4/7 Instance: The Greater Good

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: after Blood on the Dance Floor


Melati: "Three shot glasses, a pile of lemons, and one bottle of tequila coming right up," Melati announced, stepping back into the room and carrying a tray. She put it down on the coffee table and let herself flop down on the sofa.

Cecilia: "Thank fuck..." Cecilia rasped, before clearing her throat and settling back. Now changed into a shitty t-shirt and sweatpants. "I need a goddamn pick me up."

Rachel: After a quick shower, Rachel had swapped her uniform for pajamas and assured Paige she was fine before heading down to the rec room. She'd collapsed into a chair, legs hanging over one of the arms as slid the nose ring back through her septum, commenting, "Seconded."

Melati: "Don't I know it?" Melati chuckled as she poured a tequila shot for each of them. "Boosting morale is the most important job of a team leader. It's the one I take most seriously, anyway."

Cecilia: Cecilia cleared her throat again. "So I assume Ed's in a lot of trouble now, yeah?" He'd better be, she thought grimly. Otherwise that said an awful lot about how much they valued her. "He can't have attacked three people in the past week without some sort of consequences, right?"

Rachel: "I'm so glad this isn't vodka..." Rachel muttered as she tied her hair back and reached for one of the shots Melati had poured. She carefully shrugged, not wanting to spill any of the tequila, "Well, that's what Cess was going to talk to him about, I think, and... Well, we all know how that ended..."

Melati: "Oh, you can bet he's in some deep shit now." Melati reached for one of the lemons and began slicing it up with her claws, putting the single wedges back on the tray. "Finding Johnny and Jamie is our highest priority right now, followed by apprehending Kraven and the busting that god-damned cult."

Melati: "We're still supposed to keep our eyes open for Eddie, and bring him in if possible, before he has the chance to do something stupid." She picked up her own glass.

Cecilia: "I'd say it's a bit late for that," Cecilia rasped, gesturing to her throat and Rachel. "Three people too late for that...fuck...poor Cess."

Cecilia: Cecilia threw back the shot and winced. "Look, I don't mean to be disrespectful, Boss. God knows I'm not in charge...but seriously? What the fuck happened? Why wasn't he taken off duty?"

Rachel: "I thought Paige was going to kick his ass for busting my face... and she saw me after I'd been down to have it healed." The idea of Paige kicking anyone's ass was somewhat hilarious to her. Downing her shot, she leaned to set the glass back down, adding, "I talked to him for a while in Vito's about killing Kraven..."

Melati: Melati tossed back her shot. "Do you think it would have made a difference?" She asked, reaching for a slice of lemon. "No one seriously intended to take him along if we found Kraven, not after dropping these subtle hints about his intentions."

Melati: She sucked on the slice, slightly grimacing. "We also didn't want to dump from the team just like that, though. Feeling pushed away and isolated might have been the final straw, you know? Well, that's what we believed, anyway."

Cecilia: Cecilia shrugged. "There probably wasn't a right answer there. If he was gonna freak out, he was gonna freak out and freak out he did." She sipped at her tequila. "Paige wanted to kick his ass? Christ, Fabian offered to burn him out so I could beat the hell outta him, but Paige? Jesus, I can't see that." She chuckled.

Rachel: "Losing Cassie was just the tipping point... Can't say I don't know the feeling," she said as stretched to nab the bottle. Pouring herself another shot, she nodded with a grin, "Oh, she was more angry about the whole thing than I was, if you can even imagine that."

Melati: "Damn, I would pay good money to see that." Melati pushed her own glass next to Rachel's while she was pouring more shots. "Just as I would to get my claws on him now. I could kick myself for not having done something earlier."

Cecilia: "...My father was murdered in front of me," Cecilia said, swallowing more tequila. "I never went on a rampage. It's an excuse, a reason to give into whatever darkness was there to begin with and you know something? I'm tired of hearing otherwise, you can make up as many excuses as you like, but they're always just that: Excuses."

Cecilia: "If you wanna kill people 'cause you enjoy it at least be fucking honest about it," she said, slamming her shot down. "But don't feed me bullshit about how you're doing it for the greater good. Ed wants Kraven dead 'cause it'll make him feel better. It's not for Cass, it's for him. He's using her death as an excuse."

Rachel: Rachel poured another for Mel, set the bottle down, and picked up her own glass, replying, "The night in Vito's I mentioned? That was the day he questioned me about my possible involvement in Shaw's disappearance, and he told me he wanted Kraven dead. So, yeah, it's a thing for him... I'm just saying Cassie was a breaking point. Like, it started the descent into insanity."

Melati: "You know what?" Melati held up her newly refilled glass, pointed her finger at Cecilia, and gave her a long look. "You're right. I once thought exactly the same. That we just had to be that much meaner and tougher than our enemies. We thought we'd show them for messing with us, and get them all before they could get us."

Melati: "All for the sake of protecting everyone, of course." The sarcasm was dripping from her voice as she chuckled to herself. "Yeah, right. We were a bunch of pissed kids looking for excuses to vent our anger. Thankfully, I wisened up just in time, and saw us for what we truly were - nothing but cowards."

Melati: She downed the shot and slammed the empty glass back on the table. "Everyone says leading others requires you to make tough choices. Some believe that means you need to cast your ideals aside when that's what it takes to win. What it truly means, however, is that you need to adhere to them, no matter what, even if it means making sacrifices."

Cecilia: Holy fuck, did someone actually agree with her? "Christ...thanks Mel, that's...actually really refreshing to hear." Usually people were always fighting against her opinions or calling her an idiot or saying she was wrong. It was nice to hear someone else actually felt this way. Seemed this time speaking her mind had paid off. "I always appreciate not being punched in the face for my opinions, though."

Cecilia: She studied her empty glass. "To be fair though, before I came here, before I met Fabian? I'll admit...I'd likely have joined the Brotherhood or the Acolytes or X-Force or whatever the fuck came along...it took actually knowing someone who'd worked for the other side and suffered for it to actually change my point of view."

Rachel: "It's always nice to avoid being punched in the face, especially when it's about the only thing you have going for you," Rachel smirked a bit over the edge of her glass, tipping it up to take the shot. The smirk didn't last after the shot had been downed, and she shook her head, "I tried to explain to him that it wasn't worth throwing everything away, but apparently I wasn't all that convincing."

Cecilia: "Neither were Bob, me and Cessily, if I've heard correctly." Cecilia remarked, rolling her eyes. "I don't know if he's just thick or so hellbent on revenge he doesn't care but you'd think having at least three different examples would lead him to conclude that this shit doesn't work. But fuck me, if he can't learn from other's mistakes then he reaps only what he sows..."

Cecilia: She poured herself another shot. "It would bother me less though if he didn't go and drag others down with him. Did you guys hear Hope took the fuck off? God...Bob's gonna flip shit."

Melati: "Fuck, Hope too?" Melati made a face as she poured herself another one. "I heard she was going up the walls, but everyone's here has been hit pretty hard. Hell, I don't think anyone here wouldn't have been tempted to tear off Kraven's head a day or two after we found Cassie, but I figured she'd eventually calm like the rest."

Rachel: "She's always made Bobby's job difficult. Probably flipping shit like Sue, which... we all saw how helpful that was," Rachel rolled her eyes and pushed her glass toward Mel. Blowing out a sigh, she added, "I hope him and Jamie haven't been made into dinner because, besides how much it'd obviously suck, Jean's already a sobbing nightmare, and I probably gave her some false hope."

Cecilia: "Normally I'm alright with Hope, that being said, though? She's always been bat-shit when it comes to John. Trust me." She leaned back and sipped her tequila. "To be honest though? It's terrible, but I'm actually of the opinion it's better she's gone. Her hysteria in the field would've been a liability."

Cecilia: "Just like Sue is a liability, as we all saw just hours ago," Cecilia said, scowling at the mention of the other girl. "Fuck knows, the last thing we need is another burden on the team. We have enough to handle and when one of the people you have that's holding it together fairly well is a person with PTSD-" she indicated herself "-you know you have a real problem."

Cecilia: She sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Y'know what, Rach? I don't know if I blame her. I'm not sure how much more I can take...I'm surprised I'm holding together as well as I am."

Melati: "False or not, any hope is better than none," Melati remarked, downing another shot before she reached for a slice if lemon. "And I can't blame Sue for being desperate to find her brother. We're all edging close to the limit here. But as much as I'm usually a fan of the style, I can't afford her to go all gung-ho when out in the field."

Melati: "Finding one of us separated from the pack is just what these sickos are hoping for, I can tell you that." She leaned back in her chair and sucked on the piece of sour fruit.

Cecilia: "...There might be some hope for John," Cecilia admitted, studying a lemon slice. "In my debrief I mentioned scorched corpses in the truck Mayday, Pym and I found. That might be John's work...but still, I wouldn't get my hopes up. He's less useful than Jamie in the long run. As soon as they figure he's replaceable with a nice slow cooker...it may be lights out for him."

Rachel: "Well, I don't blame her for falling apart, but I'm... not exactly the most... comforting person. Plus, it's weird because Jean doesn't exactly like me..." Rachel commented before taking down another shot, reaching to pour herself another as she agreed, "That's pretty much what I was thinking, Cee. I told Jean that Jamie was probably safe because he's an all-you-can-eat buffet."

Rachel: After a moment considering her new shot, she hastened to add, "Not phrased like that though."

Melati: Carefully pouring herself another drink, Melati picked up the glass and sat back. Still holding it between her fingers, she first gave Rachel, then Cecilia a long, thoughtful look. "Now, this may just be the feral in me talking, or the booze, but have any of you ever... you know, considered what it might taste like? Some Jamie, I mean."

Melati: She quickly tossed back her shot.

Cecilia: Cecilia gave Mel an odd look. "...No, man...no, I haven't....ugh, God..." She made a face at the thought. "To answer your question though, since I'm an encyclopedia of biology and medical knowledge, human flesh has a distinctively bad taste that most animals find unpleasant, that's probably why we smell so terrible when burned."

Cecilia: "That and we're too bony," Cecilia snorted, tossing back her shot.

Melati: Melati frowned. "Yeah, guess I'll leave it to Jean to gnaw his bone."

Rachel: Rachel stared at Mel for a few long moments, shot a quick look to Cecilia, and drank her shot, shaking her head as she swallowed. Though, she about choked on her tequila at that. Once she was finished laughing, she answered, "I imagine eating Jamie would be like chewing on a puppy or a kitten... You'd just feel bad about yourself afterward because he's so pathetic and adorable."

Cecilia: "If you ate Jamie you'd be dumber for it," Cecilia snorted, though she choked on her drink at Mel's comment. "Goddammit, Mel! Don't ever remind me again that man could breed, that thought terrifies me more than Kraven, Rott and Quent with a chainsaw."

Rachel: "...Oh God, he could breed with Jean." At this revelation, she pulled a face and held a hand out for the bottle.

Melati: "I've heard that one way our mutations can manifest is through genius level intelligence," Melati remarked, looking at the opposite wall with a thoughtful expression. "Do you think there can be a thing like super-dumb?"

Rachel: "Well, if anyone could manage it..." she replied, trailing off as she focused on pouring herself another drink.

Cecilia: Cecilia held back her snigger very poorly. "...God, I'm a bad person, I shouldn't be laughing about this..." But it was too fucking funny!

Melati: "No, you should absolutely," Melati encouraged her, leaning over to pour Cecilia another shot. "That's what we're here for, remember? Well, that, and talking about how we're going to hand Eddie his ass."

Cecilia: "Oh God, yes...we will. We definitely will. He's gonna pay for what he did to all of us and when he does I'm not gonna hold back my 'I told you so', either."

Rachel: Rachel joined in the laughter, holding up her glass, "To hoping Eddie realizes he's being an asshole?"

Melati: "Fuck no, as if I gave a shit about that anymore." Melati laughed, raising her glass, as well. "How about to Eddie realizing he's going to get his ass kicked by these three bitches?"

Cecilia: Cecilia thought a moment. "How about to not letting our enemies change who we are? Fuck that shit about dying a hero or living long enough to see yourself become the villain. We all have free-will, we can control our actions, our fates. Screw destiny and circumstances and blaming ourselves. Let's just kick ass and take names!"

Rachel: "Well, then... To ass-kicking," Rachel grinned.

Cecilia: "Hear, hear!"

[TechPrincess]

The idea of Paige kicking anyone's ass was somewhat hilarious to her.

Puppy with a sub machine gun!

[PanicSwitch]

This instance brings to mind one of my favourite songs by Sick Puppies.

Was a good time writing this one!

[Slarti]

Jean is offended, if she only knew what the word meant.

[Svartfreja]

Lmfao! Super-Dumb! That's totally a mutation! Think back to all the super-dumbs we've had at the school...