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15:04, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided.

Posted by The WatcherFor group 0
Zoey Fujino
X-Men, 341 posts
Bio-Manipulation
Age: early twenties
Sat 29 May 2021
at 14:45
  • msg #106

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Zoey has fallen a bit silent as she considered the conversation thus far. She made it sound like she had something resembling a plan, but in reality she doesn't know how to build a house either. Not to mention all that legalese bullshit she'll have to jump through to have Kate live in with her. And then there's the whole vigilante thing... short of watching the news and picking out particularly fucked situations like the Ethan Myers incident or the whole nonsense regarding the Metawhatever Registration Act, she didn't know the first thing about finding Bad Guys to punish. And without X-Jets, their operational radius couldn't take them far out of New York State.

Her internal reverie was interrupted by a knocking.

"Oh, no..." Zoey groans softly. She'd been expecting this ever since her little explosion in the war room, but that didn't make the upcoming discussion any less pivotal or painful.

With a sigh Zoey stands and opens the door for the master of the mansion. "Glad to see you back on your feet, Professor," she greeted him. "Please, it's your house, come in."

Zoey flops on her bed, scattering a handful of unsorted figurines that haven't been stored away yet. "Let me guess, you're here to try and talk us out of leaving."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:00, Sat 29 May 2021.
Serena
X-Men, 126 posts
Sat 29 May 2021
at 19:20
  • msg #107

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Serena waits for Professor X to do whatever he's going to do. Zoey already said what Serena was going to say, and there was no reason to repeat it. She leans against the wall and fiddles with one of her twintails.
Kate Messer
X-Men, 349 posts
mid-teens
Sun 30 May 2021
at 06:14
  • msg #108

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Kate watches the professor from her spot in Zoey's desk chair.  The professor being up was, well odd especially since he hadn't been in the previous meeting.  Curiously she took in a deep whiff trying to catch his scent, just to be sure.  As she did her features sharpened a bit, going a bit more feral, more foxlike, as she didn't try to hold back the shift.

Still she wasn't glaring or regarding him with anger or recrimination.  Mostly she was just curious what he was doing here, now.  Like Zoey she had kind of expected this, or rather would have expected this if she had thought he was up to visiting.
Professor Charles Xavier
X-Men NPC, 53 posts
Sun 30 May 2021
at 19:16
  • msg #109

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Behind the door stood the Professor, on his own two feet; a dead giveaway that his presence at the room was nothing more than a mental projection.  A useful trick, considering his body was still intubated down below at the infirmary.

“That too” he answered Zoey “And to thank you for saving my life”

He paused to look at the girls before he would speak

“You all have justifiable reasons to leave.  I am asking you to stay, because we need you.  I need you.   The events of the last week has made this abundantly clear; the world was on the brink of destruction, had the Brotherhood been successful in their plans.”
Zoey Fujino
X-Men, 344 posts
Bio-Manipulation
Age: early twenties
Sun 30 May 2021
at 21:40
  • msg #110

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Zoey half-listens, mostly to see if she hears anything unexpected. She doesn't. This conversation is proceeding exactly as anticipated. She deploys the prepared response.

"And thank you for helping us learn to control our abilities, and offering us a place to stay as we learn who we are. I will forever be grateful for that. You saved my life and I saved your life and the life of one of yours; I believe my debt to have been repaid. All that keeps me here now is whether I believe in your cause. Unfortunately, I find that I cannot."

She sits up. "I do not believe that the X-Men are the advocates that metahumankind needs right now. I have been led to doubt the operational professionalism of your agents at every turn, and I really don't know if I want to maintain a strong association with one-half of an ongoing equation that, far as I can perceive, serves only to maintain a climate of fear, its leaders unwilling to take sufficient action to effect any real change."

Zoey frowns, then decides to extend an olive branch. "If, in the unlikely scenario you have a problem that only we can help with... we'll be nearby. I have no desire to see this world burn unnecessarily."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:41, Sun 30 May 2021.
Serena
X-Men, 129 posts
Mon 31 May 2021
at 03:03
  • msg #111

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Serena stares in disbelief and throws her hands up in the air.

"Are you kidding me? You're projecting a consistent illusion into three different peoples' heads at the same time, while in critical condition and shoved full of drugs, and you need us for something?"

She folds her arms under her breasts, leans against the wall again, and rolls her eyes.
Kate Messer
X-Men, 350 posts
mid-teens
Mon 31 May 2021
at 04:38
  • msg #112

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

In reply to Serena (msg # 111):

"Um, Professor, why don't you have those of us who can use our powers without fighting out showing people what good things we can do?  You know like Storm fixing weather, or you solving crimes, or reacting to fires and stuff.  I mean sure people like Scott or Gambit might only be able to fight so keeping them out of the way not to scare people is a good idea, but even Zoey could be great spending just one day a week at the hospital saving lives right?  Good press and stuff like that?"

She had been thinking about if a lot since the rants downstairs.  "Stopping terrorists is good but why not fight back where they aren't?  Show we can be better than just 'a good guy with a gun' cause doesn't that just convince everyone were dangerous more than we are helpful?  Otherwise wont they always hate us?"

Reading their minds, or at least surface thoughts as he is, its pretty clear that Kate doesn't really have nearly the pent up distrust or disgust of the others but she doesn't understand why he isn't trying more to change peoples minds when he can actually do just that.
Zoey Fujino
X-Men, 345 posts
Bio-Manipulation
Age: early twenties
Mon 31 May 2021
at 06:30
  • msg #113

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

"Scott could single-handedly drive a laser-ablation spacecraft by his lonesome without having to solve that pesky power source problem. Think of it: thirty-day round trip travel to Mars! Plus it would get his judgmental ass out of everyone's hair for months at a time."

"But yes, Kate brings up a good point."
Zoey must not have noticed it was Serena originally who raised the topic in the War Room. To be fair, she was having a breakdown at the time! "I think you're all too focused on being superheroes like in the comic books. It's easier and more fun to punch evil than to cut it off from its roots. Real heroism is like gardening, not boxing, and you're trying to do it organically when that's not sustainable on modern... scales... gods, I am bad at metaphors!"

Blunt metaphors trauma, aaaa~! They make sense in my head, I swear!
This message was last edited by the player at 17:56, Mon 31 May 2021.
Professor Charles Xavier
X-Men NPC, 54 posts
Mon 31 May 2021
at 18:18
  • msg #114

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

“Because if Storm was away reclaiming the Sahara, or Cyclops on his way to Mars, then they wouldn’t have been present to stop the Brotherhood from procuring plutonium.  Or the Blob from rampaging through the streets of Seattle.  Or a dozen other catastrophes that were averted at the very last minute, this year alone”

Not to mention their roles as teachers to the next generation of mutants. Entrusting them with morals. Accountability. Teaching them to control their powers, so that the number of calamities diminishes in the more distant future.

“Last night was another near-disaster, but we pulled through, together.  Your actions saved three lives.  The mansion remains standing.  We will recover, learn from our mistakes, and move forward with our mission to protect humanity.  I want you to be a part of it”
Zoey Fujino
X-Men, 346 posts
Bio-Manipulation
Age: early twenties
Mon 31 May 2021
at 18:56
  • msg #115

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Zoey sighs, frustrated. Not with Xavier, but with the situation as a whole. "The X-Men almost died out yesterday because of one little incident. What would your legacy have been then? What's your plan for when the next SaberRogue punches your entire face off? You think anyone else here could run the Institute?"

She covers her face with her hands and sighs once more into them. Takes a deep breath. Maybe pulls her hair just a little bit. "Look. I get what you're saying. I'm sure you think you're doing the best you can with the resources you have available, and I'm not prepared to tell you you're definitely wrong. But from what I have seen I don't think this is the best route for me. I don't like fighting. Kate has been consistently outclassed by the threats we've been facing. And Serena... Serena, um..."

Zoey falters and looks over at the beauty of mass destruction, appraising her. Serena's abilities seemed well-suited to X-Men work, and she certainly enjoyed blowing the shit out of things. Put a less morally ambiguous situation than No Man's Island in front of her and she'd probably enjoy being a crazy-powerful magical girl shooting heart-shaped bombs at rampaging kaiju. "I have to admit, I'm not entirely sure what's driving you away from the X-Men. If they had more people like you they might have the resources to spare to do the things we're criticizing them of not. That mutant prison was a rough first job but they can't all be like that."
Serena
X-Men, 131 posts
Mon 31 May 2021
at 20:58
  • msg #116

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Serena tightens her grip on herself as the conversation plays out.

She's much quieter than usual. "Kate isn't the only one who's been outclassed. We're all obviously and totally out of our league."

She starts to sniffle. "I thought I was special, but I'm not. Not even a little bit. I wanted to be a heroine, somebody important. But I'm not, and I'm never going to be, not here, not in this stupid hothouse environment. I thought I could learn something here, maybe get stronger, so I could be like Sailor Moon. Or Captain America. Or Thor, Iron Man, Dr. Strange. But I can't. I thought it was my destiny, but I'm never going to be on that level. Every time I turn around, I'm confronted with yet another reminder of how weak and insignificant I am."

She slides to the floor and hugs her knees to her chest, tears starting to flow. "At least out there, I won't have to be reminded of that over and over and over and over again."

The events of the past few days have beaten her down thoroughly, and her sobbing is transforming into outright weeping. She manages to get out a few more words in between the tears.

"At least Zoey pays attention to me and doesn't treat me like a burden."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:01, Mon 31 May 2021.
Zoey Fujino
X-Men, 347 posts
Bio-Manipulation
Age: early twenties
Mon 31 May 2021
at 21:12
  • msg #117

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Zoey wasn't sure what kind of response she was expecting, but she got way more than that. She migrates down to the floor next to Serena and cautiously hugs the larger girl around the shoulders. She doesn't really get the physical intimacy thing but knows most people find it reassuring/soothing/not-bad and hopes this helps Serena.
Kate Messer
X-Men, 351 posts
mid-teens
Tue 1 Jun 2021
at 03:27
  • msg #118

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Kate blinks a little.  "Can't someone else do that though?  While only Storm can save the Sahara?  I mean, you can stop blob can't you?"    She gives a little shrug.  "It just seems like a bad mix of labor."

But when Serena started going off Kate just looked uncomfortable.  She wasn't quite sure what all the other older woman could do.  It seemed like she could do almost anything, but they had never really talked about it, not that she had talked about it with Zoey either, but... well that was maybe more obvious.  "Serena, you're really powerful.  I mean, you can fly and shoot lasers, and make shields and more... you just need practice and you'll be big league."
Serena
X-Men, 132 posts
Tue 1 Jun 2021
at 06:34
  • msg #119

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Serena leans against Zoey but continues sobbing into her own arms, rather than Zoey's shoulder. Her reply to Kate is muffled and indistinct, but Serena's feelings of frustration, disappointment, and existential horror and despair may as well be spotlights shining right into Kate's brain.
Kate Messer
X-Men, 352 posts
mid-teens
Tue 1 Jun 2021
at 13:31
  • msg #120

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Well that was pretty much that for trying to reason with the girl, so Kate did the next best thing, she squirmed out of suddenly too large and now restrictive clothing so she could hop down and squirm into Serena's lap, purring and doing her best to radiate a soothing calm and support.  Her fur was soft, he pads of her paws of still warm.  This was the best she could do or offer. Not just a physical comfort but a mental one as well.
Professor Charles Xavier
X-Men NPC, 55 posts
Tue 1 Jun 2021
at 15:57
  • msg #121

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

For a man who could read minds, the Professor was considerably distant.  His words were sympathetic, but the intonation was deadpan serious.

“Serena, you are special; much more than the sum of your powers”
His eyes looked between Zoey, and the Cat-Kate sitting at her lap “Your friends care about you, as do I”

And he didn’t say it to try and stop her from leaving, either.  He summarized it was already a forgone conclusion at this point.
“It would disappoint me to see you all leave, but I take comfort with the fact that you will do so together”
Serena
X-Men, 134 posts
Wed 2 Jun 2021
at 06:43
  • msg #122

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

If Serena had been thinking about it, she would appreciate that of course Professor X has flat intonation. He's a very powerful telepath and has been one for his entire life; he has never had a reason to learn how to shape his voice or mannerisms to convey nonverbal communication.

She is, of course, unable to resist petting the kitty. It doesn't take a telepath to notice that Serena is doing her best to ignore Doctor Pool Cue.

And of course he would say that. He never had to deal with being completely outclassed. He just voluntarily let himself lose sometimes in service to his personal morality.
Zoey Fujino
X-Men, 349 posts
Bio-Manipulation
Age: early twenties
Thu 3 Jun 2021
at 18:35
  • msg #123

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Oh no, not the disappointment! Those are the worst kinds of appointments! ... Zoey briefly gets sidetracked considering the etymology.

... oh, she better say something to Xavier. "Thanks for being reasonable. Sorry for the joke about being on your feet, that was bad of me." Yeah, she says she is sorry, but some perverse part of her also wants to draw attention to it because no one else in the room acknowledged her wittiness even if it was a bit cruel. It was a good multi-layered pun, dammit!

Once Xavier has left and the flow of ocular moisture has ceased flowing from Serena's saltwater tubes, Zoey resumes packing. It seems that she was on some level waiting for Xavier's blessing to leave because it is only now that she begins unplugging her various game consoles and other electronics, the stuff that would have been inconvenient to reconnect.

"I was thinking of inviting Barnell to come with us," Zoey says suddenly. "He's good with technology, has a knack for making friends, isn't much of a fighter, and would probably be glad to put some distance between himself and... you know, him... her... them? Xim? Uh, put a pin in that... What do you think?"
Serena
X-Men, 136 posts
Thu 3 Jun 2021
at 20:07
  • msg #124

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Serena stays out of Zoey's way and remains seated on the floor.

"What a butthead. 'More than the sum of your powers,' when the only thing relevant about any of us to him or anyone he knows are our powers and while he's showing just how powerful he is. Screw the rules about hiding. Imma start an Instagram. And a TikTok. And a Twitch, once we get the Internet set up. I mean, look at this," she gestures at herself and her perfectly-toned, perfectly-shaped body, "I can make so much money being pretty on the Internet, but that usually requires connections and staff. I have powers too, though, so I bet it'll be way easier."

Even after weeping pitifully, Serena is devastatingly gorgeous. She holds her hands up on either side of her face and makes jazz hands, then she literally sparkles, with an aura of roses and pink, like a bishoujo protagonist.

"I shouldn't hide this from the world!"

She looks over at Zoey, then down at Kate, who she is still petting. "Thanks, you guys. I really appreciate you sticking with me even though I'm so high-maintenance."

Beat.

"Barnell is fine, I guess, but I doubt he's gonna leave. I tried to get him to download the mansion's dossiers on all the mutants, but he wouldn't do it. He's too attached to the rules. I guess you could say he's a big chicken."

Her cheeky grin could charm the frumpiest of schoolmarms. She knows what she said.

"And uh, I know he's probably listening, and I was channeling Usagi there, but good one. About Doctor Pool Cue being on his feet."

The GM is too busy to run any private scenes, but he did say that Barnell wouldn't be willing to steal the dossiers without "being convinced."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:13, Thu 03 June 2021.
Kate Messer
X-Men, 354 posts
mid-teens
Thu 3 Jun 2021
at 21:42
  • msg #125

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

In reply to Serena (msg # 124):

Kate cracks an eye when Serena stops giving her proper full attention to petting to wave about and gives thought to her agreement.  'You are pretty, I bet you will make lots of money as a magical mutant tick tock girl.  Just don't post where you live or you'll have both kinds of stalkers' 

The return of petting after the Jazz hands is appropriate, and nice and earns a kitty stretch before settling back down properly to appreciate the attention.  She nips playfully at one of Serena's fingers at the pun.  'thats bad'.  The emotions coming along aren't so much being upset as that she should be ashamed of herself for that.

'I don't think he will come either.'  Kate thinks, then getting distracted by the subject change asks, 'Why isn't he on his feet anyway?  I mean, before.  Shouldn't they be able to fix his spine with all the super science medicine or with your help Zoey?'

Rolling to entice fingers with her belly she asks another question.  'Why are you packing?  I mean, you said it's just land right now so there isn't really anywhere to go yet, and you don't have a car so.. what if it rains when we get there?  All your things will be ruined.'
Zoey Fujino
X-Men, 351 posts
Bio-Manipulation
Age: early twenties
Sun 6 Jun 2021
at 00:04
  • msg #126

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

"Camming?" Zoey asks of Serena. She considers the notion for a few seconds. "Yeah, maybe. Definitely don't share anything personal though, like Kate says." She starts mentally tabulating the expenses involved in setting up a combination studio/gameroom. She already kind of wanted one. It wouldn't be as impressive as the Angry Video Game Nerd's, but it could work.

"Stealing personal data is a little different than just asking him to come with us. Asking him to do that wasn't very cool, Serena."

"As I think you have both noted now, the X-Men seem to be overly concerned with combat applications for their capabilities. Perhaps Xavier views asking for such a treatment as an imposition; you know how he is. Or perhaps he thinks that the whole wheelchair-bound thing makes him seem less threatening to others, or he wanted to dedicate as much of his brain as possible to telepathy. Who knows?"

Kate's last question makes Zoey pause. She glances around with exaggerated surreptitiousness. "Can you keep a secret?" she asks. On acknowledgement she leans in close and stage-whispers. "I never had a plan for anything I've ever done in my entire life, I'm just so good at improvising that no one ever noticed. Don't tell anyone." She winks.

The silliness subsides a moment later. "Actually, I already have a public storage unit in Ithaca, with some of my possessions that wouldn't have been appropriate to keep here at the Institute. From there's it's just a matter of renting a U-Haul and finding temporary lodging. I picked out some apartments to look at in the area."
Serena
X-Men, 137 posts
Mon 7 Jun 2021
at 02:15
  • msg #127

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

Serena knows that a typical cat rolling over does not want belly rubs but rather wants to play. Kate isn't a typical cat, though, so Serena goes for the belly rubs. Everybody loves kitty!

"Feel free to praise me anytime! As for packing stuff, Zoey, you're loaded, so we can rent an RV and keep our stuff in there until we've got a house or whatever sorted out. Or just rent a motel in town. We've both got our licenses, yeah?"

She sticks her tongue out at Zoey.

"Hey, that personal data was stolen from us first! We'd just be taking a copy of it for the forces of good and social justice."

"An apartment is okay too. Probably cheaper, if we're going to actually be building a house. How'd you get rich, anyway?"
Zoey Fujino
X-Men, 352 posts
Bio-Manipulation
Age: early twenties
Mon 7 Jun 2021
at 06:06
  • msg #128

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

"You know what, an RV road trip in a social-justicemobile, solving injustices as we go like the Scooby gang does supernatural crimes, sounds pretty awesome," Zoey admits to Kate. "I just worry about the fatigue of the constant traveling, and I really would like to have my own biolab. Can't have that on the move."

Zoey isn't sure how facetious Serena's defense is. Even when the pretty blonde is being silly, her words usually belie her true thoughts. At first Zoey intends to let the claim lie, but finds she cannot. "Stolen? You'll have to explain that one..."

Zoey looks a little awkward and nervous as the subject of her money comes up. "Uhm, well... see, I didn't want anyone to know that because..." She packs up some game controllers to fill the silence, their cords carefully bundled with Velcro ties rather than awkwardly wrapped around them. "I act all social justice and disenfranchised, you know? Lesbian neurodeviant asian mutant girl fighting for her rights against the people who hate them. But when you're rich, you don't need to fight for your rights. I'm privileged, and when people who should be your friends know that they question your motives; why would you fight against the very system that assures you'll never have to work in your life? And to make it worse I became rich in, like, the least cool way. My dad was a bigwig for some Japanese company, he moved here to be with the woman he loved, but got his ass run over when mom was six months pregnant with me. So his fortune is mine now."

Zoey pauses from her packing to shyly and awkwardly drill the toe of her shoes into the carpet. "It's not fair for me to be born with so much when everyone else got so little. And on top of that, supposedly-awesome mutant powers. I've been torn most of my life between wanting to use my boons to help humanity, and just wanting to throw it all away to develop my identity independent from that stuff... but there's no charities I really believe in, and no amount of money in the world can buy worldwide equality and acceptance. Sometimes I wonder if humanity is even worth saving... so violent, so hateful, but at the same time so conditioned by fear of punishment that no one wants to fight against the problems we all know exist, so we all just fight each other while the rich take off with all the fucking money and watch the FUCKING world burn!" She punctuates the last sentiment by slamming her fist down on the dresser, cracking the antique wooden top board. She massages her hand. "Fucking ow..."
Kate Messer
X-Men, 355 posts
mid-teens
Mon 7 Jun 2021
at 15:01
  • msg #129

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

'Maybe we just ride around and figure out where we want to live long term?  And then you buy out all the politicians there and we make it a utopia'  Having thought her piece Kate just looks smug and begins grooming her paws, content that between the two of them and her obviously brilliant contribution everything will be solved soon.

'So, do I need to pack or are we good?'
Serena
X-Men, 138 posts
Wed 9 Jun 2021
at 19:26
  • msg #130

[Story Thread]: MM, Act II: A House Divided

"Oh come on, they obviously spy on everybody. How else do they know exactly what everyone can do?"

She listens to Zoey's story. About halfway through, she puts Kitty Kate aside and stops petting. Instead, she stands up and walks towards Zoey.

"You're very lucky, that's true, definitely the luckiest of the three of us. I'm sorry you lost your dad before you knew him."

She hugs Zoey from behind, introducing the back of the latter's head to her magnificent melons. "But you've got friends now, and we're going to figure out how to use our gifts to make the world a better place."
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