xp_logs | Laura, Crystal, and Cammie

Crystal pays a visit to the suite shared by Cammie and Laura in order to help detoxify the rooms. Discussion of Cammie's lack of powers, lack of choice in the matter, and what should be done for Cammie ensues. Backdated

Upon the sounds of the door knocking, Laura made her way towards it; she wasn't getting at much with the cookies and Cammie, so some heavy artillery had been addressed to come in and help. Or rather, Crystal had decided to help by herself, but Laura was grateful none the less. She gave the room a look before opening the door; while she had grown used to the mess and most of the time could keep her enhanced smelling from driving her nuts, the other woman...might not appreciate the mess. Oh well.

"Crystal", said as she opened the door. "Brace yourself."

One word summed up the condition of the suite, and while it was not quite a word that Crystal would actually use, it was rather appropriate in this situation. The word was "Ew." Other descriptive terms came to mind, but Crystal chose to keep them to herself. She had been warned, after all.

Keeping her facial expression as neutral as she could, Crystal stepped into the living area shared by Cammie and Laura. "What is that smell?" she asked politely as possible. "I believe that we should start with removing the source of that smell, yes?" Whatever these odors were, she was certain Cammie didn't need them at the moment. "Do you mind if I open the window?"

Laura just nodded. "I guess you are talking about the milk." How she had survived for so long there, she wasn't sure; at least it was something of a constant training for her nose, she assumed. "And please, open the window while I sort the clothes that are most likely making the air smell like a nuclear reactor gone wrong. And...watch for the chemicals." God, Laura was so glad she had a healing factor.

Getting to work on the clothes -most likely over reacting a little-, she gave the woman a brief look. "What do you have in mind for Cammie?"

I am going to make her wear a frilly pink dress and take her to a formal dinner that takes place over a four-hour duration while seven different courses are served. Then she will also be taught that it is perfectly acceptable behavior to be nice and polite to people rather than insulting them at every turn was what went through Crystal's mind as she opened the pushed open the window, encouraging the horrible stench to leave the room through the now-open window, helped along by her powers.

Turning to face Laura, she smiled. "I believe that we will help her live in an environment now suited to her lack of ability to handle the toxic substances she once handled with ease. It has become obvious that she has not thought to do such a thing on her own, and so it falls to us to help prevent her from spending all of her quality time with a toilet or garbage can."

Not to mention her health. "Yes, I've been waiting for a chance to help her get out of this...well, this dump. Now that she's mutant-less she has no choice but to be nice." Laura omitted the part in which Cammie being a regular person sort of beat the sense of her being there, but she also had no idea of how else the former toxic girl would go then. Heck, Laura had less reasons to be there maybe. Still, she hoped Cammie didn't go crazy and left the place.

The fresh air was greeted with a big smile. "That's so much better. Although she is going to need clothes. I said I could give her some of mine, but she won't accept living like that." One thing she had learned about Cammie was that the girl had a huge pride, even bigger than her. "So, shopping?"

Crystal nodded. "Yes, we will need to go shopping. Will she make a fuss, do you think? I am not much of a fan of shopping myself, but I would not mind selecting outfits for her if I thought I could choose things that she would wear." Crystal definitely intended for Cammie to wind up with at least one nice dress, but it would be much better if it was one that Cammie at least half-liked.

"I believe that she should start with an entirely new wardrobe," Crystal continued. "Even when her powers return" - and to Crystal, when was a much better way of thinking than if - "it will be fine for her to start off with non-toxic clothing. New food, new clothes, new sheets, new... everything." Left unsaid was the idea of the possibility of a "new" Cammie, hopefully a happier, more cheerful, nicer one, although perhaps the woman had grown used to hiding behind the idea of being poisonous. Of course, if she did now grow accustomed to her lack of poison, it could be hard readjusting to them once again.

There was a second of hesitation. "Yeah, she might be a little bitchy about it, but hopefully it won't last much. I mean, she knows what's convenient for her anyway." That said with her best intentions, and hoping that Cammie really didn't go insane over the idea of fancy dresses. What would Laura give for a chance like that! But she had promised to just tag along to watch, so there was nothing to about that.

"New everything." That almost sounded nice. Wasn't Cammie better off without her mutation anyway? Although it wouldn't be Cammie without the green arm. She was so not telling Cammie that; she had enough with her...well, being her; maybe a time off with a different Cammie would serve them both well? "Well, she deserves to see the world like a regular person again. And have a sense of taste, for real." The room looked a lot better now. She had to wonder how Cammie would react. It was a slightly scary thought.

Without a word, Crystal dropped the unrefrigerated carton of milk she had been holding into the trash bag brought for the purpose of clearing out Cammie's food. She then stood still, troubled, not sure how to respond to Laura's last comments. What was she to say? That Cammie was a regular person? That there was nothing wrong with her? There were multiple layers and meanings to those statements, and perhaps they were not entirely accurate. It was true, the Untouchables deserved the chance to live what people considered to be a normal life, to be able to have physical contact with other people, to be able to live without fear of harming someone without meaning to do so. But Crystal didn't believe that there was anything wrong with not being considered to be a "regular person" by most of the world. To her, being a mutant was something to be proud of, not something that had ever brought her shame.

It was true that the powers loss had only had an effect on mutants with powers that made life difficult for them. At least that's all they knew about at this time, and that's where the trouble started. If their mutant status could be erased, what was next? Perhaps this had been done with the best of intentions in mind, but if the powers of these four mutants had been removed, what could come next?

"Laura," Crystal began, "did Cammie ever actually make the statement that she did not wish to be a mutant? As nice as it is to think that Cammie, Jared, Kevin and Yvette are now able to touch and feel, that Yvette does not have to worry about being stared at when she goes off-campus, did all four of them make a conscious decision to give up their abilities? Did all four of them actually want to change? Even if they did, what happens if whatever brought this to be changes mutants who do not have powers they wish to lose? Where will the line be drawn?" The idea that the change was a permanent one horrified the woman who could never remember not knowing she was meant to be a mutant and have special gifts.

Okay, that was a lot to process. Laura decided to go slowly. "No, she has never expressed any desire of being a baseline human. I don't think that neither Kevin nor Yvette have said that; they sort of wish they could have more, I guess, but not to the point of giving up what they are." And on this Laura was very sure. While she might had sounded a little differently, she considered that mutants were as regular as anyone without powers. While she was trying to think that Cammie's situation wouldn't be permanent, she had wished out loud her roommate -and something of a forced friend at times- had the chance to experience life without that things that had caused her so much pain in the past. Even though, to think someone could lose their mutations forever...it was a dangerous game to play.

"So no, they didn't want to change, that's what I can say from what I know them. Even Jared. I think the Untouchables are way more mature than me, and for them to go for the easy way out...well, what do I know?" Even when it had cost her entire life -she Laura hadn't even started to realize what that meant-, she wouldn't give her powers for anything in the world. But of course, her mutation made her better, and she could just pretend to be normal without any downside. She had it easy, and deep inside she started hating herself a little, being always the cheery happy person next to Cammie, rubbing it in her face every time she could.

"I know, I know; if someone really took their mutations away...then anyone could lose them, and where are those powers going? I can't believe they just vanished or something." Being stripped off her powers would be like being naked, Laura realized.

"Where are their powers going?" Crystal repeated, confused. Laura had not been living at the mansion during the previous year's virus-induced power-swap, but it was quite possible that she had heard of the events. Still, what had happened then did not seem to be the case here; Jakal's powers had caused abilities to move to other mutants, not cause them to become baseline humans. "Why would there be a need for their powers to 'go' somewhere? I have suffered from temporary powers loss before, and my abilities were simply gone for a period of time. Last year there was a case in which several mansion residents, including myself, changed powers with each other for two weeks. There has been no evidence of something like this happening here; clearly these four do not have any form of mutation at all. This is beyond what happens when an inhibitor is in use; that device suppresses the x-gene, it neither alters not erases it."

"See, it proves my point." Because after hearing all that Laura had less of a theory, and more of a point. "You said that there was a time where people got other people's powers, but in the end the powers were still somewhere. And when you, eh, burn your powers due to over use, you don't stop being a mutant, you just need to recharge batteries. But Cammie and the others aren't even mutants now, so there is no X-Gene on them, so I guess...it should be somewhere else." It was a concept she wasn't sure of understanding herself, but it made sense, in a way. "Because the other explanation is that they had the gene just erased, and if that's how it is, they wouldn't become mutants again." She certainly didn't want to see it like that. It also meant that in the same way they had lost their powers, anyone could lost theirs. And if she was remotely close to anything, if someone was taking powers, maybe there was a person that could do a lot of things now. That sounded dangerous. "At least that's how I see it."

Crystal began to continue cleaning, nodding slowly. She still wasn't quite sure that the powers of the Untouchables had gone somewhere, or maybe it was that this was a possibility that was too frightening to even consider. What if their powers did still exist somewhere? What sort of a person would want to take these powers? None of those mutations were particularly pleasant, and three of them were quite dangerous indeed. Someone could wreak havoc with just one of those abilities, and then if you added to that the idea of not being able to feel pain...

Cammie came in then, in search of some of her CDs, "What are you guys doing?"

Cammie would find Laura throwing the last pieces of dirty, toxic clothes from her closet. "Oh, we? Nothing! You know, talking, having fun, getting rid of all the stuff that can and will intoxicate you in the near future, and planning on how to make you come with us to get new clothes." She was really good at the whole 'keeping it cool' business.

"You're throwing out my stuff," Cammie said blandly.

"We are removing items that are no longer conducive to the idea of the continuation of your life as a healthy individual," Crystal explained to Cammie. "In other words, we are helping you. As Laura has just said, we are emptying the room of anything that is currently harmful to you. We do not wish for you to be sick."

"Whatever," Cammie said after a long moment. It wasn't like clothes were hard to replace... well, some of them would be, but she had lived out of two t-shirts one pair of pants and a pair of army boots for years, she could do it again. Nothing she had had overly sentimental value, "Have fun cleaning this shit up. Apparently even my mattress has to go."

Oh hey, Cammie didn't turn into a murderous non-toxic person! Success! "Don't worry, you are getting new ones anyway. And yeah, the mattress should go, but that one we can't just throw away." Or burn, or dump somewhere else. What did they do with a thing that big filled with toxic residues? "Hey, are you really cool with this?" Not that she didn't prefer the lack of wrath, but Cammie was Cammie, after all. The idea of an overly understanding Cammie was hurting Laura's brain.

"Am I cool with what? Everyone going through my clothes? My wardrobe and everything I own suddenly being able to pretty much kill me? Or waking up fucking normal?" Cammie returned. Murderous? No, not yet. Happy? Fuck no.

Well, there goes wishful thinking. "What about the waking up normal part? That's a change, right?" Yeah, that sounded more like Cammie. "At any rate, it was only Crystal and me, so not everyone, no. And clothes can be replaced for, you know, ones that won't try to poison you."

"And then I can be all perky and beautiful all along!" Cammie said with mock joy and then shifted her weight and finished, "Whatever gets me more than one pair of fucking pants."

Crystal stiffened for a moment, letting out a silent sigh and shaking her head slightly. First 'regular', now 'normal'? "There was absolutely nothing 'not normal' about Cammie that is 'normal' now due to her lack of powers!" Crystal said firmly. "Cammie, I understand that you are upset about what has happened. I know that I would be greatly upset if my gifts were taken away. It is my fervent hope that was has happened to you is only temporary, that you should be able to regain your mutant abilities. In the meantime, I wish to help you live through this time spent without the luxuries afforded to you by your mutation. You will get new clothes, a new mattress, new sheets, and food that is fresh and free of poison."

"Fine, I could stand to get out for a bit anyway," she said pulling a variety of CDs off a shelf. She had an iPod, but the thing to hook it up to the car stereo had died. The choices were all indicative of her mood, "Anything is better than going crazy inside."