7600/Sentinels: Sebastien Session

Sentinels: Sebastien Session
Date of Scene:	23 May 2019
Location:	Wellness Office - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Lorna talks about the experience of meeting Sebastien with Ororo and Charles.
Cast of Characters:	Professor X, Polaris, Storm
Tinyplot:	Sentinels

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Professor X has posed:
Charles sits in his wheelchair in his study. His arm is still slung and bound, but he seems more comfortable. He is sitting near the the window, looking over some papers. A flat screen on the wall is showing an episode of Nailed It.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna came to the door, politely knocking as she paused at the door for admittance before she stepped inside. The floor creaking beneath her steps as she entered the study. She wore a simple pair of jeans, sneakers, and loose fitting T-shirt of a lavender color. Her neck and wrists were covered in several magnetic metals, all the jewelry held a practical use beyond being flashy in her hands.

"Professor?" She called, coming toward the old, recovering man with his papers by the window. She glanced briefly at the TV, arching a thin green eyebrow upward as she entered. Though she appeared calm, her mind was a torrent of unease. Her report had been submitted, and the encounter with Sebastian had left her feeling sick at heart and nearly queasy.

"Have you had a chance to read my report?" She ventured.

Storm has posed:
Ororo is not far behind Lorna, and catches the door swinging shut with a low leather-sandled foot. "Oh, good afternoon, Lorna," she says, looking pleasantly surprised to see the green-haired woman in Xavier's office. "You have wonderful timing. I was just getting something for teatime. Would you like to have a cup?" She sets pills out for Charles along with a glass of water, and starts decanting hot water into teapots to be flavored to individual taste. Her attire is elegantly simple, a long grey dress with modest neckline that hangs to her ankles. It flows with her every movement and twin tails coming off the back of her shoulders flicker like a pair of fluttering wings.

Professor X has posed:
Charles looks up from his papers when Lorna calls in. He smiles, but then it changes to a look of concern. He shares a quick glance with Ororo and waves both women in.

"Please, come join us, Lorna," he says.

He tidies his papers into a neat stack and places them on the table beside him. He comments on the nice weather they are having while tea is being set out. He touches Ororo's arm and gives her a smile in thanks and asks how the morning classes went. When everyone is settled, he looks more solemn and turns his attention to Lorna.

"You are very troubled, Lorna," he ventures.

Polaris has posed:
A glance at Ororo and Lorna flashed a smile, "Tea sounds lovely. Thank you." She sat as she was invited, her fingers curling around the loops of her bangles around her wrists. The metal twisting and warping under her touch in a continuous loop of reforming and unforming. It was a nervous tick, one that she rarely fell back on these days. Particularly around her father who would sense her use of power and might start asking questions.

She crossed her ankles as she sat, watching the tea preparations with a distant, distracted glance. The Professor's words were enough to startle her out of her thoughts, and she turned her gaze back to the aged and recovering man before her. His comment had her dropping her bracelets in an almost guilty fashion and she smoothed her hands out over her jeans instead.

"It's nothing, Professor. Everything important was in my report."

Storm has posed:
Tea is gently pressed into Lorna's hands, and Ororo smiles down at the woman in her endlessly reasssuring manner. "I find hot tea always makes things seem less daunting," she remarks, cutting into the moment of silence with a deft hand. "When our souls are warm, the world is much less cold and frightening." Lorna's nervous tic isn't lost on Ororo; she's known the mutant ferrokinetic long enough. The regal African woman adjusts the exotic looking black hairband on her head. It'd be a tiara if it were not made of some dark and lustrous ebony wood. Her intricately plaited hair falls around to her mid shoulders.

"So perhaps while Charles is taking his medicine--" eyes flicker poitnedly up and down at the man-- "you can sip your tea, and relax your shoulders, and tell us when you are ready. You know you are in a safe place."

Professor X has posed:
Charles watches Lorna out of the corner of his eye while Storm speaks.

"Alright, alright," Charles accedes to Ororo with a slight wrinkle of the nose. "I don't think these are necessary, Wanda did excellent work with... Whatever that was. A poultice?"

Nonetheless, Charles reaches over to the table beside him for his pills and glass of water. He swallows them with a slight grimace.

"There. Oh, that's unfortunate," he says, his eyes catching the television. With a shout of 'nailed it!' one of the contestants reveals her cake. Her volcano looks like a steaming mess of something, but certainly not anything you would put in your mouth. Charles puts down his glass of water, picks up the remote and turns off the television.

Polaris has posed:
A faint, wan, smile twisted itself into being on Lorna's features as Ororo placed the warm tea cup in her hands. She wrapped her fingers around the cup dutifully, though she didn't sip it yet. There was a frenetic energy that was typically seen in her brother running through her veins, or so it felt like to Lorna. The meeting with Sebastian haunting her waking moments as if it were a sort of hazy dream from which she could not escape.

"I know." She mumbled softly, her gaze flickering briefly toward the TV as the Professor commented on what was on it. Her smile warmed then, and she glanced away as the TV shut off. It reminded her of lighter days in school, years ago now, when her class had been learning how to cook.

A sigh pulled from her lips finally, her shoulders losing some of the rigid posture they'd kept. "Professor.. what do you think we should do regarding the situation with Sebastian?" She asked finally.

Storm has posed:
Ororo sits back quietly. She's done her job for the moment, encouraging Lorna to relax and open up a little. The tea really does help, though that's a debate between the nature of tea or if Ororo brewed something special. Or, if it's something Ororo does, whether magical or something altogether more mundane.

Maybe it's just that very British notion that all things in life can be solved after a cuppa hot tea.

She folds her ankles together and tucks them under her chair. Her expression remains open and friendly, trying to help Lorna relax by projecting calm stillness.

Professor X has posed:
Charles picks up his tea cup, takes a sip and holds on to it in front of his chest.

"Well, your report was very thorough. It is clear Sebastien demands our attention," Charles says seriously. "But reports lack... Dimension. Which I think is important here."

Charles shifts slightly, letting his shoulder rest more comfortably. He avoids glancing at Ororo and can only hope she didn't notice. There was good reason for the pain medications and antibiotics.

"I don't know think I've seen you this unsettled. How did you feel after meeting Sebastien?"

Polaris has posed:
A lump formed in the back of her throat, "I tried to keep things to the facts as much as possible and not color it too much with.. how it all made me feel. I felt that didn't have a place in a formal report." She mumbled, and her gaze fell down to the tea cup in her hands. She pursed her lips, and swirled the contents of the cup from side to side, slowly watching the liquid lap at the edges of the porcelain.

"I.." Her brows knit together as she puzzled over the haunting way the meeting had disturbed her. As she struggled for how to explain what bothered her the most. "He was polite.. and well, extremely honest. He wasn't the robotic 'Terminator' I thought he would be given what had previously been reported about him. I.. Professor he spoke of hating what he was. Of wanting to be human. That at one point he thought he was a mutant and how he wanted to die. I just.. He said he wants to protect those he cares for.. and that people hate him for what he might do and not what he has done. And that when he tells people what he can do, it makes them afraid.. It just.." It rang too true. It reminded her too much of her own younger years when she'd first discovered in rapid succession her powers, her parentage, and likewise the death of her mother. It had been all too much for her once.

Storm has posed:
Ororo nods encouragement when Charles suggests that Lorna voice her concerns. The regal woman watches Lorna's face carefully, and her own expression takes on a sympathic (never pitied or horrified) expression. By the time Lorna's done, Ororo extends a hand to offer a reassuring squeeze or just the proximity of a person's reassurance. Her pale palm flexes at the air once in an attempt to convey solidarity.

"You are doing very good, dear," she confirms for Lorna. "Try not to let your neck tense. You will feel better." She sits back upright, emulating Lorna's hunched posture, and visibly displays the slow act of unclenching muscles knotted in anxiety.

Professor X has posed:
Charles listens attentively to Lorna, absorbing a wealth of information about the encounter from her reactions.

"He was not what you expected. Not so alien, not so repulsive that you couldn't identify with him, couldn't help but empathize with his suffering," Charles empathizes, speaking softly. "He struck a chord with you."

Polaris has posed:
The Professor understood explicitly what she had left out of the report. What she'd been haunted by, summing it up in a simple sentence or two. He knew, was that why he struggled so much to change hearts and minds rather than her father's more forceful means and measures? She swallowed thickly, a dry lump forming at the back of her throat and she finally took a sip of her tea. More of a gulp, but she drank it none the less. Both hands still gripping the cup.

Her gaze swung toward Ororo, and she looked away, exhaling a rough breath. Even as she rolled her shoulders back, the tension didn't completely escape her. "I did. And I don't... I wish I didn't. it's wrong that I do. He hates us, Professor. He absolutely hates us. He said we were.. evil. A disease. Something that needed to be burned out. Something //wrong//." Her lips twisted and like a punch in her gut she swallowed the bile that threatened to rise again at the back of her throat.

"He's a threat to mutants everywhere. A threat to all of us. To Genosha. To the students here. He needs to be stopped." Her voice broke off and there was a hanging 'but' in her words.

Storm has posed:
"And you know he is wrong," Ororo reminds Lorna, quietly. Her rich tones fill the room with a resolute timbre. "Both of them. Violence is the option of last possible resort, or we're a world where only the strong survive. And we are no more an infection than anyone else who has ever lived. And people have long used the word 'disease' to demean or dehumanize those they do not like. Do not let yourself be dehumanized," she encourages Lorna. "You are a person, not an infection. Never forget that," she admonishes.

Professor X has posed:
Charles nods in agreement with Ororo. He sets his tea aside and leans forward slightly to catch Lorna's eye and bring it back to him and Ororo.

"It's hard to hate someone you have compassion for, and who needs help themselves," Charles adds after Ororo. "And confusing to feel compassion for someone who hates something that's such a part of you."

Charles leans back again. "I think we've all hated part of who we are at some time, I know I have," Charles says and looks to Ororo, then back to Lorna. "It's hard for me when someone stirs up those feelings about myself, all the things I keep telling myself I have put behind me."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna's shoulder slumped fully and completely as both Ororo and the Professor spoke. Her gaze falling as she clutched the tea cup close to her chest with both hands. As if the remaining warmth could somehow health the sickening way her stomach twisted and knotted in reaction to the turmoil that roiled in her mind. She pursed her lips, "He has to be stopped, as soon as we can.. We can't hold him. Not with his abilities, the 'secure' facility is a sham. He can leave whenever he wants. He was just so... //reasonable// up until that point. He was human, a person.. and he honesty thought what he believed was right. He hates me for something I can't control, over something I would //never// change." Her teeth clenched together as she grit out the 'never' between her lips. Her voice impassioned and tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

"And he was human once. I can only imagine that he chose to become what he is. Machines don't hate. Computers don't hate. You can't program that into something. Just like you can't program in love." She fell silent, exhaling a shaky breath and finishing up her tea. She carefully set the cup down, too agitated to trust herself with holding it in her grip.

"He has to be stopped and I still can't bring myself to be involved with it.."

Storm has posed:
Ororo glances at Charles and gets to her feet. She shuffles over to Lorna's spot and sits next to her, carefully tucking her dress behind her knees. A palm rests on Lorna's shoulder and she rubs a gentle circle, trying to calm the distraught young woman down.

"There are many ways to help besides throwing a punch, Lorna," Ororo reminds the woman. "You can ensure the children are safe. Provide reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. Lend your analyitical mind to the work. Girl you can sit and make /sandwhiches/," she stresses, with a reassuring laugh. "And do not knock it. The best meal you eat is the one you come home to after those long thirty-hour missions. I love to cook but I am not making /anything/ except a dent in my bed when I come home," she says. Her tone is a little light and playful, trying to distract Lorna from the torment of her memories.

Professor X has posed:
Charles looks at Ororo a touch imploringly, knowing he can't offer the kind of comfort another woman might be able to. But his heartache for Lorna is plain. He is relieved when Ororo moves over to Lorna's side.

"You are not alone, and this is not all on you," Charles says reassuringly.

"Lorna, I am sorry. I knew this task would be hard for you, but I chose you anyway. I needed you to speak with Sebastien, not one of the others. And you completed your mission perfectly," Charles says. "But there is a cost, it's not always physical risks we take in what we do. Our hearts and spirits are just as often in harm's way."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna blinked furiously to try to swallow back the welling of moisture in her eyes. She exhaled roughly, rubbing the heels of her palm against her lower eyelashes as she wiped away the smear of mascara that bled away at her only partially shed tears. Words were difficult and she inhaled slowly, and exhaled repeatedly, all in the attempt to pull back on the emotions that burst from her beyond her control.

"I shouldn't sympathize with him, or .. feel pity for him. He doesn't think we should exist, or have a right to be what we are. Just because of our X-genes!" She clenched her teeth together, her hands curling into fists as she struggled with anger rather than sorrow. Anger was easier, anger allowed her to put on a brave face and to be the figurehead she needed to be for Genosha.

Even though here she was, with two trusted people, and not a crowd. Without a camera in sight. Still, she struggled. It was only harder with Ororo's gentle touch and her head dipped lower, her eyes swinging to her lap and her clenched fists.

"Tactically we need to know what he knows and stop him. For good. But I can't handle being the one to do it. Even saying it feels wrong. Why does it feel so wrong. When he looked at me and said I was //wrong//... evil.. It was like every story my father told me of what he went through growing up. What he faced.. I feel like I'm betraying everything and everyone by feeling that way." She sniffled then, and her tears fully trickled down her cheeks no matter how much she blinked to chase them away, or tilted her head back and wiped at the edges of her eyes.

Storm has posed:
"It is not a crime to have feelings," Ororo murmurs quietly. "Feelings are part of who we are. It is what we /do/ with those feelings that defines us as the people we aspire to be."

Her lips purse, and she nods at Charles in agreement. You looked in the eye of true hate and ignorance today. That is a scary thing. I am so proud of you for fighting your fear," she encourages Lorna. "And not giving in to anger. You should also be very proud of yourself," she says, and nudges the girl. "What you did was no mean thing. I think you've certainly earned a rotation in a lower-stress assignment for the time being."

She looks at Charles, then back at Lorna. "I think Logan was going to help with the shop class this week. Perhaps you could offer to trade him," she says. "With your talents, I think you might find shop class almost triflingly easy. You would be a great help to some of the children struggling with the book learning, by keeping their hands busy."

Professor X has posed:
"Whatever will help you," Charles agrees. "Like Ororo says, it isn't a crime to have feelings. Even for our enemies. In fact, it's a dangerous myth that we should hate our enemies... Your father of all people does know that. But /not/ following that path yourself is honouring him, and us. Not losing yourself. You have enough compassion to see Sebastien for what he is, and not paint him as a caricature. It is a sign of maturity. A painful sign, but one nonetheless."

Charles purses his lips. "Ororo will remember this. Years ago, there was a mutant named Tavin Moore. A powerful psychic. Bright, ambitious, eager," Charles says with a smile. "I worked with him, watched him grow as a person..." Charles looks wistful, then sighs and frowns.

"He decided he was going to right all the wrongs done to mutant kind himself. He was going get revenge for the humiliations, torture, killings.... All of it. I tried, I tried so hard to get through to him. To help him see where it would lead. But nothing I did helped. I watched this incredible young man warp before my eyes. It came to a head when he killed three police officers in Mutant Town. We got there, but not until after it was too late. He attacked us... He was so strong.... Powerful telekinetic... I, stunned him. Reached into his mind and stunned him for a second, and the team did what had to be done. There was no other option."

Charles falls quiet. "I loved him, even when he turned into what I have been fighting against. Even when I helped to kill him, I pitied him and had compassion."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna rubbed at her eyes, her shoulders hunched forward as she simply let herself cry and breath and wipe her tears. She felt disgusted with herself, but also with the conflicting emotions inside her. Even as Ororo and the Professor tried to calm her and assure that it was //good// she felt this way. That she had found the compassion to feel pity and remorse over the thought of Sebastian's state and what she'd decided had to happen for all their safety. She felt sick at heart and to her stomach, but slowly, her tears ebbed and she sniffled again.

Red in the face, and with her cheeks damp, Lorna sat up, rubbing her eyes still and nose as she made to slow her breathing as her father had taught her though measured breaths. "Please... don't put me with the students. Or Logan. I can't.. My mind will be on everything else. I have appointments to maintain and business deals to discuss. And Wanda said she'll need help getting things together for a protection spell. I just.. I can't be on the team that goes to handle Sebastian either way. I can sit in on any meetings with the Avengers.. because they need to be part of this.." She swallowed hard, rubbed her nose again and sat back in her chair as she fell silent when the Professor spoke.

Particularly as he mentioned a tale of another young mutant that had crossed over into killing police officers. She pursed her lips, looking down at her jeans. "I just feel disgusting for it. The way he looked at me.. everything." Her eyebrows furrowed, "The lack of empathy, of understanding from him.. Nothing I did or suggested really changed anything. It was like talking to someone that only heard half of what I said. He apologized for possibly hurting my feelings about watching movies, but saw nothing wrong with what he said about me..."

Storm has posed:
"All right," Ororo soothes. She does the most helpful thing she can-- she hands Lorna a box of tissues to dry her face and blow her nose.

Her own eyes go a bit damp remembering Tavin. What he did. What was done to him. Cruel necessity, and the pacifistic African had never come to anything more than uneasy peace with it.

"Then why don't you spend the next few days helping Wanda," she suggests to Lorna. "She's a lovely person and a strong ally to the cause here. Focus on helping her and see if it takes your mind off this ugly situation. Okay?"

Professor X has posed:
"It had to be so disturbing, demeaning..." Charles trails off after Lorna finishes.

"It might be best," Charles agrees Ororo. "What comes next will be delicate and difficult. But we will discuss it with the Avengers, I promise. Mr. Stark and I have discussed the situation once, and after this, it's time we do it again. We can take that part from here."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna took the box of tissues gratefully, blowing her nose in a decidedly ungraceful way, was there even a way to do so 'gracefully'? She rubbed her cheeks clean with another, clean, tissue and wadded them both up in her hands. Another sniffle and she seemed to at least breath easier having stated quite clearly what had so weighed her down and haunted her. (And likely still would haunt her for some time to come.) The green haired woman pushed her hair back from her face, tangles of green curls pushed back behind an ear as she nodded once. Wanda would be safe, and understanding too.

Though for all the kindness the Professor and Ororo had shown her, both now and in the past, the magnokinetic wanted nothing more than her father. She wanted to be in Genosha where the sun shone down on the tropical island where mutants lived and co-existed peacefully. She wanted that, and to feel the curling protective polarity of her father's presence. It just seemed far too cliche for the twenty something year old woman to say it aloud. 'I want my father.' But it was there. Despite the lack of his presence in most of her life, Magneto had managed to become a similar protective father-figure to his youngest after all.

"Okay. Thank you, Professor.. Ororo.. For listening. And everything." She bit her lower lip, and slowly stood with the wad of tissues in her grip, setting the box down on the table and off to the side. "I uhm.. I think I'll... I think I need to take a walk for a bit."

Storm has posed:
Ororo rises smoothly, fingers resting on Lorna's tricep. Not because the young woman remotely needs a steadying hand-- but maybe because Lorna needs a little steadying presence. She gives Lorna a benevolent smile, tilting her head so they can look at each other over Lorna's weepy eyelashes. "Lorna, I am /always/ glad to listen," she reminds the woman with a firm voice. "And you are always welcome to join me for tea. I think you will feel better after a hot bath," she declares, ushering Lorna along. "Try to soak your worries away, and if you still can't sleep, come talk to me. I have some mizizi ya ndoto in my cabinet. Dream root. I guarantee," she says, with a flashing grin and that culture accent. "A cup of that and you will sleep until Sunday morning!"

Professor X has posed:
"My door is open as well, always. Oh, and do be careful. I think your father is in the library looking at our latest game of chess. You know how he gets when he's not winning," Charles says with an understanding smile.

He waits until Lorna leaves and then exhales.

"It's so hard on them, on all of you," he says with a shake of his head. "If people only understood how much of ourselves we are putting into the vision of a better and safer world."