Entry tags:
Acht - [Action/Voice]
[One minute, Kurt was in the middle of hanging out in his room in the evening, literally upside down, reading through a book. The next, he suddenly found himself wondering why he was wasting time with books. Landing on the ground, he tosses the book aside and regards himself in a nearby mirror. He's in the same ragged clothing he's used to. He pulls the hood over his face, obscuring his features, and teleports out of the room.
After the sun goes down, a hooded figure will be prowling through the streets. His walk is a little odd, as he walks only on his toes. His tail lashes about freely behind him, often latching around objects to forcefully pull them down. He doesn't care much for regular humans, so any he comes across are likely to get a scowl. Although his face cannot be seen under the hood, his eyes will light up whenever he spots someone. He's also out to do some thievery, particularly whatever can be looted from outside a window without needing to go in. Or maybe he'll just drop by the bar and see if he can't get himself something to drink. It's not like the bartenders will withhold alcohol from something that doesn't even look human, right?
After getting bored, he decides to leave a message on the journals. Notably, his voice lacks the usual soft spoken German accent, but is now a harder, northern American accent.]
I'm getting sick of this hole. What's there to do around here for some real fun?
((ooc: AU information here. Yes, he'll be answering to a different name. He remembers Luceti and the people he's met here, although naturally these memories are a bit twisted. Also, if you want to let him steal anything, let me know. He'll be sure to give it back once he's his old self. Also, no special alt journal! Use your ~imagination~ to see him as looking a lot grungier than usual. He isn't in uniform.))
After the sun goes down, a hooded figure will be prowling through the streets. His walk is a little odd, as he walks only on his toes. His tail lashes about freely behind him, often latching around objects to forcefully pull them down. He doesn't care much for regular humans, so any he comes across are likely to get a scowl. Although his face cannot be seen under the hood, his eyes will light up whenever he spots someone. He's also out to do some thievery, particularly whatever can be looted from outside a window without needing to go in. Or maybe he'll just drop by the bar and see if he can't get himself something to drink. It's not like the bartenders will withhold alcohol from something that doesn't even look human, right?
After getting bored, he decides to leave a message on the journals. Notably, his voice lacks the usual soft spoken German accent, but is now a harder, northern American accent.]
I'm getting sick of this hole. What's there to do around here for some real fun?
((ooc: AU information here. Yes, he'll be answering to a different name. He remembers Luceti and the people he's met here, although naturally these memories are a bit twisted. Also, if you want to let him steal anything, let me know. He'll be sure to give it back once he's his old self. Also, no special alt journal! Use your ~imagination~ to see him as looking a lot grungier than usual. He isn't in uniform.))
[Action]
Ya can dish it but ya can't take it, huh? [And she spits on the ground. Moving into a ready crouch.] Typical.
[Those eyes - they haven't stopped glowing. He's very angry which means she's very screwed unless she can use this anger to her advantage, make it so he can't think. Damn, this is going to hurt.] Did ya think I'd make it that easy for ya? Or do you only fight girls when they're just tryin' ta talk to ya. Kurt wouldn't have been surprised.
[Because this would never happen, with him. Because-] He's twice the person either of us are.
[Action]
I don't give a damn about your Kurt. Why should I care? What makes him so special?
[Action]
I don't know. Maybe he was born that way. Or maybe it was because he was raised by parents who actually loved him. Maybe it was because Mystique loved him enough to leave him the hell alone. You claim you're not a tool? She trained you to be a killer. She threw you in a war. Mamas who love their sons? Let them have as much of a normal life as they can. Man, if you hate me, you'd really hate Kurt. Mystique loved him so much she actually realized what a shitty mother she was and left him to a better life than she could ever provide.
[Action]
Her words are unnerving, though. He refuses to think of Mystique in that way.]
We were both thrown in a war. She taught me how to defend myself against the people who would see me imprisoned or dead. She abandoned your Kurt, leaving only the X-Men to protect him. My mother taught me how to survive.
[Action]
[She crouches lower, ready to spring forward, but just appearing as if she's getting ready to face his next attack. Please be in place, Kitty.] Come on - any time, now!
[Now would be the signal word. Come on, Shadowcat.]
[Action]
She's almost relieved when she hears her cue. She prays they can finally end this craziness.
Her heart thundering madly in her chest, Kitty sucks in a breath and phases through the ground, pushing through the molecules of rock and dirt until she gets to where she remembers seeing Kurt last. Her head surfaces just long enough to catch her breath, and she reachs out and try to grab a hold of Kurt's ankles, intent on pulling him downward until he's buried knee-deep in the ground.]
[Action]
[Before he can finish, he suddenly finds his feet half buried. He hesitates. That will be his mistake. Can he teleport while half phased like that? His instincts tell him he should be fine, but there's that moment of doubt that keeps him from immediately vanishing.]
[Action]
[Action] 1/6
[A young Graydon falls to the ground... a blue skinned woman, his mother, picks him up. She admonishes him on the mistakes of stumbling.]
[Action] 2/6
[Graydon, about twelve years old, spars against his mother. He loses. Again and again. He can barely stand anymore. She tells him that his enemies will not show mercy, even when he's done, so neither should he.]
[Action] 3/6
[Graydon, now fifteen, fights off a group of villagers. Two faces are familiar, Kurt's adoptive parents, who protest what's going on. Graydon barely notices them, as his hands and legs are bound to a stake. Firewood is piled up around him and he begins to panic. In the corner of his eye, he sees Mystique watching. He's being -tested-.]
[Action] 4/6
[Graydon, now fifteen, meets the Brotherhood. They object to Mystique putting him in charge. He has to prove he's better than all of them. So he does. Lance is easy - his powers distract him from his surroundings. Pietro is fast, but he doesn't think ahead. He's easily tripped up. Toad is fast and agile, but he has no combat ability, so it's not long before Kurt can disable him too. Blob is a real challenge. Teleporting that much mass at once is hard for him - especially a hundred feet in the air. But it works. He's taken down the entire Brotherhood on his own.]
[Action] 5/6
[Graydon, his present age, sits alone in his room in the Brotherhood home. His mother, Mystique, stands in one corner now frozen in stone. More hatred than he's ever felt before wells up in him. His mother is dead. This statue is a grim reminder of that and he can't stand it. So he strikes it down, allowing the stone to shatter on the ground.
The deed done, he goes out to face the rest of the Brotherhood. They're useless, all of them. Except for Wanda. Now that's power. Maybe that's why he had fell for her. Not that it mattered now. He was in charge now. It was time to lay down the law. It was time for one last fight with the X-Men, this time holding nothing back.]
[Action] 6/6
[Action] 1/2
When he finally drops, Rogue lets go of one hand, but she doesn't release the other one - she's waiting, just to make sure, one... two...
-Oh, he's an angry psyche-
...two should be enough.]
[Action] 2/3 >>
The rest... was interesting enough, and he was a loud one, so she doesn't dwell on those memories now.
Fucking bitch, when I get through with you--
--Yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before. Shut the hell up, you're less than nothing. You're not even real.
She sighs deeply, and contemplates kicking the body of her brother hard in the side. Her drawl, as always after one of these absorptions, is particularly present.] You damn fool. I just hope Kurt doesn't remember any of that crap.
[You killed her. I didn't think I'd have to live through that twice.]
[Action]
Reaching down, still pushing back Graydon's psyche:
--and stay in there, ya dumb bastard
--Rogue grabs on to Kurt's shoulder and reappears in front of Kitty.
She holds out her hand to Kitty.]
Come on, let's get him to the tunnels. I'll need help carrying him down there.
[Action]
But it's done, and Rogue looks like she's hurt. So she breathes, steels herself, and walks over to Kurt's unconscious form, trying to hide the fact that she's shaking.]
Are you okay? I mean, are you sure you can carry him? We could call for help.
[Kitty's definitely not strong enough to carry him by herself.]
[Action]
Jacket. Gloves. Where the hell are her gloves?]
We don't have too long and I don't want to do that again. Let's just get him in the tunnels and lock him up.
[Action]
She waits for Rogue to get herself together. This should be fun. Rogue could probably manage to teleport them to the tunnels, but they'll have to walk the whole way to the cells. And she's never been down there before. Who knows how long that'll be?
Taking Kurt's hand in hers, she can't help feeling guilty, even if it was what they had to do.]
I'm so sorry about this, Kurt.
[She looks back at Rogue, expression hardening again.]
I'm ready whenever you are.
[Action]
Putting the gloves back on is methodical, calming. Breathe in, breathe out, force that psyche back. She doesn't want to dig deeper into Graydon's memories. She doesn't want to waste her time with things that aren't real.
But oh - he hates her. Hates her. She can feel it coiling around her insides like a boa constrictor doused in slime. It's worse because -
- because even though it isn't real, she knows it's true.
She has to shut it down, maintain her calm or her anger - keep them back, focus. She tugs the last glove on tighter. Locked and loaded. She's the Rogue.]
Let's get this over with. [Approaching to touch both of them again, Rogue gets ready to BAMF them to the tunnel entrance.]
[Action]
And all this time, she's studying Rogue, trying to figure out just what the heck she might be thinking. Honestly, she's coming up blank.]
How long do you think it'll be until he wakes up? I have no idea how long these tunnels are.
[Action]
Long enough. I made sure he'd be out of it for a while.
[Let's see... where did those memories say the cells were? ...oh right, this way.]