bamfing | Neunzehn - [Action/Voice]

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[Kurt arrived none too gently in the middle of the night, lying in front of the fountain. His head was dizzy, but when he finally came to, he realized people were walking by him without so much as looking at him, despite his current state. He realized it was night time, but he was still stunned that they didn't seem to notice him. It was only when he waved his own hand in front of his face and realized he could barely see it that he became suspicious. After moving into the light, it was almost as if he was not stepping from the shadows, but front a literal blanket of darkness. It was almost as if the darkness made him completely invisible.

After making his way to the roof, he realized that everything around him was so much clearer. It wasn't quite like daylight, but he could see even into the dark alleyways with almost perfect clarity. Whatever the Malnosso did to him, it was weird. He makes his way home that night, not realizing an even bigger surprise is waiting for him.]

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[The next day when Kurt goes out, he does so with a pair of sunglasses on, in order to cover his now glowing eyes. He avoids the Brigade meeting on purpose (and will be doing so for awhile), instead settling for the mundane task of a quick trip to the grocery store. He's trying to avoid being spotted, so most of his travel will be done by roof top. For the sake of his friends though, he does leave a voice post. He's still wearing his sunglasses for that.]

Hey everyone, it's Kurt. Looks like I'm back. I'm just ahhh... a little under the weather, yeah? I'll be back to normal in no time.

[At least, he hopes he will.]

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Maybe. [Small smile. She hopes so. But she's not so sure about this new professor.]

I'm glad you're back, Kurt.

[She really hated that she couldn't just go after him.]

[Well he hated being there, so they have something in common there. He tries to smile, but it's not quite getting there.]

Thanks. It's good to be back.

We should go let them know you're back. Everyone was worried about ya.

Well... they're asleep, yeah? It can wait.

[And he doesn't want them to see him like this. Especially Anne.]

Ya think they're gonna care?

[About being woken up? About your eyes?]

I will. [He knows it's not much of an excuse, but he hasn't even seen his own reflection yet. Selfish as it is, he doesn't want Ororo and Anne and Jubilee to see him like this. Not yet.]

[...]

All right. Need anything?

A mirror? [Yeah, he knows where to get one of those.]

...yeah? All right.

[She inclines her head towards the door, wondering if he'll want her to be there or if she should let him be.]

[She's welcome to follow or not, but he's heading inside to go look. Bracing himself for it probably won't help.]

[She hesitates but - in the end - follows him in.]

[When he goes into the bathroom, he's slow to actually turn the light switch on. When he finally does, he walks in front of the mirror to look at his reflection. What he sees makes him back away at first. So much for the 'cute fuzzy elf'. He looks more like a monster than ever. He ends up clutching the sink and bowing his head.]

I really am a monster now...

[She reacts instantly, almost violently to that.] Bull.

[He doesn't quite move or react to her anger. His answer is a few moments delayed.]

Look at me, Rogue. Maybe I'm different on the inside, but I've still got the body of one.

Are you telling me that our bodies decide what we are?

[She moves directly into his line of vision. And then she spells it out for him, in case he missed the inference. Her voice is low.]

Because if that's true, I'm a hundred times the 'monster' you are.

[Are you ready to confirm that for her?]

[He ends up staring. He knows she's trying to make it seem not so bad by comparing their situations. She can never be touched and for awhile, he could never be seen...]

You're not a monster, Rogue. But... just look at me. If the tail and fangs weren't enough, then there's that brimstone dimension, and now the glowing eyes and shadow thing? What am I? This can't just be a mutant thing. What kind of 'accident' causes this?

The kind brought on by three weeks in the hands of mad scientists? What do you want me ta say, Kurt?

Ya think the only kind of monsters are the kind that scare people with their looks? You don't kill people by lookin' at 'em. If I fall asleep on the bus and some bare skin brushes someone for too long - they're not comin' back. What kind of accident causes that?

[She stops and shakes her head - not surprisingly, she wants to move right along from any discussion about herself.]

Who do you think you are?

[He really wishes he had an answer to that. He wants to accept what she's saying, because he knows she's right. It's just a mutant thing. They're not monsters. They're people.

But it's getting harder and harder to buy that. It's hard to consider yourself to be even just a mutant when you start to wonder if you're even the same species.]

... I don't know.

[Her heart hurts for him.]

...I can't help you with that. No one can tell you who ya are, Kurt. Not any sort of prophecy, not your parents, not even the Professor. You decide. And nothin' changes that.

[Says the girl who names herself Rogue.

She looks down for a moment, then looks up at him, her gaze oddly cautious.]

But if it helps any, I know who ya are to me.

Edited 2011-09-23 03:21 (UTC)

[He smiles weakly. Everything she's saying makes sense. It's just something he needs to have proved to him. Maybe by something he can do. He's not sure what it is, but eventually he's going to have to accept who and what he is. Even if he doesn't like the answer. Kitty once told McCoy that 'we are what we're meant to be'. When she told him about that, Kurt didn't think it applied to him.

But maybe it did. He turns to Rogue, and nods.]

Thanks, Rogue. [Though at times like this, using her code name doesn't carry quite the same meaning. So...] I'm glad I have a cool sister.

[Oh, I think indirect admission time is go. She glances back up at him and tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear.]

Lord knows one of us has to be. [Dork. It's thought affectionately, however. And she moves on quickly.] Ya should go get some rest.

[He nods.]

Yeah. I think I will. [... unless he gets interrupted by, say, Anne or something.]

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