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ax_mainUpon Inu-Yasha and the three rescues' arrival at Xavier's, things get a little out of hand in the infirmary.
One minute, they were in the cafeteria, huddled together for some reason, with the guards bearing down on the place. The next, Clint found himself in another medical lab, alongside Caleb, Molly, and the guy with the ears. He didn't know what the fuck was going on, but better safe than sorry, he raised the rifle in his hands, back pedaling up against a shiny white counter.
The medical lab, wherever it was, was more spacious than the ones he'd seen at the Right, and was sporting all kinds of impressive equipment he couldn't put a name to. He spotted two people right away - a woman and a teen boy about his age, both in scrubs. And really, that was all he needed to see, because he didn't know if they were still with the Right or not, or if all of this was some kind of test, but it definitely looked like whoever these people were, they were also experimenting on young mutants, and he wanted no fucking part of that. Not after the promise of a rescue.
Seeing the kid with the gun start to freak out, Inu-yasha stepped toward him, dropping his own stolen gun unceremoniously to the floor so he could hold his hands up in the universal ‘I’m not armed’ pose. He didn’t get too close, just enough to put himself between the kid and everyone else, since their flimsy bodies wouldn’t heal the way he would.
Scowling at him, he snapped, “Oy, knock it off! Can’t you see you’re safe?”
"That remains to be seen," Molly said, deceptively mild as he stepped up to Clint's shoulder, injured hand resting loosely at his side. He still had enough that he could probably get off one more shot before he needed more blood, so there was no harm in being ready. And going from one sterile environment to another was not exactly what he would call promising, especially not when they had no choice in the matter.
"If you're looking for a thank you, you might start with telling us where we are."
Caleb had recoiled instinctively at the new-but-familiar surroundings of a sterile medical lab, and scrambled to put something—anything—between himself and the people in scrubs. That something ended up being a medical tray. Not great in the way of cover, but there were medical instruments on it, and his hand itched to reach out and grab one. He glared at the dog-eared boy as he shouted at them and, somewhere deep within him, the tattered remains of rebellion stirred. “Can’t you see he can’t hear you?” he snapped back.
"Could everyone please take a deep breath?" Sharon asked, taking a step forward, her hands out to make it clear she wasn't holding anything. After years of working in an emergency room, she radiated a calm and confidence she didn't entirely feel under the circumstances, and offered a smile to the three unfamiliar boys (including the one holding the gun) before turning to the last one who'd spoken. "Can anyone translate for him? My ASL is questionable at best. But in answer to your question, " she turned towards the - yeah, he did look like a purple demon, she'd seen stranger, and was not going to stare - "You're at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Don't ask me how he came up with the name, I've always been afraid to ask. My name is Sharon. Does anyone need urgent medical attention?"
Simon took a step back when he saw the gun, suddenly completely aware at how open the infirmary was. There seemed to be very little cover, and he had no idea how any of the kids would react. When Clarice stepped out to quickly explain that she had to retrieve the others, then blinked away, he was left staring at three agitated rescues, and...Inu-Yasha, of all people. As if they could have chosen anyone less compassionate.
Clint glanced at Caleb when everyone started talking, then back at their lips, trying to follow along and keep the gun ready at the same time. Why the fuck were they at a school? Why did the school look like a lab? He shifted the gun to aim at the boy with the ears, who seemed more hostile than anyone, his eyes a little wild as he tried to follow along.
"Hey!" Inu-yasha protested as the kid put the gun on him. "Look, it's a weird fucking school, but it's real," he said firmly, figuring his word would count more than some random adult. His eyes dropped briefly to the weapon, wishing he'd grabbed it a moment before, but his golden eyes flicked back up to meet the new kid's. "We're mutants, alright?"
The yell brought Molly's attention sharply to the white-haired boy, but it also meant that he caught the glance given to Clint's gun. Without seeming to do more than shift, he brought himself in closer to Clint, practically vibrating with tension.
"You'll forgive my saying so," he said, not actually sounding all that apologetic, "but this doesn't look much like a school. If I'm wrong and you have very peculiar taste in decorating then back off." His voice slipped into something almost like a snarl at the last. "If I'm not wrong, then I hope you understand when I say we're going to make you regret it."
While everyone’s attention was on Clint and Molly, Caleb took the opportunity to palm a scalpel off the medical tray. He lightly put a hand on Clint’s arm to get his attention, then motioned for him to lower the gun. “You have to forgive us. You are asking us to take the word of strangers when it is strangers who kept us locked up in a place that looks very much like this one.”
"I understand," Sharon said as she turned towards him. "It probably would have been better if Clarice had brought you in somewhere else, but we weren't sure whether or not anyone had been injured. This is our infirmary - I'm a nurse, by the way, and Simon," she gestured towards him, "is studying medicine, so he's here to help. Does anyone need anything? If not, I'll be happy to take you upstairs."
Simon motioned gently toward the purple arrival. "Your hand. Are you bleeding?"
Clint glanced at Caleb, then slowly started to lower the gun. It was reluctant, but he trusted that Caleb knew what he was doing. And Molly, at least, still seemed ready to fight, if necessary. He sure as hell didn't put the gun down, though, just pointed toward the ground, rather than at another person.
Inu-yasha huffed a breath as the gun tipped downward. Fucking finally. "See? We're on your side, idiot," he said gruffly, reaching forward with inhuman speed to snatch the weapon away.
Clint didn't catch anything that the guy with the ears said, because he was more focused on the gun starting to be wrenched from his hands. He didn't even mean for the trigger to go off, but there was no controlling the gun as it was wrenched from his hands like that.
Molly was indeed still bleeding, which meant that when the white-haired boy grabbed for the gun he was already reacting. The movement was fast enough that he could barely register it, but it hardly mattered. He'd moved in Clint's direction, and Molly's bleeding hand came up to gesture towards the white blur.
"What did I just say," he hissed out, rough and nearly inhuman sounding as he concentrated on temporarily blinding the boy. The only thing that kept him from doing actual damage was the idea that this might not be a complete trap, but it was a close thing.
The yelp of pain that came after startled him enough for his hand to drop slightly and wonder briefly if he'd managed to get the effect wrong. It did not, however, make him regret it. "If this is you attempting to put us at ease," he said, red eyes still fixed on his target, "I'd hate to see what a threat would look like."
"SON OF A--" Inu-yasha was breaking the weapon in his hands when something pierced his shoulder, then he abruptly went blind. "What did you do to me?!" he demanded, throwing the busted gun to the floor as he turned toward them with a growl.
Caleb had hunched down reflexively when the shot went off, hands thrown up to protect himself. He straightened as people all around him shouted, his eyes flicking back and forth between them, stomach in knots. Pressing closer to Molly and Clint, he snapped at the Dog-Ear boy. “Stop! This is your fault! I told you he can’t hear well and you didn’t listen! Step the fuck back!”
"Would everyone please just STOP!" Sharon called out amidst the pandemonium. She stepped forward briskly to grab hold of Inu-Yasha, whose shoulder was now bleeding, ready to restrain him if necessary (and possible). "Everyone's on edge, but this isn't going to help. Inu-Yasha, go in one of the exam rooms. I'll be in in a minute."
Simon, who had ducked down behind a medical cart at the sound of the shot, leapt forward to help Sharon, grasping Inu-Yasha's other shoulder to try and lead him toward the exam room. "I've got you," he promised quickly.
Next to Molly and Caleb, Clint reached out to grab the nearest weapon he could find - which ended up to be some kind of eye-light-thing. He brandished it uncertainly, but focused his attention on the woman, since she seemed to be trying to get the ear-boy under control.
Inu-yasha had pulled violently out of the nurse’s hands on instinct, turning to the side so no one was behind him. His ears were flicking around the room toward each new sound, his nose working overtime, trying to compensate for his sightless eyes, but he didn’t try to go after anyone, and didn’t do more than flinch when Simon touched him (an attack, if it was coming, wouldn’t come from the medical kid). If his bleeding shoulder hurt, he didn’t show it. He already knew it’d heal - he’d had worse. He growled quietly in the direction of the newcomers. “Didn’t want someone getting shot,” he complained, resisting Simon’s attempt to lead him. “The hell’d you do to my eyes?!”
"Perhaps now we've learned not to just go touching things," Molly said, sounding remarkably nonchalant despite the current chaos. The easy tone belied the fact that he was still tense at Clint's side, hand outstretched just in case anyone else wanted to try something. He might have been tapped out unless he made another cut, but none of them knew that.
"Chin up, it will wear off."
Inu-yasha’s eyes narrowed in a glare that was out of focus but decently precise, considering he couldn’t actually see the purple kid on the receiving end. “It better.” His face turned briefly toward the medical staff, clearly questioning whether he should be leaving them defenseless, then back to the rescued mutants. Sure, he didn’t like getting attacked by these ungrateful bastards after he’d risked himself to get them out, but, “Fine, I get it,” he conceded gruffly. Besides, he could take it. “But hurt anyone else, an’ we’ll have a real problem.”
He gave a glare in their general direction again, but couldn’t see if his message had registered, so he’d just have to assume they understood that these two were under his protection. Then he finally gave into the pull from Simon, turning reluctantly and letting himself be led into another room. He’d send Simon right back out and keep an ear on the situation from there.
Caleb stepped closer, bumping against Molly in an excuse to press the scalpel into his hand. “So, you said this is a school?”
"It's a school. And would you gentlemen please stop passing around the contents of that tray?" Sharon asked, her eyebrows rising. "I'm hardly a threat to any of you, and I'd really rather all the sharp pointy objects be where everyone can see them." Honestly, what had Charles been thinking? And what did he expect her to do about it?
Clint did manage to get that from lip-reading, and only barely managed to resist flashing the little instrument light at her in defiance. Instead, he slowly lowered it back to the tray, then signed to Caleb, what do they want?
Molly, in turn, apparently decided to brazen it out considering he blinked innocently at the woman as if he wasn't currently tucking the scalpel into his sleeve. "Well then how's this. I can assure you that none of us need medical attention. Are we free to go?" And that would be the real deciding factor.
They haven’t said. It’s a school. They want to know if we need medical attention Caleb looked over at the woman who seemed to be in charge. “What kind of school? Why did you rescue us?”
Sharon gave the purple kid a look, just to let him know that she was well aware he'd pocketed something, but let it go. "You're free to go, yes, if that's what you want to do. I'd recommend you stay at least long enough to get a change of clothes and some food, but no one's going to force you." She turned towards the ginger. "We rescued you because we learned you were there, and because you needed rescuing. And it's a school for mutant teens, where you can learn to use your powers in a safe environment. Professor Xavier, who runs the school, is also a mutant - I'm sure he'll be in to talk to you soon. He's the expert - I'm just a former ER nurse who teaches health and hands out bandaids."
For Clint, just the idea that they weren't the people who had been hauling him in for surgery all the time was something of a relief, but he still didn't trust it. He didn't trust any of it. Then again, he didn't have his gun now, either, so he was up shit creek where weapons were concerned. Clint signed to both Caleb and Molly, learn to use powers safe? maybe play along? get some paper?
"I think we'll just be leaving then," Molly said, making an unmistakable let's go gesture in Clint's eyeline. If nothing else, they needed to regroup, badly. And doing it in a place that didn't look like just another lab seemed to be the best option.
Either this was a test or Molly was serious. Either way, Caleb wasn’t about to be left behind in the company of complete strangers. "You'll have to forgive us. Recent experience has made it hard for us to trust."
Simon was just returning when he heard that, frowning even deeper than he had when Inu-Yasha has refused most of his help. "I understand not wanting to trust us, or this place, but you're hardly in any condition to go anywhere. At least stay the night - listen to what we have to say and have something to eat. We can take a look at your friend's ears, and get your hand some treatment. I'm a mutant myself, and I can swear to you that there's no ill-meaning here."
“You can swear all you like, but can you prove it?” The cynical little smile on Molly’s face said full well that he knew it wasn’t exactly something provable. “We can stay in he building, if you’re so set on it. But not here.” His red eyes darting doubtfully around the infirmary.
Caleb signed the exchange to Clint, then asked, What do you want to do?
Clint nodded, all too eager to follow Molly right out the door. Everything was to white, and bright, and all the movement, swirling and darkening. He blinked at Caleb, then reached out a hand for him, then the counter, as he went down like a sack of potatoes, losing consciousness.
Molly opened his mouth, ready to say god knew what else -- and then Clint was on the ground and all he could do was blink. "Well," he said finally, "I suppose he'll be staying."
His eyes shifted up to meet Caleb's, Molly's desire to be anywhere else warring with the fact that he did not want to leave Clint here alone. He cocked a questioning eyebrow at the other boy, wordlessly asking his opinion.
Caleb’s look of confusion at Clint’s outstretched hand turned into horror as Clint dropped. With an abortive sound, he dropped to his knees beside Clint’s prone form and, remembering the first-aid pamphlet he’d read in fifth grade, immediately turned him onto his back. “Molly!” he shouted, then looked over his shoulder at the group of strangers. “Now’s the time to prove you are who you say you are.”
Shit. Sharon was at the boy's side in seconds, crouching down as she reached for his pulse point. It was strong - rapid, but strong - and she let out a sigh of relief. "Help me lift him onto one of the exam tables?" she asked the redhead as she moved to the boy's legs, figuring his friend could grab his shoulders. "He'll be more comfortable there. Simon, I need your help."
Simon was moving as soon as the boy hit the floor, helping the redheaded boy lift and maneuver him up onto one of the exam tables. As soon as he did, he set a hand at his throat, closing his eyes as he took in the other teen's vitals.
Alright, so perhaps just staring was not the best reaction Molly could have had. He made an abortive movement once everyone starting crowding around Clint, but made himself hang back just in time. Nothing he could do to help there, much as it grated on him.
"Caleb," he called, trying to get the other boy to step back. He may have given the doctors a hard look, but from everything he could see, they were genuinely trying to help. Didn't that make for a change.
Caleb backed away from the table to stand beside Molly, anxiously watching Sharon and Simon work. He glanced over at Molly as if to assure himself that he was still okay.
"He's dehydrated, and fatigued," Simon told the other teens, but turned toward Sharon, lowering his voice as he added, "and there are...there are meningiomas, tumors, growing into his inner ear. They've been... recently excised. That may be the cause of his inability to hear."
Sharon winced, then nodded. "Right, we'll let Hank know about that - maybe there'll be something he can do to help him. In the meantime," she turned towards the other two boys. "I'm going to get him hooked up to an IV to help with the dehydration, and take him into one of the rooms. Would you like to stay here with him? Or head upstairs? It's your choice - I can have Simon or Inu-Yasha take you upstairs to get something to eat if you'd prefer."
Molly's eyes meet Caleb's for a second before he turned back to the others. "We'll stay. At least for the moment." Long enough to be very sure that they weren't going to do anything else to Clint while he was unconscious, anyway.
“We want to keep an eye on him,” Caleb agreed and parked himself in a nearby chair. He kept an eye out for paper, pen, anything to write with or on that would give him an edge if things went at all south.
Simon glanced briefly at Sharon, but nodded. "Okay. It wouldn't be such a bad idea if you'd let me check you two out too, just in case."
One of Molly's eyebrows lifted slightly, despite the stress of the situation. It seemed very convenient that they suddenly had a reason to want to look them all over, but considering Clint had actually collapsed, Molly could admit to himself that he could see a method to it. He had to start trusting something, at least a little.
And he still had the scalpel pressed up against his arm, just in case.
"Fine, if you're so set on it," he said with a sigh.
Caleb looked from Molly to Simon and Sharon and back again. “Alright,” he agreed hesitantly.
Absorbed in getting the IV set up on its pole, Sharon had been content to listen to the conversation without taking part in it. "Wonderful," she said distractedly as she tapped around for a good spot to insert the IV needle. "Let's do this, then. Simon, why don't you take one of these gentlemen to the next room where you can do an exam in privacy, while the other stays to keep an eye on me? And Inu-Yasha," she said louder, "why don't you run up to the Professor and let him know that it'd be good if he'd stop down and say a few words?"
"Seriously?" A sullen and now shirtless Inu-yasha appeared, still blinking suspiciously but able to see again. Simon had managed to put a bandage on his shoulder (the bullet had gone through) and wipe off the blood, though it was soaking through the bandages. Whatever, it'd stop in a few minutes. "Fine, m'going."
He glanced at the two new kids who were still on their feet, pausing on his way out. Despite himself, he asked, "You good?" He frowned, looking away. "I could bring some food or something."
Molly's red eyes shifted from the woman to the white-haired boy as he reappeared. His injured hand twitched a little as he wrestled with the temptation to make it look like he was going to blind him again just to mess with him, but in the end decided that it was probably more trouble than it was worth. "I think we'll be fine, thank you."
And then his attention was all on the other boy as he moved towards him, very firmly declaring that he was going to be dealing with this examination thing first. "Shall we get this over with?"
“Yes, we’re fine,” Caleb told Inu-Yasha, then looked to Molly. “I’ll be here. Shout if you need me.”
One minute, they were in the cafeteria, huddled together for some reason, with the guards bearing down on the place. The next, Clint found himself in another medical lab, alongside Caleb, Molly, and the guy with the ears. He didn't know what the fuck was going on, but better safe than sorry, he raised the rifle in his hands, back pedaling up against a shiny white counter.
The medical lab, wherever it was, was more spacious than the ones he'd seen at the Right, and was sporting all kinds of impressive equipment he couldn't put a name to. He spotted two people right away - a woman and a teen boy about his age, both in scrubs. And really, that was all he needed to see, because he didn't know if they were still with the Right or not, or if all of this was some kind of test, but it definitely looked like whoever these people were, they were also experimenting on young mutants, and he wanted no fucking part of that. Not after the promise of a rescue.
Seeing the kid with the gun start to freak out, Inu-yasha stepped toward him, dropping his own stolen gun unceremoniously to the floor so he could hold his hands up in the universal ‘I’m not armed’ pose. He didn’t get too close, just enough to put himself between the kid and everyone else, since their flimsy bodies wouldn’t heal the way he would.
Scowling at him, he snapped, “Oy, knock it off! Can’t you see you’re safe?”
"That remains to be seen," Molly said, deceptively mild as he stepped up to Clint's shoulder, injured hand resting loosely at his side. He still had enough that he could probably get off one more shot before he needed more blood, so there was no harm in being ready. And going from one sterile environment to another was not exactly what he would call promising, especially not when they had no choice in the matter.
"If you're looking for a thank you, you might start with telling us where we are."
Caleb had recoiled instinctively at the new-but-familiar surroundings of a sterile medical lab, and scrambled to put something—anything—between himself and the people in scrubs. That something ended up being a medical tray. Not great in the way of cover, but there were medical instruments on it, and his hand itched to reach out and grab one. He glared at the dog-eared boy as he shouted at them and, somewhere deep within him, the tattered remains of rebellion stirred. “Can’t you see he can’t hear you?” he snapped back.
"Could everyone please take a deep breath?" Sharon asked, taking a step forward, her hands out to make it clear she wasn't holding anything. After years of working in an emergency room, she radiated a calm and confidence she didn't entirely feel under the circumstances, and offered a smile to the three unfamiliar boys (including the one holding the gun) before turning to the last one who'd spoken. "Can anyone translate for him? My ASL is questionable at best. But in answer to your question, " she turned towards the - yeah, he did look like a purple demon, she'd seen stranger, and was not going to stare - "You're at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Don't ask me how he came up with the name, I've always been afraid to ask. My name is Sharon. Does anyone need urgent medical attention?"
Simon took a step back when he saw the gun, suddenly completely aware at how open the infirmary was. There seemed to be very little cover, and he had no idea how any of the kids would react. When Clarice stepped out to quickly explain that she had to retrieve the others, then blinked away, he was left staring at three agitated rescues, and...Inu-Yasha, of all people. As if they could have chosen anyone less compassionate.
Clint glanced at Caleb when everyone started talking, then back at their lips, trying to follow along and keep the gun ready at the same time. Why the fuck were they at a school? Why did the school look like a lab? He shifted the gun to aim at the boy with the ears, who seemed more hostile than anyone, his eyes a little wild as he tried to follow along.
"Hey!" Inu-yasha protested as the kid put the gun on him. "Look, it's a weird fucking school, but it's real," he said firmly, figuring his word would count more than some random adult. His eyes dropped briefly to the weapon, wishing he'd grabbed it a moment before, but his golden eyes flicked back up to meet the new kid's. "We're mutants, alright?"
The yell brought Molly's attention sharply to the white-haired boy, but it also meant that he caught the glance given to Clint's gun. Without seeming to do more than shift, he brought himself in closer to Clint, practically vibrating with tension.
"You'll forgive my saying so," he said, not actually sounding all that apologetic, "but this doesn't look much like a school. If I'm wrong and you have very peculiar taste in decorating then back off." His voice slipped into something almost like a snarl at the last. "If I'm not wrong, then I hope you understand when I say we're going to make you regret it."
While everyone’s attention was on Clint and Molly, Caleb took the opportunity to palm a scalpel off the medical tray. He lightly put a hand on Clint’s arm to get his attention, then motioned for him to lower the gun. “You have to forgive us. You are asking us to take the word of strangers when it is strangers who kept us locked up in a place that looks very much like this one.”
"I understand," Sharon said as she turned towards him. "It probably would have been better if Clarice had brought you in somewhere else, but we weren't sure whether or not anyone had been injured. This is our infirmary - I'm a nurse, by the way, and Simon," she gestured towards him, "is studying medicine, so he's here to help. Does anyone need anything? If not, I'll be happy to take you upstairs."
Simon motioned gently toward the purple arrival. "Your hand. Are you bleeding?"
Clint glanced at Caleb, then slowly started to lower the gun. It was reluctant, but he trusted that Caleb knew what he was doing. And Molly, at least, still seemed ready to fight, if necessary. He sure as hell didn't put the gun down, though, just pointed toward the ground, rather than at another person.
Inu-yasha huffed a breath as the gun tipped downward. Fucking finally. "See? We're on your side, idiot," he said gruffly, reaching forward with inhuman speed to snatch the weapon away.
Clint didn't catch anything that the guy with the ears said, because he was more focused on the gun starting to be wrenched from his hands. He didn't even mean for the trigger to go off, but there was no controlling the gun as it was wrenched from his hands like that.
Molly was indeed still bleeding, which meant that when the white-haired boy grabbed for the gun he was already reacting. The movement was fast enough that he could barely register it, but it hardly mattered. He'd moved in Clint's direction, and Molly's bleeding hand came up to gesture towards the white blur.
"What did I just say," he hissed out, rough and nearly inhuman sounding as he concentrated on temporarily blinding the boy. The only thing that kept him from doing actual damage was the idea that this might not be a complete trap, but it was a close thing.
The yelp of pain that came after startled him enough for his hand to drop slightly and wonder briefly if he'd managed to get the effect wrong. It did not, however, make him regret it. "If this is you attempting to put us at ease," he said, red eyes still fixed on his target, "I'd hate to see what a threat would look like."
"SON OF A--" Inu-yasha was breaking the weapon in his hands when something pierced his shoulder, then he abruptly went blind. "What did you do to me?!" he demanded, throwing the busted gun to the floor as he turned toward them with a growl.
Caleb had hunched down reflexively when the shot went off, hands thrown up to protect himself. He straightened as people all around him shouted, his eyes flicking back and forth between them, stomach in knots. Pressing closer to Molly and Clint, he snapped at the Dog-Ear boy. “Stop! This is your fault! I told you he can’t hear well and you didn’t listen! Step the fuck back!”
"Would everyone please just STOP!" Sharon called out amidst the pandemonium. She stepped forward briskly to grab hold of Inu-Yasha, whose shoulder was now bleeding, ready to restrain him if necessary (and possible). "Everyone's on edge, but this isn't going to help. Inu-Yasha, go in one of the exam rooms. I'll be in in a minute."
Simon, who had ducked down behind a medical cart at the sound of the shot, leapt forward to help Sharon, grasping Inu-Yasha's other shoulder to try and lead him toward the exam room. "I've got you," he promised quickly.
Next to Molly and Caleb, Clint reached out to grab the nearest weapon he could find - which ended up to be some kind of eye-light-thing. He brandished it uncertainly, but focused his attention on the woman, since she seemed to be trying to get the ear-boy under control.
Inu-yasha had pulled violently out of the nurse’s hands on instinct, turning to the side so no one was behind him. His ears were flicking around the room toward each new sound, his nose working overtime, trying to compensate for his sightless eyes, but he didn’t try to go after anyone, and didn’t do more than flinch when Simon touched him (an attack, if it was coming, wouldn’t come from the medical kid). If his bleeding shoulder hurt, he didn’t show it. He already knew it’d heal - he’d had worse. He growled quietly in the direction of the newcomers. “Didn’t want someone getting shot,” he complained, resisting Simon’s attempt to lead him. “The hell’d you do to my eyes?!”
"Perhaps now we've learned not to just go touching things," Molly said, sounding remarkably nonchalant despite the current chaos. The easy tone belied the fact that he was still tense at Clint's side, hand outstretched just in case anyone else wanted to try something. He might have been tapped out unless he made another cut, but none of them knew that.
"Chin up, it will wear off."
Inu-yasha’s eyes narrowed in a glare that was out of focus but decently precise, considering he couldn’t actually see the purple kid on the receiving end. “It better.” His face turned briefly toward the medical staff, clearly questioning whether he should be leaving them defenseless, then back to the rescued mutants. Sure, he didn’t like getting attacked by these ungrateful bastards after he’d risked himself to get them out, but, “Fine, I get it,” he conceded gruffly. Besides, he could take it. “But hurt anyone else, an’ we’ll have a real problem.”
He gave a glare in their general direction again, but couldn’t see if his message had registered, so he’d just have to assume they understood that these two were under his protection. Then he finally gave into the pull from Simon, turning reluctantly and letting himself be led into another room. He’d send Simon right back out and keep an ear on the situation from there.
Caleb stepped closer, bumping against Molly in an excuse to press the scalpel into his hand. “So, you said this is a school?”
"It's a school. And would you gentlemen please stop passing around the contents of that tray?" Sharon asked, her eyebrows rising. "I'm hardly a threat to any of you, and I'd really rather all the sharp pointy objects be where everyone can see them." Honestly, what had Charles been thinking? And what did he expect her to do about it?
Clint did manage to get that from lip-reading, and only barely managed to resist flashing the little instrument light at her in defiance. Instead, he slowly lowered it back to the tray, then signed to Caleb, what do they want?
Molly, in turn, apparently decided to brazen it out considering he blinked innocently at the woman as if he wasn't currently tucking the scalpel into his sleeve. "Well then how's this. I can assure you that none of us need medical attention. Are we free to go?" And that would be the real deciding factor.
They haven’t said. It’s a school. They want to know if we need medical attention Caleb looked over at the woman who seemed to be in charge. “What kind of school? Why did you rescue us?”
Sharon gave the purple kid a look, just to let him know that she was well aware he'd pocketed something, but let it go. "You're free to go, yes, if that's what you want to do. I'd recommend you stay at least long enough to get a change of clothes and some food, but no one's going to force you." She turned towards the ginger. "We rescued you because we learned you were there, and because you needed rescuing. And it's a school for mutant teens, where you can learn to use your powers in a safe environment. Professor Xavier, who runs the school, is also a mutant - I'm sure he'll be in to talk to you soon. He's the expert - I'm just a former ER nurse who teaches health and hands out bandaids."
For Clint, just the idea that they weren't the people who had been hauling him in for surgery all the time was something of a relief, but he still didn't trust it. He didn't trust any of it. Then again, he didn't have his gun now, either, so he was up shit creek where weapons were concerned. Clint signed to both Caleb and Molly, learn to use powers safe? maybe play along? get some paper?
"I think we'll just be leaving then," Molly said, making an unmistakable let's go gesture in Clint's eyeline. If nothing else, they needed to regroup, badly. And doing it in a place that didn't look like just another lab seemed to be the best option.
Either this was a test or Molly was serious. Either way, Caleb wasn’t about to be left behind in the company of complete strangers. "You'll have to forgive us. Recent experience has made it hard for us to trust."
Simon was just returning when he heard that, frowning even deeper than he had when Inu-Yasha has refused most of his help. "I understand not wanting to trust us, or this place, but you're hardly in any condition to go anywhere. At least stay the night - listen to what we have to say and have something to eat. We can take a look at your friend's ears, and get your hand some treatment. I'm a mutant myself, and I can swear to you that there's no ill-meaning here."
“You can swear all you like, but can you prove it?” The cynical little smile on Molly’s face said full well that he knew it wasn’t exactly something provable. “We can stay in he building, if you’re so set on it. But not here.” His red eyes darting doubtfully around the infirmary.
Caleb signed the exchange to Clint, then asked, What do you want to do?
Clint nodded, all too eager to follow Molly right out the door. Everything was to white, and bright, and all the movement, swirling and darkening. He blinked at Caleb, then reached out a hand for him, then the counter, as he went down like a sack of potatoes, losing consciousness.
Molly opened his mouth, ready to say god knew what else -- and then Clint was on the ground and all he could do was blink. "Well," he said finally, "I suppose he'll be staying."
His eyes shifted up to meet Caleb's, Molly's desire to be anywhere else warring with the fact that he did not want to leave Clint here alone. He cocked a questioning eyebrow at the other boy, wordlessly asking his opinion.
Caleb’s look of confusion at Clint’s outstretched hand turned into horror as Clint dropped. With an abortive sound, he dropped to his knees beside Clint’s prone form and, remembering the first-aid pamphlet he’d read in fifth grade, immediately turned him onto his back. “Molly!” he shouted, then looked over his shoulder at the group of strangers. “Now’s the time to prove you are who you say you are.”
Shit. Sharon was at the boy's side in seconds, crouching down as she reached for his pulse point. It was strong - rapid, but strong - and she let out a sigh of relief. "Help me lift him onto one of the exam tables?" she asked the redhead as she moved to the boy's legs, figuring his friend could grab his shoulders. "He'll be more comfortable there. Simon, I need your help."
Simon was moving as soon as the boy hit the floor, helping the redheaded boy lift and maneuver him up onto one of the exam tables. As soon as he did, he set a hand at his throat, closing his eyes as he took in the other teen's vitals.
Alright, so perhaps just staring was not the best reaction Molly could have had. He made an abortive movement once everyone starting crowding around Clint, but made himself hang back just in time. Nothing he could do to help there, much as it grated on him.
"Caleb," he called, trying to get the other boy to step back. He may have given the doctors a hard look, but from everything he could see, they were genuinely trying to help. Didn't that make for a change.
Caleb backed away from the table to stand beside Molly, anxiously watching Sharon and Simon work. He glanced over at Molly as if to assure himself that he was still okay.
"He's dehydrated, and fatigued," Simon told the other teens, but turned toward Sharon, lowering his voice as he added, "and there are...there are meningiomas, tumors, growing into his inner ear. They've been... recently excised. That may be the cause of his inability to hear."
Sharon winced, then nodded. "Right, we'll let Hank know about that - maybe there'll be something he can do to help him. In the meantime," she turned towards the other two boys. "I'm going to get him hooked up to an IV to help with the dehydration, and take him into one of the rooms. Would you like to stay here with him? Or head upstairs? It's your choice - I can have Simon or Inu-Yasha take you upstairs to get something to eat if you'd prefer."
Molly's eyes meet Caleb's for a second before he turned back to the others. "We'll stay. At least for the moment." Long enough to be very sure that they weren't going to do anything else to Clint while he was unconscious, anyway.
“We want to keep an eye on him,” Caleb agreed and parked himself in a nearby chair. He kept an eye out for paper, pen, anything to write with or on that would give him an edge if things went at all south.
Simon glanced briefly at Sharon, but nodded. "Okay. It wouldn't be such a bad idea if you'd let me check you two out too, just in case."
One of Molly's eyebrows lifted slightly, despite the stress of the situation. It seemed very convenient that they suddenly had a reason to want to look them all over, but considering Clint had actually collapsed, Molly could admit to himself that he could see a method to it. He had to start trusting something, at least a little.
And he still had the scalpel pressed up against his arm, just in case.
"Fine, if you're so set on it," he said with a sigh.
Caleb looked from Molly to Simon and Sharon and back again. “Alright,” he agreed hesitantly.
Absorbed in getting the IV set up on its pole, Sharon had been content to listen to the conversation without taking part in it. "Wonderful," she said distractedly as she tapped around for a good spot to insert the IV needle. "Let's do this, then. Simon, why don't you take one of these gentlemen to the next room where you can do an exam in privacy, while the other stays to keep an eye on me? And Inu-Yasha," she said louder, "why don't you run up to the Professor and let him know that it'd be good if he'd stop down and say a few words?"
"Seriously?" A sullen and now shirtless Inu-yasha appeared, still blinking suspiciously but able to see again. Simon had managed to put a bandage on his shoulder (the bullet had gone through) and wipe off the blood, though it was soaking through the bandages. Whatever, it'd stop in a few minutes. "Fine, m'going."
He glanced at the two new kids who were still on their feet, pausing on his way out. Despite himself, he asked, "You good?" He frowned, looking away. "I could bring some food or something."
Molly's red eyes shifted from the woman to the white-haired boy as he reappeared. His injured hand twitched a little as he wrestled with the temptation to make it look like he was going to blind him again just to mess with him, but in the end decided that it was probably more trouble than it was worth. "I think we'll be fine, thank you."
And then his attention was all on the other boy as he moved towards him, very firmly declaring that he was going to be dealing with this examination thing first. "Shall we get this over with?"
“Yes, we’re fine,” Caleb told Inu-Yasha, then looked to Molly. “I’ll be here. Shout if you need me.”
