Rogue: The Uprising

[Mobley Eats]

Collab Post: So Much Tea, Part I | Interactions: Devon, Leon @Elle Joyner | Location: Garage to Interrogation Room


Well hello, who is this cutie?? Lucas openly skimmed this new woman up and down, not a single hint of shame radiating from his body. Like, dear Lord, hot damn, and everything else his mind could conjure (a lot)--she was so freaking attractive! Okay, Lucas was already in the process of fabricating a long list of compliments and flattery he could send her way, whenever he had the chance to, anyways. Besides, if this was supposed to be their new home, he'd have plenty of opportunities to test them out--

"Dev. Been a while..."

"D...danny. Hey. Didn't expect to see you here."

Lucas froze. Blinked twice, then stared back and forth between her and Mufasa. That, uh...that introduction sure did hold a lot of awkwardness just now. And they knew each other already?

"Really? Didn't I get Orlando in the divorce?"

Lucas tilted forward, wishing beyond all wishes that he a physical tea mug to sip from right now. "Divorce? Like split? Like...omg you've got plenty of tea to spill with me later sir so don't even think of running away later split?" Oh...Oh, this was grand. Not only was the Smexy Tree nice on the eyes, but he had some delicious drama chilling in the backseat of his past? Oh...ohoho. Orlando just got interesting.

However, Lucas snapped out of his reverie long enough to catch this Danny lady's comment about Levi. The teen's mouth was moving before he could think about it. "Hey, yes. Yep. I'm definitely Levi and would definitely like to have a nice long and wholesome chat with you over some tea that may or may not get knocked over with some spicy deets--"

Aaaand then his fun came to an abrupt halt when Mufasa claimed him, thus stealing away his element of deception. Dammit! Next time, you majestic woodland fairy! However, as soon as he was alone with Devon, he smiled up at him. Eagerly. Impishly. Eyes absolutely glowing. "S-so, uh," laughter made his voice tremble, "Mountain Man, huh? She knows what's up...And apparently how to get it up--what, I said nothing. Said what? What proof? We're off to do some interrogating, right?" Lucas batted his eyelashes innocently.

Looking to Lucas, eyes narrowing, Devon held up a finger, "I'm going to need you… to be extremely… extremely careful, with the next words that come out of your mouth. Been a long day, and I'm not feelin' chatty." Rubbing his forehead, he sighed, and a frown came across his features, "But since you're a nosy SoB and I know you ain't gonna shut up about it… It was a long time ago, and it didn't end well. Answer your question?"

"God, I like it when you put your foot down like that," Lucas chuckled, though he made himself sober up, if only a little. He shrugged. "Eh, not the tastiest tea in the world, but it'll do. I've got other resources to draw from anyways."

"She uh…" Rubbing the back of his neck, Devon looked ahead of him, as if the very last thing in the world he wanted (accurately enough) was to look at Lucas in that moment, "She seem happy to see me, or… or was that just my imagination?"

"Pfft! Mufasa, please," Lucas nudged Devon, amusement nearly filling him to the brim. It was beyond adorable seeing the giant man all flustered like this and he was giddy at the prospect of seeing him like this. He could only imagine how much of a treat and rarity this was. "I know lady boner vibes when I see it. She's totally still into you, sweetness. Just trust me on this one," he said, smiling lightly.

"Damn…" Devon shook his head, a sigh escaping. It wasn't that he'd wanted to hear anything otherwise… but there was an uncomfortable element to his posture that suggested otherwise, "This… this is not ideal."

"Man, loosen up! Jeez, I'm gonna need to give you a deep tissue massage at this rate...which you can totally ask for, by the way. And let me drop some Lucas wisdom on your beautiful beefy shoulders, okay?" He held up an index finger. "One, ideal schmideal. Screw that. You're gonna bore peeps to sleep with that mentality." Then his middle finger. "Two, you need some woodland fairy action. Could be good for ya. We just got out of our base getting ransacked, so nowhere else to go but up, right?" And finally, his ring finger. "And three...If things don't work out, you know where to find me."

"You got to class for how to be a pain in the ass, kid? Cause you're an expert, I swear to God." Shaking his head again, he yanked his hair from the ponytail it was in and massaged his scalp, before pulling it back up again, "We went there. It didn't work out. What we do… Rogue… it's a risk just thinking about a relationship. I wasn't gonna do that to her… I couldn't."

"Naw, I wouldn't cut it as a teacher. Students would just gawk at my sexiness all day and wouldn't remember a single damn lesson," Lucas said. The corner of his smile faltered a bit as Devon went on, the dip in his mood as clear as ever. Damn, the woodland fairy seriously meant a lot to him, it seemed. Lucas shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged again, voice still light. "Eh, relationships are toxic no matter what. Doesn't mean you can't have a little fun sometimes...but I'll lay off. Obviously, this topic isn't your jam. So what's the verdict on this interrogation biz, sweetness?" he asked.

"Leon." Devon answered, simply enough, "Gonna run through his history a bit more, see if I can't pull anything useful that'll help against RIEF. You may be a pain in my neck, kid… but you got a gift of talkin', and something like this? It's a good learning experience. If you can shut up for ten seconds, that is."

Lucas slapped a hand over his heart, smile absolutely radiant. "There you go again warming up my heart, you rascal lion you. Glad I could put the pride and pride rock for you and if you really think I can be useful?" A brief chuckle, somewhat tinged with disbelief. "Then I'm down for trying. And shutting me up isn't hard. Just gotta find the right thing to put in my mouth...Or the right motive." He winked playfully. "But don't pop a vessel. Seriously. I know when it's time for work and when it's time to play, sweetness."

A brow rose, almost in disbelief, but Devon didn't argue. They had reached the interrogation room, and it was time to put their conversations to rest for more important factors. Inside, he found Leon sitting in a chair before a table, looking far more tired than he had when they'd first left the hideaway.

He'd changed, and where he'd been stabbed, thick padding could be seen through the fabric of his shirt. Looking up, he nodded, "Gents."

"Leon." Moving to a chair across from the former RIEF agent, he nodded Lucas to the other, and sitting, held his hands up, the way a fortune teller might, to Leon, "No funny business this time, yeah?"

"You got it…" Leon said, with a small smirk, "Couldn't even if I wanted to, though."

 

[Elle Joyner]

MOUNTAIN MAN​

Lucas caught the look and seated himself next to Devon, though his curious gaze remained glued to Leon, not just because he was really freaking pretty, but he also tried to envision this dude pulling the wool over Devon's eyes. It was kinda insane, but not impossible. It was just weird to think about. Thus, Lucas merely propped his chin up on the heel of his palm, silently watching (and maybe admiring) Leon.

Devon reached out, and Leon settled his hands palms up over Devon's, the former closing his eyes. Silence encapsulated the room, tense and eerie, until several minutes had passed, and Devon's eyes cracked open.

"There's ten of you?" He asked, a brow raised.

"Correct. Or at least, there was before I left. Dunno how things rolled out after…" Lowering his gaze, Leon reached to run his hands through his hair, "Don't suppose your little mind thing works for the future?"

"Nope. That it does not." Looking to Lucas, he shrugged, "You wanna field some questions?"

"Hm?" Lucas hummed, eyes snapping back to Devon in slight surprise. He didn't expect the man to actually refer to him, at least, not this soon into the interrogation. Regardless, he shrugged and leaned back into his chair. "Cool. Ten. Mind listing off all ten abilities, sweetness? Just curious."

Devon nodding in approval, fighting a hint of a smile, as Leon sank back in his seat, hands curled behind his head.

"Hell. This would be easier with some sleep… Lesse. Tank… that's Vance - He's got power absorption. Emmanuel can turn just about anything he touches into a weapon. Similar to Neil, who's got this thing for bringing scary as hell furry things alive… Ket, she can manipulate the fear center of the brain. Amanda can paralyze with a touch… James has shadow manipulation, Avan can change his skin… any sort of material he touches, Piper controls the temperature… hot or cold (and trust me, she is…), and Andrew's got super speed. And then me, well… Devon found that out the hard way. I can manipulate pheromones… sort of a mind control jam."

"Uh huh…" Lucas drawled. In the middle of Leon's descriptions, he reached out for a small writing pad and pen, and started scribbling down the gist of what he heard. Goddamn, that was a bit more detailed of an answer than he anticipated, but he wasn't complaining. He also took the liberty of jotting down little questions that came to mind, though he didn't really want to voice them yet...Meh, he'd let Devon look at them. He was the experienced one in this category. "Damn, sweetness," Lucas said, brow furrowing, "That really is an assload of metas in one place. And scary ass powers, especially put together."

He tilted his head like a curious puppy.

"What kind of incentive is keeping you guys on lockdown around RIEF? I mean, obviously not that strong since you're here with us, but still. Gotta be intense to keep big baddies like you pinned down."

"Depends… Some of 'em… they wanna be there. Like it. Others, they got dragged into it, somehow. Some, just to stay alive. But they keep us there cause they paid a crapload of money to have some fancy bit of science put into our heads. A kill switch… controlled by a real bitch with a bad habit of enjoying torture."

"Yeesh…" Lucas was still writing, but he paused briefly to full express a sympathy grimace. That sounded like...a rough time, to put lightly. Like seriously--he was disturbed by RIEF already, but this just added a whole new level of fucked up. "So, like...a kill switch in your heads, just goes off whenever so-called bitch is feeling trigger happy and keeps you guys in line. Cool. Err, not cool, but you get what I mean."

Without thinking, he propped both feet against the table and pushed back, balancing on the hind legs of his chair. "So like...how come you're still living and chatting with us then?" He looked over at Devon, checking to see if he was doing the right thing. He still wasn't exactly comfortable in this depressing ass and tense atmosphere.

Devon made a face as he popped his feet onto the table, but said nothing, as Leon went on, "It's drone controlled. Long as I stay away from those suckers, I'll be fine. Besides… pretty sure your uh… anti-Keegan thinks he killed me back there. So, that'll buy me some time, anyway."

Lucas waited to see if Devon wanted to pitch anything before launching back into the conversation. "Drones. Cool. Those little flying do-hickeys of death, right? Nice to know…" He fell silent a moment, just staring at the notes he'd taken so far, about two and half pages worth. Most of it was nonsense if anyone tried to understand it without his help.

His lips pursed. "So like, you said you did this for you boo thang, right? Which means you guys at least get enough breathing room to get all coupley and close. How they treat you anyways? All they do is put shit in your heads, ship you out to missions, and then back in time for beddy bye? Can't help but feel like they'd do more shit with you guys if it means having our well-loved kind hanging around their place." Cue a sarcastic smile.

"Ain't a palace, but we've got space to live. Ket and I… it ain't exactly protocol, though." With a shrug, he leaned forward onto his elbows, "They didn't greenlight us for missions until a little while ago. Dunno what the hold up was, but my guess is they wanted to keep us on hold for something big."

"Huh...that's weird," Lucas muttered, still tilting back and forth slowly, a soft creaking noise piercing the silence. "Doesn't make much sense to chip you, wait a long while, and then toss you guys out there, especially if don't have a slightest clue about what the hold up was. How long did you guys wait? A few months? Years?"

He looked at Devon again, a flicker of "help me out I don't know what I'm doing" dancing in his eyes.

"Lost track, to be honest. My guess is at least a year… maybe longer."

"You said expensive?" Devon asked.

"Yeah. That's their biggest hang up. How much the damn things cost. Like we're equipment or something."

"Right…" nodding slowly, Devon slid back his chair, "Well, I can't guess what Yul's gonna want to do with you, but I'll put in a word you've been cooperative. Lucas? You good?"

Lucas beamed at Devon, flipping the notepad closed and letting his chair clack to floor before standing up. "More than good, sweetness! That's the longest I've ever been around beautiful men and was able to indulge in some people watching." He winked at Leon. "Thanks for the show, gorgeous."

A brow lifted, but Leon didn't seem completely put off by the compliment, smiling faintly, "Yeah, sure… Maybe that'll bring this Yul guy around, too."

"Doubt it." Devon said simply, rising to his feet, "Sit tight, Leon. You'll find out what's next for you, soon enough."

"Not everyone can appreciate beauty, Leon," Lucas said, a fake sigh of dejection escaping him. Once they stepped out of the interrogation room, the teen was quick to drop his "serious act" (which really wasn't serious at all...but by his standards, he might as well as have been a heart attack) and bounce giddily in place. "Talk about 007 suave! Wooo man, the endorphins are still pumping, Mufasa! Up top!" He held his hand up, fingers wiggling.

Looking to Lucas, Devon shook his head, but with a small smirk, reached to return the high-five, "You did good, Lucas. Got a gift, like I said."

"Dang. And here I thought my only gift was my cuteness." Lucas laughed, shaking his head in mild disbelief. He held out the notepad to Devon. "Wrote down what I could, Mufasa, though you might need me to help decode some of that shiz. Couldn't write as fast as he talked and stuff."

"Excellent." Devon took the notepad and tucked it into his back pocket, "I got a few reads… It's not pretty, what they put them through. But he's right… some of them, they're real bastards. We got a hell of a fight on our hands, if it comes down to that…"

"I figured as much…" Lucas scratched the back of his head. Some tiredness seeped into his bones, which didn't make any sense since he had a six hour nap before arriving to Orlando. "I mean, whether it does or not, doesn't hurt to be prepared, right? What happened to our friends back at Miami, it...Just damn." His memory flashed back to the RIEF soldier's face, right before bullets ripped through it. "I'd rather not go through that shit again. No one does."

"Speaking of…" Looking to Lucas, Devon's expression softened, just slightly, "They uh… they have a therapist, here. If you feel like you need to talk to someone."

Lucas gave pause, his expression falling flat as his brain slowly registered Devon's words. And then he plastered on the same smile once more, shaking his head. "Nah, I'm good. Nice to know though, I'll pass it around if Levi or whoever wants to check it out."

"I mean... that's cool." Giving a shrug, Devon steely expression resumed, "Just uh… you know. Talk to someone, if you need to. Hell. I got ears, so… That's it. Anyway. You're free to go… if you wanna check out the facility. Just watch you don't wander anywhere that's restricted."

"Don't we all~?" Lucas cooed and with a tensing and relaxing of his jaw muscles, his ears started wiggling. His best party trick, for sure. "And damn, if you tell me not to, I'm gonna be tempted to do it anyway, sweetness...But I guess I'll behave, no matter how much it'll pain me," he sighed, already in the process of walking away from Devon. Perhaps escaping, but he'd never admit that out loud. He just needed to leave and bug someone else for a while.

---

TAGS || Collab with @Mobley Eats

 

[Elle Joyner]

DOCTOR THADDEUS CHARMICHAEL​

He had been prepped ahead of time, but by the time he was told his patient had arrived in the garaged, Thaddeus Charmichael was already feeling slightly out of sorts. The whole of Miami base - or what was left of it, anyway - was flocking to Orlando for safety, and all he knew was that there were injuries - everything from gunshots, to stabbings, to pulled muscles, to exhaustion. Chaos was not his work-environment of choice... Not by any stretch.

He and Daisy drew straws to see which of the worst injuries they would handle, and he'd apparently wound up with the knee-wound. It sounded messy - a gunshot, shattered bone... stitched over in a hurry. But there were worse things, he supposed.

When the infirmary door slid open and he heard a greeting echo from its portal, he slid his chair from his desk, peering around a partition, "Hey there..." He answered, looking at the odd couple with a small, polite smile, "You must be my... whatever o'clock it is."

Rising, he crossed the floor, his eyes skimming over the knee flopped across the man's arm, a brow lifting. It was a mess, alright, and for eight solid seconds, he seriously hated Daisy and her damn luck with straws. But a patient was a patient, even if it was gonna be hell to clean it up, "Go ahead and lay her down on the gurney there. Lemme have a look. Dr. Charmichael, for the record. Thaddeus Charmichael."

---

TAGS || @Reythaak, @Kat

 

[Mobley Eats]

Ozno McCarthy | Interactions: Yul @Elle Joyner & Keith @Reythaak | Location: Rogue HQ, Orlando Branch

One hundred and seventy one, one hundred and seventy two, one hundred and seventy three--

"As you are aware, for the next several weeks, we will be host to the displaced agents from Miami."

...One hundred and seventy four, one hundred and seventy five...wait, no, technically seventy nine. Now eighty. Yul's interruption had thrown off the ticking. And now he lost track. That sucked...Oh well. He focused on Yul again. Well, more so on his goatee. He had nice facial hair. He wanted to touch it. Just to see what it felt like. He tried to do that once, didn't turn out well. Went straight to the brig for a while, where he met this really cute mouse. Or rat. Whichever. Point was, Ozno really liked spending time with the little thing. She had a darling personality.

"This will be a difficult adjustment, but so long as we recall our protocols and act on them, I don't imagine this will be unnecessarily painful. That being said…"

Ozno was temped to go back to counting. It was fun trying to keep track of the clock's ticking but, at the same time, he didn't want to start over and catching up was impossible now. Dang.

He wanted something to eat. Wait...Why was he in Yul's office again? He couldn't recall once he had started counting.

"I've assigned you a specific target. Read up on the information I've given you, and then I'd like for you to do your best, to bring them over to our team." And suddenly a folder was in Ozno's hands. He blinked at it, rapidly, before flipping it open and...words. Lots of words meant lots of reading, which was okay. He was fine with reading. Neutral about it. He didn't love or hate it. Oh--a picture. Some dude nammmmed...Keith. Nice name.

Nodding absentmindedly at Yul's dismissal, Ozno waltzed out a few seconds after Shi, grinning at the dirt golems. He wanted to cuddle 'em. Maybe later that afternoon during a nap...after second brunch. Or was that just first lunch? He forgot. He knew what he had to do though, which was always good. He remembered what was important at the moment and Yul seemed cool with that. Cool Yul. Mr. Ice Dude. Freezer Burn. Heh. Good one.

Soooo...recruiting. Recruiting Keith. Okay. He didn't know if he'd be good at that. He wasn't good at talking. Barely did any of that. But he could give it a shot. Never got anywhere in life without trying, right? Megan always drilled that into his thick skull, all while blowing clouds of weed into his face. Dang. Now he wanted to see Megan. Just to see how she was, check up on her. Show her some of his sketches for tattoo ideas. He wanted a new tattoo. Of, like...he didn't know what yet. A butterfly? No, a doe. Yes. A doe. On his left pectoral.

Ozno's brain strayed from that point forth, though his body was focused enough to take him where he needed to be. This was the room guards had pointed him in the direction of, where Keith was supposedly sleep. Keith. The aura reader. Super dope power. No, wait...Super duper power. There, that rhymed better. Satisfied with that, Ozno knocked. Three times exactly.

Then waited twelve seconds exactly.

And knocked three more times.

Twelve more seconds...

...

Three knocks.

Twelve seconds.

Three knocks.

He did this on loop until the door opened.

 

[KatSea]

Collab: What's up, Doc? Danica, Daisy @Elle Joyner

Levi had spent most of his time during the trip sleeping or dreaming with eyes wide open. He didn't think of the dead bodies that crumbled at his feet as much as he thought he would. Death would cross his mind from time to time, one particular dream he did have revolving around being one of the dead. He dreamed that he sat in front of one of the other dead men, both spirits playing a card game while the chaos went around. The man was not someone Levi remembered vividly, but he recalled what was said during the card game.

You know it wasn't so much the death that hurt. It was the damn bullet. The first one to the knee hurt more than the one to the head. You have any fours Le?

Levi didn't necessarily dream long enough to respond. He knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to say that he was surprised his soul was existent. That he was surprised that, if his soul was truly an existent being, he wasn't in hell. And he wanted to say Goldfish, of course.

They had a game to play and only so little time in the concept of eternity. It could take him eons, but Levi would finally figure out why the hell people used the term Goldfish.

His thoughts continued with the same blur, ranging from gunshots relating to ocean waves, north having a particular degree of temperature, and someone teaching him how to mambo without a permit. Needless to say, Levi was exhausted, the nap transferring him into the fourth dimension, where time happened all at once and people were relative. When his eyes did flutter open and his thoughts were beginning to straighten, his body stiffened.

"Oh God...Devon...end me." He mumbled, rolling out of the car as it was revealed they were finally in Orlando. His shoulder was throbbing worse than before, considerably from bumping around in the car as he slept. He most likely hit it against the door that he used to prop himself, although he couldn't be too sure. A lot of the trip didn't feel real to him.

Wordlessly, Levi followed behind Lucas and Devon into the base, his mind having trouble registering the new area. It definitely did not feel like the Rogue base he had grown used to the last six months. He was suddenly curious if the Orlando base had access to wood materials, for he missed the feeling of carving. Besides, he still owed Peter a little heart for his friend, and it would be easier to get to him now that Levi was in the area.

"Whichever one of you cuties is Levi, needs to come with me." Levi snapped out of his thoughts, blinking steadily as he was returned to reality. Small woman. Needed him to come with her. Devon seemed flustered. For such a little woman to make a grown man so sheepish?

Levi needed some tea to sip and some popcorn to munch on.

"Uh...sure, that would be me." He bobbed his head in confirmation, stepping before her to follow suit. He tilted his head as Danica and Devon spoke back and forth, a chuckle threatening to rumble in his chest. "Mountain man, huh?"

Glancing over at Levi, Danica wiggled a finger at him with a small, coy grin, "Oh no, you don't. Yul handles all the debriefings around here, my pretty, and as far as I know, I'm not scheduled for any interrogations. How's the shoulder? It was your shoulder, right? Don't you worry one bit about that, though. Daisy? She'll take good care of you. Hell of a bedside manner, too."

"Oh my God, do you think I'm pretty?" Levi plastered a facade of flattery, placing his hand over his chest before waving air towards his demeanor. "Oh my, why I haven't heard that one before." He stopped himself midtrack, lowering his hands and shoving them deep into his jean pockets. "I mean, a few questions wouldn't necessarily hurt. As for the shoulder...hurts like hell, but I shouldn't complain. I didn't get my knee blown out. Or stabbed in the torso. In comparison, it's like I stubbed my toe against a counter." His head tilted. "Daisy, I am assuming she is the doc here, yeah? Well, I am very grateful that she is willing to look over what I have. I doubt she has to do much work. Lucas back there did a good job on the stitching...Only a few screams of utter agony." Levi rolled his eyes, offering a friendly smile to the young woman. "I probably don't even need the check up any how…"

"Ah… a few questions. But when is it ever just a few, hm? And all you Miami kids are pretty. You don't know this? I thought it was like… a damn requirement or something. Bunch of adorable freaks." Grinning, she shrugged, "Daisy is one of our docs, yeah. She tries to call herself a nurse, but hell if I've seen a nurse do what she can do. But I can promise if you did any of that in the field… the stitches and whatnot, she's gonna want to look it over. I don't think you'll mind though." This she finished with a wink.

"I have to admit, there are quite a few cuties. I mean...mountain man back there and all." He smirked at her, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly with his good arm. "Alright. I suppose I won't argue against a check up to make sure I don't get an infection. Or you know, something gross along those lines...what's the wink for, Danny?" He found that there was a speckle of red at his freckled cheeks, but he wasn't sure why he felt such heat.

"Oh, don't you worry that pretty head of yours. Call it a tick or a twitch or something, yeah?" Danica grinned, offering no explanation further, "How's he been? Devon? He good…? Still a righteous pain in the neck do-gooder?"

"Eye twitching. How comforting." Levi tried his best not to crack a smile, surprised to see that he was at ease. Safety was something that he found to be almost foreign now. "Devon's good. We were worried about him when we were escaping, but the good man kept his head held high and got us all out of there. I owe him for helping us out of there. I owe Frankie." Levi shook his head. "I give him credit too for not strangling me on the car ride down. I really should give the poor man more slack. He's a good soul. So...were you two...friendly?"

Looking over at him, a brow lifted slowly, "I see what you're doin' there, Blue Eyes. Yes… we were friends. We were more than friends. Devon'll pretend like he's this big tough jerk who broke my heart. Pisses him off I won't get mad about it. Why are men always so dumb?"

"Ah. I'm sorry. Genuinely." He bit his lip, glancing down at the small, fiery woman. He slowly shrugged, grimacing as pain trickled down his shoulder. He offered a pained grin. "I can understand what heartbreak feels like, sugar. Makes you think your going crazy. And, honestly, I've been asking myself the same question for a while now. Why are we so dumb?" He scoffed. "It's a design flaw, honest to God."

"Heartbreak? Nah. Cause you know what I am, my friend? An optimist. And hell if I don't know a thing or two more about Devon than he knows about himself. He'll come 'round. Realize he's a great big idiot, and come back home." Smiling, she gave him a nudge, before she grimaced, "Oh! Sorry! I'm not used to… injured folk. Ah… We're here, anyhow. Ready?"

"You know what, I respect that. In fact, I think Devon is foolish not to consider going back home." He winked. "You've got a spark. Mufasa needs a little bit of that…" A minor nudge struck him, but luckily he was able to keep in any inhuman response by clamping down on his bottom lip. "It's cool. At least it wasn't a kick to the...you know what let's just make sure miss Daisy doesn't have to deal with me for long. I'm ready." He nudged her gently in return.

"Mufasa… Oh my God. Please… please tell me that everyone calls him that!" She laughed as she reached for the door, pulling it open for him, "Alright, Gorgeous. In you go. Don't worry. She'll be gentle…"

"Just me and Lucas. So far." He chuckled with the woman, nodding his respect as she pried the door open for him. "Just know that if I am screaming, she is not being gentle." He teased with a smirk, shaking his head and stepping inside with a wave goodbye. "Wonderful meeting you Danica. Good luck." Without another word, Levi swiveled into the room, his eyes landing upon the nurse. Despite himself, rose fluttered to his vulnerable cheeks. When Danica had said nurse, Levi pictured another Doc from back at the old base. He was not expecting…

"Oh, hello there." He swallowed, smoothing back his hair and nodding at the woman. "You must be Daisy. Pleasure, um...I suppose I uh, heh, sorry I am not the most presentable. Had to Macgyver my wound for a while at the expense of my shirt and um...I'm sorry I am rambling now. I apologize for taking up your time." He swallowed again, glancing around anxiously for a seat. He did not understand his sudden sheepishness.

A smile graced the girl's lips as she turned to the opened door, before gesturing to a table nearby, freshly covered with sanitary parchment, "And you must be Levi… cause you definitely don't look like a Josephine. Have a seat. You take anything? Medication of any sort?"

"Oh, yes how rude of me. I am Levi. Again, pleasure to meet you." Slowly he made his way over to the table, hopping on as she directed. He managed to gain some of his composure back, keeping his hands in his lap and crossing one leg over the other. "I can beg to differ. I know plenty of people you think I look like a Josie." He attempted to tease, tapping his thigh as he considered her question. "No medication. I am not allergic to anything, either. Fairly healthy." He wondered if he needed to bring up the occasional drinking, but he realized this was for his shoulder and not for his unhealthy habits. Besides, it had been six months. He'd rather not bring it up. Slowly he pulled up his sleeve(or rather what remained of it) to expose the stitching that Lucas had done.

"We managed to close it pretty well. It still throbs quite a bit, but we don't think it hit anything major." He paused again, his throat feeling oddly dry. "Although it sort of figures I would have gotten hit. I'm surprised I didn't trip over my own shoe laces." He glanced down to his shoes, only to realize that there were no laces to speak of. "Or a phantom block."

A brow rose as she looked him over, shaking her head, "...Any of these people who think you look like Josie have fully working vision?" He pulled up his sleeve and she turned to bring her tray closer to her, "You're gonna need to lose the shirt. Don't be shy. I've seen 'em all."

"I am not sure. It might be the jawline that gets them confused." To make his point, he drew his thumb and forefinger across his chin, bobbing his head as a facade of realization overtook him. "Yep I see where they can confuse us." He managed a smile at her, although color faded from his demeanor as she asked of him to take off his shirt. "Oh...I think this might be the worst you will ever see." He mumbled, glancing down at his now sorry excuse for shirt. "Okay." Drawing his hands to the hem of his shirt(more of a vest now), he tugged it effortlessly over his head and discarded it safely to the side. He tried to keep himself composed, but heat was flickering at his cheeks. "I am going to be serious for a moment, does it look bad? I don't know how a bullet wound is supposed to look after being stitched up, or if it's supposed to hurt for hours after it happened. I'm assuming I am not losing an arm or anything, right doc?" He kept his voice light and a little smile at his face, hoping that he was correct about his current status of the situation.

"I mean… It's not gonna win anyone a girl scout patch…" Daisy answered with a small smile, before she stepped forward, taking a closer look, "But your arm'll be fine. It hurts cause you got shot, honey. That tends to be one of those lasting 'owies'." Reaching for the tray, she studied the wound a moment, before plucking up a pair of long, thin tweezers, "Bad news is, I'm gonna have to take the stitches out again. It's not regulation threading, and while it would probably patch a hole in a sock, it's not gonna hold up skin for long. Good news is, I won't need to put any back in. You ready?"

"Tell that to Lucas. I'll probably carve him one just to make him happy for his efforts." He followed her gaze as she approached him and inspected his wound. He was surprised that his heat was disappearing, but relieved all the same. He didn't want the woman to think he had a fever. "Well, I've never been shot before, little flower. I don't know how long it's supposed to hurt. But hey, at least now I know. It wasn't exactly on my bucket list to get shot...but to survive something death defying might co-" his words became caught in his throat as she brought out tweezers and spoke the words he had been dreading. "Hey man, I'm fairly certain I'm the quality and have the personality of said sock. But if you are sure it needs to go, I trust you." He bobbed his head slowly, recalling what it felt like to put those suckers in. He would be just fine. "Ready if you are Daisy."

"I think I can probably hold it together." She mused, gently, with a sly smile, "Just tell me if you feel like you're gonna pass out. I'm not exactly a beast, here, but with a little warning, I think I could catch you." Pinching the first end of the thread, she pried out a stretch of the thread, gingerly as possible, "So… How long you been with Miami?"

"It takes a lot for me to pass out Daisy. Or, I'm saying that because it's the manly man thing to do." He decided to look ahead, rather at the work being done at his shoulder. He grit his teeth as she began to pull out the thread, but he withheld any noise. "I think you could catch me. I'd imagine you have very muscular biceps. Doctors and nurses have to be deceptively strong, Id assume at the very least."

Realizing she was distracting him, he nodded his gratitude and thought back to when he had joined. It was a hard day, that was for certain. He didn't want to risk being found out, and the child situation seemed almost a burden to him. But the moment he walked through that door and almost had a heart attack seeing Devon, he knew he had made a decent decision. "About six months now. I'm pretty new to the scene compared to some. It just took me a really long time to realize I didn't want to have to be alone with the power mutation debacle."

 

[Elle Joyner]

DAISY​

"Me? Nope. Noodle arms, this girl. I don't exactly need the upper body strength, when I can recreate cellular structure with my brain." Looking over at him, she shrugged, before smiling as he continued, "Six months, and you're still kicking. I guess Miami isn't as bad as Yul makes it sound. Glad you decided to join us, though. Alone's pretty crappy." Pulling another string out, she turned her focus back on the wound, "Been here about two years, now, myself."

"I can't believe you'd have noodle arms, miss. Besides, upper body strength only requires a little practice. Catching me a few times if I faint would have you up and running in no time." Levi blinked at the mention of her powers, curious and somewhat irritated with how someone could claim a power, so useful and beautiful as healing, could be used for bad. "That's a wicked awesome power. I could make myself look strong but hey, don't want to mess up the aesthetic I've got going on."

"What does Yul say about Miami? It was really nice until I realized the man who helped me get on the team was actually a super evil super villain who blew up everything. The people there are very good people. I've met some of my greatest friends there too. How's Orlando? I haven't heard much but...Yul seems like quite a character. Two years. Do you enjoy being here? I'd imagine you wouldn't have stayed for so long if you didn't."

Chuckling, Daisy shook her head, "You've got quite a habit of self deprecation there, Levi." Pulling out the final stitch, she set the tweezers down, "You look plenty strong, to me. And don't worry about what Yul says. Yul says a lot of things, but you know what they say about old dogs… Barks and bites and all that."

Turning, she grabbed a couple cotton swabs, and some iodine and alcohol, wetting one of the swabs, "This'll sting…" She murmured, before brushing it along the edge of the wound, "Orlando's fine. It's safe. It's not exactly cozy, but I can't complain. I'm sorry, by the way, about Miami. About what happened."

"Hey I'm not the one who called myself noodle arms. Besides, self deprecation is fun. I get to pick and prod at myself, and I can use those two words without Lucas using it sexually." Levi rolled his eyes, relieved that she had finished the stitches smoothly. He could feel his wound pulse with throbs, but it wasn't as blinding in pain as Levi thought it would be. "Thank you, Daisy. Hmm, I will hold my tongue if need be, but I know how older men can be. I find that I sometimes even start speaking nonsense like my own pops and it takes a lot of concentration to pop myself back."

"Thanks for at least telling me." Levi bit his lip as she brushed the cotton along his wound, a grimace overtaking his features. He bobbed his head in sympathy, understanding the possible predicament she was in. It may not be a happy place, but it was home. He could understand. "If it's safe it's safe. You can't ask much more than that."

His eyes flooded back to the brief dream he had concocted in the car. Odd card game with a ghost of someone he couldn't recognize. "Don't apologize. There's nothing we can do about it now. I'm just grateful that I'm alive. I wish there was more I could have done…" He swallowed, shaking his head. He wish he would have held them back further, even if it meant even more damage to his ears. "Also I don't know if it's concerning but…I think I blew out my ears. I hear fine now but...can I still use it as an excuse for selective hearing?" He inquired teasingly with a small smile.

A brow lifted at his comment, and for a moment she was quiet, listening while he spoke. After a while, she shifted, plucking up another cotton swag, "So... Lucas… he your special someone, hm? And I'll take a peek at your ears... Though you aren't screaming, so that's a good sign."

Levi felt like screaming now. He pressed his free hand over his mouth, his entire face transforming into a bright shade of red. Then, despite himself, he began to laugh. "O-ow. Joy hurts…" He mumbled, slowly taking a moment to grow calm. "No no, I'm not into male folk. Lucas is like my annoying little brother. He's a thirteen year old boy trapped in an eighteen year old man. Takes any opportunity to make a sex joke." Nodding his head slowly, he tilted his head at her. "Thank you Daisy. I'm glad I'm not screaming because, er, well, when it first happened I couldn't quite tell that I was screaming." Had he been yelling the entire time, he had to congratulate his friends being so patient with him. And be prideful that Devon did not throttle him.

"Sounds like you were a real treat." She said with a smirk, "Shame for Lucas, though." It was said casually enough, and she turned to grab one last swab, before returning to her work, "...The screaming, I mean. Sounds like prime joke material."

Setting down her tools, she stepped back a moment, "Alright… That ought to do it for cleaning. Now… the really weird part."

"Shame hmm?" He questioned, wiggling his eyebrows teasingly(and if somewhat unsuccessfully). "Oh." His features dropped dramatically, but he brightened up almost instantly. "A lot of jokes have been wasted. A shame really." Brushing his thumb against his cheek as to chase away imaginary tears, Levi's head began to tilt. Hesitantly he joked "I do get to keep the rest of my clothes on, right?"

"Unless you got shot somewhere else, you're good to go with that." With a smile, she rubbed her hands together, "Alright… Now. When I said weird, I meant it. Gonna need you to be real quiet, okay? Cause… and I have a feeling your pal Lucas would have a real field day with this, but… I gotta talk to your body, okay?"

"I'm surprised I'm not about to have a field day with this one, Daisy." He kept a chuckle from rumbling throughout his chest, but he did as she said and fell silent, watching her intently. Her powers sounded wicked to watch, and for the first time he took a glance over to his wound. It was an ugly gash still, copper threatening to overtake his tongue. It made him nauseous but he did not make a sound to show his disgust.

"Try not to stare at it, honey…" Daisy offered, catching sight of the change in his expression, "They get a little shy if you watch." Laying her palm as gently as possible against his wound, she let her eyes fall shut, breathing in slowly, then out again. There would be a twinge… like skin stretching in the opposite direction, or a hand that had fallen asleep waking slowly, pins and needles tingling along his nerves, sewing, stitching it all back together. When her eyes opened, the wound… exit and entrance, would be healed entirely, nearly effortless, with very little residual pain, "...There we have it."

"Sorry." He claimed softly and turned his head away from the wound. A sudden, bizarre feeling stretched across his shoulder. It was unlike anything he had felt before, but he was shocked to see that it didn't so much hurt as feel odd. It felt as if his skin was stretching over the gash, being pulled by their own volition. It stung, but it no longer throbbed. It...it felt close to feeling normal. Slowly, he turned to her, and offered a genuine, wide smile. "Thank you, little flower."

"Hey. Just doin' my job." Her smile was warm, as she moved to the sink to wash her hands, drying them on a paper towel before turning back to him, "Now… should we take a look at that ear? Was it one in particular, or both?"

"It's still very appreciated." He twiddled his thumbs briefly, watching her turn from him. He became slightly self conscious, glancing down at his torso. He reminded himself that she was a nurse, but he still couldn't help but feel guilty for showing this to her. "Hmm? Oh, I think both. I tried mimicking an explosion in those RIEF bastards ears. Turns out it damaged mine too. As I recall there might be some dry blood, but then again...my power kind of screws up my perception. It may not even exist."

"Yeah… You mentioned something earlier about making yourself appear ripped, right? So you have some kind of illusion power? Always found those fascinating, honestly." Reaching across the table, she grabbed the auriscope, fixing a new head on the end, "Just turn your head to the left for me, yeah?" And when he had, she inserted the scope, peering through the end of it, "Ah… yeah. There's definitely some dried blood in there… Doesn't look like any permanent damage, but it'll be awhile before you wanna put on headphones and blast Papa Roach at max… Let's see the other side, yeah?"

"Yes. I can make illusions. All senses but, you know, it affects me. Can't exactly make someone hear or feel something without feeling it myself. It's a bit of a backdrop, but it's nice when I don't have music and I can just play some with my own head. As long as I remember the lyrics, or notes." To prove his point, he gently swayed his hand and let a soft, very quiet version of Fur Elise play through the air. As she put the scope into his ear, he stopped and let her inspect in peace

"Oh thank goodness. I'm sure it's nothing a good shower couldn't fix." Pursing his lips in disappointment, he crossed his arms across his chest. "I guess it's a downward spiral where do I begin? It all started when I lost my mother." He quoted, chuckling and tilting his head to the other side for her to inspect. "I'm more of a Ghost fan to be honest. Or Five Finger Death Punch. And yes. That's a band. And yes, I'm hoping you have patient nurse confidentiality."

"So… you could make someone smell apple pie, and you'd have a crazy craving for it, too?" She asked, a brow quirked. It rose higher as the music rose in the air, and her smile brightened, "That… is cool. If they don't call you Jukebox, they absolutely need to start."

He went on and she laughed, shaking her head, "Your secret's safe with me, but if I were you, I'd stick with the classical, sweetie. At least until those ears heal." Leaning back, she nodded, "Shower's a good bet, too. I wanna see you again, maybe tomorrow. Check the wound held together… Sometimes cells can be whiny little brats about it. And take a look at those ears, again, yeah?"

"Hmm, let's try it." He imagined the aroma of his fathers pies during the Christmas time, cinnamon apple pie, freshly baked out of the oven. His mouth began to water and he swallowed as he clicked away from the illusion. "Dude, I could be the actual Jukebox Hero!" He laughed at his own joke, clearing his throat nervously before nodding.

"Thank you. I will be sure to listen to Beethoven for now. Maybe some Billy Joel." He glanced up at her with a glimmer in his eyes, smiling pleasantly. "Yes. I'll be back tomorrow, just in case it's needed. I say it's a safe bet to do it...and, um, is there anyway I can repay you for fixing me up? I am very grateful for what you did."

"Well heck… Now there is, cause all I want is pie, and Yul ain't exactly keen on baked goods where the grocery supply list is concerned." Smiling, she shook her head, "But seriously. Don't worry about it. I'm just glad I can help you people out. What you went through… You just pop back in tomorrow, and I'd be a happy camper, yeah?"

"Hmm, I can try and sneak in a pie just for you Daisy. Don't know if it'll be good as old papa Ibrahim's, but it'll work." He grasped his ripped up shirt, throwing it back over his head and tugging it over his torso. "I'll be there, little flower. Is there by chance I can interest you in coffee later? I'd imagine caffeine is scarce to come by...and you might need it with the job and all." He offered her a smile.

"Miami must've been hell if caffeine was scarce. We live on that stuff, here. You can bring it with the pie, if you want." She said, with a small, easy wink, "But don't tell that Lucas of yours, yeah?"

"Oh thank God you have coffee. Praise sweet Methuselah." To further his point, he clasped his hands together in a prayer gesture. He nodded, grinning cheekily. "Sure thing, flower. And don't you worry about that, my lips are sealed."

"Now get outta here…" She mused with a smirk, "Before I start to think you're hittin' on me."

He hopped to his feet, towering over her and smirking. "Is that a problem if I am?"

Pointing a finger up at him, she shook her head, still smiling faintly, "Depends on whether or not you bring me that pie."

"Hmm. I wouldn't break a promise, Daisy." He stepped back to give her some space and put his hands into his jean pockets. He winked. "I'll see you around then, little flower."

"See you around, Jukebox." She answered back, before she turned to the clipboard she'd been studying when he came in, proposing to return to work.

Levi turned to leave, stopping at the doorway before conducting his hand to play a piece of Fur Elise. He closed the door gently behind him, letting the music play on within long after he began to walk down the hall.

---

TAGS || collab with @KatSea

 

[junebug]

The moment the person who she assumed to be her doctor peeked around a partition, Josie immediately tapped Hex's shoulder repeatedly. "Put me down please," she spoke under her breath and sighed in relief when he did so. She wasn't about to waltz further into this doctor's office being carried around like a princess.

The man was striking and extremely polite, it took everything Josie had inside to not get less serious than she already was about getting her knee checked out. She pulled a lock behind her ear and smiled a little to herself as the doctor introduced himself as Thaddeus and asked her to lay down on the gurney.

Okay, maybe there's one good thing about Orlando that I can look forward to. Up I go.

She hopped over to the gurney and settled down on top of the stretcher.

"Josephine, by the way, or Josie, if you want, and my best friend, Hex. No need for formalities."

She nodded towards the man who'd brought her in.

"Long story short, I got shot in the knee, lost a lot of blood, passed out, and here I am, still breathing. The bullet was already taken out, so it's pretty rough in the knee right now. I know Hex did his best to stop the blood, but... he stitched over my shattered kneecap to do so."

---

@Elle Joyner @Reythaak

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Sage Contemplation
collab w @Elle Joyner

Offering Leon one last "good luck" pout, Francis wiggled her fingers in goodbye as he was ushered off to a whole new round of interrogation. She hoped he'd gotten rest enough on the ride because she couldn't imagine how kind they would be to the man now. With a keycard in hand, Francis nodded to Nick, and mumbled something about going to explore.

More likely, she needed to find somewhere quiet to sit and mourn the loss of Rogue. Not once but twice had Francis had her homes raided, and her heart ached for the lives lost, both times. She'd managed to hold it together well enough in the car and on the ride… but she couldn't hold it in much longer. Stopping in an empty hallway, Francis slumped against the wall, taking a deep shuddering breath. Somehow… it was like she couldn't ever feel safe without it being taken from her.

"...Alright there?" The voice was soft, but held just an edge of uncertainty, the feet it belonged to shuffling to a stop, "You're not… passing out, are you?"

Jolting upright at the voice, Francis brought a hand to wipe her eyes. "No," She said indignantly, clearing her throat as she mustered up the courage to look up at the speaker, eyes widening. "Y-you…"

Stepping back, eyes widening a little, the man looked down at her, "...M...me?"

Taking a frightened step back, Francis gaped up at him. "L-Logan —" She breathed. "Y-you — y-y-you're supposed to be d...dead."

~

"I wasn't drunk enough to dream us into spring
The midday sun, slips behind
The avenues I cannot find
Why do you keep hiding it from me?
I've already seen what you don't want me to see
Don't pretend to hide it
I've already been, bl-"

"Got a good voice, Xena."

She stopped short, the plucking of the guitar freezing abruptly. Francis looked up at the intruder, who leaned against the barn door like he was the coolest person there was. Like leaning against the door of a barn really upped the cool factor.

"Anyone ever told you about knocking, Logan?" She put down the guitar, cheeks red. The color of her face betrayed the coolness of her tone. She didn't like anyone to hear her sing. It was… private.

"Did you write that?" He asked, moving inside. She'd grown up with Logan; she'd grown up with all the other kids here.

"Maybe." She murmured, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"So… yes?"

"I said maybe. Don't you have chores to be doing anyway? Mr. Farmhand?"

Logan chuckled, sitting next to her atop the bales of hay. He was somewhat too close for comfort, and Francis shied away. Noticing how she curled into herself, Logan backed off, scooting away. "Sorry. C'mon, Fran. We grew up together. I've known you since you were like, nonexistent."

Francis snorted. "You're three months older."

"Three and a half," He retorted. "Don't pretend like you're afraid of me or something."

"You just lack a little something called personal space, is all." She bit back, a smile dancing on her lips. Logan nudged her with his shoulder, and she rolled her eyes. "Exactly like that. Case and point."

Logan smirked, putting his hands in his lap. His expression changed, the trademark playboy grin melting from his face. Francis' brows furrowed. "Lo?"

"I… I want to get out of here, Fran."

Francis blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean.. I don't want to live on a farm for my entire life."

She scoffed. "What's wrong with the farm? It's safe here."

"Nothing to do except tend to the plants and the animals. I want to be in the world, Fran."

Francis bit her lip. "That's stupid. You shouldn't wish for that."

Logan stiffened, turning to her. There was a fire in his eyes. He was angry. "It's not stupid. We deserve to be something other than just mutants. You could be famous, Fran. You have talent."

Her cheeks reddened ten fold now. "Stop that. Don't make me want it. We go out into the world, we have no chance."

"It's better than being stuck here my whole life." Logan said, standing up. She jumped up after him, grabbing his wrist. "Don't be rash. Our families are here… our lives. Don't do something stupid. Don't run off alone."

"Come with me, then." He muttered.

Francis froze. "Wh.. what?"

"I said come with me. Let's go. Your brother's crazy anyway and you know it. This place won't last for long. Come with me, and we'll protect each other."

Francis shook her head, pulling her hand back. "We're just kids. We can't survive out there."

"How could you know if you don't try?" He pressed.

"I just know, damnit, Logan!" She shouted. "I just know, okay? I just know that we can't --"

A sudden, loud noise of whirring propellers interrupted her cry. Both Francis and Logan stopped arguing, falling silent just to hear the helicopters above them. It felt like she'd been punched in the gut, and staring into Logan's eyes, he knew it too.

"Too late." He whispered. Game over.

~

A hand reached the back of his neck, his eyes studying her for a moment. He was quiet for a long time, but when he spoke it held a note of discomfort, "...H...hey. Yeah… I uh… Erhm. I'm not, I guess?"

Bringing a hand up to her mouth, Francis shook her head. There was still distance between them, one she wasn't sure how to close. "I… I can't believe… all this time.. is it really you?"

Breathing out, he shrugged, his eyes still not quite lifting up to hers, cheeks still flushed from her initial reaction, "...Yeah. Yeah, it's me. You look good, Francis. Doin' alright for yourself?"

Letting out a shaky laugh, Francis uncovered her mouth. "I… I guess so." She murmured. "Other than the fact that our base just got blown up, sure. Doin' just fine."

"Yeah, hell. Sorry about that." The awkwardness crossed his features, briefly, before he sighed, "Geez… Heard you were comin' in with the others, and I had this whole damn speech planned and everything. Not my best work, this."

She smiled weakly up at him, fists clenched tight. How was she supposed to know what to say? "You… you've been with Rogue this whole time? Here?"

"I have, yeah. Go by Sage, here…" He said with a shrug, "I figured it'd be better if I didn't tie myself to… you know… all that. You been in Miami?"

"...Sage?" Francis murmured, letting the new name roll of her tongue. It was… strange. She couldn't imagine him as anything other than Logan. "Yeah… ever since… you know." Francis perked up. "Did you make it out with someone else? Anyone?"

Biting the edge of his lip, he shook his head, "...Just me. Ren… before it went down, she set up this emergency contact line. Never called into it." Stepping forward just a touch, he shoved his hands into his pockets, before pulling them out again, wringing them together, "...When I got here, they looked into it, but they couldn't find anything concrete about survivors…"

Deflating a little, Francis nodded. "Just you and me, I guess." She murmured, knowing there was one more survivor that she didn't dare mention. "I'm.. I'm really glad to see you L- Sage. I'm glad you're safe."

"...Hell." He moved, almost without really meaning to at first, and with a frown, he held his arms out a second or two, before pulling her into a brief hug, "Fran… You have no idea how much I hoped you got out…"

It was supposed to be a brief hug, but as soon as Francis fell into his arms she suddenly found no energy to leave them. "I thought I watched you die," She whispered. "I thought you were gone. Just like… Neil… he…" She trailed off, at a loss for how to continue, pulling away, finally, cheeks hot, knuckles white.

Swearing softly, he shook his head, and as she pulled back, he frowned, "He got out? How…? How did you find out? God, Fran. If I'd known…"

"No," Francis whispered, holding back a sob. "No, he.. he..." Every emotion she'd ever bottled up was crashing down on her; the betrayal of her brother, her best friend alive after all the years she had spent mourning his death. "He's not with Rogue."

"Sh--" Trailing off, he reached out again and without thinking, scooped her back into a hug, "I'm sorry, Francis. God… I'm so sorry. This… this whole thing…" Swallowing, he shook his head, "This is all my fault."

"How could it be?" Francis said, hot tears rolling down her cheeks even though she'd tried so desperately hard to keep them from falling. "He's.. working with them. He went with them willingly, Lo… S..Sage. I.. I wouldn't even be surprised if he was the one who called them. I shouldn't give him a second of my time. He was always like this, but god… You tried to get me away and I didn't even listen."

"I knew it was coming, Francis." He pulled away, then, breathing in sharply, "Irene… It… it was that bastard husband of hers. He lied, Fran. About being one of us. Fed information to RIEF. She knew it was coming and she warned me, and I… I tried to get you out, but I played it like a damn idiot and if I'd just…" Rubbing his hands over his face, he swore softly, "Call me Logan. Please."

Blinking away the tears, Francis stared up at him in shock. "It… wasn't Neil?" She mumbled. "You.. you tried to do what you thought was right. If you had told me it was RIEF… I would've run back, tried to grab people… never would have made it out." She sniffed, dragging her hand across her face. "Logan… it wasn't your fault… not even close. You saved my life."

"...When they told me you were on the list, Fran… of people coming in from Miami… Thought I was going nuts. This still doesn't feel real. You… you aren't mad? That I… that I didn't tell you it was coming?"

Francis sucked in a deep breath. Was she mad? The ache in her heart told her not to be; she'd been angry all this time, holding it deep inside her and letting it take her over. She didn't want to be angry anymore, not when she'd rediscovered the man who was her brother more than Neil ever was.

But at the same time she wondered.. if Logan had told her the truth, and she had been able to escape with Neil, with her family.. would he be different now? Would he work alongside her, in Rogue? Be a good man rather than a murderer? And that anger she wanted to relinquish tightened its grip. Suddenly she found it hard to let go.

"What's in the past is in the past." She whispered. "I'm just glad you're here."

"Me, too, Fran…" Breathing out, he looked down the hall, and stepping closer, lowered his voice, "Listen… how much do you know about this place? About the guy who runs it? Has… has anyone said anything to you about all this? Talked to you about Yul?"

At his lowered tone Francis tensed. "Not much. Just a few rumours.. I hear he's pretty strict." She murmured. "...why?"

"He's a collector, Fran. People he thinks would be a good fit on the team..." He continued to speak quietly, an air of nervousness about him, "Wants... wants me to try and recruit you to Orlando. When I saw the folder… hell, I nearly fell out of my chair."

Francis' brows furrowed. The way Logan spoke about him, it unnerved her. She'd heard Yul was a hardass, but hell, so was she. "He wants.. me?" She said. "You're.. making it sound like it's bad, Lo."

"I mean…" Rubbing the back of his neck, he shrugged, "It's not. Not really, it's just… I dunno. I didn't want you to think I was doing this just… just cause he asked me to. When I realized it was you, hell, Fran… I considered not telling you who I was just so you might actually stick around. I… I was sure you'd hate me."

Smiling up at him, Francis shook her head. "No… no. I couldn't hate you." She couldn't… she shouldn't. She almost wanted too.. almost wanted to blame it all on him.. but she wasn't dumb enough to lie to herself about the nature of her brother. But it didn't mean it hurt any less.

No, she didn't hate Logan. She hated someone else.

"I don't know if I could leave Miami." She murmured.

"Ah...yeah." Straightening a little, Logan smiled faintly, "Yeah, I kinda thought… I mean… I didn't expect you to want to. I guess it makes sense… Home's home, right? Well, once it gets to feel that way. Yul's gonna be mad as hell, but what's new, there, honestly."

Biting her lip, Francis sighed. "Maybe I can… uh… get back to him? I.. I don't know. I can't make any decisions right now… it's… it's too soon." She murmured.

"Take your time, Francis. I'm just glad you're here. Everything else can wait…" Smiling, he shrugged, "Francis. Man… Standing right there, in front of me. Wow."

Francis grinned, the last of the tears finally leaving her. "You big dork," She said with a laugh, a laugh that hurt and lifted her spirits all at the same time. "You haven't changed at all." She brought her own arms up around herself. "Don't tell anyone I uh… cried. The people from Miami think I'm tough or something."

Laughing, he nodded, "Your secret's safe with me, Xena. You know you're too damn scary for me to mess with, anyhow. I still got scars from dodgeball…"

Francis gasped at the memory. Days ago, she would've thought about it and cried. Now.. he was here to laugh at it with her. "Oh my god. I'm still apologizing for that. I was twelve, okay?"

"Six stitches, Fran… Six. You were ruthless…" His grin grew, and he swung an arm over her shoulder, nodding her down the hall, "C'mon. Least I can do is give you the 'I'm secretly trying to recruit you' tour."

Laughing, Finn smiled warmly at his arm around her. "And I can put on my best "I'm seriously considering face." Which I am. If Yul asks…" She smiled up at him, and thought that maybe, even if just for a little while, things would be okay.

 

[Elle Joyner]

---

She was quiet as they left the room, caught between a lingering sense of anger, and confusion. Of all the people that they could have run into… of all the horrors she could think to uncover at Orlando, her mind hadn't even fathomed the thought of Alys showing up. When Deck had mentioned her, she'd made the foolish assumption the past would stay where it belonged, and when Alys had stepped into that room, she'd been sure she was losing her damn mind.

As they neared what had been her room for a short time, she ran her fingers through her hair, shaking it loose from the ponytail, "...I'm sorry, Deck. If… if I crossed a line back there. I… was not expecting that."

Rubbing the back of his neck, he shook his head, "You don't have to apologize. I was caught off guard, too. I never would have expected to see Alys here. To be honest, I never would have expected to see her again. Sorry you had to see that."

"Not exactly high up on my list of things I'd like to repeat," She said with a shrug, and a weak smile, "But it coulda been worse, I guess. She's not as pretty as I thought she'd be…" The smile twitched, slyly, as she looked over at him, "You… you gonna be okay, staying here? With… her?"

"I'd rather not be here, but if I keep running from my past, I'll never move on...at least that's how it's supposed to work right?" Deckard smirked and sighed in frustration.

"I vaguely recall saying something along those lines…" With a small sigh, she shook her head, "I'm sorry. This… this whole thing ain't exactly what I promised you it would be. I'm not big on breaking promises, but I tanked this one, somehow."

"Eh," Deck bumped into her, "This isn't your fault. You had no control over what was coming."

"Maybe not, but this isn't what I was banking on." Looking up at her, she nudged him back, with a small chuckle, "Come to Rogue… we're safer than life on the run. Except, you know.. For the psychopath who brings plushy unicorns from hell to life, and the toxic archivists who try to turn us over to RIEF… and the exploding headquarters… the interrogation cause my boss got abducted for six months. And oh, yeah. Your ex-wife." Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she shook her head, "Why are you still here, again?"

"It hasn't been that bad...well, okay, it has, but I made a promise," he stopped and turned her to face him, "and unlike my ex-wife, I keep my word."

"Hm…" A smile crept to her lips as she nodded, "Good enough reason for me. I mean… you're crazy, but… well, who among us isn't, right?" Pausing, she seemed to consider something for a moment, before continuing, "And for the record, Deck… you ain't leftovers to me, either. I… I dunno what this is, and I'd be lying if I said I understood it, fully, but… but this is the first time I've let someone in, since… Well…" Vaguely she gestured to her ear.

"I don't know what it is either, but we'll take it one step at a time," he smirked, "and maybe avoid Alys while we do it?"

"I mean… I was lookin' to rub it in her damn face. But that could just be cause I'm still pissed about this whole thing." Slyly, she smiled back, pausing at the door as they reached it, before turning the latch to open it, "You… you don't think her power's anything mental, do you? I know she was throwing punches, but what she said… it's weird… Like she…" Rubbing her arms, she shook her head and closed the door behind her, "I can count on one hand the people who know about my life before Rogue, and she sure as hell shouldn't be on the list. But she hit pretty damn close to home…"

Shaking his head, Deckard replied, "When we were dating, Alys was the perfect type of girl that every guy wanted in high school. Her loyalty was without question and she stood up for the people she cared about. If you were on the receiving end of that, she would always manage to find the words that seemed to cause the most damage, or struck the closest to home," he shook his head, "I doubt she knows anything about your past, Penny."

Finding the cot in the corner, she sank onto it and let her hands fall between her knees, "...I know you said it wasn't your place to pry… and I appreciate that, Deck. But... but do you think…" Finding a small thread on the edge of her sleeve, she picked at it with a frown, "If I wanted to tell you… would… would that be okay?"

"I told you that you'd tell me when you're ready," he corrected her, "If you're ready, then I'm here to listen."

"It's just… it's a lot. But being here… with Yul, and then Keegan… and that whole mess… and what she said. If you're gonna hear it, I need it to be from me. I… I want it to be from me. But people… they look at me different, after. Like I'm some kind of damn victim or something, and I need to know… I gotta know that you're not… you're not gonna see me that way."

'We all have baggage, Penny. You didn't pity me when I told you about Alys. Don't worry about it from me," he answered.

"Guess it makes sense to start from the beginning. My mom… she was never super great at… well, being a decent human. She was a wrecking ball, and I wasn't an ideal addition to her life, but I guess she liked the tax breaks. Her revolving door of jackass boyfriends, they didn't mind it so much, either. I got out when I could, but at fifteen it's not exactly top living on the streets. Few weeks into it, I ran into this guy… Gowen. Keller Gowen. He was the sort of guy who could sell you your own front teeth, straight out of your head, and I was desperate, so I let him talk me into a job. Wasn't exactly what he promised…

"First few days on the job, he went easy on me… worked the floor of his club, selling drinks, cigars… Nudged, in that way that suggests you should probably not argue, that I'd be a good dancer… Within a few months, I was trade. Small change, at first… then it was auctions. 1k for a lapdance… 5k for the night. 10k to do whatever the hell the sick twists wanted. I was a product, and I didn't see a way out. Then Turner showed up. Out of nowhere, this guy drops 60k… bought me out for six weeks. Gowen wasn't exactly tickled by it, but he wasn't gonna turn down the money. Didn't know what to think, myself… Figured he was just some perv, lookin' for powertrips. Turned out all he wanted was someone to talk to. And that's what we did… for six damn weeks. We talked. About my life, about what I wanted to do if I could get away… End of the six weeks rolled around and there's this raid at Gowen's club. Turns out Turner called in a favor with one of Gowen's ex-buisness partners… Things got ugly as hell, and as we were gettin' out, Turner… He took a bullet. Turns out 60k doesn't buy Kevlar. He didn't make it… but he got me out, just like he promised." Looking away, eyes stinging, she shook her head, "...Son of a bitch had no right, throwing his life away like that, but hell if I could stop it… I never asked him to do it… still don't even know why he did."

Sitting on the cot beside her, Deckard listened to her tell him about her past. It was rough, and his paled in comparison. When she finished Deckard sat silently a moment chewing over what he ought to say. Finally, he leaned back on his hands and spoke, "I know why he did what he did, Penny...because you're worth it. It doesn't matter what you were doing, Nathan saw value in you...in who you were and he made sure that you had a chance to be that person."

Breathing in, Penny let her eyes fall closed for a moment, let his words sink in, resonate. And in the silence, she could almost hear the last few walls crumbling. Damn him.

With an exhale, she turned and cradling his face in her hands, she leaned forward, lips to his, with unhesitating vulnerability.

Kissing her back was the easiest thing he'd done since they arrived, and it felt more natural now than it had the previous times, like all of Penny wanted it. Pulling back, he licked his lips and rushed loose hair over her shoulder, "That was….different," he smiled warmly.

Meeting his eyes, she smiled faintly, "...Maybe I'm ready for different, Deck. Sure as hell feels like I am." Brushing her thumb along his jaw, she shook her head, "...Whatever that bastard wanted with you… Keegan's brother… I'm not sorry he brought you into this. Not one little bit."

Sitting up, he studied her eyes, easily losing himself in those grey orbs. He sighed contently, "I'm not sorry either," he admitted before he closed the distance once more.

---

TAGS || collab with @DarinValore

 

[Mobley Eats]

Collab Post: No Rest For...Anyone | Interactions: Keith @Reythaak | Location: Rogue HQ, Orlando Branch​

Keith jerked awake abruptly, sitting up and looking around the sparse room that he'd been shown to only a little while ago. At least, it felt like a little while ago. He rubbed his hand over his eyes. Twelve seconds later, the noise that had pulled him from his just-barely-starting slumber repeated itself. Knocking. On his door.

No way in hell was that three hours…

Without even thinking about it, Keith's eyes unfocused slightly and he stared at the cloud of colors beyond the door. It wasn't a set he recognized, not Finn or Deck or Penny, or anyone he knew from Miami.

Someone from Orlando saying hi, then… they can just... Another set of knocks. ... fuck off. He suspected it wouldn't be that easy, however. He slid from the bed and came to the door, forcing his eyes back to the "normal" spectrum, so to speak. He opened the door and eyed the redhead standing there.

"...Er. Hi…"

Ozno almost knocked into Keith's hand, but reeled his fist back at last second and blinked sluggishly. A brief pause. He opened the folder. Stared at the picture, then back at Keith. Yep. Seemed like the right guy. He guessed. He hoped...Yeah, probably.

Slowly, he raised a hand, though he only waved two fingers. "...Hi"

Keith's eyes flickered to the folder Ozno held, and he could feel the tension rising across his shoulders. A dossier, probably. I don't like how that bodes… his brain had kicked into gear pretty quick, aided by the events of the previous 24 hours or so.

"Caaaan I help you?"

"Yes?" A hint of confusion tinged Ozno's voice, not entirely sure if that was a suggestion or promise or...Wait, had he been in this room before? Without asking, the man squeezed past Keith and waltzed inside, plopping down on the cot he was recently using. "Can you, uh...help?" That was what Yul wanted, right? For Keith to help their organization and join and all that cool sturf.

Keith blinked. Then blinked again.

"Guards give me the wrong room or… something?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, "I can find somewhere else to rest if this is yours."

Keith was confused--at least, he sounded confused. And looked confused. But would that confirm that he was confused? Err...Ozno figured. He didn't like to assume peeps' emotions. Idly, he twirled the folder by two of its edges between his fingers...which resulted in the files spilling from it and onto the floor. "Oh...dang." As he started fumbling with the mess, he piped up softly, "Wanna, uh, join us? Be cool."

Then he paused, blinking. He took in his surroundings, not realizing that paper was currently crumpling to oblivion in his grasp. "Not my room. Don't think so, at least...Is it?" His brow furrowed. "Nah."

"...Join you? Join who? You… don't make any sense at all. And I don't think that's trauma from the past 24 hours talking," Keith continued to eye Ozno, giving his head a little shake. He looked down at the files that had scattered across the floor. Oh yeah, that ratcheted the paranoia up to 11.

Ah, there it was. The whole "not making any sense" spiel. Man, that definitely wasn't the first time he heard that. Ozno gathered the last of the files and shoved them carelessly back into the folder, chunks and corners spilling from the thing. He crawled back onto Keith's cot and lied down, gaze studying the ceiling.

"Join Orlando," he hummed, "Yul wants you." His feet swung back and forth, the tips knocking into each other. "He's got a dope goatee." He said that as if it was the ultimate incentive and Keith would be insane to turn down the offer now.

Keith pinched the space between his eyes, leaning up against the wall next to the door and closing his eyes. He let out a sigh. What the hell does Yul's facial hair have to do with… anything?

"I wouldn't be a good fit. I don't do missions, most of the time. Or I didn't, back in Miami, until recently," is what he settled for saying instead.

"Everything," Ozno muttered, awe glinting in his eyes, "Everything." However, he finally looked at Keith again when he mentioned not being a good fit. What did that mean? Was he speaking literally or figuratively? He sure hoped it was figurative, because HQ had a lot of sharp and uncomfortable corners. Groggily (and with a tiny groan of protest), he sat up and framed Keith in a rectangular space between his hands, squeezing one eye shut. "...Naw. You a good shape for us. Organic."

"Yul seems to like more rigid and structurally sound pieces," Keith replied. Although he was seriously reconsidering his impression of Yul judging by the person on his bed. His power probably redeems him, I guess…

"Either way. No."

Ozno could handle structure. Not too bad of a word. But then he got sleepy once Keith tagged on -ally. Too long of a word, a millisecond-worth of thinking that he wasn't in the mood for expelling. Thus, he just hummed in response, feet still swinging. "No? Like… "not yes" no?"

A moment of silence, the wheels in Ozno's brain turning. Okay. He tried to recruit Keith. Keith said no. Like, the negative of yes no...Or was it a no yes? Dang. He lost track again. Either way, Keith was wearing a negative face and the sloth of a man had seen plenty of those around HQ. "...Kay. Want food? I'm hungry."

Once again, Keith was left just sort of staring at Ozno .He shouldn't have been surprised, really, at the lack of real response. "...Y-...yeah. Sure. Why not…" he replied slowly. Sleep wasn't going to happen anyways.

"Cool." Smiling lazily, Ozno stood to full height, towering over Keith. At first, he didn't really say anything, just grinning down at him, before ruffling his hair with both hands. Oh. His hair felt nice. That was a good trait to have. "New buds? Mashed potatoes good with you?" He already accepted that he couldn't recruit Keith and that Yul would be annoyed with him--as always. It was fine. He kinda missed the brig...well, his little critter friends in the brig. Same thing.

Keith tensed up, staying still as a statue when Ozno ruffled his head. This just… no. "...I… yeah… sure…" that was much easier than trying to make sense of whoever Yul had sent his direction, "What's your name, by the way…?"

Instantly, Ozno slapped a hand to his forehead, feeling dumb. "Riiiiight...Ozno. I go, uh, pew pew." He made awkward shooting sound effects while curling his fingers in a Spiderman fashion. "Get hit. Can't move," he said, feeling proud of that explanation.

"...right… You know my name, and what I can do already," Keith said, motioning to the folder Ozno had, "...Let's go find food, I guess."

Ozno liked how Keith thinked...thought...had thought, thinketh...He liked it. His smile turned downright radiant at the prospect of food with a new buddy and seized Keith by the sleeve, dragging him out of the room and towards the dining hall. Maybe he could show him some of his favorite tattoos along the way too.

 

[Elle Joyner]

THADDEUS​

Thaddeus grimaced at the young woman clambered out of the man's arms, "Oh! Don't... You shouldn't..." But before he could stop her, she had already hopped over to the table and pulled herself onto it. His eyes moved to Hex and he shrugged, before pulling the tray of implements and a chair over, "Right then. Let's have a look, Josephine. Hex, was it? You're welcome to stick around, long as you're willing to assist." He looked over to the man, and gestured to a pair of scissors on the tray, "Hand me those, would ya?"

With the scissors in hand, he snipped the cargo pants vertically, pulling the fabric away from the injury. Seething through his teeth, his eyes skimmed the sewing job with an air of disappointment, "Alright. Let's see if we can't get this cleaned up without too much discomfort, here." Breathing out, he pulled over the tray and plucked up a pair of tweezers, "Going to need to remove the stitches... Try to hold still."

He worked quickly, and efficiently, and with as little tugging as he could manage. The knee was effectively shot (in a figurative sense), and sewing over the busted bone hadn't been kind to the skin... Even with his powers, it would be a small miracle if there wasn't last damage. But they'd done what they had to, and he couldn't fault them. With the stitches removed, he brought over a small cart, tanks attached to the two long tubes, "Gonna have to flush it... The bone fragments and any residual pieces of bullet... dirt. This is a breeding ground for bacteria, and I can't work against that kind of infection. And I expect you're not looking to lose your leg."

The first tank held water, which he sprayed into the newly opened wound. With it flushed, he used the second tank to pump the injury with an antibiotic ointment, before replacing the cart and changing out gloves, "Alright. Next bit will be much easier." Sitting on the chair, he pulled himself closer to the knee, "Now then... you might feel some pinching... tiny bit of pressure. This is perfectly normal. Not often I do this with bone, but at least it was your knee and not something that splinters more easily."

Resting his palms on either side of the knee, he studied it for a moment, before a warmth spead out, stretching the length of her leg. Muscle and bone and nerves and skin began to knit together, a loom of sinew and flesh, until her knee remained, whole and as sound as he could possibly make it.

"Well..." Sitting back, he smiled faintly, "There you have it. There's gonna be some soreness, as expected... And you might not want to bear full weight on it for a few days, yet. You lost a lot of blood, but at this point, it should replenish within forty-eight to seventy-two hours. You might be a little woozy... tired. That's normal. Hex here can help you to your room, and I'll have someone drop off a pair of crutches, once you've had some rest." Removing his gloves, he grabbed a pad of paper from his coat pocket and scribbled onto it, "You can take this..." He pulled the paper off and held it out to Hex, "to the medical closet and they'll issue a prescription for some pain mediciation. Other than that, just try to relax, and you should be good to go by week's end."

---

TAGS || @Reythaak, @Kat

---

VANCE​

The door opened and heels clicked across the floor, as Vance squinted through the blinding light overhead. Breathing in, he tipped his head to the side, the fuzzy outline of the figure still too far off to see, "Listen, Max... Sweetheart. I get this whole torture thing is supposed to suck. But you come at me too strong, I'm gonna start getting the wrong idea."

Fighting a grimace, he returned his gaze to the ceiling. He was crumbling... cracking beneath the pain. He knew it. And he was pretty sure Maxine knew it. He felt numb... numb to the agony that had curled along every synapse of brain, every nerve ending of his body. No one was immortal, but despite the life he led, he hadn't been expecting death's knock quite so early..

All that held him together now, the only fragile thread still connecting him to the will to live, was the memory of that beautiful girl... In his mind, he could see her, and he focused on it. He lost himself in deep pools of molton warmth, counting every freckle, tracing the line of her lips, bringing to mind the feel of them... And it kept him there, just a little longer. She was safe. His Luna. She was safe, and she would protect Adelaide... and that was enough. Even when his body gave out, it would be enough...

"Maxine's dead." An unfamiliar voice uttered, and for a moment, he wasn't sure he'd heard properly. Eyes cracking open, he turned his head again.

"...S...say again?"

"Maxine is dead." The woman, one he didn't recognize now that he could see her, had come closer, and in her hand she held a metal syringe, "Small pinch."

He didn't feel it, when the needle went into his arm, but as the fluid from inside flooded his bloodsteam, he could feel the heat of it warming his body, "...Lady... I hate to tell you, but I got my shots already."

"10:15 AM. Subject has been injected with Substance 14." The woman spoke flatly, and forcing his eyes to open, he could see the recording device in her hand, "Will check back... six hours from now, to see results."

"What's the juice, Max 2.0? You gonna give me superpowers... cause uh, I got news for you."

Looking down at him, the woman smiled faintly, "Don't you worry about it. You'll be just fine..." The sound of her heels echoed all the way to the door, and closing his eyes again, Vance drew to mind that comforting image... trying desperately to drown out the feeling of fire, raging through his veins.

 

[DarinValore]

Rogue Orlando Branch
Alys and Rebecca​

To say she was frustrated was an understatement to say the least. Alys shut the door to her room almost too hard and leaned against it. Her blood pumped hard inside her body and her hands were tightly balled. She wanted to scream, to throw things, to hit things, to lash out with her power. She hadn't felt this frustrated...this powerless since….

Deckard was not the same man she married. She knew that. That man had been kind, gentle, a protector...and normal. Now he was something else entirely, he was less than human, but if she could be fixed, then so could Deckard and if she could have her old Deckard back….then life could be what it was supposed to be all along.

Let out her frustration with a deep breath, Alys retrieved her phone from her secret compartment and started dailing again. She waited until it was answered, all the while psyching herself up.

"Hey, it's me again," she started, "No! You listen to me! It's my turn to talk!" she began to pace, "I've been here for about a year just like you asked. I've done everything you asked. I've retrieved intel, I've given you movements and missions, and I'll keep doing it, but under new conditions," she paused as the line fell silent for a moment, then a smile spread across her lips, "I want you to fix Deckard too. Fix me and Deckard and I'll do everything without another question. Deal?" The answer came back and Alys pumped her arm in victory, "Thank you, sir. Thank you so much."

The line fell dead and Alys leaned back against the door where she had ended her pacing. Resting her head back, she cradled the phone in her hands against her chest. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, "I can't believe that worked."

A soft knock at the door scared her and a small yelp slipped through her lips, "Who is it?" she asked as she hurried and shoved the phone back into the desk drawer.

"Alys, it's me, Rebecca," returned the voice.

"Rebecca? What are you doing here?" she asked as she moved to the door, and after twisting the lock, she opened it.

"I...I was wondering if you'd like to take a walk with me. With the Orlando team here, it feels a bit crowded, and I could use the company of a friend," Rebecca smiled and Alys returned it.

"Sure, let me get my gloves," she agreed before retreating back into her room to retrieve her elbow length, black gloves.

After joining Rebecca in the hall, the two shared very little conversation as they walked through the halls and toward a section of the base marked off for repurposing, "Remember we've always talked about coming down here and seeing what Yul's repurposing this old wing to? I figured now's as good a chance as ever," Rebecca said with a smile.

Alys looked both ways down the hall before adding, "Are you sure? The last thing I need right now is for Yul to be on me further. He kinda ripped me a new one for something I did earlier."

"Ya, come on," Rebecca pushed and Alys followed.

They walked halfway down the hall, made a left down another, and a right down yet another before Rebecca stopped at a door. The door creaked as she pushed it open and peered inside, "This'll do."

"For what?" Alys asked as she walked in before Rebecca.

Closing the door behind her, Rebecca ran her hands together nervously, "Alys, I was lying in bed idly sifting through waves when I came across a weird one."

"Okay?" Alys asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What I heard was troubling and so I followed the signal," she paused, "It ended at your room."

Alys lowered her hands, nervousness seeping its way into her posture, "What are you saying?"

"Alys, are you a spy? Are you working for RIEF?" Rebecca asked.

"Rebecca!" Alys spun away and threw her arms out, "How could you even suggest something like that? I would never. Someone has to be framing me!"

"I'm sorry...it's just that I heard what was said. And the person talking sounded like you," Rebecca put her hands up, "I hoped that I was wrong, because I didn't want to take this to Yul."

Facing her friend, Alys spoke with a narrowed brow, "You haven't told anyone about this?"

"No," Rebecca shook her head, "I wanted to make sure I was right. I didn't want to drag you into this if someone was trying to frame you," Rebecca turned away from Alys and continued, "I'll keep looking into this, Alys," she looked at her friend, "I'll find out who's framing you and we'll bring them down together."

Alys forced a sad smile, "You'll keep looking into it?" she asked.

"Yes," Rebecca replied, "I promise."

Looking down, Alys' heart grew heavy. If Rebecca discovered it was her, and she most likely would, then Alys would be shot dead and there'd be no hope of fixing her or Deckard. Things would never be what they were always meant to be.

With a thought, Alys reached out and sensed all of Rebecca's nerves. With a shaky breath, she intensified their sensitivity.

Rebecca knew all too late what had befallen her. Her body screamed in agony as every little touch sent waves of pain through her body. Frantically she tore at her shirt, her pants, her shoes, anything just to stop the pain. Falling to her knees, she looked up at Alys who slowly began to make her way toward her, peeling her gloves off her hands.

"I can't let you look into the call, Rebecca," she spoke with saddened eyes. Shaking her head she continued, "I can't let you tell anyone what I am doing."

"Please," Rebecca sobbed, "I...I..I won't tell anyone," a cry tore through her lips, "I promise!"

"I wish I could take that risk, but it's not just me at risk now. It's him….It's us," Alys said before grabbing Rebecca by the throat with her bare hand.

Rebecca thrashed as her eyes widened and her breath caught. So intense was the pain that her lungs refused to pull in air and every time she grabbed Alys' arm to try and pull it away, an more intense wave of agony washed over her. Through bleary eyes, she begged Alys to kill her..to end this suffering.

Alys watched as her friend tried to fight against her end. She watched as Rebecca's chest stopped moving and her lips began to turn blue. She watched as tears ran freely from eyes that never blinked. She watched as pupils dilated and Rebecca fell limp to the concrete floor beneath her. Even still, she watched.

She should have felt heartbreak, or regret. Alys knew she should have felt fear and uncertainty, but none of those made their way through the steel resolve she had put in place. Squatting down beside Rebecca's corpse, she washed her hand over the woman's face closing her eyes, "No one will come between me and my Deckard...no one."

 

[WingWong]

Echo
Interactions: Daisy @Elle Joyner
Location: Infirmary

---

After the GMC was unloaded, with Nick quickly grabbing his backpack in the chaos of it being unloaded and dismantled, he was left staring at the keycard. He'd wished Leon luck, hoping Orlando would be as kind as Francis and he had been the last few hours. He hoped, truly, that Leon was on their side now. He waved at Francis as she wandered off before trying to figure out where to go now that he was on his own for the first time since he'd woken up.


How long ago that felt now.


In any case, he figured heading to the infirmary wasn't a bad idea. Light was still doing horrible things to his eyes at the moment, mostly making them hurt, which was not helping the dull throb from the back of his head. He needed to get checked out.


So here and there, he asked for directions. He hoped he'd find a place to stash his bag, but in the meantime, his collection of his past was staying with him. Soon enough, he found himself where he was supposed to be. He figured he was among the least urgent patients, but it wouldn't hurt to knock, right? Besides, he could wait. So he knocked gently and waited.


"You back with that pie already, Juke?" The young woman turned at the knock, and catching sight of the man in the door, smiled coyly, "Ah. Sorry. Thought you were someone else. What can I do for you?"


Nick tilted his head, intrigued. Who had she been expecting?


"I'm afraid I don't have any pies today. I restock on Tuesday," he joked lightly. Nick then realized, that because of having to move so quickly, he was displaced even with the black market. He could start mending bridges and contacting people later, on another day. Right now just really wasn't the time. "All I have is a bit of a headache at the moment, honestly."


"Well, I guess I can wait till Tuesday. But Levi's gonna be mighty disappointed…" Gesturing to the table not too far away, her smile softened as she reached for the otoscipe, "Have a seat, hon. Let's take a look."


"I take it that means you've already seen him today?" Nick asked. He remembered seeing the blood on the other's shoulder earlier in the day, though he didn't have a clue how good or bad the wound actually looked. He shifted his weight from one foot to the either, a little awkward as he figured out where to set his bag, before deciding to set it down gingerly by the door. He then did as asked, taking a seat for Daisy to take a look.


"Patched him up a little while ago. All better, now." Moving closer, she popped a new cap onto the auriscope as well, "So… Tell me what's going on. Any head injuries?"


"I'm glad to hear it," Nick replied with a small smile. Levi was one of a very small number of people in Rogue that he'd spent a decent amount of time with in Miami, and he was glad to know he was at least doing better. "Uh, there was one this morning. During the raid, my feet were knocked out from under me, and I hit the floor," he explained. "No bleeding, but the back of my head is definitely sore. Bright light is...not fun to deal with right now."


"Ah.. Yep…" Skimming the otoscope in front of his eyes, Daisy gave a brief nod, "Definitely seeing signs of a concussion. Doesn't seem too bad, but I'd like to see if we can't clear it up just so you can get some rest."


Setting down the tools, she smiled and held up her hands, "This shouldn't hurt. Just try to hold still, okay?"


"Okay," Nick said softly. It was what he'd figured it was, but it was different to have someone with actual medical training say it. He didn't think all but sitting on his head when he hotwired the car helped the situation any. He shifted briefly in his seat before holding still like she'd asked.


"Just gonna…" Her hands cupped the sides of his head gently, eyes falling closed as she concentrated. The tingling was something like drinking too much carbonated soda… a warmth spreading, as the headache would release. Her hands dropped to her side, eyes opening as she smiled, "How's that, honey?"


Nick felt a little like he had to sneeze, or they way he had when he'd been a kid and chugged a few too many sodas. The feeling eased soon enough and replaced with warmth. He breathed in relief as the headache faded. He hadn't realized how much it had become background noise over the last few hours.


"Much better. Thank you," he returned the smile before a look of realization hit him. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name?"


"Daisy." She said with a chuckle, "You're definitely not Lucas… Cause you passed by way too many opportunities for bad jokes. And you don't look like a Francis…"


"Definitely not Lucas," Nick agreed with a laugh. "He's an interesting one, and I'm not quite short enough to be Francis. I can actually reach the top shelf." For a brief moment, he sobered almost entirely. The faint smile at the edge of his lips showed he was still joking, despite also being half-serious. "Don't tell her I said that. You might end up having to attach your handiwork back to my body." He shook his head. "I'm Nick."


Laughing, Daisy shrugged, "I mean… I've never had the chance to reattach limbs or anything. That could be fun. Alas… doctor patient confidentiality." Smiling, she held out a hand to him, "Good to meet you, Nick."


"So, I'm safe. For now," Nick grinned, before standing and taking her hand. "It's good to meet you too, Daisy. And thank you, again."


"Try to take care of yourself, yeah? No more knocks to the head… And if you see Levi, tell him I'm still waiting for that pie."


"I'll do my best," Nick replied with a two-finger salute before starting for the door. There was also clearly a pie joke he needed to get in on...

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Make a Fist
Collab w @Elle Joyner

Between Keegan's return from an apparent six-month abduction, Luna bringing in a new angle to their hunt on RIEF, all of the losses they suffered and the pain of losing their home, and everything that had gone down with Alys and Deck, Penny had come to a place of composure that could only come from a life of hardship, and learning to overcome.

Yet it wasn't over, and she wasn't willing, just yet, to accept that they couldn't still climb out of the mess and find a way to recover, and part of that recovery could only come from knowing her family was taken care of and knew how to take care of themselves. And that, ultimately, was what drove her to seek out Finn. She'd told him at Harper's that she wasn't going to let him rely on the big tanks anymore, that he was going to need to learn how to protect himself, and it was time…

Raising a fist, she knocked on his door and stepping back, handing slipping into the pockets of the oversized sweatshirt she wore, she waited.

Though Orlando was definitely not his favorite place, it was made all the better by his reunion with Luna and his new…. friendship… with Rose. The most unsettling thing, even among the restricted meal times, curfew, and scary leader, was the emptiness of his new room. It brought no safety, no sense of comfort, and most importantly… no comic books. That's why when he got a knock on his door, Finn was desperately grateful, wanting to be anywhere but.

"Penny!" Finn exclaimed, grinning happily at her. The grin dissipated for a moment as he glanced around her, sudden worry overtaking him. "Did I do something bad?"

A brow lifted as Penny look at Finn, before laughing softly with a shake of her head, "No. Not that I know of anyway, and that ain't any of my business, besides. I need you to come with me. Training time."

"Training time..?" Finn mumbled, excitement lacing his voice. "Actually? Like now? Really?" He hurriedly closed the door behind him, stepping up next to Penny. "What kinda training?"

"Well, we ain't learnin' to tie shoes." She teased with a small smirk, "Don't worry, Astroboy. I won't beat you up." Giving him a wave, she started down the hall, her hands disappearing into the sweatshirt again, "We'll work on some basic strikes… Nothing too complicated. When it comes to a face to face fight, best thing to remember is, you ain't gonna remember anything. Technique… training… Goes right out the window. Best way to learn is start with the basics, so you don't hurt yourself."

Finn glanced at her sweatshirt. They'd all been given clothing, but it.. didn't look exactly her size. Shrugging, Finn clung into Penny's words. "Uh, right. Not like I really learned technique or training, so I don't have much to throw out the window." The idea of being able to actually punch someone without breaking a thumb was exciting.

"I'd rather teach someone who's green, trust me. Especially when you got a power like mine." At the gym door, she swiped the card they'd been given, before pulling it open, "You gonna be comfy in that? There's shorts and stuff in the locker room if not."

Blinking, Finn looked down at his clothes. It wasn't any of the trademark superhero memorabilia he'd collected, just a plain awkwardly tight t-shirt and sweatpants. "It's fine." He murmured, not wanting to waste another second. "How do we start?"

Slipping out of the sweatshirt, laying it on a bench, she bench down to tighten her sneakers, gesturing to the roll of tape on top of the punching bag, "Wrap your hands. Three layers, not too tight. You need to be able to move your fingers, but you need your wrist to feel sturdy."

Finn eyed the roll of tape nervously. He'd never wrapped his hands before. Cautiously taking it, Finn unwound some of the tape, and did as instructed, three layers, not too tight. It made him feel a little more… powerful. "This okay?"

Chuckling, Penny nodded, before taking the two pads that sat in a bin beneath the punching bag, sliding one onto each hand, "These are called Target Pads. First thing I want you to do… is punch into them. Just swing away."

Eyeing the target pads nervously, Finn raised his wrapped fists. "Uh.. okay. Not promising much." He muttered, weakly swinging at the target pads, trying to muster up his courage but feeling pretty small in Penny's presence.

A brow lifted, as Penny watched him swing, and she fought a small smirk, "...You uh… you swatting mosquitoes there, Astroboy? Alright, listen. Straighten up… shoulders back. Ball up your fists, thumb on the outside of your fingers. You're going to bend at the elbows and keep your fists in front of your face, near your ears and right beneath your eye line. You never hit without at least one fist up… that's your guard, and that's gonna keep you from gettin' knocked out. When you swing, whatever fist you swing with, you step forward with the same foot. Power comes from your shoulder, all the way through your arm. Follow through… don't just hit and stop. Got it so far?"

She said a lot at once, and Finn's brows furrowed in concentration. Uh, fists, never hit without one up, below the eyeline, bear the ears, step forward with same foot… power… shoulder…. "Got it?" He echoed, readying his stance before delivering a much more effective punch to the target pad.

"There ya go!" Penny grinned, as she stepped back against the force of the blow, "Not bad, at all. Now… This time, I want you to twist your fist as you swing upwards, like you're throwing a ball, underhand. Try to hit the center of the bag. And…. Go."

Reeling back after the punch, first a little worried, but at Penny's reaction Finn's eyes widened excitedly. Twist his fist? Uh, he could do that. Finn sucked in a breath, trying to mimic the throwing of a football as he landed his fist on the target pad.

"Good, good… Don't forget to keep that hand up by your ear. Now, listen… I want you to try something. Same as the first punch, but this time… I want you to concentrate, Finn… and I want you to try to put some air behind it, yeah? These pads are thick, so don't worry about hurting me. Just… give it a shot."

"Some.. air?" Finn murmured, stopping to look at her. "Uh, okay. Okay, I'll try." He'd barely just learned how to punch, let alone control the new aspects of his powers. Pulling his fists up to his face, Finn drove a punch into the target pad, trying to will the air around him to back it up.

Shaking her head, Penny shifted, "Remember the bridge, Finn? Pull yourself back there… think about how you felt, what you were thinking about at that exact moment… Get it into your mind… let yourself feel it, then try again."

"But that was scary," Finn protested, chest tightening. "I just — all I thought was how I couldn't let you fall."

"Don't tell me, Finn. Feel it…" Holding her hands up again, she nodded, "Sometimes, Finn, you can't escape what hurts… but that doesn't mean you can't use it. So… focus."

Finn took a deep breath, refocusing his energy even despite the painful memories. This time. he wiggled his fingers before balling his fist, feeling the air around him. He could already feel its power behind his fist as he threw the punch, the image of the bridge crumbling and Penny falling fueling his sudden ferocity.

The fist hit the target and Penny stumbled back a bit, eyes widening just slightly, before a grin split her lips, "Finnegan Westfall! That was incredible! Do you realize what you just did? What's inside you? Hell, kid. That was… wild. Wanna try again?"

"H..hah!" Finn said triumphantly, beaming under Penny's praise. He had never imagined her being so excited like that, because of him. Wild! She said he was wild! "Yes… Yes!" He was already back in position before she could tell him, wind ruffling their hair and clothing as Finn readied another punch, the confidence within him growing.

The rest of the training session went about as spectacular as Penny could have asked, Finn performing better than she'd ever expected him to. A little confidence, incidentally, went a long way, and she was... not for the first time… enormously proud of him. Only when she was sure his muscles were going to fatigue, and her own hands had started to hurt did she decide to call it quits, and as she set the targets down, she rubbed her palms on her pants, "So… how do you feel? Better about facing some RIEF agents?"

She was relentless, and quickly Finn was losing steam. By the time Penny's hands were just hurting, Finn was panting like a dog. "Definitely better," He wheezed, putting his hands on his knees. He glanced over to the hoodie she'd abandoned on the floor, a devilish twinkle in his eye. "That's not yours, is it? Didn't think you were the one who got stabbed by a toy unicorn." He teased, grinning up at her, wholly excited to see the reaction on her face.

Looking back at the hoodie, Penny's brow rose, before a small smirk quirked at the corner of her lips. Any other time, she might've blow it off, ignored it, rolled her eyes… but there was something about everything that had happened, coupled with her pride in Finn… she couldn't find it in her to regress…

"You're gonna find out anyway. If Keith doesn't tell you, someone's bound to. Yeah. It's um… it's Deck's." Rubbing the back of her neck, she shrugged, "...He's a good guy, and I guess… I guess I was ready."

"Keith already told me," Finn said with a smile. "I wasn't sure at first.. but I like him. So you have my blessing!" He said, smile turning into a grin. "Plus…. before Keith says anything…" Finn's voice dropped to a whisper. "I might have.. kissed Rose."

Laughing faintly, Penny shook her head, "I didn't know you were Deck's dad… but I'm glad." As he continued, her expression shifted and she crossed her arms, giving him a look, "You uh… you did, huh? I'm guessing it went well?"

"I-I think so," Finn said, cheeks red, though he was clearly glowing. "I-it… was really nice. She's… really nice." Finn smiled. "But you should tell Deck I'll beat him up with my super sweet newair punch if he does anything." He joked.

"Finn, sweetie." Penny started with a chuckle, "It's me. If he does anything, you're not gonna need to worry about it. But thanks… I appreciate the support. And I'm happy for you… She's… she seems like a nice girl. Just be smart, yeah? Take things… you know… slow."

Brows furrowing, Finn frowned. "Are you trying to give me the talk right now?" He said, nose wrinkled. "It's not like that. Definitely not like that."

"I mean…" With a shrug, Penny smirked, "I'm not your mom, Finn. If it was, that's not my business. But uh… just… you know… just for the record. You hurt that girl, I'm gonna kick your ass. You know that right?"

"Hey!" Finn argued, cheeks flushed. "You know I wouldn't."

"I know." She said, and the teasing air left her voice. Stepping forward, she reached out to ruffle his hair, "Same way you know Deck's not gonna hurt me. Cause we're good people Finn. We're damn good people. Now, go hit the showers. You smell, and you've got a girlfriend now… She ain't gonna appreciate that."

Laughing as Penny tousled his hair, Finn grinned at her. He blushed even harder at the word girlfriend, but nodded at her words. "See ya, Penny." Finn said, ducking off with a wave.

"See ya, Finn." Penny added, before turning around to grab her sweatshirt.

 

[Mobley Eats]

Collab Post: Slip n Slide, Part I | Interactions: Francis @CloudyBlueDay | Location: Orlando HQ, Pool​

It had been a few days since their arrival at Orlando. Aside from the evil eye she'd received from Yul every now and then, Francis didn't really mind the place. It was stricter, that was for sure, but she did well under routine. And even though Francis could see herself fitting in quite smoothly here, it didn't have a warmth like Miami did. It wasn't bustling with life, with hope even though they were hiding, prosecuted and at war. Here, she was reminded of the war every second. The punching bags in the gym didn't ever even feel like they'd been punched. This…. wasn't home.

But maybe she didn't want home anymore. Home hurt. Especially when it was taken away, ripped from her hands. Maybe she didn't need a home anymore. Just a place to fight, to fight and keep on fighting until home couldn't be taken.

And so Francis found herself sitting at the edge of the pool, sweat pants rolled up to her thighs so she could sink her legs in, leaning on her arms behind her. It was calming, and she needed calm. A place to think, to digest. To hold her breath, at least, for a little while.

Whatever calm she was vying for was interrupted as the sound of footsteps approached. Lucas almost gave pause at the sight of Fran, not really expecting anybody to be here, but it wasn't as if bumping into her was a bad thing. Hell, far from it. She loved harassing that woman...err, playfully. Of course. He freed one from his jeans pockets a waved. "Yo, Fran Wham Bam! Never thought I'd be graced with your pretty face around here."

He kicked off his socks and shoes, rolling up his own pants legs before seating himself next to her. "How goes it, sweetness?"

At Lucas' interruption Francis flinched, though a rare smile graced her lips. "Hey, Lucas." She murmured, moving her hands to make room for him. "Goes… fine, I guess." Her tone was uncharacteristically smooth, for a Lucas intrusion. She tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear, returning her gaze to the water as it rippled beneath their feet. "What are you doing here?"

Lucas instantly recognized the odd tone, the lack of fire and snippiness. However, he decided not to comment on it and simply shrugged, kicking at the water to send soft ripples across the surface. "Eh, nothing much. Just got bored messing with the guards. They're no fun. So, thought I'd wander around and entertain myself a little." Cheekily, he nudged her. "Thank God I found your fine ass, huh?"

Inhaling deeply, trying to resist the urge to flat out shove him in the pool for that comment, Francis closed her eyes. "Yep. Thank God." She muttered, folding her hands in her lap. "You liking Orlando so far?" She hadn't really spoken to him since they'd arrived, other than fleeting greetings. She hoped he wasn't causing too much trouble.

"Honestly? I'd much rather be back in Miami, but," he shrugged, "Can't really do that shiz, so...yeah. Place is just too strict for me. Can barely ask for anything around here. What about you?" He attempted to ask cautiously, still taking note of Fran's off mood. She had actually practiced self control just now, which was beyond weird, in his opinion.

"Uh, it's alright. I'd rather be in Miami too." She frowned. Place was definitely too strict for Lucas. "They… recruited me to join Orlando base." Francis murmured, brows furrowed. "I said I wasn't sure. It's hard to think like that when Miami went down so recently."

Lucas bit the inside of his cheek. "You're uh...you're joining Orlando? I mean, well, thinking about it? That's…" For once, he didn't immediately know what to say; most of his attention was dedicated to smothering the discomfort writhing in his gut. Finally, he forced himself to finish in an even tone, "That's interesting, sweetness. They know a good egg when they see one."

She could see the strain it caused Lucas, and frankly, it surprised her. She was well acquainted with him, sure, but she had never imagined that he would be sad to see her go. Francis wasn't exactly the only person Lucas… bothered.

"I didn't agree yet," She said, trying to offer some comfort. "I don't think they'd have anyone here like you."

"I know that," he answered, perhaps a tad too quickly, before allowing his shoulders to relax. "And why do I feel like 'someone like me' is codeword for 'dumb bitch' in Fran speak?" A hint of amusement twinkled in his eyes, grinning knowingly at her. "It's fine though. I know you say it with…" A contemplative pause. "Affection."

Snorting, Francis sighed. "Not what I meant." Maybe she would have said it a few days ago, but now… now she almost couldn't. Bringing up her hand, Francis lightly ruffled Lucas' hair. "It's not.. warm here. Miami was like home. But I'm not even sure if I want home anymore."

Lucas lightly pouted, but didn't really stop Fran as she messed up his hair. He was already in the process of fixing away as soon as she was done. He gave a quick head knock, tossing back his bangs and letting them fall in a natural, charming effect. There. Good as new. "Preach, Fran Wham Bam," he sighed. "Place is way too cold, especially for my cute ass." However, he quirked an eyebrow at her. "What's that supposed to mean? Everybody wants a home. It's where we can be ourselves and relax after a long day."

Francis looked away, biting her lip. She didn't know what to say to him.. she barely knew what to say to herself. "Did I ever tell you.. about where I lived before Rogue?" It was a dumb question. She probably hadn't. She barely talked about it. "I.. lived on a farm. It was pretty.. calm. Quiet. I had a family. Parents, and my brother… and it got raided." She fiddled with a hangnail on her finger. "And then I made a home at Miami… and it got bombed." There was hurt in her voice, a heaviness. "I'm just sick of it, you know? Why make a home when you know it's gonna be taken?"

Lucas...wasn't really sure how to respond. Not at first. The obvious thing to do was comfort her, but he didn't exactly have the slightest clue outside of teasing her, and that wasn't the wisest option. He heaved a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Damn, Fran...Uh, I'm sorry that happened to you. Twice. But, I mean...I feel like not having a home will hurt you more. I don't know."

Francis sucked in a breath. She shouldn't have said anything — damnit. She didn't like to feel sorry for herself, make anyone feel sorry for her. "Sorry. You're right." She shook her head. "Don't need to make you feel worse than you're probably already feeling. Miami's my home, with your big mouth and Levi's runner up big mouth. Stupid to think otherwise." She put on a grin for him again.

"S'okay," Lucas mumbled, gaze locked perpetually to the pool. He almost felt cornered, sensing the seriousness of the conversation, and yet, at the same time, he couldn't bring himself to end it. Not when Fran was trusting him with this information. He wasn't blind nor stupid. "Don't need to apologize anyways, sweetness. Trust me when I say nothing that comes out of that beautiful mouth of yours could make me feel bad," he chuckled.

Then paused a moment. Another long moment, his jaw shifting in tandem with his thoughts. Then, he said tentatively, "I'm uh...Don't get me wrong, but I'm kinda shook you're telling me all this. Don't mean anything rude about it, just saying."

"Uhm. Yeah." She muttered. "Turns out my best friend showed up from the dead, so. I'm kind of reevaluating my life choices right now."

His brow arched in surprise. "Oh. Uh...oh damn. From the dead. Christ, yeah, that'll make your ass sit down and rethink some shit." He almost laughed at the thought, but the shock coursing through him smothered it from existence. "But, I mean, that's a good thing, isn't it? Got your BF back...Feel like you'd be jumping around for joy or some shiz," he said.

Francis glanced at Lucas. "Uh, he… knew about the raid. But he didn't quite… warn me. Warn us. I mean, he tried, he…" Francis rand a hand through her hair. Her lip was already bleeding from her incessant gnawing. "Too much to dump on you, Lucas." She decided, and suddenly her voice was firm. And then, Francis pushed off the ledge of the pool, diving feet first fully clothed.

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Slip n Slide Part II
Colalb with @Mobley

Lucas blinked, brain failing to process what just happened. He narrowed his gaze, watching Fran in the water for a moment. He could tell that she was retreating and frankly, he wasn't going to settle for that. Not right now. "Oi!" With a grin, he jumped in after her, paddling hot on her heels. "You can't just leave me hanging like that, sweetness. Rude."

Barely able to stand above the water on her tiptoes, Francis wiped her eyes, grinning at Lucas. "Sure I can. Got too mushy on you anyway. This is better." She ducked under the water again.

"But I like you mushy," he teased, though he rolled his eyes when Fran disappeared. Fine then. She wanted to play cat and mouse, then they would play cat and mouse. Sucking in a deep breath, he went under, squinting at her blurry image. He swam towards her, reaching out and trying to snag her by the sleeve.

Francis pulled out of reach just as his hand shot out, but she came up for air a moment later. A laugh bubbled from her lips. "Mushy and sopping wet," She snorted. "Yul's gonna kill us."

"Shark!" Lucas shouted as he popped out behind her, arms resting around her shoulders. It was semi-hugging, semi-holding onto her so he could float safely and catch his breath. "Naw," he laughed, "Yul'll get over it. Beside, he got a problem, he's gotta get through this irresistible bod first, sweetness."

Nearly losing their balance and dunking them both as Lucas grabbed onto her from behind, Francis squeaked. "Oh god, Lucas, get off - Lucas!" Francis toppled backwards, submerging them both again.

Lucas had to fight off a smirk as they fell back. However, he didn't let them remain underwater for longer than a moment before looping an arm around Fran and pulling her back up. He was quick to release her and wade back a little, leaving only his eyes above water, which downright gleamed with impishness. Now that he thought about it, his spirit animal should totally be a shark.

Blinking the chlorine away from her eyes after the unexpected submersion, Francis regained her balance with Lucas' arm yanking her up and the smile returned as she watched him with his eyes above the water. "Don't go all Jaws on me now," She threatened, wringing her hair.

"And if I do?" Lucas piped up before dipping down again, wading just a tiny bit closer. He hadn't had a chance to play around with someone since...well, ever.

"And if you do…" Francis echoed, a playfulness dancing in her eyes. "I could throw you right outta this pool!" It was maybe the first time her threat didn't actually carry any weight.

"Ah, damn. You've got a point there…" Lucas pouted, seeming to reconsider his actions…

Then he smirked.

And pounced.

And she didn't even feel like stopping him. Didn't feel like threatening to rip his legs off or barking at him for jumping on her. She'd been cruel because the world had been cruel to her, and she'd pushed everyone away. But the world had been cruel to everyone at Rogue, and Lucas no less.

Francis stayed submerged for a little while even after he backed off, feigning death from his vicious attack before finally coming up for air. "Damn. Got me good. I'm deaaaaaad," She whined.

A dramatic gasp escaped Lucas, his features riddled with distraught. "Franny, nu! How could this have happened??" He even tossed in a fake sniffle for extra measure, though it wasn't long until giggles were already bubbling up his chest. He held up his hands, looking at them with disgust. "And to think...these hands were only meant to love, not harm…" Then he brightened. "Did you write me in your will, by the way?"

Smirking at his dramatic show, Francis sighed. "All I had to leave you was a bunch of emotional baggage. So sorry." The smile faltered a little, and Francis shook her head had. "You're pretty enjoyable when you're not making comments about my ass," Francis groaned.

"Damn. Guess I can use that somehow. Maybe pawn it somewhere," he grumbled before quirking an eyebrow. He was tempted to rebuke that comment with an ass compliment, but decided against it and started slowly swimming back to the edge. "Eh, guess I can say the same for you. You know, when you're not out for my head."

"Guess we're both jerks," Francis said with a coy smile. Following him to the edge, Francis pulled herself up in a swift motion and sat back down on the edge, pulling all her hair together and wringing it out. "Not a bad shark, Lucas."

"Amen to that," Lucas said. He grinned at the praise, but the glee dimmed somewhat as he remained where he was in the water. His gut twisted with conflict, hesitation, but reflecting over what happened and how much he trusted this woman gave him at least a flicker of courage. Or stupidity. Likely stupidity. "Hey, Fran? Just wanna let you know, uh…"

He trapped his bottom lip between his teeth. "It would suck. You know. If you ever left or anything. Rogue's my home and everything too but...honestly? It's more so the people I've been with." He shrugged, growing sheepish. "Wouldn't really feel right if you weren't there. Just don't, like, go spreading that around, kay?"

A warm smile spreading across her face, Francis' cheeks reddened. "That… means a lot to me, Lucas." She murmured. "And I won't tell anyone… that you're a big softie."

"Yeah, uh, don't mention it," he mumbled, finally climbing out of the pool and sitting down with a wet plop. Damn. He would need a hot shower after this. "Like, ever," he laughed. "And I just figured...I'd be honest about that since you told me about your home and stuff. Eye for an eye and all that."

The smile stayed on Francis' red cheeks, especially after noting how Lucas had made a joke about a hot shower that didn't even involve more than one person. She nodded, "Yeah. Honestly… don't think I've told anyone in a long time." She stared ahead. "Harder to talk about all that crap than you think."

Lucas smoothed his hair back, grimacing at how sopping wet it was. Crap. He hoped that didn't ruin his style completely. Oh well, he'd find out later once it air-dried. "I can understand that. It's, uh, it ain't easy talking about that kind of thing. So yeah, I really do get it, sweetness." He figured that Fran was nearing her limit for confiding in him, so he strayed his attention to her cheeks and the warmth filling them. He smiled cheekily. "Nice to see you blush, by the way~. It's cute as hell."

Francis looked away, perhaps a little embarrassed. "Just this damned pale complexion. Makin' sure I get burnt from indoor lighting." She swung her legs back and forth in the pool one more time. "I can tell what you're thinking… your hair will be just fine." She rolled her eyes.

"Uh huh, sure," Lucas said, not at all impressed with the excuse, but he supposed he could give her brownie points for creativity. "Either way, I'm making it my damn mission to get you to blush more often, sweetness. Can't just hide a pretty sight like that." Shooting her a wink, he finally stood up, holding a hand out to her. "Ready to head out? You might be a mind-reader, but I doubt you'll wash my hair for me. I mean, unless you're up for sharing a stall?" The humor in his voice was a bit dry, the usual suggestiveness in his tone a bit lacking.

Taking his hand, Francis stood and wrung out her shirt. "Nah. Not today, Shark. You're on your own." Even though it was something she expected to hear from him, he didn't quite deliver it with the same confidence. "See you later, Lucas." Francis hummed, moving to the door, before offering him a little wave.

"Damn. Really thought you were coming around just now," Lucas trailed off, watching Fran leave with a slew of mixed emotions. Most of them were positive and filled him to the brim with warmth, beyond grateful for the conversation. And yet, on the other hand, he couldn't ignore that tiny spark of dread. Just sitting there in the pit of his heart. Burning. Nagging. Either way, there was no going back now and he returned the wave with an almost wistful smile.

As soon as she was gone, he ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

He may or may not have royally fucked up.

 

[Mobley Eats]

Collab Post: We Need Time | Interactions: Josie @Kat | Location: Orlando HQ​

Josie stared in awe as her bone and muscle seemed to magically knit themselves back together with Thaddeus' touch. She felt her cheeks flush a little as he sat back once it was all done and explained what to expect next. Thaddeus scribbled down what turned out to be a prescription for pain medication and Josie felt somewhat lightheaded from Thaddeus' miracle work, both literally and figuratively, if one even had an exact word for what just happened.

"Wait, that's it? Seriously?"

"That's it…" Thaddeus said, with a small nod, "If anything feels off, you can certainly come back in, but over all, you should be just fine, now."

"Oh wow. That was… amazing. How did you do that? Is it just… ingrained in you without the need for books or materials?"

Sitting back in his chair, Thaddeus bobbed his shoulders in a shrug, "Just my abilities, ma'am. And a few years of med school."

"Please, just Josie. I'll be around here for a while and I'll be back in the infirmary, but not for the reasons you think. Have a good evening…" She refrained from saying his name or title and left promptly with Hex to seek out her temporary room. The walk felt more tolerable now that she had much of her knee back, thanks to Thaddeus.

"Alright Hex, I can take it from here. Room is just a few doors down around the corner and you got a prescription to pick up for me," she teased, taking the prescription note from Hex. "In all seriousness though, I'll let you go. You need some "you-time" and I'm sure you'd want to catch up with the others. I'll see you around."

Josie left Hex's side and headed towards her room with the wall giving her minimal support as she limped around the corner. It wasn't long, however, when her fun "exploration" came to a stand still. Just around the corner, she noticed a young woman of familiar stature opening the door to her room. Josie could never mistake the curly haired hacker.

"Luna...?" Her tone was hesitant, but rightfully so. Was this the lady she'd always admired? One of her best friends that she would have risked her life to find?

Luna was tried. She was drained, physically, emotionally, and spiritually beyond measure. She had hugged and cried. Cried so much. She went undercover and lied to so many faces, manipulated someone's mind, just to use him as a pawn for escape...The hacker wanted to sleep. It was right there. Her temporary and empty reprieve from the sins she had seen and committed. Only a code on the dial pad away…

And then she heard her name, uttered by a familiar voice. Shakily, she looked up, spotting a form hobbling towards her. Her tired eyes widened ever so slightly. "J-Jo...sie?"

"Luna," Josie's lips quivered and she moved quicker to reach her friend, not that it helped any. "Luna… Oh my god, you're okay! My leg, ow." Josie laughed a little and stopped trying to hobble. "God, Luna…"

It felt so good to say her name.

"You're… you're in one piece?"

"I-I mean, I am but...Christ, Josie," Luna breathed, her voice trembling with concern. She tried to help the woman keep balance, her eyes glued to her leg. "What a-about you? What happened? Err, c-come on, you'd rather be sitting, r-right?" She finally punched in the code and helped Josie into her room.

Josie moved slowly into Luna's room, so as to not put too much pressure on her sore knee. She sat down on the edge of Luna's bed and laughed a little. "Wow, I must be seeing a ghost. Luna… Oh my god." She leaned forward on her knees and held back an ugly sob. "You're alive. I thought it was all over when I couldn't find you. I'm so sorry."

"I-I might as well be," Luna mumbled, her voice weak as she plopped down next to Josie. Her eyes softened though at the strangled sob escaping her and she rubbed soothing circles into her back. "D-don't apologize, Josie...It was no one's f-fault. Life's just…" she heaved a sigh, "Life."

Josie leaned over and embraced Luna.

"I shouldn't have left you in the van, Luna. You're like a sister to me. I did you wrong."

"Oof!" Luna nearly fell back from the surprise hug, her small stature not helping in the slightest. However, she managed to remain upright and returned the embraced, gingerly patting her on the back. "I-I already told you it's n-not your fault. Just..." In all actuality, despite how much she loved Josie, how much she cared about the woman...she was mad. She was resentful for being left along and kidnapped, but she couldn't bring herself to voice that. The hacker was terribly drained and the most she could do with her last strip of energy was accept Josie's apology and look to the future. To a future with her family safe. Vance safe.

Slowly, she pulled away from the hug, eyes downcast. "I...I-I have to be honest, Josie. I...love you. S-so much. But…" Her eyes stung, her voice dwindling to a pained whisper. "I-I don't know if I can f-...f-forgive you. Just not r-right now."

Josie pressed her lips together and blinked away her tears. Luna's words stung like she'd been shot again. It was agonizing, painful. Josie turned away, fist curling into the bedsheets. It was her fault. Luna was angry with her; she had every right to be, and yet, all Josie could utter was a few statements.

"I see. I'll leave you be then. I don't want to cause you any more pain than I already have. I'm sorry."

Luna wanted to say something to comfort Josie, anything to ease the tension and hurt from her being, and just as her hand twitched, on the verge of reaching out for her...she held back. The willpower wasn't within her arsenal, not nearly enough to face another slew of emotions stacked onto the ones wreaking havoc in her head.

"J-Josie, I…" she trailed off, mouth dryer than cotton.

"It's okay, Luna. I made a mistake. It would've taken me a while to forgive too. I get it. I tried to save more, but we only ended up losing so much. I take full responsibility for my actions. If you need time, I understand. I let you down and nothing compares to the agony you've been through when you were gone."

"We've been through s-so much agony," Luna whispered, fiddling feebly with her fingers, avoiding eye contact. "I think...what we all n-need right now is time." She swallowed shallowly, clamping her lips shut. She didn't say anymore. Refused to say anymore. All of these emotions in one day had run over her limit hours ago.

"Yeah, time," Josie mumbled and stood up. "I'm sorry. Thad says I need to rest anyways. You um, I guess, try not to push yourself too hard. I'll see you later, maybe."

She left without another word.

 

[junebug]

Life Advice w/ Nick @WingWong and Josie @Kat

---

Josie stared at the end of her bed, off into space. Her mind had wandered and she had reflected. It was a terrible mistake, one she could not undo. She had to live with the weight of her consequences. Her notes were gone, she had no slate to work from at this time, no materials to help replicate the synthetic blockers. It was mass suicide to even consider going back to Miami base to grab something worthwhile. She understood that now. Josie's head raised and she sat up when she heard a knock at her door. Nick stepped in, his long hair pulled back– like always– and a feeling of relief radiated from the young man.

"Oh, Nick. Hey, how're you feeling?" Josie asked in a calm tone. Her knee was in much better shape after Thaddeus had worked hard to mend her knee back together. Josie seemed to be doing fairly well, externally at least.

The dull throb that had become a sort of background noise for Nick throughout the day was finally gone, and he felt like he could breathe just a little better. Light was still going to do weird things to him for a while, it seemed, but the major crisis had been averted at least. With the worst effects of the concussion gone, though, he ended up processing everything that had happened throughout the day. Nevermind that he didn't really need that at the moment. His brain had other plans now that it could function again.

Nick needed a distraction, so that he could hold it all together the way he always did. Just until he was alone, so no one could see him as anything other than who he'd been to them for the past month. With the memory of Josie's scream from earlier still ringing in his ears, he figured he could at least check in with her. He hadn't seen what else she'd been through that day, but he couldn't imagine it was good. Hopefully she wouldn't slam the door in his face, after he'd sided with helping Leon…

When he knocked on the door and slipped inside, though, she greeted him amicably, which is more than he'd expected.

"Me? I'm pretty good. I'm not the one who had a shattered kneecap though," Nick replied with a small smile. "I actually came by to check on you."

Josie's smile mirrored Nick's and she shrugged as she stood up, "I mean, I'm doing better than I was before. I got fixed up by a cute doctor. There's nothing more I could ask for. How are the others holding down the fort?"

"Getting treated by cute doctors makes everything better," Nick joked lightly before pausing. "Are we talking about Daisy, or is there another one here I haven't met yet?" He made a vague hand gesture. "They're doing well physically, as far as I can tell. I know Levi has gotten fixed up by now. I think everyone is just trying to process."

Josie rubbed the back of her neck and smiled sheepishly, "There's another doctor. Doctor Thaddeus Carmichael. He flushed out the wound faster than I could blink. Is Daisy the one who fixed up Levi's shoulder?"

"Yeah, that's her," Nick answered with a nod. "She said she patched him up a bit before me." He seemed to consider this information, expression pensive. "So what's Carmichael like? I don't know if I've even seen him around yet." The overwhelming amount of new faces he was dealing with was nerve wracking, even without the fact that he didn't really know a lot of people from the Miami base to begin with.

"Too polite for me to handle," Josie grinned before her smile died down and her eyebrows softened. "Listen though. None of you guys deserved what happened. If anything, it should've been all on me, and I'm sorry you had to deal with losing a home that's close to your heart. It's my fault we're all in this mess and I'm truly sorry, Nick. I'm sorry you didn't get to be at Miami base longer. It was home for all of us and I hope that even though it's gone now, it was just as much a home for you than everyone else."

"That's how those doctors get you," Nick grinned. It fell away as his brow furrowed, and he gave her a sympathetic, if not slightly confused, look. "It wasn't your fault, Josie. I appreciate the sentiment, I do. But I think everyone here is able to pick themselves up and carry on. Maybe with some help and with no small bit of grief, but we'll be fine."

"But Nick, I let Leon in and he told RIEF where we were," Josie responded, "It was my fault, my mistake."

Nick's frown deepened. That certainly explained a lot from earlier. Namely, her reaction to Leon in general. Still, he sighed, shaking his head.

"Josie, it's not your fault when people use you or betray you. That's not your mantle to bear. You made a mistake, yeah, but that's not what defines you. It makes you human," he started. "How you deal with things after the fact should matter more. You aren't to blame for other people's decisions."

She shook her head and sighed, "I'm trying not to let it get to me. I guess I'm just bad at moving on and have a habit of criticizing myself."

"As someone who doesn't let go of things easily either, please. Don't blame yourself for others' decisions and actions," Nick advised. He'd tried doing that once, but eventually realized, that no matter how he spun it, he could still have ended up in the same situations.

"I just wanted…" No, it didn't matter what she wanted anymore. That was no longer possible. Now, she had to turn the tables and play it safe so she could make sure the others were safe as well... "Nevermind. What matters is that we're all here in one piece, or at least, most of us. Thank you, Nick."

"Wanted what?" He was curious, so sue him. Besides, he was already in here talking about feelings and dishing out life advice as someone unqualified to give it, so he might as well stick it out. There were more feelings here, clearly.

Josie leaned back against the headboard and shrugged, "I said I would give everyone a normal life. I'd succeed in creating the blockers my parents worked so hard to perfect, just so I could go to school and be normal. I've not only lost my notes, but we've lost the materials and equipment for it. I'm right back where I was five years ago. A blank slate and being hunted. It's not exactly ideal."

Nick listened, taking this in and considering before he spoke again. "No, it's not ideal. I agree with you there. This isn't going to stop you though, is it?" he asked. "Yes, it'll take longer, and it'll be harder. But it's a promise, isn't it? It clearly means something to you, if you're worried about it now. It's a set back. It happens. It doesn't mean it's the end, or that the rest of us can't help you pick up the pieces when we can."

There was silence that followed as Josie sucked on her bottom lip in thought. Nick wasn't wrong. It was only a temporary setback, that didn't mean she couldn't go at it again. It just meant she'd have to work twice as hard this time, without being reckless. She had to focus on what she already had and what it meant to her, then use that to fuel her motivation to give everyone the life they deserved in a world that didn't accept them.

"You're right, Nick," Josie murmured. "It won't stop me. Rogue family means everything to me, and if that means I have dig deeper in the dirt to get to where I want to go, so be it. I'd never leave any of you hanging if I didn't think we still had a shot at a sense of normalcy. You're right."

Nick smiled, glad he could at least ease her fears a little. "Glad to be of some help." He tried to do his part where he could; he was glad, at the least, he'd come by to check on Josie.

"We all try our best, that's all that matters."

---

@WingWong

 

[Mobley Eats]

Luna Cambridge | Codename: Nostalgia | Location: Rogue HQ, Orlando Branch
Interactions: Guard ​

Luna was relieved. So relieved.

Finn and Keith were alive--they managed to escape the clutches of RIEF's ambush and now they were back in her arms. She could hug them. Hold them. Cry on them and make a horrid mess of their shirts. Apologize profusely while still clutching onto them like a lifeline. They were unharmed. At the end of it all, at the end of her entire reason for existing, that was all that mattered. That her family remained safe and happy.

All of them.

---

"Wha…" Frost coated her insides. "W-what do you mean sh-she's…"

She couldn't breathe. Luna couldn't breathe. It was so hot, yet so cold in the corridors. How could she feel like this? How was it possible to have her innards chip away like blocks of ice while her skin sweltered hotter than an active volcano? How could she possibly hear her own thoughts over the furious pounding in her ears?

"It's as the reports said." A guard flipped through the files once more, before dropping it to the desk with a sigh. There could've been sympathy in his tone, but Luna couldn't find any. "Mackenzie Macintosh. Codename Spitz. Seventeen and code yellow--"

"She's not dead," Luna wheezed, quivers wracking her body from head to toe. An insistent burning behind her eyes. Sweat coating her palms. "Sh-she's not dead...No...No. No. N-no--she's not."

"Miss Cambridge, perhaps you should--"

"She's not!" Luna pushed away from the desk. "No she's not! She's not dead a-and you're lying! You're lying and telling me just...j-just bullshit!" She clutched the jar of peanut butter tightly against her chest, as if letting go would amount to accepting Mac's death. Like Hell she would do that. Like Hell. She wasn't dead. Neither was Mara. Neither was Lexie. None of them--Luna refused.

Before the guard could protest any further, Luna fled, her pace rushed but broken. It was a miracle that she managed to hold herself together enough to walk, let alone function.

She punched shakily at the dial pad leading into her room, but quickly grew frustrated and started beating at it with the side of her fist. Two hits. Three. Five more. Each consecutive hit earned her a false beep, denying her access and fanning the flames eating away at the foundations of her composure. "F-for...fuck's sake...open!" She wailed one more time, before forcing herself to enter the code normally and rushed inside.

The door barely had a chance to close before she chucked the peanut butter across the room, a scream of anguish ripping from her throat. It smacked into the wall with a dull thud before rolling across the floor into a lonely corner.

Luna raked both hands through her hair, before cupping them at the base of her skull and pacing. Back and forth. Back and forth. Inhale. Exhale. Stuttering breath. Wheezing. Choking. Sobbing. Reality. Hitting her hard and fast and without mercy.

She couldn't do this. "F-fuck…"

"Hey Nostal', you gonna figure that camera out before I run into some creep?"

She couldn't do this.

She yanked off her skull cap and gestured towards Mac's bleeding hand. "M-may I? I don't have g-gauze but this and some w-water are the only things I have t-to stop the bleeding."

She couldn't do this!

"Hey, you think they got like, candy bars and peanut butter or something? Is that like, essential or non-essential?"

She felt sick. Luna felt sick. Disgusting. Aimless. There were things she wanted to say, to tell Mac. All of it--left unsaid. She'd never get to hear them.

"Kidding. Mega-understood. Jumpin' beans about to get it jumpin', right Luna?"

Luna pinched her lips to stave off a giggle, but all that did was concoct this dorky snort. She coughed in a fruitless attempt to hide it before grinning at Mac. "A-and don't forget the chocolate-dipped peanuts."

Luna rushed to the bathroom, flipped up the toilet lid and keeled over, emptying the contents of her stomach. Her abdomen clenched painfully with every heave.

A sharp intake of breath blared through cacophonous through the earpieces, Mac's voice following in a panic, "They've got us! They've got us!"

She clenched the edges of the bowl until her fingers pulsed red. She failed. She had one job to do. Just one. To keep eyes on them. To keep them out of harm's way. "S-stupid! So...stupid!" Everything ached. She wanted a reprieve, but knew that she didn't deserve one. Christ, why did it have to turn out like this?

"H-hang in th-there guys! Just! J-just…"

"J-just what!" she screamed at herself, whether in anger or pain, it was impossible to tell. "What!" She fucked up. She royally fucked up and broken a vow that enveloped her entire universe. Never let a loved one get hurt. Never let anything bad happen to them. Always put their needs before hers.

So what now? She couldn't fulfill that promise, not for protection nor for that...goddamned jar of peanut butter.

Luna didn't leave the bathroom for what felt like an eternity.

"I...I-I'm so sorry…"

 

[junebug]

Find Your Strengths
Keegan and Josie @DarinValore & @Kat collab

It was later in the evening when Josie returned to the infirmary. Her knee was fine, but given that there were no other patients to be seen at the time, she stayed for a while because it brought a silent source of comfort for her. The white walls were like clouds, peaceful and never faltering. She curled up and laid down on her side.

The noise was minimal in her area and it gave her time and space to breath. Josie found she could not sleep, so she turned to one of the biology books Thaddeus had precariously placed on a bookshelf among others. She read in silence for a while. The comfort was haunting, lonely even, and Josie had had enough when the door clicked open.

"Thad is not in right now–," she said as she glanced at the newcomer, an unfamiliar sight. Josie's eyes widened and her voice quivered like a small child as she set down the biology book on the bed. "Keegan? What– you escaped the explosion at Miami base? What– what the hell happened to you? You look like shit."

Keegan offered a warm smile as Josie looked up at him, "It's a long story, Josie. I heard you were shot and thought I'd come by to see how your recovery was going. How's the leg?"

"Uh, it's better. Thad– the doctor, I mean. Thaddeus patched me in a matter of what seemed like only a minute or two," Josie responded, breath shaking. "Listen Keegan, I just want you know how sorry I am for this whole mess. I made a mistake letting Leon in and I'm so, so sorry. There's so much I want to say, I don't know how to tell you. I'm glad you're okay though and I really am truly sorry for the losses everyone has endured."

Shaking his head, he dismissed her apology, "I failed first, Josie. Ultimately the buck stops with me, and I dropped the ball. Now we have to clean all of this up and make sure RIEF pays for what it's done here."

"Wait, what? I don't understand," Josie spoke in confusion. "You were there, angry with me for letting him in because I didn't know him. What made you change your mind?"

Shaking his head, Keegan answered, "That wasn't me, Josie. That was my brother. I've spent the last six months in captivity...it's why I look like I do."

She blinked, surprised by this sudden news. Since when did Keegan have a brother? Was that really… his brother? The one she trusted or the one that she thought she knew? There was an unsettling silence as Josie tried to comprehend what it meant.

"So, that man… Your brother, I mean… was pretending to be you all this time? Why would he do that? Does that mean he was part of RIEF too?"

Pursing his lips in thought, Keegan sat upon the edge of the bed and softly placed his hand on her calf, "I don't want you to worry about my brother's motives, Josie, I just want you to worry about getting back on your feet."

Josie's eyes blurred and she wiped away at her tears, "You remind me of my dad, always telling me to keep on going. I wish you could've seen how amazing he and my mom were. They sacrificed everything for me and I tried really hard to be that person for Rogue, but I couldn't. I want to be a better person than I was and really try this time to be that person because you make me feel like there's hope even when I've lost, Keegan, and you know I don't like to lose."

Shaking his head, Keegan corrected her, "You already are that person, Josie. Sure, you made a bad decision. We all do, but we get back up, dust ourselves off, and start again. No doubt you learned from this, so apply what you've learned and get back out there. There are Rogues that need that brilliant mind of yours. There's no time to fill it with self-doubt."

"You're definitely the Keegan I remember," Josie whispered. Her chest rose quick, breathing fast as she allowed herself to cry. Life was unfair, but when was it ever fair? She looked at her leader and sobbed. "We'll get them, we will. Do you still like hugs? I think you need one."

Smiling he leaned in and wrapped his arms around her, "I'll take as many hugs as you want to give me, Josie."

After the embrace, he pulled back and patted her calf once again, "Now feel better and get your rest. Need you in top shape."

"Right, maybe I'll take a nap here," she grinned. "You need to rest too. And shower. I'm glad you're okay. Doc made it, right? I know the others did."

"There you go worrying again. We're still waiting on the rest to trickle in to determine who did and did not make it. Rest now, and I'll go shower since apparently I smell," he smiled and stood from the bed, "I'm glad you're alright, Josie."

Josie returned the smile, "I'm glad you're okay too, Keegan. I'll try not to worry too much."

---

@nooneinparticular