Disclaimers:
See Chapter 1.
Chapter 14: I Feel So
Emma tried to hide her rapidly growing concern. Jez's breathing was fast and shallow and her pupils were dilated to their fullest extent, while her whole body shook with a fine trembling.
It looked like she was going into shock.
Emma instinctively attempted to reach out to the girl's mind and calm her down and was thrown for a moment when she was met with complete failure.
Her usual icy reserve (or air of total disinterest) melted away and Emma leant forward, cupping Jez's face and tilting it upwards. "Jezebel…Jez...look at me. What's the matter?"
Jez gave a strangled laugh, eyes blinking rapidly as a multitude different emotions flickered behind them too quickly to analyse. "Wha-Wher-How-?!!?" Her words fumbled over each other in their haste. Emma's curiosity was piqued. However Jez had ended up here, it apparently wasn't by design. "Damnit." She finally whispered, closing her hazel eyes in apparent frustration and relaxing slightly into Emma's palm. "I finally lost it…" She muttered as her entire body crumpled as the last bit of resistance left it, causing her to fall backwards. It was plain to Emma that exhaustion and stress had simply overloaded the poor girl's battered senses. Wanting to do something - anything- to help, Emma tried to lift the girl up, but Jez struggled to push herself upright, muttering in humiliation, as her face began to flush red; "S'alright. I can-" However, her efforts were almost completely useless as she was only able to lift her body a few millimetres off the ground. A desperately awkward air surrounded her, as it was obvious to Emma that she didn't want to look weak or pathetic.
Self-sufficiency was something Emma could completely understand. But she wasn't going to let pride hurt Jez's body further.
"Here." She quietly murmured, without her usual acidic one-liner, as she slipped an arm underneath Jez's abdomen, supporting and pulling the girl into an upright position. Which just so happened to be resting comfortably against Emma's chest.
Not that she was complaining.
'Mmm...I bet you aren't...' Purred part of Emma's mind. She quickly slapped it down.
Jez had made an odd, choking, half-strangled sound, and Emma peered round at her face in concern. Had she accidentally hurt her? A low snort of -what sounded like, to her sensitive ears- amusement reached her. Emma's head snapped up, eyes flashing. How could he find this funny!? Jez was embarrassed enough as it was without his insensitive sense of humour! "Is there something amusing you'd like to share with us, Logan?" Her words were icy and although they didn't manage to alter his smirking countenance, he did raise his hands in submission, shrugging.
"Nothin' darlin'. Nothin' at all." X-23 glanced back and forth between Emma and Logan, nostrils flaring and then focused on Jez. Emma didn't like the look she gave Jez. It was filled with too much predatory interest for her comfort. X-23 unnerved Emma on a level she didn't like to examine too much; it was uncomfortably close to...fear. X-23 was an unknown quantity, her mind was extremely difficult to break into and her motivations even more difficult to fathom. Both things which Emma liked to have a handle on. It made predicting people easy. X-23 was a wild card. "C'mon kid," Here he spoke to X-23, "let's go find the doc. I can smell him over on the quad field. Probably playin' medic to one of the football jocks." Nobody mentioned the fact Emma could contact Henry much quicker herself.
Surprisingly, X-23 didn't leap to follow Logan, the person she treated as a surrogate father/brother figure and the only one who could control her -to a certain degree anyway. Instead, she hovered -almost anxiously - for a moment as she watched the weakened girl with an inscrutable expression. Emma felt a surge of protectiveness and -unease?- sweep through her and she narrowed her eyes at X-23. Impassively, X-23 steadily held her gaze for several seconds and then with a last glance at Jez, loped after Logan.
...Now what had that been about?
Emma's brow furrowed in thought, before she realised what was happening and instead focused on the girl leaning helplessly against her. Jez's eyes were slitted as she muttered quietly to herself under her breath. Emma couldn't make out much of what she was saying.
Emma sighed. This was not going to be easy. "I know this is probably very confusing, but you don't need to worry." Emma gave a mental snort; comforting people had never been a strong point. Maybe she should look into taking some sort of sensitivity training…? "You're safe here, I promise. Nobody will hurt you." Fortunately, Jez seemed to relax a bit more with every word. "Can you stand?" She asked, privately doubting it. Jez gave a surprised jerk at subject change and blinked furiously.
"Ye-yeah, but I-"
"You need to be resting inside." She said firmly, but not unkindly. "You're still not fully recovered and running about like may have set back a full recovery even further." A part of Emma was amused to hear the threads of protectiveness and concern weaving through her voice. Another was more than a little perturbed.
"Recover...?" Jez sounding even more uncertain and confused, but was still adamantly struggling to stand by herself. Smiling to herself at the determination, Emma gently released her, but still poised to prevent any sudden falls. Privately however, she was slightly concerned; was this apparent memory loss a side-effect of the portal? Or a psychological protection against the trauma Jez had obviously experienced?
Preventing any of her disturbing thoughts from showing on her face, Emma managed an encouraging smile. "Henry can explain everything much better than I can and you really need to be resting." Her tone was neutral, she did not want to be the one who told Jez she had almost died. Seeing the question forming on the girl's face, she forestalled it by beginning to walk back towards the mansion. A half-stifled grunt of pain stopped her. Turning her head, she saw Jez awkwardly stumble forwards, one hand trying to grip a shoulder blade.
'She must have hurt it when she was struggling.'
Without saying a word, Emma extended her hand and lifted underneath Jez's good elbow. Flushing a darker shade of red, Jez hesitantly allowed it to steady her. She didn't protest either when Emma slid a supporting arm underneath her uninjured armpit, although Emma did feel a slight tensing of muscles. Now they were standing side by side, Emma could clearly see Jez was a good couple of inches taller, despite the stooping. It was strange; she was used to being the same height or taller than most people. Scott was shorter than her by an inch or two.
"Thanks..." Jez muttered, eyes darting shyly up to meet Emma's briefly.
Emma smiled, barely restraining herself from brushing the unruly strands of hair out of Jez's face. "You're welcome, darling."
It was oddly gratifying to see Jez's blush intensify.
The mouths of many students dropped at the sight of Emma entering the mansion with a bedraggled stranger's arm slung around her shoulders. The mental murmur accompanying it was worse. Emma began to feel apprehensive about Jez's ability to cope. It would be incredibly dangerous for everyone -including Jez- if she lost control of her powers now. Now that she thought about it...didn't Jez have pills to shut down her power? The thought led her on to wonder if Jez had actually realised that her 'voices' were in fact proof of telepathy, not schizophrenia...but regardless, this wasn't the time to test it.
"Get to your classes, now." She snapped, levelling an icy glare at the hall in general. There was a disgruntled murmuring and a few sour looks from the students, who were plainly curious about the battered girl. The feeling seemed to be mutual, as Jez was staring around in wide-eyed fascination.
"I don't believe it..." Jez breathed.
"It's a lot to take in, I know." Emma's voice was sympathetic. "But don't worry, Dr. McCoy is going to meet us in the Medlab. It's this way." Jez froze, her body instantly going rigid.
"No…" She swallowed, eyes darting wildly around. "I can't go back there…" Emma was momentarily confused by the refusal, then she recalled Jez's apparent aversion to doctors displayed in the dreams.
"It's perfectly safe, he -Henry- will not harm you. He's a good person, harming anyone is completely against his ethics." Jez's eyes had gone wide and glassy, but Emma's calm words seemed to soothe her, returning an edge of sanity to them.
"Ms. Frost?" A voice asked hesitantly. Emma gave an irritated sigh. Could people not see she was busy?
"I'm otherwise engaged at the moment Robert, can't it wait?" She snapped tersely. "And I believe I did tell you to return to your classes."
She could 'hear' his loud mental gulp and a brief flash of something about Kitty naked and spitting mad. "I-er…um, right…sorry…"
(It's probably not that important anyway…) He quietly rationalised, slinking off to his next lesson.
Emma ignored him (Kitty's embarrassing personal life held no interest to her at the moment) and continued, noticing with some amusement (and annoyance) that almost everyone was, loudly, wondering what she'd been doing with Jez. Some of the suggestions were really quite…inappropriate. She wouldn't have thought they had it in them. Obviously they didn't have enough work to occupy their time.
Emma frowned; she'd have to see what she could to remedy that later.
Jez was in a semi-coherent state of shock. She'd -almost resignedly- accepted the theory that this was all an extremely convoluted hallucination brought on by her mind simply deteriorating further, but the more she saw of the mansion (and the woman beside her) was casting some doubt on this. There was just no way her imagination was this good.
Those eyes for example…
'Damn it.' Jez swore, feeling her face heating up again. She'd managed to make an utter idiot of herself already outside (Wolverine and that girl -X-23?- had seen it as well), she didn't need to make things worse. Valiantly, Jez tried to ignore the soft warmth pressing into her side, even though the sensation was doing terrible things to her stomach. It felt like a bunch of damn butterflies were holding a rave in there.
Her efforts to remain calm were destroyed when Emma mentioned 'doctor'. Immediately she felt herself begin to sweat as her body slipped into full panic mode. Cognitive thought evaporated, leaving only the desire to escape. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective), she was prevented from doing so by a strong arm, which had a secure grip around her upper body. As Emma began to speak, Jez was surprised to find an edge of reason returning to her mind, as well as her body calming down. She wasn't sure if it was the soothing tone or the actual words themselves, but whichever it was, Jez was extremely grateful. She was able to watch relatively calmly as Emma snapped at young, brown haired, boy, but ignored the conversation as she suddenly recognised the lift doors appearing at the end of the corridor.
'Shit.' Jez's breathing began to speed up until she was hyperventilating.
Emma stopped and stared down at her. Pale-faced, Jez met her eyes. "I can't..." Jez felt sick and ashamed of herself. Emma was going to think she was so pathetic. This was not the first impression she wanted to make.
Emma hesitated for a moment, watching her face closely and then (miraculously) seemed to soften. "Very well." Jez relaxed again and they started walking –although Jez was moving - in a different direction. Relief and gratitude washed over her.
'Man you are pathetic.' Snorted a voice in disgust.
Jez didn't reply. What could she say? She agreed with it.
'Darling, really. This is just too pathetic.' Emma told herself as she made her way to her own room. She had completely folded under the weight of Jez's pleading gaze. And really, where else could she take Jez?
'Anywhere, but your bed…'
Emma attempted to ignore them and instead reached out to Henry.
(Henry.)
(Emma? What's going on? Has she woken up? Logan said something about her escaping…?) Henry felt concerned and not a little confused.
(Yes, she has and did.) And that was something Emma would be very interested to know how it happened. (But I can't bring her back to the Medlab. Meet us in my room.)
(Your room…?) Henry sounded bewildered.
(She's terrified of doctors. The Medlab scares her and she seems to feel comfortable with me.)
(I see. I'll be there shortly. Make her comfortable and get her to drink some water, she'll be dehydrated.) Acknowledging his concerns, Emma unlocked the door to her room and ushered Jez inside and then into her bedroom.
"…What…?" Emma left Jez standing in the doorway and briskly crossed the room to pull down the sheets on her bed. Tucking strands of her blonde hair behind an ear, she straightened and then led a rapidly blinking Jez to it.
"Sit." Emma applied a small amount of pressure to Jez's uninjured shoulder and gave an encouraging smile when the girl glanced questioningly up at her. "This is my room." The expression that crossed Jez's face would have been incredibly amusing under other circumstances, as it bore an uncanny resemblance to a deer caught in headlights. "Lay still for a minute, I'll get you some water." Jez blinked again and Emma took it as agreement.
Jez blinked bemusedly and peered around the bedroom with great interest as Emma left.
Emma Frost's bedroom. The bedroom of Emma. Which she was in.
How in the blue bloody blazes had she managed to end up here?
'Let us not question the miracle.' Chided a voice warningly. It had a good point. There was a saying about 'gift horses' and 'mouths', wasn't there?
A small smile flickered over Jez's lips and she gingerly leant back on the soft white pillows (damn that felt good) covering the bed. A soothing scent of…was that lilies…? surrounded her. It was oddly familiar. Jez's body ached after all her frantic exertion and she was pretty certain she'd be paying for her over-enthusiasm for a while to come.
"Jezebel?" Her eyes blearily opened again (when exactly had she shut them?), blinking up at the tall blonde looming over her and then focusing on the glass of water held between the delicate and strong fingers. "Here, you have to drink." Forgetting herself, Jez attempted to lift her upper body, and a sharp hiss of pain escaped her. "Careful." And then Emma was suddenly beside her, lifting and supporting Jez's back against her chest and guiding the glass towards her (abruptly very very dry) lips. Jez's eyes drifted inevitably upwards and fastened on the smooth curve of Emma's cheek, the full redness of her lips and the clear blue gaze which met hers unflinchingly.
Flushing, and feeling stupid for doing so, Jez hastily averted her eyes, examining the meticulous attention to detail over every item in the room. Even now, Emma still had the power to make her feel like a dorky prepubescent boy. It was kind of (read: incredibly) frustrating. Why couldn't she be all suave and debonair for just once in her life?
'Damn it.' She thought, thoroughly disgusted. She really did know how to torment herself. Just as Jez had begun her self-flagellation, the door opened.
"Apologies for my lateness." A voice rumbled and a-a-blue creature appeared. Jez's breath hitched as her eyes blinked once, slowly. "I was unavoidably detained at the sports field. Some of the boys 'forget' to check their powers while playing...things got a tad messy."
"You-" Jez managed, staring at the blue furry man in fascination. It made Henry blink.
"I am Henry. Dr. Henry McCoy." He offered, somehow smiling without flashing those sharp canines. With a gentlemanly gesture that absurdly reminded her of Gareth, the giant feline extended a paw and gently grasped her hand, shaking it once.
"I..."
-A large blue ape-like man somersaulted over the head of a villain, kicking out agilely at the unprotected head as he did so. The villain hit the ground with a thud.-
- Reading glasses hooked securely around his large ears, the gentle giant hung upside down, cross-legged from a gymnast beam, a book on the philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche held carefully in his hands-
"…know." It felt as though a door had been left slightly ajar in her mind, allowing everything she'd ever read about the man to trickle out the crack. "Beast, right? You...look different." She was surprised to see him looking so feline, she had a distinct memory of him resembling more of an ape. Maybe her comics didn't always get it right.
"I get that a lot." Beast said dryly, misunderstanding her words and stepping closer to the bed before setting down his equipment bag. Jez observed his confident and careful movements closely and felt a measure of fear slip away. Henry McCoy, that is, Beast, had been one of the gentlest characters she could remember reading about. Jez could feel certain parts of her mind trying to grind into motion, but it was like something was jamming it. Maybe she needed more visual cues. It occurred to her that it was weird to be remembering so much about comic characters (this was so damn bizarre), but almost nothing of the past few months of her life. Guilt hit her hard as Jez realised she hadn't asked about her friends.
"What about my friends? Are they here? Are they okay?" She managed to keep the panic from choking her throat. Beast/Henry looked up from reaching into his bag, a puzzled frown on his face.
"I beg your pardon?" Jez's stomach lurched.
"I'm sure Gareth and Darren are fine." Emma spoke quietly from the corner of the room she'd retreated to, leaning casually against the wall. Jez relaxed somewhat and nervously allowed Beast to place a stethoscope against her chest, the coldness of the metal causing her to flinch in surprise.
"Yes," the blue-furred man agreed absently, sounding distracted as he listened closely to her heartbeat, "I'm certain that wherever they are, they are perfectly fine."
...Wait a minute.
How did Emma know their names?!
Jez's eyes widened and she stared at the slender blonde.
Oh sh-
How could she have forgotten about the telepathy!?
Emma kept a close eye on Jez from her vantage point, ready to calm her down or call Henry off if she became too distressed by the procedure. Thankfully, she seemed to be coping well, Emma was guessing from the introspective look on her face that she was trying to remember what had happened. It therefore came as a surprise when Jez's eyes bulged unnaturally and fixed Emma with a look of utter terror. Emma reacted instinctively, taking a step forward and placing a hand on Henry's shoulder to stop him doing whatever it was that was upsetting Jez.
"How is she?" She asked, intentionally keeping her voice loud so Jez wouldn't feel they were hiding anything from her. Henry sighed, scratching his chin slowly and replaced the portable scanner back into his bag.
"Well, you certainly didn't do yourself any favours by trying to pull a Great Escape on us," he mock-chided and Jez gave a small half-smile and didn't offer any apologies. "but your shoulder only seems to have pulled a muscle, not torn any ligaments as I'd originally feared...so it should be healed up within a week or so, provided you rest properly." Henry finished sternly, fixing Jez with a serious look. "I don't think you realise how…hurt you were when you first arrived here, young lady. Count yourself extremely fortunate that you didn't manage to undo all the healing your body had just undergone." At this, Jez appeared shaken and nodded once. "To make sure your body can recharge itself properly, I think it would be prudent to administer a tranquiliser to help you sleep, if that is acceptable?" Paling noticeably, Jez glanced over at Emma, seemingly asking for reassurance, which she was only too glad to provide.
"I think that-" The rest of her words were cut off as the door was unceremoniously pounded on.
"Emma! Open the goddamned door!" Shouted an angry voice.
It was Scott.
Emma sighed.
Why wasn't she surprised?
Jez started as a furious pounding shook the door to Emma's room. It was a welcoming distraction from the increasingly panicky thoughts she'd been having about what else Emma might have 'heard'…and what the hell had happened to her before she'd woken up.
"Emma?" Dr. McCoy questioned, seeming as puzzled as Jez felt. Why was someone beating on Emma's door? The blonde's eyes slid shut briefly and she let loose a tiny sigh. Apparently whoever it was, wasn't welcome. Jez felt a surge of protectiveness. If she was in better nick right now, she'd bloody go tell whoever the hell it was to piss off.
"It's alright Henry, I'll deal with it. Jez…" Jez looked at the suddenly emotionless expression Emma was wearing and tilted her head slightly in confusion. "You're safe here, no one is going to hurt you. I won't let them." Jez blinked at the uncomfortably ominous words. Was she in danger or something? But she'd only just got here…
"Alright." She said simply, earning herself a genuine smile in return. In this strange/wonderful new/familiar world, Jez couldn't think of anyone she would rather trust.
Emma was touched by the acceptance she found reflected in Jez's calm eyes. There weren't many she could think of who would offer such trust. It warmed her. And made her resent the fact Scott was here even more. As the banging and yells increased in frequency and volume (she was mildly surprised Scott hadn't just blown the door open), Emma straightened, pulling her ice-bitch persona around her like a cloak and strode to the door, yanking it open. Scott, caught off-guard by the abrupt opening, overbalanced and stumbled clumsily forward. Emma allowed a brief smirk, quickly schooling her face back to unfriendly frostiness as Scott regained his equilibrium and glared at her.
"Where is she?" He demanded, the red glass of his protective glasses glinting menacingly. Emma was distinctly unimpressed.
"Who might that be?"
"Damn it Emma." He gritted out between clenched teeth. "Don't play games with me!" She folded her arms casually across her chest and observed him in a clinical fashion. This reaction was too extreme, even for Scott.
"Why the sudden desire to check on her?" She asked calmly, ignoring the twinge she felt as she remembered how he hadn't bothered to visit her.
"Because I was right." He said, anger mixing with an undeniable smugness.
"About what exactly? The winning lotto numbers? That it was Jubilation who put a whoopee cushion under your conference seat?" Now that she thought about it, that had been just after their fight…was it possible that Jubilation had…? Emma put the thought aside for the moment. "That it is physically impossible for a human to lick their elbow?" Emma finished, sarcasm dripping from her every word. She absolutely did not want him disturbing Jez. The fury and hurt she'd witnessed in the girl's mind were too volatile to introduce them just yet. It would be dangerous. For both parties involved.
"She is dangerous Emma. She attacked someone without any provocation, knocked them out and then stole their clothes. At the very least I want an explanation." His lip curled with disgust. It was against Scott's nature to lie so blatantly. Emma mentally winced at the way Jez had made things more difficult for herself, but really, it wasn't the girl's fault. She had been disorientated and frightened and if she had been looked after properly, this whole mess wouldn't have happened in the first place. Henry was going to get an earful once she'd gotten rid of Scott. "I warned you this would happen. She is a threat to the security of this mansion and everyone in it. I want her placed in the maximum security holding cell."
Emma's eyes narrowed to glacial slits.
"She knocked someone out, she didn't massacre half the school." She sneered. "Are you even listening to yourself?" It was unlikely, as he looked confused at her refusal. Did he really believe she'd support him in this? Emma really did not have the energy for his single-minded pettiness.
"Don't try and ignore this Emma! She is a dangerous unknown; we can't afford to have her compromising everything we've worked for!"
"She needs medical attention, not an interrogation!" She snapped angrily.
"Emma?" A muffled voice called, sounding concerned. Scott stiffened, muscles tensing.
"She's here." Emma wrestled her breathing under control again and glared at him.
"She has a name. Jez."
"What is she doing in here?!"
"She was hurt and-" Emma made a split second decision not to reveal Jez's fear of doctors. "needed somewhere more comfortable."
"NEEDED SOMEWHERE MORE-!?" Scott seemed to have trouble speaking -or accurately shouting- past his obvious outrage.
Emma wondered if it'd be too much to hope that he'd choke on it; she didn't see how she could avoid this confrontation now.
"What's happening?" Jez asked Beast, feeling helpless and not a little frantic. She couldn't keep focused on the series of questions he was firing at her, such as; when was she born, where did she live, what year was it, who was president (the blank stare she gave him made Hank look slightly embarrassed), what was the last thing she remembered, how did she get here etc. etc. Whatever was going on outside the room sounded pretty serious. Emma's previous words seemed to make a lot more sense. His muzzle wrinkled and Jez had great difficulty interpreting exactly what the expression meant. It was funny how she'd never realised how important people's face were for figuring out what people were thinking.
"-ott just wait a minute!" Came another muffled protest from Emma, making Jez bolt upright, ignoring the screech of pain from her shoulder. That was IT.
"Emma?!" She shouted again, louder this time, and tried feebly to fight against Beast's restraining paws which were keeping her reclined against the bed. "Lemme go, I-" Her protests were cut short as the bedroom door burst open.
In the doorway stood a tallish, well-muscled man. He had brown hair cropped boringly short to his head, some sort of weird hippyish sunglasses and a face like -as Gareth would say- a slapped arse. In short, he looked like a wanker. Although, she had to admit grudgingly, an attractive wanker. Probably had the ladies falling at his feet left, right and centre.
"Get up." He ordered her, glaring -she assumed, anyway- daggers from behind his red shades. His obvious dislike of her was easily communicated by those two short words.
Well, it looked like she had him dead-to-rights; he was definitely a wanker. This wasn't even his room, who the hell did he think he was ordering her around like his bitch?
"Scott, as Jez's doctor I must insist you leave her in peace. She needs rest, her body has been through several ordeals and added stress will only set back her recovery further…"
Jez ignored Beast as he continued to speak in her defence, the words falling into a background murmur, replaced with a curious roaring sound in her ears. The room faded away.
Sunglasses.
Red sunglasses.
Scott.
-Her own hands trembled with shock and barely leashed anger as she read the repellent comic. Disbelief and horror warred in her heart as foul bile rose in her throat, choking her breath-
-White leather and blue jeans entwined as a man and woman lay on a very large bed. The man was poised, hovering above the smiling blonde -Emma-, whispering something in her ear as he kept her pinned beneath him. His red sunglasses, even in this intimate setting, remained on, leaving no doubt as to his identity-
Summers.
Scott Summers.
With startling clarity, Jez suddenly was convinced of the fact that this was definitely no dream.
It was obviously a nightmare.
Sometimes, I wish I was brave
I wish I was stronger,
Wish I could feel no pain,
I wish I was young,
I wish I was shy,
I wish I was honest,
Wish I was you not I,
'Cause,
I feel so mad,
I feel so angry,
Feel so callused,
So lost confused, again,
Feel so cheap,
So used unfaithful,
Lets start over
Lets start over,
Sometimes,
I wish I was smart,
I wish I made cures for,
How people are,
I wish I had power,
I wish I could lead,
I wish I could change the world -for you and me,
'Cause,
I feel so mad,
I feel so angry,
Feel so callused,
So lost confused, again,
Feel so cheap,
So used unfaithful,
Lets start over
Lets start over,
'Cause,
I feel so mad,
I feel so angry,
Feel so callused,
So lost confused, again,
Feel So cheap,
So used unfaithful,
Lets Start over
Lets Start over,
Box Car Racer, I Feel So
Nothing really to say, except I blame the delay of this chapter mostly on South of Nowhere (hell yeah season 3 is out!!!) I spent ages hunting down the previous 2 seasons and then watching them...damn I love that show...But anyway, next chapter is going to be much longer at my reckoning. Props go out to the person who keeps prodding me when I'm dragging my heels (trying not to embarrass you) so thanks again, I appreciate the reminder that people actually like this story.
Keep reviewing- oh and if you have a spare minute, check out my profile for the new stories (fandoms: Heroes, Kim Harrison's A Fistful of Charms, Blade: The Series), don't worry, they're not that long...