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ax_mainBobby meets Kitty at her lab workshop to talk, but the topic isn't exactly what he expected.
One Monopoly game later, Bobby found himself down in the sublevels of the school. Why they'd put the labs down here he wasn't sure - it seemed to him as if something that could potentially blow up should have been somewhere less likely to cause the building to fall on everyone - but he had to admit, it probably kept the people using them from being bothered constantly.
Unless, of course, they'd asked to be bothered. Which Kitty had, so he went ahead and knocked on the door to her lab. "Any mad scientists in there?" he called out.
The door opened a few seconds later and Kitty raised a brow. "What did you just call me?"
"Umm...pleading the fifth. Because that's the safest thing to do?" Bobby guessed, then grinned and shrugged. "It kinda went with the laboratory in the basement."
"Laboratory sounds so Dr. Jekyll," Kitty pointed out, nose wrinkling as she led him inside. She and Nolan were still getting their own workspaces hammered out, though she'd already moved her extra rig down there, and all of her tools. A few phones lay discarded on the counter, along with a few tiny screwdrivers and chips. On one side, her laptop was hooked up two a series of three monitors, a couple of ergonomic chairs placed in front of it. "I prefer workshop."
"See, workshop always makes me think of my uncle's garage. In which there are many tools, but not much work actually accomplished." Bobby looked around, impressed - it definitely couldn't have looked less like the garage in question. "I think he watches the football game in there, though. Just to get away from my aunt."
Kitty shook her head with a soft laugh and tugged him toward the chairs. "I love your family."
"That's because you've never actually met my family," Bobby replied, letting her tug him along. "So, what'd you think of the Prof's big announcement?" he asked, guessing that was why she'd wanted to talk.
She sighed, dropping into one of the chairs. "I hate to say I'm not surprised. I mean, it all makes so much more sense now."
"Yeah, no argument there." Bobby dropped into the other chair, swiveling it to face her and reaching out for her hand. "Gotta admit, I kinda wondered after the whole jail break, and that mission you guys went on. I wonder why he finally decided to announce it now, though?"
"He said so," Kitty made a kind of miserable face and took his hand, tugging her chair closer to his with the motion. "It was me. The Brotherhood, meeting Lehnsherr, all of it. And...because of what I found on the flash drive."
"This is where I finally get to ask what you found on the flash drive, right? Because I'd hate to miss my cue after waiting for it." Bobby smiled and brushed his thumb over the back of her hand.
"You get to," she sighed, her hand softening against his. "And I'm going to show you, but you can't tell anyone about it. This stays between us. Well, Scott and Illyana know, and I'm going to tell Tommy, but other than that, no one else until the Professor says so."
Bobby nodded, his expression sobering. "Alright, I promise. Not a word."
"Okay. So...the first thing you need to know is that the Right is being funded by the Friends of Humanity - that group that attacked Tamara and the others at the rally. I'm not really sure they know what they're funding, though," Kitty told him.
"O-kay, I'll bite. What do the Friends of Humanity think they're funding? And what are they funding?" Bobby asked, his forehead furrowing.
"I don't know what they think they're funding. Research to further their campaign against mutants, maybe. But what they're really funding is lab experimentation on them. Really...really horrible stuff, Bobby. Treating mutants like less than animals. That's what that facility was that Tommy and I were sent to," she told him. "One that had already been shut down, I guess."
Bobby bit at his lip awkwardly, trying to judge whether or not Kitty knew that Tommy'd been in a facility like that, if not the same one. Finally, he took a breath. "Did Tommy say...anything about it?" he asked awkwardly. Because if the other guy hadn't, he wasn't about to, but...damn. This was awkward.
Kitty gave a huge sigh. "Oh good, you know. I wasn't going to say anything because Tommy would kill me, but you know, so I don't have to worry about it, but yeah it was totally the place he was held, and I have his records." She made another miserable face.
"That bad, huh?" Bobby grimaced. "But yeah, I know. I met him when he was still in the infirmary. Never saw anyone look so much like they wanted to run when I opened the door." Normally, he'd make a crack about how everyone tended to look like they wanted to run when he opened the door, but...yeah. Even he had an occasional grasp of time and place. And this definitely wasn't it. "What did they do to him? Other than all the drugs, I know that part."
"Ran brain scans and EEGs on him, sedated him until he was drugged out. Made him use his powers for hours and hours every day until he went unconscious. And used electroshock on him in some cases as 'negative reinforcement'," Kitty frowned.
"Shit." Which...okay, that wasn't exactly deep, as far as reactions went, but it was all he could think of. Bobby rubbed at the back of his neck. "How long was he in there?"
"About three months," Kitty told him quietly. "And he's not the only one. So far I've counted almost thirty possible records of mutants who were put through similar, and sometimes worse treatments. Many of them didn't make it."
Bobby rubbed at his forehead. "You're going to sign up for that team of the Professor's?" he asked. And no. It really wasn't a subject change. This just showcased exactly why something like that was needed.
She nodded. "I can't not, knowing what I do. I...I told Illyana it was like opening Pandora's Box. I can't go back to being naive about what's going on. And...maybe that's what Magneto wanted all along, but I can't help it. I have to do something."
"Yeah, I hear you." Bobby sighed, then smiled a little. "So, you're on my side if Tommy petitions that I need to have Olaf as a codename, right? Because seriously, I'm not doing the walking snowman thing."
Kitty's lips twitched. "Frosty's not an option then, either, huh?"
"Do you really want me melting away whenever the temperature goes up over 32? I mean, there are way easier ways to get rid of me," Bobby retorted, trying equally hard not to grin.
She squeezed his hand with a little smile. "So what do you want to be called?"
"Well, Snowmeiser's probably copywritten, right? Which is too bad, because I do a mean imitation." Bobby squeezed her hand, then shrugged. "No clue. I can't say as I've ever given it any thought. But I've got a week to come up with something brilliant, right?"
"I've been calling you Iceboy," Kitty suggested, waggling her brows playfully.
Bobby laughed. "Well, it's better than what your roommate calls me. I'll keep it in mind."
"What did Scott say? About all of this?" she asked curiously.
"He's got some misgivings, but he's going to do it anyway," Bobby said, then shrugged. "I've got a few too, but then you look at stuff like that," he gestured towards Kitty's computer, which he hadn't actually looked at yet. But having given him the synopsis, he figured she'd understand what he meant.
Kitty nodded. "I feel the same way. I mean, honestly, I'd feel a lot better if he was doing it too, though, because he just...has a really good head on his shoulders, you know?"
"Yeah, he does." Bobby grinned a little. "Though between you and me? He cheats at Monopoly."
She pursed her lips, her eyes shining a little with amusement. "Yeah? Railroad tycoon every time, huh?"
"Nah. He's not very good at cheating at Monopoly, and I usually catch him at it." Bobby blew across his knuckles and grinned more. "The railroads are key though, yeah."
She rolled her eyes at him, but smiled. "I'm glad you guys are getting along now."
Bobby shrugged and smiled self-consciously. "Yeah, well, it's probably some weird rescuer/rescuee thing. Maybe I'll still get over it." There was no conviction in his tone, though, as if he were saying it just for the sake of having deniability. Which he was.
He sighed, though, and gestured towards her computer. "Anyway, want to show me things that are probably going to give me nightmares?"
She hesitated. "Are you sure you want to see?"
"No," Bobby admitted, then grimaced. "But really? That just means I probably should."
Kitty swallowed hard, then nodded, turning to bring up the file information. "There are a lot of them, and they're long. This one's Tommy's."
Bobby took a deep breath, bracing himself, and started reading. About two paragraphs in, his hand groped for Kitty's. Because yeah. He definitely should read this? But he definitely wasn't prepared for what he read.
She scooted closer, taking hold of his hand and pulling his arm up against her chest as she waited and tried not to read it again. She hated the material, for one thing. But she also hated that she was reading about such a private experience of Tommy's.
Bobby swallowed hard as he finished reading, then took a deep breath and looked up at Kitty, his eyes haunted. "Right. Not mentioning that I read that to him if I can help it." If it were him, there'd be no way he'd be comfortable with that, and he didn't have any doubt that Tommy'd feel the same, even if he'd hide it better. "There's more?
"More than thirty mutants worth," Kitty told him quietly. "Most of them died. At least three that I know of lived. Tommy, Fatale, and another boy in the Brotherhood, blond, who was in a picture I saw of Fatale."
"Shit." Bobby sighed and ran his free hand back through his hair. "Are you showing this to everyone? Because it would probably do wonders for the Professor's recruitment drive. Or, y'know, send them all into counseling. One or the other."
"Probably the second one," Kitty frowned. "Anyway, no, Scott and I talked to the Professor and he wants to keep it quiet for now."
Bobby nodded. It seemed like a good idea to him, anyway. But Kitty'd presumably read her way through all of them, so... "So, who's next?" he requested. After all, misery loved company. And having real, tangible reasons to sign up might keep him from panicking at the last minute and backing out.
Kitty took a deep breath and navigated through the files to Fatale’s.
One Monopoly game later, Bobby found himself down in the sublevels of the school. Why they'd put the labs down here he wasn't sure - it seemed to him as if something that could potentially blow up should have been somewhere less likely to cause the building to fall on everyone - but he had to admit, it probably kept the people using them from being bothered constantly.
Unless, of course, they'd asked to be bothered. Which Kitty had, so he went ahead and knocked on the door to her lab. "Any mad scientists in there?" he called out.
The door opened a few seconds later and Kitty raised a brow. "What did you just call me?"
"Umm...pleading the fifth. Because that's the safest thing to do?" Bobby guessed, then grinned and shrugged. "It kinda went with the laboratory in the basement."
"Laboratory sounds so Dr. Jekyll," Kitty pointed out, nose wrinkling as she led him inside. She and Nolan were still getting their own workspaces hammered out, though she'd already moved her extra rig down there, and all of her tools. A few phones lay discarded on the counter, along with a few tiny screwdrivers and chips. On one side, her laptop was hooked up two a series of three monitors, a couple of ergonomic chairs placed in front of it. "I prefer workshop."
"See, workshop always makes me think of my uncle's garage. In which there are many tools, but not much work actually accomplished." Bobby looked around, impressed - it definitely couldn't have looked less like the garage in question. "I think he watches the football game in there, though. Just to get away from my aunt."
Kitty shook her head with a soft laugh and tugged him toward the chairs. "I love your family."
"That's because you've never actually met my family," Bobby replied, letting her tug him along. "So, what'd you think of the Prof's big announcement?" he asked, guessing that was why she'd wanted to talk.
She sighed, dropping into one of the chairs. "I hate to say I'm not surprised. I mean, it all makes so much more sense now."
"Yeah, no argument there." Bobby dropped into the other chair, swiveling it to face her and reaching out for her hand. "Gotta admit, I kinda wondered after the whole jail break, and that mission you guys went on. I wonder why he finally decided to announce it now, though?"
"He said so," Kitty made a kind of miserable face and took his hand, tugging her chair closer to his with the motion. "It was me. The Brotherhood, meeting Lehnsherr, all of it. And...because of what I found on the flash drive."
"This is where I finally get to ask what you found on the flash drive, right? Because I'd hate to miss my cue after waiting for it." Bobby smiled and brushed his thumb over the back of her hand.
"You get to," she sighed, her hand softening against his. "And I'm going to show you, but you can't tell anyone about it. This stays between us. Well, Scott and Illyana know, and I'm going to tell Tommy, but other than that, no one else until the Professor says so."
Bobby nodded, his expression sobering. "Alright, I promise. Not a word."
"Okay. So...the first thing you need to know is that the Right is being funded by the Friends of Humanity - that group that attacked Tamara and the others at the rally. I'm not really sure they know what they're funding, though," Kitty told him.
"O-kay, I'll bite. What do the Friends of Humanity think they're funding? And what are they funding?" Bobby asked, his forehead furrowing.
"I don't know what they think they're funding. Research to further their campaign against mutants, maybe. But what they're really funding is lab experimentation on them. Really...really horrible stuff, Bobby. Treating mutants like less than animals. That's what that facility was that Tommy and I were sent to," she told him. "One that had already been shut down, I guess."
Bobby bit at his lip awkwardly, trying to judge whether or not Kitty knew that Tommy'd been in a facility like that, if not the same one. Finally, he took a breath. "Did Tommy say...anything about it?" he asked awkwardly. Because if the other guy hadn't, he wasn't about to, but...damn. This was awkward.
Kitty gave a huge sigh. "Oh good, you know. I wasn't going to say anything because Tommy would kill me, but you know, so I don't have to worry about it, but yeah it was totally the place he was held, and I have his records." She made another miserable face.
"That bad, huh?" Bobby grimaced. "But yeah, I know. I met him when he was still in the infirmary. Never saw anyone look so much like they wanted to run when I opened the door." Normally, he'd make a crack about how everyone tended to look like they wanted to run when he opened the door, but...yeah. Even he had an occasional grasp of time and place. And this definitely wasn't it. "What did they do to him? Other than all the drugs, I know that part."
"Ran brain scans and EEGs on him, sedated him until he was drugged out. Made him use his powers for hours and hours every day until he went unconscious. And used electroshock on him in some cases as 'negative reinforcement'," Kitty frowned.
"Shit." Which...okay, that wasn't exactly deep, as far as reactions went, but it was all he could think of. Bobby rubbed at the back of his neck. "How long was he in there?"
"About three months," Kitty told him quietly. "And he's not the only one. So far I've counted almost thirty possible records of mutants who were put through similar, and sometimes worse treatments. Many of them didn't make it."
Bobby rubbed at his forehead. "You're going to sign up for that team of the Professor's?" he asked. And no. It really wasn't a subject change. This just showcased exactly why something like that was needed.
She nodded. "I can't not, knowing what I do. I...I told Illyana it was like opening Pandora's Box. I can't go back to being naive about what's going on. And...maybe that's what Magneto wanted all along, but I can't help it. I have to do something."
"Yeah, I hear you." Bobby sighed, then smiled a little. "So, you're on my side if Tommy petitions that I need to have Olaf as a codename, right? Because seriously, I'm not doing the walking snowman thing."
Kitty's lips twitched. "Frosty's not an option then, either, huh?"
"Do you really want me melting away whenever the temperature goes up over 32? I mean, there are way easier ways to get rid of me," Bobby retorted, trying equally hard not to grin.
She squeezed his hand with a little smile. "So what do you want to be called?"
"Well, Snowmeiser's probably copywritten, right? Which is too bad, because I do a mean imitation." Bobby squeezed her hand, then shrugged. "No clue. I can't say as I've ever given it any thought. But I've got a week to come up with something brilliant, right?"
"I've been calling you Iceboy," Kitty suggested, waggling her brows playfully.
Bobby laughed. "Well, it's better than what your roommate calls me. I'll keep it in mind."
"What did Scott say? About all of this?" she asked curiously.
"He's got some misgivings, but he's going to do it anyway," Bobby said, then shrugged. "I've got a few too, but then you look at stuff like that," he gestured towards Kitty's computer, which he hadn't actually looked at yet. But having given him the synopsis, he figured she'd understand what he meant.
Kitty nodded. "I feel the same way. I mean, honestly, I'd feel a lot better if he was doing it too, though, because he just...has a really good head on his shoulders, you know?"
"Yeah, he does." Bobby grinned a little. "Though between you and me? He cheats at Monopoly."
She pursed her lips, her eyes shining a little with amusement. "Yeah? Railroad tycoon every time, huh?"
"Nah. He's not very good at cheating at Monopoly, and I usually catch him at it." Bobby blew across his knuckles and grinned more. "The railroads are key though, yeah."
She rolled her eyes at him, but smiled. "I'm glad you guys are getting along now."
Bobby shrugged and smiled self-consciously. "Yeah, well, it's probably some weird rescuer/rescuee thing. Maybe I'll still get over it." There was no conviction in his tone, though, as if he were saying it just for the sake of having deniability. Which he was.
He sighed, though, and gestured towards her computer. "Anyway, want to show me things that are probably going to give me nightmares?"
She hesitated. "Are you sure you want to see?"
"No," Bobby admitted, then grimaced. "But really? That just means I probably should."
Kitty swallowed hard, then nodded, turning to bring up the file information. "There are a lot of them, and they're long. This one's Tommy's."
Bobby took a deep breath, bracing himself, and started reading. About two paragraphs in, his hand groped for Kitty's. Because yeah. He definitely should read this? But he definitely wasn't prepared for what he read.
She scooted closer, taking hold of his hand and pulling his arm up against her chest as she waited and tried not to read it again. She hated the material, for one thing. But she also hated that she was reading about such a private experience of Tommy's.
Bobby swallowed hard as he finished reading, then took a deep breath and looked up at Kitty, his eyes haunted. "Right. Not mentioning that I read that to him if I can help it." If it were him, there'd be no way he'd be comfortable with that, and he didn't have any doubt that Tommy'd feel the same, even if he'd hide it better. "There's more?
"More than thirty mutants worth," Kitty told him quietly. "Most of them died. At least three that I know of lived. Tommy, Fatale, and another boy in the Brotherhood, blond, who was in a picture I saw of Fatale."
"Shit." Bobby sighed and ran his free hand back through his hair. "Are you showing this to everyone? Because it would probably do wonders for the Professor's recruitment drive. Or, y'know, send them all into counseling. One or the other."
"Probably the second one," Kitty frowned. "Anyway, no, Scott and I talked to the Professor and he wants to keep it quiet for now."
Bobby nodded. It seemed like a good idea to him, anyway. But Kitty'd presumably read her way through all of them, so... "So, who's next?" he requested. After all, misery loved company. And having real, tangible reasons to sign up might keep him from panicking at the last minute and backing out.
Kitty took a deep breath and navigated through the files to Fatale’s.
