driftfleet | eins (video/action)

Entry tags:

eins (video/action)

Who: Darkholme and whomsoever dares.
Broadcast: Fleet-wide
Action: Marsiva
When: March 4th

Broadcast (can also be an action option for anyone close enough to hear the racket):
[The communicator comes online in the middle of clattering to the floor, bouncing and skidding until it ends up wedged against something that props it at an odd angle. Most of what it shows is a bland view of the ceiling, though the audio of a heavily-accented German voice grumbling is clear as a bell.]

Goddammit, what part of let me d--what the? [There' s a loud implosion of air, with a similar bamf sound echoing further away. The voice mutters something, words indistinct but tone harsh. The clarity increases with the volume as the owner of the voice begins to swear emphatically, lapsing halfway through into truly inventive German, punctuated by the sounds of clattering and movement. Someone just realized his swords are missing.]

Action:
[Sometime after he's calmed down (and hopefully found the communicator/been given a heads-up on the situation, Kurt temporarily gives up on retrieving his swords and goes exploring his temporary home. Feeling vulnerable without his weapons and with a distinct lack of shadows to blend in to, he opts to scurry along the ceiling on fours in lieu of using the floor like a normal person. It also lets him inspect the ceiling for visible cameras, ventilation shafts, wiring, or anything to give him information about their captors' technology level.

Occasionally he stops near one of the huge windows, the view catching his attention even after he's given up on recognizing any of the stars. Kurt's been in space before, but never for long and always too busy fighting to get a good look at the sky. His own world is so polluted with the aftermath of two wars that the stars are hazy--and that's on the clear nights. It's not a good time to catch him on the floor, but it is a good one to catch his attention without interrupting anything.]

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[She watches him, just taking in every detail she can through the video. There are so many questions. Some of which she's not ready to ask.] The Logan who's here...I think he might be from there. [She'd heard the "Wolverine" thing before.]

I've been here for a month, and I was in a prison—a nice one—for almost a year before that. They pulled me from home just seconds before... [You know.]

[With how closely she's watching, she might catch how his jaw tenses minutely when she mentions Logan being here. He certainly hopes it's a different Logan; he can't justify his betrayal of X-Force to himself, much less to anyone else.] He'll be furious with me, no doubt. He was very close to his version of me, the one who decided to be a goddamn priest of all things. [And there's the sneer, along with with the small expression changes that generally mean he's rolling his eyes.]

I suppose it would be hypocritical of me to be angry at your wardens, considering the circumstances. [That doesn't mean he won't be. What crime did she commit in anyone's eyes but Apocalypse's? However..] You knew before I told you.

I didn't know at first. [Because every part of her believed he'd stop. Of course he'd stop. That's why she didn't phase.] Then one day a couple of months in they decided to give us a little gift—videos that showed glimpses into our futures back home. The ones we would have had if we weren't in prison. Mine was blank. I figured it was because of resetting the timeline at first, but when I asked about it they showed me the seconds I was missing. [Nothing like a bird's-eye-view of your husband crushing you to death. She wants to ask about Piotr again, but she can't quite make herself.]

Why is Logan going to be mad? He doesn't care that I'm not like his version of Kitty. [He even gave her a cigar.]

Gott, Kitty. [He really wants to hold her right now, and find some way to kill these people she's talking about. What kind of way is that to tell a woman she died? The years might have worn away at the morals he clung so harshly to, but at least he still has enough decency to be appalled at that.

It takes him a second to focus on her question, distracted by the thought of his team-mate finding that out alone and the revived consideration of how close that nearest ship is, anyway.] Hmm? Oh. I--the last thing I remember is feeling the life being drained out of me. If that's the last he saw of me, then he was under the assumption I died. So did the Kurt he knew.

Kurt... [She didn't handle the news of her death well. There was a public, drunken declaration about how trusting people gets you killed. And then being carried out of the bar—because why wouldn't a prison have bars?—by a man she hardly knew. And that was just the first bad night. Others followed. Bad life decisions were made. And then it got better because that's what it does sometimes. She's had months to deal with her own death which doesn't even count because she's alive.

But now he's telling her that he died too? That's really not okay. Someone should be able to go back someday.] What happened?

Keep saying my name like that and I might be foolish enough to try a jump to that ship there. [He jerks his chin toward one of the closer ships, not that the camera extends far enough to show it. The smile he offers is fleeting and meant to disarm his too serious statement.

That's a loaded question. The most truthful answer is that he betrayed X-Force for the sake of avenging his wife's murder and in the process of trying to escape back to their world ripped a hole in an already weakened dimensional barrier. The other part is that at the end, he and Jean were all that was left and Jean had become a monster to save their world. None of that he can bring himself to tell her--not until they're face to face.] The travel back and forth between the dimensions were weakening the barriers. When I tried to go home, they tore. Somethings between them came through and began attempting to eat--everything. While the rift was still small enough, I grabbed the edges and teleported with them. Sealed it shut.

No more saying it then. [She has a feeling the Atroma have this game rigged. Much as she'd like to see him right now she figures the attempt would get messy and she doesn't want to delay it by trying to speed it up.

She listens to his story, eyes sad.] Of course you did. Our world could really use some happy endings. [But she guesses it won't be for either of them.] We are here though. [Maybe this is their happy ending—trapped in space as someone else's spectacle.]

Good. I'd hate to come all this way and end up a pile of guts floating through space. [Even if he's seriously beginning to wonder what will kill him. Beast had it spot-on when he called Kurt slippery; so many times he should have died, and didn't.

His smile turns as wistful as her eyes are sad, and without entirely realizing it his thumb starts idly rubbing at the ring on his left hand, hidden under the gloves he's wearing.] We did, Kitty. It wasn't an ending, but our world was better, for a time. I wish you could have seen it. [He wishes she could have met Linda. Kurt has to close his eyes then, drawing in a slow breath through his nose. The smile he flashes looks halfway genuine.] Ja, we're here.

[Okay, but could you just be shuffled now so there can be hugging?] Yeah, me too... [She's quiet for a moment, not wanting her voice to start doing unpleasant things like showing too much emotion over any of that. She does watch the motion he's making and while she can't see the ring it does remind her of something he said earlier that she'd wanted to come back to.]

Who is she? Your wife.

[The question is unexpected enough that he twitches, a movement that would've been a startled jerk if not for the years spent training to be still and silent. And then he realizes that he'd reached for the ring, and his mouth jerks in a way that was probably meant to be a smile.]

Linda. Her.. human, believe it or not. [He hadn't exactly had anything against humanity, obviously, but had always assumed he'd end up with another mutant. Kurt has to swallow, hard, against the lump in his throat before he continues speaking, and even then his voice is rough.] One of the sweetest women I've ever known. Nearly killed me the first time we met.

[She can believe it. She has some personal experience in that same arena now.]

Well, it's better to get that out of the way at the beginning instead of the end. [Kitty, stop. Probably not the best way to try and lighten things. Someone can be a little cynical about love sometimes, but she is happy for him? Okay, not exactly the emotion. Not when he was on the verge of death and now he's here separated from her.]

I'd like to meet her. [Not that she can, but for what it's worth, you know.] I'm sure she's great.

[It is a horrible joke for her to make, which is probably why he laughs. He's always had a warped sense of humor. It was probably meant to be a full-throated laugh, but the tightness of same turns it into a strained cackle.] You're an atrocity of a woman, Kätzchen. Why did I miss you?

[Sweet, atrocious woman. He wants to hug her, and also to curl in on himself and the hollow ache that's made breathing painful since the day he came home to find his wife--murdered. It's difficult to even think of what Dukes did.] She was. We--There's so much I need to tell you. Not just Linda.

Can't imagine.

[That initial response gets a smile from her. It softens sympathetically as he continues. She wants to hug him too. Her Kurt. Really, truly her Kurt? She's still not sure she completely believes it, but she wants to. She's been happy, grateful even, to see all these other X-Men, but it's always a bittersweet thing where she feels like she's not living up to whatever Kitty they know and doesn't really share the experiences with them. Not that she wants anyone to have gone through the things she has, but it would make her feel less lonely which she's struggled with since she was pulled from the prison.]

I want to hear it. In person would be better. [But she also doesn't want to break the connection and wait. What if they just leave it open for the next few days or whatever it takes?]

It'll have to be in person. There's--it's too much. [Too personal, he means, and too private which is another thing altogether. The video feed is supposed to be private now, he's noticed that, but Erik didn't give him his mother's old job because he was a trusting lad.

Finally, finally he turns away from the window and its tantalizing view of the other ships. It's too risky tonight; being in space means there's no universal magnetic field to help him determine whether he can push it to three miles. Tomorrow might be a different story.] You said I'll be sent to one of the others and we can travel then. Do you know the longest I can expect to be.. contained, here? [Just acknowledging that he, a teleporter, can't just leave is claustrophobic enough to make him think of Ororo.]

A week I think. Probably less. It was the same day for me. [She knows something of that feeling. She doesn't experience it as much here, but in the prison there had been shielding in places she couldn't penetrate. And while the dome had covered an entire small city it could feel extremely confining for someone who was used to very few limitations on where her powers could take her.]

[Drawing in a slow breath, Kurt nods.] I can stand a week. [He won't like it, as evidenced by the tightness of his facial expression, but he can deal. Kurt's already begun to pace again, the slice of view over his shoulder swerving as he steps onto the wall and just keeps going. A little of tension starts to drain from his expression, even only being as high as someone's head. If he has to be contained (away from Kitty and he's decidedly not dwelling on that any further) at least he can still get up and away.] Hm, at least that works still. Pity I never managed to get the knack of sleeping upside down.

[It sounds a little like forever right now in this situation. Not that there aren't things to do and other people to see, but none of it feels quite as immediate or important.]

So you can show off even when you're sleeping? Now you're thinking.

I've fallen through my bed while sleeping. It's a rough way to wake up. [She's also gone through the floor to the next floor. Not for a long time though. But new powers and bad dreams tend to gang up on a person.]

[Of the two of them, he's the one literally climbing the walls. It's safe to say he just might sympathize with that sentiment.] Well, why not? The virtue of my existence is a boast of its-self.

I wish I could say I sympathize. Suppose we can't all be born with the grace I was gifted by virtue of genetics. [Honestly, he's just trying to make her smile at this point, and distract them both from the wait ahead.]

[She raises an eyebrow first, but the smile does follow.] I'll have to remember that. I'm sure it will comfort me while I'm busy being flawed.

Now now, Kätzchen, don't sell yourself short. Your flaws are the perfect frame to showcase the beauty you possess. Keeps us from being blinded by it, too.

[If she happened to be wondering how he talked a woman into marrying him, that'd be how. Damned silver-tongued Darkholmes.]

[Forgive her if she doesn't swoon, but rather, looks amused.] You know, taped to a wall, you'd be just like an inspirational poster.

[The laughter spills out of him without thought, stopping just as suddenly in the wake of his complete shock. The last time that had happened, Bobby was still alive. Suddenly his face hurts, right in the eye his friend had nearly shattered the socket of.

Like a trooper, he continues the conversation after a beat, pulling a face at her.] Katherine, if tape comes anywhere near my fur, I will hunt you down in the night for my retribution.

[The laughter didn't seem odd, but the sudden stop definitely gets her attention. She watches him and is a little slow to pick back up on a response, leaving the rest of it alone. It's not hard to imagine it brought up a difficult memory. How many memories do they have that aren't difficult?]

You drive a hard bargain but glue it is. [She will keep adhesives away, promise.]

In the night, woman. You won't hear me coming, and you won't see me. You'll simply wake up to the chaos of my revenge.

[He knows she will. Even if he didn't trust her with his life, he trusts she doesn't want to deal with the aftermath of him bitching. The playful threatening does warm his eyes, even through the echoes of remembered pain.]

[She laughs at the threat. It just feels easy and simple. She has a connection with Kurt that goes deeper than anything she's let herself have with any of the other people here in the fleet. Even with the other X-Men as glad as she is to see them there's always that small reminder in the back of her mind saying, "but they are also a stranger."]

I'm trembling. Maybe I should find another way to get my inspiration out of you though.

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I am so sorry I thought I replied to this.

<3