Passion of Death
Chapter 6
by
Lornadane
Disclaimer: All X-men and X-villians are Marvel's characters. Please don't sue me. This was just fun to write. Aerin is my character.
Notes: If you're offended by this material I apologize. I don't condone non-consensual sex, this just fit into the story. It's pure fantasy and would not wish it to happen to anyone in reality.
She opened her eyes slowly, looking up into the bright medical examination light, thinking it a strange place to be. She blinked rapidly as the light stung her eyes and she lifted her hand to block it. She licked her lips happiness flooding through her at the increased saliva content. Focusing her eyes she looked around at her surroundings. I survived she thought in wonderment. How was it possible? Had it just been a nightmare? Was she back at the hospital? The bright lights would make sense. Maybe she had fallen asleep on a stretcher after a particularly long shift. But as she looked around the room it didn't seem familiar. It looked like a hospital room, but the technology was strange. The bed she lay on was strange. Then she noticed the Beast. Dr. Henry "Hank" McCoy, a five foot eleven inch 355 pound blue furry man in a lab coat stood chewing absentmindedly on a pencil reading some papers on a clip board. She shrieked and fell out of the bed away from him. He looked around quickly seeing her fall.
"Oh my stars and garters! You're awake!" He started toward her, and as she looked over at him from the other side of the bed she shrieked again. She clutched a blanket around her, the one she had pulled with her as she fell out of the bed.
"My dear. It's quite alright. I mean you no harm. My unusual visage merely masks a heart of gold underneath." Hank said soothingly. But she continued backing away from him, aware that the nightmare had been all too real, and that it hadn't ended. What torment lie ahead for her now. Without warning she backed into a shelf of beakers, knocking it over. Glass shattered around her.
"Stand still." warned the Beast putting up his hands, palms outward, gesturing for her not to move. "You'll only end up cutting your precious toes. I promise I will not harm you." Aerin stood still, listening to him. Through the panic in her mind, she felt his sincerity. She exhaled deeply and stepped forward out of the path of the crushed glass. But she kept her eyes on him warily. "Where..." she asked softly unable to finish for the lump in her throat. But he sensed what she wanted to know. "You're in New York, my dear. Salem Center to be exact. At the home of one Charles Xavier. We found you in Egypt near death from dehydration and brought you here."
"Egypt." she thought wildly. At least she hadn't left earth. She took a step closer to the bed. "Do you know how many days I was over there."
"Unfortunately, no. We only just arrived at the lair two days ago to vanquish Apocalypse and his errant allies. We were back here yesterday. You've been unconscious the entire time."
"Apocalypse." She let the word roll across her tongue. "The master?" she asked. He nodded. "Most likely what you might have heard him called. He's dead." he added, hoping this would ease her mind even more. "I assume he's been holding you captive for several days. Logan found you among the ruin. He should be in shortly to check on you."
As if on cue the door to the medlab opened and Logan walked in, fresh from a long nap. She looked at him for what seemed an eternity, unable to move, to breathe. It was him. It was Death. The furry man had lied to her. The nightmare hadn't ended. It had only just begun. "No." she whispered putting her hands to her mouth shaking her head in disbelief. "NononononononoNO!" she screamed and kept on screaming backing up over the glass, looking wildly around for an escape exit. He was here and he was coming toward her. Her eyes were wild with panic and fear.
"It's alright, darlin'," she heard him say, "I won't hurt you." But she couldn't believe him. Didn't dare believe him. She looked at Hank as she hit the wall behind her. "Please!" she pleaded. "Help me! He'll kill me!" Sobs tore from her, and seeing her naked fear, Hank placed a hand on Logan's shoulder stopping him in his tracks. "Get out of here!" he said harshly. Logan wavered between frustration and guilt. All he wanted was to go to her, tell her everything was okay, he wasn't the same man who had tortured her. But Hank's crushing grip on his shoulder was forcing him toward the door. "NOW! Leave! Can't you see, you're terrifying her!" Aerin had sunk into a crouch with her face against the wall. Panic had turned to hysteria as she realized the two men blocked the only route to her escape. She clawed at the wall crying. The Beast physically pushed Logan through the door as he was saying, "Let me just..." The door clanged shut. Hank hit the lock on the door as a fist pounded from outside once and then ceased.
Dr Henry McCoy breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against the door. "Now I know why I only like the research aspect of my work." he thought. He looked to where Aerin had slumped to the floor. A trail of blood ran to her from where she had stepped through the broken glass. "Oh dear." he said out loud and then went to her stepping gingerly around the broken glass. He took the blanket she had dropped in her effort to get away from Logan and wrapped it around her covering her head, neck and body. Then he hugged her to him gently avoiding any skin contact. "There, there." he soothed. "He's gone. I sent him out of here."
Aerin sobbed for sometime. Hank continued to hold her until her crying had subsided. Then he lifted her in his arms and placed her sitting up on the bed. From a desk toward the side of the bed he grabbed a pair of medical examination gloves. He put them on and then took her right foot in his huge paw examining the lacerations he was certain were there. The lacerations had healed, but pieces of glass were embedded in her foot.
"I'll have to remove these." he said looking up at her. She nodded sniffling. "It will hurt a bit, but I'll use a local anesthetic." She nodded again. He went to a cabinet and got out some supplies. Filling a syringe with lidocaine he inserted it into her foot. "There'll be a sting and a burn. Tell me when you feel a numbness." She winced at the pain of the needle. Then sat still as she waited for the numbness to take effect. He prodded her foot gently with his finger. "Do you feel that?" he asked. She shook her head. Using a scalp he proceeded to dislodge the pieces of glass. When he had finished he watched in wonder as her cuts healed. He'd never seen Logan's healing factor working up close. It was quite a site. He then took her other foot tending to it like the first. Again it healed quickly. He glanced up at her again and saw her looking at her foot in utter disbelief. "How?" she asked.
"Wolverine's healing factor. It's running through you now. It kept you alive long enough to get here so we could administer fluids. Quite a handy mutation." he grinned at her. "I'm not a mutant." she said, but doubt was in her voice. How could she have healed so quickly? The Beast was speaking to her. "You take on other mutant's ability. It's why I don't want to touch your bare skin. I'd fear the result. Some people just can't pull off blue fur."
Surprised by the comment, she laughed. Hank smiled. Then he began to speak to her softly about her mutation, ("We've done a scan and you came out positive for the X-factor chromosome" he told her), about Apocalypse and his plan, about the X-men and the Twelve and how they all fit into the story. Then finally when he felt she was ready he spoke about Death and their friend Logan. Not knowing the circumstances that had transpired between her and Logan, he chose not to defend him, only to lay out his history with the X-men. He told her only facts, true anecdotes about his time on the team.
She listened intently, trusting Hank's words. Inspite of his frightful countenance there was a gentleness about him, a sincerity she couldn't deny. When he had finished, she sat silently kicking her feet back and forth nervously, thoughtfully. So much to take in. Egypt, Apocalypse, the Twelve, the X-men, Death, and a man called Logan. She shivered. What now? she wondered. What did they expect of her? To forgive their friend who hadn't been in his right mind? Would they expect her to face him? Perhaps she was expected to turn him over to the authorities. Bring him up on charges of assault and rape. But they had been in Egypt. How could he be convicted here? And what was the point? The man who controlled him was dead. And what he had taken from her couldn't be returned. All she could hope for at this moment was that he felt the guilt of his crime.
She exhaled slowly and leaned back on the bed. "It's a lot to take in, I feel certain." Hank said, "But can I get you anything to help ease your mind."
"I could use something to wear." she said seriously. He laughed. "I was going to suggest that, really I was." She laughed with him, beginning to feel some of her tension leave. "I have a uniform here. It's one of the girls and it may be a little long for you, but I think it will work." He went to another cabinet and pulled out a yellow and blue outfit with an X emblazoned on the belt. He handed it to her and said, "I'll just slip outside while you put it on." He unlocked the door and stepped out into the hallway, half expecting to see Logan waiting outside. Thankfully he had left.
In a moment he heard her at the door. "Um...Dr McCoy?" she asked. "How do you open the door." He smiled and opened it from his side, showing her the switch that controlled the entrance. "Sh'iar technology. Sorry." he added sheepishly. Then he looked her up and down. The outfit was very long on her petite frame. She had had to drape part of it over the belt. It looked a bit ridiculous on her, but he said "It suits you." She laughed at him, knowing he was trying to be kind. But she knew it was much too big and the boots even bigger. "Beggars can't be choosers." she said to him. He smiled down at her and taking her arm in his careful to keep the material between them, he said, "Now, Miss....ah..."
"Stafford, " she finished for him, "Aerin Stafford." It was like a blessing to say her name for the first time in days. No one had cared to know at Apocalypse's lair.
"Miss Stafford," he said with a great teasing formality "I think it's time you met the rest of our lofty team."
All references to characters belonging to the X-Men Universe are (c) and TM the Marvel Comics Group, 20th Century Fox and all related entities. All rights reserved. Any reproduction, duplication or distribution of these materials in any form is expressly prohibited. No money is being made from this archive. All images are also (c) and TM the Marvel Comics Group, 20th Century Fox and all related entities; they are not mine. This website, its operators and any content used on this site relating to the X-Men are not authorized by Marvel, Fox, etc. I am not, nor do I claim to be affiliated with any of these entities in any way.