Fashion Flare (Kealey)

“Summer Seminar” the words had been bold and blue in the subject line of the email Kealey had gotten from school. It had been soon, and the person running the seminar had been prolific. Kealey had really wanted to participate.

Shin, of course, had encouraged the idea and insisted that he accompany her there, especially since the plushie army couldn‘t. They hadn’t heard or seen anything about strange fires over the past few day…since Mood really, but despite her protests that school was the safest place she could be, Shin was unmovable on the subject.

Kealey didn’t mind the company, not at all, but she felt bad that he’d had to wait outside every day while the class had drug on. And how it had drug… It turned out that with fame came an ego the size of your bank account. The speaker had mostly spoken of his many accomplishments, awards, celebrity clientele, and clothing lines. The empath could feel the arrogance and self-importance rolling off the man and she’d found herself wanting to join in his lecture a couple of times with tales of her work for the X-Men.

At least it was the last day. Friday. Then she was free for the weekend and the rest of the summer. These seminars weren’t going to give her what she wanted. That’s what her classes were for, and they didn’t start up again until August.

Suddenly, people were clapping, and Kealey’s head snapped up from where she’d been drawing little swirls and squares on her notebook margins. The seminar was done and people were making their way up to the podium to rain praises on the man who’d just finished speaking. He was so derisive of the whole thing it made Kealey a little nauseated and she quietly slipped from her seat and left the room.

Her messenger bag was slightly heavy, loaded with some of the design books she’d borrowed at the end of the school year to help her with uniforms. Now was as good a time as any to return them, and as Kealey left the room, she checked her watch and let out a surprised little squeak. No wonder it had felt like so long, the speaker had ran over. Poor Shin had been waiting outside all this time…she picked up her pace towards the library, completely oblivious to the redhead that pushed off from the wall outside the classroom and followed behind her.

The library was all but deserted, and Kealey was slightly shocked to find that even the librarian had abandoned her post. Granted, this library was small even in comparison to the one at the Mansion, a mere broom closet compared to the NYC Public system, but still…

The blond sighed and made her way across the room to drop her books off in the proper receptacle, hoping that nobody would get impatient and take one before it had been properly checked in. She checked her watch again and clicked her tongue against her teeth, she really was getting late now. Out came the cell phone and Kealey shot a quick text off to Shin, apologizing for taking so long and letting him know that she was in the library and would be along shortly. There was a book on versatile clothing designs for gymnasts and ice skaters that she was hoping to find after looking it up in the online catalogue. While most of the X-Men had no desire to look like a performer, the suits lent themselves to the types of materials commonly seen in such designs.

Kealey had just found the proper section and was skimming the Dewey Decimals when a piercing buzz cut through the quiet air of the room. After the initial shock of the sound, Kealey stood and turned, eyes locked on a brightly blinking red light suspended from the ceiling of the library. It was the fire alarm.

Instant alarm all of Kealey’s own rushed through her at the sound and while she told herself that it simply had to be a drill, the smell of smoke made its way into her nose and she knew…

”Hallo there.” called the voice, and there was something familiar in the musical lilt of the accent. Kealey whipped around and found herself face to face with a figure engulfed in flames, no seemingly made of flames. Back she scrambled with a little yell, until her back came up against the shelf of books she’d been looking at moments before.

”Y’don’t remember me, do ya?” came the voice again, and as Kealey squinted into the light it dimmed somewhat, revealing a woman. A redheaded woman who looked anything but happy. For the first time since the alarm had started blaring, Kealey cast out for emotions and the hurt, anger, frustration, jealousy, and elation were so strong it was almost overwhelming.

” S’alright. Everyone else forgot about me too. But they all remembered you…sister.”

Kealey stood, rooted to the spot, eyes locked on the figure in the flames, almost oblivious to the fire slowly starting to spread around the FIT library and the fire alarm that was still blaring in the background. That voice. That face too…older, but still the same.

”Maire?” Kealey breathed, coughing slightly on the smoke that was starting to build in the room.

The red-head smiled, but it wasn’t a kind smile of recognition. It was something all together different, ”Yes, sister. And this time, nobody’s goin’t’forget me.”

This was some kind of sick joke. Some sick…sick joke that someone was playing on her. Kealey knew, had known for years, that her sister was dead. There was no way to bring people back from the dead, no matter how badly you wanted to, and that’s why Kealey was having such a hard time comprehending what was going on right in front of her. There was no way…it simply wasn’t possible…her sister…alive.

”Why!?” Kealey exclaimed, voice raised over the roaring of the fire. How was there so much, but so little around the two of them?

”It was so easy t’forget about me. For y’to move on.”


”It was so easy for everyone t’believe that we’d all died. And even easier for them to discount the pathetic creature that showed up weeks later, trying to claim what was hers.” she stopped and looked around them, at the flames licking up the walls and devouring the books.

”It was a miracle, what happened that day, the fire was so hot…it burned so badly…but then, I was free. Only, I couldn’t get back…not right away. By the time I could, it was too late.”

The story…it rang true to Kealey, the conviction and bitterness in her sister’s emotions were far too strong for it to be anything else.

”I waited so long, tried so hard t’find you Kealey. Find you with your perfect, fancy life here in America with your mutant friends,” the fire burned hotter, closing in more, and Kealey coughed at as the smoke thickened. ”I’ve found you now, though and…”

A voice cut through the flames, through the angry red head’s voice, and straight through to Kealey.

Shin. The text message.

Kealey opened her mouth, frantic to tell him to leave, to not risk it. He was absolutely frantic with worry and need and she nearly reached out to push the feelings away. She stopped though. She’d made a promise after Roland…

”Shin!” she called back, words interspersed with coughs, ”Help! Back here!”

Time…she desperately needed more time. She went back to the emotions in her sister’s head. The elements of shock and surprise had done a lot to numb Kealey before, but now she was concerned for Shin as well it all seemed so crystal clear…but it was getting so hot…and the smoke was so thick.

Down went the bitterness, away went the anger and resentment. Jealousy evaporated and in it’s place welled pain and sorrow. The redhead wailed, and battered against Kealey’s powers, rage and frustration trying to take hold. The emotions were so intense…so built up…Kealey shook her head, there would be time to think on it later. As her sister curled in on herself, flames still engulfing her figure, Kealey looked around the library.

The fire wasn’t getting any hotter now ,it was behaving like normal fire, but the flames were large and the smoke was thickening. Kealey dropped to a crouch, pulling air in almost desperately. She’d bought time…Shin would have to do the rest.

The pain…the hurt….it had all been there for so long, was so central to her being that Kealey was momentarily staggered by the power. It hurt and it had hurt for so long. How did she deal with it all?

A deep breath and those emotions were also pushed down, leaving Maire in what had to be a state of staggered numbness, but the fire raged on. It seemed as though her powers were both something she fueled with her rage and held in check through sheer power of will. All of those things were absent now and she flared brilliantly.

Whoops.

Thicker and thicker the smoke came, hotter and hotter the flames flared. There had to be another exit somewhere in the library, but Kealey didn’t have a clue where it was. The alarm blared, the flames roared, the smoke billowed, and the drill hummed as it tore through wall board.

Wait…the drill?

Kealey could hear the sound, and she held the emotions of her long lost sister in firm check as the sound intensified, followed by a rush of emotion. Worry and fear were present, in equal parts intensity, but determination was forefront. Kealey nearly lost her resolve at the feelings, but pulled herself together. If Shin could battle through unknown flame and fire to get to her, she could hold it together, just a little while longer. She heard her name through the fire and smoke and somehow knew everything was going to be alright.

The smoke seemed to clear after a moment, and Shin emerged from around the side of a bookcase. Kealey coughed and hoped he’d take that for an exclamation of glee at his emergence. He did…something, and suddenly shards were arranging themselves around Maire’s prone form, effectively boxing her in.

Shin moved forward, and Kealey fell against him, arms miming his as they wrapped around her. ”You came for me…” she wheezed slightly.

Urgency was ahead of the pack as far as emotions went now, and he said they needed to go. The blond nodded her head…yes, out of here would be good. Explanations and more thorough thanks could come later.

Kealey’s head spun slightly as she turned back towards the cube and the figure inside as they moved away. The fire inside was dying and finally Kealey let go of the hold she’d had on Maire’s emotions. As they flowed from her, Kealey sagged slightly against Shin. She’d never tried that hard before….

”She’s…she’s my sister…” Kealey said the words feeling almost foreign in her mouth. ” Make sure she’s safe for when the police come to get her…”

For a while, Kealey simply stared at the woman behind the wall of shards. Was it wrong that despite everything that had happened, everything the woman had done, Kealey was happy to see her? It was something she’d have to think about later. Her own feelings were still something she struggled with occasionally, and this was going to be one of those times.

The sprinklers had come on, and it had been hard for Kealey, watching the fire doused and feeling the hopeless helplessness from Maire as she cried in the cube. How long had she harbored the feelings? How long had she been watching Kealey? More questions that would have to wait for answers. In the grand scheme of things, there was only one that was really important. She and Shin were okay.

It had seemed like there was so much fire, so much smoke, and when the flames had been put out the damage to the library had been impressive. The smoke had made Kealey’s throat a little raw, and her face was smudged with a little soot, but she was unharmed.

Shin’s arm tightened around her shoulders and Kealey leaned into him more, watching as the police officer approached her sister with the handcuffs. All the fight had gone out of her. Kealey wondered why she felt guilty.

Shin spoke, and Kealey nodded her head, wondering how he always seemed to know exactly what to say.

”I hope so. She was so angry Shin…but underneath…” Kealey stopped talking and sighed, shaking her head.

”That could have been me…” she added softly, wondering what life would have been like, feeling so much anger and bitterness. She had grown up lucky, she was still lucky. Kealey turned slightly and hugged Shin again, ”Thank you again…so much.” she said before releasing him and stepping back to watch the small procession that had started.

The police led the redhead from the room, and she kept her head down as she walked, not even sparing a glance in Kealey’s direction. Why did that hurt?

The firemen were still poking around in the rubble, looking for hot spots, but it seemed like the police had finished their part.

”Can we go home?” the blond asked, the emotions of the day catching up.

So many emotions. There were lots of people in the room, though, and Kealey was honestly a little surprised that she was holding together so well. Then again, Shin was so calm and collected about the whole thing, it was hard not to be. Calm, collected, hopeful, relieved. All emotions that people in a crisis look for in others, Kealey was simply lucky enough to be able to borrow them in a more literal sense than most. And lucky enough to have someone there who seemed so able to provide them.

Her own relief surged as he said they could leave, and as they made their way from the building Kealey wondered what would happen next. Obviously there would be jail time of some sort for her sister. You couldn’t burn things like that and not be punished. Jails had visiting hours, though. Maire had been right about one thing. Nobody would forget her again.

Shin called for a cab, and again, Kealey was relieved as they climbed inside. Public transport just might have been too much for her to deal with at this point. She was worn out. This would be faster too. She’d have to offer to split the…

Something in her pocket vibrated and let out a trilling little beep and Kealey was just tired enough to be confused for a moment before realizing it was her phone. Text message notification.

It didn’t take long to find the message, a response to the one she’d sent Shin to let him know she was in the library. It was a short little message, but it kind of said a lot.

Blond head tilted to the side, Kealey turned to look at Shin next to her in the cab. ”Uh, Shin?” she said, curiously, holding the phone out for him to see, ”Was this to me?”

Why was she blushing? No, really…why was she blushing? Kealey’s cheeks had been burning for several moments before she realized that Shin was embarrassed. He was looking at the phone…and he was embarrassed.

Did that mean…

>>”Nope“

Apparently not…but then why was he embarrassed…and so curious?

>>”Why? Is there something wrong, if I did?”

Well. Maybe…

Kealey was confused. Confused and tired, and Shin wasn’t quite so calm and collected anymore. Was this the slightly loaded question it seemed like, and if it wasn’t, why was her mind taking her in that direction?

She shook her head.

”No. No, there isn‘t.” she said, pulling the mobile device back and looking at it in her lap for a moment before locking the keyboard and putting it back in her pocket. Kealey’s head leaned back against the seat, chancing a sideways glance at her traveling companion. ”I was just curious.”

She was still curious. Incredibly curious, but from Shin’s closed eyes and the emotions flowing from him, she figured more questions were a bad idea. Kealey frowned slightly. What did it all mean? She shrugged her shoulders slightly.

”It’s just that if you had…I’d have wondered what that meant.” Whoops.