8/13 Issue: Portal Puss

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Slarti
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8/13 Issue: Portal Puss

Post by Slarti »

Timelined a few days after Rescue Reunion.

Carol: Carol was in the rarely used gym 'thinking'. Also known as: hitting things until they broke. She was wearing an inhibitor so it took longer and hurt but it was somehow more satisfying this way.

Jeannie: Trying to be normal again was harder for Jean than she'd expected. After a day spent in bed, resting, ofc, she'd checked in with Redd and the business, but her twitchiness was making Redd nervous and she'd sent her home. Rude.

Carol: Aaand there went the bag. Carol shook her hand out as it crashed to the ground, spilling its contents. They had people to clean that up, right? She flexed her fingers as she went to get another bag. Probably should take off the inhibitor for this because it was easier but... meh.

Jeannie: Home was... not home anymore. Her apartment, that is. The tenement building was home now, but Jamie was trying to work, too, and she'd just distract him. So, Danvers! Yaaaay. She was wandering and snooping for minds when she sensed Carol and attempted a brain poke.

Carol: The brainpoke made her pause and she dropped the bag on her foot in surprise. Motherfucker! She shoved the bag over to retrieve her foot then took off the inhibitor because ouch. Jean that was terrible timing.

Jeannie: Jean felt the brain flail and couldn't help but giggle to herself. Score! Carol was pretty terrible with telepathy so she made a face as she headed for the old gym to pester her. Sorry! Sort of.

Carol: Carol waited until her hand was healed along with her foot before hanging up the new bag and turning the inhibitor back on. Setting her feet, she began the process of busting another bag while she waited for Jean to show up, You'd be more sorry if I knew how to send pain through a psychic link so you know how much that hurt.

Jeannie: Scary. You'll never figure it out. Jean almost skipped with the pleasure of being annoying for no good reason. She used teke to flip open the door and stepped inside, leaning against the wall to watch her beat the hell out of the bag thinger.

Carol: "You better hope not." Carol steadied the bag, looking over at her in the doorway. "What's up?"

Jeannie: "Mmmm. What is up? It's me!" Jean lifted up from the floor and folded her legs to float closer.

Carol: Carol rolled her eyes and went back to hitting the bag, "If you want to watch me break things, fine... but do it quietly. I'm thinking."

Jeannie: "No problem. I just like... watching other people break shit." She actually did, generally, but also she just wanted a distraction.

Carol: "Then you're in the right place." Breaking things always made her feel better. Usually it was asteroids but they broke too easily. How in the hell was she supposed to figure out this mess without Steven's brain. Obi was great and all but he wasn't Steven. He didn't understand the completely messed up relationships in her family.

Jeannie: It was pretty entertaining watching puffs of whatever filled those bags blow into the air with every strike. She watched for a few punches, but then Carol's really ridiculously loud internal monologue became sort of interesting and she decided to listen.

Carol: Maybe she should just skip the talking and go straight to the Kree capital and start busting heads. That sounded a lot more satisfying... and she'd probably end up there anyway.

Jeannie: The whole space thing was still kind of whack in her book. "You think I could fly in space?"

Carol: Where did that come from? "I don't know. Why don't you try?"

Jeannie: "Because it might work, or it might not, and I'd rather not die." She frowned. "Again."

Carol: "You just fly up and if you can't breathe then you come back down. It's not that complicated." She glanced over at Jean, "If you want I can go with you in case you pass out. I know I can survive in space."

Jeannie: "Mmm." Her head tipped to the side while she toyed with her hair. "Maybe. It sounds fun, so I might take you up on that sometime." She separated her hair to braid it. "Do you always think this loud?"

Carol: She put a hand out to steady the bag again before turning her head to look at Jean properly, "Are you eavesdropping?"

Jeannie: "No, you're projecting." Jean narrowed her eyes at Carol for a moment. "You have, like, no shielding..."

Carol: She shrugged, "Never needed it. I'm not projecting on purpose... I've got a lot on my mind... but I guess you know that..." she looked down at the floor, somewhat embarrassed that Jean had seen into the crazy.

Jeannie: "Normally you're pretty much a brick wall, so I'm just surprised your brain is so open."

Carol: "It's something to do with the energy my powers generate all the time... Beth tried to science it at me once but..." she shrugged. "My powers are off right now..."

Jeannie: "Oh." Jean took a second to process that and then perked up. "How?" She definitely wasn't wearing a collar, or a trench coat. Unlike Jamie. He'd been living in that thing since they came back and it was getting a little old.

Carol: Carol held up her hand, showing the inhibitor bracelet on her wrist. "It doesn't work as well as it should because I'm me but it works well enough..."

Jeannie: "Oh... Oh! I've seen those before!" Jean floated closer and eyeballed it. Silver, nondescript, not a trench coat. Perfect!

Carol: "Yeah, SHIELD keeps them for trouble makers... I still have this from when my powers were all wonky when I was pregnant...." She took it off and offered it to Jean to look at more closely. "Why are you interested in inhibitors all of a sudden? Usually you Xavier kids freak out at the mention of them."

Jeannie: "Uh, yeah, mostly because we only see them when somebody wants to kill us. Or, like, take our powers." Jean accepted the bracelet and dropped to the floor to stand so she wouldn't fall on her ass when she put it on.

Carol: "Like I said... it doesn't work as well as it should because my powers break it a little bit every time I use it... but I take it in for a tune up every now and then." Carol went to sit on the bench nearby because she shouldn't punch things when her powers were active.

Jeannie: Jean gave Jamie a telepathic head's up and quick assurance she was fine before she put it on. "...ugh. I hate these things..."

Carol: "Takes a little bit of getting used to... at first it made me crazy dizzy but it's not so bad now..." She cocked her head on one side and watched Jean, settling her hands either side of her.

Jeannie: "The worst part is it cuts my link to Jamie." She sighed and tried to use her teke. "Plus, the whole cutting off all my senses thing. I'm so used to using my powers... for everything." Jean took it off. JEAN?! echoed in her brain instantly when the link was restored. She made a face, walking over to Carol to return it while she gave Jamie a mental hug to cut off his worried mind-babble. He totally didn't believe she was fine.

Carol: Carol took it back and slid it into her pocket for now, "I know what that's like... not the link... but the other stuff... I feel energy around me all the time... it's weird when it's not there."

Jeannie: "Samesies." She plonked down beside Carol. "I don't actively snoop, but I'm just used to hearing stray thoughts, feeling emotions, I even pick up intentions and simple thoughts from animals... losing all that..." Made her shiver a bit, since it hadn't been long ago she thought she might die without her powers, and her fiance. She sent him another burst of affection and assurance.

Carol: "Animals huh?" That was an idea....

Jeannie: "Yeah. We have two kitties and a puppy and their minds are super cute. Simple. They operate on instinct and love. It's relaxing," she sighed. "So SHIELD makes those, huh?"

Carol: "Yeah... it's much more refined tech than the collars you guys always freak out about when we mention inhibitors. It's practical wear." She gave Jean a small grin, "Wanna help me interrogate a cat?"

Jeannie: "Interrogate a cat?" She giggled and swung to face Carol on the bench, pulling her legs up and grinning. "That sounds crazy! I'm in!"

Carol: "Excellent! Now we've gotta find her... I strongly suspect she's some kind of mutant cat..."

Jeannie: "A mutant cat, huh? One of my cats is a dupe! Jamie didn't know he could duplicate living things!" ...which brought up the other things Jamie didn't know he could do. She licked her lips and played with the end of her braid. "Um... so... could I maybe get one of those bracelets?"

Carol: "Um... sure... for you?" She got up to pick up her tablet where she'd left it.

Jeannie: "...is it, like, an X-Men only thing?" She watched Carol as she toyed with her hair.

Carol: Carol shook her head, "No... just sometimes they like to know about powers in case they have to make minor adjustments... it's okay if you don't want to say..."

Jeannie: "No... he wouldn't, like, care." She didn't think. "He's just been used to being, um, self-sufficient. Really self-sufficient."

Carol: "Yeah... I totally get that too... but sometimes it's good to have people you can ask for help..." She sent a request for an inhibitor and set her tablet down again. "It'll probably turn up tomorrow."

Jeannie: Jean blinked. "You... mean an inhibitor?"

Carol: She nodded, "Yeah... what else would I mean?"

Jeannie: "I-I don't know. I just didn't expect it to be that easy?" She got up and tackled Carol for a hug before she could stop her. "Thank you! OMG!"

Carol: "Oh! Hey, no, it's fine... it's not a big deal..." she returned the hug, patting Jean confusedly. "It's not like it's hard..."

Jeannie: "Oh. It's hard. You have no idea." Jean squeezed. "So many parts! He's been making one, and he lost his notes and I had to go spelunking in his head for them, and you can imagine what the inside of Jamie's head is like since you've heard him talk and-" Wow, she was babbling.

Carol: "Okay, okay... Wow he really just doesn't know how to ask for help, huh? Gotta fix that..." She gave Jean a gentle squeeze, "Now, for payment you can talk to the cat... if we can find her."

Jeannie: "He asks me for help," she pointed out, returning the squeeze more gently and letting go. Jean stepped back, a little embarrassed now, but still mostly jazzed. "I can do that!"

Carol: "Well then I hope he doesn't mind you subcontracting your help," she gave Jean a smile, picking up the tablet again and starting for the door, "Chewie's usually in my room or the kitchen when I find her indoors..."

Jeannie: "Chewie, huh? She... just looks like a normal cat?" Jean fell into step with Carol. "Hope not. Jamie left his inhibitor jacket back in the murder world..."

Carol: "Yeah she looks normal... but she's showing up in impossible places... and I know what you're going to say it could just be a different cat that looks the same but it's not..."

Jeannie: "Well, I'd say Jamie got to another kitty, but I know he hasn't." She paused and licked her lips. "His dad made his first inhibitor and after he graduated from Xavier's he figured out the design and recreated it... put it in a couple of jackets..."

Carol: "That's not very practical... but neat." She started toward the main building and the kitchen to look there first, "As for the cat... it's been following me around... and it showed up when we went to pick you guys up even though it didn't come through the portal Tyrone made..."

Jeannie: "That's... weird. So... I heard the crazy guy who got us came out of a portal? Maybe the cat did too?"

Carol: "Maybe... I don't know..." she frowned, "I, um... sorry about the crazy guy... kind of a little bit my fault..."

Jeannie: Jean nearly tripped, using her teke to catch herself. "What?!"

Carol: She reached to catch Jean out of reflex, "I, uh... went through the portal... there was this... wasteland on the other side... and a gladiator arena... mutants being forced to fight each other... I couldn't just leave them there like that... guess it pissed him off enough to come here..."

Jeannie: "Oh... wow." She spun to face Carol and searched her face. "Wasteland? Gladiator arena?! WTF! Arcade followed you?!"

Carol: "Apparently...." she chewed her lip, "I'm sorry... all of this... everything that happened to you and Jamie and everyone else... it's my fault..."

Jeannie: "How?! How did he even know where you came from to get back here?" Jean was reeling and unconsciously her hand went to her stomach. "...do you know what he did to us?" She felt Jamie in her head again, worrying through the link.

Carol: "We only know what you've told us... anything you said to the medics is confidential personal information." Carol pushed a hand through her hair, "There are little... wristwatch type things to activate the portal from the other side... I dropped mine..."

Jeannie: Jean closed her eyes and forced herself to stay calm and held her link to Jamie. "He... fucked with us for fun. Made us go through these twisted funhouse mazes. He killed dupes - so many dupes..." She had to pause as her voice started to shake. "He let me think he'd killed Jamie..."

Carol: "I'm so sorry... there's nothing I can do to make up for this... but I didn't want to keep it a secret from any of you... I'm not expecting you to say it's okay or anything... I just want you to know..."

Jeannie: She sniffed and nodded. Her hormones were still out of whack and she knew it. Plus, big trauma.

Carol: "If... you'd rather go somewhere that I'm not... I'll understand... I'll figure out the cat thing later... really should focus on more important things anyway...."

Jeannie: "It's-" Jean was still sniffling, again sending reassurances to Jamie that she was fine. With a moment to focus, she could feel the waves of guilt rolling off Carol. "You didn't mean to... I get it..."

Carol: "I just... I couldn't just walk away... I'm not wired like that...."

Jeannie: "He was doing the same thing to them as he did to us. Making them fight, killing them..." She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "So you were trying to help them."

Carol: "I got them all out... everyone I could find... I hope they're still okay..."

Jeannie: "Okay... good." Jean shrugged a shoulder and wiped away a stray tear before it ruined her mascara. "Hero types and all... it's part of the job." She closed her eyes.

Carol: "Yeah... it's kind of hardwired into me... never leave a man behind and all that..." she sighed, "Anyway, I'm sorry... I know nothing I say would ever make it better... but you know now..."

Jeannie: "Thanks... I think." She just couldn't stop herself from saying it. Jean forced her hand from her stomach and straightened her ring. "I guess I knew there were risks... signing up to be on this team. Um... but Jamie didn't sign up for it..."

Carol: "I know... and I'll apologise to him face to face as soon as I see him..." She sighed and turned away from Jean, "You can go if you want..." The distraction from her family drama had been nice however brief.

Jeannie: "Let's find your cat." She nodded to herself and stopped herself from fidgeting with her braid. Moving on! Right? Right!

Carol: Carol was surprised but grateful and pulled Jean into a hug, "She's not my cat..."

Jeannie: "Sounds like she's your cat." She sniffled again and returned the hug with a small smile. "Nobody starts out trying to get a cat. It just happens."

Carol: "Is that how you ended up with a marshmallow?" she gave Jean a small squeeze.

Jeannie: "Yup! He was a sad wet kitten with big huge OMG green eyes... I didn't even know he was a marshmallow until i got him home and dried him off." She doubled down on her memories of Figaro to chase off her gloom.

Carol: Carol laughed a little at the idea of a soggy cat, "Well, I guess she decided I'm her human.... half human. Whatever." Something meowed behind her and she turned her head, "Oh... speak of the devil..."

Jeannie: Jean looked up at the meow and saw an orange tabby in the hall as she stepped back. "Oh! Well, hello, baby kitty!"

Carol: Carol let go of Jean so she could pick up the cat, "C'mon Chewie, Jeanie's gonna help us have that talk."

Jeannie: "Chewie! It's nice to meet you!" She let the cat sniff her fingers and then went for the ears for a good scritching. "Aren't you a pretty girl?"

Carol: Chewie liked the attention and purred away, leaning into the pets. Carol lifted the cat and turned it so she was looking at it face to face, "So, cat. Spill. What's your deal?"

Jeannie: Jean watched the cat sniff at Carol's nose. "She's super cute." She delicately prodded the cat's little brain. Instantly, Chewie's head swung to look at her. "Wow."

Carol: When Chewie's attention shifted, so did Carol's, "What?"

Jeannie: "She knows what I'm doing." Jean met the kitty's eyes. You're a smart girl, too, aren't you? "Her thoughts are more complex than Figaro and Dupero and even Breathless..."

Carol: Carol's eyes narrowed on the cat as if trying to drill into her mind too. Chewie meowed at Jean.

Jeannie: For funsies, Jean meowed back and reached out and petted Chewie.

Carol: Chewie meowed again then got distracted by the pettings and purred some more. "So... get anything useful out of her cat brain?"

Jeannie: "Yeaaaaaah. She's totally not a cat." Jean grinned at the purring.

Carol: Carol eyed Chewie suspiciously, "Not a cat? Well she sure looks like one..."

Jeannie: "I mean... maybe she is a cat, but she's definitely more than just a normal cat." Jean pushed the cat closer to Carol. "She wants to take care of you because you're a really incompetent kitten."

Carol: Carol frowned, "Incompetent, huh? Rude."

Jeannie: Chewie kept purring and licked Carol. Jean giggled. "She looooves you." The cat was totally able to converse with her, a little, which was awesome. She couldn't wait to gloat to Figaro.

Carol: Carol gave Chewie a cuddle and some pets, "I guess I could do worse..."

Jeannie: "Definitely. She's... only got good intentions." Jean cocked her head. "And some really trippy memories. I don't know where she's from or what she is exactly, but totes not from around here..."

Carol: "Well, I guess that makes two of us, huh Chewie? Does she like her name okay?"

Jeannie: "She's a happy girl! I think she gets your intent, too, so she's good with it." Jean gave the kitty a long stroke down her back and played with her tail. Definitely looked like a normal cat.

Carol: "How about we get a snack then you can do whatever it is you do all day..." Carol was now talking to the cat. Chewie meowed at her and she took that as a 'yes,' starting for the kitchen again.

Jeannie: "Oooh, she definitely likes snacks! Of course, don't we all." Jean followed, still exchanging thoughts with the kitty. This was fun!

Carol: "Snacks are awesome... but cat or not, I don't think we should feed you people food... unless you'd rather have people food?" What did you feed a not-cat?

Jeannie: "I think she likes what most cats like... so a little bit of everything," she laughed. Jean got a clear mental picture of the inside of one of the cabinets. "She comes in through this one a lot," she said, opening the currently cat-free cabinet. No sign of dimensional portals. Kinda sad.

Carol: "Yeah I keep finding her in there... with my scotch..."

Jeannie: "She's not drinking it," she laughed.

Carol: "Only because she can't open it, I'm sure." Carol set the cat down on one of the tables then went to look for something cats could eat, "I guess I should get cat food or something...."

Jeannie: "Yeah, but I wouldn't get her the cheap stuff - she might get insulted." Jean opened another cabinet and snagged a packet of her own tuna. She shook it and Chewie meowed and hopped to the counter to rub her head against Jean. "Tasty and high in protein!"

Carol: "I read somewhere cats can get addicted to tuna...." Since Jean was apparently taking care of feeding the cat, Carol decided to get some coffee.

Jeannie: "There are worse things to get addicted to," she giggled, opening the packet and snagging a plate with her teke. The kitty watched the floating plate with slitted eyes and mrowed.

Carol: "Yeah but they probably shouldn't eat the same thing all the time..." though she was one to talk. She poured herself some coffee anyway.

Jeannie: "Just get her some canned stuff and she'll be a happy girl. At least you won't have to scoop a litter box with such a smart not-kitty."

Carol: "Yeah... she has all this outside space to poop in so a litter box seems pointless... maybe in the winter though..."

Jeannie: "Nah, I meant she'll teleport off to poop." Jean gave Chewie her tuna lunch and turned to eye the coffee. "Ooooo, coffee!"

Carol: "...so she really teleports, huh?" Carol eyed the cat, "Where the hell did you come from, stalker cat?"

Jeannie: "Yup! She does!" Jean fetched herself some coffee and opened the fridge door with her teke to search for creamer. Or chocolate. Or both! "I don't know where she's from, but she's been in a lot of weird places from her memories."

Carol: "Weird places? Like what?" She sat on the counter and sipped her coffee.

Jeannie: "Well, I've never been to any other planets or dimen- okay, no other dimensions other than that last one - but that's my guess..."

Carol: "I haven't been to other planets either... the other me had though..." Of course, depending on how her talk with her mom went, she might end up going anyway. Carol frowned down at her coffee, "I was in space though... and I could use the space birds tech without any instructions. They said it was because of my Kree DNA..."

Jeannie: "Those, uh, space birds didn't happen to be on fire, did they?" Jean looked up from the creation of her perfect ghetto latte.

Carol: Carol looked at Jean, confused for a moment then shook her head, "No... they're Shi'ar... Heather's people. Apparently they think she's royalty."

Jeannie: "Okay, whew. We don't need any more aliens kicking around and my dad would have some shit to explain." Jean stirred her creation and took a sip, making a happy noise.

Carol: "Yeah... for sure got enough of those..." Carol's attention went back to her coffee, "Heather's adopted so... she doesn't care how she's half-alien. I'm not..."

Jeannie: "Your parents... never told you? Like, about how that happened?" Jean floated to the counter by the kitty and stroked her while she drank her sweet coffee.

Carol: Carol shook her head, "I never asked after I found out... but now I've kind of screwed that ignorance is bliss thing for myself so now I need to have that conversation with my mom... and I don't know if I want to deal with the consequences..."

Jeannie: "Is she... not the understanding type?"

Carol: "It's not that..." Carol shook her head, "It's me... I'm afraid of the answer...."

Jeannie: "Oooh. Right. Yeaaah, I put off telling my folks about the X-Men and Jamie until they saw it on the news and that went super well..." So had the call yesterday explaining where they'd been for a week. Ugh. "Families are no fun sometimes."

Carol: "Yeah... and finding out my mom cheated on my dad or something doesn't seem like a fun time... but I need to know... I just have no idea how to start that conversation... I don't know whether you know this about me... but I'm not really great at tact... more of a 'rip off the bandaid' kind of girl..."

Jeannie: "Nooooo. You're kidding?!" Jean laughed and took a drink. "Want me to just go brain spelunking? Beth isn't the only one who can do it."

Carol: Carol wrinkled her nose, "I don't know if that's a good idea either... Honestly, I'd rather someone come with me to talk to her... but I don't have a lot of people and I've already asked too much of the Shaws..." and Obi was supposed to be spending time with Hope and she was supposed to be encouraging that, not dragging him off to deal with her drama.

Jeannie: "Where to they live?" Jean was getting happier by the second as the caffeine and sugar kicked in. Chewie finished her snack and settled in her lap to clean her whiskers. Too cute!

Carol: "My parents? In Boston... It's where I grew up."

Jeannie: "Welp, I was kind of hoping for a road trip out of it, but I could go." She swung her legs and picked up the cat for a snuggle.

Carol: Carol blinked at her, "Really? You're volunteering to step into my personal drama?"

Jeannie: "Oh, absolutely. It's better than my own drama right now." She grinned.

Carol: "Okay... but we should probably drive... and call ahead..." Chewie meowed, "What? You want to come too? You're both crazy." Chewie mrrrd at her, "Okay, you're supervising. That makes more sense."

Jeannie: "You never know," she laughed. "She might drive. Girl trip!"
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Re: 8/13 Instance: Portal Puss

Post by Esynthia »

This whole thing was hilarious and adorable. XD
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