Haller And Meggan: An Idea

[x-meggan.livejournal.com]

Haller asks Meggan for her assistance in a tracking spell with Amanda.



As he entered the student wing, Jim wondered again if this was the best course of action. It was definitely unusual, especially considering whose help he was about to solicit. And, he couldn't help but note, probably involved making assumptions about an area he knew almost nothing about.

But the professor had always said his instincts for this sort of thing were good, and under the circumstances he wasn't inclined to dismiss any possibility. It wouldn't hurt to ask. After all, the worst that could happen was that he ended up feeling like an idiot.

The telepath located the appropriate suite and rapped on the door. "Meggan? Are you around?"

Meggan looked up from her desk at the knock. ”Yes, I’m in,” she called as she put down a new book she had yet to open. She hurried over to open the door for him, more than a little puzzled as to what he could need to talk to her about. “What can I help you with, Mr. Haller?”

"I wanted to discuss something with you -- not school-related, and you're not in any trouble or anything." He glanced around the suite, noting Molly didn't seem to be in. That was just as well. "Can I come in?"

Meggan was relieved to hear that, as she had been wracking her brain to think of anything she may have said or done that she wasn’t supposed to do. Wondering what it was about, she nodded and opened the door wider for him. “Yes, of course. Please, come on in. What is it you need to talk about?”

"There's an . . . unusual situation." Jim stepped around the petite girl; he still had to remind himself that a height difference of nearly a foot didn't mean she was still that young. He took a seat in a nearby chair and gestured for her to sit as well.

"Have you heard about the murders in the city lately?" Jim asked, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "A few days ago there was a mother and daughter, and this morning another man. I don't know if you normally keep up with the news, but the networks have been making a big deal about it."

Meggan took the seat indicated, and nodded quietly. She’d missed hearing about the man. “Yes, sir. Not a lot—probably not as much as I should—but I did see them talking about the mother and the daughter. And some of the others before that.” She’d heard enough to know just how terrible the whole situation was. She was curious as to why he was asking her about it, but assumed he would explain when he got to it.

Jim nodded. "It's . . . pretty awful. And the thing about the killings is that all the victims are apparently mutants. That's been kept that back from the press, but it's starting to sound like that's the only thing they all have in common."

Meggan didn’t really know what to say to that revelation, not at first. Either way was horrible, but it added a brand new layer of bad if whoever it was specifically went after certain ones. Not that it wasn’t bad before. “Oh. They don’t have any good leads yet, do they?” Probably not, she realized, if the killer had struck again and murdered that man. The thought had also crept into her mind that maybe someone she knew had died, and that was why he was there, but it couldn’t be that.

"I don’t know. I know they’re trying, but aside from figuring out the victimology they don’t seem to be making a lot of headway." The counselor shook his head. “The family of one of the victims hired Ms. Carlyle's agency, and she's working with the professor and Snow Valley while she and Bishop look into it. Amanda's trying locator spells, too. The problem is . . ." Jim sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I think we just don't have enough information. Amanda needs some kind of focus to find the killer, which we don't have, and Cerebro didn't pick up any kind of emotional or mental spike when another man got killed last night. Which means either something artificial is blocking the killer's thoughts, or the killer is so focused that murder is just . . . business." He exhaled and looked up into the girl's brown eyes, wondering one last time whether this was a good idea. But again, their options were limited.

"Tomorrow," Jim said slowly, "I'm going to meet Amanda at one of the older crime scenes and see if combining her magic with my telepathy can pick up something neither could catch alone. I was wondering if you would come with me."

With all the possible reasons for his visit swirling in Meggan’s head, that wasn’t one of them. She nodded slowly, believing she might understand where this was going. “I think I get it. You want me there…for something empathy centered? Combining magic, and telepathy, and emotion? Or am I completely off on the wrong track?” Otherwise, if the person weren’t in the immediate area, she’d be sensing nothing but the wall in front of her. Those tended not to feel things, what with their being brick and all.

Meggan realized she hadn’t sufficiently answered his request. Given the circumstances, it really didn’t take more than a few moments to come to a decision. “I’ll come with you tomorrow. If it helps with stopping it, I mean, of course I’ll come.” There was a serial killer involved. If it helped keep somebody else from dying or getting hurt, there was no question about it. She couldn’t say no to him.

"Yes," Jim said, surprised, "that's it exactly. And -- thank you." In truth, he was impressed by her leap of logic. Was it a consequence of her power, somehow picking up on his intentions, or had she made the connection herself? He found the latter thought strangely heartening. The seed of suspicion he harbored spread a few more roots.

Still, there was something he needed to make sure she understood. Before Meggan could speak again, Jim lifted a hand. "But -- if you do this, I need to warn you. I'm not really sure how Amanda's spell is going to work, or even if you'll turn out to be needed, but we're dealing with murders. Cerebro didn't spike on any extreme emotion, but there's still a possibility you could'll feel things. Possibly things from the killer and the victim." The telepath leveled his two-colored eyes on Meggan's. "I appreciate that you said yes, but if you want to change your mind -- please don't feel like you have to do this. A hunch is not important enough to force you into something you don't want to do."

She pondered everything carefully for a moment, before meeting his eyes again. “I know, but you’re not forcing me, and I understand all that,” Meggan stated carefully. She thought she understood the risks, based on what he’d said so far. If she felt anything specific seep in from the victim’s final moments, she would just have to try to work through those feelings as well as she could. Just because she didn’t know exactly what to expect from that quarter didn’t mean she would just say no.

Meggan shook her head, before she continued. “So...no, sir. I’m not changing my mind about it, and I’m still saying yes. I want to do this. If you do turn out to need me for it tomorrow, I’ll try to do the best I can. If you don't need me after all, that's fine.”

Jim studied her for a long moment. Young as she looked, it was difficult not to have misgivings. But Meggan had seen plenty of disaster zones working with RedX, and had endured and survived possession by Selene. He had to remember "student" did not mean "sheltered". Especially here.

Releasing the breath he hadn't noticed he was holding, the counselor gave the girl a faint smile. "All right," he said, rising from the chair. "I'll let you know when I've got an exact time. After that . . . we'll go from there."

Meggan rose to her feet as well. “Thank you, Mr. Haller. I’ll be waiting,” she confirmed with an equally small, faint smile. And, she hoped, as ready as she thought she was for what she might pick up, whether it be from the person behind all this or any residual traces of a victim.