The Hospital
"Rose! No they don't! Don't you know that I can see them? I can experience them! They're SCARED. They're scared of what's happening to you. They aren't requesting the Black Widow's head...though I'm not opposed to offering it up to them."
<< Rose looked at Rae in astonishment. What was she saying!? >>
But I...I hear them.
<< FLASH!>>
Seer said:
<< The night, the MOMENT of the bus accident.>>
<< Rose and Orion are blown clear and the horrible sound of glass and metal shattering, against the agonizing sound of children's screams and painful cries.>>
I felt the precious lights of each of their souls flicker...and fade....each one of them Rae...
<< She says as she looks at the psychic and Danny with sadness and exhaustion written on her face.>>
They were scared, even as we were trying to evacuate them. For some...that fear was the LAST emotion they experienced in this life on earth. It was...only surpassed by the sadness many felt for so long, knowing that they were unwanted by anyone, some who longed for their parents to come back to them, not understanding that could never happen.
I did....
<< tears began to fall again as she held Rae's hands, and squeezed them for a few moments>>
...I did all I could for them, and I don't regret that.
I was SUPPOSED to be here for them. I KNOW how they felt!
But people like Black Widow....she PERSONIFIED the apathy, the uncaring nature of most people in this urban jungle. She DEVALUED their lives, and to her...letting them die was...acceptable because SHE decided they had nothing of value to contribute to society.
How can you say, with CERTAINTY that they (the souls of those fallen children) DON'T cry out for vengeance?!
<< Rose didn't question Rae's power, but they both knew that some things lay in a "gray area"...for those who perceived or traveled through the astral plane, this took on an entirely DIFFERENT meaning. >>
"Dennis Nedry ain't a man of his word, Rose. I can see it. He dances in the flames of hell like he is a moth just LOOKIN' for the light. He's in their pocket I just know it! They're just tryin' to scare you. Please don't LET THEM. Rose. I love you. And the Lord will STRIKE ME DEAD before I let any of these bastards GET TO YOU..."
:: She gripped the woman's hand. ::
"I KNOW what you can do. But it's NOT who you are. You don't think that with the power I got, I don't think about exacting my own justice..taking the mighty ARM of the LORD and just wielding it with the force of a bible belt Senator? But it's not that easy. Being a good girl ain't that easy..but YOU ARE ONE. You're a good girl, Rose. I won't let you do this, unless I KNOW...it's the thing that's most going to help you. Come with me. Please?"
<< Rae had been the closest thing to a MOTHER that Rose had since she lost her second set of parents. She appealed to that part of Rose that longed to "LET GO" and just "BE" sometimes. She made Rose feel HUMAN, and not "a world apart" as the Unloved, the Hellfire Club, and others had tried to do. Rae saw her as a whole human being, one who's childhood was worse than the stuff of nightmares, one who had to adapt and RAPIDLY grow in ways that few on the Birds of Prey could fathom.>>
Okay...
<< She nodded.>>
<< She trusted Rae, just like she trusted Sharon and Alycia. But Rae was consistent. Sharon and Alycia, through no fault of their own, had changed. They went from being a base-line human and a human with an anamolous genetic structure, to being AMAZONS.>>
<< Rose knew their souls were the same, they still had the same good, noble hearts, and were TRUE to their desire to help her, support her. But they were too used to viewing the people they helped as being UNABLE to help themselves. Sharon and Alycia meant well, but were naturally inclined to TAKE OVER when they got involved in something. NOT out of "malice" but because both women, in their former lives had asserted CONTROL, which helped them reach the levels of success they found. They had a tendency to approach PEOPLE as if they were..."PROJECTS.">>
<< ROSE was NOT that person. She was not poor OR weak. EVERY bit as powerful as Malice, Spellbinder, or any other heavy hitters. If SHE gave in to her PSYCHO POWER, she would be a "omega level" threat. Rae KNEW that, and told the Birds of prey at the hospital as much. >>
<< But one of the most important and enduring things that Sharon, Alycia, and Zach (until RECENTLY) had done for Rose, was to help shield her from the scrutiny of greedy, lustful eyes, many of whom belonged to individuals in state sanctioned positions, these individuals, as Rae correctly stated, often danced with the devil in the fires of hell on earth, and used their state sanctioned power to cause damage , plunder, and to just revel in greed and corruption.>>
<< What were the lives of orphans, especially mutant orphans, to men would see them removed for being "useless eaters"; and a woman, who's beauty made her nothing more than an object to be possessed or dominated (if not worse)? Sharon, Alycia, and again, until lately, Zach, had helped her to avoid many of the pitfalls that came with operating inside these man made systems, since children can't simply be "rasied on the astral plane." And no one understood better than Rose, a survivor, a mutant, and an ORPHAN herself, what unique challenges and needs these children had. Sharon, Alycia, and Zach helped her to navigate the logistics and "red tape" (among other things) that got in the way of something that should be as simple, as TIMELESS of caring for the young, protecting the weak and helping those in need.>>
:: She took her gaze from Rose and placed it on Jacob. ::
:: Rae stood over the boy. So sweet and gentle. Not all kids were - some were assholes and she had seen her fair share of those. As she stood over the boy, for a moment she thought of herself and who she was as a little girl. Singing in the choir, making dandelion crowns and skipping rocks like she was Laura Ingalls Wilder herself. She had parents, but nothing made her that much different than this boy. The pain of being different, feeling abandoned or used for what you could do. Not fitting in. He was so young, but it was clear that he had learned so much. Rae Ann was sure that a bullet wouldn't be the thing to take down this boy. Not if she had anything to do with it. ::
:: She was a woman of considerable gifts. Rae Ann Reynolds was not a mutant, but she was a mystic - a woman born of incredible gifts, of a connection to the spirit world, the other side that was nearly unparalleled for a human. Raised as a preacher's daughter, she grew up in the church. She went to Sunday School, she listened to her father preach at revivals, watched as he charmed snakes and spoke in tongues. But even as a young girl, she knew he was a fraud. But she wasn't. She had experiences, knew things and did things that made her know that she had been chosen to do great things. Decades later and a trail of burned bridges behind her and she had done just that. Most didn't understand her gifts, or thought at the very least that she was just incredibly perceptive. But Rae could do things that other psychics simply could not. She was a conduit in every sense of the word - a psi sensitive possessed of great blessings, and as she looked at young Jacob, sleeping and attempting to recover from his wounds, thanks to the help of Rose's intensive soul energy defense, she it knew it was time to share her gifts. To do the work. ::
:: Standing over Jake's hospital bed, we see a split screen of Rose's brillaint light brown, almost hazel eyes and the boy's sleeping, almost angelic face. Rae closes her eyes to center herself and prepare to unleash her power. The sound of wind chimes could suddenly be heard as a slight wind seemed to blow around Rae's face. Her eyes still closed, she began to ignite a prayer. ::
"Heavenly Father, I call upon those who sit at your throne. Your agents of action. Your heralds of change. Archangel Raphael, I require your guidance."
:: Immediately she could sense Raphael by her side. The tips of his heavenly wings stroking her face as she looked upon the boy. Raphael was the archangel of healing. His name meant exactly that. Feeling his beautiful and spectral presence right beside her, she began to use her ability as a conduit and medium to channel his heavenly presence. ::
"Blessed Saint Raphael, Archangel, I beseech thee to help me in all my needs and trials of this life, as thou, through the power of God, didst restore sight and give guidance to young Tobit. I seek thine aid and intercession, that this young boy's soul be healed, his body protected from all ills, and that through divine grace..may he be made fit to dwell in the eternal Glory of God in Heaven."
:: Rae put her hands in front of her, instinctually guided by the Archangel she was channeling, the one who stood by her side and gave her strength. She may have not been the typical archetype for a good, christian woman. But it was her belief in her faith, her deep and personal relationship with her own God that gave her the ability that she had. Rae Ann believed that all pantheons were connected, that all spiritual deities and tenets were connected, they simply appeared to people however it was that immediately connected this spiritual energy to them. Some saw the Buddha, some saw Jesus and some saw the old gods. Rae saw God, and she made no apologies for it. To know Rae, was to know that God was in fact one of the greatest magick users of all. There was MAGICK in Christianity..mysticism..and Rae was somebody who had access to the ways of worship that had been long gone. As she cast out her hands, an emerald green ethereal energy began to swirl from her hands, weave itself in a pattern around the boy. The color was the signature of the healing energy of Raphael himself. ::
"Amen."
:: While Rose had put him back together, Rae knew that there was a spiritual component that would be lacking in the boy when he awoke. He had just seen that one of his only heroes was a sheep in wolf's clothing. She needed to give this boy the strength he would need in order to survive. Meeting Zach, she saw so many possibilities for Jake. She couldn't let his potential fall to the wayside. So in the room, calling upon one of the highest powers in her own faith, she HEALED the boy, not necessarily on a SOUL level, or a PHYSICAL level, but on a level that lied between. On the level that tied the two places together. The place that would allow him to get through this and come out from it stronger. ::
:: From within her pocket, she pulled out an ornate rosary with dark black beads and silver charms as she continued to pray, this time in Aramaic, the old language. She prayed over him, channeling the light, channeling the heavenly energy of the Archangel of Healing into this young boy, watching the angel's very love, his very essence bond to the boy, heal the cracks that Rose could not reach, even with her power. ::
:: After several moments, she opened her eyes, face to face with Raphael himself. He was so beautiful she could cry. She had experienced him for many years, when her ability to channel grew far beyond the mortal realm. She had worked with him many times over the years, but still, to this day, to lay eyes on such a heavenly creature, it was reverent. It gave Rae Ann pause. ::
"You will learn to thrive from this experience, my child. You will be bathed in the light of the Lord...and you will move FORWARD.."
:: This was not a spell. This was not her working magick. This was her igniting a prayer...a BLESSING upon the young boy before her, but those who could would perceive the similarities. She was no witch, but she was not without her own...CONSIDERABLE power. This boy WOULD have a full life. He WOULD find his happiness...Rae Ann would ensure that. ::
<< Rose stood, with Danny just a few steps behind her, and watch Rae perform this beautiful and essential blessing on Jake O'Brien. Rose had pulled his soul back together, Rae had just given him that spark, that wonderful BALM that would ensure when he awakened, he would enjoy the promise of life renewed.>>
<< And in this moment, Rose looked at Rae, and...>>
Oh, Rae....my beautiful friend...
<< her voice no longer haunting in its resonance, it was its normal tone, with that pleasant lilt>>
Thank you!
<< She hugs Rae>>
I'm so glad you're here.
BOTH of you.
I...I didn't realize how EXHAUSTED I was...how long I had gone WITHOUT acknowledging the pain...the CHANGE that that bus accident had caused in me. I thought that if I just...carried on...if I let my love and sense of duty to help these children propel me...that I'd be OKAY.
<< In this moment of hope and serenity, it seemed clear now, why she kept drawing those same 5 cards in her reading on her self, and she was RELIEVED!>>
Please...come back to my Sanctuary with me tonight, and stay with me. I could use your company.
<< She looks at Danny>>
And though you may not be fond of her, Danny, I'm calling Sharon Kelly to come join us as well. Katie has been so brave. She has always said she wants to be just like "WONDER WOMAN" (what more than one of the children calls Sharon), and tonight, she stood in the gap. She lead the children to the safety of the underground bunker. A visit from Sharon will do her good.
I also want to talk to her about a few things.
<< Rose and Danny had an idea of what one of those things might be
but for now, the pair had succeeded in helping Rose to settle, and find her balance, and Jake, was now guaranteed to survive, and eventually THRIVE.>>
<< Black Widow's depravity would not be the final chapter in his life, but if Rose had anything to say about it...it would be the CLOSING chapter for Black Widow herself!>>
