driftfleet | And We Danced (Masquerade Overflow!)

[ his head is reeling, suddenly wishing it couldn't understand language anymore. he wishes hiding under the table was an option - he'd take it in a heartbeat, he'd take any chance to back out of this conversation. it takes him back to the places in his life he most wants to leave behind; the son of a murderer never had much of a chance among orphans. he learned invisibility out of necessity, and right now, all those instincts are screaming at him to hide.

he stays put, but his face loses a shade of color, his shoulders slump, and he leans into kitty's arm for support as much as he dares. he's not the one who's been through this nightmare, he should be dispensing comfort, not accepting it, but he can't bring himself to turn it away. he's not that strong, not yet. but what he can try and bring to the table is understanding - he knows what kurt must have gone through was unbelievably terrible, beyond words. he knows what trauma can do to people, knows that being able to joke about it - sometimes, it's all you can do to keep what sanity you got. and it's that part he tries to cling to. kitty is a good person, there isn't a cell in his body that doubts that, and kurt is her friend. he has to be a good person too.

besides, as horrifying as the mental image is, he can picture frat boys doing the same. superpowers are rare and new in his world, but in kitty and kurt's - they're commonplace, normal. of course they'd breed a different tolerance, different reverence. it's an extreme version of people who pop their joints out of place. he can do this. he can find a way to understand, to bridge their gaps, to communicate. ]

Sounds like he hit the superpower jackpot.

[Kurt is getting a look from Kitty right now because she has realized Winn is uncomfortable and she's sure Kurt knows that and is clearly pushing him further. She means it to be a warning look for him to back off, but the hurt sneaks into it too. She wants this to go well. It's important to her and maybe she didn't express how important to him before, because she didn't realize it herself. She wants her teammate's support. He's always had her back on a mission or as a friend.

Of course it also leads her to wonder why he'd be pushing now. To make sure Winn is good enough for her is obvious enough even if the thought is ridiculous to her. If anyone isn't good enough for the other here it's her. He's had enough darkness forced into his life with his father. He doesn't need all the baggage she carries, but he's so good to her she can't bring herself to walk away for his sake. And she wants to think it would be okay. The less obvious to others answer is something she can relate to easily. Pushing people to see if they'll really accept you. How often did she do that in the prison? How many times did she "show off" her power by thrusting an arm into someone's chest without warning? How many times did she use the truth as a weapon to distance herself? She can't know if it's the same for Kurt. He lived so much more of that hell than she did now. But even if she's not thrilled with him right now, it also makes her worry for him.]

Lots of different powerful powers back home. Less buffet style than... [She cuts herself off since Kara's powers are supposed to be a secret. That's still odd for her to wrap her head around. Dual identities weren't all that necessary back home. Especially not for her when the only family she had left were the X-Men.] The superhero you mentioned back home.

Kurt teleports.

[The saddest part is, Kurt was trying to help by explaining Wade's powers further, put it in a context that wasn't so horrible for Winn. It was even the truth; Deadpool mostly was simply annoyed. But like Cain in Avalon, he pushes too far against the weak points that he doesn't always realize he's noticed.

So he's quiet now, letting Kitty take the lead because of the two she's less damaged. Kurt would be bitter about it if he weren't so proud of her for how far she's come, how much of the sweet girl he met years ago survived the war. He hums noncommittally in agreement with Kitty's explanation of powers back home, speaking up only when she uses his as an example.] As well as walking on the ceiling and disappearing in shadows. One of my best friends back home could turn himself into living ice, and one of my ex-girlfriends was a telepath.

My wife as well had the extraordinary ability to burn water. [He cracks a faint grin at that.] I maintain that had to be a superpower. No one can be that horrible a cook naturally.

[ winn visibly relaxes at the change of subject - all these powers can come with horrible stories, and have been involved in horrible stories, he has no doubt. but right now, those horrible stories aren't being told, right now, they're being presented as something exciting. something that just might be a touch safer for a first meeting with the person who means the most to the person who's becoming the most important to him on this fleet, aside for kara.

amazement replaces fear in his eyes now. ]

Cool. [ the ability to disappear in shadows and teleport away would have come in real handy for him as a kid, but he tries to put those memories away once more and focus on the present. ] Literally, in the case of ice-man - [ he smiles a little at the joke - though the use of past tense stops it going too far. somehow, considering the world he's from, he doubts it's there because she's improved. his expression turns more sympathetic than amused. ]

That superpower is really common in a college dorm. [ the things he's eaten -- make the protein cubes seem like a feast for kings. ]

[Kitty smiles softly, grateful that the only horror in Kurt's next tale is his deceased wife's cooking. Except for the part where everyone is also dead now, but they couldn't talk about anything if they had to avoid that. She's also amused by Winn's comment.] Ice Man was actually his codename.

And the food they provide here really makes me wish we had someone with the chef augment on the Windrose. [Not that she really wishes augments on anyone.] I think it would take an actual miracle to improve it.

It really was and he was so proud of picking it himself. I told him that for the sake of his future offspring, I was naming them. He'd have probably named them the Snowman. [No he will not try to pronounce abominable. It's a terrible word made solely to tongue-tie people whose native tongues are not English.

He's just going to raise an eyebrow at Winn.] Can't say that I've ever had the pleasure of eating a college student's cooking? I should be thankful, I take it.

Seriously? [ you don't go with the painfully obvious choice, man, everybody knows that! that's a hop skip and a jump away from ending up with a color in your code name. ] Yeah, good call there. [ that future offspring should erect a monument in his honor for sparing them that. some people shouldn't even be allowed to name pets, let alone people. ]

Let's put it this way -- any day half the dorm wasn't food-poisoned, you can pretty much guarantee either parents or deliveries were involved.

Oh, I remember delivery. I miss that. [So many of their stories end with "and then they died" or "no college because no civilization" but she isn't letting that get her down. It's a familiar difference in the way she sees things and way they tend to play out with the other people trapped with her. At this point she just likes it when there is any familiar ground instead of focusing on the differences. Besides, it's good when places survive and even thrive.]

Mm, so what would your codename be, Winn? I mean, if you're going to judge Bobby's we should have something to judge back.

I'm jealous. Closest thing we had to delivery when I was a child was when Mom would bring back take-out from Winzeldorf. [Or, when he was very small, when Creed would chase down a deer or boar. For such a gentle child Kurt quite enjoyed hunting with Victor, but out of respect for Kitty's history with the man he's kept his own memories close to the vest.]

Ja, what would your codename be, Winn? We could pick one for you if you can't think of one. [He might have a little too much fun with that; of course, this is coming from a man whose codename is a worm. Granted it wasn't his first choice, but given teenage Kurt leaned heavily toward demon names..]

Off the top of my head?

[ yeah, winn, cuz you totally didn't give yourself a code name as a kid, when you sat by your computer causing virtual mayhem and pretending you were saving the world. ]

Glitch? Hex? ...Supernerd? [ cuz you know, match your team. ]

[Kurt did have a very different childhood than her. She knows he was raised proud, but he must have been raised very alone. Her thoughts only linger there a moment as she hears the list.

She raises an eyebrow at Winn.] I'm not sure I approve of the last one.

Glitch is cute. Hex too. Though I would probably think magic before Hexadecimal these days. [Smiling.] You came up with those fast.

[He'd met less than five people right up until the mob came for him when he was fourteen. How's that for lonely?]

First one was your best one. [He at least tries to soften the bluntness of his critique with a soft smile.] Hex is alright, but I'll never hear it without thinking of an old team-mate; she went by the name Scarlet Witch, and called the bolts she fired off hex bolts.

[ winn has met people - but they didn't usually respond well to him. lonely club ftw? ]

My code-naming game is strong.

[ he nods at kitty with a smile. nobody needs to know about his pretendy fun times.

kurt gets a soft sympathetic smile in return, his voice takes on a softer tone as well. ]

Glitch it is. [ fond as he is of 'hex', he won't take anything away from their teammates. and besides, he doesn't really get a code name, so this is all for fun anyway. ]

[She looks thoughtful for a moment because this is probably not the best time to bring it up, but, well, Kurt is going to notice the look anyway so she might as well come clean.] There's a Wanda in the fleet, Kurt. Not from our world. Not even a mutant somehow, but she does have powers. [Wanda died before Kitty joined the team. She never even met her until they ran into each other on the moon. She'd seen pictures and heard stories, but it wasn't the same. Kurt was on the team when that loss happened even if he wasn't on that mission.]

And We Danced (Masquerade Overflow!)

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I thought I replied I'm so sorry guys.

it happens <3 no worries!

All the <3

<3

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