<NYC> The Mendel Clinic - Lower East Side
With its sharp crystalline edges and sleek lines knifing up into the sky, this building is one of the most /distinctive/ new additions to the neighborhood. An angular structure in glass and steel, the tall tower has a deceptively slender look to it that is belied by the heavy security as soon as you enter the doors. The front doors are frosted with the Clinic's logo -- a rising sun over a rod of Asclepius -- a motif echoed in many places throughout the building.
Visitors to the clinic must first pass through a small mantrap, guarded by some of the Clinic's security guards; once they make it through the metal detector and airlock's double doors they emerge into the much more hospitable lobby. With dark wood floors underneath and comfortable black and red couches at its edges, the high windows give the room an airy feel. A bank of elevators to one side carry visitors to the many destination floors, while the wide welcome desk at the other side is manned by a security guard ready to help point visitors in the right direction.
Luke is sitting up in bed, mainly because his motorized bed has been cranked up that way. The nurse in his room has just finished feeding him, and Luke looks like he has mixed feeling about needing to be fed by the man. He frowns as he thanks him and asks him to put ESPN on, but muted. The nurse nods and does so. When he's gone, Cage turns his head to the phone near his bed, and says, "Sweet Christmas." He waits half a second for the voice recognition to bleep its readiness, and then says, "Text Alison: Another delicious dinner at chateau medico. You landed yet?" The phone prompts him, and he confirms it's ready to send. Then he turns his head to watch the TV with subtitles on.
"Can't you just ask her yourself?" Alison's voice comes from the door as she enters, carrying a shopping bag. She's dressed for plane travel, albeit stylishly, in camel slacks and a short-sleeved blouse in a deep blue. She pauses at the sight of Luke laying motionless in the bed, and it takes a moment of blinking before she's turning her trademark radiant smile on him as she approaches. "I landed an hour ago," she confirms, moving to the side of the bed and leaning in carefully to plant a kiss on whatever portion of his head she's able to reach without actually touching him. "I haven't even been home yet." Easing back, she sets the shopping bag down in a chair and turns back to study Luke critically. "How are you feeling?"
Luke looks tired, but his smile when Alison comes in lights up his whole face. "Hey," he says, taking a moment to drink her in with his eyes. His voice betrays they fine line he walks between drugs and pain. At this point, he almost always on a little of both, and his body lies very, very still. "That was nice of you. I feel like shit, but I'm glad to see you. Sorry to interrupt your trip."
"I'm glad to see you, too." Alison's smile is warm as she looks back up at Cage's face. Up close, she looks a bit tired, but her natural radiance helps to hide it as she gently adjusts Luke's covers. "You didn't interrupt anything," she says, shaking her head. "My last meeting was yesterday, but I couldn't get a flight until this afternoon." Covers settled, she moves to the chair to set the bag on the floor and perch at the edge of it. "What the hell happened, anyway? You haven't been particularly /coherent/ when we've talked."
"Standard procedure," Luke says with a sardonic smile. "Sticking my nose into other peoples' business." He smiles and stops himself just before shrugging. Only a tiny wince of pain marks his mistake. "You have good timing. I'm at the tail end of a morphine cycle. They're supposed to bring in more in 10 or 15 minutes, I think. But it means I'm pretty clear headed right now." He clears his throat and nods at the 'sippy cup' they left for him. "Would you mind?" He seems embarrassed to ask her for the water, but what else can he do? After a sip he says, "We got a call about a missing person. When I went to check it out, I kind of fell down the rabbit hole into something /way/ beyond anything I imagined. Turns out these are the people who've been cutting up mutants all over town. Anyway, they had this lady who exploded me from the inside or something. The doc says the muscle in my arms and legs is just shredded. But we can't really do anything but wait. It's like when you pull a muscle, you know? Or a sprain? We just have to wait. Not really sure how it'll sort out yet."
Alison frowns at the answer, folding her arms across her chest and knitting her brow. She gets the cup when Luke asks for it, holding it to his lips carefully and allowing him to drink as much as he wants. She doesn't move away from the bed when he starts telling the story, staying nearby in case Luke needs more. When he finishes talking, she presses her lips together, and looks at the door. "But..." She pauses, considering this information. "They were cutting up mutants? For what?" Now she /does/ move away from the bed, frowning at the door as she sets the sippy cup back in place. "If your muscles are shredded, I think that's more than just a sprain." She looks thoughtful, and sits back down. "Did you at least /stop/ whoever it was?"
"I still don't understand why," Luke says, nodding to indicate he's done with the water. "I heard some theories that they're..." he clears his throat and lowers his voice. "Apparently they're actually sewing the parts on to non-mutants or something? Sounds like they're a whole cult. It's fucked up, either way. So anyway, yeah, we rescued a few people from that particular house, being held to get cut on, but the people we took out there weren't the head of the whole thing. Not sure where that's going to end up, to be honest."
Alison looks a bit sick at the revelation of what the actual purpose was, and she blinks a couple of times. It seems like words have failed her, and she bends to dig in the shopping bag. She comes up with her phone, and begins texting furiously as she continues talking. "So, whoever is behind this is still at large?" One text sent, another starts immediately. "That's more than a little terrifying." She looks up as she sends the second text, and frowns at the bed-ridden man. "'We?'" she echoes, tipping her head to one side. "You weren't alone? Did you take Trib?" She glances at the door. "Is he all right? Are the people you rescued going to be all right?" She lifts a hand at the bed. "If they did this to /you/...."
Shaking his head gently, Luke says, "No no, I couldn't get ahold of him when I made contact with the other people looking for him. Some asshole stole his phone." Luke shakes his head at the amazing timing of events and sighs. "There was a guy called Flicker, a woman named Regan, and a couple other friends of theirs. Honestly, that day is a little fuzzy for me still. As for being 'alright'... I kinda doubt it. A girl lost her legs I think? And a couple others had... Fuck I can't even remember. The ride back... I was in a lot of pain."
Alison frowns. "That was sort of lucky, for him," she says. "I don't know how tough he is, but it sounds like he avoided the terrible. Unlike my sweet man," she says, standing up and moving to the bedside. She strokes her fingers gently over Luke's temples, and along the line of his jaw. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to come sooner. Have you talked to Chelsea? How's she doing with all of this?"
"Well yeah," Luke says with a soft chuckle. "I mean, don't tell him I said so, but I'm glad I couldn't get him on the phone. That horror house was bad news." He sighs and nods. "Yeah, I talked to Chels the next day. She made plans to stay on campus that night, but the school was happy to extend it. They have the temp dorms and all. But I uh... didn't really tell her how banged up I am."
Alison makes an exasperated noise at Luke, and frowns. "Lucas Cage. You can not start out this relationship with your daughter by /keeping/ things from her." She folds her arms across her stomach, and glares at the big man without any sort of heat. "She needs to know the truth. Maybe not the part about how /exactly/ it happened, but that it did. She needs to know how to process these sorts of things." She lifts her eyebrows. "If she's at the school, they can help her with that. Professor Xavier is a wonderful counselor. But you won't do her any favors by telling her after the fact."
Luke frowns, and seems particularly annoyed that he can't pace about or gesture. Finally he sighs and nods, "Yeah, I know... I just... She's /thirteen/. I'm her dad. Your dad is /supposed/ to be unbreakable." His expression says it all. He definitely just heard the words coming out of his mouth, and cringes. "Shit. Ok you're right. I'll call her in the morning. Thank you."
Alison unfolds a hand to reach out and stroke it along Luke's cheek before resting it there. "Baby," she says, her voice warm and full of emotion. "Girls need their dads to be strong in a completely different way than men think." She nods when he agrees, and leans in to brush another kiss against his cheek. "When you call her, remind her that she has me and your mom to talk to about this. I'm heading to the school in the morning, so I can check on her if you want."
"Yeah that'd be great," Luke says on the topic of Chelsea having Alison to talk to. "I'm sure she'd like that." He sighs, and just when it becomes clear why his brow has gradually become more and more furrowed during their talk, a nurse appears at the door.
A woman this time, she knocks on the door frame and says, "Hey there, your morphine timer went off." Her voice is soft, but cheery, and a sudden sweat has broken out on Luke's brow. Apparently the painkiller threshold dropped off drastically at the tail end of his dosage. She turns and smiles at Alison, saying, "You're welcome to stay if you want, but he's probably going to be out for a couple hours."
Luke shakes his head, "Nah, Al, you should go. Just call me tomorrow some time. You don't have to sit around and watch me drool." He offers a sardonic smile.
Alison nods as she draws back from Luke, smoothing her fingers over his brow. "You're too late," she says to his magnanimous offer, and her smile is a bit mischievous as she moves to reclaim her shopping bag. "I've seen you drool." She waggles her bottom as she straightens, then returns to the bed to ghost a kiss against Luke's brow. "You get some rest, and I'll call you when Anton and I get to Westchester." She straightens, and moves towards the door, winking at the nurse. "I'll have Mel come and keep you company. He just got a new book on the Yankees, and he /loves/ to read out loud." It /might/ be a tease. Hard to tell, since she's already gone, the door bumping softly shut behind her.
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