Disclaimer: Hmm... what can I possibly say here that hasn’t been said before?
Maybe I could say the disclaimer in another language. But I don’t know another
language. Wait -- ethay exay-enmay on’tday elongbay otay emay. On’tday uesay
emay leasepay. Voila!! Pardonnez moi, mais je ne parle pas le Francais tres bien.
Peud’etre, mais je ne parle pas l’Anglais! Oh la la! Je travaille au coin de la rue!
Non! Oui! Non! Oui! Non, non! Oui! ARRETEZ!!!
D’accord.
Revelations: Part 10 (double digits, woo hoo!)
Chris Votulle, July 1997
She tore down the hallway at top speed with no care as to where she was going.
What does it matter as long as she is moving away from him? Unfortunately,
distance does not ease the uncertainty or the pain. Nothing is clear anymore. Her
thoughts are muddled into images of him and fragments of things that he has done
in the past. Absorbing his memories was not like absorbing those of any others
she had come across before. His were confusing and incomplete. It was as if even
he did not remember parts of his past. Yet even though the memories were
impaired, the anguish and guilt that accompanied them were all too real. All of this,
combined with her ambiguous affections towards Remy, was almost enough to
drive her over the edge. She had managed to hold it together thus far, but it was
becoming increasingly difficult due to the arrival of Joseph and Remy’s resulting
fits of jealousy and his even more annoying air of indifference. Didn’t he realize
how much it hurt her when he purposefully ignored her? Didn’t he see the hurt in
her eyes? At least Joseph paid attention to her. At least he let her know that he
cares.
Rogue was lost in her thoughts and as a result she didn’t see the girl walk into the
hallway until it was too late. She crashed into her at full force, knocking her clear
off of her feet and sending her flying into the wall directly behind her.
“Oh mah God! Kali, are ya all right?” Rogue helped Kali to her feet and
desperately hoped that she wasn’t injured. She didn’t seem to be hurt, but Rogue
was concerned by the spaced out look she had on her face. Her eyes seemed
unfocussed and she didn’t respond right away.
“Kali, can ya hear me?”
“Rogue?” She seemed uncertain and her eyes were even more noticeably glassed
over.
“Yes, it’s me. Ah’m so sorry about this. I can be such a klutz sometimes. Do ya
want me ta take ya ta see Hank?”
Kali didn’t seem to register the question. She simply continued to stare at
something that apparently only she could see. Then she began to raise her hand
towards Rogue’s face. Rogue instantly backed away, but Kali still moved towards
her.
“Easy, sugah. Ya know that ya can’t touch me. Stay back before ya get hurt.”
Rogue had been moving backwards and soon found herself pinned against a wall.
Before she had a chance to react, Kali placed her hand on Rogue’s cheek. Rogue
closed her eyes tight and mentally prepared herself for the rush of memories that
she had come to expect as a result of flesh-to-flesh contact. She stayed like that for
a few moments before she realized that nothing had happened. When she opened
her eyes she could see Kali standing directly in front of her with tears streaming
down her face.
“I... I can feel your pain,” she said in a distant sounding voice.
Rogue didn’t know how to react. It had been so long since she had been touched
by someone. She didn’t remember how comforting it could be. She was about to
say something when she began to feel a strange sensation overcome her body. It
was both soothing and torturous at the same time -- unlike anything she had ever
experienced before. She tried to pull away from Kali’s grasp, but she found that
she couldn’t move. Horrible memories of her encounter with Carol Danvers
resurfaced and she began to panic. She dreaded the possibility of having to relive
that episode and felt herself sinking to the floor as she cried out in anguish. She
only dimly registered that Kali had echoed her cry.
She had almost given up in despair when the pain began to dissipate and her mind
was once again clear. In fact, it was clearer than she had ever remembered it being.
There were no voices in the back of her head blaming her for their misery. There
was no battle for dominance between her memories and those she had acquired.
For the first time in her life she felt completely free.
She looked up at Kali in complete shock. “What did you do?”
Kali seemed to be struggling to speak. “I’ve given you a chance.” As she said this
she reached down and took off Rogue’s gloves. “I can’t take away your powers
permanently, but I can at least give you some time to sort things out -- see things
from a new perspective.”
Rogue was speechless. Was this for real? Could she touch people? She was
overwhelmed with questions, but couldn’t seem to put them to words. She was
about to express her thanks, but a telepathic suggestion from Kali prevented her
from doing so and caused her to quickly retreat down the hallway.
As soon as she had gone Kali placed the gloves on her own, shaking, hands and
slumped to the floor.
* * * * *
Bobby whistled blithely as he headed towards the Danger room. Kali had been
there for hours doing God knows what and the computer finally indicated that she
was finished. That meant that he was now free to use the Danger room to practice
control of his powers and, if he was lucky, he could still catch Kali on her way out.
Kali had made a habit of keeping to herself for the few days that she had been with
the X-Men and, as a result, Bobby hadn’t seen her as often as he might have liked.
He wanted her to feel welcome, but he didn’t want to scare her away so he
respectfully kept his distance. She was a complete enigma to him, but he still
found himself strangely attracted to her. She didn’t smile often, but when she did
she was the most beautiful creature alive. In his opinion, that is. She was
extremely quiet, but behind her eyes he could see a vast intelligence and a dry sense
of humor. She was graceful, elegant, considerate, and, best of all, she didn’t even
realize it. But despite all this she remained distant and didn’t seem to notice him
one way or the other. However, she did seem to prefer his company to some of
the other, less open occupants of the mansion. He was hoping for the chance to
talk to her and maybe get to know her better, if she’d let him. Whatever her
interest in him, it was obvious that she could use a friend and he was determined to
at least give that a chance.
He turned the corner of the hallway and found himself at the entrance to the
Danger room. An entrance that was unexpectedly blocked by a small, shivering
heap on the floor.
Kali looked up, her eyes wide with fear, as she tentatively raised a gloved hand
towards Bobby. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this, but she hadn’t
expected the pain to be so great. It was too much for her to handle and she
reluctantly admitted to herself that she needed help.
Bobby immediately rushed down to her level and took her hand. “Kali, what
happened?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She clutched desperately to
him and placed her head on his shoulder, careful not to let any part of her skin
come in contact with him. For now, physical contact seemed to be the best
remedy she could think of. She didn’t know why, but it helped to ease the pain.
Bobby was surprised by her actions, but knew better than to question them. He
merely placed a comforting hand on the back of her head and slowly rocked her
back and forth. It seemed a silly gesture to him, but he didn’t know how else to
react. This was probably the last thing that he expected to find.
After a few moments, Kali seemed to calm down a little and Bobby eased his hold
on her. “So, are you going to tell me what’s going on?” He reached out to brush
aside some stray hairs that had wandered into her field of view, but she pulled
away violently.
“DON’T TOUCH ME!”
He pulled back his hands immediately and held them palms out so she could clearly
see that he had no intention of harming her. “Okay, okay! I was just trying to
help. Calm down.”
She was crouched against the wall opposite of him, clutching her head and still
shaking visibly. “T-t-too many voices... Can’t make it stop... Pain unbearable...
How does she live with it?”
“What? Who?” Bobby was now -- if he wasn’t before -- thoroughly confused.
“Do you want me to get someone to help you?”
“NO! Please don’t tell anybody. No one can know.” Kali was quite obviously
desperate.
“No one can know what? Kali, you’re not making any sense. You’re obviously
not well. I think you should come with me.”
“No, please. I’ll tell you everything, Bobby. Please!” She began to shake her
head. “Please, please, please, please, please.” The words kept on getting softer
until they turned into a sob.
Bobby approached her cautiously and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She
flinched at his touch, but didn’t move away. “Shhhhh. I won’t tell anyone
anything, okay? Will you stop crying now?”
“I’m not crying.”
Bobby smiled. “Yes, you are.”
“Oh.” She looked up at him and tried to smile back. It was a rather pathetic
attempt. “Do you have any Tylenol?”
“Um, sure. Come with me.” He helped her to her feet and led her to a small room
at the end of the hallway. It seemed to be some kind of janitor’s alcove. It
contained a small round table, a sink, and stashed in the corner was a mop and
broom. After sitting Kali down at the table, he went over to the sink and took out
a glass and a jar of pills from the cabinet overhead. He hurriedly filled the glass
with water and brought both items to Kali.
She took three Tylenols and then drank all of the water in the glass. She set the
glass back down and looked Bobby straught in the eye. “I lied.”
“What, you mean you’re not going to tell me what this is all about?”
“No. I lied this morning when Scott asked me to tell you all about my powers.”
“Oh. Why?”
“I was afraid. I thought that if I told him everything then he would make me test
them out -- my powers, I mean -- and some of them are extremely painful. I don’t
want to have to experience this on a daily basis and I don’t want anyone exploiting
me.”
Bobby blinked. “You lost me there. Stop being so vague. Just spit it out.”
“My telepathy. When my shields are down I can sense people’s thoughts and
feelings, but it’s not very strong. Except for pain. I can feel people’s pain clearly
and if I want to, I can absorb it. I’ve found that I can take away people’s pain and
tranfer it to myself. That’s not all though. If I really concentrate I can do more
than take away their pain -- I can take away the source of their pain. Like broken
bones, or lacerated skin, or memories.” She started to fidget in her seat. “When I
came out of the Danger room I ran into Rogue. Well, actually she ran into me. She
was in so much pain. I don’t know why -- I haven’t explored that yet. Anyway,
she’s been so nice to me ever since I came here and I couldn’t bear to see her so
hurt...”
Bobby noticed Rogue’s gloves on Kali’s hands for the first time. “You absorbed
her powers?” He stared at her incredulously.
Kali avoided his gaze and nodded. “That’s not all though. I seem to have absorbed
all of the memories that she absorbed from other people in addition to her own
inner turmoil. There are all of these voices screaming at me, trying to get out. It’s
driving me crazy. I can’t think straight anymore. And what’s worse -- I can’t
seem to keep my shields up for any extended period of time. If I let those slip
then I’ll also have all of the voices of the people around me to contend with. I feel
a terrible migraine coming on.” She let her head fall into her hands as she closed her
eyes, praying that she could somehow fall asleep.
Bobby was silent for a few moments while he registered all that she had said. “Can
you undo it?”
Kali looked up. “What?”
“Can you give it all back?”
“Yes.”
“Great! The Professor taught Rogue how to handle all of the people in her head.
Just give her back the memories and her powers and everything should be fine.”
“Oh. I can’t do that, Bobby.”
“Why not?”
“Rogue has to live with this every day. She can never get away from the voices
completely and she can’t touch anybody. How can I ask her to take it all back
without at least giving her a chance to see what it’s like to be free?”
Bobby looked at her with renewed respect. “Wow. You’re a better person than I
am. You can’t absorb her powers forever, can you?”
“I’m not sure, actually. I don’t think so. Unless either I die, she dies, or one of us
runs away. I need to be in close proximity to a person in order for my powers to
work.”
“Well, don’t go anywhere then. You might want to be able to return her powers if
anything serious happens. I’m kind of worried -- you don’t look so good.”
“Thanks for the compliment.” Her attempt at a smile was much better than the
last, but still half-hearted. “Seriously, I’ll be fine. And if I’m not I’ll be sure to
holler for you, okay?”
Bobby was doubtful, but didn’t think she’d take nicely to opposition. “Okay. Is
there anything I can do for you?”
“Yes. Promise again that you won’t tell anyone about this and help me to my
room. I think I could use a nap.”
“I promise.” He stood up and helped Kali to her feet again. She wasn’t very
stable and leaned on him heavily, but she managed to make it to her room without
any protests. She somehow convinced him to leave her alone and he made his way
back to the Danger room, not forgetting that he had planned on working on his
powers that afternoon.
* * * * *
Kali lay down on her bed and closed her eyes. Waves of exhaustion poured over
her. She didn’t expect to be able to fall asleep so soon, but was grateful that she
did. That is, until the dreams began.
She opened her eyes sluggishly and grabbed her sore throat. Breathing was terribly
difficult and she desperately wanted to wander back into unconsciousness, but
something was preventing her from doing that. There was a very young girl lying
over her, shaking her shoulders and crying hysterically. The girl had crystal blue
eyes and long, black hair. There was something vaguely familiar about her. She
looked past the girl and tried to focus her vision on the scene in front of her. She
could make out burnt wreckage, but that was it -- no definitive features. Her eyes
wandered across the area and eventually rested on a body laying amidst the debris.
It was most definitely dead -- lying in a pool of it’s own blood. She took her eyes
away from the body and returned again to the little girl. The girl was still crying,
but had desisted the shaking and was now pressed against Kali’s chest. Kali
reached out to stroke her hair, but the image faded and the girl was gone.
She now found herself running down a pasty white corridor -- severely out of
breath, but too panicked to stop to rest. She burst through a door and saw that
same little girl, a few years older. She was behind a wall of glass. Without
stopping to think, Kali picked up a sharp, blunt instrument that was lying on a
table and smashed it through the glass. She ignored the blood that was pouring
from her hands and quickly grabbed the girl and ran. However, as soon as she
started running the scene changed and the girl disappeared once again.
She was walking along the streets of a city. It was very quiet. Too quiet, almost.
At every few steps she took she looked over to see if someone was following her.
She couldn’t see anyone, and she didn’t know who she was supposed to see, but
she had a gut feeling that there was a specific person that was following her and she
had to get away from him. Did she have any other obligations other than herself?
Not that she knew of. Everything was so fuzzy. Even the scene around her was
fuzzy. The landscape was made up of indistinct shapes and muddled colors. She
hid behind a large, gray blurry thing and waited for it to get dark. She felt safer in
the dark. She could hide in the dark. Then she would be able to run away.
Someplace very far away where no one would be able to find her.
The setting shifted and Kali found herself nowhere in particular. It was a place
devoid of anything -- a supreme blankness. There were voices all around her, but
she couldn’t make out what they were saying. Some voices were comforting, some
were threatening, but all were familiar. One voice in particular prevailed among all
of the other ones. It was a slow, patient voice, devoid of all emotion. Despite it’s
calmness, the voice sparked a terror in Kali that reached to the very depths of her
soul. She looked around frantically, expecting to see his glowing red eyes seeking
her out, but she still saw nothing. This was even more unnerving. Not knowing
what else to do, she screamed at the top of her lungs.
She bolted upright in her bed, gasping for breath with sweat dripping off of her
face. A cursory scan of the room confirmed that she was indeed alone. She heaved
a sigh of relief and wiped the back of her hand across her brow.
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