Recuperating

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Part of Elsa had wanted to insist that they take Erika back to their residence. It certainly made more sense in many ways than heading back to the school. Except they had no idea what SPECTRE would do next, where they were turn. Better to consolidate their powers, put everyone in relatively the same area, make a show of strength. Besides, after what had happened with Ellen, well... there were other things that would have to be decided.

They'd wanted to put that off for later though. They all had, really. Later would come soon though; Elsa knew this. It didn't stop her from worrying about it. She worried even as she sat in one of the rooms she'd had assigned as temporary infirmary quarters, having taken over some of the offices near the infirmary itself. They were insane if they thought that Elsa was going to let the Bellefonte heiress stay with the peasantry. She'd immediately procured rooms for Erika and herself, for Trevor, for Frank, and for Ellen. Per usual, Elsa could care less about the rest of them. That actually was worse now, since her head had started throbbing. She'd at least had Dr. Campbell tend to the worst of the injuries on Erika, so there was that.

Now Elsa just sat on her twin's bed, staring into the distance, trying to figure out what to say first. So many possibilities came to her mind, mostly involving fault. Elsa wanted to blame herself, to insist that she should've known better, should've saved her sister before this had gotten worse, should've done something, should've known. She was the calm one, the planning one, the one who knew and acted on that knowledge.

"This shouldn't have happened to you," finally came out of her. She'd only said good when they'd found Erika, at least till she could get in private where she'd whispered that she was glad that her sister had come out alright, or at least, mostly alright. This though, this summed up everything. Elsa turned to try and look at her sister, hoping that she could manage it.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Erika was tired. So-so tired; It had been such a long time since she had gotten proper sleep and rest, and after everything, she felt like she could sleep for two weeks straight, but no matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn't. There was too much going on in her head; Too many unanswered questions and memories she didn't want to remember. She didn't know how long she had been gone, and couldn't remember much from her last days at the SPECTRE base. She couldn't even remember how she had gotten out of the cell. All she knew was that she was now back at the school.

How long had they been back? She didn't know. What had happened? She didn't know that either. Her head was nothing but chaos; Holes and missing pieces she didn't have the energy to puzzle together. She didn't really want to. At least not right now. It didn't matter; What mattered was that she was home, and she was safe. She had to focus on the good things to prevent herself from cracking, right? That's what people did in order to protect their fragile, fragile minds, and even as much as Erika hated to admit it, right now, it was nearly ready to shatter completely.

Lifting her gaze as Elsa spoke, Erika scrunched her eyebrows, ''But it did,'' Erika said silently. She didn't blame Elsa. How could she have? After all, it was Erika's own decision to leave, and considering the fact that she had openly admitted that she wanted to get far away, no one could be blamed for thinking just that. If anything, it was Erika's own fault for being as reckless as she was; She was prone for these kinds of disappearance acts. It had only been a matter of time. ''It's not your fault. If anything, people should thank you for realizing when you did, and organizing this entire thing.''

If anything, the group of kidnapped students wouldn't have been saved if it hadn't been for Elsa and her ability to react the way she did. Erika would forever be grateful for that. ''Thank you.''

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Not her fault, people should thank her. Elsa barked a laugh at that. "I said something like that before, to Dr. Campbell, the first time I heard that there were casualties. I get to take all the credit for launching an assault on a government institution in order to rescue a handful of mutants," that wasn't the real reason. They both knew it wasn't. Elsa wouldn't have bothered if Frank, Trevor, and Solkat had been the only captives. She wouldn't have assaulted if they had half the school trapped in their facility. Elsa didn't need to mention it though; mentioning would have been redundant.

Elsa sighed, running her hand through her hair for a moment, wincing as she felt it pull at her overly sensitive head. Her hand trembled when it moved. Funny, that. Erika thanked her for the actions, probably knew that she'd be forever grateful for what Elsa did. That wasn't mind reading; Elsa didn't want to read minds right now, not with her head in its current condition. Plus, there was a part of her that just felt... tired, especially of that.

"I felt it," she said, trying to speak stoically but finding her voice warbling, "what they did to you. Or at least, it felt like I felt it. I read it. It felt... real," she lowered her hand to rest in front of her, palm up, seeing it tremble. What was going on with her? Why the shaking? She tried to close her fist, finding her fingers stiff and uncompromising. Wonderful.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Sighing, Erika fell quiet. Yes, Erika didn't need to hear it, nor did she need to ask. She was aware of the reason as to why Elsa had reacted - and acted the way she had. Erika would have done the same thing without even questioning it. They were different, the Bellefonte twins; Personality wise they were nothing alike, unless you met the two of them on an off day and they decided to throw their ultimate bitch at you, of course. But even so, Erika liked to believe that no matter what, no matter what cost, the two of them had each other's back. Elsa had proved that. And even with everything going the way it had, Elsa had only done what many others would have too; She was trying to protect someone she loved. Who could possibly blame her for that?

It was no secret that Erika loved her sister, and would always do so, no matter what she did or what she said. Elsa had always been there for her, and had always watched her back. Even after eighteen years, the brunette didn't ask for a single thing in return. It was admirable.

When Elsa spoke again, Erika squinted her eyes. Turning her head, she shifted her position so she could properly look at her; Frowning, Erika pushed herself up in a sitting position. She didn't care if her head was throbbing or if her body was aching. ''Come here,'' Erika said, patting the bedside next to her. Scooting over, the telekinetic opened her arms, as if to embrace her two minute younger sister. Elsa appeared mature and as if she had it all together. But at the end of the day, she was only an eighteen year old girl. She had already witnessed too much, fought too hard. They both had.

Now Erika felt as if it was her turn to take care of Elsa, and not the other way around.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa didn't see the frown, not at first. She heard Erika, of course, felt the patting, felt Erika scooting closer. Didn't make Elsa move, but she felt it nonetheless. She dared a glance over at her sister at the latest movement, seeing the arms outspread, saw that and had to laugh dryly. "Really?" she said, her voice sounding creaky for some reason. "You were the one tortured and locked away for days. All I had to do was suffer through Ellen Banks and pretend to be you a few times," Elsa sighed, feeling like there was something to that last she should remember. She couldn't think straight right now. In fact, what she most wanted was to just scoot over into Erika.

"Besides, I'm the strong one, remember? The immobile, unfeeling ice bitch," Elsa spoke, feeling something warm and wet traveling down her cheeks. She didn't move. "After all, my sister was kidnapped and I led an attack to save her and people died and that certainly doesn't bother me. My head feels as though my brain is seeping out through my ears and I'm seriously worried that I might have given myself some permanent damage, and that doesn't bother me. I felt every wound, or read it or--something, and that doesn't---bother me." she swallowed, lowering her head, pinching her eyes shut. Water drizzled from her eyes for a moment; she felt it hitting the bed. She took a deep breath.

"God, Erika, I thought I was going to lose you and--" she took a deep breath, looked away, licked her lips, felt the salty taste of her own tears. She shook her head.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Erika didn't say anything. She didn't have to. She remained seated, with her arms spread out and watched her sister break more as the seconds went by. She wasn't judging, nor would she ever. Now it was Erika's turn to push her own feelings and doubts away and be strong for her younger sister, just like Elsa had been strong for her for so long. It was time for Erika to be the older sister she had never been and take care of the brunette sitting across the bed.

She waited for Elsa to finish, to get some of it off her chest and out of her system. She she stopped, Erika moved. She scooted closer and leaned further in, both of her arms snaking their way around her younger twin's neck. Pulling the brunette in for a hug, an embrace, Erika pulled her tighter. ''But I didn't,'' she whispered, ''And nothing is your fault. You couldn't have known; Neither of us could. What happened, happened and the best thing we can do is cherish what we didn't love as remember what we did; It's okay to be weak. It's okay to cry. No one's going to hold it against you. Not me. Not them. Not anyone.''

''You're my person, Elsa. You'll always be my person. And I'm want to-- I'm your person too, okay? I'm here for you.''

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Erika moved; Elsa felt the movement, felt hands snaking around her neck. She was reminded of something then, something that she forgot all too often: she was the younger twin. Elsa had always been the responsible one, the levelheaded one, the one who followed the rules and acted like an adult before she even hit maturity. But Erika was older, if only by mere minutes instead of the years the title technically went with. Elsa found she didn't care; she let herself be held by her sister, felt the embrace pull her tight to a chest nearly identical to her own.

Not her fault; she couldn't have known; neither of them could. The tears flowed then, as Elsa let everything bother her. Cherish what she could, okay to be weak, okay to cry. The tears flowed almost too easy, hot rivers pouring down Elsa's face. Her head still throbbed, but the crying almost felt like it helped, like releasing a valve that had been tightened too hard in her head.

"Your my person," hiccuped Elsa, feeling her tears on her mouth when she moved her lips, "whatever that means. God, Erika, they all think--I know they think I'm a heartless bitch, that I just---I didn't care about anyone but you and--" she swallowed, moving to hug her sister. She held Erika for some time then, just held, needing that. She felt like Erika needed it too, though that could be Elsa's needy mind convincing herself of the fact. But she held her sister regardless, pulled her tight, linked her hands and refused to let go, even knowing that she might be irritating the wounds that dotted her sister's body.

That didn't bother her.

{irony: "Fix You" started playing while I finished this post up}

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Erika didn't mind Elsa crying; Of course, it hurt her to see her sister like that, but it was also sort of nice to see her letting go. Erika knew all too well what it was like to hold everything in and show no weaknesses. But that's what they had each other for, right? They didn't have to pretend to be something they weren't, and they weren't supposed to hide their weaknesses. They were sisters, bound by blood and the kind of friendship most people searched a lifetime for.

No, Erika didn't mind.

Pulling her arms tighter around her sister's slender form, Erika closed her eyes. "Shhh, you're not a heartless bitch," Erika whispered softly, "Besides, who cares about what they think, right?" Erika had never been the kind of person that was even remotely good at comforting people, and she often felt as if she said the wrong thing, or said something that wasn't good enough, but with Elsa, she never feared that, because she knew that her sister knew what she meant. "I would do the same for you, you know? That's what it means. Being my person, I mean. That means that there is no one as important as," Erika continued to whisper.

"It's going to be fine. I'm not going anywhere."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Arms over her, pulling her close. Her head still throbbed, everything felt out of joint. This was stupid, foolish. Erika was the one who'd been kidnapped and tortured. Elsa should be hugging her not the other way around. Or did Elsa deserve this, since she'd risked so much to go and save Erika? Then again, as Erika pointed out soon enough, Erika would've done the same for her. Elsa laughed dryly at that. Would Erika? Would she really put people in danger? Somehow, Elsa thought she might, but not at all in the same way.

They were as different as they were similar in all the ways that mattered.

"I know you're not,' whispered Elsa, hiccuping again. She raised a hand to wipe at her eyes, as if she could banish the tears with a gesture. "If anyone tries, I'll obviously lead a strike force to go and kill them, because that's what I do now," she chuckled at that, then winced, feeling her head stab again. She still hadn't let go; it didn't feel right. She needed to feel Erika. almost stupid, but sometimes just hugging her sister almost brought out this sort of comfort, like they'd slid back into the womb, when they'd been one being.

"Did they really pull your nails off?" she asked, unable to keep the thoughts to themselves. "Or at least, the one man did. He seemed truly... I want to say evil, but that feels a little pot/kettle..."

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

Right now, what had happened back at the SPECTRE headquarters didn't matter. What Erika had gone through, or what the rest had gone through didn't matter. What mattered to the telekinetic was that her younger twin sister was crying and that she needed her, regardless of the reasoning behind it. Erika would be willing to cross the largest oceans, climb any mountain and kill anyone just to ensure her sister's happiness; In that way they were extremely similar.

Even if Erika was worse at showing it, and often took it fro granted, she too had her sister's back, and nothing, no boy, no drama and no life crisis would ever stop her from being there for her. Ever.

Smiling, Erika lifted her hand to wipe the tears away from her sister's cheek, "One of us had to end up being the violent one," she said with a soft chuckle, "I guess we both got that gene. With me trashing the school with my powers and you leading an army." Granted, leading an army did sound a lot cooler. "You're not alone, Elsa. Whatever happens, I'm here. I'm there for you, and I'm not going anywhere." Wiping off another tear, she sighed, "I'm serious; I got your back."

Elsa's question had the telekinetic frowning. Lifting her hand, Erika sighed. "Yeah," she said, sighing, "My thumb and index finger," she added. She could feel the anger well up again, but she quickly pushed it aside. She could deal with that later. "I don't think I've ever been so simultaneously scared and angry at the same time in my life before," she said lowly, almost whispering.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa chuckled, shaking her head. Them, violent? Maybe vengeful, but violent really didn't suit either of them. Being reminded that she wasn't alone though, that sounded good, felt good. Elsa took a deep breath, steadying her nerves, feeling her sister moving to get more. "You've said that," she pointed out, gathering more of herself. "And you're actually not the only one..." though she wasn't sure how far she could really trust Riley and Roxana, though she at least knew their motives.

A frown met Elsa's question. thumb and index, scared and angry, "I know," said Elsa. Then she shook her head, "I shouldn't say that; I wasn't there. I saw your thoughts for a moment, had it pour in, and it made me cold. I can't imagine what it would have been like in there for a long time," she paused for a moment, then laughed dryly. "I mean, a week trapped in a cell with Frank Cox. I don't think anyone's built for that kind of torture. Clearly we must kill them all for such crimes against humanity."

Another dry laugh, though Elsa's eyes slid away, looking toward the edge of the bed for a moment. She'd said it in jest, laughing even, but part of her really wanted that, wanted to kill everyone who'd hurt her sister like that. they all deserved it, as far as she was concerned. Every. Last. One. Of. Them.

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"You know," Erika began, "Being in a cell with Frank Cox wasn't so bad," she admitted with a soft smile, "If anything, I think she kept me more sane. She was sort of like the light that kept us all going, or some twisted analogy like that," Erika murmured. But it was true; Frank Cox, despite her lack of food, had been the least crazy out of the bunch. From Erika constantly being pissed off and trying to tear the place apart (Trying to), Trevor crying and getting shot, and Solkat... Well, Solkat being Solkat, Frank had been the most... Well, Frank had been Frank.

Sighing, Erika shook her head, "I'm sorry you had to see that," she said lowly, "But it's over now, and..." she trailed off. She couldn't imagine SPECTRE being stupid enough to pull something again after this, could they? Maybe it was wishful thinking, or maybe it was the last bit of logic left in her body showing its face. She didn't know. In fact, she didn't care. She just wanted it to be over with so she could move on.

She was so damn exhausted.

"But," Erika said, lifting her head, "We can't blame everyone for the actions of one," she added. "Despite that one man being terrible, not all of them were." Like Winston; Sure, he had started out with torturing her with electrodes, but he had gotten the memo rather quickly, and in turn, done more or less the right thing. Which made Erika want to see the man again. She wanted to talk to him. Why, or what they would talk about, Erika didn't care much for. She wanted to prove to him that the mutants weren't at fault here.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Frank Cox, not bad? Then again, she and Erika were friends or something, which only surprised Elsa slightly. That was one relationship that could pay back dividends at some later point in time. But light in the dark... Elsa was tempted to suggest that said light had probably been pink and done in pretty shapes, but wouldn't that have made it even better?

Unfortunately, not everything was so light and colorful. Over now: Elsa nodded, looking away. "It should be," she agreed. "The press aren't going to let the deaths of so many go unpunished, especially innocent women and children. Couldn't have been better if we'd caught the SPECTRE agents skinning a puppy."

Black humor, but that shouldn't surprise Erika, not coming from Elsa. Elsa clicked her tongue at the thought of not blaming them all. "Yes, because they clearly didn't do that to us, what with those dead children I just mentioned and all. Being in that organization is being complacent with what that organization did, and--" Elsa stopped, realizing the anger had flared up within her. No, that was more than anger: blacker, darker, deeper. Hate, it was hate, hate directed toward people who hated her and hers for just being who they were. Part of Elsa desperately wanted to show them. Let them see some monstrous sides of them. Just a little, just enough...

[Erika Conner (Bellefonte)]

"Yeah," Erika said silently. "I'm... I think-" she stopped, unsure of what else to say. What was left to say, anyways? She didn't know. Words seemed to fail her completely. She just wanted it to be over with. She just wanted it all to end and be forgotten about. Erika wanted to go back to her daily life and just pretend nothing about this ever happened. And the scary thing was that knowing herself, that was exactly what she was going to do. She would end up going so far down into denial it wasn't even going to be pretty.

That's what she always did.

"Elsa..." Erika began and pulled away, scanning her sister's face with a frown. "We can't sink to their level. We cannot become the monsters they think we are. We won't." Her words were said with a little more force than what she had intended; She could see the hate splayed across her sister's face. It was as obvious as a light shining in a pitch black room. "We're not those kind of people. We have to be better." There was no way in hell she would ever allow such a thing to happen. Revenge was foolish, as much as she too wanted it, it wouldn't solve anything. It wouldn't make them feel better or bring anyone back. It would send them into war where more innocent lives would be taken, and Erika didn't think she could live with that.

"We are better than that."

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Her name, and then Erika pulling away, frowning. Elsa didn't even have to look at it; she could practically feel the disapproval radiating from Erika. Can't sink to their level, can't become the monsters they think we are, and then... won't. That last had Elsa actually meeting her sister's eyes for a few moments. Won't, which meant that Erika wouldn't let it happen. Was that directed at Elsa personally? Was Erika stating that she wouldn't let Elsa become a monster, no matter what happened? It felt like it was.

Better, better than that. Elsa chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Yes, I sicced the press on them instead. Let them deal with that fallout," she looked away, wondering if that was really enough. It should be. She kept telling herself that, helped her to relax, might even help her to sleep...

...no, she was going to end up taking something tonight. The nightmares would be too strong otherwise, and she just knew she'd pick up something strong from Erika. She rubbed at her face. "Sounds like you'll have to make sure I don't become a monster then. I'm sure you can handle it though," she smiled at her sister, then winced, bringing the hand up again to massage her temples this time. "So much for us both to do... and don't you dare go 'but we'll handle that all in the morning,'" she gave Erika a warning look at the end there, though her lips were twitching upward yet again.