3/5 Instance: Power Surge

[Slarti]

Timeline: Current

Rogue: Rogue dropped her stuff on the chair, thankful that she was able to find the pool room empty. She kicked her shoes off and stripped the cover-up, dropping that on her towel and bag before pushing into the air and flying up to be even with where a high dive would be if there were one on the inside pool. She hovered for a moment and abruptly nosedived, letting go of the power as she dove towards the water.

Noriko: Noriko didn't hear the splash of water over the pounding music in her ears from her mp3, dropping her clothes and towel on a chair as she prepared to just fall into the water. She wanted to just be alone, and the water would muffle any sounds. She didn't even look into the pool before diving in, slicing through the water easily.

Rogue: Rogue's eyes shot open under the water as something solid hit her on the shoulders and pushed her down just as she was angling to come back up. She squirmed to get out of the way, squeezing her eyes shut at the onslaught of memories and doing her best to keep the power in check though she could feel it crackling against her skin. She opened her eyes to make sure Nori was alright, not letting herself lose control.

Noriko: Nori hadn't expected anyone else to be int he water, and it startled her to brush up gainst something solid; it startled her even more when she felt water flood her lungs when she pulled in a breath. Christ, that felt fucked up...she was unconscious before she hit the pool bottom, looking strangely bare without the gauntlets on her arms.

Rogue: Rogue dove after her and hesitated for a moment before scooping her up and shooting out of the water. She put Nori down flat on her back at the side of the pool and felt for a pulse with the barest of touch. Good. That was there. She leaned down to put her cheek right above Nori's nose and mouth and cursed when she couldn't feel a breath hitting her cheek. She would need CPR.

Rogue: Rogue looked up at the door, praying for someone to walk in at the last second. When no one did she looked back down at Nori and took a deep breath, pinching Nori's nose and tilting her head to give her a good breath, fighting the powers wanting to crackle from her hands before switching to the pumps on her chest, counting under her breath.

Noriko: She wasn't terribly far gone, so it didn't take more than a few firm pushes to her chest to get her to cough up pool water, the feeling of the chlorine burning her sinuses. "Jesus..." She kept her head back against the tiled floor, completely lost on what happened. "The hell was that?"

Rogue: Rogue let out a breath of relief that she wouldn't have to touch her again and sat back on her heels. "Mah powers. Y'all alright?"

Noriko: She blinked the water out of her eyes. "Maybe..." Whoa, dizzy, sitting up was a bad idea. "Thought you were on patch thing..." Noriko had taken hers off, once J had given her the gauntlets.

Rogue: Rogue shrugged, "Was. Just lay there 'til ya feel a bit better." She took a deep breath and focused. She had to let the energy out, it was building up too much. She flew up over the pool and shot the electricity down to the water. Just enough to feel better. She paused and then sent another blast down, fisting her hands slowly. She forgot how good it felt to use powers like that. Rogue stopped and landed back by Nori, just out of arms reach.

Noriko: Nori watched her, eyeing the bolts Rogue produced, and trying to make one herself. No good. "Huh." It wasn't bad, hell, he hadn't really been given a choice to be a mutant that blew shit up or short circuited it. "How long you gonna keep 'em?"

Rogue: Rogue sat on the edge of the pool and sighed, "We've found out Ah keep powers 'round 'bout sixty times how long Ah touched tha person. An' Ah touched ya four times in pretty quick succession... So, however long those were t'gether times sixty." She fixed Nori with a level stare, "So ya gonna tell me why ya lied yet?"

Noriko: She blinked. "What'd I lie about?"

Rogue: "Tha heroine." Rogue tipped her head a little, "An' why in tha hell are ya gonna swim while completely stoned'r juiced'r whatever off ya ass. That's really not smart."

Noriko: "'Cause, it doesn't do what you think it does. On me it just calms my system. Makes me not absorb everything. it doesn't take me completely out of it unless I take a whole lot." She shrugged. "Ain' likely to drown."

Rogue: "Ah know exactly what it does f'r ya darlin'." Rogue turned to face her better and sat on her knees, switching to Japanese, "i know everything about you and your life." She went back to English, "Ah just lived ya life, gal."

Noriko: Noriko blinked several times. This information...did not compute to her. "You what?" That meant she knew about everything... "So? You saw my life. Sucks, didn't it?"

Rogue: Rogue shrugged, "Not any worse'n most everybody here, darlin'. An' then we all found this place." Her fingers flexed and fisted and she looked down at her hands. "Ya know, ya don't need heroine ta control it. Ah've got it under control right now."

Noriko: "Wait about ten minutes, that'll change." Perhaps the invulnerability interfered with it, some, but absorbing electricity from everything, all the time, was going to present a problem to whoever had it. "It'll get harder and harder."

Rogue: Rogue shrugged, "Well, it ain't tha most comfortable thing ever, but Ah got it under control fine. But then Ah've always been that way, Ah guess."

Noriko: "Yeah, for us otherwise human freaks it's a little harder to not electrocute someone when they come within arm's reach." No, there's no biterness there at all.

Rogue: Rogue glared at her, "Gal, ya ain't got no idea what not bein' able ta control a deadly power is like. What Ah got from y'all? Y'all's pain an' turmoil? Sugah, if only ya even knew what Ah go through. Ah cain't even so much as barely touch a finger ta somebody's skin. Cain't even hold mah fiancee's hand. Y'all ain't got no idea. Y'all try not ta electrocute someone? Ah try not ta kill 'em. Ya lucky ya breathin', gal an' don't ya f'rget that."

Rogue: She stood and looked down at her, "Yes, ya life sucked. Get over it. it's gonna start gettin' better now but only if ya let it. if'n ya don't want it, then ya might as well go. Cain't force family on somebody."

Noriko: "Then why don't you keep 'em? I don't want the shit, you seem to be fine. I can go back to bein' just another kid on the street," Nori said, standing and slipping only once before she tugged on her clothes, not caring they were going to get soaking wet. She needed something to take her mind off this all.

Rogue: "Ah cain't. it don't work that way, gal. Ain'tcha been listenin'? Ah ain't got no control. None! Y'all at least have a teeny bit. So be thankful f'r what ya got an' work on it."

Noriko: "Only thing I'm thankful for is I ain't gotta stay here." Nori picked up her shoes and shirt, and walked out, not looking back. She didn't want to know, didn't want to care, and didn't want to stay. There was a hit and clothes in her room, she could pack those up and be gone in an hour.

Rogue: Rogue fisted her hands tight at her sides and flew past the girl, moving quickly up to her room. She took all of the heroine that she knew Nori had, using the psyche to guide her, and moved back to meet her in the hall. Rogue held it all out to her in her hands and stared at her. "Y'all have got ta be one o' tha stupidest gal's Ah've met if ya think we're gonna let ya just walk outta here. 'Specially when ya got a problem that we c'n help with."

Noriko: "Then lemme be stupid," Nori said. "Ain' like I care what you think of me."

Rogue: "Sure ya do." Rogue held the heroine as she crossed her arms under her chest. "Gal, Ah got ya in mah head. Cain't lie ta me. An' Ah know all 'bout forcin' yaself not ta care 'cause it's safer that way. Easier on ya 'cause less pain. But a really wise man once told me that ya won't get hurt, but ya won't get joy neither. An' he's right."

Noriko: Noriko only shook her head at Rogue. "Don't tell me what to think or what to do. I don't want you to be my mother. I don't want parents. You wanna tell me to get clen, fine whatever. Get the lecture over with."

Rogue: "Fine. Get clean." She shrugged, "Ah don't like that ya still think ya gotta do drugs ta keep ya powers under control. That's a crutch, gal. An' a dumb one at that." Rogue tilted her head at her, "Do ya even wanna learn control?"

Noriko: "No, I wanna have to be aware of everythin' I touch so I don't ground myself and make a circuit," she replied caustically. "Course I do. Why else you think I take that shit? It suppresses the absorption. That's the only thing that does it."

Rogue: "That's bullshit. J made ya those gauntlets. They help a lot." She narrowed her eyes, "An' don'tcha dare get smart with me gal, Ah'm near 'bout in tha same boat as y'all. Was gonna offer ta help ya control 'em, but if y're gonna go playin' that game..."

Noriko: "Yeah, those gauntlets? Are batteries. Only thing they do is keep all that energy from coming out whenever I touch someting metal." She could still feel the energy coursing through her like electrified blood.

Rogue: "But they help ya control ya powers. They help ya keep it from releasin' whenever it feels like it."

Noriko: "Yeah, fine, by that definition, they do." Noriko hated it when people made her feel like she was wrong, and Rogue was doing a damn good job of just that right now.

Rogue: Rogue arched an eyebrow and just watched her for a moment, silently. Finally, she uncrossed her arms and sighed, "Do ya want me ta help ya figure 'em out, sugah?"

Noriko: She watched her warily for a long, silent minute. It was tense, mostly becaue Noriko had this nearly undeniable urge to run when someone asked her that; it meant she'd been outed. "Maybe."

Rogue: "Well, when ya decide, lemme know. An' next time ya jump in tha poool, watch where ya goin'," she teased.

Noriko: Nori wasn't exactly in a teasing mood, but she forced a small smile. "Right."

Rogue: "Now then. Ya still leavin'? Or ya gonna stick 'round f'r a bit?"

Noriko: "Might stick around."

Rogue: "Well, if ya might, then ya might also wanna be in tha kitchen in forty-five minutes. Ah'll make ya somethin' good." She grinned, "Bubble tea an' lemon bars, maybe?"

Noriko: Noriko blinked only once at how Rogue knew her favorite foods, but chalked it up to the whole knowing-her-life thing. "You can't make bubble tea here."

Rogue: Rogue arched an eyebrow, "Darlin'. Mah best friend just went ta Japan. Ah sent him with a grocery list. Have a little faith, wouldja?"

Noriko: She raised a brow. "Uh-huh. If you say so."

Rogue: "Ah do say so. Meet me there in forty-five minutes, like Ah also said, an' ya can have some." She gave Noriko a smile and went back to the pool to claim her stuff.

[Elfdame]

This was great. So many similarities between the two gals, pure genius to have an unexpected encounter. Although I had to laugh at

"Ah don't like that ya still think ya gotta do drugs ta keep ya powers under control. That's a crutch, gal. An' a dumb one at that."

coming from a gal who slurps Jack Daniels or whatever straight from the bottle.

I hope I have enough spare time to watch this relationship develop.

[Esynthia]

LOL! true... but she doesn't get effected like most ppl do. (in canon, she can drink all she wants and never feel a thing. part of Carol's powers. i've taken liberties and made it so she can feel a little bit, but only with a LARGE amount in her system.) so for her, doing that is like having 3 or 4 drinks (not beer) for most ppl.

[Elfdame]

But didn't Esy's-Rogue used to drink so she could touch people? My memory is not the best ...

[Esynthia]

Yes. But the amount in her system was just enough to where she got tipsy or a tiny bit beyond. (which happened to be a lot b/c of her invulnerability counteracting most of the alcohol.) she was never at risk of alcohol poisoning or anything.