Vanessa & Jean, Vanessa & Warren | late Monday night

[x-copycat.livejournal.com]

The drugs keeping Vanessa unconscious finally wear off but regaining consciousness doesn't go anywhere near smoothly.

Vanessa felt like she was waking up from a very, very long nap. She had the distinct impression she had dreams about Jean-Paul reading. There was a vague feeling of others as well. Sam, Jean, Warren, Adrienne, Garrison... but she remembered no dreams. It was all black since... Since Jean put her into a heavily sedated state. The metamorph's eyes opened suddenly but she wound up raising an arm to guard her from the lights. A sharp pain coincided with the light hitting her eyes and when something warm dripped on her other arm she looked up to realize there were claws extended from her hand. Again. Vanessa took a deep breath, then another and put the claws away.

She was wearing Laura, she was supposedly in the medlab. The woman in her room was supposedly really Jean. Vanessa felt around but her IV was gone, the electrodes on her chest had been removed and a swipe at her nose smarted in just the right place to let her know she hadn't imagined the feeding tube up her nostril. She finally raised her eyes to let them dart about the room. The door was open as it had been before. The possible impostor was there as well, watching her. "What day is it?" And what was this thing in her hand? She raised a very sparkly, apparently plastic thing that looked like it was supposed to be some fairy tale royal scepter or something. And what was on her head? A hand raised to find a conical thing on her head not unlike a dunce's hat. "What am I wearing?"

Jean rubbed her forehead as she sat a tray with a glass of water down on the table. She couldn't hide at least a soft smile. "It's Halloween," she said. Jarring to be sure, but she was healed nicely. "As for the outfit..." Jean tilted her head. The smile widened ever so slightly. "Adri got a little creative while I was taking a nap and by the time I noticed well...happy late Halloween."

"Is it Halloween or not? First you say it is and then you wish me a late Halloween." She made no sense whatsoever. Vanessa pulled the hat off her head and put it down next to the glass of water. The metamorph drank down half the glass before she came up for air. When she replaced the glass she noticed the cuts on her hand from the claws emerging was already healing. That was nice. It also reminded her of her bandages. Looking down, Vanessa noticed there were no bandages on her arm or on her torso when she looked down into her hospital gown. A hand to her head confirmed there was no bandage there, no sutures, no scab and her hair had grown back in. Or, rather, Laura's hair had grown back in. The realization had her hopping out of bed as quickly as possible though she wasn't the most stable on her feet at first.

"It is, but the day's almost ov---woah, careful," Jean said, immediately reaching out with a reflexive nudge of her telekinesis to keep her from completely toppling over. It was good to see her moving around and looking more like a disgruntled princess than a mummy.

"How are you feeling? Other than bewildered, that is?"

Vanessa wavered a little on her feet after Jean's telekinesis grabbed her, then steadied. Slower movements would likely be a good idea. Somewhat awe-struck, she ran fingers over the place where her arm had been skinned. The flesh there had that odd numb pins and needles sensitivity as if it had been burnt on something, but it was flesh. It was whole and it was real. Maybe. The metamorph's eyes darted to the exit again and she shifted a little to put herself closer to the exit than the doctor, not that it was particularly useful given the capability of the other woman to stop her with the use of her mind. "I feel fine." Her stomach growled. "Hungry. I feel hungry. And sick of hospital gowns. And sick of no windows. And like I would like to see sunlight or the moon or whatever is out at the moment." She was wound tightly, no doubt, but her obvious paranoia had toned down a lot. Which was to say nothing about the less obvious paranoia she was keeping concealed as best she could in a room with a telepath.

"You're not fine, but that's okay. If you were I'd be worried," Jean said. One of the doors in the room opened up to reveal a small selection of clothing, very basic: a few different colored blouses,a pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, shoes, socks.

"I have some clothes ready, actually, in case you woke up. Laura left them for you. We can go up to the kitchen whenever you'd like. It's about 11:30 in the evening. The moon's out. I think there may be some left over food from the Halloween fiasco..." Jean paused, curling her nose at the memory. At least the food was good. She'd never eat fish again, though.

She knew Vanessa was feeling paranoid, but there wasn't much she could do about it. If she tried to run she could do something about that, even if she didn't want to.

The hackles going up at the sound of how we could go up to the kitchen was palpable. Muscles tensed and Vanessa clenched her jaw to try to bite back her initial reply. "I feel fine. Am I healed or am I not?"

"Physically, yes. Mentally, no," Jean said softly.

"I know you suspect everything right now. I would too. And I know you don't feel comfortable with my being here...But I'm your doctor, and also your friend. We already went over this. I'm going to be here with you to get you through this.

"Do you think I would've taken the time to let you heal and let you leave if I were evil? I'm sure you're going to say yes because you think I'm going to trick you eventually. Make you think you're safe. The potential thoughts are endless. I can't make you change your mind, but you can't make me change mine either. The only thing I can do to convince you you're safe is to give you time to realize that on your own. But I'm not going to leave you. I'm sorry. You're going to have to get used to it. Feel free to bitch if you'd like."

"I think people do all sorts of things for all sorts of reasons and I'm not nearly smart nor underhanded enough to be able to cover them all myself." There was a distinct Irish edge to her words as she spoke. Vanessa moved to the closet, though she never completely turned her back on Jean. The redhead was kept within Vanessa's peripheral vision at the very least, though Laura's hearing helped ensure every small shift the woman made was registered and filed away. "So let me get this straight, you're my friend so you're going to glue yourself to my ass and tell me where I can go, when I can go there and whether or not I can go alone?" She more or less yanked a plain blue tee shirt off a hanger and snatched the pair of shorts off the hanger they were folded over. Spinning on the balls of her feet more quickly than she ever could in her own body, Vanessa leveled her gaze at the other woman. At the supposed doctor. The supposed friend.

"Yes, that's the plan," Jean said. She shook her head, folding her arms.

"Do you think I want to have you question every move I make, worrying if I'm going to stab you with a hypodermic needle? I'm so tired that I'm afraid if I close my eyes I will sleep for days. Other than a few spotty hours of sleep and food I've been here the whole time. Here for you. Just like you were there for me. Do you think I wanted to wake up to this? To find you gone? It's one nightmare to another and I just want to rest. But I can't, not until I know you're really okay," Jean said, letting out a weary breath. She looked close to tears for a moment before blinking them away.

"After you were rescued I knew it'd be...hard for you. I know it's hard. But I will here for you. I will be patient. Because I know you'll need it. Because you were there for me. So yes, I'm glued to your ass."

"You wanna be here for me? Get the fuck off my ass. I don't want you there. I don't need nor want a shadow. I don't want to be hounded and chained to your fucking side. It doesn't help. Maybe you think it does because you think I'm going to jump off a god damn roof but it doesn't. So how about you do us both a favor and back the fuck off? I appreciate you sticking around and trying to be here for me but you know what? I didn't really need it while I was unconscious, did I? Unless Big Blue got himself killed or mortally maimed recently there's something else who could have relieved you so you could sleep. No one asked you to take the least healthy option available and then force yourself on me." Vanessa tried not to leave the woman enough time to get much of a reply in by turning and darting into the bathroom that was attached to her room. The door slammed shut while Vanessa changed. She needed to be able to evaluate herself on her own. She needed to see with her own eyes what she looked like, how healed she was and she needed to change because she was so very, very fucking sick of hospital attire.

Jean stared at the closed door for awhile, then took two steps forward, her features impassive. Her voice was dangerously calm again. "There's nothing I can do to convince you that I'm not evil. And I know you're not in your right state of mind right now but I am not going to stand here and take this. Until you have a better grip on things I believe you would be a danger both to yourself and to others, therefore I cannot recommend to your new doctor that you leave the mansion right now. You want Hank, you've got him. Good night Vanessa," she said.

Turning on her heel, she left, the door closing with a click of the lock behind her. Door upon door passed beside her until Jean found her office and sank into her chair like a stone in water. And from there the tears came, followed by the shattering of a paperweight against the wall. The shards of glass rained down against the ground, catching the light.

Vanessa hadn't done much more than start pulling a shit on after ditching the hospital gown before she heard the click of what suspiciously sounded like a lock. "She didn't." The words came out in a hushed wondering as the metamorph narrowed her eyes in the direction of the door. She hurriedly got her shirt on and then the shorts before she came out of the bathroom and looked around. There was no Jean to be seen. And the door was shut. It was shut for the first time ever while she'd been conscious. Vanessa felt that familiar, panicked feeling spike. If she was locked in then she may have been right the whole time. She didn't want to play ball for them so phase two of their testing was being rethinked while she was locked in a room.

Immediately, Vanessa went looking for something to pick the lock with before realizing there was no way to pick it on this side. There was no key hole, nothing. That led to plan B. Laura's claws popped out and Vanessa started tearing at the door handle. When that did no good she moved to the wall beside it. People reinforced doors all the time but forgot about the walls next to them. She tore through the drywall frantically but found steel laying in wait. Of course. If they wanted her locked in then she wasn't going anywhere. Vanessa looked up but the ceiling was solid without any easy way to get up into it. There was an air vent in the corner but that was a last resort. Who knew what they could do to her trapped in there. So she pulled in one set of claws and tried to punch out the window but that only caused an unpleasant, sharp pain shooting through her hand as some of the bones crunched from the effort. Mother fucker. There had to be a way out, though. There had to be. She was not going to stay in here. Not again. They could start drugging her in her own fucking mind if they wanted to but she was going to get out or die trying.

Jean looked up as a sharp stab of panic flooded Vanessa's mind, followed by the sound of a series of scratches and footsteps. She held her breath. She knew if she went in Vanessa might grow even more violent. She wanted to help her but she knew she did more harm than good by going in now anyway. She didn't have the energy to try to correct her or reason with her. It was her own fault. She knew she should've taken a step back the moment they brought her home and let Hank take care of her.

Closing her eyes, Jean picked up the phone, opening them when the person on the other line answered. Her voice was soft and small, the weight of her world behind it.

"Hank, I need your help."

* * * * * * *

After Hank calms Vanessa down and springs her from the medlab she runs into another familiar face. At least this time there is a lot less freaking out involved.

She couldn't leave the mansion so Vanessa hadn't bothered changing out of the shorts and tank top she'd initially put on. Her arms were remarkably full as she made her way out of her room in the medlab, pace hastening with each step as if she was sure someone was chasing her and she didn't want to let them in on the fact she knew. There were more clothes Laura had left her, a crocheted goat she had decided to name Cupcake and a half dozen rainbow-colored crocheted sheep. She'd been told the sheep were from Wade but that seemed odd since she hadn't spoken to him much before she'd gone on her vacation to Eastern Europe. The reappearance of Adrienne and goats from Wade were strong suggestions this wasn't all an illusion. After all, why would Vanessa's mind suggest either of those were things that would lull her into a sense of security?

Laura's eyes darted from side to side as Vanessa moved down the hall. She even glanced over her shoulder a few times. She'd woken up, that seemed a pretty good indicator that this wasn't just a telepathic trick from those bastards at New Son. At the same time, she just couldn't embrace the idea that she was back in Xavier's mansion, that she was safe and that she wouldn't be dragged off to be poked, prodded or shocked all over again. The telekinetic forcible restraint and being locked in the fucking room supported her illusion hypothesis.

Vanessa stopped short when she cleared the entrance to the medlab and spotted a very familiar blonde standing in the hallway; one of her rainbow sheep went tumbling to the floor from the top of her pile. If this was a trick from New Son then it was a really fucking low blow.

Warren looked over and straightened once he saw her, eyes immediately narrowing when he saw what state she was in. Bruises, disheveled hair - this wasn't right. He didn't move closer to her - no, she was too skittish for that, and he didn't want to alarm her anymore.

"Vanessa? Is everything alright?"

"Depends. Are you here to stop me from leaving?" Her tone was pure challenge. She planted her feet, not bothering with the fallen sheep. She was daring him to try to stop her. It would be all too easy to drop what she was carrying, dodge any attempt to capture her and plant a fist deep into his kidney. If that didn't get the point across then there were always the claws. Vanessa's hands were already starting to ball into fists around the items in them.

"No." Warren sounded a little puzzled. "You're supposed to be leaving the medlab today." He paused. "I thought I'd walk you up to your room. Maybe have some lunch." He shrugged. "Whatever you want to do. I can leave you alone if you like."

Her stance relaxed some, particularly because he seemed genuinely confused. Vanessa's gaze, however, was skeptical and even a little critical. She was scrutinizing him. Posture, the set of his shoulders, the crease in his brow, the set of his jaw... She was even checking his pupils. Laura's hearing even allowed Vanessa to listen to his heartbeat. He was taken aback but he wasn't lying. Being mostly sure this was real and not some fucked up induced dream courtesy of New Son telepaths or something, she chose to believe him.

"I just want to get out of here. I don't really give a fuck what comes after, honestly." She eyed the fallen sheep now but she didn't want to bend down to get it. It was still a stupid move to give someone ample opportunity to stab you in the back or shoot you up with sedatives from behind. No, the sheep would just have to be a casualty. After casting a last look at the sheep Vanessa turned and headed for the stairwell assuming Warren would follow. Elevators were just asking for someone to bag and tag you.

"Alright," Warren said amiably, leaning over to scoop the dropped sheep before following Vanessa up the stairs. Again, he kept his distance, not wanting to spook her. He could tell she was more than skittish - even with a different face and body, he could read it in the set of her shoulders, in her movements.

She had glanced over her shoulder more than once on the way to and up the stairwell. She knew Warren had the sheep. She knew he was following behind her. And she was more than well aware that he was giving her more space than most people would give one another. In fact, by time they got to her floor he was nearly an entire flight behind her. Vanessa had no illusions that it was just her moving quickly. Warren was hanging back on purpose. Somehow it both irritated and relieved her. Way to pick a stance, she thought as she moved down the hall through the wing where the guest suites were located. There was already an envelope taped to a door with her name on it, Alright, Charles, we know who's quicker, she thought, knowing he was probably listening with one corner of his attention.

A hand flailed in the general direction of the envelope, in which she assumed was the room's key, but her hands were a little full and she didn't want to have to pick everything up again if she dropped it. Vanessa took two steps back from the door and looked over at Warren who was catching up. "A little help?" She nodded in the direction of the door.

"Of course." Warren moved in and tugged the envelope off the door, pulling the key out. He unlocked the door for her, opening it all the way and stepping out of the way so she could enter.

"After you."

Her eyes quickly moved between the open door and Warren several times before she ducked her head in something approximating thanks. "Thank you." The words came out stiffer than she'd intended. Apologizing for her tone seemed awkward so instead Vanessa just slipped past him with a glance down the hall they'd come down. It was clear when she passed the threshold. The suite looked a lot like the one she'd lived in when she had been in the mansion, only the bedroom and living area were all one room. It was sort of like a studio apartment. Despite it being one room she inspected every possible exit and entrance. The sheep, clothes, and goat got dumped on the bed while she checked locks on windows. She knocked on them to check if they were normal glass or shatterproof. She looked for vents, checked the closets.

The bathroom was left last. In the medlab she had been desperate to change, to escape Jean and get out of there. But now that she had time to really consider the place Vanessa realized she didn't really want to go in there. She forced herself anyway and continued her inspection, which included checking for a lock on the bathroom door. Vanessa was out of the bathroom about as quickly as possible. Which left her with Warren. Alone. Holding one of her sheep. She had no idea what to say to him.

Warren watched her move around the room, checking everything out. It pained him more than a little to see her so paranoid, but it wasn't something that surprised him. He moved just enough to toss the sheep he was holding onto the bed with the others, before turning to look at her again.

"You know where my suite is if you need me for anything," he said. "Would you like me to leave you to get settled in?" Warren didn't want to leave - he just wanted to cross the room and hold her until she relaxed a little. But he couldn't see that going well at all.

Did she want him to leave? Yes and no. She wanted to make everyone go away. She wanted to be somewhere she was free to walk out of any time she wanted. She wanted to tune out the worried faces and the skeptical voices. She wanted peace. But she wanted...connection. She wanted something that felt real enough to anchor her here in the reality she was having so much trouble believing wholesale. But she didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want to itemize each point on a scale of one to totally fucked.

"Depends. If you stay can you do it as a friend? As just a friend?"

"If that's what you want, sure." Warren sounded a little puzzled, but at this point, he was happy to indulge her in anything. It was just so good to have her back.

"Yeah, it's what I want." She moved around him, giving him a wider berth than she usually would have. Vanessa locked the door to the suite since Warren wasn't going anywhere. Doors locked against her will made her feel trapped. Doors she locked herself made her feel safe. She understood how contradictory that was but also wasn't in a mood to deconstruct it.

With every possible entrance to the room locked up now, Vanessa headed for a chair. She picked the only chair whose back was to a windowless wall. From it she could see all the windows, the door to the bathroom and the door to the hall. "Warren...I...I don't think I can be more than a friend to anyone right now. I don't even know if I can be a friend to anyone, actually. And I don't-I don't know when that's going to change. Or if it will. And I really need you to understand that."

"I'm here for you, whatever you need," Warren replied. "I don't expect things to be as they were, especially not straight away. However much time you need, it's yours. I'll be here for you."

She wasn't sure that he really understood that the time she needed could be indefinite. They may never fit together again. Hell, she wasn't even sure they had really fit together to begin with. Vanessa saw no real point in bringing that up, though. She'd told him she couldn't be his girlfriend and might even fail at just being a friend. He knew and whether or not he really understood was something they would just have to wait and see. This was, however, the extent of the serious, intimate conversation she was willing to have so she changed the topic abruptly. "I'm starving. Laura's metabolism is slightly inconvenient. Is there food I can pilfer somewhere?"

"Probably," Warren said with a smile. "I think Jean-Paul's been doing a lot of baking, I can see if there's anything left. Or I could order in some take-out, whichever you'd prefer." Since she probably didn't want to attempt to eat anything he tried to cook.

Jean-Paul was baking? "Is any of it edible?" There were days when he was only slightly more likely to not burn the eggs than she was. Most days there were better odds but Vanessa hadn't seen Jean-Paul bake anything in literally years. "Not that it matters, I think i need protein for her metabolism. A metric ton of protein, at that. Ordering's probably the way to go. But what's still open?" She had no idea what time it was, only that Jean had said it was late while she was trying to be a domineering cunt about things. Thinking in British expletives, Vanessa noted mentally, that's never a good sign.

"It seems so. I haven't had any of it myself." He just shrugged. "I'll find something open. Or just pay someone to open up again." He glanced at the door she'd locked, presuming she'd locked it for her own peace of mind more than anything. "Do you mind if I let myself out?" And then she could lock it behind him as she saw fit. He'd use the window, but he wasn't sure if that was a good idea at the moment.

Vanessa eyed the door. It was her fortification in a weird way. It was her defensive wall, her defensible bottleneck for enemy forces. There are no forces here, Vanessa. Charles has a giant, telepathic brain and leather-clad superheros watching over the security. Here it's safe. Somehow the reminder didn't assure her as much as he hoped it would. "Yeah, no problem." She sounded more nonchalant about it than she looked.

Warren nodded, but didn't move straight away. "Is there anything in particular you feel like? Or should I just see what I can find open?"

"Curry. I have a sudden craving for chicken tikka masala, actually. And just...I dunno. Meat. And naan. And...food. Lots of spicy food." After weeks of being unconscious followed by mostly refusing food whenever she could while locked up, Vanessa desperately wanted food with flavor. Lots of flavor. Indian food was great for that. She wasn't sure how her stomach would handle having real food in it again but it was just going to have to adjust because she needed it for Laura's metabolism.

"Chicken tikka. Naan. Indian it is." He smiled over to her. "I'll make sure I get plenty. Even if you don't eat it all, you can always reheat it later. "I'll give you a call when I'm on my way back." Then he wasn't likely to surprise her when he showed up with the food. "And feel free to call me if you think of anything else you'd like."

She frowned. "I don't have a phone. Is there a phone in here?" Vanessa started to look around for a land line and found a phone on the counter in the kitchen area. "Oh, nevermind, phone is had. Okay, I'll call if I think of anything else." She was mostly sure she had his phone number memorized, anyway.

"I'll see you soon," he said, finally turning to let himself out - unlocking the door, and then moving through it probably quicker than necessary so he could close it quickly behind him. Vanessa could lock it or not as she saw fit.