El!
El has been with the site for nearly two years now and has continued to prove her value. Currently, she is heading up our site event, Battle for Liberterram, on top of keeping up with her own personal plots.
CHARACTER
SPOTLIGHT
Peggy Carter!
Lux's posts are all wonderful to read. She has done a wonderful job of grasping the new universe and incorporating Peggy into it.
CHARACTER
SPOTLIGHT
Peter Parker!
It's good to see Spidey back on the site. Watching him deal with the universe shift in his own snarky way has been nothing short of entertaining.
THREAD
SPOTLIGHT
Eight O'Clock on the Dot!
El and Lux are making magic in this thread. Straight up fireworks, and the way they've played with drawing out the reveal is top class.
The attack was over finally. Thanos’ forces had gone on the retreat, and the citizens of New York City were finally able to breathe once again. Hopefully that had been the last of the attacks. Buildings all over the city had been demolished thanks mostly to the bulky Leviathans, though the Chitauri and Chitlian had certainly played a part in the destruction. Everywhere Rogue looked, there was an upturned car, or a smoldering pile of rubble.
More than that, there were bodies. Alien, Atlantean, Asgardian, and human, giving the whole place a morbidly mixed scent of death and destruction. The United States military, NYPD, and SHIELD all remained on stand-by, just in case Thanos or his forces turned around. Rogue didn’t manage to catch whether the Asgardians or Atlanteans stayed to keep watch at least for a while longer, namely because she had other, more personal matters to attend to.
“Comin’ through!”
It had taken more time than Rogue cared to admit to locate Jay, but in a city this size during a time like this, she was honestly surprised they’d managed to track him down at all. Thankfully, despite leaving her post as one of the members of the mutant unit led by her ex-boyfriend, Clint, the southerner still had some connections inside the agency. Only one of those connections had been of any use, but in the end, that was really all they needed anyways.
Jay was alive!
Rogue had been certain the agent who got back to her was talking about their friend only two adjectives into the description. Thank goodness for Jay’s cute accent and his incredibly noticeable wings. Yes, she’d told the agent - that tall, ginger boy with wings and a drawl was certainly the man she was looking for. He was injured, if the report Rogue had received was correct, but he was alive, and that’s all that mattered.
According to Ali, the singer had parted ways with her bassist shortly after the first attack in order to take care of some personal things. The second attack had come before they managed to rendezvous, and well… Here they were now, somewhere in East Manhattan, skimming the crowds of civilians and SHIELD agents alike for the familiar set of wings. Rogue’s shoulder, still ensconced in her favorite bomber jacket over the brand new green and yellow jumpsuit, connected with a man who didn’t dodge quite in time, but she didn’t let it stop her. She wasn’t on the full energy high she’d been on while Ali’s powers had been coursing through her veins, but she was still more than a little pumped thanks to that and the natural adrenaline of battle.
It was almost like being back at one of the concerts, weaving her way through the cheering fans in order to try and get something done. The injured and frightened people of New York City were considerably easier to move than feisty concert-goers, at least. Most of them skittered away, like cockroaches avoiding a boot. A part of her wondered if she had some crazy look in her eyes that suggested they all move before she moved them. Or maybe her outfit was just really noticeable, so they could see her coming quicker and react accordingly.
Either way, it was working, and soon enough, she spied the red feathers off to her right. Squeezing Ali’s hand - which she’d been holding the whole time, in order to keep the other mutant with her - tighter, Rogue altered their trajectory until at last, she burst past the last few loiterers between them and Jay.
“Jay!” she squeaked, finally relinquishing the singer’s hand in order to dive in for a hug.
The memory that he was injured hit her just before contact, and she forced herself to stop with both arms flung out to either side of his neck. There was no stopping the movement altogether, but Rogue managed to at least slow her embrace to a less damaging one. “Gawd’re you a sight fer sore eyes.” Pulling out of the firm, but gentle hug, she pressed a quick kiss to the young man’s cheek and stood back so Ali could get in a hug if she wanted while Rogue took a closer look at him.
Post by Z inactive alisonblaire on May 20, 2016 6:15:03 GMT
Ali was restless and chomping at the bit, here. In all the chaos she'd gotten separated from Jay and that had never been her intention and now she was having a hell of a time locating him. All of the other band members had had the good sense to stay back in a bunker in DC and were safe as safe could be. SHIELD had apparently been right on the money when their intel suggested that the Chitauri forces were going to converge on NYC for one massive attack. And both she and Jay decided to do the stupid fucking brave thing and run off to NYC to help out.
She glowed brighter than the sun and had a power high that she'd probably never get to experience again. And for all she knew, he was trapped under a car somewhere, having a hard time breathing or worse. Her 'protect', 'maternal', 'do something!' instincts were all going haywire and she felt about a million different kinds of guilt. With as much juice as she had going, she could've gotten to him in time and kept him safe. Rogue and the others seemed to be doing halfway decent without her. Hell, she could've just tagged Rogue and went on. But no. Not her.
She was a fucking dumbass and if Jay was seriously hurt she was never going to forgive herself.
So she was doing what she normally did when she was stressed and still had enough energy to run three marathons back to back; she was smoking like a chimney. One cigarette got lit off the butt of another and she started using her powers in search of a familiar voice. Jay's was pretty distinctive. Unfortunately, even as juiced as she was, her powers only extended so far so she was left to pace, ping and smoke while Rogue tried to call in contacts of her own and get some kind of answer.
And then finally news! Jay was alive and Ali was going to pepper the bassist with about a million kisses when she saw him. In the mean time, though, she focused on smoking and actually getting to him. A native New Yorker and a celebrity to boot, she had no problems with nudging and elbowing and twisting through the throngs of people to try and get a glimpse of a orange mop of hair attached to a gangly, pointy body. A bony body she had every intention of drawing into a big-ass bear hug that lasted long enough to be plenty awkward.
It was going to be great.
Squeezing Rogue's hand back, the green haired rocker caught the red feathers a second later and just about raced through the crowd. The brunette beat her to the punch where hugging was concerned, leaving Ali to finish off her cigarette and grind it under her shoe. The smell of smoke hung around her and she exhaled a fountain of it in the moments leading up to her access to the bassist.
"You asshole!" Al slugged his bicep with a punch firm enough to smart before she pulled him in for a hug and had to resist the urge to cry. Nope. No crying here. She was a badass rockstar. Crying over seeing your friend in one piece was for chumps. After a long enough hug to constitute 'awkward', just like she wanted, the New Yorker pulled away. "Next time we're gonna put one'a us on a child leash. I don't care who, but next apocalypse we sure as shit aren't gettin' separated again."
Jay had been drifting in and out of consciousness since the damage he’d taken. It had been hours since the attack had ended, and still he wasn’t awake, not fully. The SHIELD medics weren’t sure what to do with him, because aside from involuntary actions, he resembled a comatose individual, though his brain activity was far more involved than someone in that condition. There’d been a time where they thought he’d been gone, but almost as quickly he came back from the brink.
For Jay, dying again wasn’t exactly a thrilling thing, though at this point it felt like a half remembered dream. Death seemed annoyed with his type of people, only saying ‘You’re here again?’ when he’d showed up. Or was that from the first time? It all seemed to run together, though he was lucky that this sort of damage had only happened twice to him. That was more than enough in his opinion.
He supposed only Logan or other people like them would ever understand what that meant. When he finally came to the first time, he could see no one he recognized near him. He drifted back and forth, noticing that his wings were still out, and even after all the damage had disappeared in a physical sense, the wing that had taken that shot felt like crap still, and so did he. He felt worse after he tried moving it slightly and felt horrible pain from trying that.
Also it seemed while his wing was damaged, he couldn’t pull them back. Considering that it had been harder and harder to not keep his wings out anymore, he wasn’t sure they would go back this time, even after they healed. But all he wanted to do was go back to sleep again. Seemed like the attack was over, and Earth was still here and so was everyone else, so that part was good.
He had stayed mostly in the medical tents, wondering where Ali was. He was slightly worried about her, but with her abilities, he figured that the Chitauri were more likely smoking from the ridiculous amount of light she emitted. He had barely enough time to gather his thoughts too much, as even walking was taking a lot of focus. This was before he was bombarded by Rogue nearly tackling him, to an awkward movement that left her arms dangling around and over his neck before somehow managing to turn the normal moment into an actual hug, before being released and given a kiss on the cheek from Rogue. Jay had the slow reaction to noticing he’d just been touched and kissed by Rogue and nothing was happening.
“Did somethin’ happen while ah was away?” Jay said, focusing on that, because it was something for him to focus on. “Ah’m flattered ya think so.” Jay said, though it was a little weaker than normal. He was glad Rogue and Ali were alright, noticing Ali was standing just behind Rogue, before Rogue stepped away and Ali stepped up, only to slug him in the arm. Jay didn’t even get a chance to react to that beyond a slight grunt of pain, he was pulled in for another hug, this one lasting a lot longer than was probably necessary
“Ah’m alright. Are you okay?” Jay said. Well, he felt like crap, but he didn’t feel like mentioning it. “Ah say ‘not it’ on tha’ note.” Jay responded. “Besides, Ah think tha Earth is about done wit’ apocalypses.” Jay said. He hoped, anyway. “So, Ah’m assumin’ things went pretty good fer tha human race side o’ things?” Jay said, looking around. He was trying not to move his wings too much, since even jostling his injured one hurt quite a bit.
The longer it took for Rogue’s connections to come up with an answer to her questions in regards to the whereabouts of their ginger-winged friend, the more calm she became. Perhaps she was crashing from all of the energy she’d absorbed throughout the day. No, this didn’t quite feel the same. That usually involved an outrageous amount of mental and physical exhaustion. Right now, only the latter seemed to be affecting her.
That wicked mental acuity helped spur her body into motion the moment word reached her of Jay’s location. She wasted no time grabbing the chain-smoking rockstar, pulling her into a quick hug of excitement, and bolting in the given direction with Ali’s free hand firmly clasped in her own. Jay wasn’t terribly close, but Rogue refused to give up control of her friend’s hand unless she absolutely needed it - say, to light another cigarette, for example. Thankfully, Ali seemed to either comprehend Rogue’s need to remain physically aware of her loved ones so she never had to fight to find a hand again. Or maybe Ali needed Rogue’s grasp just as much as the southerner needed hers.
“Depends how long ya were away,” she answered, clinging a bit longer than she’d originally anticipated before laying a big wet one on the bassist’s cheek and letting Ali at him. It had been quite awhile since she’d gotten to see Jay, but the fact that she’d gained control of her life-sucking abilities in that time didn’t occur to the mutant. “Ya didn’t happen t’miss the big alien invasion, didya?” she chuckled, silently noting each and every wound she could see on the young man’s body. No, he certainly hadn’t missed the invasion, of that she was sure. Maybe he’d suffered a head injury, though…
Rogue winced outwardly with Jay as Ali’s fist connected with his shoulder. That had to smart, especially given how utterly exhausted the flying type looked right now. At least Ali was kind enough to follow up her punch with an awkwardly long hug, which left Rogue’s lips tweaked upward in a knowing grin. She may look like nothing more than a rebellious deviant, but Alison Blaire was nothing if not one of the fiercest maternal instincts Rogue had ever encountered.
“Ah fer one’m hopin’ there ain’t gonna be a next apocalypse,” she drawled, her eyes skimming the area. Jay looked about ready to collapse, standing there, like a tall Raggedy Andy doll. Once she found something suitable, she mumbled an ‘scuse me’ before darting away. When she returned a few seconds later, she clutched a portable stool and set it down beside the winged mutant. Bringing both bare hands up, she wrapped them gently around Jay’s arm, careful to avoid any outward injuries, in order to help him onto the chair. “Take a load off, sugah. Now… Why ain’t you healin’ all fast-like, hmm? Thought that was part’a yer schtick,” she clucked, her eyes skimming over the mutant’s body again.
Post by Z inactive alisonblaire on May 28, 2016 9:12:01 GMT
“First kiss in awhile, Jay?” She teased.
Her Kentucky Fried Bassist was about as cute as they came, touching his cheek like some kinda Captain America, grade-a virgin. All taken aback and wide eyed after Soucom planted one on him. It was so fucking precious that she was pretty sure her heart was going to burst in her chest and she’d wind up being the dead one in all this. But then again, maybe that was the serious amount of relief she was feeling knowing that Jay was in one, solid piece instead of done in by an alien.
Jay was her family. Bedazzled was her family. The thought of being without any of the band members was enough to use as fuel whenever she needed to get through tearjerker performances for her parts in flicks. But Jay was the one she was closest to of all. Maybe it was a bit… bizarre or whatever considering she’d met the guy last of all of ‘em, but that was the way it was. And she was pretty fucking shit at the whole introspection and reflection and all that stuff that might’ve explained why she liked him better than the rest.
Grinning still ear to ear and with some heartache, she was overjoyed for her opportunity to slug the bastard and pull him into a bear hug.
“‘M a lot better now that I know you aren’t pushin’ up daisies in a shallow ditch somewhere,” her voice was tight and broke once at the thought, but she was still smiling. Even if it felt like a world-class punter just ran up and dropkicked her into the diaphragm and she’d swallowed a fistful of glass at the same time. Nope. Nope. She wasn’t going to cry. She just needed to look up for a minute, closer her eyes and… yep. Okay. She was better.
“Guess a leash’d go with my look,” she laughed, finding it genuinely easy despite the rawness to her voice. “What? ‘Re ya fuckin’ kidding me? We seem t’be havin’ more an’ more apocalypses these days. Don’t think it’ll be long before we’re having some kinda summers smorgasbord.” The last eight years saw a marked increase in cataclysmic, world-threatening events and it seemed like there was no slowing down.
“Well, we aren’t welcomin’ our new alien overlords, so yeah, I’d say they went pretty decent.” The green haired woman replied with a wink, throwing as impish an expression as she could manage while she was still all kinds of elated that he was alive. Long and short? Not very impish looking. “Lemme get a look at you.” Sidling up to him but keeping enough space for Mittens to access him, Ali began to carefully poke and prod and inspect him for really bad injuries.
During all that, Rogue slipped off and came back with a portable stool which she sat Jay down onto. Fussing over him was a good start, but he still looked weak, and there had to be something that she could do for him. “You want me t’try an’ grab you some food, babe? What about you, Mittens? I can do a quick food run while you two catch up.”
“Ah know it sounds crazy, but Ah’m with a worldwide famous band. We do go on tour at times and are away from New York.” Jay whispered conspiratorially to Rogue. “Nah, though Ah think they should’ve canceled. Don’ seem ta be very popular.” Jay joked. It was something to focus on other than the immense pain. SHIELD medics did not exactly have experience with wings at all, so naturally they’d called in a vet or wildlife rescue type of person.
His right wing was pretty messed up, though thankfully not broken within the bone. Sort of. It had been more like if he’d gotten shot though his wing, but the beam had taken out his ability to fly and had sheared off the skin and some of the muscle.
On the outside, it was bandaged despite the skin and feathers already starting to regrow. No one could quite figure out why he wasn’t regenerating as fast; it was clear that he was still regenerating, but Jay had taken quite a bit of damage. SHIELD’s best guess was that he’d just taken too much damage for him to heal as fast as usual, but they really didn’t know.
Jay supposed the next place to go would be to Xavier’s; if anyone could figure out what was making his powers go wonky, it was the professor. “Ah’m fine.” Jay muttered as he was pushed into the stool despite his weak protest. Jay attempted to shrug and then winced as the movement aggravated the wound on his shoulder and wing. “Ah dunno. Guess it must be time ta pay a visit ta yer school again.” Jay mentioned, despite having dropped in several weeks ago.
Where else was there to go to figure out what was going on? And moreover, who else? Ali teased him about being kissed on the cheek by Rogue and then bear hugged (well, pretty much. That hug had lasted and awkwardly long time.) “Yer so mean, makin’ fun o’ chaste men like me. Ah’t tha injured party here, don’ Ah get any support.” Jay said, grinning back to indicate he was still joking.
This did put some things into perspective, though. He really needed sole custody of Blair; he’d almost died and left the kid in charge of her mother. Julia was….well, she’d shown herself to be extremely emotionally unstable. The problem was that she knew he was a mutant, and could potentially use that against him in the court, though strictly by law, Jay knew that there was nothing that would actually be able to be done. But it would sow discontent and probably make the jury even more willing to deny him custody. Male and mutant; could it really get any worse than that?
Well, he assumed it could. Ali was definitely relieved he was alright, and he could say he felt the same way about her. Ali was part of his ever growing huge family, as was the band. Speaking of which, what the heck was going on with his numerous siblings? He felt like he should check up on them.
“Well, Ah’ll assure ya that it takes a lot more’n aliens ta keep me down.” Jay responded with, because it was mostly true. Ali seemed to pause for a minute before continuing on. “Can’t deny that,” Jay added, smiling despite everything else that had happened.
“That’ll make touring a bit more difficult than normal, Ah imagine.” Jay added, though he was agreeing more with Rogue. The less world threatening events there were, the better. It’d be good for all these crazy events to stop for a bit. Maybe for a good five years or so, but it was true. More and more crazy stuff started happening; even back in Cap’s days of WWII things were crazy.
“True. Once again, man triumphs ova tha aliens. Or some such thing.” Jay said, adding, “Ah neva was real big on science fiction.” Ali was continuing to grin like an idiot, and everything finally seemed to be okay. “Ah tol’ ya, Ah’ fine.” Jay protested, pausing for a minute. “Well, as fine as Ah can be.” He said, as Ali poked and prodded at him. Most of the injuries had cleared up in the hours since he’d been asleep and dreaming, but some of the smaller scratches were still there.
His wing and shoulder were the most busted up parts of him, and the slowest to heal. They were healing, but even after this many hours, it didn’t seem like his ability to fly with his wings had come back yet. They were still too injured, and it was really hard to gauge on when things would be better again, at least from the limited information on mutants possessed by those here.
Food. Oh, goodness food. The IV bag hadn’t done much but keep him stable. “Yes, please. As much as you can, Ah’m famished. Feel like eating three feasts already.” Jay stated, the hunger gnawing at him, now that he was focused on it and not the pain of his body, which was actually duller than it should be.
Like many, Jay was ridiculously drug resistant to the point of none of them being able to affect him, including painkillers. It was not fun at all, Jay could say. While Rogue and Ali were still fussing over him, he did ask for his phone. He needed to check up on the rest of his family, aside from his three siblings here in New York. He was certain that they were probably fine, and if they weren’t, he’d know by the time they got to the institute.
Turning to the injured boy, Rogue lifted both eyebrows in mock surprise. “A world famous band? Ya don’ say…” Unsure who he thought should have cancelled, she instead shot Jay a wink in response before stepping back to allow Ali some room to man-handle her bassist while Rogue got a better look at the bigger picture.
She was mostly distracted at first. Watching Ali and Jay interact in the aftermath of the battle was heartwarming. Jay hadn’t joined the band until Bedazzled was a household name, but even if she hadn’t already known Ali’s older sister-esque affection towards the bassist, she would now. Seriously, though, it was almost sickeningly sweet, though that tended to be a theme when it came to anything involving the Guthrie kid. Unlike some of his siblings, he was just naturally sweeter than even her Aunt Carrie’s sweet tea - and damn did Aunt Carrie looove simple syrup.
After a few moments - during which she’d begun to stare almost obscenely at the sweet moment - she finally blinked and began to scour Jay’s bodies, noting each and every misplaced feather. One of his wings was shot all to hell. She was no veterinarian, but it didn’t take a medical professional to see that the crimson coating the bandage wasn’t the same as that of his wings. He was bleeding still. Profusely. Jesus. Wasn’t he supposed to be a quick healer, like Logan?
“If yer fine, Ah’m a monkey’s uncle,” Rogue responded to Jay’s complaint as she suggested he utilize the stool she’d got for him. “An’ Ah can’t really get outta this get-up easy, but Ah ken assure you Ah ain’t nobody’s uncle.” She just wasn’t wired that way. Or plumbed. Or… She just didn’t have the right parts. “The Academy?” Why did he want to go to the Academy finally? Maybe to see his siblings. Or… “Thank the Professor’ll know why ya ain’t healin’ up like normal?”
If anyone could figure out the reason behind a mutant misfire, it was Charles Xavier.
Rogue felt her cheeks light up instantly as Ali’s words registered in her mind. An impish grin followed the momentary look of embarrassment and she stepped closer to the singer in order to dig a gentle elbow into the other woman’s ribs good-naturedly. “It weren’t nothin’ more’n a peck on the cheek, Al. Ah’m sure’e gets more’n that while y’all are on tour, hmm?” she retorted, shooting the bassist a quick wink.
At the mention of food, Rogue perked up nearly instantaneously. How long had it been since she’d eaten anything? She’d opted out of breakfast this morning, in lieu of sleeping in (the day before had been hell in a hand basket). Then the Professor had called her and given her the gift of this swanky new outfit. And then… well… Hell on Earth: Round Two had begun.
“Yer a goddess among us mere mortals,” Rogue drawled, very nearly drooling at the mere thought of food. “Ah dunno if this’s normal fer ya post-nova, ‘r if Ah’m just horrible at bein’ a livin’, breathin’ human cuz Ah don’t eat sometimes… but Ah swear’ta you, Alison Blaire - if ya bring me food, Ah jus’ might drop’ta one knee an’ ask fer yer hand.”
If she brought red velvet cupcakes, Rogue wouldn’t bother asking.
Thankfully, Rogue highly doubted the possibility for the latter, so she didn’t bother voicing that opinion. Instead, she turned back to Jay, who’d managed to get himself his cell while Rogue confessed her (mostly) fake feelings to Ali. Offering the bassist a small smile, Rogue dropped down into a crouch by his side and sighed. “So, ‘sides bein’ a bonafide hero’a the world, what’s new with you, darlin’? Feels like Ah ain’t seen ya in ferever.”
Post by Z inactive alisonblaire on May 29, 2016 8:12:40 GMT
"Y'goin' t'see your fam?" Ali asked when the Academy was brought up. Ordinarily she would've been cautious about outing the guy, but Soucom was already in the know, and with those wings out and about he wasn't exactly fooling anyone. Thank fuck the city was too buggered and relieved that they weren't under Thanos' control to start with the anti-mutant hate spiel bullshit.
"Aww, poor baby. What me t'kiss it better?" She waggled her blonde brows in an over exaggerated fashion, grin breaking a few waggles in. Okay, yeah, no. Of the bandmates, Jay wasn't the one that she'd have a go with. There was just one of them. And that was a whole 'nother kind of complicated and shitty and no one needed to know about it. She already felt bad enough that her bandmates had to deal with some of those occasional situations, she'd never even thought about unloading.
He was comfortable. And so, so bad for her romantically. And she was bad for him. It was fucked. She'd just as soon go stag and stay the course with Jay. Hopefully love would sneak up on her bassist sooner rather than later, but until then she'd be single with him in solidarity. Also because most people she ended up being actually, seriously attracted to ended up being the worst possible fit. Boyfriends (or girlfriends) and settling down and all that crap could come later.
"Damn well better. I'd call that Strange guy an' have 'im pull ya from beyond the grave just so I could kick your ass for dyin'." The green haired woman grinned. And while she was joking, she felt somewhat serious in her strong, strong conviction that he not die. If need be, she'd go Ellen Ripley on the entire world just to keep what little, weird bit of family she had left. "Maybe we can institute some kinda quota per faction so no one can attack us more than once a decade, max..." Ali trailed off in playful thought, still just so relieved to have the kid alive. She kinda wanted to avoid drawing attention to all of her fuzzy, lovey family feelings right now, though, so talking seemed the way to go.
Even if her voice was all tight.
"Yeah, pretty much. Humans kinda seem t'be the uber-unstoppable badasses against superior threats." It was a trope of science fiction for sure. Overwhelming alien empire that outclassed and outnumbered the humans, and yet somehow humanity prevailed anyway. This time around, though, she could especially get behind the cliched ending. Hopefully Thanos had his ass kicked hard enough that he wouldn't come back around for a good while... if ever.
Deciding to take a more thorough inspection of him, she'd found that most of his injuries were all patched up. But some weren't. And those ones that weren't were really, really, really damn bad. Bad enough that she pressed her lower lip between her teeth and felt her heart ache. God damn it. His wing was so awful it was hard to even look at. "... 'M sorry, hon. Things were fine in DC. I shouldn't've gone off on my own." He'd be fine and in one piece if she hadn't. Instead of all bruised up and agonized looking.
Food seemed a way to make it up to him. And also to keep her mind off the horrible, horrible guilt. Damn it. And while Rogue's mark about proposing was appreciated, the smile in response didn't meet Ali's eye.
"Alright. I'll be back soon. Y'guys sit tight an' try not t'do any more world savin' without me, kay?" Planting a quick peck on Jay's cheek, she went off in search of mountains of food. Her pace was like that of a true New Yorker, and to keep herself focused she started humming 'Welcome to the Jungle' under her breath.
@jay you guys can go a round or so without me since I imagine it'd take a bit to gather up food
Jay just grinned at Rogue’s response before turning to address Ali. “Ah probably should.” Jay said. He’d realized he’d jeopardized everything here too, without anything to obscure his identity and his wings now out constantly. Found footage was unlikely and most of the SHIELD Agents didn’t seem anti-mutant, or if they were, they were very good at keeping it concealed. “Ah mean, Ah know pretty much everyone else is safe; s’not like they hit tha farm.” So Jeb, Ray, his mother and Unlce and the Twins were fine. The band was fine. He didn’t know about his three siblings here, or Elizabeth, Joelle, or Lewis.
Them he was more concerned about. Paige and Sam were very good at keeping themselves and others safe, and Melody could probably outstrip and get far higher than any Chitauri that might have gotten in her way. Well, he did worry a little. But not as much as most people did. He knew what his family was like. If possible, Jay did seem to be a tad embarrassed about that. “Unless ya got healin’ spit, Ah think Ah’m good.” Jay responded with. Ali was attractive, he’d would say that and he liked her but thinking of her romantically? It wasn’t in him. He thought of her more as the older sister he never had in the first place.
Rogue then butt in after he’d tried to reassure them that he was fine. “It’s only ah flesh wound.” Jay grumbled, sliding into quotes which was not something he did often. What more could SHIELD even do for him? He told them that they were welcome to try what they could but other than setting his wing and trying to stop the bleeding, they weren’t anymore equipped to deal with this than he was. Rogue then pushed him into a chair and then went on to explain why she couldn’t be anyone’s uncle and he chuckled a bit at that.
“Got it.” Jay said. Who else would know or had the capabilities to know? Magneto or the Brotherhood? Aside from clashing with them interest wise, they didn’t have the resources the Professor did. If anyone could figure out what was up, it was him. Although Ali was joking, yeah he wasn’t bringing up shot gun to the chest anytime soon. That had healed slowly too, though still faster than these wounds were. No need to add to her stress levels. “Sounds like a good plan, Ah like it.” Jay joked back. “Seems like we’re proving it right.” Though the saviors of the world had not been only the humans. It had been everyone who lived on or had pledged themselves to the protection of Earth.
He doubted this would help with anti-mutant feelings, but one could always hope that the majority saw them as heroes now. Not mutants, not something different. Just a little more human than human. Jay seemed to turn a bit pink at that and shook his head a little, declining to indulge in this conversation. Ali looked him over as well.
“S’fine. Ah had worse.” Jay said. Okay, well….this was pretty bad and messed up but still. “It ain’t yer fault. Ah coulda easily gone outta my way ta stay outta this, an’ Ah didn’t.” Jay added. He was really hard on himself for people he couldn’t help, but he didn’t hold everyone else to those standards. He was determined to stay awake for a while, for their sakes. Even though all he wanted to do was actually sleep some more. Or eat, when the mention of food was brought up.
Rogue tried to lighten the mood about eating, though Jay wasn’t sure if it was based on trying to make Ali feel better or just the desire to eat all the food, because for him the desire to eat was overwhelming. “Can do.” Jay replied as Ali walked away, searching for food for the pair of them.
“Ah ain’t a hero; Captain America’s a hero. Ah’m jus’ tryin’ ta help where Ah can.” Which he supposed was what the Captain did, still. The morose thought was that people actually thanked the man for saving them, instead of swearing or chanting anti-mutant sentiments at people like the X-men who saved them. Aside from the General from DC, who had apparently decided that having a woman who could make laser light cannons with her mind and who was protecting the monuments was a good thing.
Jay swore General Powell also had a Bedazzled soundtrack going at some point, or that could’ve just been his fanciful imagination. “Well, Ah’ do have work ta do. Nothin’s really changed all that much. Workin’ on a new song. Well, at least Ah’m doing tha music.” Jay added. Lyrics? Not really his thing. He’d written a total of five songs, and all of those had been with help from other people around them.
“Ya seem ta have a lotta news goin’ on too. Ya still haven’t told me why ya ain’t, uh...wearin’ yer gloves. Ah assume somethin’ happened there.” Jay mentioned. It didn’t sound like she’d lost her powers, but he didn’t know what else it could be. After that, he planned to call home and check up on everyone.
“Ah actually came from the Academy,” Rogue offered, turning her gaze to the bassist. “All the Guthries were there an’ ‘counted fer ‘fore Ah hit the road with mah team. Ah thank they were part’a the Stay Here An’ Keep The Kidlets Safe squad, so ‘less Thanos hit Westchester, Ah ken only assume they’re all in one piece still.” Her own team had since left for the mansion again, as had all of the other units. A few mutants had stayed in the city either to check on loved ones, or help with the clean-up (herself included), but they were the minority where the X-Men and older students who’d chosen to come were concerned.
At the notion of healing spit, Rogue arched one eyebrow lazily and turned to cast an assessing gaze on the woman. “Ah don’ remember anythin’ like that…” she drawled, smirking. She’d absorbed Ali’s powers a grand total of twice now. The first time had been fleeting and confusing in no small part thanks to the fact that she’d just broken her arm and had no clue the woman attempting to help her was a mutant. At least this time, she’d known what she was getting into and had managed to prepare herself for the onslaught of powers, memories, and psyche.
Even so, there’d been no way to properly anticipate just how much power she’d be getting from Ali. That woman, when going all out, was like a fucking supernova. Talk about a rush! Glancing over towards the singer, Rogue licked her lips absently and had to swallow down the urge to reach out towards her with one ungloved hand. Maybe someday, she’d get the chance to try her powers on for size again. She could invite Ali to the mansion and they could go for a run through the Danger Room together. Or they could just sit on the lawn together, basking in the glory of their energy.
Clearing her throat, Rogue refocused her attention on the conversation at hand, and continued to combat the urge to snag more of that power again by going to find Jay something to sit on. The distance helped, and when she returned, she was back to her normal overly-concerned self. She even managed to keep her shit together when Ali got closer, intent on getting a better look at the winged mutant’s injuries.
“It ain’t no one’s fault but Thanos. Blamin’ ‘rsselves ain’t gonna help matters none. We all did what we had’ta, an’ the world’s still turnin’ with none’a us dead. He’ll heal. Ah know he will.” She had no doubt that Jay would pull through, and it showed in her face. He was plucky like that. The boy was stronger than his waifish form suggested, and it was that inner strength she was banking on now to come through and win the day where these horrid injuries were concerned.
While Jay agreed not to save the world any, Rogue shrugged in response. “Ah make no promises,” she grinned, but there was a creeping hint of exhaustion in her voice that suggested she wouldn’t move if she didn’t absolutely have to.
“That’s all Steve ever does, too,” she retorted to Jay’s argument. And she should know. She was friends with the good Captain, after all. “That’s all any’a us do. Try’ta help. ‘S what makes us heroes.” She’d never considered herself a hero before, but it’d be pretty damned hypocritical of her if she denied it here and now.
Rogue nodded as Jay began to answer the rest of her question, a pleasant smile tugging at her lips as he mentioned music. Ali had helped her write a song almost a year ago. It had been her first and last foray into the music writing world. “Music’s good. Ah hope Ah get t’hear this song’a yers,” she mused. Her muscles were beginning to feel more than a little fatigued, so she shifted her weight from one leg to the other as Jay continued.
“Me? Oh… Oh!” A blush filled her pale cheeks as she realized Jay didn’t know. She’d told Ali, and perhaps she’d just assumed Al would pass the word along. Then again, it wasn’t Ali’s news to share, so that’s probably why she’d refrained. Ali was polite like that. “Shit… Uhh… Where do Ah begin?...” she chuckled, biting her lip. Did she start with her lessons with Sigyn, an Asgardian? Or maybe the visit to Asgard. No, it was probably best to start with the fall from the Helicarrier, right? That was where the whole story began.
“Long story, short, Ah… learned how’ta control mah powers,” she said, wiggling her fingers and turning both hands over in front of herself as if she still couldn’t believe her luck. “Happened ‘bout a year ago. Ended up gettin’ real hurt, an’ got whisked off’ta Asgard. Fer the record, they, uhh… didn’ make the best first impression.”
To this day, the thought of Baldr and Odin still made her blood boil somewhat. She didn’t think there was any of Amalroos’s psyche still lingering in the back of her mind, but he’d been the first person over three thousand years old to be absorbed by her touch. Being permanently affixed to such a strong emotion as his disdain towards the Aesir wouldn’t exactly be shocking to Rogue, but it did seem a tad unfair to the Asgardians.
Oh well. Everyone else loved them. If she was the only one on Earth who didn’t care for the people of the Golden Realm, so be it. “One’a them helped me. She’s prob’ly the only one’a them Asgardians Ah even care fer. ”
Her son, Vali, wasn’t too bad either, but Rogue didn’t bother mentioning that for now.
Oh good. That only left three to check up on, then. Jay nodded; made perfect sense for Paige, from what he’d gathered about her current profession. Sam and Melody would also probably listen. Well Sam would, Melody was more of a free spirit. But they were all accounted for so that was great. Jay looked really confused at Rogue looking over at Ali and grinning….which meant that she had to have absorbed some of Ali’s memories and powers at some point. At least, that’s what he assumed she meant with her words.
Could be referencing an in-joke he knew nothing about. “Well, he did sorta attack all o’ New York this time ‘round.” Jay mentioned. He wouldn’t be surprised if there had been attacks that far up. There were reports of attacks happening all the way over on State Island, for crying out loud. Having Chitauri attack Westchester wasn’t that big of a stretch. The worry about all of these things gnawed at him, almost as much as his hunger did. He didn’t recall ever being this hungry before. Reminded him of the time his mother had brought home ice cream sandwiches and all of them had almost toppled her over trying to get to them.
Rogue gave the standard inspiring speech that seemed to happen with every hero group any time the Earth was attacked. Did being in danger just bring out the best in people, or something? Anyway, his powers weren’t exactly suited for fighting. He was better at rescue work, he assumed. He hadn’t ever tried that either. Still, he would do what he could. What else could anyone ask of him.
“Ah hope so too.” Jay said, really hoping that he wasn’t outed. Neither Ali nor the bandmates would kick him out for being a mutant, that was for sure. But it wouldn’t help Bedazzled at all either. What a world they lived in. Rogue finally seemed to realize that Jay wasn’t exactly on the up and up on happenings at the mansion. Rogue went into a story...that wasn’t much of a story.
“Yah went ta Asgard?” Jay asked her, astounded by that fact. That was pretty awesome, but then it seemed like they weren’t great? She was definitely skipping over larger portions of this story here. He didn’t speak for what she’d experienced, but considering that Asgardians had helped defend the Earth, it didn’t seem entirely right to judge them based on the actions of a few.
And coming from Rogue? It was also extremely hypocritical. But these were her life choices and he could only point out how silly that sounded. Judging an entire group of people based on the actions of a few was...really odd to him. Then again, that wasn’t a discussion to be having post battle, so he didn’t comment on it. Jeez, where was Ali with that food? He felt like he could eat a Horse. More than one, actually.
“Aside from that, my life hasn’t been all that interesting.” He wasn’t telling her about London. Nope, no way. Not happening. “Jus’ tours an’ music an’ recording.” He added. Ah, that was the life for him.
“‘ccordin’ t’the chatter, he was actually here. In Central Park,” she offered in an attempt to reassure the injured bassist. Rogue didn’t have a military mind by any means, but if she were an evil alien dictator, she wouldn’t send a bulk of her troops too far away when she planned on actually getting her hands dirty in the battle she’d started. “That blast that rocked the whole joint apparently had somethin’ t’do with it.” She still wasn’t entirely sure what had gone down there. The chatter on comms had been more than a little scattered. In a way, she was glad the only communication device she had in her ear was for the X-Men.
When Jay questioned Asgard, Rogue’s face dropped a bit. She wasn’t particularly fond of talking about that whole fiasco. Her fingers drifted up to rest over her ribcage as memories of the Golden Realm flooded her mind. Sighing, she shrugged in defeat and prepared to tell more of the story. “Hope yer comfy…” she mused, eyeing Jay to make certain he was before starting in on her ridiculous tale. “Ah thought their Prince was attackin’ someone Ah’d jus’ met, an’ so when he jumped off’a the SHIELD Helicarrier t’escape, Ah tried’ta stop him - by jumpin’ with him.” Not exactly her brightest move. “Thankfully ‘tween the two’a them - err, Amalroos ken manipulate shadows, so he sprouted wing thangs - we got slowed down enough an’ they kinda buffered mah landin’. But Ah still broke a few ribs an’ stuff.” It had not been a pretty sight.
“Durin’ the fall, Ah lost mah glove an’... so, Amal-- Prince Amalroos - is a Dark Elf. They’re uhh, well, they were here durin’ the attack. Ah thank he might be the reason they turned durin’ the battle. But so…” Glancing around, Rogue checked to see that no one was paying too close attention to their conversation while also seeing Ali was on her way back yet. Nope. She hadn’t actually expected the food run to be that quick, though. “So… Absorbin’ him kinda… Well, ya know how well Ah do with thirty years’ worth’a memories… multiply that by.. a lot, til ya get three thousand years’ worth’f ‘em…”
Had she mentioned that it wasn’t pretty yet? Because it wasn’t.
“Ah dunno what happened next, but next thang Ah know, Ah’m in Asgard with the Aesir who started the whole mess starin’ down at me. An’ then his dad - the King, Odin, that dude - comes bargin’ in, demandin’ t’know all kinds’a stuff. They got mighty presumptuous an’ Odin got more’n a little angry. Ah’m honestly surprised Ah didn’t come home with a stab wound from that spear’a his, the way he was lookin’ at me.” Staring down the King of Asgard had been her most ballsy and most terrifying moment in all of Rogue’s life. Hell, even now, she’d take an alien invasion over trying to stare down that one-eyed monarch again.
“The one good thang in all’a that, though, is Ah got introduced’ta Lady Sigyn. She’s the one that helped me learn’ta control mah powers. Ah’ve been glove-free fer… gawd… almost a whole year now.” And she had loved every minute since.
Hearing that Jay’s life had been somewhat on the dull side was a bit disheartening. At the same time, she envied the other mutant for the semblance of normality he’d managed to maintain. Offering him a tiny grin, Rogue let out a sigh and finally gave up on standing. With a small grunt, she let herself fall butt-first onto the ground in front of his stool and, wrapping her arms around her knees, smiled up at the winged young man. “Ah ken honestly say Ah’m pretty jealous’a you. Ain’t a day goes by Ah don’t miss the music an’ the road an’ all’a the people on tour.”
As long as she was doing something good with herself, and her powers, though, she could live with her not-so-normal life.
Jay shrugged; but then if he was an evil dictator, he probably wouldn’t be the one coming down and doing the actual fighting. But supposing on whether or not Thanos had been here (or not) was not something he cared to focus too much on. He hadn’t heard anything, but then he hadn’t been listening to the SHIELD people for the hours he’d been ‘mostly dead’ to unconscious to now. Even before then, he didn’t have any sort of team thing to talk with. Might be useful so he could stay in contact with Ali when cell phones would be impractical.
Jay looked down at the chair and then pointedly looked at Rogue on that comment. ‘Comfy’ he was not. He did manage to resist the urge to be a smartass in return; Rogue was trying her best, he was sure. She was probably also trying to cheer him up. As the story went on, though, he had to wonder. “Ah’d think ya’d fit right in, what with tha not looking ‘fore ya leap thing.” Jay commented, before her story was finished.
Wasn’t SHIELD supposed to be full of Agents who could remain calm or some such thing. Rogue couldn’t even fly, not unless she’d like….just recently absorbed someone’s power. “Wing thangs?” Jay said. They were...well, wings of shadow. Which sounded like an awesome album or song title. Maybe not for Bedazzled though. More for a metal band. Or Emo...ish band. Whatever that was. Oh, the Atlantean people who were not Atlantean. Well, Atlantean looking anyway. It was very hard to focus right now, but he tried his best.
“That sounds unpleasant.” Could also explain some retained feelings and mannerisms. It had to be hard to remain yourself in the wake of overwhelming feelings and memories that were not your own. Hell, Jay didn’t know if he could do that, had he ended up with Rogue’s powers instead the set he’d gotten. He nodded a bit. So that was it. “But, since one o’ dem helped ya, don’ ya think yer bein’ a bit hard on all of them?” Jay said. He could see why she wouldn’t like them initially, of course.
But Jay was all about giving most people a second chance. There were very few people he felt that were set in their ways. “Yah could always come back, ya know.” Jay said with a grin. He liked his powers, sure. He wasn’t sure how they could really help anyone, besides making for an amazing one man play. Or flying because flying was fun. His life wasn’t full to the brim with adventure, but then it didn’t have to be. As long as there was music (and at this point, the band) he didn’t mind it so much.
The band. Oh right, family time. “S’cuse me a sec.” Jay mentioned, before dialing in to his mother. “Ma? Yeah, m’fine. How’s everyone else?” Jay asked, before getting answers on the line. Ray, Jeb, Elizabeth, and Lewis were fine. The twins were also alright. Joelle was. “She what?” Jay exclaimed, upon hearing that his baby sister had enrolled in SHIELD. Well, maybe it would help her out with her ambitions. He focused on getting the all clear from his family, including the siblings here, once his mother was done giving him all the news about Kentucky and the family and the farm.
Ah, normal life. Sometimes it did seem like it would be good to be the hero.
Post by Z inactive alisonblaire on Jun 23, 2016 6:20:37 GMT
Even without rushing off to make sure her Kentucky Fried Bassist was still in one piece, she had to elbow her way through the crowd. Nothing too hard, but definitely enough to make every native New Yorker proud. More than a few people tried to stop her along the way. With things settled down, a handful had recognized who she was (wasn't hard with the green hair), and word spread fast. People wanted autographs. And while she was ordinarily happy to oblige because she was literally jackshit without her adoring fans, she had people to feed. And her maternal instincts for her friends kinda trumped just about every other instinct she had.
But she still stopped to do a few autographs so she didn't appear to be a complete and total bitch. And apologized profusely to try and make them (and herself) feel better about not being able to hang around and schmooze and answer dumbass questions that fans always ended up having.
Covering as much ground as she could, she realized about halfway through the crowd that she hadn't bothered asking what the flying hell either of them wanted. Fuck me! She groaned to herself, taking a long drag from her mostly spent cigarette as she came to a stop. Running her fingers through her unruly, wavy locks she gave it a hard thought for a few beats. Sod it! She'd just load up and hit a few different places. There were enough food trucks around to join in on the victory celebration that she could probably get a few ethnic types plus the classic American.
A good bit later, she was bogged down with bags of food. She knew Jay ate like a bird--an actual fucking bird and not the stupid way the saying implied. He'd be able to put away his body weight, easy. And with both her and Rogue coming down from a serious power high, she was pretty sure their bodies were burning through calories like mad. And if there was extra food? Well, whatever. They could pack it up, save it for later or pass it on to other people while it was still halfway hot and enjoyable. Yeah, yeah. Probably the last one. Might as well let everyone make the most of her seventy bucks worth of food.
She wasn't really able to elbow her way back, since her arms were wrapped around all the food she'd ordered. Instead she had to carefully look around and over the bags and kinda shifted to the side. Thankfully, only a few autograph requests came this time. Most people were polite enough to see that she was busy and even if she wasn't, her arms were so damn full there was no way in hell she was signing off on anything. Doing some kind of tight square dance deal through the crowd, she eventually made her way back. It took a peering around, but the red wings helped again. Thank God Jay was nice and recognizable.
"'m all 'bout Mittens comin' back on the road with us," she spoke up as she put the food down around them. "Didn't know what ya guys wanted, so I just kinda loaded up. Think I mighta gone overboard. Whoops." Throwing a grin, she quieted herself down the moment Jay got a call. Not really believing in wasting time, she started opening bags and containers so everyone could get a look at what she had. Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Greek and classic American. Grabbing her chili cheese fries and a box of fried rice, Al took to eating more or less immediately.
Turning to Soucom, she murmured softly through a mostly-cleared mouth. "What'd I miss?"
Rogue tried her best to smile at Jay’s comment about fitting in with the Asgardians. Even if she agreed and thought she would fit in (something she barely even thought about herself when surrounded by her own kind - human and mutant, alike), she wasn’t entirely certain they’d even want her around them. She’d been more than a little uncooperative during their interrogation, and to this day, was not a fan of their Prince. Lady Sigyn had tried to convince her that Baldr was a wonderful man, and she didn’t doubt the Asgardian sorceress… but well, she couldn’t really explain it.
That whole situation had easily been one of her most traumatic experiences - it rivaled the experience that had earned her the white streak in her hair. In the haze of memories she had from the whole ordeal, Baldr’s face, and that of his angry father, Odin, stuck out exceedingly well.
“Yeah… Ah guess they were full on wings… But they were shadow, not physical. So… thangs…” If she tapped into the memories from the Prince she’d locked away, she could probably explain it better. But she was too drained for such a task. Hell, with every passing moment, she was feeling closer to too drained in general.
Rogue’s shoulders rose and fell in a shrug at the prospect of the whole fiasco being unpleasant. That was certainly one word to describe it. She could probably unload a veritable thesaurus of other adjectives at the ordeal, but there was no point to that. To be fair, though, she was finding it harder to believe there was a point to anything. There was definitely no point in keeping her shoulders flung back in pride, that was for sure, and as soon as the thought hit her brain, she slumped ever so slightly.
A tiny grunt brushed past Rogue’s lips at Jay’s next comment, and it took her a moment to finally respond. “It ain’t like Ah hang out with Asgardians all day, everahday,” she frowned. “Ah don’ like Baldr. An’ Ah don’ like Odin. Ah like Sigyn well enough, an’ her sons’re pretty nice. ‘Side from them, Ah ain’t met no more yet. Ah ‘ppreciate their help, but don’t mean Ah gotta go out an’ meet ‘em all’ta see if they’re anythin’ like their rulers. Ah reserve the right’ta dislike people, though, fer bein’ oversized, grade-A jerkwads.”
The prospect of going back on tour was a tempting one, but she’d already given the boys the go ahead to replace her. Besides, they weren’t touring with Bedazzled any time soon. Shaking her head, she avoided the winged mutant’s grin by looking down at the ground near her knees. “Band’s already on tour with a new manager,” she admitted with a shrug of defeat.
It was about that time Ali returned, her arms filled up with all kinds of goodies. Rogue could smell at least three separate food ethnicities, and wasn’t sure which one she wanted to partake in first. Only after the first ounce of drool began to form inside her mouth did she finally catch what the singer had actually said. “Ain’t y’all already got a tour manager? An’ a hand fulla helpful crew guys?” Rogue would love to go back on tour, but Bedazzled already had a crew.
As Jay requested some alone time - probably to phone home, judging by the cell in his hand - Rogue nodded and groaned as she forced her way back up to her feet. God, she was exhausted. Fighting the urge to blink heavily, she wandered away from the stool so that Jay could converse with his family without an awkward eavesdropper.
“Ain’t no such thing, darlin’,” she assured Ali, her stomach grumbling loudly in agreement as the smell of something spicy hit her nostrils. Indian. Licking her lips, Rogue snagged that container and a plastic utensil. It wasn’t soul food, but she could certainly use a bit of heat. Maybe it would help combat the total exhaustion filling her body currently.
With an unceremonious “hmmpphfff”, Rogue found herself seated on the tough concrete ground. It wasn’t comfortable by any means, but it beat standing. “Not much, ‘fraid. Ya want some funds fer all this, by the way? Ah ain’t got no money on me right now, ‘course.” The spandex suit didn’t have any pockets, and she’d purposefully left her wallet out of the bomber jacket, just in case. “Ah ken getcha back at the mansion later, if ya want.”
