(This post follows Inside I think I’m Dieing. The words that are in Grey describe a dream and can be skipped if you don’t feel like reading that much.)

After Sam’s ice golem dropped Sara into the infirmary cot, Doc Prof had been in and out of Sara’s infirmary room. As good of healer, he was, there wasn’t anything he could do, when his patient was already perfectly fine. If you can count still being unconscious, perfectly fine. The only thing that could be done for Sara, was to hook her up to an IV because she had arrived dehydrated. Her own healing factor kept her going in a fight, with a merged Tarin, fire manipulator, for over twenty minutes, however, it could not replenish lost fluids.

So the feline laid there, flat on her back with her arms on either sides of the bed. Doc Prof had been busy fussing over the rest of the individuals who had come back from the fiasco in time square, so Sara was still clothed in what she had arrived wearing. dark, reddish, leather pants, that bore a few holes here and there. scuff marks covered their knees and the sides of their legs. Her top, was sleeveless, clung to her as if it were markings on her fur, and here and there, there were places where Tarin’s flames had not just singed the fabric, but burned through it. The entire room still smelled like an industrial sized camp fire.

If it wasn’t for the rhythmic movement of Sara’s chest, accompanied by the infuriating beep of the machine monitoring her heart, making eerie music. Sara looked dead. Her entire body was limp and even her tail dangled, lifeless, over the right side of the bed. Just where it had started dangling when the ice golem laid her down.

Slowly, there were sign of life. Sara’s breath hissed in, deep, and her tail, that was still dangling over the side of the bed, curled and flexed. Her fingers tightened into fists grasping the sheets in fistfuls. Eyes shifting, and fluttering under her lids.

Sara awoke in a room quite different from the normal steril, hospital room she normally found herself being taken. If the walls were ever white, and if the metal was ever shiny, it was all covered now, Either in soot, or in darkness because the only light that came from the sweltering room, was that from the industrial fernus. Sara squinted thrugh the dim light to the two men that accompanied her in the room.

One man patted Sara on the top her her head, before squeezing the back of her neck and forcing her face up. “My, my. If you had hair you’d be a pretty little thing.” He teased.

Sara’s eyes were wide, She didn’t fight. The men were twice her size.

“Let her go Phill.” The other guy sighed.

Sara’s neck was released but Phill was still in her face. She tried letting her head drop but he grabbed her chin instead and hauled her head back up as he scrutinized over her human features. “You know, her nose is shaped a lot like our janitor’s nose. An’ her eye brows sort of look like our old secretary’s. Wha’ da ya’ think, Jerry?”

“I think you come up with a new theory every day, about where she came from, Phill.”

“Just sayin’.”

“yeah yeah.” Jerry moved off out of Sara’s sight as he opened the door to the fernous, and pushed something back and forth around. The heat came out in waves. Sara tried to moved and she realized her hands were strapped down to the bed, at her sides. Instinctively her fingers twisted around the cuffs and the sheets, and she gave a tug.

“Hey Phill, wha’ cha bettin’ on this one. Do ya’ think the brand will stick when the tattoo doesn’t?” Sara heard them chuckle and she tried again to pull at the cuffs, holding her hands down. “If all goes as planned the tattoo’s impractical. Better we do things like the ol’ west.”

“This is Michigan.” The one called Phill

“Ya’ know what I mean.” Jerry pulled a piece of iron out of the heat, and the tip was glowing so yellow, Sara could have warn parts of the metal had turned white.

“I bet we still have to redo this brands. I’ll give you 50 bucks if you make it stick.”

“Deal.”

Outside of the dream, Sara’s heart rate had drastically increase. Her hand were wrapping tighter around the sheets at either side, and her eyes had squeezed shut.

(OOC: Continues from If you can't stand the heat)

(IC) Sam walked from where he was slightly agitated with the situation he had gotten himself into with Tarin and Lee, ‘I want to help them but if they don’t want it there’s nothing I can do…’ thought Sam as he walked over to another set of curtains where he knew the were cat was sleeping.

Sam stopped short outside the curtains pondering how he was going to approach the situation, she defiantly had numbers tattooed in her back but were they like his? Or were they just a number with no meaning behind it. Sam took a deep breath, ‘This isn’t gonna be easy…’

Sam pushed back the curtain with a smile on his face, “How are you feeling Sara?” Sam’s smile faded as he looked at the heart monitor as it was spiking, he wasn’t a doctor but he has seen his fair share of the monitors and when it was bad.

Sam walked over to the bed and put his hand on Sara’s head. He lightly activated his powers to ‘cool’ her down. Doc said she was fine only dehydrated which to Sam made sense but why was she unconscious?

There was something cold on her head and that just didn’t feel like it belonged there. Last she knew she wasn’t in a cold place. She was in a very hot place and the brown stuff had hit the fan because she’d actually gotten burned. She remembered getting burned. And singed fur, not skin.

Sara’s eyes fluttered, and her head tried to move away from the cold. Sara’s eyes shot open and she looked confused for a second before one leg circled up, above her head, to kick Sam’s hand away. In the process she rolled to her left shoulder, discovering her right hand was actually free. The momentum of her kick brought her onto knee. Still having the IV stuck in her right arm, she grabbed for Sam’s shirt collar, or his neck.

Hey eyes had fully dilated, even though the room was so light already. It was a mix of fear and focus. “Where am I?”

It took her a moment to register who the one she was grabbing for was.

Sam smiled as Sara was up and moving. The fact that one of her legs shot up didn’t surprise him it was after all the way she was. Sam loosened his hand and moved it in the direction the kick was coming to soften the blow. Shaking his Sam said, “Flexible aren’t you?” Sam put his hand back up to calm Sara down, “Yeah I wouldn’t move to much, you might get a head rush or rip out the IV cord.”

“Where am I?”

Sam was now backed up against a wall as Sara had his collar in a vice grip, “This really how you thank someone?” Sam sighed, “Your in the infirmary at the X-mansion, you were pretty bad off when the fight with Tarin ended, so instead of leaving you for the cops I thought it was a good idea to bring you back here.” Sam didn’t move at all he let the words sink in hoping that she would set him down so they could talk.

“Flexible aren’t you?”

“You have no idea.” It was finally filtering in Sara’s head exactly who she was talking to. Slick. Though the fact that he was putting his hands up, as peaceful of gesture as that was, it was a little unnerving for her. She’d watched him direct the ice with his hands, and the motion of them moving up? Well, she wasn’t exactly sure what that could translate to in ice manipulation. Sam received an even more suspicious look when he told her to slow down so she wouldn’t get dizzy or pull out the IV.

IV?! Her eyes left the contact with his for just a second. Sure enough there was a little shaved quare on her arm, where Doc Prof had stuck her with an IV. She’d actually healed around it, so that wasn’t going to be comfortable getting out anyways. Her lips pressed together as she used her free hand to pull at the tape, that first held it in place. That thing was coming out. Mean while her eyes returned to Sam’s. It was a long time since she’d woken up in a room like this and she hated it.

“This really how you thank someone?”

“Thank you for taking me to a place that only does what my body already does for it’s self?” Sara spit out. OK so that was a bit harsh, but hospital rooms gave her the creeps. Her adrenaline was still going from the dream and there was being more pumped through her system thanks to the way she had woken up.

“Your in the infirmary at the X-mansion, you were pretty bad off when the fight with Tarin ended, so instead of leaving you for the cops I thought it was a good idea to bring you back here.”

Her head tilted. So she was at the mansion? The sister school? The ring of amber around her pupils widened, as the black in her eyes started to shrink back. “Well I would have been the cops’ problem then, now, wouldn’t I.” Sara held her pose for a moment, her hand still in a vice grip on Sam’s shirt, before she slowly let her fingers slip away from his collar. “Thanks.” She said rather stiffly. “Though next time no IVs” She’d pealed away the tape and examined the tub that had been stuck in her arm. Her nose wrinkled as she looked at the skin that had climbed partially up the tube. The thing had been healed into her. She gave a light tug, and her skin stretched with the tub.

Sam nodded, “Duly noted.” Sam looked at her hand and smiled, once released Sam let out a small laugh and said, “Actually there was something I wanted to ask you but…” Sam’s hand started to glow bright blue as ice formed around them.

Lifting his hands Sam formed an ice wall surrounding all the entrance and exits to the area they were in. Sam then powered down his hands, “That’s better, wandering ears are never good.” Sam then looked over to a mirror that was in the room and walked over to it. Looking at his reflection Sam frowned and said, “If you don’t want to answer it that’s fine but…I got to ask.”

Turning around to face Sara Sam frowned a little more and sighed lifting his shirt of his body revealing defined muscles and heavy scarring that the Doc was to late to try and heal. Sam turned his back to Sara showing the tattoo on his back the numbers were ‘#602’.

Turning his head over his shoulder Sam looked at Sara and said, “During the fight I thought I saw a similar marking on you…I have to know…” Sam didn’t finish his sentence cause he wasn’t ready to say those words to anyone yet but with the way things were looking Sara was about to find out a little more about Sam Johnson.

Sams hands started doing that glowing thing that Sara noticed some other mutants could do that was so much more cooler than her glowing eyes trick that worked on reflections. Her mouth tightened and she pulled the IV cord out of her skin. Only way the thing was coming out of her arm. She bleed freely for a few seconds before the flow slowed to a stop and the area closed. Mean while Slick found it important to block the exits and this made Sara raise an eye brow. “You’re going to make me wish I didn’t let go of your neck. You know I’m claustrophobic.” Sara’s ears pinned back as she examined the ice then glanced back at Sam. The heart monitor’s beeps increased and Sara kept her nerves under control.

“That’s annoying.” She mumbled as she leaned over and pulled the plug, so it wouldn’t do that even more hair raising long beep when she started removing the rest of the wires she had been hooked up with. If she wanted to move, she didn’t want to untangle herself first.

“If you don’t want to answer it that’s fine but…I got to ask.”

“That’s good because chances are I probably don’t want to answer.” Having a smart mouth. It was the way Sara got past dealing with some of her fears. It was a good buffer in emotion and it was sometimes fun… sometimes.

Sara rubbed her ridge of her nose, just between her eyes. When she looked up again, Sam was pulling up his shirt. Again she raised an eye brow. What was his deal. So he got a burn scar today so what? He was the one to decide to hug the burning man. Sara’s eyes were slowly hardening till he turned around. She scoffed. What? Did he have a new scare on his back too? Then she saw them. The numbers. Right there, like her. Only hers had the 0 in front. Different people different artistic styles in giving numbers she supposed.

“During the fight I thought I saw a similar marking on you…I have to know…”

Sara’s furry lips pressed together as she debated back and forth, on if she really should be trusting Sam. It wasn’t just her. It was Ayesac too. She didn’t like that the ice made her feel trapped but at the same time, if Sam really wanted to force Sara to tell him, he probably had the abilities to at least see her back again.

“you did, and what’s it to you?” suddenly a cruel smirk spread across Sara’s face. He only asked about her number, not where she got it. “don’t you know the number is the latest fashion statement on the streets. Like posers wearing those collars from the mutant registrations camps without knowing what they really mean.” Sara was no poser though. Se knew very well what a number on someone’s back meant. “Mine’s 0623. Stylish, ain’t it. 6s must have been in. Lucky you. You got a tattoo. Mine had to be a brand.”

“Mine’s 0623. Stylish, ain’t it. 6s must have been in. Lucky you. You got a tattoo. Mine had to be a brand.”

Sam shook his head heavily before asking and sitting down on a stool. “They tried the branding for a while, but my mutation wouldn’t let them.” Sam paused putting his shirt back on then looked to Sara, “So how did they get you?”

Sam waited eagerly for a response from Sara, she was after all the first person he had talked to about his past or was about to. Although he could see Sara being stubborn and refuse to talk about it. Which is one of the ways he put up the ice walls. It wasn’t to keep here in but it was more motivation to talk on both parts.

Breathing in Sam decided he should speak before she did he after all wouldn’t be to thrilled about being asked about his past, so he figured he put her at ease. “Look it’s not like I’m gonna tell anyone, hell no one here knows about my tat or my past…Seeing as you're the first one I have seen on the outside I had to talk to you….”

Sara was trying really hard to put up that cold front she tried to push out when things like this came up. The thing is this had a habit of falling. Her right ear twitched against her hair.

“They tried the branding for a while, but my mutation wouldn’t let them.”

“well you’re very lucky in that case.” Healing factor + men with branding iron = several times brand has to be redone. The men had a pool after a while.

“So how did they get you?”

Sara just gave Sam a blank stare till he turned back around. She didn’t want to talk about this, but he was. With the ice up on the exits, it was amazing how much she could hear of him, not just his words but his vital signs. Sara was a living lie detector, in that sense. She could heart his heart beat, if she concentrated on it. His breathing too.

“Look it’s not like I’m gonna tell anyone, hell no one here knows about my tat or my past…Seeing as you're the first one I have seen on the outside I had to talk to you….”

“I know of two others.” Sara replied after another pause. “Maybe more.”

Sara shrugged and stared at her feet. She sat on the hospital cot and let her legs sway back and forth. “I don’t know when I was picked up by them.” Her tail gave a flick. “I was there from the time I was an infant.” Sara said quite simple. She didn’t know much else about her past. Just that it seemed she had always been there. Absentmindedly her left hand had reached around her right shoulder and she felt for the raised scare that had been there for so long.

Sam listened intently as Sara talked about her brand and the history of it. Sam didn’t flinch when she talked about it, he knew the feeling all to well. Maybe not the branding but the needle didn’t feel good what so ever. The feeling of the needle going into his skin wasn’t a pleasant one and a feeling he will never go through again if he could help it.

‘Two?’ Sam thought to him self; ‘with me that’s three… it would be a field day for T.A.T. if they found out we were all here.’ Sam sighed he better keep a lid on his face in the open. From now on if he was going to be seen by news reporters he would defiantly have to keep his faced concealed, though it might be to late for that. T.A.T. has eyes everywhere; they could already know his whereabouts. Sam’s heartbeat started to quicken as he thought about him being discovered.

Taking a deep breath and slowing his heart beat Sam nodded, “I know the feeling, they got me when I was five years old, straight up kidnapping…” Sam clenched his fist then let it go. “Thirteen years in that hell hole, thirteen years of mindless killing mission after pointless mission…” without knowing Sam started to lower the temperature around him and Sara.

Sam’s heart beat increased as the conversation went on. Sara could hear it making an odd sort of echo off of his ice. The temperature of the room was dropping too. Drastically. Normally, thanks to Sara’s fur coat, she wouldn’t mind but the temperature of her body was still on the warm side. She had a fever when Sam walked in, and no doubt a little bit of that fever was still there, so Sam’s cold effected Sara more than it normally would. She shivered. She pulled her arms around her self and leaned her elbow on her knees where she sat, but she didn’t say anything.

“I didn’t go on missions.” Sara confessed. Maybe missions would have been nice back then. Even the killing ones. Even though Sara liked to think of herself as not being a killer. Who knows what would have happened then. “I was deemed hard to handle.” She said as her mouth curved slightly. Young as she was back then she was just a little proud of the fact she didn’t give them an easy time. They taught me, they trained me, but they didn’t see my allegiance fit for missions. So they went about testing how far they could push my mutation.” The healing part of the mutation more specifically.

She shivered again, and grit her teeth tight together to keep them from chattering and clicking against each other. Stubborn, against the cold, and her chill, she slid off of the hospital bed not making a sound when her bare feet found the floor. “It’s a wonder you and I don’t go on killing sprees, now.”

They needed a subject change. Sara didn’t like the thought she was allowing to come back into her head. She kept those old memories bottled to the back for a reason. There was nothing, in her mind, to be gained from thinking back on those days. She only wished t move a head. The present was so much more fulfilling than the thoughts of those days. As if on cue, her stomach let out a loud growl that made an odd echo off of the ice blocking the exit. Her arms uncrossed and her right hand moved down to press over her belly. She must have lost 20 lbs while healing against the burns Tarin inflicted. Not that he could help it. “I don’t suppose you guys have a kitchen r something.”

“They taught me, they trained me, but they didn’t see my allegiance fit for missions. So they went about testing how far they could push my mutation.”

Mixed emotions filled Sam’s head as he listened to Sara talk about her past experience and the skeletons in her closet. Sam had gone threw similar ‘conditioning’ as they called it unfortunately for him he wasn’t a healer and well you stop due to an injury it only gets worse. If he hadn’t figured out to move the ice surrounding his body when he was injured Sam defiantly wouldn’t have lasted as long as he did.

“It’s a wonder you and I don’t go on killing sprees, now.”

Looking away from Sara Sam sighed and said, “wouldn’t be the first time…” Sam then thought ‘it defiantly won’t be the last’ every single person in T.A.T. had signed suicide notes when they didn’t kill Sam the day he escaped.

Despite Sam wanting to kill no more the pure hated Sam had for those people overwhelmed the side that wanted to swear off killing for good. Sam had a debt to pay to ever member of T.A.T. and he was sure going to pay them back.

“I don’t suppose you guys have a kitchen or something.”

The mood changed as he heard the sound of the Lioness’s stomach roar. The sad and angry look faded from Sam’s face a he let out a small laugh, “Yeah we have one of the best kitchens money can buy!”

Sam waved his hands towards the walls of ice, as they seemed to disintegrate easily enough into a small cloud of ice before disappearing altogether. “appreciate it if you don’t tell anyone about this…” Sam looked away from Sara, “Like I said, you're the first person to know and I don’t know how they would respond to finding out about my past…might be out on the streets before long.”

“wouldn’t be the first time…”

“No…” Sara had now doubt of that. She’d seen what happened after the camps. The way the mutants were after just a number of months of that treatment. With a number of years, who knows how the break out would have gone.

Sara was watching Sam from the corner of her eye. Still not sure what to make of what was going on. He seemed so happy go lucky more the time, even in times of danger, and while Sara didn’t like the fact he took danger so lightly, she didn’t like the mood, now, either. It was a relief when things became more light hearted. Even to hear a laugh, that if it wasn’t a welcomed emotion, under other circumstances, Sara would have scoffed at that too.

“Yeah we have one of the best kitchens money can buy!”

“Good seeing as Tarin burned up my cover coats and my cash.” It would take longer to get something to eat if Sara had to also find something to cover herself in. not just steal the money to buy the food. Plus she could take a break from the Chinese take out.

“appreciate it if you don’t tell anyone about this…”

“I’m a good secret keeper. As long a you keep mine.” She said as she was finally able to calm down a little. The ice disintegrating away from the exits was a big help.

“Like I said, you're the first person to know and I don’t know how they would respond to finding out about my past…might be out on the streets before long.”

Sam had looked away from her and she sighed. She felt like she hovered by his shoulder for a few seconds before she padded his arm. “Look. I can’t say this about everyone here, but some are more understanding about pasts and bad habits than you would think. It’s up to you on if you tell someone here, or not.” Sara spoke just loud enough someone as close as Sam could hear her.

Please don’t prove the fact I’ve trusted you with my own number wrong Sam. Sara thought to herself. Not that she had control of him seeing it or recognizing it. “So where are these wonderful kitchens?”