check up when I caught all o' this. Which is why I really wasnae
surprised ta find ye wit' the records today, I was jus' tryin' ta figure
out how ta tell ye "Congratulations, ye've got a spleen again, 'tis a
boy"."
She picked up the medication bottle and nodded. "We'll flush yer system
a bit ta get ye back on track an' I'm goin' ta run some more tests on
yer blood work." Slyly, Moira looked at him out of the corner of her
eye. "An' Forge? When was th' last time ye used yer glasses for
anythin'?"
Forge arched an eyebrow, absently patting his chest pocket and being
surprised to find it empty. "I wear them for reading, mostly. I mean,
I..." he paused, thinking. "I haven't had any eyestrain headaches,
come to think of it. I haven't... are you saying Marius fixed my
nearsightedness too?"
"Probably," Moira responded. "We'll set ye up for an eye exam though
I'll be verra surprised if he dinnae cure tha' as well. Besides th'
massive internal injuries, did ye 'ave any other injuries from growin'
up? 'Tis easier askin' ye now then goin' through yer file again.
Because it seems tha' wit' th' exception o' yer limbs--th' loss o' an
entire limb would be ta much ta 'eal wit' th' power Marius had been
usin'--I'm thinkin' tha' anythin' else that could be fixed
was fixed."
Forge shook his head. "I was pretty much an indoor kid. Never even
learned to ride a bicycle. I'd never even been into a hospital until,
well, yeah." Slowly, he sat down on a stool, running a hand through
his hair. "I mean, all things considered, this isn't world-shattering.
I mean, yeah, I know it's going to mean good things for my health down
the line. But it just bothers me, you know? Marius - who had these
powers for probably ten minutes before he did this, and doesn't know
the first thing about anatomy - he managed to do what doctors
couldn't. Masque... he could have used his power to heal people. Not
just how they look, but... he could repair damaged heart tissue.
Remove tumors. Hell, he could practically make the lame to walk and
the blind to see if he wanted to, but instead..."
With a long sigh, Forge leaned his head back onto the counter. "It's
like I see all these paths I could have taken, you know? If I never
would have come here, odds are pretty good Magneto would have picked
me up eventually and I'd be headed down that road. If I wasn't a
mutant, I'd probably be just some community college loser back down in
Dallas with no future. But I am, and what I can do - it seems wrong to
not use it to help people. Why can't people think like that?
People who can help, but don't. I'll never understand it."
"Sometimes people are more damaged inside than they actually realize."
Turning off the lights behind the x-ray, Moira sighed. "An' it fuels
them ta do things like 'urtin' other people, like Masque. Yer right,
he'd 'ave been able ta 'elp so many people wit' his powers. If
he 'ad decided ta act tha' way. Magneto, Masque, all o' them, act like
they do because they believe tha' there is nay any other way, tha'
everythin' else 'as been closed off ta them."
Facing Forge, she smiled, "We all 'ave verra many different paths we
could 'ave walked down. An' perhaps th' day tha' we only see one, feel
tha' there's only one path we must an' 'ave ta walk, is a day I
dinnae want ta 'appen."
"You and me both," Forge said, standing up. "Well, the Czarina is
probably chilling the instruments as we speak. I swear, that woman's
got a bedside manner better suited to Tuskeegee."
Moira laughed, shaking her head. "I think she took me 'abit o'
puttin' a few people's personal instruments in th' freezer a bit ta
much ta 'eart," she said, looking far too cheerful about the fact that
she had a row of instruments in her freezer. With name tags. "But
come on, I'll get ye somethin' ta keep ye occupied while she gleefully
pokes an' prodes ye."
The door to Forge's lab was partly closed but little things like that
didn't stop Moira. A quick rap was the only indication that she was
coming in before she pushed the door open, a hand on her hip. "'Tis a
good thin' I'm verra good at distractin' irritated doctors," she said
dryly, "or else Amelia'd be in 'ere breathin' down yer neck due ta those
files, Forge."
Forge didn't turn around, his attention still fixed on the two
full-body x-ray films hanging from a lighted cabinet on the wall. "I
don't see why she's pitching a fit," he said distractedly, "they're
my medical records. And I'd think if an anomaly shows up that
it'd be in my best interest to take a look at things myself."
He motioned for Moira to come forward, attention still focused on the
black and white images. "See this one here? This is the physical I had
back in the spring, after Masque attacked Kyle and Jay and I. All this
dark mass here," he pointed to the left side of the abdomen of one of
the films, "scar tissue from my accident. Missing spleen, three feet
of intestine, and a good chunk of the abdominal wall."
"This," he said sharply, poking his finger at the other set of
x-rays, "was taken yesterday. Notice what's missing?"
When she joined him, arms crossed loosely underneath her chest, Moira
didn't look shocked or surprised. "Amelia like things jus' so in her
laboratory o' Russian-ness," she mused quietly, despite the fact that
she actually liked the other doctor. Not as much as her previous
doctors in arms, though. "As for yer x-rays, well, I think 'tis nay a
matter o' wha's missin', Forge, but wha's suddenly there." It was more
than obvious that she'd been studying his file before that morning.
"Normally, this wouldnae do much but look..." Taking the older one, she
laid it over the newer one, to really showcase what the former missing
pieces were now filled in with.
Forge nodded, then tugged up his shirt. "When Marius used Masque's
powers to repair what was done, he... well, he took the scars away. I
thought it was just fixing things on the surface, you know? But it was
more than that."
He reached out, running a hand over the greyish images on the film.
"I've been feeling kind of sick for the last month or so, indigestion,
nausea, occasional dizzy spells. I thought it was just too much
caffeine and lack of sleep, so I cut back. But then I took a look at
these, and I realized what it's been." He reached into his pocket,
placing two empty pill bottles on the counter. "Every week, I take a
series of pills to prevent things like blood clots and keep my immune
system up, you know, like most people living without a spleen. And if
I'm right, for the past few months, this stuff's been building up in
my system, hence why I've been feeling sick."
He separated the two x-rays, looking from the old to the new, then
nodding at the latter. "Because that's a healthy spleen and
intestine. I don't know how he knew how to do it, but when he repaired
the scars, Marius put things back the way they were supposed to be."
Moira gave him a brilliant smile before turning back to the x-rays.
"Aye, it is. I was goin' over yer medical records after yer latest
check up when I caught all o' this. Which is why I really wasnae
surprised ta find ye wit' the records today, I was jus' tryin' ta figure
out how ta tell ye "Congratulations, ye've got a spleen again, 'tis a
boy"."
She picked up the medication bottle and nodded. "We'll flush yer system
a bit ta get ye back on track an' I'm goin' ta run some more tests on
yer blood work." Slyly, Moira looked at him out of the corner of her
eye. "An' Forge? When was th' last time ye used yer glasses for
anythin'?"
Forge arched an eyebrow, absently patting his chest pocket and being
surprised to find it empty. "I wear them for reading, mostly. I mean,
I..." he paused, thinking. "I haven't had any eyestrain headaches,
come to think of it. I haven't... are you saying Marius fixed my
nearsightedness too?"
"Probably," Moira responded. "We'll set ye up for an eye exam though
I'll be verra surprised if he dinnae cure tha' as well. Besides th'
massive internal injuries, did ye 'ave any other injuries from growin'
up? 'Tis easier askin' ye now then goin' through yer file again.
Because it seems tha' wit' th' exception o' yer limbs--th' loss o' an
entire limb would be ta much ta 'eal wit' th' power Marius had been
usin'--I'm thinkin' tha' anythin' else that could be fixed
was fixed."
Forge shook his head. "I was pretty much an indoor kid. Never even
learned to ride a bicycle. I'd never even been into a hospital until,
well, yeah." Slowly, he sat down on a stool, running a hand through
his hair. "I mean, all things considered, this isn't world-shattering.
I mean, yeah, I know it's going to mean good things for my health down
the line. But it just bothers me, you know? Marius - who had these
powers for probably ten minutes before he did this, and doesn't know
the first thing about anatomy - he managed to do what doctors
couldn't. Masque... he could have used his power to heal people. Not
just how they look, but... he could repair damaged heart tissue.
Remove tumors. Hell, he could practically make the lame to walk and
the blind to see if he wanted to, but instead..."
With a long sigh, Forge leaned his head back onto the counter. "It's
like I see all these paths I could have taken, you know? If I never
would have come here, odds are pretty good Magneto would have picked
me up eventually and I'd be headed down that road. If I wasn't a
mutant, I'd probably be just some community college loser back down in
Dallas with no future. But I am, and what I can do - it seems wrong to
not use it to help people. Why can't people think like that?
People who can help, but don't. I'll never understand it."
"Sometimes people are more damaged inside than they actually realize."
Turning off the lights behind the x-ray, Moira sighed. "An' it fuels
them ta do things like 'urtin' other people, like Masque. Yer right,
he'd 'ave been able ta 'elp so many people wit' his powers. If
he 'ad decided ta act tha' way. Magneto, Masque, all o' them, act like
they do because they believe tha' there is nay any other way, tha'
everythin' else 'as been closed off ta them."
Facing Forge, she smiled, "We all 'ave verra many different paths we
could 'ave walked down. An' perhaps th' day tha' we only see one, feel
tha' there's only one path we must an' 'ave ta walk, is a day I
dinnae want ta 'appen."
"You and me both," Forge said, standing up. "Well, the Czarina is
probably chilling the instruments as we speak. I swear, that woman's
got a bedside manner better suited to Tuskeegee."
Moira laughed, shaking her head. "I think she took me 'abit o'
puttin' a few people's personal instruments in th' freezer a bit ta
much ta 'eart," she said, looking far too cheerful about the fact that
she had a row of instruments in her freezer. With name tags. "But
come on, I'll get ye somethin' ta keep ye occupied while she gleefully
pokes an' prodes ye."
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no subject
Date: 2006-11-22 06:26 pm (UTC)Marius - who had these powers for probably ten minutes before he did this, and doesn't know the first thing about anatomy - he managed to do what doctors couldn't.
That would be because I am just that fantastic.
And, you know, knew no better.
(In case anyone was curious, the exact details of Masque's powers can be found on the wiki page here (http://x-journal.net/Wiki/index.php?title=Masque). And now, public service done, I'm off to finish a solid year of bookkeeping before the holidays. Argh . . . don't look for me for about another seven hours.)