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| Southern Hospitality; Jonny Clone, X23, Mercury, Box | |
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| Topic Started: Nov 27 2014, 02:45 AM (369 Views) | |
| Rogue | Nov 27 2014, 02:45 AM Post #1 |
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Unregistered
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2:15 pm, November 30 The town of Livingston in Caldecott County, Mississippi Anthony Hudson was running home as fast as his thirteen year old legs could carry him. A smile spread across his face as he sucked for breath in the mild November sun. He just had to show Mama what he had learned he could do. He was special; even better than that he was magic! His small Nikes slapped the sidewalk and his jacket billowed behind him as he arms pumped wildly with the enthusiastic energy of his new discovery. Anthony and his best friend Grant Fuller were playing SHIELD versus Skrulls. Grant was the evil Skrull while Anthony was the heroic Captain America. The star spangled hero saved the day and the Skrull was defeated. Grant was describing how the day before he was riding the dirt bike and almost wrecked when his dog started chasing him. Anthony felt his mind open and he could literally see what Grant was thinking. It was a funny feeling and it surprised him. Was this the kind of strange, new feelings he learned about in health class? Anthony had blinked his eyes and the event literally played out in front of him and Anthony. The two boys saw a recreation of Grant riding the motorcycle, this time around the park, and suddenly a chocolate lab darted out and the copy of Grant wobbled and almost crashed. Anthony remembered how they both stood in awe of what was happening. When Grant said, ‘What the hell…’ Anthony’s mind snapped back into his own mind and the copy of his friend and his dog vanished. Anthony just knew it was him. He was magic and he special. Anthony had connected with his best friend’s mind and brought something to life. Anthony was so excited to show Mama his new trick that he didn’t see the Jeep as he ran across the street, he didn’t even feel the impact. [align=center] - - - [/align] Afternoon, December 3 Outside Livingston “May it be ever be so humble,” Rogue said as they pulled into the gravel lot in front of the house. Thick tufts of weeds had grown up through the stones and in wild patches throughout the yard. They had passed a mailbox that was simply a jagged post since someone had smashed it. The corner of roofing above the porch had collapsed and impaled the curling boards with their peeling paint. A bird had built a nest in the rafters and droppings smeared down the side of the house. The windows had been cracked or broken. Rogue exited the car and shoved her hands into her pockets. The weather was milder than it had been when they left New York and it was a welcome respite from the snow and bitter cold. But cold was what she felt when she looked around at the home she had left many years ago. To say there was a lot of history here would have been incorrect. She had lived there for barely thirteen years so the ‘history’ was mostly lacking. She had some memories of this place. Most of it had been overshadowed by the emergence of her mutant powers and the terrible accident of absorbing Cody’s life essence. Cody Robbins. Rogue knew that coming back to Mississippi would raise that ghost and it would be hard to avoid. As the striped mutant looked around and felt that there were ghosts in every corner of the rural retreat. Things that she hadn’t remembered began to bubble up. There was a tire with a rope attached lying on the ground. The other end of the rope was attached to a branch above. Had her father pushed her on the tire swing? Was she remembering it or simply making up a memory that she wished she had? Had Rogue run around as a barefoot baby chasing a scruffy mutt while her mother pinned laundry and billowing bed sheets to the now twisted clothes line? Or was it wishful thinking? The only memories she was sure of were those of her time with Cody and she worried that was only because she had doubled them after imprinting his mind so strongly. Dammit! Again with the thoughts of Cody. She literally had them on the brain. Rogue looked back to the friends that had accompanied her to Caldecott County. She was thankful for all of them and what they had come to mean to her. They were all a team and even more than that they were all part of a large family. Rogue was fairly certain that her old home was going to be in rather poor condition. Time and the long, humid Mississippi summers had not been friendly to the rustic woodwork. Since they were part of her family she knew she shouldn’t be afraid of being judged by her rural Southern roots. They no longer judged the power absorber for her tenure with the Brotherhood so that gave her hope since she saw her heritage as something that had set her apart. “It might look like a murder scene from True Detective but Ah’m sure you can imagine this was a decent place to grow up,” Rogue explained. The house was a dilapidated eyesore but what Rogue had really wanted to show them was her favorite place. There was a place where the edge of swamp came up to the property. Rogue knew she remembered that location fondly. She had caught fireflies there and gone swimming in the afternoon heat. That was her safe place. “My favorite place is a ways out back. Ah love this little swimmin’ hole nearby. It’ll be the last stop on the tour of My Not-So-Greatest hits before we head back into town and grab some lunch.” They had booked into a small motel in town the night before and Rogue had been showing them the places she remembered. Things had changed in her time away. The town seemed to have grown and subsequently died as well. Areas that she remembered as open fields where she had laid and watched the stars with Cody were now computer repair shops with boarded windows and empty parking lots. Teenagers aimlessly cruised the parking lot of the Wal-Mart under the watchful eye of the water tower caked with almost twenty extra years of “Someone Loves Someone Else” spray-painted as part of small town coming of age ritual. A highlight of the trip so far for Rogue had been to get homemade biscuits and sausage gravy with buttered grits from a family run diner next to the motel. If her trip down memory lane didn’t have the best scenery at least the food could help make up for it. |
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| Cessily Kincaid | Nov 27 2014, 03:41 AM Post #2 |
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Metallic Polymorph
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Cessily was a city girl. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, until her unique mutation kicked in, and she was sent to Xavier’s. And even there, New York City was only hours away, and with her powers, it was nice to be near a city. In cities, something was always happening, no matter what time it was. And with her powers granting her the ability to not need sleep, Cessily liked when things happened. Quiet was all well and good, but for a girl who didn’t sleep, never felt physical exhaustion, and had no need of food to function…It could get boring. The cold didn’t bother her, so while others stayed inside against the chill of winter, the silver mutant was gladly out in the freezing rain and snow, shuffling around. That being said, when Rogue had asked for company on a road trip down memory lane, Cessily had gladly accepted. Her natural knack for being immune to Rogue’s powers notwithstanding, Cessily liked Rogue. Checkered past, unusual history, awkward powers and all. Really, they had quite a bit in common, more than they had before Cessily had joined X-Factor, thanks to her rather unfortunate stint in the Brotherhood. And of course, road trips were…Okay, well, in all honesty, boring as hell, especially since Cess didn’t have the luxury of falling asleep during long drives. But it did make her an excellent driver, especially given her ability to see out of every surface of her body. Between that, a few books stuffed into a bag, and the company, it was nice to get away. Rogue had been giving them a grand tour of…The south. The warmth was relaxing, warming her metal skin to a more ambient temperature, and despite the run-down look, Cessily was enjoying herself. Rogue was obviously both excited and nervous to be back, which was understandable. Pulling up in front of the house, Cess allowed a grin to sneak across her silvery face at the appearance, and Rogue’s defense. Getting out of the car to stretch her legs – not that there was anything to stretch, but acting normal was par for the course now – the redhead shaded her eyes, flashing a bright smile at her companions when she saw the tire swing. “Sweet, a tire swing!” Then she glanced at the branch above with a quizzical look, still grinning. “Okay, what’re the odds the rope or branch snaps the second I try and swing? Should I risk it?” A fall wouldn’t hurt her, of course, and she stepped over to Rogue, glancing at the house with a smile. “This seems like a good little town. Did I mention little?” She teased with a grin, before raising her hands in a shrug. “It’s nice out here. Peaceful. Portland’s not exactly big on the whole ‘let’s be relaxed and comfortably slow’.” The south was like a time warp. People just seemed to move slower, like there was simply no need to hurry, even when they were hurrying. It was amusing to Cessily, who was much more used to the constant hustle and bustle of a city. Bumping her shoulder lightly against Rogue’s, the redhead smiled. “Hey, I’m enjoying the tour.” The idea of a swimming hole was interesting, because of course, that just conjured an image of…well, a hole in the ground. For swimming. Cess knew that wasn’t what Rogue meant, but still. A swimming hole meant a more remote location for swimming, right? Kind of like a hidden little secret stash of water. And Cessily couldn’t wait to see it. |
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| Volt | Nov 27 2014, 09:28 AM Post #3 |
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Electrokinesis / Cloned Origin
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Jonathan Arwell Harper had been born in Mechanicsville, Virginia, though his clone had never ventured home, first because he was never sent there by his master Mojo, and then later, once he was freed from his servitude by the machinations of his older brother, Longshot, he had never dared go back to the place where anyone might know his donor, might know that Jonny had been a mutant, an X-Man... might have known that he died. JonnyClone was, now that his murderous purpose had been forsaken, a good and kind man, and he never wanted to bring the pain that would inevitably come from his creation. But, riding in the car with Rogue, Jonny's accent, usually mostly undetectable, had broadened and resurfaced the deeper south they travelled. Jonny had been eager to make this trip, excited to see something so close to the type of place his donor had grown up in. He still had some ways to go to be fully the man Jon Harper had been, but he'd come so far already. Cessily and Rogue joked about the tire swing, but Jonny's thoughts were of the swimming hole. It was too cold to go into the water, sadly... well, at least for the girls, though he wondered if Cessily felt the cold much. He, himself, had been, like all of the Mojoclones, built with systemic redundancies and genetically manipulated physical differences that afforded him a greater resistance to weather extremes, amongst other things. He had once used a frozen waterfall on the Xavier grounds as a spider hole while he waited for the opportunity to kill Longshot, who languished amnesiac in the school's lower levels. Before he got freed, of course. "Swimming hole," he said, "Remind me some time to tell you ladies about the time I took Mary Ellen Kripke down to Battle Creek Dam and taught her the joys of taking an 'air bath.' Ben Franklin swore by them, you know... at least that's what I told Mary Ellen. Thank the good lord that girl was a history buff." He smirked, "Because seeing her in the buff was an historical event." Laughing at his pun, Jonny didn't bother to point out that it had not been him, but the original Jon Harper who had seen the lithe and lovely Miss Kripke in her altogether back when they were both of a tender age. It didn't matter. He remembered it, the residual memories and personality of the dead X-Man encoded in his brain, and that was really all that mattered. |
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| Box | Nov 29 2014, 07:00 AM Post #4 |
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Mechanical Interaction/Merge
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Madison Jeffries had no particular interest in visiting Mississippi, if he was honest with himself. He highly doubted there would be any technological innovations of note he could observe down there, any scientific breakthroughs he could alert his like-minded colleagues to, or anything of the note. As a Canadian, he had no problem with the cold of New York winters, and traveling to see new places wasn't terribly high on his priority list unless they were truly off-the-wall and unique. So no, this trip wasn't out of a burning desire to see the Gulf Coast. Back when X-Factor had first formed as a community outreach program when Mutant Town was vulnerable, a burgeoning community in need of protectors and heroes, Madison Jeffries had designed them a van that could shift forms at the touch of a button to fill various needs. It could alter its structure to withstand submersion and become a submarine. It could operate fluidly underground in a pinch. And it could become a flying vehicle as well. Some on the team jokingly referred to it as the "Gadgetmobile", but to Madison it was just the perfect utility vehicle for a superhero team. He had kept it with Alex Summers's team when X-Factor split into two separate entities, with Madison Jeffries being one of the people who straddled the line between the two of them. But since then, Summers and Company came back above ground and ended their semi-fugitive status. And thus, it was also time for upgrades. Morphing rubber-plated wheel systems that could transition from street tires to all-terrain tires, expanding as needed, improvements to the flight system to cover longer distances, an outer-plating system that could condense into impact-resistant armor on command. He had put a lot of work into improving the X-Factormobile (name really needed better consideration - nothing he came up with sounded right), and this trip, benign as it was, was the perfect opportunity to test it. The flight down was successful and unhindered thanks to the air clearance the team still had back from their days with SHIELD, and the vehicle held up well on the roads too. Things were going well so far, and this little stop was... well, Madison didn't mind it. It wasn't his particular favorite thing to do, but he wouldn't object. Besides, he might find something particularly fascinating if he was open to it. Upon Cessily's musing on the tire swing, Madison narrowed his eyes a bit as he looked at it. After a moment, he pulled a pair of green-tinted glasses out and slipped them on, tapping a few small buttons in the lower palm area of his left glove to key up scanning settings. "Integrity of the rope is pretty strong, actually. Tire doesn't seem overly weathered. I'd say it should hold, but I can inject some nanocarbon filings to reinforce the rope if you'd like," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Shouldn't be necessary, though." |
![]() Signature mock-up made by Heather, the greatest Heather I know. :) Oh it's tough bein' a Box, but I'm livin' it up, livin' it up - doot-doot-doot-doot-doo - livin' it up, livin' it up - BOX! | |
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| X-23 | Dec 1 2014, 12:00 AM Post #5 |
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Wolverine-Girl
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As usual, Laura hung a little back as she kept her green eyes open, watching and covering her team. But she still listened and she cared. She just did not necessarily understand everything, from a personal point of view at least. The feral had never been on a rope swing. That was part of a childhood that she had not been allowed to partake in. Occasionally, if the mission called for it, she had sat on a swing in a park, acted out the motions of play, but that was different. There was no fond nostalgia for her. Maybe if things had worked out differently, there could have been. That was the past, and this was now. Now she had a team who were her family and she had memories to create now, instead of to remember back then. And that was no bad thing. “This does not look like a murder scene,” Laura knew it had been a joke, but she wanted to assure Rogue all the same. “There is not enough blood.” It was the sort of joke a former assassin told, especially as Volt was talking crude enough for all of the group with his talk to balance it out. X-23 knew her fellow clone well enough to know just what he was talking about, but he was her brother in kind so she did not judge him for it, any more than she judged Rogue for the appearance of her former home. After all, her former home had been a white, tiled room with a slot in the door for her missions. She smiled a little. “If it makes you feel better, what remains of my home is a ruined shell in the middle of the Canadian wilderness. This looks more hospitable.” The mention of lunch though, had made her ears perk up. “I enjoyed the gravy and biscuits that we had for breakfast. Are we to return to the same place?” Not that she wanted them to think that she was more concerned with her stomach, but it was rather more relative to her interests... |
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| Rogue | Dec 5 2014, 04:37 PM Post #6 |
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Unregistered
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Rogue was thankful for the friends and new family she had made among the members of the X-Affiliates. Never in her life had she felt so connected to something so important. During her time with the Brotherhood she had felt a purpose but it was driven by the connection with her foster mother and by an immature need for revenge. She had been alone and isolated for so long that any outlet for that frustration was welcome, even if that outlet was dangerous and harmful to others. Thankfully, the striped mutant had changed her ways and was on the path of the righteous. She was thankful that Jonny, Cessily, Madison, and Laura had come to support her trip down memory lane. Cessily gave a bright smile across her metallic features to show her excitement over the tire swing. Rogue gave a little smirk. Rogue was about to reply that she would be skeptical of the strength of the rope but Madison confirmed that it was strong enough to support the mercury girl. After the trip in the amazing X-Factormobile had gone so smoothly Rogue didn’t doubt his assessment. “Thanks, Cess. It is a little small but the memories Ah do have are good. A girl with a rebellious streak can raise a lot of hell in a town like this,” Rogue then said mischievously in response to Cessily’s shoulder bump. “But Ah bet in Portland the hell ya raised didn’t spread along the gossip grapevine as fast.” Rogue looked around the surroundings. They were very humble but she was glad that her friends were enjoying the tour. She turned to face Jonny as he talked about his past experiences with swimming holes. “Ah always knew you were a refined Southern gentleman, Jonny, and a true gentleman would have returned the favor. Hope you gave Mary Ellen a show to enjoy herself, if not you’ve got your chance up here to make due…with interest. Ah’m sure Madison would turn his back. Fair’s fair, after all,” Rogue joked but knowing full well that with Jonny a dare, even in jest, was a dangerous venture. Rogue led the way behind the house along the narrow path that she remembered. The path was over grown and thick with branches and briers that were dead for the winter so the heavily packed footpath was barely perceptible. She remembered her way however. The way to her favorite place was etched on the cathedral of her heart. She gave a small glance back to see everyone falling in line behind, with Laura pulling up the rear. Rogue guessed it was a throwback to her assassin training. The power absorber had appreciated the reassurance from the small clone. Not that Rogue was happy to hear that Laura’s home, a cruel laboratory, was a desolate shell in the forest but rather that what a person’s home looked like did not necessarily dictate what the person became. “Ah was thinkin’ we could hit that diner again. At lunch they put all these pies in a glass case where the shelves rotate around slowly like a carousel of diabetic temptation; or at least they used to do that. Ah think Ah also saw a sign for a Cajun place. They’ve got the best gumbo on the entire Delta if ya can believe roadside advertisin’,” the striped mutant replied. Finally, Rogue broke through the edge of the forest into the proper swamp. Dried Spanish moss hung in curtains and reeds swayed in the light breeze. Rogue remembered so many things here. This had been her special place. It was so dear to her heart that when she needed focus amid the voices and absorbed memories she retreated to the edge of the swamp in her memory. In her memory it was always the golden hour at sunset and every last blade of grass was gilded in beautiful light. “This was my place,” Rogue said. “No responsibilities, no adults, just me and the fireflies. Ah could swim, Ah could play, Ah could just watch the sky. Once my powers activated Ah ran away and never returned here except in my memories. Here’s where Ah retreat in my memories to find my center. The one place Ah knew wasn’t stolen from some else’s memories. Used to be the water was deep enough it seemed to take a day to swim to the bottom, then again Ah was knee-high to a grasshopper.” |
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| Volt | Dec 22 2014, 12:04 AM Post #7 |
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Electrokinesis / Cloned Origin
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Ah always knew you were a refined Southern gentleman, Jonny, and a true gentleman would have returned the favor. Hope you gave Mary Ellen a show to enjoy herself, if not you’ve got your chance up here to make due…with interest. Ah’m sure Madison would turn his back. Fair’s fair, after all,” Rogue teased and Jonny smiled. "Why, ma'am, don't let my rugged manliness fool you," he teased her back, "It's only been nine years since I crawled out of the cloning vat, so I am just a youngster, you wanton wicked woman. Hmph." He dropped her a wink to show he was taking it all in good stride, and wasn't serious in any way, but then, if anyone knew Jonny and thought he was serious, then perhaps they didn't know him, after all. "Besides, I know Madison's been checking out my cute little tushie. Don't you lie, Robo-cop, I'm dead sexy and you know it." Rogue didn't take it to heart at all, and they continued into the forest towards the swamp, and Jonny laughed, "We better be careful in the swamp, here, last time, we ran into that Giant Sized Man-Thing that opened the Nexus to that other dimension without the Professor. As fascinating as that all was for you all, poor little Jonny 2.0 didn't exist and I sure don't want to push my luck. No vanishing into the aether between dimensions for this darling clone, I can promise you that." Looking around at the beautiful scenery and listening to Rogue's tale, Jonny nodded, "Seems like a lot of us lost our homes and our special places when we evolved into what we are now. It's good to go back once and awhile, but probably better to keep moving forward, that's my thought. Some of us have a lot of bad to make up for so as long as we're here doing some good, I think it's all we really can do, right?" |
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| Box | Dec 22 2014, 07:28 AM Post #8 |
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Mechanical Interaction/Merge
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Madison was quiet for a moment as Harper teased him. This wasn't quite his area of expertise, and he certainly wasn't as quick a wit as many of the people he knew and worked with in varying capacities. But that wouldn't stop him from giving it the old college try, as they call it. "Uh... you give yourself too much credit," Madison said with a shuffle of his feet. How to meet a jab... refutation mixed with self-deprecation? Would that do the trick? "Maybe put an old transistor radio in your back pocket and I'll think about... uh... huh. I don't think that works. Never mind." Madison decided he'd just have to try his best to shrug it off. He gave it a shot, which was a bit outside of his wheel house as they say. It was a frustrating thing, to still struggle in social situations after all this time, but he was learning. Life was learning, and with every new thing he put himself out there into, the more information he took in and added to his data banks, to his catalog of information. Madison glanced around the clearing they'd made it to, taking in what Rogue said about it being her retreat, her peaceful place. Not quite up his alley, if he had to be honest with himself, but he could appreciate the value of a peaceful memory, of a place to retreat to when the going got rough, even if it was just in your own mind. This place seemed to be to her much like what mindless tinkering was to him. Something to just let yourself get lost in for a bit until you were in a better place head-wise. Madison glanced over to Harper as he made his poignant statement - a sentiment he knew all too well. It seemed like ages ago at this point, a lifetime ago, but in reality it wasn't all that long ago that he was twisted and remade into a thing of death, a soulless manufacturer of evil and destruction. He had managed to reclaim his soul with the help of people he considered friends, but he, like anyone who had been through that, didn't get it back unscathed. Through the Eye of Horus, he had come closer than perhaps anyone else to destroying the world. Ironic, he supposed, that someone who prided himself on being a fixer, a builder, had very nearly broken the planet they all lived on. Maybe that was part of why he focused so much energy on helping as many people as he could through his constructions and inventions. "I hear you there, Harper," Madison said with a slow nod of his head. "Beginning to think I should'a brought along a cooler of brews, eh? Seems like a good spot for it." |
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8:54 AM Jul 11