A Friend In Need...

[Remedy]

Emily was restless, haunted.


Somewhere in this complex, Kyle was being held and examined – without her. She had tried to explain that she had experience, expertise, but her very presence seemed to set him off in a new and ever more extreme violence.

Finally, barely able to hold him back any longer, the staff has had to ask her to leave.

It was killing her.

She stalked back and forth in the small, well appointed bedroom assigned to her, the slats of garish orange streetlight painting the dark walls through the blinds. Orange too, her eyes seemed to glow, lambent gold as they usually were her anger and frustration made them visibly gleam in the preternatural darkness.

Over and again she played out that combat; how her powers seemed to slide off the huge mutant male that had called himself Romulus – who had boasted of what he’d done to her friend. He’d made him her mortal enemy.

From the time they were teenagers, awkward, ugly, unsure of themselves and their futures, she and Kyle had a long quiet friendship. When exactly that had turned into love for her, Emily couldn’t exactly recall now so many years later. Perhaps she was fascinated with him because of their shared nature, one that in her had never manifested until it was torn from her scrambled DNA by Weapon X. More likely it was based on the acceptance and honesty they had with each other- perhaps now erased for him or altered to a point of twisted hatred that tore her heart in ways she couldn’t understand nor accept.

All she wanted was to hold him, to smooth back his long hair and look into a face made beautiful to her for the man who had shone out of those sea-green eyes rather than the distorted features most found ugly. There was no hint of that man in his eyes now, only Wildchild. The Beast he had feared so much had consumed him entirely now, perhaps artificially, and THAT she couldn’t allow.

She’d tried to reach him with her powers, but again it seemed that something had been manipulated so that her awareness could see IN, but her much vaunted healing abilities couldn’t reach. After all the suffering she’d experienced at the hands of Weapon X, learning to use and manipulate living tissue- it was all useless. She was powerless in the face of his suffering and that, too, was killing her.

In extremis, she had clung to the memory of him, and their unspoken friendship – all through the months of torture, hoping beyond hope that if she survived that they could meet again. Now they were no more than a few levels of building away from each other and they’d never been further apart.

Perhaps it was meant to be after all. Perhaps her attraction to him was sick, twisted and not truly love after all, but merely obsession? The bad boy, the villain, untouchable, unlovable, unattainable… perhaps it was those very qualities she was seeking. She knew she was self destructive, and it was why she’d avoided romantic entanglements through all the bitter lonely years since attaining her powers. Subconsciously she’d rejected any and all men who dared to come close to her- to the point of her powers manifesting to push them away. One unsuspecting lad on the team had kissed her once after a perfectly innocent date and been rendered comatose for three days after she’d accidentally overwhelmed his pleasure centers with her fledgling healer ability. Despite the inevitable teasing, which she’d accepted with sheepish humour, she had been mortified and vowed to never again risk someone’s well being.

Well, it stood the test of time – since her time as Velvet Darkness and she’d learned to kill with a touch, and eventually without touching at all. She’d been a challenge no few agents of Weapon X had attempted – at least one fatally. She tried not to think about that, mind flinching away; it had been a hell of a way to discover that there was no way to rape an unwilling woman with the power to manipulate living tissue on the molecular level.

So, she burned, and wished for something she just couldn’t have.
Again.
Still.

She closed burning eyes, feeling them prickle with tears but denying them. Head down, long hair falling softly over her burning face, she reached out to Kyle’s life force, hoping to take comfort from just feeling his heart beat…

TBC Cybercide? GM?

[Doctor Nemesis]

James Bradley was fit to be tied. "Keep him in your bunker. Keep him under lock and key," he muttered under his breath as he made his way toward the living quarters. Kyle Gibney was a puzzle wrapped in a blanket of barbed wire. A wild child in every sense of the word indeed.

Doctor Nemesis finally got to the door of the young woman named Emily Ferrell. Remedy. Right now Bradley wished he could find the remedy for his Gibney problem in this young woman, but any time she went near the man, he would lose control once again.

"I can't keep him sedated forever!" Bradley said very loudly as he finally rapped on Remedy's door. "Excuse me for being an old scientist without a new trick in his book, Ms. Ferrell. I am most unaccustomed to this situation. If you would be so kind as to open the door, perhaps we can chat about your friend Mr. Gibney. I really do not want to keep you at opposite ends of this complex, but I also do not want him attacking you."

((And I fear the man you knew is gone)) Nemesis thought as he stood at the doorway. ((And I fear that there is no way to bring him back))  

As he stood there, Nemesis kept getting reports in from the field. Gray, Eun, Sarge and Ghost were on one mission, and Deion, Duke and Paris were on another. The only Cybercide members he had around were the chatty Texan Carson Williams and the less than chatty Liam MacFeorais. The latter had been with the group that brought Ferrell and Gibney in after that last encounter with Weapon X.

"If you'd prefer, I can get one of my team members to sit in with us, Ms. Ferrell. I realize I may not be the most friendly soul on this well-trod piece of earth and that I have a tendency to shoot my mouth off a bit too often! I can get Liam to sit in with us. I know he was with you during the rescue mission. He should be back from New York shortly. And I can contact some Alpha Flight members if you wish. " 

[Remedy]

She sensed him before he knocked on the door, proclaiming the obvious as if he hadn’t been saying the like for hours now. He’d sent her slinking away to hide here in the dark, trying to sort out her feelings and thoughts.
The man’s manic chatter was irritating though also a bit amusing if it weren’t so deadly serious. Despite her bad mood and worries she found herself rather liking Doc Nemesis.
Even through the door she could also sense his disappointment, frustration warring with… ah yes, he was obviously very busy and mildly stressed. His brainwaves were that of a man with a supreme intelligence receiving a lot of information, so she slid her awareness back to her own thoughts as he offered to have that nice fellow who had helped her and welcomed her so nicely… what was his name? She had a flash of his serious unshaven face, dark eyes, dark hair, pale skin, high cheekbones and a kindly manner that had quite taken her aback.

Doc Nemesis helpfully provided the name.
“Liam. Right…” she murmured, flicking on the light and opening the door to look straight into the tall blonde man’s camera-eyes.
She had the disconcerting feeling those eyes could see in many ranges, and wondered off hand if he was ogling her under her clothes. She was a bit flattered, she supposed, and wondered too if his interest in her was also one of scientific curiosity- since she’d discovered a little information about his ‘experiments’ with mutants and latent powers. She didn’t let him touch her, knowing that she might accidentally give him a feedback loop since their powers seemed to be similar enough to either clash or cancel each other out.

She leaned against the doorway and sighed, giving the man a wry grin.
“Oh your’re friendly enough, Doc, just prone to verbal diarrhea – gods help us all if you and Deadpool ever meet up, the insane chatter would probably cause an implosion in time and space.”
He eyed her, pale brow arching.
She couldn’t help but laugh a bit helplessly at his ironic expression.
“Sure, Doc, if Liam is available, that would be fine. As for Alpha Flight, I’m afraid they’re off on some adventure or other. I tried to call them but all I could do was leave another message with some details. I keep hoping Dr. Langkowski … er… Sasquatch will be able to come up with something new; although he and Kyle apparently didn’t part too long ago on the best of terms.” She replied, thinking about Sasquatch’s long recovery after Kyle had savaged him while under the influence of that huge nasty wolven-man, Romulus.
Her smile faded.
“I sincerely think there’s nothing I can do to help Kyle – not when I set him off like that.” She admitted wearily, tucking a glossy lock of chestnut hair behind a leaf shaped ear.
She sighed again and stepped inside the door, gracefully indicating the now opened space.
“Please come in.”

[Doctor Nemesis]

"Thank you," Bradley said as he stepped inside Emily's room. He really was very frustrated by this whole situation, but it certainly was not her fault this had all gone to pieces. "I'm sorry that this has been so damnably frustrating for you, and I'm sorry your comrade Dr. Langowski has not been in touch. Yes, I have met him once or twice at conferences around the globe. Nice fellow, but he can be a bit of a pain to get in contact with unless you are a telepath. Excuse me for a moment," he added as he keyed in a message on his tablet. "Just getting word out to Liam. I think he said something about a family gathering in Ireland, but I'll get him to stop in here first. His family is so big, I doubt they'll miss him right off the bat."

Nemesis sat down in a chair in the room and grimaced as he realized he was supposed to see Cyclops and Emma later about that mess at the Hellfire Club party. Liam had been there, so the doctor hoped he could offer some insights before Bradley had to go make nice with the brass.

"When I go see the command staff later, I am going to bring up Mr. Gibney again and see if Emma Frost or Rachel Summers might not be able to help calm him long enough for you to connect with him. If that doesn't work, I'm going to go the route I often try to avoid and get one of our magic users to sit with him. Perhaps one of them can heal whatever those Weapon X bastards did to him. Wolverine's red haired lady friend Karenza might be able to help. I doubt he mentioned it, but that's Liam's mother, albeit it from a different dimension. I hate this time travel, dimension hopping nonsense some days. I really do. But she..." Nemesis started to say and then stopped, thoughtfully weighing his words. "They broke the mold when they made her. And I don't mean that in a condescending way. But walking the earth for nearly 1,500 years has a way of giving you a bit more perspective on things."

[Claymore]

Heavy, boot-clad steps echoed down the hallway as Liam made his way to Emily's room. He was wishing Doc Nemesis had said to meet in the conference room or the med bay or even outside. He always felt a little weird going into other people's rooms. He thought he might be invading Emily's privacy and disrupting a calming space she had set up for herself, and he hated the idea of messing that up for her. But he couldn't exactly ask them to move the meeting, now could he?

As he got to the door, Liam's phone rang. It was his cousin Laurel. Again. She had been asking him for Emily updates for the last few days now. "Why don't you just get your fanny back to the States and see her yourself? What? You want me to see if she wants to come with me to Raven's Rock? I can ask, but Doc Nemesis might have other ideas about that. Now I need to go," he said as he got to the door, ended the call and knocked lightly on the frame. "Sorry I'm late. My cousin Laurel was on the phone. She says Hi, Emily, and says Sasquatch is being a poop and not returning her calls. She said you'd understand what that meant."

Liam nodded to Doc Nemesis as he moved inside the doorway and leaned against the frame. The phone rang again, and Liam groaned. "OK, this has to stop now," he mumbled as he put the phone on video display. "Sorry, sir, but my cousin is being a bit of a nuisance."

A young, blonde-haired woman beamed as she looked out of the screen at her friend Emily. "Squee!" she shouted as she held up a sign she had apparently made in haste. It read: You're invited to my family thingydoo at Raven's Rock! Please come along with Cousin Lima! Uncle Logan is here, and you can meet Lima's mom!"

"Wait. That sign says Cousin Lima, Laurel. Twice," Liam said in exasperation. "But I think Emily understands. Later, cuz," he said as he closed the phone and shut it off.  "Now, Emily, how can I help? Doc kept us updated on what's been happening with Kyle, so I know this can't be easy for you."

[Doctor Nemesis]

Bradley kept one eye on his charges and one on the door, looking so much like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs that it wasn't funny. "Liam, before we get into a long chat on Mr. Gibney, perhaps you'd like to fill us in on that?" Nemesis motioned toward the door and pointed at a small creature that was staring at them. It was blue and had four arms; it looked like that thing in the Disney movie. "And if you call it Experiment 626, I'll walk out of here screaming. Yes, I do watch some animated films once in a great blue moon!"

"What the heck are you doing here?" Liam said as the critter jumped into his lap. "He belongs to my sister Kei. The one from that world where the mystics rule everything. And he is supposed to be in Ireland with the rest of my family."

"I thought she had that yellow thing that shot out lightning from its rear? And that cat in the battle armor?" Nemesis asked as Liam got a big grin on his face.

"She does. They are all her demon bodyguards," Liam replied as he held the blue creature. "Emily, Kei is a demon princess in her world, and apparently teenage demon princesses have demon bodyguards who could pass for toys. And...I think this one is hungry. He eats energy bars like mad."

"Aga-bagagba!" the blue creature shouted as Liam handed him an energy bar. He smiled at Emily and then proceeded to eat his treat.

"Why do I have a feeling Deadpool would love this little maniac?" Nemesis asked as the creature stuck out his tongue at the scientist.

[Doctor Nemesis]

"Mind your manners!" Nemesis said to the blue creature before rolling his eyes to the ceiling and looking even more vexed. "Emma Frost! Can't use a damned communicator to save her life. Always going in my head and badgering on about...Omega Red? Oh for the love of Saint Peter!"

Nemesis adjusted his fedora and looked between Emily and Liam. He tried his best to ignore the little blue demon. The thing was exceedingly rude anyway.

"I have to go, so stay or go as you two wish. Just make sure Skippy there goes with you," Bradley said as he exited the room and headed for the main base.

TBC Nemesis in the Arrival of Arkady thread

TBC Emily, Liam and "Skippy" here

[Genome]

OOC: Amy, simply doing this to free-up Liam for another story. You need not worry about replying to this post.--K

IC:

There was a tap at the door as Genevieve Olivier stuck her head inside the room. "Liam, you and your furry friend should probably leave now," she said quietly as the blue creature ran to her and tried to scamper up her leg. "I know. Doctor Nemesis called you Skippy. I'm sorry he did. But you and Liam need to go so I can talk to Emily about her friend...and frankly I got a jingle from Ireland that Thor dropped in to talk about that clone of his. Your mother might need your help, Liam."

"Emily, I can get back here fast if you need me," Liam said as "Skippy" jumped up into his arms. "Good luck with Kyle."

Liam soon exited Emily's room, and Genevieve motioned for Emily to follow her down the hall to the room where Kyle Gibney was being kept in stasis.

[Druantia]

As Genevieve and Emily started to exit the room, a blur of green vapor appeared before them, soon to be followed by a very chatty blonde woman.  "Oh! I am so going to punch Liam for this! He was supposed to bring you with him, Emily!"

Genome looked cross as Druantia stood before them. "First the blue demon-thing shows up, and now you? How did you find this place?"

"Old Doc Cranky McCrankerson lets me check in on Emily, Genevieve," Laurel said as she heard some people talking down the hall in one of the lab areas. "Maybe you better check on that?"

Genome huffed as she looked back down the hallway. "I'll catch up with you later, Emily," she said as she left the two friends alone.

"Sorry I am soooo late, but Thor popped in back home for a mug of mead and to talk bout Weapon Plus. My family went all into overdrive. Liam got pulled into the talk...but I hope it's over now," Laurel said as she kicked her foot against the wall. "With my luck I'll set off some goofy sensors. Anyhoo, if you want to blow this popsicle stand for a bit, we can poof over to Ireland, and you can meet the rest of my crazy family. I mean, I think Uncle Mal will have his dragons there, and we can go for a ride...and I can get you back here later. I promise!"

TBC Genome in the Omega Red thread

TBC Remedy & Durantia here for now 

[Remedy]

Emily felt like she had mental whiplash, and was beginning to suspect that THIS world was NOT the world she had been born on. Oh yes, there were similarities... one of which was sitting chattering at her with her pretty blonde head tilted at an angle just SO that brought adolescent memories flooding back.

"Laurel?" Emily blinked - even though the young woman had held up a sign on Liam's video call, it was different seeing the girl in the flesh.

"I didn't know you could teleport... you never used to!" then had to laugh at herself.
"Wow, whether I'm in my home universe or not, you sure ACT like the Laurel I spent my early years in Alpha Flight with- that's good enough for me!"

It was an effort to drop the heavy concern for Kyle - but the doctor had said he was in stasis, and she was making him react badly anyways.
She sighed.

"Ok, Laurel, I'll come with you. I can't really help much here right now anyways - I could really do with a break anyways. I'm pretty sure Kyle is in good hands here, and I'm just complicating the matter."

The feral healer stood gracefully and met the other woman's bright light eyes with a steady lambent golden gaze - so different from the more human hazel they'd once been in her teens.

Though sad, Emily's smile still held a welcoming warmth for the sweetly fae woman who had teleported in.

"Shall we go meet this infamous mystical and extended family your other self had just discovered when I'd last parted with her? I have a feeling that this could be epic and fascinating."

TBC Laurel ^_^

[Druantia]

OOC: If I need to edit anything in this post regarding the "missing" 616 Remedy, let me know. I will try to keep things as vague as possible. And please feel free to talk about your dimension's Laurel.

IC:

Laurel had had the pleasure of knowing this world's Emily Ferrell for the very briefest of moments before being sent on a training mission with Beta Flight, and upon her return, that Emily was seemingly gone. No one had given Laurel a very definitive answer, but then again, Department H had this nasty habit of not filling in all the blanks when things went "nutso cuckoo pants" on any given day. But she did know that that Emily was well on the way to being one of her very best friends, and Laurel saw the arrival of this Emily as a second chance.

"The teleporting is not me! My cousin Deidre Sun, one of Liam's sisters, gave me a bag of magical doohickies, and one was some teleportation mist. I'm only good making plants grow and stuff. At least that's my main focus so far. You'd think with all this mystical badassery in my family that my powers would be a bit more boom pow! Not 'Oh! Laurel didn't kill that bad guy after all! He just got covered in pollen and tree sap!' Yes, my powers are not all they are cracked up to be! I hope your Laurel's powers were a bit more rock star. To be honest, my dad is afraid to let me do anything in a fight, and he yells at Uncle Eugene when they put me in too often. My half-sister Diana gets to do all the wild stuff since her mom is a Shadowhunter. Since mine runs a shopping mall, my dad thinks I'm this fragile, well, flower, I guess."

This whole line of thinking got Laurel, finally, back to the subject of Kyle Gibney. She knew Emily really cared for the guy, and she also knew that Dr. Bradley didn't understand much about the workings of the female heart. "And while I'm on the topic of people getting all weirded out, if Crabby McCrabberson Bradley ever makes you feel unwanted or unneeded or in the way, kick him right in the gonads or something. You are not making Kyle act all crazy. It might be an implant, or they could have made the trigger scent for him something that you are wearing. Heck, it might be a specific word that makes him flip out. It could also be Bradley's coffee cup for all we know. But it is not you. I don't care what he says. I'll get my Aunt Kari to read him the riot act if he says it again. I swear I will!"
 
Laurel tried to center herself as she pulled out a vial from her pocket. "Whenever you want to head out, we are good to go."

TBC Remedy