10/22 Issue: Cupcake Confessional

[Slarti]

Timelined Thursday, April 13, 2023

Jessica: Jess finished applying icing to the final cupcake and admired her work. Yay! Miriam's school were going to have lots of yummy cakes to sell at their bake sale... and she'd made extra because there were hungry people to feed in her house too. She pulled some containers down from the cupboard to start loading in cupcakes for safekeeping. Had to hide the ones for school from the ganets.

Jean: Jean felt stupid being too paranoid about this, but she'd seen the video with her own astral eyes. She sat down the block on her own stakeout. Her car was much smaller and much less fun than Baby, although she loved the flame red Fiat. She nibbled the edge of her nail, then sighed and hit send. [Jess?]

Jessica: Jess sucked transferred icing off her thumb when her phone buzzed and wiped her hands on her pants before she picked it up from the table. [Yes, this is me. What's up?]

Jean: At the return text, Jean knocked on Jess' mental shielding. I'm outside. Could we go for a drive somewhere? I need to talk.

Jessica: Jess looked over at her unboxed cupcakes. Okay, give me a few minutes. I'm the only one in the house and I just baked for Miriam's school.... She set her phone down and went back to packing cakes.

Jean: Okay, just let me know. Jean stared at her phone, debating texting Jamie, but instead closed her eyes. He was busy detectiving. She'd picked the word up from him and it made her smile, so it stuck. It was fine. She'd talk to him later.

Jessica: Jess finished boxing the school cupcakes and stacked the boxes, writing a note to put on the top to the hordes not to eat those ones. She set the extra cupcakes in a different box and labeled them as safe to eat, leaving two out to take with her. She picked up her handbag, phone and coat then got the cupcakes in a small box to take with her. On my way.

Jean: Shaken from her thoughts, Jean looked up toward the house and started the engine. A few seconds later, she was out front and powered down her window to wave. "Hey!"

Jessica: "Hey yourself!" She laughed, "Cupcake?" She raised the box. "Miriam's school is having a bake sale." She moved to the passenger door to get in.

Jean: "Ooof, I do love cupcakes!" Jean had half wondered if the cupcake thing was just a ploy to stall her, before realizing Jamie was rubbing off on her waaaaay too much. Hopefully. "Hop in," she said, unlocking the doors and doing a quick mind scan of the area.

Jessica: Jess settled herself in her seat and pulled the seatbelt on, "So where are we driving to? A nice out of the way multistorey carpark? An abandoned warehouse? Under an overpass?"

Jean: Jean snorted and looked over at her. "Okay, I'm not that far gone. I know a nice little coffee house, not far from my dispensary." She pulled out and started into traffic.

Jessica: "Oooh I do love the smell of coffee. Just as long as they also have decent tea... do they let you bring your own cake or should we stuff them in our faces before we go inside?"

Jean: "They have tea. Got a mean dirty chai latte." Jean gave Jess a bright grin, her eyes still hidden by her huge sunnies. "They have pastry too, so maybe? Sugar shock time?"

Jessica: "I'm all for inhaling a cupcake before we go inside and eat more cake... if you want I can give you some more to take home later. I may have over done it on the baking again... you know I can't help myself." Jess liked car rides with Jean, they talked a lot so she didn't have to think about being a passenger in a car.

Jean: "Mmmm, God, yes. The cookies were great." She winced a little at the sudden awkward and glanced over. "Sorry it got.... um, weird." Sort of sorry, anyway.

Jessica: "It's alright... Viper has that effect on people. Took Sebastian forever to get used to her showing up... still hates it."

Jean: "Good..." She licked her lips, deciding to drop it for now. "I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to tell you about me and Jamie, either..."

Jessica: Jess laughed, "That's fine. It was a nice surprise! I'm sure you were far too busy being sickeningly adorable to even think about me."

Jean: Jean giggled and looked over again. "Sickeningly adorable. I guess we probably are."

Jessica: "I'm okay with good surprises... I mean... I don't like surprises but I can tolerate the good ones," she nodded solemnly.

Jean: "I'm glad we're tolerable then." Jean grinned out at the road as she drove. "He got a job from the cops checking out a mutant-owned dispensary. Of course, he didn't know Maddy Pyre was me... I had a panic attack."

Jessica: Jess winced, "I assume you managed it okay if I didn't get a phone call?" she glanced over at her friend.

Jean: She blew out a breath. "I kept it together, barely, but then he was flirting with Redd, so I got pissed enough to go talk to him. I thought it was a dupe. I hoped it was a dupe, I guess? I thought it would hurt less."

Jessica: "I suppose it would depend which aspect of his personality the dupe was, there... if you got a really sweet one you'd be screwed," she gave Jean a small smile. "Wasn't a dupe though, huh?"

Jean: "No, it was my Jamie, and... he was still sweet." Jean sighed, but smiled softly to herself. "I wanted to be pissed, but he thought I was in trouble, because of the cops, and he said despite everything he'd help me... aaaaaaand I lost it."

Jessica: "Aww, I wanna hug you but you're driving..." she pouted in solidarity.

Jean: Jean sniffled and laughed a little. "Anyway we realized we needed to talk, so we did, and... um..." She gave Jess a quick look, nose scrunched. "Y'know how I told you when he found out about Quire he was so hurt, and pissed, and... we fought. He said he didn't want to see me... We both said lots of shit..."

Jean: "Um, well... turns out when he told me to fuck off, he didn't mean it..."

Jessica: "Just needed time to process it?" She guessed, having similar reactions to terrible news herself... except with more throwing things.

Jean: "Yeaaaaah. He just meant a few days, but when I bolted I, um, blocked the link... so he thought I didn't want him anymore." Jean sighed, staring at the road. "We lost all that time, and I broke his heart." She pouted. "I suck."

Jessica: She shook her head, "No you don't... like you said, it was just a misunderstanding. You were young - stupid shit happens. But you've fixed it now and you have a second chance to do it right... just remember communication."

Jean: "That's what he said, too, and I know. Really, I do, but I'm just terrified of messing up again." Jean sighed, turning down a smaller street near the shop. "He's... not the same."

Jessica: "Four years is a long time... is the change for the better?"

Jean: "Yes. Oh my God, yes. You know how he was - people thought he was stupid. He's not. I knew he wasn't, but I'd underestimate him, and with what happened to him, and the PTSD..." Jean glanced over at Jess again with a sad smile. “I took him for granted sometimes and I'd lose my patience...”

Jean: "Now, he's figured his shit out," she shrugged. Of course, Jess had helped her figure out a lot of her own shit, too. "I fell for a cute, sweet boy, but... holy fuck, I love the man he's become so, so much."

Jessica: Jess gave her a warm smile, "That's great to hear. I hope I get a chance to meet the new Jamie under better circumstances now." She frowned a little, "I know you're both probably a little unsure about where my loyalties are at the moment... so, whatever I can do... let me know."

Jean: "Me too. He's... got cause to be concerned, and so do I, now. You and Carol were both like... weirdly okay with everything Viper has done..." Jean's nose twitched. "Jamie knows I'm here, by the way."

Jessica: "We're not okay with it... but we dealt with it a long time ago. Since then she's been a useful asset. She's willing to help and she has resources... A while back, Hope, Michael and Hope's bodyguard were abducted. We had no idea where to start looking... it was thanks to Viper we found them and got them back safely. If you want to find someone, she is the person to ask."

Jean: Jean filed that away for future consideration. "But, that's, like, just to your family again, not out of the goodness of her heart for other people."

Jessica: "That might have been for me... and actually a bit for Hope. She has a complicated relationship with the first daughter..." Jess wrinkled her nose, not able to go into the specifics, "But the Brood thing? That was for the good of everyone and certainly not for her own benefit. She had to go into hiding for months - which she hated - because Hydra saw it as a betrayal."

Jean: Jean pulled into the lot of the coffee house and parked the car. "Have you talked to her since we were there?"

Jessica: "Yeah..." she unhooked her seat belt and turned in her seat to look at Jean, "She wanted some cookies anyway..." She gave Jean a small smile, "I didn't mention you or Jamie."

Jean: She blew out a breath, hoping she could trust her and using all of her senses aside from a mental crowbar to check. "Jess... do you know who she was working with at the school? You guys said it was Hydra, but she was there, the Friends of Humanity were there, and, um... Quire..."

Jessica: Jess nodded again, "A while ago, we sat down and talked about everything that happened that day at the school... I was angry with her because Sebastian, Broo and I were all there and we could have been killed. Sebastian very nearly was..."

Jean: "And, um, Sebastian was taken by the cult, too..." Jean unhooked her belt and twisted in the seat to hug her knee. "So, did she tell you the, um, roster of bad guys?"

Jessica: "Yeah... she knew the students and staff would fight back so she didn't really want to risk too many of her own people... so she contracted out to the Friends of Humanity... she stayed away from the building in a transport of some kind with the Broodlings, Predators and a scientist she was working with because he had some freaky machine to block the telepaths."

Jessica: Jess sighed and decided it was time to get the cupcakes out, "She was mostly worried about Xavier there... and this other scientist guy was apparently a pain in the ass and needed supervising... You mentioned Quire. I think his brain was there in the machine..." She offered Jean a cupcake.

Jean: Jean accepted the cupcake, but her stomach had dropped. She shifted it from hand to hand, trying hard to keep her emotions in check. None of that explanation did anything to make her feel better. "And, um... that s-scientist... do you know his name?"

Jessica: Jess cast her mind back, trying to remember. "She said he worked on the Broodling project too... I thought his name was apt..." she tried to prompt her memory.

Jean: "Rott..." she choked it out. No crying, no crying, no crying.

Jessica: "Yes. That was it..." she sensed the shift in emotions before she saw it, "What's wrong? Do you know who he is?"

Jean: "...does Mr. Shaw know?" Jean was using some of those breathing exercises and reached out to feel Jamie's presence in their link.

Jessica: Jess shook her head, "No... he doesn't really want to know too much about what Viper's up to... past or present.... unless she's up to it in our house."

Jean: Jean took off her sunglasses and looked at Jess, narrowing her eyes and scanning surface thoughts. She even felt the echo of her link to her husband. "You... really don't know, do you?"

Jessica: "Don't know what?" She frowned, worried now.

Jean: "Rott was the one who..." She had to pause to swallow and NOPE, that cupcake had to go. She set it aside on the dash and rubbed her hands on her thighs. "Um, he prepared the meals for the cult." She felt her eyes heat up.

Jessica: Jess just stared at Jean as that sank in with all its implications. "Oh my God... I had no idea... Is that why Jamie was following her?"

Jean: Jean sniffed, closing her eyes to hold back the tears. "Wouldn't you want to know where the man who killed you hundreds of times in horrible ways is?"

Jessica: She swallowed, nodding in answer to the question and reaching to put her hand on Jean's to try and calm them both down. "Yeah... I'd want to know... I suppose I should call Viper again and ask her where he is..." Because if Sebastian found out about this he'd probably want to know too, mostly so he could kill him.

Jean: She covered Jess' hand with her own and sniffled again, dampening her connection to Jamie so he wouldn't get worried. "Was Viper part of the cult too?"

Jessica: Jess shook her head, "No. Definitely not. Viper's a mutant too... there's no way she'd have been okay with that."

Jean: "Quire was a mutant, b-but he fucking ate Jamie." She choked on a sob, but got the words out.

Jessica: "Quire was fucked up..." Jess pulled a face, "But I know Viper... I know she wouldn't have been involved with that. But, I can ask her about it if you want me to double check... she doesn't lie to me. Ever."

Jean: Jean sniffled. "Jamie isn't sure who we can trust..."

Jessica: "I know I can trust her... and you trust me, don't you? You know you can trust me... and you can trust Carol too. Our first priority is always going to be to keep people safe."

Jean: "I want to trust you. You're my friend and my shrink. You were Jamie's friend. It's just... hard right now." She made a face. "I don't trust Viper, a-and what if that monster is still working for her?"

Jessica: "I doubt he is... sounded like he was a pain in the ass to her... but I'll ask her..." She gave Jean's hand a squeeze, "You know you can check if you're not sure you can trust me. I'll let you... and I'll vouch for Viper... you don't have to meet her though. Not unless you want to and, with a meeting... she'd be risking a lot more than either of you..."

Jean: "A pain in the ass?" She sniffled, debating pulling back her hand. "He's a monster. You went on some of those missions. Some of the ones I didn't go on. You saw what they did! I know that your husband was... but he didn't die, but Jamie did. Over and over.”

Jessica: "Yes... I know..." she said softly, "I didn't mean that was how I felt about him... but that's how she felt. She doesn't look at the world the same as you or I..."

Jean: "But that kind of comes back to the part where you and Carol were both just kind of like..." Jean gave an exaggerated shrug. "Oh well, she's evil and she hangs out with evil people but she's fiiiiine." She frowned. "It's hard to swallow. You get what I mean?"

Jessica: Jess nodded, "I know how it looks from the outside... Viper's... she's not evil... she's just wired differently.... she doesn't have emotions, and she's been with Hydra for decades... they pretty much raised her... it's complicated... it's not like she chose to get involved with this stuff, you know?"

Jean: "But she could choose to get out if she's not evil." Jean wasn't sure SHIELD could be trusted now, either. Or this new X-Men thing. "Jess... I want to trust you, but... I mean, evil. I tried to read her, and she's got some kind of shielding that's not natural."

Jessica: "Where would she go? After all the shit Hydra's had her do the only thing she has to look forward to is the rest of her life in prison... which would be a total waste of her talents in all honesty..." She sighed, "Hydra probably have some sort of shielding tech they implant in their people... especially the ones that know as much as Viper. I wish you'd said something before..."

Jean: Jean frowned. "Before what?"

Jessica: "Before I already talked to her... I could ask her all this stuff..." Now she would need an excuse... too many cupcakes might not be enough of one.

Jean: "She's seen me, so... she'll probably figure it out anyway." Jean stared at that cupcake on the dash. Why were baked goods so dangerous lately? "So what is Hive?"

Jessica: Jess sighed, her nose wrinkling a little. "The Hive is one of the heads of Hydra... he... it... is like made up of lots of creepy parasite things that work together... she's planning to break into one of its facilities.... and kill it."

Jean: "...um, ew." This was another good reason to forget that X-Men thing. "Also, why?"

Jessica: "Because she's still angry that they tried to kill her for being sensible... she doesn't want to take orders from them anymore... but she can't just leave because they'll try to kill her again... so she's planning to assassinate a few of the heads and create a power vacuum and disappear in the confusion... at least that's what I got out of what she told me."

Jean: "Disappear to do what? Like, retire? Or is she gonna just make her own scary-ass terrorist network?" She thought this over. "Or is she going to just take over Hydra?" All of these things were terrible options.

Jessica: "I doubt she'll retire... she's too smart to sit around doing nothing... but she's not interested in leading Hydra. Too much trouble..." Jess shook her head, "I didn't want to ask too many questions because she has limited patience... but I'll see what else I can get out of her about her plans... if that's what you want me to do."

Jean: "All I want is for her to leave us alone. I'm sure she can figure out that you weren't just asking a random question and if she stops and thinks about it, there was a nosy telepath checking her shields while she was working on the Hive stuff, and I don't know how long Jamie's been watching her..."

Jessica: "Oh, well that I can tell you not to worry about. She agreed to leave former students of XU alone as long as they're no threat to her... and if anyone becomes a threat I extracted a promise that she'd try to resolve things without violence... I don't think she was pleased but she knows why I asked..."

Jean: "....she knows why I asked, but you didn't mention us?" Jean swallowed and again checked the area around them, giving everyone within a block a fast telepathic scan.

Jessica: "She knows that I consider everyone from the school my family... I didn't have one before I went there or a proper home and XU gave me that... so she knows I want you all to be safe. She doesn't understand it but she can respect it."

Jean: Yeeet she blew up the school and killed a bunch of that family. Riiiight. She wasn't going to argue the denial gymnastics going on in that. "Um, okay, so safe from her, but all she has to do is point a random crazy at us, and oops!" Her tone darkened. "Or if she tipped off Rott that his favorite duplicating toy is alive and well..."

Jessica: "I don't even know if she's still in contact with him but I can ask and let you know... you might be surprised how willing she can be to help out..."

Jean: "...to get Rott to help her get rid of a personal pest and still have plausible deniability to keep you happy?" Jean snorted and rolled her eyes.

Jessica: "No!" Jess frowned, "To give you the information to take Rott out yourselves."

Jean: Jean just stared, doing another surface scan of Jess' thoughts.

Jessica: Jess sighed, opening up her shields in invitation for Jean to poke around her knowledge of Viper.

Jean: It surprised Jean, but she took the invitation. I want to trust you, but I think your judgment is off when it comes to this scary chick... She carefully searched through the open doors.

Jean: Sighing, Jean broke eye contact and sat back. She licked her lips. "I know you believe what you're saying..." But I'm not taking any chances with Jamie's life.

Jessica: "So what do you want me to do? Do you want me to ask her what she knows about Rott? Or just leave it alone?"

Jean: "Just... leave it alone," she found herself balled up in the seat, hugging her knees.

Jessica: "Okay... but the offer is still on the table if you change your mind later... whatever you need, okay? Or maybe ask Carol if SHIELD can track him down..." She reached to rub Jean's back soothingly, "Shall we go and eat pastries and caffeinate now? Or do you just want to go home?"

Jean: "We can find him," she muttered. Staring blankly at the cupcake again, she considered some other options.

Jessica: Jess nodded, chewing her lip a little, "Alright... anything else I can do?"

Jean: Jean straightened herself up and looked back over at Jess. "Coffee makes everything better, right?" She smirked. "Or tea."

Jessica: "Tea is a magical cure-all and should never be taken for granted," Jess nodded in agreement with the sentiment.

Jean: Jean reached for the cupcake on the dash and her purse. "Absolutely. And so is sugar." And cannabis. While she really wanted some to deal with all this shit, Jean wanted her brains to work.

Jessica: "Cake is magical too, yes." She took a bite of her own cupcake.

Jean: "Oh, we can totes take them in." Jean put on an innocent grin. "I'll just make the barista think we bought them."

Jessica: "I already committed to inhaling it before we go in. I'm doing it."

Jean: That made Jean giggle and she too took a bite. While they chewed, she thought. Always dangerous.

Jessica: Jess totally ate that sucker in two bites. "Okay let's get tea and more cake!"

Jean: It made her laugh and she shoveled the rest in, trying not to choke. "Oh!" She mumbled around her cakey goodness. "We should team up for edibles! Would be a hit!"

Jessica: "I'm always happy to bake," she smiled brightly.

Jean: "Awesome!" She opened the door and took the time to finish chewing. An idea had formed. Sort of. "Let's go get hyper."

Jessica: "Not too hyper though, we still have to get home in one piece."

Jean: "Eh." She waved her hand as she got out, waiting for Jess to join her and licking the icing from her lips. "You, uh, think I could talk to your husband sometime? About the Hellfire Club?"

Jessica: "You don't have to ask for permission to talk to Sebastian," she laughed as she closed the car door, "He's not my property."

Jean: "Well, yeah, but I figured just randomly showing up would be weird," she shrugged. "You belong to it, too, right?"

Jessica: Jess nodded, "Yeah... we're equal rank in the club but I let Sebastian do most of the club stuff... if he needs my input on something I'll give it but he's been doing that for longer than I have."

Jean: "It's, um." Okay how to word this since her cousin had once destroyed one of their clubs. "Like... not the mafia, but being a member can help protect you, right?"

Jessica: "It can help you make the kinds of connections that'll protect you from things, yeah... especially now since a lot of members in high up positions are former students of XU."

Jean: Jean gave Jess a bright grin. "Perfect."

Jessica: "If you want I can have him call you?" she offered, holding the cafe door open for her.

Jean: "Sure, thanks!" Jean felt the sugar kicking in. "Okay, so you really need to try the dirty chai latte. Tea and a liiiiittle bit of coffee! Best of both worlds!"

Jessica: "That sounds truly terrible," she laughed.

[Esynthia]

Okay, y'all... I'm about to break this down Elfdame style...

Jean: "Ooof, I do love cupcakes!" Jean had half wondered if the cupcake thing was just a ploy to stall her, before realizing Jamie was rubbing off on her waaaaay too much. Hopefully.

Jamie is offended

Jessica: "We're not okay with it... but we dealt with it a long time ago. Since then she's been a useful asset. She's willing to help and she has resources... A while back, Hope, Michael and Hope's bodyguard were abducted. We had no idea where to start looking... it was thanks to Viper we found them and got them back safely. If you want to find someone, she is the person to ask."

Jamie is offended AGAIN! He's a detective!

Jessica: "That might have been for me... and actually a bit for Hope. She has a complicated relationship with the first daughter..." Jess wrinkled her nose, not able to go into the specifics, "But the Brood thing? That was for the good of everyone and certainly not for her own benefit. She had to go into hiding for months - which she hated - because Hydra saw it as a betrayal."

PFFFFFFFFT. Viper totally would've been Brooded also. That wasn't totally selfless. At. All.

Jessica: "Quire was fucked up..."

And Viper isn't?

Jean: "A pain in the ass?" She sniffled, debating pulling back her hand. "He's a monster. You went on some of those missions. Some of the ones I didn't go on. You saw what they did! I know that your husband was... but he didn't die, but Jamie did. Over and over.”

And Jess and Shaw weren't even a true thing yet b/c he was still banging Monet on the regular.

Jessica: "Where would she go? After all the shit Hydra's had her do the only thing she has to look forward to is the rest of her life in prison... which would be a total waste of her talents in all honesty..."

Because having her loose and murdery is better? >.>

Jean: "...to get Rott to help her get rid of a personal pest and still have plausible deniability to keep you happy?" Jean snorted and rolled her eyes.

Jamie gives Jean all the mental snuggles for that one.

Jean: "We can find him," she muttered. Staring blankly at the cupcake again, she considered some other options.

Atta girl, Jeannie! Faith in her detective! You tell that Jess what's up!