Shades of Green (Part 3/?), A:tS/X-men
May. 23rd, 2005 09:57 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
silentrequiem.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
crossoverficTitle: Shades of Green
Author: Gaeriel Mallory
Fandoms: Angel the Series/X-men (movieverse)
Rating: PG for this part, PG-13 overall
Warnings: None
Character(s): Hank McCoy, Lorne, Scott.
Summary: Lorne finds himself involved with a new group of Champions.
POV: Dr. Henry McCoy
When Charles had asked me to come back to the mansion to temporarily fill in as the school physician, I agreed without hesitation. I owed a lot to the man, who accepted me both before and after my accident. Most people would have been put off by blue fur, fangs, and claws. I, along with Jean, Scott, and Warren, had been the first of his students. Jean’s death struck all of us hard; we were all close to her in our own ways. For me, we were the two science geeks and spent more time in the lab together than anywhere else.
I may have readily agreed to the Professor’s request, but it didn’t make it any easier. I was invading Jean’s space. Everywhere were signs of her: from the experiments that she had been in the middle of running, the special soap in the bathroom that only she had used, the picture of her and Scott sitting in a corner. I was reluctant to disturb anything, as if by doing so, I was disturbing her ghost.
Still, I was getting accustomed to life back at the school, though soon my leave of absence from the hospital would be up and I would have to go back to Memorial where my research and patients were. We had been interviewing potential replacements but it has been a slow process. For one thing, we were reluctant to fill the spot because it would be, in a way, truly acknowledging the fact that Jean was gone and would not be back. Secondly, it was hard to find a doctor, or even a nurse, who was truly comfortable working with mutants and the special needs that came with them. We had a short stack – very short stack – of possibilities that will be called back for a second interview, but were still going through the initial applicants.
Since Jean’s death, Scott had not ventured once into the lab that doubled as the school’s infirmary. I had heard about his adventure in town from the Professor and was expecting our new guest to be guided down to the lab at some point today. It was with some surprise that I saw it was Scott who was the escort. He stood at the edge of the room, in the doorway but not quite inside. “Hank,” he greeted me. I noted that his face was paler than usual and that the muscles around his mouth were tight.
I got off my lab stool and headed over, relieving in him of the necessity of entering. The appearance of the newest addition to the mansion was no less startling than my own: red eyes peered at me from a green face and horns sat on top of the head, poking up in front of light brown hair. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought him inhuman. “It is a pleasure to welcome you to Xavier’s School for the Gifted,” I greeted him, arm outstretched. “I’m Hank, the resident physician at the moment.”
He smiled at me and shook my hand. “I’m Lorne. And I must say this isn’t what I would have pictured you lot hiding down here. I’m oddly enough liking the whole metallic look.”
I chuckled and waved him into the lab. “I just want to run a few tests on you to make sure you’re in good health, figure out your powers, and set up a file for you. We’re doing the equivalent as a mutant research center and all the data we can get would be helpful.”
Scott placed a hand on my arm and I looked at him. “There’s something you should know, Hank, about Lorne.”
“What is it Scott?” I pursed my lips and frowned.
“Well – he’s not exactly human.”
I blinked at him, a bit flummoxed. “Well, if you say so, Scott. Though I still want to run some tests on him.”
He grabbed the edge of my lab coat as I turned to walk into the room. “Hank, I’m serious.”
“I understand.” I nodded to Scott and went to face my patient, slightly off-balance in my initial assessment of Lorne. Though I had my doubts about Scott’s words, I didn’t discount them fully.
* * *
POV: Lorne
The Doc seemed nice enough, though he reminded me a bit of Wesley, if a bigger and bluer version. They both spoke carefully, as if savoring each word that left their mouths. I suppose it was an academia thing. Wes was born into a cultured and educated world; Hank entered it and took to it like a fish to water. He had even quoted Shakespeare during my examination, to my surprise.
“So it doesn’t bother you that I’m not human?” I asked him as I was getting dressed again. He had politely turned his back and was fiddling with some machine.
He chuckled. “I admit, I was reluctant to believe it at first, but the results are what they are. I’m going to run the blood through a DNA analyzer but I can pronounce fairly certainly that you are not, nor ever were, human.”
“I’m sure glad of that, or else I’ve been living a lie my whole life,” I said. I laughed, remembering his amazement at certain parts of my anatomy. Aside from the extra toes and the weird arrangement of my genitalia, I think what cinched it for him was the fact that my heart was not in my chest. My grin got wider as I recalled his reaction upon finding out just where it was located. I finished buttoning my shirt. “You can look now.”
He turned around and extended his hand. “Lorne, it was a pleasure to have met you. I think you’re going to like it here at Xavier’s.”
I took it. “I think I will too. It’s going to be a welcome change, I think. I can walk around without having to put on a hat or something to hide my face. It wasn’t so bad at Wolfram and Hart – there at least, people knew about demons and didn’t look twice at me. But outside of there, I had to be careful of what restaurants and bars I went into. The idea of hiding out in the open amongst mutants is... odd.”
Hank looked me in the eye. “Even though you’re more open about it, hiding in plain sight is still hiding. I’ve learned that even that little starts to eat away from you. After the rest of my mutancy manifested – I wasn’t always blue, you know,” he added at my expression, “I became a recluse. I refused to talk to my former colleagues. But, I learned. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Never forget who you really are, Lorne.”
I studied the walking contradiction in front of me. He was as large as gorilla and his limbs were formed differently so that he actually looked like he was more suited to climbing trees than in puttering around a laboratory. Glasses perched delicately on his nose and during my examination, his clawed hands were gentle. “Thank you, doc,” I told him, oddly touched. “Do you want to sing for me?” I asked him, feeling that I should offer him something for his advice. I had of course told him about my powers.
He looked at me and I could see the temptation in his eyes. It was fleeting though, and he shook his head firmly. “No,” he answered. “And I think I would prefer it that if you did happen to read something off me that you keep it to yourself.” He sat down on a lab stool and rested his chin on his fist. He looked like a mutant Thinker, though I don’t think Rodin would have thanked me for the comparison. “Not that I’m not ungrateful for the offer,” he told me, “but I believe that no man should know his own future. I want to live my life without having anything you tell me hang over my head.”
I nodded. “I suppose I can respect that.” In fact, I really did. Not many people would have walked away from someone who could tell them their future like Hank just did. Dr. Henry McCoy, despite outward appearances, was what most people strove for on the inside. He was a blue Ghandi – literate, compassionate, unselfish, and overcame temptation. I briefly wished that he could have been part of Angel Investigations at the time of the Jasmine incident. Things might have turned out differently, then.
As I returned upstairs, I realized what I had been missing in my life. Hank’s words echoed in my mind: To thine own self be true. I hadn’t been. I had let Angel manipulate me into killing a man, something that went against my very nature. Even before that, when we accepted the Senior Partners’ offer of the LA branch of the law firm, we weren’t being true. I had my reasons for saying yes, we all did, and perhaps mine were more simplistic than the others – I truly did want to meet and rub elbows with Hollywood’s brightest stars – but we were still the heroes getting into bed with the enemy.
I wondered what Angel would have thought about my assessment of our actions of over a year ago.
To thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.
If I wanted to be true to myself, I had to first remember who I was. That was, I had a feeling, going to be the hardest part.
* * * * * * * * *
Note: Dr. Henry McCoy is a character from the comics that I included in here. I love Hank and am looking forward with glee to the third movie where he has a role. Expect some other comic book characters to show up as well.
The quote is from, of course, Hamlet. I don’t much care for the play but it did contain some very good advice.
Author: Gaeriel Mallory
Fandoms: Angel the Series/X-men (movieverse)
Rating: PG for this part, PG-13 overall
Warnings: None
Character(s): Hank McCoy, Lorne, Scott.
Summary: Lorne finds himself involved with a new group of Champions.
POV: Dr. Henry McCoy
When Charles had asked me to come back to the mansion to temporarily fill in as the school physician, I agreed without hesitation. I owed a lot to the man, who accepted me both before and after my accident. Most people would have been put off by blue fur, fangs, and claws. I, along with Jean, Scott, and Warren, had been the first of his students. Jean’s death struck all of us hard; we were all close to her in our own ways. For me, we were the two science geeks and spent more time in the lab together than anywhere else.
I may have readily agreed to the Professor’s request, but it didn’t make it any easier. I was invading Jean’s space. Everywhere were signs of her: from the experiments that she had been in the middle of running, the special soap in the bathroom that only she had used, the picture of her and Scott sitting in a corner. I was reluctant to disturb anything, as if by doing so, I was disturbing her ghost.
Still, I was getting accustomed to life back at the school, though soon my leave of absence from the hospital would be up and I would have to go back to Memorial where my research and patients were. We had been interviewing potential replacements but it has been a slow process. For one thing, we were reluctant to fill the spot because it would be, in a way, truly acknowledging the fact that Jean was gone and would not be back. Secondly, it was hard to find a doctor, or even a nurse, who was truly comfortable working with mutants and the special needs that came with them. We had a short stack – very short stack – of possibilities that will be called back for a second interview, but were still going through the initial applicants.
Since Jean’s death, Scott had not ventured once into the lab that doubled as the school’s infirmary. I had heard about his adventure in town from the Professor and was expecting our new guest to be guided down to the lab at some point today. It was with some surprise that I saw it was Scott who was the escort. He stood at the edge of the room, in the doorway but not quite inside. “Hank,” he greeted me. I noted that his face was paler than usual and that the muscles around his mouth were tight.
I got off my lab stool and headed over, relieving in him of the necessity of entering. The appearance of the newest addition to the mansion was no less startling than my own: red eyes peered at me from a green face and horns sat on top of the head, poking up in front of light brown hair. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought him inhuman. “It is a pleasure to welcome you to Xavier’s School for the Gifted,” I greeted him, arm outstretched. “I’m Hank, the resident physician at the moment.”
He smiled at me and shook my hand. “I’m Lorne. And I must say this isn’t what I would have pictured you lot hiding down here. I’m oddly enough liking the whole metallic look.”
I chuckled and waved him into the lab. “I just want to run a few tests on you to make sure you’re in good health, figure out your powers, and set up a file for you. We’re doing the equivalent as a mutant research center and all the data we can get would be helpful.”
Scott placed a hand on my arm and I looked at him. “There’s something you should know, Hank, about Lorne.”
“What is it Scott?” I pursed my lips and frowned.
“Well – he’s not exactly human.”
I blinked at him, a bit flummoxed. “Well, if you say so, Scott. Though I still want to run some tests on him.”
He grabbed the edge of my lab coat as I turned to walk into the room. “Hank, I’m serious.”
“I understand.” I nodded to Scott and went to face my patient, slightly off-balance in my initial assessment of Lorne. Though I had my doubts about Scott’s words, I didn’t discount them fully.
* * *
POV: Lorne
The Doc seemed nice enough, though he reminded me a bit of Wesley, if a bigger and bluer version. They both spoke carefully, as if savoring each word that left their mouths. I suppose it was an academia thing. Wes was born into a cultured and educated world; Hank entered it and took to it like a fish to water. He had even quoted Shakespeare during my examination, to my surprise.
“So it doesn’t bother you that I’m not human?” I asked him as I was getting dressed again. He had politely turned his back and was fiddling with some machine.
He chuckled. “I admit, I was reluctant to believe it at first, but the results are what they are. I’m going to run the blood through a DNA analyzer but I can pronounce fairly certainly that you are not, nor ever were, human.”
“I’m sure glad of that, or else I’ve been living a lie my whole life,” I said. I laughed, remembering his amazement at certain parts of my anatomy. Aside from the extra toes and the weird arrangement of my genitalia, I think what cinched it for him was the fact that my heart was not in my chest. My grin got wider as I recalled his reaction upon finding out just where it was located. I finished buttoning my shirt. “You can look now.”
He turned around and extended his hand. “Lorne, it was a pleasure to have met you. I think you’re going to like it here at Xavier’s.”
I took it. “I think I will too. It’s going to be a welcome change, I think. I can walk around without having to put on a hat or something to hide my face. It wasn’t so bad at Wolfram and Hart – there at least, people knew about demons and didn’t look twice at me. But outside of there, I had to be careful of what restaurants and bars I went into. The idea of hiding out in the open amongst mutants is... odd.”
Hank looked me in the eye. “Even though you’re more open about it, hiding in plain sight is still hiding. I’ve learned that even that little starts to eat away from you. After the rest of my mutancy manifested – I wasn’t always blue, you know,” he added at my expression, “I became a recluse. I refused to talk to my former colleagues. But, I learned. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Never forget who you really are, Lorne.”
I studied the walking contradiction in front of me. He was as large as gorilla and his limbs were formed differently so that he actually looked like he was more suited to climbing trees than in puttering around a laboratory. Glasses perched delicately on his nose and during my examination, his clawed hands were gentle. “Thank you, doc,” I told him, oddly touched. “Do you want to sing for me?” I asked him, feeling that I should offer him something for his advice. I had of course told him about my powers.
He looked at me and I could see the temptation in his eyes. It was fleeting though, and he shook his head firmly. “No,” he answered. “And I think I would prefer it that if you did happen to read something off me that you keep it to yourself.” He sat down on a lab stool and rested his chin on his fist. He looked like a mutant Thinker, though I don’t think Rodin would have thanked me for the comparison. “Not that I’m not ungrateful for the offer,” he told me, “but I believe that no man should know his own future. I want to live my life without having anything you tell me hang over my head.”
I nodded. “I suppose I can respect that.” In fact, I really did. Not many people would have walked away from someone who could tell them their future like Hank just did. Dr. Henry McCoy, despite outward appearances, was what most people strove for on the inside. He was a blue Ghandi – literate, compassionate, unselfish, and overcame temptation. I briefly wished that he could have been part of Angel Investigations at the time of the Jasmine incident. Things might have turned out differently, then.
As I returned upstairs, I realized what I had been missing in my life. Hank’s words echoed in my mind: To thine own self be true. I hadn’t been. I had let Angel manipulate me into killing a man, something that went against my very nature. Even before that, when we accepted the Senior Partners’ offer of the LA branch of the law firm, we weren’t being true. I had my reasons for saying yes, we all did, and perhaps mine were more simplistic than the others – I truly did want to meet and rub elbows with Hollywood’s brightest stars – but we were still the heroes getting into bed with the enemy.
I wondered what Angel would have thought about my assessment of our actions of over a year ago.
To thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.
If I wanted to be true to myself, I had to first remember who I was. That was, I had a feeling, going to be the hardest part.
* * * * * * * * *
Note: Dr. Henry McCoy is a character from the comics that I included in here. I love Hank and am looking forward with glee to the third movie where he has a role. Expect some other comic book characters to show up as well.
The quote is from, of course, Hamlet. I don’t much care for the play but it did contain some very good advice.
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Date: 2005-05-23 09:09 pm (UTC)And I'm looking forward to seeing X3. I heard a rumor that they tapped Kelsey Grammar of "Cheers" and "Frasier" fame to play the role of Henry McCoy?
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Date: 2005-05-24 07:01 pm (UTC)