Pain and suffering [Hyperion]

[amber]

Amber looked over at the young mutant that was hiding in the shadows. It was around nine at night and she had been out for a bit of a walk when the young mutant approached her. Blue eyes looked over the little one and she dropped down. ”What is it, Sweetie?” The little one tugged on her hand and led her into the park. Hidden off away from prying eyes there was another young mutant who looked like he had been hurt. Amber dropped down next to him and looked him over. There was a gash along his left side and it looked deep. The girl now realized why the mutant and brought her here. ”Who did you know that I could fix this?” That’s when the first one stepped into the light. She had helped him once before when she had first come to Boston.

The young healing mutant took a deep breath and her hands began to glow. She rested her hands on the wound and bit down hard as the injury disappeared from him and transferred on to her. There was a whimper as the pain seared through her. The two mutants took off running now sure what exactly just happened and Amber stumbled to lean against at tree. Her shirt was now soaked with blood but the bleeding was beginning to stop. That was always the quickest thing to happen. She rested her head against the tree and closed her eyes, waiting for the pain and nausea to pass.

[hyperion]

Boston. Back when he was Mark Hamilton he would have loved to come to such a city, to behold all the lights and attractions that he could never had found back home in Cascade. Of course that was a lifetime ago now and little Mark Hamilton had grown up to be Hyperion, a man who looked down upon such a city and saw... Trash. Nothing but streets upon streets full of trash and the insignificant, certainly nothing worthy of his time. Still, Magneto had a certain interest in this city and as such had dispatched him like an errand boy to find something, and of course the magnificent leader had failed to detail what exactly. A fact that irked the super-ego to no end, but he had conceded to the order nevertheless. Magneto was scant steps away from nearly realising his dream, and Hyperion couldn’t afford to offend the man now. Not until he was ready to steal the dream from under him.

So here he was hovering some distance above the ground, trailing a pair of inconsequential mutants in the Emerald Necklace of all places. One was injured, that was plain to see, and the other was searching for something, and it was that something that interested him. Still, whatever he expected them to lead them to it certainly wasn’t the woman that now laid up against a tree, sporting the very wound that had moments previous belonged to one of his mark and healing it at an incredible pace.

His descent to the ground was neither subtle nor quiet, the mutant’s boots crunching heavily into the ground, leaving hefty indentations as he simply “dropped” from the sky. Her power was certainly a “something” in Hyperion’s books, something that warranted further investigation.

[amber]

Amber winced and knew the damn injury was going to take a day or two. It had been deeper than she had expected but at least the bleeding stopped. As long as she didn’t pull it open again. The healing had started from the inside and will work its way out. The pain though wouldn’t lessen for about an hour or so, and she was trying really hard not to get sick. There was sweat on her brow and she was having a bit of a time breathing. Par for the course for dear little Sacrifice, the code name was aptly placed. The young woman shifted so that her back was to the tree and she leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

When she heard the thud blue eyes opened and she watched the man warily. Something about him told her he wasn’t ‘human’ that he was a mutant like her. The only problem was she didn’t know what kind, and she wasn’t talking about power. Amber pushed herself away from tree and tried to stand up straight. Pain seared through her side and she feel back again. Damn that wound was way worse than she had anticipated. Fuck. Blue eyes watched the man moved toward her. ”Hello. Can I help you?” There was no way she was going to be able to fight anyone, the biggest drawback to her power. She was down for the count and that put her at her most vulnerable. Unfortunately, she had an unnatural need to heal those that needed it and often wondered if that was part of her power. Unless of course she caused the damage, then she didn’t feel inclined to fix it.

[hyperion]

Brown eyes met blue as Hyperion stared down at the woman’s form, a curious expression gracing his facial features. The power to heal was not common amongst the denizens of Genosha, and while Hyperion arguably healed twice as fast as your regular human, the power before him intrigued him. He crouched down to her level, his gaze shifting from her eyes to her wound and he watched intently. It was a curious gift, the ability to heal but at the cost of your own health, albeit for a short time. Sacrificing yourself for another, a concept Hyperion couldn’t fully understand, labelling it under one of those useless traits that “lesser beings” than himself seemed inclined to display.

Her question caused him to glance back up, a slight frown playing on his lips as he tried to work out all the intricacies of her power. She wanted to help him when she herself was already injured from healing another? It seemed she really did display that wasteful trait to its fullest. With a dismissive snort he ignored her query entirely, instead opting to voice one of his own. “Your power, tell me... How does it work?” If it proved to be as useful as he assumed it certainly would be of interest to Magneto, perhaps enough to warrant Hyperion’s leave of this petty and useless duty. If not... Well, attractive as she was, the girl was of no interest to him, he’d just leave her here and continue on his search.

[amber]

Blue eyes looked into brown and the way the big man was looking at her was making her slightly uncomfortable. A dark brow arched as he watched the wound. ”It’s not going anywhere for a least twenty-four hours, as long as I’m careful with it.” The blood coagulated to stop the bleeding and that was about it. ”Can you do me a favor? Can you rip this all the way around and turn this shirt into a crop top for me? I need to cover this.” That would just freaking suck if she get an infection. That would heal at a normal rate and only with antibiotics since it would, in fact, be her own illness.

It didn’t escape her notice that he didn’t reply to her question. Honestly, she really didn’t expect him to. When he questioned her power she arched a brow. So, he’d seen her use it, something told her he had his own little secret. ”It’s….. complicated. I seriously doubt you want me to go into detail about it.” The nausea was finally starting to pass but the ache was still there. She shifted against the tree and looked at him again. ”You really want to know don’t you? I’d think it was a bit obvious, but there’s more to it than there looks.” Her body was covered with faint scars from various injuries she’s healed. ”I heal by transference, as in I take on the injury or disease. I can’t cure all diseases though, if it’s in your genetic make up to get it, I can’t screw with that. The injuries I take on heal at a more rapid rate then my own. I can adjust the level of how much I heal when I think it’s necessary. However, I don’t have a healing factor, that means if I heal a broken bone, my body will suffer for it as if I had broken my own. “

[hyperion]

An eyebrow quirked in response to her request. He wasn’t some simpleminded peon that she could just make demands of, who did she think she was? Despite his internal rant however, he acceded nevertheless and ripped the bottom of her shirt off with one quick pull thanks to his augmented strength. His eyes flickering briefly over the various scars that criss-crossed here and there. She had quite the collection that perhaps even rivalled his own, not a mean feat considering the amount of battles he'd thrown himself headlong into over the years.

His frown deepened as he listened to her explanation of her power. It was as he first thought; her power was the ability to take on someone else’s wounds. Self sacrifice for the good of others. Again the same feelings of confusion tinged with disgust bubbled up in the man’s mind. Did she not see how the world was? There was no point in putting others first, if you did that than you’d just be used as a stepping stone on their way to higher things. He would know, he’d stepped on many to get where he was. Hyperion, translating roughly as High one, wasn’t just a name he’d come by overnight, no it had a deeper meaning to him. “If you are injured by your gift, than why use it?” He stated bluntly, having little to no need for tact since he’d been blessed with his powers. “Placing your life in peril for others... What do you have to gain from such an action?” He glanced after the now long gone figures of the mutants she’d helped minutes previously and added, “They did not even offer words of thanks, let alone tokens of appreciation... No, instead they left you here to be at the mercy of your gift, abandoning you to whatever fate might befall. So I ask again, what do you have to gain from this?”

[amber]

Amber waited to see if he’d do it, it looked like he wasn’t going to and she sighed with relief when he did. Her body jerked and she winced when he ripped her shirt for her. ”Thanks.” She took the piece of her shirt and tied it around her waist and tied it off, covering the wound. It wasn’t really something she could have done properly while still wearing the article. Amber rolled her neck and looked back over at the man, he was checking her out but not in the sexual way. She wasn’t sure why that unnerved her so much but it did. The sexual way she was used to this was completely different.

A dark brow went up at his questions. She didn’t even think about the scared young mutants not even saying thank you, but then she was quite used to that. It was her job after all and it was par for the course. ”Because it’s who I am and what I do. I have the ability to help people so I do. I can’t explain why and they were scared that’s why the y left.” Amber shrugged a bit. Most didn’t understand her need to help even though it could cost her dearly at times. It wasn’t something that she could explain without being thought of as an idiot or a martyr, she’d survive it for the most part, one of them might not and she wasn’t willing to risk that. ”I’m stronger than I look. I can handle more than you might think. It hurts but this could have killed that kid. I have the means to take care of it and I’ll get over it faster.” It was weak and lame but the only way she could think to describe it really. ”Better their pain then my own. I can heal faster from someone elses…..” The words were said softly and nearly to herself.

[hyperion]

“Hn, so you simply put your life on the line just because you can?” Hyperion arched an eyebrow and shook his head in amusement. No matter how it was worded, it just came across as stupidity to the arrogant mutant. Helping others to prove your power he could get, getting some kind of recognition and prestige, but just to do it for the sake of it? Idiocy. “You are just setting yourself up to be a tool, woman, a tool to be used and discarded when it serves no more purpose.” He gestured after the mutants that had fled once more and laughed quietly. “See? They were not scared of your gift, they sought you out for it, and once they got what they needed...” He left it hanging, seeing no need to further emphasis his point.

“Your gift is powerful, it even impresses the likes of myself, Hyperion, and that is no mean feat.” He smirked and cocked his head to one side, regarding her intently for several seconds before speaking up once more. “There are people who would value such a gift, which is more than I can say for the people here. You could earn respect and adoration for your gift, have your qualities truely seen for what they are, instead of only fostering fear and mistrust as you are doing now with these peons.”

[amber]

Amber looked over at him when he asked his question. ”Yeah, pretty much.” She couldn’t handle knowing she could save a life and not doing it. The woman wasn’t that selfish, she may no share her chocolate, but she’d be damned if she’d let someone suffer if she could fix it. She was a tool and she knew that, in the grand scheme of things that’s all anyone really was anyway. ”Yeah, but that holds true for just about anyone. We are all tools no matter how much we want to deny it. I wasn’t given the power to do anything offensively, mine was to save lives. I’m not selfish enough to let someone die if I can save them. This wound could have killed that kid as deep as it was, and that’s not counting if infection had settled. There wasn’t much they could do to help me, not with them being so noticeably a mutant.” She figured this guy was very much the type that just watched out for his own needs and didn’t give shit about anyone else. If she were right then he’d never understand.

Finally, she got a name from him and had she not been so worn out she would have realized not to chuckle. But she couldn’t stop herself, as full of himself as this guy was he made her want to laugh. Kind of reminded her of a little boy playing superhero or something. ”Hello, Hyperion you can call me Sacrifice.” Something told her that name would annoy him but not for the normal reasons. When he started going into his little speech, blue eyes narrowed. Crap she couldn’t remember the name of the place not really having paid much attention but she remembered the name of the group. She wondered if he was part of this Brotherhood. It sounded like the stuff they’d be spouting, at least from what she’d heard. ”Thanks for the offer, Hyperion, but I actually already have a job.” Amber pushed herself from the tree and winced a bit, she swayed for a moment, and then righted herself. ”Sure you don’t need any help?”

[hyperion]

“Tools?” He smirked and shook his head dismissively. “You only become a tool if you let yourself be used, if you do not fight against your fate. Fight to prove you are worth noticing. If you do not, hn, you allow yourself to become insignificant, and being a tool is all that you are good for.” Use or be Used. A simple fact of life in Hyperion’s mindset and a simple choice to be made, he was definitely not going to be used. Of course the fact that he was currently letting himself be used by Magneto wasn’t lost on the man, but he liked to think of it as a necessary step, and that he was using Magneto to an equal measure.

The chuckle caused his eyes to tighten and narrow, was she laughing at him? Him? Surely there was some mistake, she seemed naive but he doubted she was a fool, perhaps it was the pain. Yes, it was probably the wound getting to her. He’d let this insult pass this once, just this once, on the account of her injury, but next time he wouldn’t be so merciful. Sacrifice, a suiting name he supposed, but one that further reinforced her folly in his books.

It was true that Hyperion was more than a little self obsessed, but the man did notice a lot more than most would expect. As such, the narrowing of her eyes as he told her about the wonders of Genosha wasn’t missed, and the action quickly triggered a greater deal of interest. He was neither what you would call bright, nor what you’d call stupid – least not in the literal sense. Such a reaction hinted that she had heard of the Brotherhood, or at least of the offer they were making. “A job? I was talking about a life, woman. But if you would rather sully yourself with these... Flatlines...” the word was accompanied with a slight twist of the mouth and a disgusted undertone, “Then by all means, content yourself by hiding what you are. Play nursemaid or whatever it is you do, but I promise you this... There will be a time when they will throw you aside like trash, when you no longer serve their purpose. You are a convenience for now, nothing more.”

[amber]

One dark eyebrow rose up at the man’s speech. Oh dear he was one of those types. In other words he was just a tool [in more ways than one] who thought there was more to him than that. ”Not all of us want to be noticed. I get enough people coming to me when they are hurt or sick. I went off spouting to the world and I’d be dead inside a week due to the massive amount of people looking for a quick fix.” She had a hard enough time when she stumbled across someone and healing the students, but actually having them search her out? That’d probably kill her.

His reaction to her chuckle didn’t escape her and she sighed a bit. The young woman busied herself with looking over her wound and wondering if she shouldn’t stitch it up. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to do that. She didn’t know if she was pissed or annoyed at how he said woman. ”I did give you my name you know. You could try using it.” She wouldn’t have minded so much if he didn’t know her name already. She shifted again and winced then slid down the tree to sit. ”Not everyone can be top of the heap. I’d rather be used to help people then to be used to climb the proverbial success ladder.” But then again isn’t that why someone would want someone like her? The fatality rate would significantly drop if she was around.