Arise X-man || I am not alone
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xp_logsTrigger Warning: General warning for adult themes, emotional and mental manipulation, and an Adult/Teenager relationship.
Laurie and Dr. Essex discuss her taking Nate to a concert, and she finally finds out what is so special about Nathanial Essex's son.
“I want to try this, I think he’s far enough along that a large group of people is a worthwhile test.” Laurie had found out about the rock concert while on the train. Not music she was particularly interested in but she’d heard Nate listening to them, and she wanted him to be able to experience that. “I can keep him safe enough and I know it’s a band he enjoys.”
"In an enclosed music venue? You know, I was there the night that Xorn went out to a rock show. It did not end well for any of us." Essex said, typing into his tablet as the two waldos loaded with scanning equipment worked their way around Laurie. He pulled her aside early to run some tests. The privacy curtain was up around the scanning area where she sat, stripped to the waist. "Do try to stop fidgeting. This will go significantly faster if you stay still."
“There’s a reason that doctors make the worst patients.” Laurie quipped with a self-deprecating smile as she tried to relax. She’d never liked being under the microscope herself. Too many things on her mind at any one time to be truly still for the amount of time it required. “And I lost my arm to that, so yes I remember the end. I still think we need to push him further or he’ll never have the confidence to truly stand on his own. I know he’s ready for this.”
"It seems like a needless risk. Certainly, if you want to test him in a crowd, there are more sedate and safer venues." His attention was largely on the scrolling data in front of him as the waldos bobbed and weaved around her body, particularly her shoulder.
“There’s more than one reason to take him, Dr. Essex,” Laurie noted, wanting him to listen to her and agree. “He’s a young man, and he’s never been to a rock concert. He deserves to see all the world has to offer.”
"Dr, Collins. I don't isolate my son because I want to, like some evil wizard in a fable. If he loses control in a crowd, he could hurt himself or others. Badly. Of course, he deserves it. It is a question of acceptable risk." She flinched as a series of shocks ran through her body. "Adam is special. Not just for his powers and the opinion of any father. He has an unfathomably important purpose ahead of him and risking that in order to enjoy a punk show and a few illicit pints which I'm sure you'll buy for him is a significant ask. You must understand that."
“He’s mentioned this before, but I didn’t push him on it.” Laurie hadn’t wanted to push into areas where they might consider her a threat but that Essex had mentioned it specifically meant that she could finally ask with no feelings of risk. “Just what is Nate’s purpose?”
"Adam is going to save the world." He said simply. Reacting to the look on her face, Essex turned off the scanner and leaned back in his chair. "I'm aware of how it sounds, but it is the truth. Tell me, Dr. Collins, are you familiar with precognition?"
“Somewhat, I’ve met several,” Laurie admitted, relaxing slightly as her body released the slight tension of possible sudden pain. “Long term Predictions are not always understood until after the event unless you’re very good at interpretation.”
"In some cases. In this case, it was a young woman I was asked to help following M-Day. Her powers were slowly breaking down her body. The thing is that she wasn't just precognitive, but she was also post-cognitive. She had the remarkable ability to see the past in accurate detail. Imagine being able to look into a meeting of the ancient Roman senate? Or Babylon and see if the hanging gardens truly existed, or were just a clever plot device for Greek orators. Regardless, the worse her condition got, the stronger and longer her windows into both the past and future became. And that is when she finally found him."
“Him being?” Laurie prompted, wondering who that mutant had been and if they were still alive. She hoped so. “I’m assuming you have a name by now.”
"I have no idea if he has a real name. She saw a... mutant. Born eight or nine thousand years ago. Possibly even the first mutant. He built an empire and then abandoned it, sleeping for centuries at a time. Even eons. But every time he awoke, he'd bring destruction in his wake. Wars, famine, plagues... in her sight, she saw him emerge in 590. And 1346. Most recently in 1913 before returning to sleep in 1920. You can see the significance of those dates, I assume."
“War, Plague, War and War again.” Laurie’s eyes widened, wondering if a single individual could possibly live that long or cause such things. “How is that possible? There have been theories that Logan might be able to live forever but I’ve never seen proof of a mutant capable of it. Telepathy, perhaps? Healing factor certainly. How is it nobody has ever found this mutant's resting place?”
"No one looks for him. And I found enough elements to confirm his existence." He held up his hand. "I know it sounds mad, but I'm convinced it is true. So much that when she spoke about the future, she saw Adam. Specifically."
“Specifically doing what?” Laurie had sat back as she listened, trying to parse what he was telling her. Nate had said he had a destiny but this? It didn’t seem quite real. “What does he need to do against this mutant?”
"She saw him leading the challenge against him. Spoke specifically about the powers he wielded and in the end, how he broke the cycle of thousands of years to bring this antediluvian mutant down." Essex said. "The problem is that while Adam was certainly a mutant, his genetic material never suggested anywhere near the levels of power the woman described. If my son was faced with this glorious and terrible purpose, he needed to have the abilities to rise to the challenge. It is why his body has faced such issues adapting to his powers because they are not naturally his. He's integrating an array of powers from similar if significantly more advanced processes I first developed for the mutate program."
“So that’s why.” Laurie looked at him in a new light. She’d always wondered why he’d been in charge there or helping them at all. It made sense to test out leaps in genetics before you used them on people you actually cared about. “I never quite understood what it was you were trying to achieve there. So what now? He’s been doing fine with my help but I imagine that is a temporary solution.”
"For now, yes. His body will build up the requisite automatic responses as it learns the paths your powers currently enable. In fact, even with your power loss, he's ahead of my projections. Significantly. Obviously, something about you agrees with him." Essex said. "But now you understand why, as much as I'd love for him to have a normal teenage experience, he needs to be protected until he is ready. And unlike your X-Men, I'm willing to make difficult decisions when faced with so much potential harm approaching."
“The X-men were never made to face world-ending situations. We both saw that during the problems with Jean.” Laurie was quiet for a long time, sorting through her thoughts and feelings about what she’d just heard. “I can see why this is so important now, albeit Nate himself would have been enough for me to be happy to help. He’s remarkable, Nathanial.”
It was a calculated risk to call him by his given name, she had up till that point only used his title and surname. But that he’d willingly shared this information with her? It was a small gesture of trust and understanding.
"He is. My son is... every father says that but he's special. He knows what he's facing and yet..." It was a shockingly rare moment of emotion from Essex. "Take him to the concert. I need him to wear a nullifier on a crash button but... take him. I'll have a team near if something happens but..." Essex scrubbed at his eyes. "Stick to light beer. No shots. That's an order."
Laurie and Dr. Essex discuss her taking Nate to a concert, and she finally finds out what is so special about Nathanial Essex's son.
“I want to try this, I think he’s far enough along that a large group of people is a worthwhile test.” Laurie had found out about the rock concert while on the train. Not music she was particularly interested in but she’d heard Nate listening to them, and she wanted him to be able to experience that. “I can keep him safe enough and I know it’s a band he enjoys.”
"In an enclosed music venue? You know, I was there the night that Xorn went out to a rock show. It did not end well for any of us." Essex said, typing into his tablet as the two waldos loaded with scanning equipment worked their way around Laurie. He pulled her aside early to run some tests. The privacy curtain was up around the scanning area where she sat, stripped to the waist. "Do try to stop fidgeting. This will go significantly faster if you stay still."
“There’s a reason that doctors make the worst patients.” Laurie quipped with a self-deprecating smile as she tried to relax. She’d never liked being under the microscope herself. Too many things on her mind at any one time to be truly still for the amount of time it required. “And I lost my arm to that, so yes I remember the end. I still think we need to push him further or he’ll never have the confidence to truly stand on his own. I know he’s ready for this.”
"It seems like a needless risk. Certainly, if you want to test him in a crowd, there are more sedate and safer venues." His attention was largely on the scrolling data in front of him as the waldos bobbed and weaved around her body, particularly her shoulder.
“There’s more than one reason to take him, Dr. Essex,” Laurie noted, wanting him to listen to her and agree. “He’s a young man, and he’s never been to a rock concert. He deserves to see all the world has to offer.”
"Dr, Collins. I don't isolate my son because I want to, like some evil wizard in a fable. If he loses control in a crowd, he could hurt himself or others. Badly. Of course, he deserves it. It is a question of acceptable risk." She flinched as a series of shocks ran through her body. "Adam is special. Not just for his powers and the opinion of any father. He has an unfathomably important purpose ahead of him and risking that in order to enjoy a punk show and a few illicit pints which I'm sure you'll buy for him is a significant ask. You must understand that."
“He’s mentioned this before, but I didn’t push him on it.” Laurie hadn’t wanted to push into areas where they might consider her a threat but that Essex had mentioned it specifically meant that she could finally ask with no feelings of risk. “Just what is Nate’s purpose?”
"Adam is going to save the world." He said simply. Reacting to the look on her face, Essex turned off the scanner and leaned back in his chair. "I'm aware of how it sounds, but it is the truth. Tell me, Dr. Collins, are you familiar with precognition?"
“Somewhat, I’ve met several,” Laurie admitted, relaxing slightly as her body released the slight tension of possible sudden pain. “Long term Predictions are not always understood until after the event unless you’re very good at interpretation.”
"In some cases. In this case, it was a young woman I was asked to help following M-Day. Her powers were slowly breaking down her body. The thing is that she wasn't just precognitive, but she was also post-cognitive. She had the remarkable ability to see the past in accurate detail. Imagine being able to look into a meeting of the ancient Roman senate? Or Babylon and see if the hanging gardens truly existed, or were just a clever plot device for Greek orators. Regardless, the worse her condition got, the stronger and longer her windows into both the past and future became. And that is when she finally found him."
“Him being?” Laurie prompted, wondering who that mutant had been and if they were still alive. She hoped so. “I’m assuming you have a name by now.”
"I have no idea if he has a real name. She saw a... mutant. Born eight or nine thousand years ago. Possibly even the first mutant. He built an empire and then abandoned it, sleeping for centuries at a time. Even eons. But every time he awoke, he'd bring destruction in his wake. Wars, famine, plagues... in her sight, she saw him emerge in 590. And 1346. Most recently in 1913 before returning to sleep in 1920. You can see the significance of those dates, I assume."
“War, Plague, War and War again.” Laurie’s eyes widened, wondering if a single individual could possibly live that long or cause such things. “How is that possible? There have been theories that Logan might be able to live forever but I’ve never seen proof of a mutant capable of it. Telepathy, perhaps? Healing factor certainly. How is it nobody has ever found this mutant's resting place?”
"No one looks for him. And I found enough elements to confirm his existence." He held up his hand. "I know it sounds mad, but I'm convinced it is true. So much that when she spoke about the future, she saw Adam. Specifically."
“Specifically doing what?” Laurie had sat back as she listened, trying to parse what he was telling her. Nate had said he had a destiny but this? It didn’t seem quite real. “What does he need to do against this mutant?”
"She saw him leading the challenge against him. Spoke specifically about the powers he wielded and in the end, how he broke the cycle of thousands of years to bring this antediluvian mutant down." Essex said. "The problem is that while Adam was certainly a mutant, his genetic material never suggested anywhere near the levels of power the woman described. If my son was faced with this glorious and terrible purpose, he needed to have the abilities to rise to the challenge. It is why his body has faced such issues adapting to his powers because they are not naturally his. He's integrating an array of powers from similar if significantly more advanced processes I first developed for the mutate program."
“So that’s why.” Laurie looked at him in a new light. She’d always wondered why he’d been in charge there or helping them at all. It made sense to test out leaps in genetics before you used them on people you actually cared about. “I never quite understood what it was you were trying to achieve there. So what now? He’s been doing fine with my help but I imagine that is a temporary solution.”
"For now, yes. His body will build up the requisite automatic responses as it learns the paths your powers currently enable. In fact, even with your power loss, he's ahead of my projections. Significantly. Obviously, something about you agrees with him." Essex said. "But now you understand why, as much as I'd love for him to have a normal teenage experience, he needs to be protected until he is ready. And unlike your X-Men, I'm willing to make difficult decisions when faced with so much potential harm approaching."
“The X-men were never made to face world-ending situations. We both saw that during the problems with Jean.” Laurie was quiet for a long time, sorting through her thoughts and feelings about what she’d just heard. “I can see why this is so important now, albeit Nate himself would have been enough for me to be happy to help. He’s remarkable, Nathanial.”
It was a calculated risk to call him by his given name, she had up till that point only used his title and surname. But that he’d willingly shared this information with her? It was a small gesture of trust and understanding.
"He is. My son is... every father says that but he's special. He knows what he's facing and yet..." It was a shockingly rare moment of emotion from Essex. "Take him to the concert. I need him to wear a nullifier on a crash button but... take him. I'll have a team near if something happens but..." Essex scrubbed at his eyes. "Stick to light beer. No shots. That's an order."
