6651/Medbay Blues

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Medbay Blues
Date of Scene: 24 February 2019
Location: Medical Lab - X-Men Base
Synopsis: Kitty comes to visit Lorna in the Medbay and the two discuss why Magneto is the way he is, and what they might be able to do about it going forward.
Cast of Characters: Polaris, Shadowcat




Polaris has posed:
It was mid-afternoon from the previous day's chaos. Sentinel's had been seen and it was all over the news. More over, how the X-men and the King of Genosha had been present. There were mixed reports about what happened in detail, depending on who you asked. As per usual video uploads filled the internet and sparked more than a little debate between both sides on who was responsible or not.

Lorna, for her part, had sat in bed most of the day, waiting for another Nurse to clear her so she could get out of bed and stop being bored out of her mind. Every few hours she diligently slathered on more burn cream on her still brilliantly red skin and sat back on the bed in a huff. At least she had the tablet that Kitty had brought her. Which, kept her mildly occupied. She stayed on top of what was coming out over the various social media site, furiously typing away responses and even responding to emails that went directly to Genosha. It was no small thing to be a recognized public figure. Much less one of one related to one of the more infamous men on the planet.

She tapped away on the tablet, fingernails clicking with each tap tap as she laid back in bed. Now at least in her PJ's rather than a hospital gown at least.

Shadowcat has posed:
There are a few places that Kitty Pryde is careful about not phasing into, given how electronics don't like having her pass through them in that form. The Medical Bay? Obviously one of them. Kitty comes to the door and gives a little knock on the door jam. It's not surprising to see her, she's stopped down to check on Lorna a few times. Keeping her company between duties as guidance counselor.

"Hey stranger, mind some more company?" Kitty asks. She glances up meaningfully and she has a helium balloon in hand that says, "Get Well Soon". It has also small amounts of green yarn glued to the top to make it look like the balloon has green hair. "The kids wanted me to bring you this," she says with a smile.

Polaris has posed:
The green haired mutant stopped in her furiously quickly tapped response to whatever she was watching on the tablet just as Kitty walked in, and she flicked the thing off with a wave of her hand. A smile came to life on her expression and Lorna sat up carefully. "I'd love some. Only so much time I can invest on a tablet before I start losing my mind." Her smile widened into a grin at the sight of the balloon. "Geeze, I have the equivalent of a nasty sunburn and people start sending me stuff. That's ridiculously cute." She patted the bed space beside her.

"I should be allowed to leave here shortly.. I hope."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde moves over to join Lorna, passing her the balloon and then hopping up on the bed. "Well, everyone's talking about the Sentinels. As you can imagine. Even Logan probably couldn't get the TV in the rec room changed off the news coverage today," Kitty says as she sits beside her friend. Kitty draws one leg up, leaving the other to dangle off the side of the bed.

"Sorry I wasn't closer and able to grab you before it hit. Saved a couple of those protestors from getting stepped on, and then got attacked by their friends for my troubles," Kitty says with a sigh, blowing a puff of air to push back some brown hair that has fallen across her cheek. It blows to the side briefly and then falls back to where it was as if determined to hang there out of place.

Polaris has posed:
A slow shake of her head followed, "I'm pretty sure that if my father gets any more paranoid he might start demanding I go back to Genosha if things get worse. I haven't seen him quite so concerned before.." She bit her lower lip. "I dunno." She sighed, "I can't tell him that he's necessarily wrong in what people want to do to us. Not if they're building things like Sentinels and Rachel having come from a future like she did.." She winced, and tied off the balloon to the hospital bed's railing.

"And don't apologize for that. I got cocky and didn't keep my shields up. If I had, it wouldn't have been an issue. I get over confident when my father is around. It sort of happens when our powers mix like that. I dunno how to describe the feeling exactly. But either way, I got sloppy."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde gives Lorna's hand a gentle pat, assuming there are no bandages or other signs of burns there. Seems like the safest place. "I imagine you two must kick off some interference with each other once you really get going," Kitty says. "Probably as big of a problem for electronics as I am. Speaking of, going to talk to Anna Marie about throwing me through a Sentinel's head if we have to face one again. I figure we can call it the Phaseball Special," Kitty adds with a little grin. Getting to one-up Logan AND Piotr at the same time? Magic!

Though Kitty's grin slides for a moment as the thought makes her remember Piotr. Well. That will still have to wait.

"Does your dad talk about the war much? And the shoah?" Kitty asks, voice softening a bit. "My grandfather told us a lot of tales. Thinking about that happening again, to mutants this time. Maybe, not stopping there even," Kitty says, shaking her head.

Polaris has posed:
A grin flickered to life as Kitty patted the non-reddened part of her hand. Mostly the back of her hand. Her finger tips had been scorched as she'd peeled off the super heated armor from her chest and still thrummed from time to time with pain. Still, the cooling cream helped. At least she didn't have blisters. She'd been lucky, or so she'd been told. Exceedingly lucky.

"Well, know how magnets attract? My father's magnetic fields are more like.. southerly. Sure, he can alter the pattern and polarity of his magnetic fields. I can too, but our natural polarities are opposite. Mine.. are more northernly.. Hence 'Polaris'," She grinned and wiggled her finger tips.

"We rebound off each other rather than cancelling out. And our powers get magnified. I don't normally have the full scope of his range, not yet anyways. And it always takes my breath away for a moment." She hmm'ed under her breath and as Kitty came up with a new version of the fast ball special, she arched a brow upward.

"That sounds hilarious, I approve. Too bad you're not metal, I could chuck you there." Her grin however faded as Kitty's did, though more to do with the topic change than anything else. A small nod followed, as she sobered up. "Not necessarily details. He doesn't offer those all that often. But yeah.. whenever there's a hint of something wrong.. It's 'Well you know this..' or 'We have to be prepared if they do that..' or 'You don't know what it was like..'" She sighed, reaching up to press a hand against her temple.

"Wanda wanted to celebrate the holidays this year.. He doesn't.. he has no interest in them. Not anymore. And yeah, it's because of the shoah." She exhaled a breath, and shook her head. "He doesn't even necessarily call himself Jewish these days. Not unless its to bring up how he was targeted for it." A grimace twisted at her lips.

"I don't think a day goes by that he doesn't think about it. That it's not there to him."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde's hands move to her lap, fingers gently clasping and unclasping a few times as they talk. "You might almost be better off, if he hasn't. Grandpa... well, he held back when I was younger. But not when I became a teenager," Kitty says, voice rather quiet and somber. "It's difficult to believe anyone could do that to each other," Kitty says.

Hearing that Magneto - ok, she thought the name 'Erik' that time - might be letting the importance of his religious heritage go looks like it troubles Kitty. Her lips press into a soft line and she looks down and shakes her head, eyes saddened. "Maybe we can do something together to help him remember the parts of the faith worth holding onto?" Kitty asks, looking back up and over to Lorna. "I mean... he's your father. I don't want to intrude in your family business. But, I'm offering if you want to and the help is welcome?"

Polaris has posed:
A small smile flickered to life on her lips. "I have tried to learn about my family from before the war from him but all I have is snatches. I know roughly, what happened.. but most of what happened I had to look up for myself. He doesn't want to talk about it." She exhaled a breath, pushing her hair back from her face with delicate care of her sensitive hands. "While I was in Genosha I poured over what I could get access to. Wanda wanted the family holidays. I just.. the look of his face. I wanted to do something important. Something special for him. I found a pocket watch that my grandfather made.." She whispered, her voice barely a hush as she looked upward at the ceiling.

"I spent weeks researching what I could. Using the number on his arm to find what records I could. I know vaguely.. what there was left. But it's been decades.." She shook her head with a grimace. "I never saw my father cry until I gave him that pocket watch." She turned green eyes to Kitty, ones that were filled with emotions that were barely restrained.

"People accuse my father of not feeling, but it's the opposite.. He feels too much. Always." She exhaled a heavy breath as Kitty brought up trying to figure out a way to bring Magneto back to finding something he'd long ago lost.

"How do you tell someone that went through what he did that God exists?"

Shadowcat has posed:
The brunette sits quietly on the bed beside Lorna, listening to this bit of her friend's family history. To say that Kitty is touched by it is an understatement. Lorna would get a hug right now but for her burns. Instead, Kitty's fingers just rest on the back of Lorna's hand, the most affectionate touch that the young Jewish woman figures she can make safely.

Someone watching closely at what follows might see a few flickers of guilt that pass through Kitty's expression as Lorna makes mention of how people judge, or at least view, her father. Well, she hasn't screamed that he's a jerk, at least.

That anyone knows of.

"I don't know for sure," Kitty tells Lorna. "Maybe we don't have to tell him? Just invite him to worship with us? Hopefully God will provide a way if we can just start him down the path?" the young woman suggests to her friend.

Polaris has posed:
A small shrug followed as Kitty reached out a careful hand to press against the top of her own. A weak smile came to life and died just as quickly. Her thoughts were grim and focused on the darker parts of her family history still, and it was hard to detach her line of thinking from it. She should have had a grandmother, grandfather.. an aunt.. to grow up with. But they were long since lost to time and tragedy.

What kind of a person would her father have been had he grown up without such tragedy in his life?

Lorna swallowed thickly, and exhaled a breath. "I dunno. Depends on the Temple. I feel like there's a good chance that people might not want him there. Or maybe the opposite. Who's to say? Maybe we can plan for a holiday. Purim is supposed to be all about fun, and escaping slaughter. I think.. I think it might be our best bet. If you know.. the Sentinels don't get us all first."

Shadowcat has posed:
"They have to get through all of us, and that isn't going to happen," Kitty says of the Sentinels. "And hopefully we can learn some more from that head. I'm looking forward to spending some time on it, hopefully with Forge and Hank," Kitty adds, a determined expression on her face.

Considering the holiday that was suggested, Kitty's head starts with a slow nod that grows more confident with each up and down gesture. "I think that might be a good way to go, yes," she agrees with Lorna. "I'll spring for the Advil the next morning," Kitty says, remembering the headache she had the morning after her first time participating as an adult.

Kitty looks over to her friend and says, "Thank you for letting me be part of it. I haven't always been the most... ah... what is a good word? Complimentary. And... well sometimes it was deserved, maybe? But, I also should have been better. And I'm sorry for that, Lorna," Kitty says.

Polaris has posed:
A small grin crossed her features, "We should invite Wanda and Pietro too, if they're around. Maybe it'll be enough to get my father involved. Not that I think we'll get him drunk, but we can certainly try." Not that Pietro would likely get drunk either. Not with his metabolism. It might actually prove to be fun. She hadn't actually celebrated much of anything herself in years. It was hard to make time, harder still to do so on Genosha around her father. He always got quieter around the holidays. Always more withdrawn.

Kitty's words, more of her apology, brought a smile to her lips. "It's not easy to be around my father. He's a deeply flawed man. But I still love him and respect him. Even if I don't always agree with him. I try to understand where he's coming from, try to remember what he's been through and that it's not his fault." She exhaled a breath.

"People always talk about the survivor that's sad, or scarred.. the ones that spoke out, or wrote books.. But no one talks about the ones that got angry. The ones that can't let that go." She shook her head and made a vague gesture of her hand, as if she were physically gesturing at her father who wasn't present.

"I'm not saying that everything he does is right. Because it's not. But I understand it..." She flashed Kitty another faint smile. "It's too bad he's not able to just go to the old folks home and play bingo and chess with everyone though, right?"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty's nod is slow but deep. "That we lived in a world where everyone had the right to such a retirement," Kitty says, and if she wants to sound sad as she says it, she instead gives Lorna back an encouraging smile, not wanting to bring the other woman down at all. "I think having Wanda and Pietro there is an excellent idea," Kitty agrees.

The twenty-year-old pauses a moment in thought. "I wonder... do you think if I invited my mother, do you think that might help him at all? I mean, I know having family around is good. But maybe having someone else there who can see life through a different lens than the one that our abilities forces on us, would that be something that you think might help him? Or would it have the opposite effect?" Kitty muses quietly, head tilting as she looks to Lorna to get her impression.

Polaris has posed:
A nod followed and Kitty's lightness brought some humor back to Lorna's expression, "He should be able to do that, but can you imagine it? My father? Playing shuffleboard and relaxing?" She arched a brow, amusement following. The thought was both sad that he'd likely never see that option, and funny in and of itself. Her father had never been a man for sitting still and the thought of him finally doing just that was hilarious.

The offer of bringing Kitty's mother surprised her, and Lorna blinked, shifting to the side to peer at Kitty. "Seriously? She'd... she'd be okay with that? With being around my father and just..." She made a vague gesture with her hand. And then hmm'ed under her breath as she considered the prospect of it. Finally, after a beat she nodded, "Yeah. No, it's a good idea. I think, it's a very good idea, actually, if she's okay with it. We can invite the other kids that are Jewish here too. It'll give him.. there's less a chance he can back out if people //want// to celebrate and include him. It .. I think it would be good for him. Thanks, Kitty."

Shadowcat has posed:
"I think she would," Kitty says. "There may be a lot of emotions in her about... well. There may be a lot of emotions. But if I tell her we're trying to bring someone back to the faith? I expect she would come, yes," Kitty says of her mother.

She smiles to Lorna and says, "I'll give her a call tonight. Arrange travel for her and... and we'll make this work. I have faith it will," Kitty says warmly.

The Nurse comes back over then, giving Kitty only a small scowl for her sitting in Lorna's bed. Like having someone else there is doing anything other than keeping Lorna's spirits up. And Kitty is shooed away for a few minutes so more treatment can happen.