Crystal and Nick - Another Talk in the MedLab

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As she'd planned, Crystal talks to Nick once he's back at the school. The conversation goes quite well. Backdated to take place between the visits from Kevin and Kurt.



"How are you, Nicholas?" Crystal greeted the newly-returned student in the MedLab. Other than her classroom and the skies, the majority of Crystal's time was spent in the MedLab, She was glad that the area was not full of people; there were times when the infirmary was empty and times when it was full of people recovering from an X-Man mission. While Nick's injuries weren't too extensive, the boy had just been through an emotional trauma, and a quiet MedLab was better for recovery than a noisy, hectic one.

The boy rolled over on his side, sliding the last of Kevin's chicken out of his mouth in the process. Swallowing the remnants of the chicken he looked up in shock. "I'm doing much better after the meal." He forced a labored smile as he looked up. After his events earlier in the week, he was surprised at any guest he got, but was happy for every second of company.

"Not quite the standard infirmary fare," Crystal said, "but then again you are quite healthy, just a little bruised and cut. You will heal quite nicely, I believe. Physically, that is. Crystal wasn't so sure about his emotional state, but as she'd mentioned to Julian just the day before, she really did want to talk to Nick. There really were enough problems in the world without adding students making life miserable for other students.

"Well it's good to know that my face won't be any worse than it was before this whole ordeal." The boy still felt a smile on his face. Maybe Kevin was right and the food really was cheering him up. At least a bit.

Crystal smiled back at Nick. "As injuries go around here, yours are quite small ones. One time someone had an actual bridge thrown at him. When I was a student at the school, I had to come in for a couple of MedLab stays myself. The month before I graduated, three other students and I were attacked, and in the process of attempting to help my roommate, I threw myself at one of our attackers, and this resulted in a broken leg on my part."

"Well it looks like I'm in good enough shape so that I can get out there again and rack up a few battle scars of my own." Maybe the chicken was going to the boy's head, jokes usually would never come to him this fast.

"I think you have had plenty of adventures for the time being, yes?" As Crystal had done when she spoken to Julian, she now sat in a chair next to Nick's bed. "It is good that you are back at the school. I worry when a student is missing from my class." She'd had her fill of missing students before she'd even started school at the mansion, and she always took note when a student was not in class and had not announced a planned absence.

"I should be ok," the boy added as he shifted his body up to be able to look at Crystal next to him. "Unless of course we're having a quiz this week. In that case, I think I may need to have a few weeks away from class." The boy's grin turned serious suddenly as he met the gaze next to his. "But honestly, I don't think we're going to have to worry about me running for a very long time."

"No quiz," Crystal said. "With Callie in Brazil now, you are my only AP Biology student, and I think that it would be rather silly for me to give you a quiz this week. I am glad to hear that you are planning on staying. I understand that you felt the need to leave campus rather quickly and then became caught up in some unexpected circumstances. I am sure that Professor Xavier will wish to speak with you, perhaps remind you of why students are supposed to carry their school cell phones with them at all times." Not that Crystal herself had ever seen the need for it when she was a student.

"I was expecting to meet with him eventually." The boy paused as he began playing with his thumbs in his lap, trying to mask the uncomfortable feeling that the upcoming meeting with the Professor was starting to bring. "But whatever punishment he decides to give me, I'm sure it'll be nothing compared to the physical labor Kyle is going to have me do..."

"Perhaps, if you know that something needs to be done, you could go ahead and volunteer for it?" Crystal suggested. "A man named Cain Marko used to be the groundskeeper here, and when actions on my part resulted in damage to the school, I offered to help with the repair. Still, as part of the punishment I received, he decided to go ahead and 'volunteer' me other times that physical labor was required here. While you did not cause any physical damage to any of the school's buildings or the grounds, if you know of anything that Kyle might ask you to do, you could go ahead and ask about helping with it."

"That may be a good idea. Might save me from some of the more punishing things if I find him before he can think of them. As long as he doesn't end up waving his nail gun around at me... again..." The sight of the nail gun, metal wings, and a pipe wrench would always be in the boys head. He was happy that his intentions towards Catseye were no longer in question.

An eyebrow was raised at the mention of the nail gun being waved. "I am assuming that the tool was unloaded?" She didn't think Kyle would wave around a loaded nail gun on purpose, or maybe he hadn't meant to wave it around?

"Naw, it just scared me at the time." The boy smiled again. "I think Kyle's always going to be more of a danger to himself than anyone else with his tools."

"As long as he does not injure himself to the point of his healing factor being unable to help him, I think any injuries he suffers will be more of an annoyance than a real danger." Crystal smiled slightly, recalling her advice to Kyle during their ill-fated 'vacation' in Dubai. He had required stitches, she suggested rest, and then he went off off after Milan.

"And that healing factor also comes in handy when he has to chase crazy students when they flee the campus right?" He couldn't help but let out one last self deprecating joke

"You are not crazy, Nick," Crystal said firmly, "and I hope that in the future, you will not allow the words or actions of a lone individual to influence your actions in such a strong and potentially dangerous way, especially when that one person is incorrect in his opinions. I have spoken with Julian. I am still not entirely sure as to why his feelings about you are the way they are, but I do not feel that they are justified. One of the reasons you are at this school is to learn control; that is what you are doing, and it is what you will continue to do, correct?"

"I can do my best not to let them influence me. But I think my first goal is to make sure that his opinion really is incorrect. I guess I have to work on that self-control more than I thought." now the half grin on his face was there to mask the pain he was feeling. It was still difficult for him to think that there really wasn't a monster inside of him. This weekend would fight against that thought for a while.

"I believe that there are very few people here, if any, who have never had to work on controlling their abilities," Crystal pointed out gently. "The way we lose self-control or what results might be different, but the cause is the same, and we can all work to learn how to control ourselves and our abilities. I might not know what it is like to change forms and become a wolf, but I know what it is like to be unable to control my powers and feel helpless. I would be more than happy to work with you on an individual basis, outside of the regular powers classes, if you think that it would be of benefit to you."

"I think that I could use all of the help I can get in that area." The boy smiled back at her, finding an honest grin inside of himself for at least a second. "I appreciate the offer."

Crystal returned the genuine smile. "We will start whenever you feel ready. I hope to see you in class tomorrow, but if you feel the need to take an extra day off I will understand. Classes will not be held on Monday due to Presidents' Day, so there is already a built-in three-day weekend. Perhaps," Crystal suggested, "if you attend class tomorrow, we will review the material that has been learned so far and will not begin new material until Tuesday."

"If you could hold off on the hard stuff until the head is a little less hurty, it would be much appreciated." The boy was happy to talk about school. It was much easier to return to normalcy than thinking about a crazy sister who may or may not be a crazy zealot trying to kill you.

"I look forward to seeing you in class tomorrow, then," Crystal told Nick. "For now, perhaps you should try to get some rest, yes? There will always be someone close by; just let one of us know if you need anything."