Hey all. God, it's 1 a.m. and boy I'm sleepy. Looks like I surprise even myself by writing this all down with my eyes half-closed. Well, at least it'd give something to do on a lonely Friday night. I usually go out and get myself drunk as a fiddle on Friday night, but not tonight. Have a bad hair day :P Anyway, here's the next part of Dreams of an Angel. Enjoy yourself! If its too short... sorry :( If there's any grammatical error, double sorry!! As I said, I'm half asleep as I'm writing this :P
Onwards to the boring part! Legal matters! Hehehe. You can press 'fast-forward' now.
Well, first of all, this story, as you will certainly find out soon, is TOTALLY fictional. So! If any of you truly believe in it... well, my brother is studying psychiatry right now for his final medical examination in April, so maybe I'll just refer you to him. You'd make a good delusional subject. Secondly! None of the guys in the Backstreet Boys are gay! (No matter how hard I wished it :P). But nobody say we couldn't dream it, heh heh. Thirdly, Warren Worthington is actually a character from Marvel Comics, X-men known as Angel or recently Archangel. Okay fine, I admit it. I'm bored and I am making a pathetic attempt to make life a lil' bit interesting. Its not like I'm gonna publish it or something. What else to talk about hmm? Oh, there may be some adult gay scenes in this story. Unlike my brother, I don't mind writing naughty stuff ;) so! If you're underage, naughty, naughty! I can only ask you to go away, but I cannot do anything else to stop you from reading on anyway. Hell! I've been sneaking into the internet to watch gay porns since I was 13! So, if your parents or whoever responsible for you catch you, don't say I didn't warned you. However, if you're homophobic... well maybe I can seduce you enough to turn you around heh heh. I do so love a challenge ;)
Anyway, enough talk. Any comments or boos or suggestion or whatever, just sent it to the same address as in NNTs, goldenknightuk@yahoo.co.uk . Yeah, we shared the same address. Don't ask. Long story.
Okay then! On to the show. Now, don't be shy now. If you got any comments or suggestions, just drop me a note. You do the request, and I'll do the show.
Andy
About half an hour later, Warren's phone rang and looking at the ID, he recognizes Hank's number on it. He left the room quietly as Nick is still talking to both Brian and Kevin, while AJ, Howie and Jubilee amused themselves by watching Nick sweats.
"Warren speaking." Said Warren as he answered the phone.
"Warren. It's me Hank. I'm downstairs with Jean. The receptionist wouldn't let us up, I'm afraid."
"I'll be right there, Hank." Said Warren before hanging up. He walked back into the room and went straight to Nick. Nick looked up at him pleadingly as he listened to both Brian's and Kevin's lecture and his eyes brightened with joy when Warren nodded his head. "Umm... Kev, Bri... sorry to cut you short..."
AJ snorted at that. Sorry indeed!
"... but I gotta go. Warren called one of his doctor friends to come up and see me." Nick continues, gritting his teeth as more cries and shouts arise from the phone. The scene was so funny that Warren was actually shaking with laughter and the others were no better.
Finally, Nick had enough.
"Krrrrrzzzgggkkh... What's that Kev?... Krrzzzzggrkkhhh... Bri, Kev.... I can't... Krrrrrrggggkkkhhh... hear you... Krrrgkhh... Guys, you... Krrrrggkkkhh.... Breaking up... Krrrrgggkkhh... Guys...!"
With that, Nick hangs up both phone and then leaned back on the bed rest, eyes closed in relief even as AJ, Howie and Jubilee laughed uncontrollably before him.
"Yeah, yeah, go ahead and laugh, you jerks." Said Nick, grumpily.
"Woooo-hoo! Damn! I should have brought my camera with me!" AJ shouted joyfully. "That looks on your face! Its priceless!!"
"I know!" Howie laughed so hard he nearly fall off the bed. "Man! Its always feels good to watch you in the hot water once a while."
"But I like you technique, Nick," said Jubilee. "Maybe I should try that on Logan when he called me up and break my party."
"It's a risk you can take, Jube, but I should warn you. Logan is not stupid. But still, you need to learn the lesson yourself. Don't count on me to save you when Logan catches you." Warren smirked.
"Who is Logan?" asked Howie.
"A very bad tempered old man." Jubilee pouts.
"One of her teachers." Warren said simply before looking up at Nick. "Hank and Jean is downstairs, Nick. Last chance to change your mind...?"
Deep inside, Warren prayed silently that Nick wouldn't change his mind. Right now, he is almost convinced that Nick is a telepath and only Jean or Professor Xavier back at Westchester, could help him.
Nick caught the pleading look from Warren and struggled to control himself. He was actually about to say that he has changed his mind about having a telepath messing around with his mind. But there was so much hope and concern in Warren's eyes that he couldn't find the heart to destroy it... and yet...
Nick sighed at last and nodded. Inside, he is shaking with fear. Please god; don't let it turn out that I am a mutant. What would his family think? What would his bandmates think? I cannot lose them all. I can't...
"Hank?"
"Ah, Warren! It is good to see you again, my friend." Hank McCoy laughed as he wrapped his hands around the man and gave him a huge hug.
"The feeling is mutual, Hank." Warren smiled at his old friend. "Sorry to take you away from you experiments."
"Anything for an old friend, Warren. Anything!" Hank replied cheerfully.
"You should be more sorry for taking me away from Scott." A female's voice appeared from the side.
"Jean!"
Jean Grey gave Warren a loving smile laughed lightly as she was enveloped in a hug.
"Okay!" she laughed. "Normally, only Scott gets to be this close to me."
"Well, you can always dump the boy scout and hooks up with me." Warren laughed as he releases the woman. It is no secret that long ago, in the earliest days of the X-men, he tried really hard to compete with Scott for Jean. A battle between two handsome men for one woman, with Hank and Bobby always got caught in the middle.
"Oh no. Don't start that again." Hank groaned, remembering clearly of the time when he has to deliver secret love letters or flowers for both Warren and Scott to Jean.
"Relax, Hank. You know we're just playing." Jean chuckled before scowling playfully. "Anyway, Warren. You better apologize for ruining my anniversary dinner with Scott. Scott put a lot of effort to make it perfect, you know, and he was not pleased."
"Would a week vacation in one of my private beaches in Florida pay off my debt?" Warren asked sweetly. "You can stay at my penthouse there, with all my servants at your disposal. Or would you prefer the yacht?"
"Oooh! Now that's a difficult decision. I have to think on that." Jean answered giddily. "I'll get back to you on that after I talk about it with Scott."
"I hope Scott wasn't too angry with me," said Warren as he led them to the elevator.
"No, no, not at all, my friend." Hank replied. "He was at first, but he understood the need once I got the chance to explain the situation to him."
"Scott has always been willing to drop everything when it come to help mutants in need. He wanted to come along but something turns up and the Professor needs his help. He says hi by the way." Jean explained patiently.
"So, who is my patient tonight?" asked Hank.
"His name is Nick. Nick Carter."
"Hey I know that name. He's one of those Backstreet Boys Jubilee been excited about, isn't he?" said Jean.
"The same. Poor guy been through a tough time." Said Warren.
"Well, if he's telepathic, then I know exactly how he feels." Said Jean sympathetically, remembering her own ordeal when her telepathy kicked in.
"You said you got into some troubles today. Care to tell me about it?" said Hank as they stepped out of the elevator.
Warren halted before moving further to the door of his penthouse and proceeds to tell them everything that has happened since he met the guys - from the concert the night before and then on to the incident at the mall. He also told them of his brief conversation with Nick and that Nick knew Warren and Jean are mutants. Jean shook her head sadly.
"He must be scared out of his wits. Poor guy." She said softly.
"It's a good thing you told him, Warren," Hank said gravely. "At least you prepared him enough that our arrival wouldn't be too much of a shock to him."
"You should also be aware that one of his friends, Howie, hates mutants. I don't resent him for that, because one of his best friends was killed during the Apocalypse incident. You need to be careful around him."
Jean sighed sadly at that piece of news, while Hank shook his head. They has battled through blood and fire to protect humankind from danger and trying to prove that mutants are not a threat to them, but so far, all they have achieved is giving the world more reasons to hate and fear mutants.
"Duly noted, Warren." Said Hank, wearily.
Together, they walked on quietly to the door.
"Guys, I'd like you to meet Dr. Hank McCoy and Dr. Jean Grey." Said Warren as he let Hank and Jean walked into the room. "Hank, Jean. These are AJ, Howie and Nick."
"Haaaaaannnkkkk!!!!" Jubilee screamed happily and rushed up to the laughing man and wrapped him up in a good hug.
"Well hello there, little Jubilee!!" Hank laughed as he hoisted the girl into the air, not surprising for a big man. "I trust you're having a terrific time off from the school?"
"Big time!!" Jubilee replied happily. "And I'll have an even better time now with you around!!"
"What? One hug for Hank and none for me? Jubilee, I'm hurt." Said Jean.
"Of course I have a hug ready for you, Jean." Jubilee beamed as she hugged the woman.
"Pleasure to meet you sir." Said Howie politely as AJ and he shook Hank's hand.
"Whoa, stop right there. You call me Hank. I'll accept no more than that!" said Hank jovially. He turned to look at Nick on the bed.
"And you must be my patient for the day!" He gave Nick a wide, cheerful grin. "You must be Nick."
Nick, who has been staring nervously at Jean, broke off his stare to look at Hank.
'Is he a mutant too?' Nick thought to himself. Inside, he shivered slightly. He has heard nothing but bad things about mutants all his life and to be honest, he is feeling afraid of them. After all, this is his first contact with mutants. Before this, he'd would have laugh at the thought of having one mutant as his friend, much lest three.
Jean was smiling and speaking softly to AJ and Howie all the time, but telepathically, she is fully aware of what is going on in Nick's mind. Because of his nervousness, Nick's mind is at the moment an open book to any telepath within the vicinity! Taking a deep breath, she put more effort to ignore the swirling thoughts emanating from Nick and concentrate to strengthen her shield to keep the thoughts out. It is not within her right to violate the privacy of another person's mind unless that person gives her the permission to do so. There is more about being a telepath than just reading other people's thoughts. At least, that's what Professor Xavier taught her all this years. She knows other telepaths that couldn't be bother to obey such fundamental rules. Emma Frost is one of them.
"Hi, Hank." Nick said, a little bit shakily as he shook the other man's hand. His fear was reduced when Warren sat beside him and held his shoulder in silent support. "Warren said you're good."
"Well, I always tried to be!" Hank replied courteously. "Now, let's see what seems to be the problem."
"Maybe its better if the others leave the room," said Jean as she approaches the bed. "Would you mind, AJ? Howie?"
"Of course, of course. The room is getting a little bit crowded anyway." Hank exclaimed.
"We'll wait for you at the sitting room," said Howie. "Hey, Jube! Up for some video games?"
"You're going down, mister," Jubilee grinned.
"Careful, D. She's good." AJ warned.
"Well, c'mon!" Howie grumbled, "C'mon!"
With that, they marched out of the room and closed the door.
"Don't worry, Nick," said Warren soothingly. "We will not do anything without your permission. Isn't that right, Hank?"
"Of course! Of course!" Hank replied earnestly. "You only have to say it once, and I'll stop everything."
It is really because of Warren's soothing touch that held Nick's fear at bay. Nervously, Nick looked at Warren, and almost immediately, his fear diminished. Warren promised to be with him all the way and Nick could see in Warren's eyes that he intend to keep that promise. That little fact makes him relaxed. Slowly, he turned to look at Jean and then at Hank.
"Are... are you a mutant too?" Nick asked softly.
Hank raised his eyebrow at him and gave him a gentle smile.
"I am indeed." He answered soothingly. "I hope that will not makes you feel uncomfortable. Do you still want me to examine you?"
Nick doesn't really know what to think. Hank, Warren and Jean are not really what he expected out of mutants. He remembered watching the news about how Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants terrorized the cities. He expected mutants to be more... cold. But here are some of them. Warren holding him supportively and Jean standing at the foot of the bed, smiling at him soothingly and Hank who is checking his pulse and blood pressure carefully and caringly.
"You're not as I expected." Nick said softly.
Warren smiled.
"What were you expecting?" he asked.
"I don't know," Nick replied. "Cold. Angry. Like that guy Magneto."
"We're not like Magneto, Nick." Said Jean. "Magneto is misguided. We help people."
"You're a telepath." Nick looked at her strangely. Is she reading his thoughts now?
"To a lesser degree, yes." Jean replied. "But my abilities lies more in telekinesis."
"Do you read other people's mind all the time?" asked Nick. "Are you reading my thoughts now?"
"Not unless you give me your permission, Nick." Jean replied. "Professor Xavier, my mentor, taught me that a person's mind represents the final bits of sanctuary a person could ever have in his or her life. Trespassing into another person's mind without permission would violate that privacy and it is wrong. I will never do that to anyone unless they give me their permission to do so."
Nick looked at her silently for a good while, not really knowing what to think or say.
"All right, Nick." Said Hank when he finished examining Nick at last. "Warren told me what happened to you since yesterday and you also told him that you've been experiencing this headaches for quite a while now. Care to tell me the details about that?"
"It started to go bad about six shows ago, but it has always been there on and off since I was 15; it didn't bother me at all back then." Said Nick. "It was always worst during a concert or when I'm in a club... anywhere where there are lots of crowds; airports, meet and greets, press conferences... even during the MTV awards. Most of the time I can stand it. Occasionally, I'd take some pain-killers and stayed in my rooms and sleep. But the last show was the worst. I never vomited and pass out before this."
"Do you have any other symptoms? Blurred visions? Flashes? Dulled hearing? Muscle weakness?" Hank prompted gently.
"None except some day dreams, thought I'm not sure if its connected to the problem at hand or not. Most of the time, it always feels like I have thousands of people crammed, jumping and screaming in my head. It feels like I've been swept away by a jumble of emotions that sometimes I don't know if I should cry or laugh or scream. Then, if I didn't take any pain-killers or find myself a quiet place to breath, the nausea and dizziness would kicks in, but never the vomiting. Last night was the first time I couldn't handle it."
"What type of emotions do you actually feel?" asked Jean curiously.
"I'm not sure. A jumble of every type, I suppose. Pain, joy, bitterness, anger... every sort. Its like my mind was totally messed up."
"Do you actually hear voices in your head?" asked Jean.
"No, never that." Nick replied immediately. "No voices. Just pain."
Silence stretched again, with Hank and Jean looking at him thoughtfully.
"I didn't help you in anyway, didn't I? Maybe it's just me. I've been touring for so long that it's beginning to take its toll out of me." Said Nick sadly.
"Whoa there, my friend. Don't give up that easily." Said Hank warmly. "You have given me something to think about, but that doesn't means we're baffled."
"Relax, Nick," Warren smiled and Nick nearly blushed upon seeing that. Warren really does have a beautiful smile. He should do that more often. "Give them a chance. They need time to work things out."
What Nick really is trying to avoid is giving them time to see if he is a mutant or not, but he knew that topic would arise sooner or later, so he might as well come clean now.
"Warren told me that I might... be a mutant..." Nick said in a small voice. His heart beat faster again.
'Please, don't let me be a mutant. I don't want to lose my family and friends.' He prayed fervently.
Hank sighed and looked at Jean thoughtfully, then at Warren, before returning his gaze to Nick.
"I'm cannot be sure without the proper tests, Nick." He replied regretfully. "But unfortunately, the necessary equipments are in my lab back in Westchester. The only other way to determine that you are a psionist is through another telepath."
Nick stiffened at that and Hank rushed on so that he wouldn't be interrupted.
"Now, I know, I know. You wouldn't like any telepath poking around in your head. But it is important that we determine for certain whether you are a psionist or not. Jean here is more than willing to help you in that, but ONLY," Hank emphasized when all of Nick's muscle went rigid, "ONLY if she have your permission."
Silence stretches again as Nick was not certain what he should do. Warren rubbed his hand behind Nick's back encouragingly.
"You need to control your abilities if you are a psionist, Nick. It's the only way to deal with these headaches and pain." Said Warren, soothingly. "Sooner or later, your mind couldn't take it anymore and it'll overwhelm you and who knows what will happen then."
"I will not harm you in anyway, Nick," said Jean sadly. "Whatever I learn while I'm in your mind, I will keep it a secret and I promise you, I will not tell anyone. It'll be treated the same as patient-doctor confidentiality. I know what you are going through. When my telepathic ability manifested itself, I heard voices in my head even when I was asleep that eventually I nearly went mad and tried to kill myself. I don't want that to happen to you too. You may be able to handle it now, but given time, you will break down eventually. I can help you but only if you let me."
"What will you do?" Nick asked nervously.
"I will enter your mind. You will feel my presence within your own thoughts when that happens. And if you want me leave, you can just let me know, and I will withdraw myself out. While in your mind, I will perform a mental scan to detect any latent psionic ability. There will be no pain involved, no harm, nothing. If I found something, I will let you know immediately." Said Jean.
Silence stretched again.
"Nick?" Warren murmured gently. "I'll be with you all the way, remember? Do you trust me?"
Warren grasped one of Nick's hand and again, he felt relieved when Nick grasped back. Nick's hand is cold and gently, Warren rubbed his own hand over Nick's to keep it warm. At last, Nick took a deep breath and nodded.
"Do it." Nick whispered shakily.
Hank moved aside to let Jean sit beside Nick. Her face is calm and compassionate and to some extent, it relaxed Nick a little bit.
"Lean back, Nick. And let me know if you don't want to go further." Said Jean as she placed both hands over Nick's temples. "Relax, and open your mind to me."
Nick forced himself to relax and closed his eyes. The fear is still raging throughout his body and he grasped Warren's hand harder, only to have Warren's encouraging support as he felt Warren grasped his hand in return. Only Warren support kept him from bolting off the bed and out of the door.
He whimpered slightly as his mind suddenly became aware of an alien presence within him. Warren squeezes his hand again once and the fear and nervousness receded. Warren is here beside him and Nick trusted him. Warren will not let anything bad happen to him.
'I'm inside your mind now, Nick. Do you wish me to withdraw?' Nick jumped slightly as Jean's voice echoed in his thought.
"No." Nick whispered nervously. "Go on."
"Nick?" Nick heard Warren's soft voice. "You okay?"
"Yeah." Nick whispered shakily. "Warren... don't leave me."
"I'll be here, Nick. I said I'll be with you all the way remember?" Warren replied and Nick immediately felt safe again. Unconsciously, he squeezed Warren's hand only to feel Warren squeezing back.
Silence stretched again for about half an hour. Hank has taken out a small book and began reading it quietly near the window. Warren never leaves Nick's side, nor does he release Nick's hand.
Finally, they all looked up when Jean sighed and withdrew her hands. Nick felt Jean's presence vanished from his mind and he sighed in relief.
"Jean? What did you find?" asked Warren.
Jean's face seems pale as she looked at Nick and Warren uncertainly.
"You're not a telepath, Nick. You're an empath."