Back at the Hotel Wundagore

[house-of-mystiq.livejournal.com]

"That's right. Count backwards from ten Ms. Lensherr."

The leather pouch is rolled flat on the surface of the bed. Each vial within is carefully hand labeled in an archaic German script.

Raven sits on the bed next to the green haired woman, gently holding one hand. She's wearing a maternal face with a faint hint of an Eastern European background. She unties the tournaquet from Lorna's upper arm and gives the girl's hand a gentle pat.

A stone knife sits behind Raven's back, out of the girl's sight. The room is suspiciously bare of any form of metal.

Comments

[spidey2099.livejournal.com]

The talons on the masked man's fingers just tap together gently. A quiet, steady rhythm.

Letting Raven do her thing.

[exiles-2h.livejournal.com]

"The Summers?" repeats Lorna, her hand still in the mysterious woman's grasp. "I know they're not--not nice, but ... Alex is different," she finishes weakly. "He's kind to me, and he's lonely...."

[house-of-mystiq.livejournal.com]

"Lonely," she repeats. That can be useful if they need to discuss this with the boy. "But you're not a social worker, dear. Open up."

She pulls out a glass thermometer. The middle is filled with something dark blue, clearly not mercury. There's a slightly bitter scent in the air as she carefully wipes down the end. The swab never touches her own fingertips.

"Keep this in your mouth for three minutes."

[exiles-2h.livejournal.com]

Obediently, Lorna opens her mouth for the thermometer to rest under her tongue.

[house-of-mystiq.livejournal.com]

Raven smiles.

"You don't want to be a Summers. You're a nice girl, with a good future ahead of her."

The thermometer tastes a little like menthol and has a slight tingling effect under the tongue.

Raven stares into her eyes and slowly repeats, "You don't want to be a Summers."

[exiles-2h.livejournal.com]

Lorna's jaw drops. "Well, duh!" The thermometer tumbles out. "But I have to marry him. Daddy said it would help bring peace. Alex isn't so bad. He said all he'd ask for is for us to try and be friends."

[spidey2099.livejournal.com]

"Daddy's wrong about the peace," comes that low gravel again.

"It'll end your world."

[exiles-2h.livejournal.com]

"What? Why?"

[spidey2099.livejournal.com]

Another tap of the talons.

"It involes a hell of a lot of quantum physics."

[exiles-2h.livejournal.com]

"You are not making any sense," declares Lorna firmly. Appealing to what she hopes is the better sense of the mysterious thermometer-giving woman, she turns to Mystique. "Please tell me he's the cranky guy here who no one likes because he's always a pain in the tuchus."

[house-of-mystiq.livejournal.com]

"You're right." A corner of her mouth quirks into a smile. "Sadly, so is he."

[exiles-2h.livejournal.com]

"Buh-but...." Lorna is still bewildered. "Wait, he said quantum physics. Is this about me and Alex having a child who'll become the next Hitler or something like that?"

[house-of-mystiq.livejournal.com]

"No. If that was the case, we already would've killed you." She keeps up that sweet smile, giving the girl's hand a maternal squeeze. "Or him. It really wouldn't matter."

[exiles-2h.livejournal.com]

"Oh. Um. Thank you. For not killing us." Her expression clears a little to something blander. "So ... what're you going to do to me? And Alex?"

[house-of-mystiq.livejournal.com]

"For you, some hair dye and a plane ticket will suffice. I was thinking of castrating the boy."

[exiles-2h.livejournal.com]

"Hey, no. No!" She sits upright and tries to swing her legs over the edge of the bed. "Don't do that to him. He's kind. Just--just get him away from his family. Please. He's so scared of what they'll do to him. I can tell. Please help him."

[house-of-mystiq.livejournal.com]

She points up to Spidey.

"We've had this ongoing debate. You see, we have it on good authority that when you and Alex's fatal loins unite, well, as he said, it involes a hell of a lot of quantum physics."

Raven still has a firm hand on the girl's wrist. She can have her legs for now, but if she tries to bolt, a broken wrist will be the least of her concerns. It's a damn shame the girl spat out the thermometer before the drugs could fully take effect.

"Now, I believe that could mean a lot of things. Perhaps the sex will literally be explosive. Perhaps the two of you will create a new and fascinating STI. Probably, though, it means when you marry, you'll bring together some incredible forces that will destroy your world. None of us want that."

[exiles-2h.livejournal.com]

"But we're not all that important," protests Lorna. Something in the woman's eyes makes her unwilling to tug too hard or otherwise make a break for it. "Not by ourselves, anyway. Just because of who we're related to...."

The blood drains out of her face. "Baruk adonai," she whispers.

[spidey2099.livejournal.com]

Spidey squints.

"Barak O-what?"

[exiles-2h.livejournal.com]

"God." Lorna buries her face in her hands, her breathing now unsteady. "Oh, God."

[house-of-mystiq.livejournal.com]

The hand on her wrist shifts slightly without tightening. Mystique is once more in reach of the stone knife slightly behind her back.

"Tell me your fatal loins have not already experimentally united."

[exiles-2h.livejournal.com]

Lorna's head flies up. "No! No, that's not it, and no, we haven't." She looks very offended at the suggestion.

[house-of-mystiq.livejournal.com]

"Ms. Lensherr, believe it or not, we are genuinely trying to help you - and your entire world."