10/19 Issue: Scotch Cookies

[Svartfreja]

Timelined for the night of April 12.


<Carol> It was dark and she was uncomfortable. She didn't feel right. She felt heavy and she couldn't think right. What was happening? She tried to sit up and found herself unable to move. Then the panic set in.

<Carol> Carol thrashed around in her bed trying to escape her non-existant bonds and ended up tangling herself in the sheets which made the panic worse. In her nightmare the sounds of approaching Brood grew louder and then the door opened, filling the room with light. The creatures flooded in and took up their usual positions around her. She screamed.

<Shinobi> Business in Boston always meant staying with his father and Jess. While Obi could certainly afford a hotel, it was nice to spend time with his sister and his adopted mother was a great cook. And she made him peanut butter cookies.

<Shinobi> He was in the kitchen sampling a few of those when he heard the scream come from the guest room where Carol was staying. Shit. Since no security alarms were going off, it probably wasn't an attack.

<Carol> She could feel everything and it hurt. She reached for the well of energy inside her to try and break free from the creatures but it didn't help. In the house, the lighting flickered.

<Shinobi> "Fuck." Obi brushed the crumbs from his hands as he picked up his pace to get to Carol's door. Jess and Sebastian were probably already awake from the scream, but maybe he could stop any further chaos. "Carol?" He knocked on her door.

<Carol> She didn't hear him, still trying to escape the horrible memories playing in her mind. A lightbulb popped in her room but there was plenty of light coming from her.

<Shinobi> He stepped back at the light spilling from beneath the door. "Fuck," he repeated, phasing through the door. Carol was half dressed, the power under her skin glowing through her sheets and t-shirt. He repeated her name, then went to the bed, solidifying to reach for her shoulder.

<Carol> The touch startled her awake but being tangled in the sheets made her panic again. She heard something tear as she wrenched an arm free to take a swing at whatever it was, managing to stop just in time before she connected with Michael Shaw's face.

<Shinobi> Obi phased, not bothering to jump out of the way. "Carol!"

<Carol> Carol's eyes were wide and she looked around the room to reassure herself where she was. She lowered her hand and covered her face with it as the energy faded from her skin. "I'm sorry...."

<Shinobi> He had to blink when he was dropped into the darkness, waiting for his eyes to adjust. After a moment of shifting on his feet out of nerves, he solidifed and sat on the edge of the bed. "You don't have to be sorry. Are you okay?"

<Carol> "I, uh... yeah..." she took a breath and let it out slowly. She carefully worked on trying to untangle herself from the sheets. "Did I... wake you up...?" Oh there was the tear... oops.

<Shinobi> "No, I was awake." He reached for the edge of the blanket and tugged, trying to help her unwind herself.

<Carol> Carol decided to engage her flight powers to make the task a little easier, "Okay... well sorry anyway... for nearly punching you..." Finally free, she settled back down on the bed and drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and resting her forehead on her knees.

<Shinobi> He waved a hand. "I was phased. It's fine." Obi flipped the covers back out of her way and debated leaving, but... "So, nightmare. Those are great."

<Carol> "Yeah..." She lifted her head, pushing a hand through her short hair, "Usually I just break my own stuff...."

<Shinobi> "Do you get them a lot?" He frowned when his father's voice echoed in his head, asking if everything was okay. Obi was used to Hope speaking to him telepathically, but Sebastian was something else.

<Carol> She shook her head, "Not really... just... sometimes when I've been thinking about it a lot..."

<Shinobi> "And what were you thinking about?" He brushed Sebastian off with his assurance that the crisis had been averted. "Not that you have to tell me, of course, but if you want to..."

<Carol> Carol went back to hugging her knees, "The Brood... it's been hard lately...."

<Shinobi> "The space bugs." Obi made a face.

<Carol> "Yeah..." she shivered a little, "A lot of things... reminders... in a couple weeks it'll be five years..." she wasn't making sense.

<Shinobi> "It'll be five years..." Obi was thinking back, because he had a lot going on himself five years ago. "Some anniversaries are better forgotten."

<Carol> She nodded, "I was doing okay... and then there was the school... and Sebastian mentioned the Brood... I guess being back there again... I don't know...." Carol uncurled herself and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, bowing her face into her hands and resting her elbows on her knees.

<Shinobi> Obi considered this for a moment and then slid over to put his arm around her. "That's probably it."

<Carol> She sighed and leaned against him, sliding her arms around his waist without really thinking about it. "People keep saying I should talk about it... if they knew... they wouldn't ask that...."

<Shinobi> "Maybe you just need a distraction then, until it passes?" He was no paragon of mental health either, but it seemed to work sometimes.

<Carol> "Oh, I'm good at those... I spent half my life distracting myself from things I don't want to think about." Of course it also gave her more things to avoid thinking about.

<Shinobi> "Well, what kind of distraction do you need then?" He had noticed her hair was different when he saw her earlier, but now he realized it was really, really different.

<Carol> "I don't know... I usually just drink until it doesn't bother me anymore..." or until she passed out because it was easier to reach than the other one.

<Shinobi> He snorted. "Are you sure we're not related?"

<Carol> She lifted her head to look at him, "I hope not.... no offense... but your family is weird..."

<Shinobi> Obi laughed. "Thanks. I meant the rampant alcoholism, but there is weirdness too."

<Carol> "Oh no, that part is Danvers genes for sure..." She leaned to rest her head on his shoulder. "But I guess why change something that works for me, huh?"

<Shinobi> "Your liver might disagree." He moved to get a little more comfortable, pulling her closer in the process.

<Carol> "It's fine... my powers..." She curled up against him, "Don't get sick... even if I wear an inhibitor... after a few hours with it off I'm fine... physically anyway...."

<Shinobi> "Physically, but if it doesn't really help then why do it? Of course, that's like asking Tony and Hope why they drink. Or my father."

<Carol> She sighed heavily, "Because I don't have anything else..."

<Shinobi> "Nothing?" He hated to rub that in if it was true, but it was hard to believe.

<Carol> She bit her lip, not really sure she wanted to get into this because it hurt. "I... when... It's just me... just me and my job..."

<Shinobi> Oh fuck. Obi shushed her and gave her a squeeze, wrapping his other arm around her. "Sorry. You don't have to talk about it. You said you didn't want to."

<Carol> "This isn't even about the Brood..." she closed her hands on his shirt, "It's just... since I left... it's like I just walked out of everyone's lives and no one even bothered to check up on me... And I need people to check up on me....."

<Shinobi> "What happened with you and Cess Kincaid?" Obi frowned, trying to recall again. He'd had his own problems to sort out for a long time.

<Carol> Another heavy sigh, "I happened..."

<Shinobi> "Yeah? How so?"

<Carol> "I wasn't really handling the Brood stuff... and my coping mechanism involves a lot of alochol... and then I got pregnant... and I don't know if it was that or what the Brood did that made my powers all wonky but... I had to shut them off... and I didn't handle that well either.... Just... a lot of things... and work... I got reassigned..."

<Shinobi> "I'm sorry, Carol." He raised a hand to rub his fingertips over his lips, feeling his stubble as he thought about this. "But you're back here now with this X-Men thing, right? So maybe it's a chance to start over?"

<Carol> "Maybe... or maybe I'll just find all new ways to screw it up...." She sighed, "Except... now someone knows exactly what happened with the Brood and I still can't even talk about it."

<Shinobi> "Well if you look at it like that, you're going to jinx yourself." He glanced over at her. "Who?"

<Carol> "Rogue... I... had to touch her... so now she knows..."

<Shinobi> "Well have you tried to talk to her about it?"

<Carol> Carol shook her head, "Nooooo. She doesn't need me to talk about it. She knows. And she knows I don't want to talk about it. And all the reasons why." She closed her eyes turning her head to rest her forehead against his shoulder, "I don't know if I'll ever be ready to talk about it..."

<Shinobi> "Okay but that is an actual way to try to help yourself get through it, you know. Jess is a mutant therapist even."

<Carol> "I don't know... but I know I don't want to put that on her... I don't want to put it on anyone..."

<Shinobi> "But you just said that you need people to check on you."

<Carol> "Yeah, but... that doesn't mean I want to talk about stuff..." She sighed, uncurling and putting her feet on the floor, "I can still feel everything..." She squirmed a little in discomfort at the memories and got to her feet. "I need a drink..."

<Shinobi> "Can't you get a telepath to block it then?" He let his arm fall and stood.

<Carol> "Telepaths have trouble with my brain... all the energy..." she raked a hand through her hair, "Not like I want one poking around in there seeing everything anyway...."

<Shinobi> Obi blew out a long breath. "I don't know what to tell you, Carol."

<Carol> "That you'll have a drink with me so I don't have to drink alone?" she looked over her shoulder at him.

<Shinobi> "Su-ure?" He looked at the clock, then shrugged, licking his lips at her bare legs.

<Carol> As his gaze dropped to her legs so did hers, "... I should put some pants on, huh?" And now she didn't have long hair to hide that blush. She was glad it was dark.

<Shinobi> "That's entirely up to you," he laughed, curious at her seemingly embarrassed reaction.

<Carol> He didn't mind she wasn't wearing pants? Well okay then... "I don't own pajama pants...." Screw it. "I don't need pants to drink... come on..." she inclined her head toward the door.

<Shinobi> "Alright," he chuckled and went past her to open the bedroom door.

<Carol> She went to the living room because it was more comfortable than the kitchen and poured herself and Michael a glass, offering one to him. "Can't sleep? Or midnight snack?"

<Shinobi> "I was getting peanut butter cookies," he said with a smirk, accepting the glass. "I can't have them at home, so I wait until I visit. Keep my cravings to here."

<Carol> "You should visit more so we can have them all the time," Carol picked up the bottle now that she had a hand free and went to sit on the sofa, setting the bottle on the coffee table. "Pretty sure she only makes them when you're coming over. She gets her own fix at Starbucks."

<Shinobi> "We used to sneak over there and get them and then come back and decontaminate when Hope and I were living here." He went to the sofa too, but glanced toward the kitchen. He still wanted cookies more than booze.

<Carol> She crossed her legs, tugging her tshirt a little bit but giving up quickly. Losing battle. "If you still want cookies, go get some," she laughed when she saw him looking longingly toward the kitchen.

<Shinobi> "Do you want some? Some sugar to balance out that alcohol?" Obi got up and started for the kitchen.

<Carol> "Sure," she gave him a smile and leaned back into the sofa cushions, sipping at her scotch.

<Shinobi> Obi piled a plate with the chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies as well as the weird ones Miriam made. He came back in and put the plate on the sofa between them.

<Carol> Carol picked up a multicoloured cookie and took a bite, "So, you got an opinion on this new superhero thing? I'm assuming Tony told Hope or your parents told you why I'm here."

<Shinobi> "Hope got the telepathic whatever the fuck that was when Xavier woke up." He reached for a chocolate chip. "Tony... I'm betting he did this whole thing for her."

<Carol> "Ok yeah? ... Guess that could be it..." She chewed thoughtfully for a moment, "Sebastian was wondering if he did it for Rogue."

<Shinobi> "For Rogue?" Obi paused before he could take another bite. "Why would he do it for Rogue?"

<Carol> "You haven't spent a lot of time around them lately, have you?" She picked at her cookie, lifting her eyes briefly to watch his face, "There's something weird going on between them."

<Shinobi> "No. He's in DC and we're in New York, sometimes Boston. Hope's been busy." He looked at the cookie. "Weird? How?"

<Carol> Carol decided to rip the bandaid off because tact was never her forte. "They're sleeping with each other."

<Shinobi> Obi was glad he kept putting off that bite. "What?!"

<Carol> Carol shushed him because people were sleeping... hopefully, "Thank you for having the proper reaction to that news."

<Shinobi> "They're... why- nevermind, I know why. It's Tony." Obi made a face. "I'm not telling Hope. Fuck that."

<Carol> "Good call. She will not take that news well." Carol picked up his scotch glass and offered it to him, "Here, it'll take the edge off...."

<Shinobi> "Thanks," he said with a sigh, taking a long drink from the glass and ignoring the burn. "Noooo, she will not. At all."

<Carol> "Might be kind of fun to watch Tony flail about it though. You'll be able to enjoy the full effect since you already know the surprise," she gave him a grin, popping a piece of cookie in her mouth. "You're welcome."

<Shinobi> "Thaaaanks?" He considered his cookie and his scotch, then dipped it. "Maybe if I drink enough I won't have to remember it between now and then."

<Carol> "I can help you with that. I have experience there." She watched the dunk with a raised eyebrow, "That, though? Not helping with that. Pretty sure the scotch gods are mad at you now."

<Shinobi> "Jess would be, too, but hey." He ate the cookie.

<Carol> "Only because you're casting aspersions on her cookies," Carol took a sip from her own glass, "So anyway... I'm here... minding the insane asylum again just like old times... except this time it's full of naked blue kleptodemons. I could do without those. They're definitely worse than college students."

<Shinobi> Obi laughed and took another drink of slightly crumby scotch. "Are you sure about that?"

<Carol> "Not one hundred percent of the time... but like... eightyfive to ninety..." She shrugged, "They're assholes... and they smell bad... that part is definitely worse than college students."

<Shinobi> "Are you really sure about that?" He was still laughing softly, recalling his own experiences with some of those students, and earlier when he'd lived with some less wholesome but equally obnoxious mutants.

<Carol> "They're teleporters." She wrinkled her nose and topped up her scotch after draining her glass.

<Shinobi> "Handy talent," he observed. "Maybe you can train them?"

<Carol> "Maybe if I wanted to rob a jewelery store... Tony wants to catch one."

<Shinobi> "Of course he does." With that revelation, Obi dunked another cookie in scotch and took a bite. "I meant maybe you can train them to be couriers or something."

<Carol> "They like shiny things... and alcohol... but they are terrified of me so.... maybe I could make that work."

<Shinobi> "There you go. You could have minions."

<Carol> "I'll think about it," she laughed, "I'm not sure I have that kind of patience. Minions seem kind of annoying... I'll check with Viper how annoying they are. She's gotta come over here anyway..."

<Shinobi> "Oh yeah? Why?" Obi knew he owed Viper many things, but much like his father, it took a tremendous amount of time to trust her. While that process was mostly finished with Sebastian, Viper was taking longer.

<Carol> "Jess wants to ask her what kind of weird shifty shit she's up to now.... I figure I should stay out of that conversation because it might compromise my ethics...."

<Shinobi> "Why does she want to know? It seems safer for everyone to have plausible deniability with her."

<Carol> "Which is normally fine... but some friends of Jess' from the school have been spying on her so..." She sighed, "I guess Jess wants to reassure them she's not a threat... I don't know how sucessful that will be."

<Shinobi> "She did blow up their school," he pointed out, taking another drink.

<Carol> "Apparently that was the FoH... mostly. She wanted to salvage the tech but they screwed that up and Osborn got it instead and now we have Sentinels." Carol rolled her eyes. More scotch. "That's what you get for contracting out to crazy people."

<Shinobi> "Mmm. Yeah." He tried to stay far, far away from that kind of crazy these days.

<Carol> "And for some reason I want to get back involved with a different kind of crazy people. Does that make me crazy? Or just a little bit masochistic?"

<Shinobi> He sniffed and took a bite of scotch-free cookie. So much better. "Yeah, bit of both I'd say."

<Carol> She nodded, leaning into the sofa cushions and curling up in her seat, "I guess I can see that..." she took another drink, "Probably would be a little bit less of one or the other if I would talk to people more..."

<Shinobi> "Why don't you?" He savored the cookie, then glanced at the time with a wince.

<Carol> "Because I'm programmed to protect other people and keep my shit to myself... plus I figure no one's really interested anyway."

<Shinobi> "But... you'll never know if you don't try?"

<Carol> "Right but first I have to find someone who gives a shit... that I can actually trust enough to talk to."

<Shinobi> "...you're talking to me?" Obi finished his cookie.

<Carol> She frowned a little, "That's not the same though, is it? This is just... surface stuff..."

<Shinobi> "That's how you start, yeah." He shrugged a shoulder. "Learning little things and then bigger things, and so on."

<Carol> "And how do I tell if the person I'm talking to is willing to hear about the not so surface stuff? I'm talking to you now but only because you know I just had a nightmare... doesn't mean you want to know details."

<Shinobi> "Carol, I'm asking, aren't I? You keep not answering, but I've been trying to help."

<Carol> Carol sighed, looking down at the scotch in her glass, "Will you... tell me if it's too much?"

<Shinobi> "Sure. You need someone to talk to, or not talk to, I'm here for a few days on business."

<Carol> "Okay... then I'll tell you what happened... but I'm gonna need more scotch on board first..." She emptied her glass and leaned to get the bottle.

<Shinobi> Obi watched her with the scotch and decided he was probably going to need more cookies.

[Esynthia]

All the cookies!

How dare Shinobi get weirded out by Rogue sleeping with his wife's dad! She'll be a great mother-in-law!