A cornucopia of logs...

[x-dazzler.livejournal.com]

[Alison, Forge] Freedom is a brand new synthsilk suit...

Sunday. Set after this log but before Paige makes it to the medlab. During the time Al's portion of the medlab was empty. It happens! So, with Forge's help, Alison suits up to finally step out of the isolation room for the first time since the shopping trip.

Forge frowned, holding up the sheer 'cloth' in front of him. Simple polymerization, really. The fabric changed state from gas to solid almost instantaneously, almost like high viscosity spray paint. Ingenious, really.

So of course he'd needed to improve upon it. They said they needed something that would block sound. Everything was about sound and sonics this week, he thought. Over the past six days, however, he'd received a crash course on the applications of Alison Blaire's powers. She absorbed sound and transduced it into light, apparently. Some sort of cellular piezo effect, Forge figured. That wasn't his problem, though. He needed a way to cut the sound off. And short of her staying locked in that room, that meant insulation.

It was simplicity to change the chemical structure of the "synthsilk" to behave more like open-celled foam insulation, while maintaining its other fabric properties. He'd even polarized the polymers, getting them to behave like vibranium without actually having to try and grind the ultra-hard metal down. Didn't want to get heavy metal poisoning from inhalation.

Using a fashion magazine that he'd found on Clarice's desk, Forge had actually put together a rather effective outfit. One-piece jumpsuit with a hood that could be pulled up over Alison's head, effectively blocking 90% of ambient sound along the frequencies she absorbed. Earplugs of the same material would help, so he set those out alongside the suit on the medlab table. A few more adjustments, and the wrist-mounted white noise generator was prepared. When activated, it would generate a narrow field around Alison, canceling out any and all sonic vibrations. The power on it wouldn't last forever, though, so it could hopefully be activated in an emergency if she needed to rush to one of the "sonic safe rooms" in either the medlab or in the mansion.

Walking over to the small keyboard on the wall, he simply typed "IT'S READY."

The wispy hospital-robe like thing she was wearing had been left in the room earlier by Hank - mostly so that she'd have something or other to wear, until the suit was ready, although the fabric still felt rough to her no matter how comfortable it was supposed to be. What Forge was working on would help though, she'd been promised. The screen's blinking was spotted right away really, Alison having been waiting for that for a while now in fact, and the response was instantaneous. "Ok. Come inside?"

Out out out! She felt giddy with relief really, freedom so near at hand, even if of the temporary kind. They had all been stern about the observation time for the first few nights, as well as clear about the fact that her room would be monitored at all times even after they let her out of the medlab on a permanent basis.

Forge nodded, switching on the white noise generator on his wrist, twin to the one Alison would be wearing. Even with the field of silence surrounding him, he'd made sure to take off his sneaker, and wrap his artificial foot in the sound-dampening fabric.

He keyed in the access code to the door, and watched it slide soundlessly into the wall. As he stepped in, he tried not to do a double-take at Ms. Blaire's appearance. While apparently in good spirits, she looked as if she'd been dragged behind a truck for a few miles. But despite looking exhausted, she was still smiling. Forge could see her mouth move, but no sound reached his ears.

Forge pushed the rolling table in front of him, indicating the folded suit and the generator, with instructions. "Here," he mouthed soundlessly. Shaking his head briefly in frustration, he tapped out a quick message on the touchscreen. "Let me know when you're done."

With that, he ducked out of the room and shut off his generator. The rush of sound came to him like a tidal wave, before he realized that it was just the regular hum of the lab machinery. Suddenly he realized that Alison had spent almost a week in utter, complete silence.

"Oh, maaaan..." he breathed. "Harsh."

Her hands were shaking as she unfolded the fabric, the instructions dropped once before she made herself rest the paper flat on the table, reading them carefully once, then twice, just to be sure she was doing this right. Messing things up and delaying the chance to get out was just not something she wanted to contemplate. Even if making sure was dragging things out longer in a truly unpleasant way.

Alison carefully peeled off the robe and let it fall to the floor. Wincing, she started to skin into the synthsilk suit. It wasn't as bad but it still hurt to put the thing on and she wasn't sure she could finish sealing it up on her own no matter how  easy the instructions said it would be. Something that normally would not be a problem most certainly as now. And she didn't want to wait any longer, not now that she could finally get out.

"Almost done. Need help." The message was sent to Forge outside the room, Alison feeling entirely too helpless, taking slow breaths so as to not just break and run as soon as the door opened. She reminded herself that it was nearly over, all she had to do being to wait just that much longer. And that she owed Forge an insane amount of thanks. Along with many other people as well, at that.

Glancing into the small screen, Forge's eyes bugged and a quick image popped into his head. Sure, Alison Blaire may have been a prefabricated pop diva like a million others, but the internet was always full of faked image sites that filled his sixteen-year-old brain with images of what "Almost done" could mean.

Shaking his head quickly, Forge switched his wrist unit on again and slid open the door, praying that his music teacher was at least MOSTLY decent.

The thing had been designed to seal from the back - standard really, although Alison just couldn't bend her arms enough to see to that, courtesy of the not quite entirely healed claw marks and other injuries Sabertooth had left behind. At least, she reflected in a wry moment of vanity, the light she was still shedding was keeping any of those from being easily discernable. The suit wasn't too bad either, not as bothersome on contact as any other material had been so far. Carefully holding the shoulders in place, Alison waited, eyes fixed on the door and what lay behind it as soon as it opened, focusing on Forge himself only a few moments afterwards.

"Sorry." The words were lost in the silence of the room although Alison offered a somewhat contrite grin to go along with them, finding it hard to actually turn her back to the door - she ended up compromising, turning sideways only, and keeping her eyes fixed on the exit.

Forge gulped, seeing the faint remnants of the sutured gashes along Alison's back. He glanced instinctively down to his left hand, remembering the weeks afterward, when he'd looked at the bandaged stump and wondered if he'd ever feel human again. Then he remembered that it had been his own inventions, the fiber-optic sutures, holding the wounds together. He had to smile a moment at his own brilliance as he closed the back of the suit.

He pointed to the earplugs on the table, and the wrist unit. He pantomimed with his own how to put it on, and where the activator buttons were. As Alison finished donning the gear, he made a motion for her to pull the hood over her head. Once she did so, he walked around her in a full circle, making sure that all the seams on the suit were whole. Satisfied, he nodded his head and walked over to the door.

"Welcome back to the real world," he spoke silently, holding the door open for Alison.

Seven steps to the door usually from this particular spot, nine because she was taking small careful steps, feeling as though she were in a dream. A very good dream but still a dream. Pausing at the doorway she reached up, hand passing through the empty air slowly where it had always been stopped by the door before. Maybe not a dream after all.

She half turned, looking at Forge instead of walking straight out, eyes a bit wide, feeling overwhelmed that what she'd been begging for in her less coherent moments was finally being allowed. "Thank you. For your help." The words weren't heard but Alison spoke slowly, the sign language for thank you echoed in a motion of her hand which ended in the lightest of touches on his cheek. "Thank you."

Forge blinked, then switched his wrist unit off and grabbed a pen off a nearby counter. He scribbled on a nearby printout, then held up a paper reading: Doctor Bartlett is waiting for you outside with an arrow pointing to the door out of the medlab. Madelyn had figured to have as few people in the medlab as possible in case the sound-dampening suit didn't work, in which case Forge would activate the emergency white noise generator and hope someone could get Alison back to the safe room.

Thankfully, though, she seemed to be okay. Creepy quiet, but okay.

Alison nodded, with one last soundless thanks, hesitating briefly at the doorway before stepping through slowly with a careful stiffness to her every move. The medlab was almost too big after so much time spent in the small room and Alison had to force herself to walk the rest of the way out, tensing further with every step taken away from the isolation room. Freedom beckoned, with all the limitations which would be imposed upon her, but at the same time she knew only too well how agonizing the pain would be if the system they had worked out for her actually failed.

Forge noticed her hesitation, but followed close behind. Every move she made in that suit was soundless, no brushing of fabric, no squeaking on the floor. As he watched Alison look around slowly, taking everything in, Forge puzzled for a moment. Had she forgotten where things were? No one had mentioned amnesia to him.

Idiot!, he immediately scolded himself. She can't HEAR. Of course everything's going to seem new to her. He remembered his therapy after receiving his first prosthetic, little more than a pair of curved tongs that could open and close as he flexed muscles in his forearm. Everything had been awkward, but he'd kept on going until he mastered the new way of manipulating his environment.

Alison didn't have to learn new ways of manipulating her environment, she was going to have to learn new ways of perceiving it, he figured. For someone who received so much of their sensory input through sound, being deaf was probably almost as awkward as being blind.

Big. That was all she could think of, eyes tracking every surface of the medlab. Too much metal as well, just as there had been in the isolation room during all this time. She'd had waking nightmares about the metal peeling off the walls suddenly, the details of which she'd buried away as best she could during the moments of sanity.

She reached out, fingers brushing against one of the walls as though to steady herself and flinched away almost immediately as she made contact. It was reassuring despite the pain however and she reached out again, one hand anchoring her in the room as she kept looking around. A moment later she turned carefully to look at Forge, to see if all was going as it should be.

Forge nodded to her and gave a thumbs-up. Everything seemed to be working as he designed it. Now, he thought, for the test.

As Alison looked away from him, he reached out to grab a copy of Gray's Anatomy and drop it from shoulder-height to the floor. The loud *thwack* echoed off the sterile tile floor and metal walls, echoes reverberating in the otherwise quiet medlab.

When Alison didn't even break stride or turn around, Forge let out a restrained whoop. It worked.

Fingertips still trailing on the wall, occasionally flickering away from the pain the constant touch brought, Alison moved further away from the isolation room, feeling oddly lost in an area she knew. It felt odd, as though she were missing parts of the room somehow, things just hiding behind a corner of her awareness.

Another peek over her shoulder, because she knew he was there and needed to make sure since she couldn't hear him, revealed a very pleased looking Forge and Alison blinked a bit, giving him a curious look.

"It works!" Forge yelped, knowing Alison couldn't hear him. Stepping forward, he mouthed the words again slowly. "It works."

"I know," she nodded, repeating the words in awkwardly sketched sign language for him since she was already more than used to be isolated in her own world of silence. One hand went right back to hovering near the wall after that, Alison glancing around the medlab once more, figuring Madelyn was waiting on the all clear sign before wandering in as well. She smiled through the pain, tiredness having an equal place with the slowly dawning realization that this was all real.

~*~

[Alison, Haroun] Look but don't touch...

Sunday, after Haroun 'talks' to Nathan and this thread in the staff post and the rest of the fuss. Alison is escorted up to her new room by Haroun and settles in for the evening. She remains entirely unaware of events in the mansion for the most part, since the shopping trip. Except for the stuff with Jamie - boy does she know about that.

The walk from the medlab to the third floor had been tiring, with Haroun fairly hovering nearby most of the way, but Alison felt more clear-headed now than any other time in the past week which made it all worthwhile as far as she was concerned, despite the constant ache. She felt dizzy and every movement resulted in pained protests from her body, but she was able to think at least. There was something else she wanted entirely too much but that could wait just a little bit longer, at least until she made it to Cain's old room which apparently was now hers.

Haroun tried very hard not to just scoop Alison up into his arms and carry her into her new room. As much as he wanted to, he knew that this was a point of exercise and pride for her, and he would not take that away from her. No matter how badly he wanted to. "It's good to see you." he told her with real relief in his voice.

If he kept looking at her like that she was going to crack and give in before they ever got to her room. His voice buzzed around the edge teasingly, unheard, but she understood the words mostly from looking at his lips while he spoke, giving him a tired but genuine smile once she figured out what he'd said. The door was right around the corner, but she paused to reach up and touch his cheek gently, the synthsilk thankfully dampening the resulting pain enough that she didn't even wince. It was hardly as bad as it had been before and she had kept the touch very light. "Missed you." It was frustrating to know that she was being muted as well as the world being dampened away from her, but they'd figure out something she was sure. Being out was just so wonderful she really didn't care how long she'd have to be sound dampened still at this point.

Haroun saw that she had spoken, but he couldn't hear her words - the sonic baffles stole her words before they could ever get to his ears. Smiling in what he hoped was a reassuring way, he opened the door to her new room and gestured extravagantly. A good thing he'd taken the time out ahead of time to provide pens and lots of paper. Seemed that passing notes was the way to go.

She smiled at Haroun a bit, peeking in before stepping into the room fully - it almost felt like being in the isolation room in the medlab again, and Alison stopped a few feet inside, tensing slightly. But there was sound at the edges, however damnably faint it was, and no white noise in the least. Unless she chose to turn it on, which she knew she'd have to do later. But having it under her own control was something, she supposed. Looking around she saw her things, all neatly organized in the slightly larger area, a closed door likely leading to the bathroom. Having no common room to go through felt weird, she reflected, venturing a bit further inside before slowly half-turning to look at Haroun, not having heard if the door had been closed or not.

Haroun had indeed closed the door behind him. "Welcome home." he said, taking pains to say the words slowly and distinctly, so she could lipread off of him. "How do you feel?" he asked her, and then grew tired of speaking slowly and distinctly. So he reached for a pad of paper and a pen. "You gave us quite a scare." he wrote down, his handwriting classic Engineer Block Print, and showed it to her with a grin.

Like a boy scout, she thought, only so very not. "Okay," she answered his first question - not a lie really, and she certainly felt okay now as compared to a few days ago even. And it was an easy word to get for anyone really. Reading the note she reached out, fingertips hovering over his handwriting, and then circled the last one in midair again, pointing back to herself while offering him a sheepish look. "Scared myself too." She remembered some things only too clearly about her stay in the isolation lab, too. Far too clearly, now.

"Out is good. Very good. Wanted out." Alison reached forward carefully, counting on the 'gloves' on her hands to allow her to at least rest the palm of her hand against Haroun's chest. She winced after the first time and then tried again, pressure being added with more slowly this time. It was insane how even just that felt so good, despite the persistent twinges of pain.

Haroun tried his best to follow her words, but the sonic dampening made things difficult at best. "I'm sorry, I'm having trouble hearing what you say." he told her slowly. Then he scribbled down on his notepad. 'Sonic baffles - make you heard to hear. I suck at reading lips. Sorry!'

She grinned a bit at that, already knowing sign language wasn't an option as well. Alison just didn't care that much at the moment, either, still revelling in being out of the medlab and generally anywhere but in the isolation room. Even if she was nearly deaf and mute. She held her hands out for the pan and pen, then headed for her desk because holding the thing up while writing would be awkward at best. She wrote what she'd said, word for word, cringing a bit at how badly her writing was mangled - and tacked on an extra note. "Writing hard. Sorry."

"It's OK." he said, and then wrote it to show her as well. Then he put his pen and paper down, and stretched out in one of her chairs. "I'm just glad you're going to be OK." he said slowly.

Alison tilted her head at that, nodding slightly as he finished speaking, smiling again just a touch. She eyed the door to the bathroom and decided that peeking inside was needed, the door handle a brief challenge which ended up in her ignoring the acute discomfort in her hands in order to get the door open.  And stared for a moment, before closing the door slowly - that was a big shower. Returning to the desk with a slow walk, she frowned a bit, before unsteadily scrawling another note. "Don't know how long until really OK."

"As long as it takes, I'll be here to help." he said, jotting it down and showing it to her to be doubly sure. "Are you hungry?" he wrote, then showed her what he said. "I am planning a banquet for my students. More than welcome to come along."

She blinked at that, staring at the words for a moment, then slowly shook her head, not entirely sure what had prompted the immediate need to very much stay in her room and hide instead. She was going to have to ask Forge to set up something similar to what he'd done in the isolation room here, Alison decided. Or something. Writing hurt right now. "Too many people," got jotted down anyway, the pad left to Haroun as Alison wandered over to the bed, covered in a massive pile of pillows - Miles had been by, it seemed.

Haroun nodded, but inside he was kicking himself. Of course it would be too many people! Moron! "I'll save you some - private dinner, just for two?" he wrote with an impish smirk and then showed it to her. "I know how you like to eat." he added, then showed her that as well. "Keep your strength up."

If Madelyn hadn't already briefed him to death about that particular side of things, Alison had no doubt she would soon - Alison herself had been told sternly that she was to eat, and what at that, even if she wasn't hungry in the least. Sound was feeding her just fine, apparently, from what Hank had said. Not that it was a good thing though and the whole explanation was only vaguely remembered. Instead of trying to write anything this time she gave him a teasing smile and sketched a vague salute, before sitting down carefully on the edge of the bed. And frowned just a touch as she looked him over carefully, remembering all the times she'd seen him on the other side of the isolation room window.

Haroun settled into a chair, then looked Alison over carefully. The sound-null suit wasn't very flattering or nice to look at, but it did the job, which is all that he could really ask for. He knew a thing or two about physical limitations and what they could do to a body. "Do you need anything?" he asked and then wrote down to show her. "Are you hungry?"

He looked tired and he'd lost some weight, she decided, shaking her head at his question. The chair was close enough that she could lean over to claim the pad of paper and pen once more. "Want a hug, but it'll hurt. Not hungry. Will forget to eat.-sound feeds." Even if she was barely getting any sonic vibrations at all thanks to the dampeners, which would be gradually turned off - not soon enough, but she wasn't complaining right now. "Dry erase boards?" That might be easier for her to write on, she hoped.

"Dry erase boards I can do. And I'm fine, really. I ate." he said, only lying a bit. He ate, but not well. Worry and concern destroyed his appetite. "And I can see if I can be gentle for once..." he leered, moving over to kneel down on the floor by her. "And sound is no substitute for real food." he said while waggling his forefinger at her.

"I know." Alison didn't try to write that down, not even caring if he understood or not at this point - there had been barely anything resembling human contact even since she'd left the isolation room and the need for something as simple as even a brief hug was overwhelming everything else entirely at that moment.

Haroun gently wrapped his arms around Alison, hugging her as gently as he possibly could. He was really hoping she wouldn't notice that he was getting all misty over here, but she'd invaded his world with a vengeance, and the thought of losing her very nearly drove him mad.

Closing her eyes Alison simply leaned into the hug with a sigh of relief and contentment, everything else being resolutely ignored for as long as possible. Eventually though she had to pull away slightly - the twinges of pain were getting that insistent.  She took one of his hands in her own though, lightly running a fingertip on the palm in a slow series of letters, making sure he saw what she was tracing out. "You were there all the time?" At his nod of confirmation her heart sank, and she hesitated a moment before going on. "You saw."

"I did. I would not leave." he said simply. "I wanted to be there when you were released. I just wish that there was something more I could have done. Been there to protect you ... I know it's a useless thought. Sabretooth would have cut through me as easily as he did you. And against Magneto I am truly helpless. But nevertheless, I would have put myself in there to spare you any hurt." he told her quietly.

He was missing one very obvious flaw in his logic, Alison decided, eyes widening at that thought and she paled, the change unnoticed under the radiance still spilling from her, the shame at him witnessing her mental deterioration forgotten. "Would have hurt me more." She took a deep breath, doing her best to dispel that mental image. "Magneto might have..." The next letters were lost in the trembling of her hands.

Haroun intensified his hug for a second, making it tighter, hoping that his point would come across as well as the pain. "Shhhh." he told her, loosening up the hug after a second. "I would have done anything to spare you pain." he told her.

A sharp indrawn breath greeted the brief tightening of the hug, though Alison didn't flinch away, turning her head carefully so she could still see what he was saying. Half the sentence was lost to her, the angle wrong, but she was getting the idea - as well as the understanding that trying to argue any of that now wasn't happening. "I'll be fine." There wasn't much use in her talking but she had to say something, and the fact that he wasn't hearing her just now was getting frustrating much faster than she'd anticipated.

"Good." he said, pulling back from the hug. "Things have been pretty quiet around here, all things considered. No other major crises. Looks like Magneto has given up on his efforts to take Miles. We're keeping a very careful eye on him, and we're also trying to disrupt his operations as best we can.

Well, no other major crises was good, Alison thought wryly, figuring Haroun didn't know about what Jamie was going through. And she was not sure about the reprisal attempts against Magneto. Not one bit.. And then brought one hand to her mouth slowly, flinching away as it touched bare skin yet still starting to gape in mild horror. "I blew up a mall. An entire mall." She reached for his hand again, letters possibly being sketched far too fast even though it hurt her joints to do so, leaving a trail of light with each motion. "Mall! Boom! What if they sue?"

"Charles has it covered. I'm out of the loop on that one, but I imagine that the insurance companies will be duking it out for years. We can't exactly send Magneto the bill, as much as we might like it." he said wryly, jotting it down so she could read it as well. The trail of light she was leaving with her motions was, despite everything it represented, quite pretty. "You keep this up, Lite-Brite, and I'm gonna need to invest in shades." he said with a teasing grin.

She grinned crookedly at that, slow delight dawning at the joke - it felt so good to be silly, to be free and out of the damn isolation room. Even if she had to go back later for observation. She trailed her fingertips alongside his face, not touching but letting the heat from the light take the place of touch for now. "But I blew them all up," she then traced out, flexing her fingers slowly once she was done, lips forming a small pout as he looked back up to her face.

"We're in America. We can't swing a dead cat without hitting three malls." he said with a grin. "Charles will take care of things, I promise you that. Besides, you've got the proceeds from your singing career. You won't want for money."

There were plenty of things Alison could have replied to that, but she was more than a little distracted by the idiom he'd used and wrinkled her nose just a bit, pretty much everything radiating a very definite "ew" impression.

"What, you're a cat-lover now?" he said and wrote, doodling a cat's head with Xs through its eyes for her viewing pleasure. "They tend not to like me too much. I must smell weird to them, and they really don't like my power."

A somewhat breathless laugh escaped her at the doodle of the cat, a fingertip tracing the Xs lightly. Her eyes were filling with tears at how simply wonderful it was to be here and thankfully the light she was constantly emitting might hide the crying enough for her to regain her composure. "Silly cats." No trail of light this time, the letters traced out far more slowly. "Less competition for me."

Haroun blinked. "She likes me! She really likes me!" he said in a almost spot-on impression of a twelve-year-old, then got up and bounced around the room a bit, clearly hamming it up. Grinning, he retook his place next to her. "Can't say that I fault your exquisite good taste. Your sanity, maybe, but not your good taste."

She blinked at the bouncing and tried very hard not to laugh out loud because that would hurt. And managed, somewhat. "Goofball." And added a not quite a tap on the nose after she sketched the word. "How long until the banquet?" She had a fair amount of time before she had to go back to the medlab, even though it felt like it wouldn't be nearly long enough. But the mental tiredness was catching up with her already, even if physically she didn't feel it at all.

"Later this evening, actually." he said with a grin. "But when you're healthy, I think we'll have a private party. Just the two of us - no distractions, no obligations." he said with a smouldering look. "Maybe we'll go out for some Moroccan food?" he added.

Alison nodded, glancing at the clock - being able to know when it was felt good. No more endless moments spent staring at the walls wondering how long it had been... she shook her head slightly and then smiled. Pain was a horribly effective way to keep her mind from wandering too much really, though the implied promise of distinct lack of pain in that offer was more than a little appealing. "Going to hold you to that."

Still smiling at the though she shifted awkwardly, seriously pondering lying down on the bed - there wasn't really anything that was comfortable right now anyway. Reaching out, she tugged a pillow closer experimentally, letting go once before trying again.

Haroun, able to take a hint if you hit him with it often enough, moved to adjust the pillow for Alison. "I'd offer myself, but I understand you're touch-sensitive right now." he said. "All this hard taut muscle must be uncomfortable for you right now." he said with a straight face but a twinkle in his eye.

She gave him a half-reproachful, half-amused look at that, gingerly settling down on her side and then made sure his hand was nearby for her to continue 'talking' to him. "Show off." It was very frustrating that she couldn't do just that. "Touch hurts." The admission cost her, clearly.

"For now." he said, restating the obvious. "You'll get better, and I'll be able to hear you better, and touch won't hurt, and then we are gonna spend some serious quality time together." he said with a leer. "Assuming you're amenable, of course." he added as an afterthought.

A roll of her eyes was the answer to that, Alison more than willing to hold him to that promise. Which she figured making sure of was an entirely reasonable decision. "Promise?" She managed an impish look well enough after drawing out the word lazily against his skin. This was about all they would be managing for a while, after all.

"Sure." he said quietly, risking causing her more pain by drawling his fingertips across her cheek. "You should rest now - you look like shit." he said with a fine disregard for tact. "I'll be by to check up on you later. Want anything while I'm out?" he asked.

She didn't care about the pain though, closing her eyes in appreciation at the far too brief touch instead. There was nothing immediate that Alison wanted which she could have at the moment, and keeping him with her further now that she was better, after all the time he'd spent in the medlab already would be ridiculous. Or so she told herself. "No. I'll be fine."

"I need to go prep for the banquet." he said. "Honestly. I'll get that done, eat, laugh at my wretched excuses for students, then come right back. Fair?" he asked her, going for another fingertip excursion, since the last one didn't cause her to be in too much visible distress.

That was nice - even if it did hurt it was nice and Alison stayed very still until he was done, mind firmly set on how that would feel when she didn't hurt anymore. "Fair. Go. Have fun." She raised her hand and pressed her fingertips in the lightest touch possible to his lips in farewell, the best she could manage for the moment.

Haroun grinned and returned the gesture, blowing Alison a kiss before standing back up and exiting her new chamber entirely. "Be seeing you later." he said with a waggle of his eyebrows before he departed entirely.

~*~

[Alison, Wanda] ~ Apologies not needed but gifts are always good...

Sunday, very late evening, after Alison has returned to the medlab for the night. Wanda drops by for a visit, bringing a gift for Alison which is very well received indeed.

It was her the end of her first day of 'freedom' and she'd enjoyed it as much as possible, despite the pain and in spite of the fact that she was now in the medlab for further observation. The suit combined to the white noise generator at her wrist which was either on or off at that combined nicely to cut her off from all sound - the few times she'd heard something having resulted in a rather strong flare of light, Alison was listening to the instructions she'd be given to the letter. So while there was still no sound at all, at least there was freedom of movement and she'd actually started to read a book last night while Haroun was at the banquet he'd organized for his Arabic class students.

For now though she was back in the isolation room, and though the loathing for the place was still there, she had it under control, somewhat. And she knew it was a finite time and wasn't going to go stir-crazy again. Not if it killed her at that.

Wanda paused a few feet away from the isolation room and clutched the package in her arms tightly.  She'd been trying to deal with the guilt all week and it simply had not gone away.  It was stupid and irrational--something she was not normally--but it was still there.  But hopefully this would help.  Both her and Alison.  Making up her mind, she headed to the observation window and set the stuff down on a table that was right outside.

Maddie had told her she could go in for a bit, especially after she heard what Wanda had wanted to do, but just in case she was lathered with sun screen.  Leaving the window, she went to the door and poked her head in.  After all, how do you knock when she couldn't hear it?

A low, warm light greeted her, Alison's form easily discernable within the much diminished radiance. Considering she didn't have much of anything to do while waiting in the isolation room and sleep wasn't easily at hand for someone whose power was literally keeping her awake at the moment, Alison was in fact looking straight at the now always kept open door when Wanda peeked in. She waved her in slowly, smiling just a bit in greeting.

Smiling, she came in and shut the door gently behind her.  Alison looked--well, better than early reports but she looked very much on the edge.  Not surprising when you were a musician and you couldn't hear because it affected your powers.  Wanda lifted her hands and her smile widened slightly.  She hadn't had the chance to use sign in a very long time.  It had come in handy during some of the pick pocketing she had helped her brother with.

~I thought you could use the company.~

Alison's smile widened a touch at that, and after a moment she lifted her hands as well. ~That is a nice surprise. Not that many here know sign although at least there are a few people who can read lips well enough.~ Her hands moved slowly and a touch awkwardly, some of the signs not entirely completed as they should be, but she was understandable at least. ~Thank you. Visits are good now.~

~I can imagine they would be.  I have a...dubious reason to need sign.  It makes signaling your brother that the man he's trying to pick pocket is on to him.~  There was no shame in her expression.  They had done what they needed to to survive.  She hesitated slightly before continuing.  ~I wanted to apologize.  For everything that's happened.~

The leap of logic wasn't one that was hard to make - Alison had thought of this already herself, though she'd never wondered. Magneto would not have needed an insider to know they were going out - simply a spotter watching the estate would have done the trick. ~Why? Unless you told him something you think would have helped, I don't see how you had anything to do with what happened.~

Wanda shook her head, almost violently, the curls going everywhere.  ~No, of course not.~  They weren't using the exact same sign language, on top of Alison's difficulty with some words, but at least they were being understood.  ~We humans are stupid.  We feel things that sometimes we shouldn't.  I just wish there was something I could have done.~

Alison's lips moved, forming in a small silent 'o' of understand at that. ~I wish I hadn't gone out shopping.~ Her shoulders moved, the ghost of a shrug and she winced at the automatic reaction. ~No one has bothered you about this. Right?~ 

~Beyond myself?~  There was a wry look on her face.  ~No one.  But I am glad I told them before about who I was.  It would have gone badly if they had found out afterwards.~

There wasn't much about the light that allowed for a clear glimpse of the subtle shifts on Alison's features at time, but the look she gave Wanda at that was more than easy to spot. ~Boom.~ It was the simpler child's gesture for the word she used at that, eyes still round at the thought. ~Big boom.~ Followed by a very heartfelt. ~Ow!~

~Big, big boom!~  Wanda was glad she had come to visit, this was helping already.  ~How are you feeling?~  It was time to get off of her own stupid guilt problems and focus on Alison.

~Things hurt.~ Say it first and get it out of the way, Alison figured. Everyone would be asking how she was. If she buried that in everything else, it'd not get brought up too often, she hoped. ~Bored silly.~ Not insane anymore, thankfully. ~But can move and go out and that is Very Good.~ She paused, then smiled, far too widely for comfort and making her cheeks hurt, but she didn't care. ~Miles has his power under control!~

~That's wonderful!  You must be very proud.  Getting a power under control, especially that young and with his kind of powers.~  There was a genuine happiness in her eyes at that news.  She liked Miles, and Alison, a good deal.  There was also the understanding of dealing with difficult powers as well.

She wished she had been there, really. But she also understood why Miles had pushed so hard. ~It would have been touchy for him to be near, before. Hank wasn't sure how no powers would affect me. Might have been bad.~ And Alison had hugged Miles, after warning him, even if it had hurt. She just hadn't been able not to, in spite of everything else.

~He is a good kid.  He's lucky to have you.  Very lucky.~

~Other way around.~ That was one thing Alison was still very firm on. It still amazed how people thought she was so good at this, when Miles had put up with so much from her at first. ~How have things been here, while I was... out.~ It was as good a word as any to describe things, really.

~Crazy, stupid.~  She paused.  ~In other words, same old, same old from what I have experienced.  I am up to my eyeballs reading about you all, though.  Very prolific people.~  Reading some of the files Scott had given her had been...interesting, to say the least.  ~And, well, I brought you a gift.~

Food? Nope, she was on those horribly high protein drinks Hank her whipped up. Ew. Clothing? No go. Music? She wished. ~Gift?~ Alison liked gifts - who didn't? And Wanda had that Look, the one that said 'I've been clever and smart and I'm very pleased with myself!".

~Yes.  Hang on just a second, I need to set it up.~  The look on Alison's face was priceless.  The "it needs setting up?  But nooooow" look spoke volumes.  ~Two seconds.~  With that, Wanda turned and scurried outside, back to the package she had left on the table outside.  It was chancey setting it up inside but through the window would be perfect.  A few seconds to take it out of it's box--not as dusty as it was when she had found it--and plug it in.

Smiling, Wanda reached over and flipped the switch on the old-time movie projector.  Slowly, the light flickered on and shone through the glass, hitting the far wall.  Quickly, she went back inside and dimmed the lights slightly.  ~Silent movie,~ she explained, watching Alison carefully.

It was both torture and not. Everything inside of her briefly protested at the no sound of the movie, but the mere thought of having something to while away the time heavenly. She knew Hank would have eventually though of something, if not the rest of the medlab staff as well, but they were so run ragged these days and with Jamie in the medlab as well... ~Thank you! So much!~

~Consider it a first step towards listening to something,~ Wanda signed back, beaming at her.  ~And since they're all old, they're also safe to watch with Miles as well.  I was discovering the attic when I tripped over this and a box of silent movies.~

~Green House in part of attic. Should go see.~ The comment was automatic, because Alison herself was planning on sneaking up there as soon as possible. When she could hear again, because the thought of going up there and not hearing the leaves rustle was very unpleasant. Although she could smell the life in the place, at least. ~Thank you.~ She'd said that already. ~For thinking of Miles too.~ With the right distance, she wouldn't even melt the film, too. ~Would you show Miles how to set it up?~

~Of course.  Very easy to set up and Miles is an intelligent one, so he should get it very quickly.  And yes, the greenhouse is wonderful.  Kurt showed it to me when I needed a place to meditate.  Hard to find my center in all this chaos, sometimes.~  Wanda quickly thought about what was in the box of movies.  ~There are also one or two that have sound, for when you are able to hear them, again.  Fred and Ginger classics, actually.~

~Be still my beating heart.~ Alison only winced a little at that, realizing what expression she'd used only after the fact. Then mentally shrugged and carried on, glancing at the silent movie every few moments. ~This is nice. Very nice.~ She had a feeling someone would turn up with a TV in her room soon enough, actually. DVDs has subtitling after all, but... ~I remember watching movies like this as a kid, with my grandmother. Good memories, you know?~

~I think that's why I liked it so much.  There's something nice about going backwards a little bit instead of forwards.  I didn't have TV but we did have something like this every once in a while.~  It was the novelty of the thing, really.  The freshness of using something old.  She let the light from the movie play across her hands for a second and smiled.  Something pretty about the oldness, as well.

Alison smiled, watching the movie unfurl steadily. It was nice to rest her hands, too, if only for a moment. She waited until Wanda was looking at her again before going on. "This will help. Not sleeping much is not fun when you're at loose ends.~

~No it's not.  I hope this will help you relax.  Relaxing helps the body, or so I hear.~

She was going to have muscle cramps forever just from the way the pain kept making her tense up, at that. And there wasn't much of anything they could do about  that until the pain abated. ~Am going to go for a lot of massages once this is all over with. Taking them with me too.~ Alison gestured towards the other side of the window, meaning the medlab staff.

Wanda nodded at that.  The entire crew deserved some nice, relaxing time off.  ~Good idea.  And you're hands must be cramping as well.  I could always stay for a bit and watch the movie if you want?  Company is good.~

Company was very good. Company was a blessing even. And though Alison didn't sign that back as she nodded, gesturing towards the sole chair in the room for Wanda toclaim while she remained standing (seemingly not inclined to sit down in the least) the smile of thanks said more than enough.

~*~

[Alison, Terry] I'll sing thee a lullaby...

Terry comes down to visit Alison in the wee hours of the morning, suffering from insomnia. The night light with the no sleeping at all type schedule is more than glad for the company.

Terry stepped into the sound dampened room, her skin still greasy and slick from the sunscreen she'd had to slather on.  Despite the warmth of the room, she was wearing a long striped scarf looped around her neck, neatly hiding the still healing bruises.  She waited with her hands linked loosely together for Alison to notice her. 

It didn't take long really. Trying to read a book which was resting on the bed in the room, flicking the pages gingerly was mostly still frustrating more than anything else, for Alison, though at least the reflection of her own light on the white paper wasn't a bother to her. So she was glancing up fairly often while pausing in between turning pages and seeing Terry lingering by the door gave her pause.

"Hi." Terry said, no bothering to put any force behind it since the noise dampener would just eat it anyway. "Can I come in?" Sort of a silly question since she was already in but habit was strong than reason sometimes.

Alison nodded, blinking a bit at the request. It wasn't as though she was going to say no to a visitor to start with, but she was glad to see Terry. She walked a bit closer, slowly, only too aware of how oddly she was moving.

"I couldn't sleep," she explained in case Alison wondered why she'd shown up in the middle of the night.  Terry was glad that Alison couldn't hear her voice.  The rasping was still more painful than it had any right to be and sounded even worse.  She didn't want her teacher to hear it.  She moved further into the small room, all her attention on Alison. "Are you - how are you?"

"Glowing?" It was a hell of a lot harder to start off an answer to the kids with 'Hurting and now let's talk about something else' in fact. "Glowing a lot. Being good. Staying here until tomorrow morning. Got to go out earlier." She'd guessed there was insomnia involved for Terry to be here. It was very hard to not just cross the remaining distance and hug her silly too. "Glad to see you. You ok?"

Terry shrugged, "Sure I could be better but I'm all right."  She fidgeted nervously and tried to think of something to say.  "I've been practicing my harp a lot.  The doctors won't let me sing."

"I remember." And the belated realization that Terry could obviously read lips brought a faint smile to her lips - she was only glancing at the screen now and then, as though to confirm things. The smiled faded though, and she reached out, not quite touching the scarf. "I remember only bits though."

Terry froze then smiled ruefully, tugging the scarf away from her neck.  The bruises had faded to a sick yellow-green.  They encircled her entire throat and were accented with long red scratches from her nails.  More red scratches marked her face, shorter but deeper.  "They didn't want me and Sean helping you.  We're all fine though."

That, Alison remembered, had been repeated to her a lot during the past week. She still forgot by whom most of the time, though. She moved a hand towards Terry's throat, even though she was illuminating it well enough already. And frowned, mingled guilt and sadness welling up yet again. They were so lucky no one had been killed. That Miles hadn't been taken. So very lucky. "I was worried about you. And the others. How are you? The not sleeping?"

"It's just every now and again.  Mostly I sleep.  Couldn't tonight so I came down here." Terry moved back just a bit and pulled the scarf back over the bruises.  "You're the only one who really was hurt.  Just bumps and bruises for the rest of us." Oh she was very much not telling her teacher about how close she'd come to permanent vocal damage.  Ever. "Don't worry about us.

It wasn't a hard decision to make, really. "Come visit when you can't sleep?" It would be nice to have company late at night, and if nightmares were keeping Terry awake, which was a guess on Alison's part, then company would be a good thing.

Terry nodded, not needing to be asked twice by Alison to do anything let alone spend time with her.  "Sure and I already did," she pointed out with a cheeky grin.

"Yes, you did." It was probably very selfish of Alison to not send her right off to bed too, but any distraction from the pain was nice. "We never did get to go see the guitars. We should do that, soon as I can go." Even though the thought of actually going out and back to a mall made her feel a bit dizzy at the moment.

Terry blushed. "You said I could learn on Faith first?" she said tentatively, not really sure that Alison had meant that or that she hadn't changed her mind.

"Absolutely." She shifted weight a bit, absently pondering actually sitting down. Which was as uncomfortable as standing up but she'd been doing that for the most part now, ever since Wanda had left, not too long after the silent movie had ended. "Can't start teaching you until I can hear. Damn. Would you mind waiting? Brand new student. Would want to start you off myself." She could ask one of the other guitar playing students to start Terry off, but it was technique and Alison was fussy about technique.

"Of course." Terry decided not to remind Alison that she'd already messed around with Jay's guitar.  It wasn't like she had any bad habits yet.  "Do you know when you're going to be better?"

Fidgeting just a bit, Alison finally gave in, heading back towards the chair Hank has modified for her. It was still massively uncomfortable to put it mildly. "No." It was really hard to admit that no one knew. "The way my power shifted this weekend is why they let me out Sunday." That and the fact that she was going insane. "They don't know when or if it'll do that again. It's wait and see."

Terry had to check the screen for that, her eyes flicking rapidly back and forth from the monitor to Alison.  "What do you mean 'shifted'?  What happened?"  She paced closer to Alison, tucking her hands into her pockets.

"It just powered down some on Saturday. It's going down in stages only they have no clue what the stages are. Probably linked to healing." She carefully didn't move, breathing shallowly to withstand a fresh wave of pain.

Terry's brow furrowed as she watched Alison.  "You're in pain right now, aren't you?" If there had been sound, she'd have sounded indignant.  She looked slightly horrified.

Aw, rats. Well, it wasn't as though it wasn't going to be obvious at one point or another. "Power tied into nervous system. Nervous system burnt out and fried from overload. Healing now, but... yeah." Another slowly, gradual breath, released with equal care. "That's why no sound for me."

"Can't they give you anything?  Painkillers?" Terry walked closer and sat down at Alison's feet looking up at her, her expression full of concern.

Alison grinned at that. It was a tight, pained grin, but there nonetheless. "Remember me, the last time on pain meds?" That would be when she's first kissed Sam and then had promptly forgotten about it. Before they'd ever sorted themselves out, anyway. Ages ago. "Won't work. And too much will keep me muddled up. Don't... want that."

"That's mad.  There must be something they can do.  You shouldn't have to suffer!" Terry was looking downright offended and possibly about to go hit whoever was to blame expect that there wasn't really anyone for her to hit.

Almost, she gave in to the temptation to tease Terry, pointing out all the insight this gave the medlab staff into her power, but she managed to refrain at the last second. It wasn't funny when you were living it, really. "Not really. That kind of damage is difficult to treat. Time to heal is it, really."

Terry pouted, "I don't like it when my favorite teacher is hurting."

It was so damn hard not to laugh when Terry pulled that particular face. And it hurt too but at least there was amusement somewhere in the whole mess of things. "Your favorite teacher doesn't like it either, trust me."

"I can't even give you a hug, can I?  Because it will hurt." Yes, very definitely pouting.

"If I could have, I'd have given you one the second you walked through that doorway. If it weren't for you and Sean, they'd have taken Miles." Alison smiled a bit tearfully at Terry. "And soon as I can hug people, trust me, you're high up on the list."

Terry looked a bit chagrined.  "I... we had another fight.  It's so hard to get along with him." Not that she's really made much of an effort.

A somewhat woeful look greeted that statement, Alison only too aware of Terry's particular habits where her father was concerned. It couldn't be forced and the bridges might never be mended though - Alison knew that only too well. "I haven't spoken to mine since I left home."

"I tried!  I thanked him for saving me.  He was... not really happy." Terry shrugged and had to remember that if she looked away, Alison wouldn't know what she was saying.

"Why would he not be happy about you thanking him?" Alison guessed that the not happy had happened later, or because of the way Terry had thanked him. "What did you say, if you don't mind me asking?" It was hard to concentrate thought he pain sometimes, but this  Alison wanted to get to now. Terry was actually talking about Sean. Miracles had to be pounced upon!

"I told him I hadn't expected it of him.  Saving me. After all that Uncle Tom told me-" Terry shrugged, "I was just surprised.  He didn't like that.  Couldn't believe I'd think that of him."

Alison blinked, then stared at Terry. Her jaw was probably unhinging slowly too, from the way it hurt, but she really couldn't stop. "You told him what?!"

Terry hunched over, "I hadn't expected him to sacrifice himself for me.  But he did, with Sabertooth.  And I - I thought I should thank him for it."  Even without the dampeners, her whisper would have been nearly voiceless.

Alison had to look at the screen at that, Terry's face falling from view as she hunched over. She reached out, fingertip almost tucking under Terry's chin, willing her to look up again or at least at the screen. "Of course he was upset, moppet. To him, saving your life wasn't even something he had to think about. It just was."

Terry looked up obediently though she had to check the screen anyway. "Sure I know that now.  But how was I to know before?  I don't know the man.  Never had the chance."

"Well." That had an easy answer now, didn't it? Alison let her hand fall away, raising an eyebrow slightly at the girl. "You have one now. What you do with it is entirely up to you though. It's your choice to make."

Terry made a face. "I still don't want to know him.  What I do know I don't like.  I'm grateful he saved my life this time but he still ruined it to begin with."

"And if he'd died, to save your life?" It was a hard question to ask her, and Alison had more. She had a perspective which didn't allow Terry much leeway, at that moment. "What if he had died, protecting you from Sabertooth then?" The nearly healed gashes under the synthsilk throbbed briefly, as though reminding her of what he'd done to her. "How long would you have wondered, if maybe, just maybe you had been wrong about him all along?"

Terry huddled down again though she didn't look away this time.  "I don't know."

"I'm not saying I know it all either. Just that maybe you should make sure." Alison tried to smile, reassuringly, somehow. She didn't think Terry would be disappointed, but she didn't think it'd be easy on either of them, too. "Never getting the chance to find out would be unfair to you."

"But I don't want to." Terry whined, something that came over perfectly even without sound.  "It's just- It would feel like betraying Uncle Tom."

Uncle Tom. One day, Alison and Uncle Tom would be having a long, unpleasant talk. Although that might be after Sean was done with him, which meant there wouldn't be much left of the man. Phooey. Ignoring the way the pain was trying to lace through her concentration, Alison gave Terry a mild look. "You uncle loves you, yes? Do you really think he'd begrudge you have a clear mind on something this important?"

Terry laughed. "He's a thief and a con.  Of course."  She shook her head.  I know he wasn't the best of men but he was all I had.  He raised me after my mother died and I owe him for that."

"You owe him your peace of mind for the rest of your life if anything ever happens to Sean?" Alison grinned a bit, shaking her head and then sobered up, gazing at Terry pensively. "Or are you just scared of what you might find out?" Drat. She's not meant to say that one out loud. Stupid pain.

"I don't know!"  Terry stood up and started to pace, forcing Alison to read the screen as she spoke. "I was happy.  And then he took Uncle Tom away and made me live with him and just as I thought it might actually work he sent me here!  I don't want know him."

"Are you sure you know? I mean... I know what my father wanted of me and I know that he wants nothing to do with me if I'm not doing what he had planned. And the day he dies, I'll be sad. But I won't ever wonder about what might have been." Alison wasn't even looking at the screen as she spoke. "Gah. I'm sorry. Not the best person to tell you what to do here. Just... I know I'd rather know." She sighed, closing her eyes against a renewed wave of pain. And felt immensely peeved she could not hug Terry just now.

Terry felt terrible. "Alison." But with her eyes closed her teacher couldn't hear her.  She paced closer and extended a tentative hand, brushing just her fingertips very lightly over Alison's cheek.  "I'm sorry.  I'll try if you want me to," she said when Alison looked at her again.

Fire trailing down her cheek, though Alison didn't react. Everything was like that, these days. She looked at Terry, noting her changed expression, reading the words from the screen because it was far easier to focus on. "For yourself. Try for your own sake, moppet. Best reason there is."

Terry nodded and shifted uncomfortably.  "I should go.  It's late."  She linked her hands again. 

The 'I'm embarrassed and want to run' sign, which Alison knew well. "Sleep is good. Go get some." She waggled her fingers a bit in goodbye, not really wanting to move any more than necessary. It had been a long evening, all things told.

"Good night, Alison." Terry shifted in place for a moment more then hurried out of the room.