driftfleet | .05 if i live the life i'm given, i won't be scared to die

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.05 if i live the life i'm given, i won't be scared to die

Who: Rogue and anyone, really
Broadcast: Video, why not?
Action: The Star Space Station
When: Basically all week, Video Sunday afternoon

[ Video ]

[Rogue doesn't really like addressing the fleet at large, so she keeps it brief.]

Alright, folks, here it is - one of the best places we've been yet ta stock up. What's on your 'must bring back to the ship' list an' [more importantly, maybe] how are ya plannin' on storin' it?

[She's got her own list, but she knows the way these things usually go and she doesn't want to forget anything in case it winds up being a long, long dry spell before they hit another place this good.]

[ Action - All week ]

[Sooner or later, Rogue always falls into a routine. She's too well known in the fight circles now to make any real money, so she's taken to working as a chef/bartender at one of the middling-to-fancy restaurants. When not there, she is either 1) shopping (thank you, space gods, for a place that finally carries lipstick) 2) in the 'datary' checking out books to be 3) read in the garden. or jogging in the garden. Let's be honest, being around actual plantlife feels amazing after the desert planet, the frozen planet, and let's not forget -- space. Garden, reading, ~~wine~~ whiskey, chocolate, lipstick -- a good day. And then it was time to start it all over again.]

[By the time Rogue had given Kitty directions to where to meet, she'd had time to get... nervous about it. Which was dumb, but true. They'd talked fine enough over the communicator, why should meeting in person be any different?

In any event, Rogue hopes that Kitty will like the place. It was one of those middle level spots that she could easiest afford, and she's found a table that would let them both have their backs to the wall, let them both keep an eye on the door. She waits, gloved hands curled around her coffee.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

We were told there were duplicates of us back home living our lives less criminally. [She was never sure she believed that one. But why one tall tale and not another?]

With the virtual reality I suspected before we confirmed it, so I'd already kind of wrapped my mind around it. I was just happy we didn't lose our memories and that it was a shared virtual reality. [That would have been impossible. Having all those connections to people who either didn't exist or didn't know you? Then again that's a little like being here.] But it was hard for some people. Most new arrivals wouldn't believe it. Which is fine. I mean so much of that place was manipulation that the best you can really call anything is a working theory.

Duplicates? That's not creepy. [Man, she would have been pissed off at the thought.] So the whole under water thing -- just a gimmick? Any way of breakin' out that y'all figured?

I know. [Though she wasn't worried about hers since she didn't think they sent anyone there just to die. But she isn't sure Rogue wants to know that just yet.] No, there was still a dome surrounded by water when we woke up in our bodies. Another layer of making it inescapable if the barrier wasn't enough. I couldn't phase through it. Of course that was in the virtual reality. In our bodies they had our powers suppressed completely.

Makes ya wonder how places like that do it - the power suppression thing. Know a lot of folks back home who'd have loved ta try an' implement that kinda tech [the creeps.]

[The waiter comes back with their food, and Rogue thanks him before leaning back a little in her chair to look at Kitty, assessing.]

So what else should I ask 'bout the place? What do ya think I need ta know?

About Marina? I don't know. There was another you there for a little while. Younger. Less experienced. She was from that Logan's world. She called herself Marie.

[Ugh, that one.]

I heard 'bout her, once.

[The idea that any version of herself would be going around publicly stating anything that close to her real name, seriously, seriously bothered Rogue. And the idea that that Marie had made an impression on people by having to be rescued back in Luceti also bothered her -- but heck, that was just pride. Everyone needed to be rescued, every now and again. It was the name thing that really bothered her.]

Well, we can't do much 'bout our alternates. Can just barely hold on ta what we've got ourselves. [A wry little smile before she started in on her food.] So, Luceti didn't just have the war - it had all kinds of experiments. You said somethin' like that happened in Marina too?

Don't worry. You're still Rogue to me.

[She nods her head.] They never overtly called them experiments. It just didn't seem like they could be much of anything else. Like linking our minds together so that we could share dreams and nightmares and keeping us asleep for a full day for it.

They always claimed things were to help us in our rehabilitation or that they were just technical glitches like the flood.

[Rogue raised her eyebrows at that.] Flood?

[That didn't sound great in an underwater city.]

It went almost to the top of the dome. Flooded over every rooftop and the floating island. Oh, yeah, there was a floating island. We'd made some rafts by then, but a couple of people drowned. You couldn't really die there though. You just come back the next day feeling weird for awhile.

[Oh, yeah, there was a floating island. What was her life that those words sounded normal, even all strung together like that?]

The next day, huh? That's a pretty fast turn around... [A bite of food.] But I guess it would be, bein' virtual reality an' all.

Still, [Rogue looked back at Kitty] sounds kinda rough.

[The flooding and the drowning and all. Especially if they'd thought it was real at the time.]

Edited 2016-02-18 01:36 (UTC)

[It is real for the moment. And only one person had come back from the dead before that, so no one was sure it would happen again.]

It wasn't easy. I tried to keep everyone organized and get them to safety but people were missed. [She was pretty protective of them.]

[A nod.] Happens in a crisis. That's why Logan has us runnin' 'bout a thousand drills. That or he's just got a real twisted sense of humor.

[A shake of her head.] But they came back the next day, the people who were missed.

I think too many people just didn't take our evacuation attempts seriously. There really hadn't been an emergency like that before.

But they did come back.

Anything like that at Luceti?

Not floods. [Rogue's face sobered.] There were the drafts. A few of those were... real bad.

[A pause as Rogue tried to figure out how she would ever find the words to convey any of those experiences. The swamp. Vashkoth. Heck, even the underground one where she got buried in an avalanche or the moon one where she'd had to absorb Mia just so the two of them could survive and convince Tony to shoot a fake Pepper were light compared to the swamp. And the swamp wasn't quite... light compared to Vashkoth, but it was close.

In the end, she decided not to say anything about it at all.]

There were a few times when Luceti was invaded, couple of - real bad mind control things. A few times when our supplies were cut off, or there were earthquakes, but nothin' like a flood takin' us all the way up to the barrier. For the most part, outside of the experiments an' the invasions and the mallynappings, the village was pretty safe.

Edited 2016-02-18 02:22 (UTC)

Oh, yeah, everything you just said made it sound like a cozy resort get away. Snug as a bug. [Then again even after everything she said about the prison it was still safer and probably even less mentally damaging than home.]

[Rogue shrugs and smiles wryly.] Well. Those are the highlights of five years or so in a severely screwed up planet. Half the time, I just... had my routine, worked at the shop an' the stables, and practiced.

I will say this place seems ta be a whole lot less threatenin' so far.

Yeah, I can't tell if that's just so we get a false sense of security or if it's for real.

Wait, stables?

[Rogue blinked.] Yeah? Like - for horses. [Just in case there was stables for more than one thing in Kitty's world. Or somehow... not horses.]

I know what stables and horses are. [Looking amused.] I just didn't know you worked with them.

Well, yeah. [That awkward 'talking about myself feeling'.] I don't know 'bout your version of me, but I've always loved them, ever since I was a kid. [Let's expand the focus, good yes.] Luceti wasn't a real modern type of place - no cars, no easy transportation, it just barely had electricity before I got there. The one exception was the Battle Dome which was kinda like the DR at home. Other than that, if ya wanted to do anythin' other than walk, the best way was on horseback. I helped out a friend who started importin' 'em in with mission points.

[Her hand goes to clasp a - yes, that looks like an outrageously sized emerald in sort of shape of an arrow, attached to a gold chain which has until now disappeared under her shirt. It is really not Rogue's style, except for the color of the stone, far too fine and expensive to be something she'd pick out on her own.

Her expression becomes wistful.]

Someone even gave me my own, after a while.

Edited 2016-02-20 21:42 (UTC)

Maybe she did, and it just never came up. We didn't have a lot of horses around, and she was pretty busy. [But she feels like mentioning her son would be too much.] We both were. I did a lot of stealth missions with just Logan in addition to being out with the full team.

[Definitely hard to miss a necklace like that. Not to mention the look.] Someone?

[Oh, that made sense. Kitty would be great on stealth - smart and quick and able to get into places most couldn't -- and, more importantly, able to get back. Nothing could touch Kitty if she didn't let it. It helped give hind part of Rogue's brain, the part that hadn't stopped waiting for the sky to fall since she woke up here, a place to put Kitty's current skill set.] Sounds busy alright.

['Someone?' Oh. Rogue glances down at her pendent, and looking back up at Kitty gives her a small, wry smile. She doesn't let go of the pendent.] Yeah. He was tryin' ta impress me at the time.

Looks like he did. [Because she sees that smile and just because Kitty's love life is an ongoing disaster doesn't mean everyone's should be.]

Well, I mean, he gave me a horse. [Rogue's smile stretched to a brief grin and she spread out her hands.] What's a girl ta do?

[And then she laughed a little and shook her head, because it had really been so, so much more than that.

And she sobered a little, because at least as far as she knew Kitty had nothing against any version of Loki, which was a plus, but explaining this never went well for her. But Loki was coming back - he would come back - and she'd much rather Kitty hear this from her than find out any other way.] Thing is... it was a little more complicated than that.

[Her hand finally comes away from the pendent to rest on the table again.]

I can honestly say no guy has ever given me a horse before. I don't think there's a defense for that. [It's a little strange just to be having regular girl talk and stranger that it's with Rogue—a Rogue—over a guy who isn't Erik or even Remy. She's been married for awhile and has a son. But then Kitty was married too and here she is. It's not like This Rogue had those relationships or experiences.]

It always is more complicated. [She gives her a 'go on' sort of look in as much as a look can convey that.]

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