(no subject)

[beathach]

Who: two nerds and you
Broadcast: fleetwide
Action: Marsiva
When: now!

[ The audio comes on sharply, but everything is still dark as two people discuss their situation.]

Is that the camera? Can you get it to work?

I - think so? Here, push this --

I am pushing it, Hank. I thought you knew about these from that show you keep watching. Space Trek?

It's Star Trek and that isn't exactly - you know, the same thing as this.

Right. . . . Wait, I think I see something on the side.

[ And the video flickers on, the red light glowing softly. It focuses on two men. One in a wheelchair and the other right next to him, peering curiously at the camera before they step back satisfied. ]

Well, that’s over and done with. Hello to anyone who might be out there. My name is Charles Xavier and this is Hank McCoy. Apparently we’ve been kidnapped again, by an unknown force again for some mysterious reason.

[muttered:] Again. [and louder] So if anyone would be kind enough to explain exactly what's going on, we'd appreciate it. You have our thanks in advance.

But do keep it pertinent.

Comments

[ video ]

[touchofrogue]

[...okay.

Okay.

Let's... test these waters.]

Define pertinent.

[She'd seen the prof with hair before, although it hadn't been so long it had still been... disturbing. And he'd been walking then. And while she'd certainly known Hank McCoy before he got all blue and hairy, he hadn't looked like that. And.

This was going to make her homesick, she was sure of it. (It also probably wasn't going to last. He never stayed for long, before. Time to see.)]

[beathach]

Anything relevant or important we should know or think we should know.

[you wanted a literal definition, right? Although by his expression, Hank knows she didn't mean it that way]

Or - anything you can tell us would be very helpful. We're hearing . . . a lot right now.

[touchofrogue]

[...did he just. Really?

But at least she can tell it was more habit than actual superiority complex, so she clarifies:] I mean, what is it ya want to know?

[Well, also she meant: are you worth wasting my time explaining things to or should I just blankly inform you not to go outside. Congratulations Hank, you passed.]

[beathach]

We've heard about - the shuffle, and the augments, and the polluted moon so far. [and it's been a lot, and he knows there's a lot more to come] Ah - and the . . . er, reality show.

Whatever you think would be important? Or - [he pauses, thoughtful for a moment] Something people forget to tell others on the first day? Things like that, if . . . there is any.

[he's been through this before, so he's covering all his bases]

[touchofrogue]

[Rogue considers for the moment. All she really has besides the basics are a bunch of suspicions that she wouldn't foist on anyone else without a decent amount of Good Reason.

So instead, she just goes for practical advice:] The ingredients an' food in general is a sight better on the Marsiva than what the ships get, an' this planet doesn't have much in the way of fresh ingredients. I'd stock up. An' the annoyin' elevator music is less loud in the hall.

[beathach]

[practical advice is more than welcome, and he finds himself grinning a little before he can stop himself]

I'll make sure Charles and I - er, stock up before we get sent to wherever we're assigned. Thankfully the music doesn't really bother me.

[touchofrogue]

The Shuffle comes abruptly. Heck, I don't even remember the process. One minute I was on the Marsiva, the next I was covered in confetti. [So. Have fun with that.]

[beathach]

Oh, so it just . . . happens. That's nice. [he says it as if it isn't nice at all. Because it isn't]

[touchofrogue]

[Dryly:] Consideration for our feelings is clearly their top concern.

[beathach]

Clearly. [he repeats, then just sighs, a hand coming up to rub at his face] Sorry - but thank you, that's good to know.

[touchofrogue]

You've got no call ta apologize. [Simple, almost laconic really.] At least it looks like you're not here on your own. That's somethin'.

[And this is Rogue before she debates how direct to be. But this is really a lot of shock for someone on one day, might be better to leave alternate universes and timelines out of it.]

[beathach]

Mm, that's true. [his expression lightens a little] I think all of this would have gone a little differently if I was by myself.

[he surely would've overwhelmed the serum in his panic, for one. But even if there's a tension in his shoulders, he sounds a bit relaxed, too] I'd have a lot of explaining to do.

[he's already been warned and threatened, Rogue's explanation would be something of a relief compared to everything else]

[touchofrogue]

Yeah?

[Why would he have explaining to do? Usually these things go the other way around.]

Re: [ video ]

[axiomed]

Whatever is most relevant?

[ Was that a big word? Does he need to define relevant too? ]

[ video ]

[touchofrogue]

[...did he just. Really? Really?]

Thank you, Mr. Dictionary.

[Yeah, she's not sure which version you are? But she's leaning more towards the one who'd tried to go into her boyfriend's mind without permission after a game of 'who's the most condescending' chicken. She didn't like that version.]

Try ta avoid headin' outside for a bit of air.

[There. Relevant. Pertinent. Applicable even.]

Re: [ video ]

[axiomed]

[ In space? Or on the planet? Either way, he doubts asking more will offer much else. ]

Ah. Well, thank you for your time.

[ video ]

[touchofrogue]

[Rogue feels a faint sting of conscience and debates how to respond to it.

She's not being very fair, even if he was being patronizing her question had been combative. But. Ugh.]

Welcome. [...] Professor.

[There. Good enough.]

Re: [ video ]

[axiomed]

[ His expression softens, involuntarily. ]

Are you one of my students?

[ video ]

[touchofrogue]

[That was a complicated question, not one that she wanted to deny and not one that she wanted to affirm, either. She didn't know him. She hesitated for a moment before answering.]

Are you in the habit of forgetting your students' faces?

Re: [ video ]

[axiomed]

[ His answering smile is quick and painful. ]

Not even in my dreams.

[ But he continues. ]

But I'm aware that I have plenty of students in the future. Ones I have yet to meet.

[ video ]

[touchofrogue]

[She softens slightly, but her perception of her position is uncompromising.]

I tend not ta think too firmly of the future. I don't go in for destiny or a future that's set in stone.

[But that his future is nebulous doesn't change her past.] But yes. I am an X-Man.

Re: [ video ]

[axiomed]

If it helps, neither do I. I only caught a glimpse of the future.

[ It had been Charles' way of reigniting hope in him. And it had worked. A lot of his philosophies - ones that looked seemingly set in stone had changed. His priority was the school now.

He looks at her, assessing. ]

Are you glad that you're an X-Men?

[ video ]

[touchofrogue]

[She returns the look, frank but not particularly open. That was a barbed question, any real answer pulled out more than she was willing to give a stranger over an open network. She has no problem telling him so.]

That's kinda a personal question. [She considers for a moment, wondering what she could give him that was true but not too much.] It's a sight better than the alternative.

Re: [ video ]

[axiomed]

It is a little personal to me.

[ He's still Charles Xavier. Whether people see him differently or not. But that was a good answer. Still, to know the X-Men exist is . . . heartening. ]

What was the alternative?

[ video ]

[touchofrogue]

Not yet it isn't. [But then again -- she felt a personal connection to the other versions of herself, so maybe that wasn't entirely fair. She relents.] Though I reckon I can understand havin' a vested interest.

[Didn't make her any more inclined to spill personal stories to a stranger over an open network.] The alternative's a choice I made once before an' an option no longer available.

[Although there were many things in her past which caused Rogue shame, joining the Brotherhood right at first was low on that list, even if she was still uncomfortable enough about it to not come out and say it, it wasn't something she felt she had to hide. She still wasn't inclined to tell this version of the man she'd trusted to help keep her sanity when her psyches had completely overwhelmed her any more than the barest outline of her world. Her experiences with him had been incredibly varied, and the truth was she just didn't know him.]