6/17 Instance: Corpse Express

[Ferguson]

Timelined after Rest in Pieces, before Staff Meeting and 'Magic' Helmets



<@Lorna> Lorna did not want to know where Xavier bought coffins in bulk but she couldn't help but imagine there was a mortuary worker wlaking around in a bit of a daze right this moment. "So, probably never expected you'd be a hearse driver at school, did you?" She asked Mel, using her powers to lift some of the remains into their new delux home so people didn't have to actually lift them in.

<Melati> "Not sure what I should be more surprised about," Melati replied, hauling one of the already filled coffins on the parked trailer. "The fact I ended up shuffling twice-dead corpses at my new shool, or that Ms. Gallio didn't roll out an actual hearse from the garage."

<@Lorna> "It's in the shop." Lorna deadpanned, closing the casket and guiding it into the car.

<@Lorna> "How are you handling things?" She looked up from her work to glance over to Melati. "It's been...a pretty strange time lately."

<Melati> "Well, guess growing up as an oversized lizard prepares you for some of the strangeness you'll have to expect in this world, though I gotta admit, an uprising of the smelly dead wasn't that high on that list." She adjusted the thick gloves she wore, before tackling the next casket. "So, that happen often around here?"

<@Lorna> "More often than I'd like." Lorna admitted though that didn't exactly speak to the quantity. "...I doubt it's going to be happening again, however." She admitted, looking to the urn that had been set near the store of coffins, frowning deeper.

<Melati> "And you say that because the one who did this, that girl... Teagan? ...she's one of these sad fellow now, right?" Melati looked up at Lorna. "Heard she used to be a student here."

<@Lorna> "Yeah, she was." Lorna nodded, still looking to the urn and wondering what exactly they were going to do with it now. "I still remember recruiting her. It was....different."


<Melati> "Gee, I imagine," Mel said, the edge of her mouth forming a humorless smirk. She looked at the urn Lorna held, nodding in its direction. "Is that her? Guess the one dead she couldn't raise was herself then, eh?"

<@Lorna> "It was horrific is what it was and she was so glad to be here...and now this is how she ends up." She nodded at Mel's question. "Yeah, that's her...and I guess we'll see, won't we?"

<Melati> She silently looked at the urn for a couple of seconds, before slightly cocking her head and giving a shrug. "Hey, pretty much the first thing I learned since coming here is that apparently nothing's impossible, right?" Melati paused again, raising her gaze towards Lorna. "How did she end up like this? I mean, dead dead and all powdery."
<@Lorna> "In the fight, I'm not exactly sure how, just an accident." Lorna sighed as she said that. There had been too many accidents of late but there was nothing she could do about it now. "I just wish I had been there."


<Melati> "Yeah, me too," Mel replied. "I mean, to help out with the fighting and all, not because I'm upset I missed my chance to be part of a certified zombie mayhem." She cleared her throat, looking across the still messed up lawn, strewn with wreckage and bodies from the fighting. "So, some people said they were surprised to find a few old friends among the recently un-departed."

<Lorna> "...Yeah, that we were." Lorna muttered, pulling herself out of thinking about Teagan for now. "I mean, we knew about Vertigo and Scalphunter but...don't know how the others died."

<Melati> "They sure were in a dangerous trade," Melati suggested, the fact that she occupied herself with closing another casket helping to avoid looking at her teacher. "As someone who tussled with those guys, however, I can say that whoever did that must have been quite the impressive motherfuckers themselves."

<Lorna> "Yeah, and that's pretty worrying in and of itself. Just thinking about whether or not it was some kind of in-fighting with whoever we've left to face from Apocalypse."

<Melati> "Think it might be possible that this guy Essex did this to his own people," Mel asked, grunting as she picked up the next casket. "Don't know, but from what I've seen, he's taken that whole mad scientist thing to heart."

<Lorna> "It's possible, but I don't think that would do him any good unless he has replacements. He's relied pretty heavy on them saving his ass on more than one occasion."

<Melati> Melati set the casket down on the loading area of the vehicle, nodding slowly as she wiped her brow with the back of her forearm. "Yeah, doesn't sound like the smartest plan, does it?" She bit her lip.

<Lorna> "He's arrogant enough to consider it, though." Lorna shook her head, getting back to work. "I just wish we knew how. Speculation just makes things feel murky."

<Melati> "True... probably makes no difference, either." Melati looked back across the field of corpses. Staying true to ones principles had always seemed so straightforward. Feeling conflicted about them was something very new to her. She could have done without that experience. "Guess dead means dead, and we should be grateful for whoever did us the favour, no?"

<Lorna> Lorna's nose wrinkled up at the very idea of that. "I might not like facing them but I've never wanted them dead. I'd much rather they were here than wondering what happened to them." She sighed, shaking her head. "But hopefully it doesn't make any difference."

<Melati> "I think you're right," Melati said after a brief pause. "I mean, it's not like I feel awfully sorry for them. Make no mistake, those guys were some right bastards. Still, there may have been another way." She sighed. "But I guess that's the difference between us and them, right? Makes us the good guys." She managed a smile.

<Lorna> That earned a smile and a nod from Lorna. "I hope so anyway. Some people might not think so much but we are."

<Melati> "Think some of our students here might be among those people," she suddenly asked, stopping her fidgeting with another casket. "I mean, probably not everyone believes we should subscribe to that turn the other cheek philosophy. Not when our enemies don't do the same, that is."

<Lorna> "...I hope if they're putting on the uniform they at least agree about what an X-man is." Lorna frowned. Sure, there had been problems in the past and some of her students might not be the best team players but she at least thought that they believed in what they were doing here.

<Lorna> "Do you think that's the case?"

<Melati> "Well, you know how it is - people talk," she replied, giving a shrug as she ran a gloved hand over her head. "Guess it's the frustration after so many setbacks, not to mention the constant tension of waiting for the next disaster."

<Lorna> She nodded but couldn't help but let her mind rove over the possibility. Maybe Brotherhood had made her paranoid but it was hard to hear about any kind of that talk nowadays. "Yeah, I'm sure it's just that...but if you know anyone really having trouble with things would you please send them to me?"

<Melati> "Sure thing, will do that." Melati nodded, an uneven smile on her lips. That was better than nothing, right? Maybe even a line she could walk without making herself feel like a backstabber. If she couldn't bring herself to rat out her friends, perhaps they could be convinced to clear things up by themselves.

<Lorna> "Glad I can count on you, Mel." Lorna gave the girl a smile, reaching over and clasping her shoulder. "Ready to head off to the cemetery?"

<Melati> "Hoo boy, I feel like hanging with the sad goth kids in highschool again." Melati laughed. "Actually I'm surprised we're not besieged by them yet. Guess zombies don't have the same draw as vampires these days."

<Lorna> "Nobody wants to play with the dead bodies when they're real dead bodies. It's a life lesson not often taughed in college."

<Melati> "Opposed to learning where your limits at the keg parties lie," Melati remarked. "Necrophilia and you should be a mandatory course. Kids today need to understand that even the sparkle won't keep the maggots away."

<Lorna> "If they had covered that part in those books I might actully have enjoyed them." Lorna snorted, shaking her head. "Don't suggest that too much though. You never know what staff member will hear that and think it's a great idea."

<Melati> "Who do you take me for that you believe I might give people bad ideas?" Mel cracked a grin, heading for the front of their truck full of dead people.

<Lorna> "Some of the very best people." Lorna replied with a laugh. "There's nothing more fun than a really bad idea once in a while, yeah?"

<Melati> "What can I say, they're one of the things worth living for." She smirked, hopping into the truck. "All aboard the corpse express! Hey, think we should take the scenic route through town?"

<Lorna> "That depends, do we have mood music to put through the speakers of this thing?"

<Melati> "Oh, I'm sure I can find some appropriate psychobilly on here," Mel replied, taking off her gloves so she could fish for her music player. "Just give me a second to hook this thing up, and we're good to roll."

[Ult_Sm86]

D'awww! I actually went back and read Teagan's first instance the other day. Tragic beginning to tragic ending. It's awesome to read the impact our characters have on each other.

[Slarti]

Dammit, don't make Bobby have to kill Melati too.

[Starfish]

This is all going to end like some kind of shakespearean tragedy, where the last survivor slips in the shower and breaks his neck, isn't it?

[Ferguson]

Yes.