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xp_logs2008-09-01 07:34 pm
x-penance.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2008-09-01 07:34 pm
Razor's Edge - Part 4
Dr. Marcel patches up Laurie whilst he, Laurie and Angelo discuss the situation.
Laurie watched as Dr Marcel pushed the needle into her skin just above where Angelo had his hand firmly wrapped over her wound, she had another just like it on her left arm, and a hand that was scraped raw. You had to see to these things one at a time though, or so she'd learned. 'Unless you had a mutation that gave you multiple arms, anyhow' she mused to herself as she watched him start to thread a hooked needle with thread.
"You know, I thought after Sri Lanka, I'd have left field medicine behind for awhile." Laurie said with a smile, attempting to keep her mood light.
"C'mon now, Laurie", Angelo said in an effort to help with the lightness. "You know better than even to think stuff like that. How's it lookin', Doc?"
"The cuts are deep, but your actions prevented significant blood loss. They will take some weeks to heal, but they are clean and should not scar too much. You were extremely lucky, given the circumstances." Marcel looked grim, concentrating on his task. "There should be no problems with you travelling."
Laurie had closed her eyes as the doctor talked, trying to find her center as he began to place small butterfly plasters over the cuts. They'd hold long enough for her to get home, and then Jean would need to do the full stitches. She tried to ignore the part of her that was currently cursing her out for being so stupid. She might have done things differently given a second chance but that was for thinking about later.
"Will there be much fallout? From what happened?" Laurie asked, glancing at Angelo as she finally opened her eyes again. She felt grateful that pain was one of the things her power couldn't do, or else Angelo would be in a great deal of discomfort, having to hold her wounds closed.
"Not if we leave now", Angelo said quietly. "No one's gonna be pressin' charges, but the cops really aren't happy we screwed up their sting."
"They've got a right to be unhappy." Laurie noted, biting her lip for a second as Dr Marcel placed one of the butterfly bandages over the top edge of one of her wounds. There was no pain however, and Laurie relaxed slightly. "Did anyone ask Yvette and Angel why they decided going off by themselves was a good idea?"
"They didn't think", was the flat response. "Yvette 'cause she was mad, Angel was tryin' to help, but it comes to the same in the end."
"Is it going to cause troubles for Elpis?" Laurie asked, after a moment of silence as she thought through what he'd said. She was still having problems with Yvette's anger. She still couldn't believe that her friend could have killed her if the angles, or places she'd touched had been only slightly different.
"I don't think we'll get any more obstruction than we would've done anyway. Can't be sure of that, though, an' it sure as hell won't help our image." He sighed. "I'm gonna have to call Joel when we get back, get him started on the damage control."
"I may be able to assist with that," Dr. Marcel broke in as he shifted his attention to Laurie's other arm. "You can let go now," he added to Angelo, indicating the tourniquet of skin on the stitched up arm. "I have been assisting the police with this situation - I should be able to keep Elpis's name out of it."
He released the treated arm, shaking out the flap of skin he'd been using, and nodded. "If you can make it seem like we were just a private group, that would help a lot."
"The least I can do, after creating this mess in the first place." The doctor shook his head. "I should have spoken to Yvette about this matter, explained things."
"Perhaps Yvette should have talked to you as well, Doctor." Laurie replied with a small frown. "People who react before they think seldom find themselves taking the preferred path."
And there was something in that for her as well, she thought. She'd reacted in anger before on a number of occasions. Perhaps she needed to think about that, maybe talk to Samson about it when she felt ready.
"I thought I was protecting her. Instead, she went running off into danger." Dr. Marcel shook his head. "I did not anticipate that. She has become a different girl during her time at the school. More angry than afraid."
"I don't know what to say", Angelo said, quiet and grim. "Except that none of us anticipated this, an' I think the school has been good for her. She just needs different help now, I guess."
"We'll get it for her." Laurie said, wincing slightly as she tried to move her hand to a more comfortable position. "Whether she thinks she needs it or not."
Afterwards, Angelo goes to speak with a defiant - and defensive - teenage girl.
It was very possible Yvette had never seen Angelo quite as angry as he was now. It was cold anger, but as he stalked into her room and shut the door, it was all directed at her... except the part directed at himself.
"You have no idea how much you could have screwed up today", he informed her flatly.
Looking up from her packing - Dr. Marcel had advised them to leave as soon as possible, to avoid trouble with the police for messing up their operation - Yvette sighed. Time for the scolding. "Angel did not want to go," she said quietly. "And I would not listen to her. All the blame is to be mine."
"Most of the blame", he corrected, not softening. "Angel has to take some of it, because she should've known better. So should you. You didn't even take your phones!"
"I... was angry. I did not think. And I was thinking that I could be taking the care of things. He was only the human person, not a mutant." She picked her a shirt and placed it neatly in the suitcase. "Is Laurie to be all right?"
"She'll be fine. Dr. Marcel fixed her up, an' she'd have lived anyway." Angelo looked down at her. "What did you think you were doin', Yvette? Were you gonna arrest him, all by yourself? Hurt him? Kill him?"
"I... don't know." The worst part was, she honestly didn't. All she'd been able to do was react, driven by a rage she hadn't even known she possessed. That and the belief that she had to do something. "I just wanted him to be stopping. To be paying for what he was taking from me." She glanced up at Angelo again. "To do as the X-Men are doing, and to stop him from hurting anyone else."
"He would have paid, Yvette!" Angelo said sharply. "But because of what you did, he might not, now. They might not, because the police had it under control an' then we had to go pull you out an' you know what that caused. The X-Men don't do things that way - they listen to the whole situation, then they decide what to do. They do not go harin' off with no backup, no message left for anyone, an' no plan. What do you think would've happened if we hadn't found you?"
"The X-Men are going against the police all the time!" she retorted, guilt driving her to the defensive. She had messed everything up, by not staying to listen to the rest of what was said, by not confronting Dr. Marcel and the Elpis people. "They are the law by themselves - if you have the powers, you do not have to follow the rules. It is all right for the people to be hurting each other in the hallways if they are upset, or for people to be killing the people and not going to jail, and if you are the X-Man, you can be telling everyone else what to be doing!"
"The X-Men go against the police", he retorted, voice hard, "if that seems like the right thing to do when we know everythin' that's goin' on. It's not okay for people to hurt each other in the hallways, an' maybe sometimes it's better for people to not go to jail, like we would've kept you out if you'd killed that man. I'm an X-Man, Yvette, but right now I'm your chaperone an' I'm goin' to be makin' a full report to the Professor, an' Samson, an' anyone else I think should know. You an' Angel are both grounded until the Professor says otherwise, an' I want you to think real hard about what you almost brought on her."
She opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again, knowing there was no argument. "I am sorry," she said at last. "I did not mean for anyone to be hurt."
Angelo paused then sighed, weariness creeping in under the anger, now. "Yeah, a lot of people've said that. Could've gone worse, I guess... at least we got the kids out an' you two didn't wind up slaves or dead."
If her skin had let her wince, she would have. "I am very sorry, to be making the mess." She could have explained why, but there wasn't really a point. She'd screwed up everything and now it was time to take her punishment. "I should be finishing the packing," she said softly. "So we can be leaving soon."
"You do that", he agreed, taking a step towards the door without turning away. "One of us will come find you when it's time to go. Until then, you stay in here."
"Yes, Mr. Espinosa." Yvette waited until the door closed and then sank onto the bed next to her suitcase. She didn't cry: her powers wouldn't let her.
But she wished she could.
Laurie watched as Dr Marcel pushed the needle into her skin just above where Angelo had his hand firmly wrapped over her wound, she had another just like it on her left arm, and a hand that was scraped raw. You had to see to these things one at a time though, or so she'd learned. 'Unless you had a mutation that gave you multiple arms, anyhow' she mused to herself as she watched him start to thread a hooked needle with thread.
"You know, I thought after Sri Lanka, I'd have left field medicine behind for awhile." Laurie said with a smile, attempting to keep her mood light.
"C'mon now, Laurie", Angelo said in an effort to help with the lightness. "You know better than even to think stuff like that. How's it lookin', Doc?"
"The cuts are deep, but your actions prevented significant blood loss. They will take some weeks to heal, but they are clean and should not scar too much. You were extremely lucky, given the circumstances." Marcel looked grim, concentrating on his task. "There should be no problems with you travelling."
Laurie had closed her eyes as the doctor talked, trying to find her center as he began to place small butterfly plasters over the cuts. They'd hold long enough for her to get home, and then Jean would need to do the full stitches. She tried to ignore the part of her that was currently cursing her out for being so stupid. She might have done things differently given a second chance but that was for thinking about later.
"Will there be much fallout? From what happened?" Laurie asked, glancing at Angelo as she finally opened her eyes again. She felt grateful that pain was one of the things her power couldn't do, or else Angelo would be in a great deal of discomfort, having to hold her wounds closed.
"Not if we leave now", Angelo said quietly. "No one's gonna be pressin' charges, but the cops really aren't happy we screwed up their sting."
"They've got a right to be unhappy." Laurie noted, biting her lip for a second as Dr Marcel placed one of the butterfly bandages over the top edge of one of her wounds. There was no pain however, and Laurie relaxed slightly. "Did anyone ask Yvette and Angel why they decided going off by themselves was a good idea?"
"They didn't think", was the flat response. "Yvette 'cause she was mad, Angel was tryin' to help, but it comes to the same in the end."
"Is it going to cause troubles for Elpis?" Laurie asked, after a moment of silence as she thought through what he'd said. She was still having problems with Yvette's anger. She still couldn't believe that her friend could have killed her if the angles, or places she'd touched had been only slightly different.
"I don't think we'll get any more obstruction than we would've done anyway. Can't be sure of that, though, an' it sure as hell won't help our image." He sighed. "I'm gonna have to call Joel when we get back, get him started on the damage control."
"I may be able to assist with that," Dr. Marcel broke in as he shifted his attention to Laurie's other arm. "You can let go now," he added to Angelo, indicating the tourniquet of skin on the stitched up arm. "I have been assisting the police with this situation - I should be able to keep Elpis's name out of it."
He released the treated arm, shaking out the flap of skin he'd been using, and nodded. "If you can make it seem like we were just a private group, that would help a lot."
"The least I can do, after creating this mess in the first place." The doctor shook his head. "I should have spoken to Yvette about this matter, explained things."
"Perhaps Yvette should have talked to you as well, Doctor." Laurie replied with a small frown. "People who react before they think seldom find themselves taking the preferred path."
And there was something in that for her as well, she thought. She'd reacted in anger before on a number of occasions. Perhaps she needed to think about that, maybe talk to Samson about it when she felt ready.
"I thought I was protecting her. Instead, she went running off into danger." Dr. Marcel shook his head. "I did not anticipate that. She has become a different girl during her time at the school. More angry than afraid."
"I don't know what to say", Angelo said, quiet and grim. "Except that none of us anticipated this, an' I think the school has been good for her. She just needs different help now, I guess."
"We'll get it for her." Laurie said, wincing slightly as she tried to move her hand to a more comfortable position. "Whether she thinks she needs it or not."
Afterwards, Angelo goes to speak with a defiant - and defensive - teenage girl.
It was very possible Yvette had never seen Angelo quite as angry as he was now. It was cold anger, but as he stalked into her room and shut the door, it was all directed at her... except the part directed at himself.
"You have no idea how much you could have screwed up today", he informed her flatly.
Looking up from her packing - Dr. Marcel had advised them to leave as soon as possible, to avoid trouble with the police for messing up their operation - Yvette sighed. Time for the scolding. "Angel did not want to go," she said quietly. "And I would not listen to her. All the blame is to be mine."
"Most of the blame", he corrected, not softening. "Angel has to take some of it, because she should've known better. So should you. You didn't even take your phones!"
"I... was angry. I did not think. And I was thinking that I could be taking the care of things. He was only the human person, not a mutant." She picked her a shirt and placed it neatly in the suitcase. "Is Laurie to be all right?"
"She'll be fine. Dr. Marcel fixed her up, an' she'd have lived anyway." Angelo looked down at her. "What did you think you were doin', Yvette? Were you gonna arrest him, all by yourself? Hurt him? Kill him?"
"I... don't know." The worst part was, she honestly didn't. All she'd been able to do was react, driven by a rage she hadn't even known she possessed. That and the belief that she had to do something. "I just wanted him to be stopping. To be paying for what he was taking from me." She glanced up at Angelo again. "To do as the X-Men are doing, and to stop him from hurting anyone else."
"He would have paid, Yvette!" Angelo said sharply. "But because of what you did, he might not, now. They might not, because the police had it under control an' then we had to go pull you out an' you know what that caused. The X-Men don't do things that way - they listen to the whole situation, then they decide what to do. They do not go harin' off with no backup, no message left for anyone, an' no plan. What do you think would've happened if we hadn't found you?"
"The X-Men are going against the police all the time!" she retorted, guilt driving her to the defensive. She had messed everything up, by not staying to listen to the rest of what was said, by not confronting Dr. Marcel and the Elpis people. "They are the law by themselves - if you have the powers, you do not have to follow the rules. It is all right for the people to be hurting each other in the hallways if they are upset, or for people to be killing the people and not going to jail, and if you are the X-Man, you can be telling everyone else what to be doing!"
"The X-Men go against the police", he retorted, voice hard, "if that seems like the right thing to do when we know everythin' that's goin' on. It's not okay for people to hurt each other in the hallways, an' maybe sometimes it's better for people to not go to jail, like we would've kept you out if you'd killed that man. I'm an X-Man, Yvette, but right now I'm your chaperone an' I'm goin' to be makin' a full report to the Professor, an' Samson, an' anyone else I think should know. You an' Angel are both grounded until the Professor says otherwise, an' I want you to think real hard about what you almost brought on her."
She opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again, knowing there was no argument. "I am sorry," she said at last. "I did not mean for anyone to be hurt."
Angelo paused then sighed, weariness creeping in under the anger, now. "Yeah, a lot of people've said that. Could've gone worse, I guess... at least we got the kids out an' you two didn't wind up slaves or dead."
If her skin had let her wince, she would have. "I am very sorry, to be making the mess." She could have explained why, but there wasn't really a point. She'd screwed up everything and now it was time to take her punishment. "I should be finishing the packing," she said softly. "So we can be leaving soon."
"You do that", he agreed, taking a step towards the door without turning away. "One of us will come find you when it's time to go. Until then, you stay in here."
"Yes, Mr. Espinosa." Yvette waited until the door closed and then sank onto the bed next to her suitcase. She didn't cry: her powers wouldn't let her.
But she wished she could.