Beyond Evolution

Long before he showed up at the school, there had been an on-going argument in Annelise’s mind concerning her father. It was impossible to deny that there had been some twinge of disappointment finding neither he nor her mother was at the school when she and the other Intruders arrived. She and Deacon had been dealt the short end of the stick in that respect, but in the grand scheme of things with what they’d come to do and what would happen if they failed, it was a petty concern. And regardless of the fact that they all might have had certain personal objectives that were secondary, the team came first, that was just the way it worked and the way it had been for as long as she could remember. She was the medic, there to look after the others, and her own desires often boiled down to nothing more than survival for that purpose. Part of it was probably latent Hound programming that never shut off, neither the first time nor the second, programming that coincidently continued to be useful even when she wasn’t a Hound. Her main directive was to keep herself alive so that she could keep them alive and everything else was unnecessary. Simple as simple could be. But nothing ever stays simple for long.

As events rolled on, eventually Annelise put any idea of meeting her parents out of her mind completely, because even though the expectation had been there it clearly wasn’t going to happen and the versions of them here weren’t really her parents anyway. At least, that’s what she needed to remind herself to come to terms with it. So for Annelise, the issue was dealt with and became something of a non-issue. Then news of the cure broke, and that non-issue got harder to ignore. Worthington Industries being responsible for something that could possibly help the future spiral into how it had turned out was unthinkable, not to mention unacceptable. Even though her memories of Warren were virtually nonexistent, she couldn’t believe he would be party to something like that, that he could be. In spite of the obvious evidence that Warren, by way of his family’s company, was partially responsible and thus a threat to them all, the reality wasn’t one she allowed to fully take hold. But that hold became a firm grip after his arrival, and part of her planned to not talk to him at all, to simply ignore his presence. ( But that didn’t last long. )

[narrative, closed]

Even though it had been several days since Val accepted her offer to read the cards again concerning the thing in the lake, Marie-Ange had far from forgotten or put the task aside. Unlike the other half of her mutation, her ability to sometimes see bits of the future wasn’t something she readily shared with others. She wasn't even certain how many of the teachers knew about it and Val was the only non-faculty member who knew at all. It wasn’t a matter of there being any discomfort with that aspect of her powers so much as when she arrived it had seemed like a good idea that not everyone know about it. And it was quickly becoming a choice Marie-Ange was glad she had made. Back home her life had been thoroughly dull and uneventful and thus so were her readings, showing nothing of large importance even if they were right. But here at Xavier’s everything was so much more complicated. Here she saw the deepest secrets of those she cared about and ran the risk of running them away in the process, of causing irreparable damage if they knew she knew. Here she saw warnings that could mean preventing those around her from coming to some hurt or harm- or worse. It was a weight she wasn’t sure she wanted on her shoulders but one that was present nonetheless, and one that made her hesitate to be so casual about seeing what she could see.

But the offer had been given and accepted, and Marie-Ange was not one to back out on such things. Instead of venturing outside to be nearer the focus of her questions, this time she was in her room, kneeling in front of empty space on the floor as she dealt out the cards. As each card was placed into the configuration, her mind was constantly ticking away at the possibilities that came with the addition. Once the reading was complete she sat up, instinctively drawing her arms around herself in response to the sudden chill that overcame her despite being indoors and away from the elements. Just as before she spent a brief period in disbelief, repeating the process again to ensure it was correct, and then again with different cards, and yet again for good measure. This time, the signs were different. They were darker, harsher, but still just as immovable and irrefutable. Pain. Suffering. Blood. All were inevitable and the intensity of her conclusions made her almost thankful that she couldn’t see specifics. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

[narrative, closed]