11/16 Issue: Wearing Out

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Slarti
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11/16 Issue: Wearing Out

Post by Slarti »

<Carol> Carol didn't know where she was. She didn't know she was safe in bed after an entertaining evening. She didn't know she wasn't alone. All she could see around her were Brood. She could hear the sounds of the ship, smell the smells. She felt trapped, powerless, and the panic rose up inside her.

<Redd> Waking up in a tangle of bedding and her own hair, Redd wriggled her way to the surface. It took her a few moments to figure out where she was, who she was with and... oh shit, she was having a nightmare? "Hey," she started, reaching out to touch Carol.

<Carol> It never took much to pull her right out of sleep but shaking off the nightmare was a whole other matter. She was just as tangled in the sheets and the confinement following her out of the nightmare was just the icing on the shit cake. She flailed in further panic until she rolled off the bed. Ow.

<Redd> "Carol? Are you okay?" Hearing the thump she fought toward the edge of the bed to look down, raising an arm to whip her braids back out of the way.

<Carol> Where the fuck was she?! She heard the voice then a head appeared and she blinked it into focus. It took a moment to process and then she remembered. She groaned, covering her face with her hands for a moment before deactivating the inhibitor on her wrist. Feeling her powers come back made her feel so much better.

<Redd> "Carol?" She was groaning. They hadn't been drunk, so she was wondering now. "Is... everything okay?"

<Carol> "Yeah... sorry..." She was naked. She concentrated for a moment, a wave of energy passing over her and putting her in her usual 'pajamas' aka an over-sized nerd shirt. She sat up and pushed a hand through her hair.

<Redd> "Whoa." That was... "Fuck, that's cool." If she was a mutant, she might want that power for herself. Redd gave her a smile and held out her hand for Carol. "Coming back? Or did I scare you off?"

<Carol> She shook her head, "It's not your fault." She accepted the hand up and climbed back into bed, "Usually I wake up covered in glass so I guess on the floor is a step up..."

<Redd> "Covered in glass!" She pulled Carol in and cuddled up when she crawled back into the bed, covering them both. "Whaaat?"

<Carol> She laughed, wrapping her arms around Redd to warm her up, "When my powers are on I tend to cause a tiiiiny power surge and pop the lightbulbs."

<Redd> "Oh, wow." She relaxed into Carol's arms and kissed her forehead. "I guess that's when powers suck, huh?"

<Carol> "Honestly? That's like... low level suck," she laughed, "When you have super strength and you don't know how strong you are, you break a lot of stuff. I was afraid to touch people for a really long time."

<Redd> Redd brushed Carol's head back as she settled back in. "How long have you had the powers? I've heard a lot of people get them around puberty. Which seems like terrible timing."

<Carol> "I don't know for sure... I lost a lot of my memories before I was eighteen... Steven told me the first time everyone else found out was when another glider hit mine during flight training. But I don't know if they came on gradually or what because he said nothing got really broken til after I was in the hospital."

<Redd> "You lost your memories? My great uncle lost a decade, but that was because of a lot of mushrooms..."

<Carol> "Yeah... well... They weren't lost so much as stolen... I had a confrontation with another mutant... woke up in the hospital three months later with no memories... like at all. I couldn't do anything."

<Redd> "Holy fucking hell! That's awful!" Redd was still running her fingers through Carol's hair, but gave her a closer snuggle for that. "That's awful," she repeated, "and... no, just awful."

<Carol> "Yeah... it kind of sucked... but I'm okay now... I'm never gonna get all that back so I just leave it where it is and move on." Except when a certain someone was threatening to do that to her all over again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself, "A lot has happened since."

<Redd> "I'm glad you're okay," she said with a nod, still brushing through her hair. "Life kind of comes at you, yeah?" They were quiet for a few moments and Redd closed her eyes, listening to the old clock in her bedroom tick. "Do you want to talk about your nightmare?"

<Carol> She sighed, "I don't know if that's a good idea... already told you stuff I don't really talk much about... and I feel like this one is worse."

<Redd> "Well, it's up to you." She said, letting her feel her smile against her skin. "Just, remember one of my best friends is a mutant, so I've heard a lot."

<Carol> "You hear about a big attack from space five years ago?"

<Redd> "Sort of? I was still in New Mexico, and sometimes my grandparents like to pretend it's still the 1960s so we're kind of out of the loop..."

<Carol> "Okay... well... I was involved in the fight to defend one of the sites that was targeted... It was all sorts of crazy."

<Redd> "Weren't the aliens some sort of weird bugs or something?" Redd was trying to remember what she'd read and heard, but could guess that space invasions weren't a good thing to be involved in so she brushed Carol's hair back.

<Carol> She nodded, closing her eyes and swallowing over the wave of nausea, "Giant space bugs. They're called The Brood and the specialise in colonising other planets. That's their shtick."

<Redd> "Ew. They wanted to colonize our planet?" She was no telepath like her boss, but she could tell Carol was uncomfortable and gave her a squeeze.

<Carol> "Yeah... it wasn't the first time they tried apparently... but before, their ship broke up in the atmosphere and some people came and took the thing apart and experimented on the aliens..." she sighed, "Turned out they had some kind of hivemind and I guess they wanted some kind of revenge... and I was making a nuissance of myself in their attack so they targeted me."

<Redd> "Like Roswell..." She thought about this, her nose crinkled up. "They targeted you? That sounds awful."

<Carol> She shrugged, "Rather me than someone easier to hurt... It wasn't really a problem until they swarmed me and I got stung or something... and then I passed out."

<Redd> "Oh shit. They're venomous alien bug monsters on top of everything else?"

<Carol> "Yeah, apparently..." she turned her head to talk to the ceiling for the next part because it was easier when she wasn't looking at someone, "I woke up a while later on their ship. I didn't know at the time but we were already back in space and I had weeks of basically torture in my future while they experimented on me."

<Redd> "Oh, fuck..." Redd bit down on her lip, watching her profile while she stared at the ceiling. "I'm so sorry - how did you get back here? What the fuck did they even want?"

<Carol> "Revenge? A weapon? I don't know... they messed up my powers for a really long time." She glanced at Redd before continuing, "We got lucky and had some Brood-hunting aliens show up to help us fight them back... by some miracle, one of the mutants at the site and my girlfriend at the time managed to talk them into chasing after the ship that took me. So... here I am."

<Redd> "...it sounds like this kidnapping thing happens way too often to you hero types." She gave her a faint smile. "I'm sorry you went through that."

<Carol> "Yeah... me too..." she turned her head to look at Redd again, "I can't pretend it doesn't still affect me... not after that..." she gestured to the side of the bed she'd fallen off.

<Redd> "Yeah, I would think something like that would stick around." She glanced at the edge of the bed, then back. "It happens."

<Carol> "I was doing a lot better until very recently and then some other stuff happened that I really can't talk about... so now I'm a hot mess."

<Redd> "Classified? Or you need to know me more than a half hour?" She smirked. "Well, more than six hours or so, I guess." Redd smoothed her hair again. "I'm just joking, I don't want to push you, but if you do need somebody to talk to..." She smiled.

<Carol> "It's... it's complicated... and involves people that I don't want to influence people's opinions of because I don't think it's fair... but it messed me up kind of a lot and I decided to stop drinking and now I'm wondering if I can do that realistically..." she covered her face with her hands, "For the record, I told Jean I'm a terrible choice for dating."

<Redd> "It's okay. It just sounds like you're human. We're all kind of fucked up, right?" She wrapped a hand around her wrist to uncover her face.

<Carol> That made her laugh. Human? Sure. She could pretend. "I have a job that makes the getting fucked up a lot easier, unfortunately."

<Redd> "Yeah. Honestly, I never knew how much of Jean's stories to believe, but sounds like she wasn't shitting me, huh?"

<Carol> "Whatever she's told you about where she went to school or her job now? It's probably true..." Carol replied with a small smirk of amusement, "Also, fun fact, the mutant that went with my girlfriend into space to go get me now guards the President. She's the shiny gold one."

<Redd> "Probably true? Damn. No wonder she went into cannabis as a career." She returned the grin, then blinked. "Oh, I've seen her on the news, too. That's cool!"

<Carol> She nodded, "Yeah. I'm proud of her. She's found where she fits and feels like she can do the most good. I'm still trying to figure that out."

<Redd> "I think that's kind of a life-long process for most people, powers or not, right?"

<Carol> "I don't know... I've been out of the general population for a while now. Most people who are career military are already okay with where they are. I'm not wired to sit behind a desk..."

<Redd> "Well that's boring, so I don't blame you. Life is supposed to be a journey... full of self discovery, and trying lots of things to see what really fits. Or maybe that's just my grandparents..."

<Carol> "I think that's hippies in general," Carol agreed, "The previous weed-smoking hippy grandparents I actually met were kind of like that. Also they asked a lot of questions..."

<Redd> "A lot of questions? About what?" She gave her a slight grin. "God, I could see some of my family asking if they could hitch a ride with the aliens, but that's about it."

<Carol> "Deeply personal questions. They had zero boundaries."

<Redd> "Oh. Well, yikes. Mine would have to be super high to get that nosy."

<Carol> "I'm not sure they weren't... they grow their own supply."

<Redd> "So do we," she laughed. "Of... various things." Redd's grin became more toothy.

<Carol> She laughed, "Jean's always trying to talk me into getting high."

<Redd> "There are different kinds of highs for different things," she agreed. "Some people have a spiritual experience, and for some people it's medicinal, and for some it's absolutely for shits and giggles. Like Jean!"

<Carol> "And for some people it's not allowed," Carol added, "It's hard for Jean to accept that part."

<Redd> "Oh, a lot of people technically aren't allowed." She shrugged one shoulder.

<Carol> "Yeah but not all of them are subjected to random drug tests because of their job. There are a lot of rules I have to follow... even if technically my metabolism would flush my system fast."

<Redd> She shrugged again. "Fair enough. It's never a good idea to swap one addiction for another, either."

<Carol> She nodded, rolling onto her side and pulling Redd close for a hug, "I'd like to just get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep."

<Redd> "Well, there are other ways to wear yourself out, of course." She returned the squeeze.

<Carol> "Sure, there are a lot of ways... But it's not because I'm not tired..." she sighed and nosed Redd's hair, "It's been way too long since I shared a bed with anyone for the whole night."

<Redd> "So does that make it better, or worse?" She was a little confused, since she was snuggling her.

<Carol> "I don't know... in some ways it feels like more pressure... but I think that's me just being a little bit neurotic..."

<Redd> "More pressure, how?"

<Carol> She sighed. Maybe Andi had a point about her being old fashioned. "I don't know... it feels like more of a commitment..." she frowned.

<Redd> "It's just sleep. You never took a nap with friends? Or what about sleepovers as a kid?"

<Carol> "Nope and... I don't remember my childhood... but probably not."

<Redd> She winced. Right. "Oh, right, sorry." Redd sighed. "Well, if it helps, I don't expect any kind of commitment from a night together."

<Carol> She gave Redd a squeeze at the apology, "It's okay, people I see all the time forget. I know it's weird. And I know you're not looking for something serious... I've just never done the nothing serious thing sober before... or with anyone I actually took the time to really talk to..."

<Redd> "Never?" That kind of surprised her. She accepted the squeeze and gave her one in return. "I'd think the military would be good for that, if nothing else."

<Carol> Carol laughed, "Maybe for other people... I was too busy kicking everyone's ass to think like that."

<Redd> "Well, some of them are probably into that too." She laughed. "Foreplay."

<Carol> "Nah I think a lot of the guys were upset about having their asses kicked by a blonde with big boobs."

<Redd> "Their loss," he snorted, running her hand over Carol's curves.

<Carol> "I don't think I missed out on much... I was focused on school and coming out at the top of my class so I could apply to whatever I wanted."

<Redd> "Well, true. Men are a waste of time anyway." She grinned.

<Carol> "Most of the time, yeah..." she agreed, "But they are really good at some stuff."

<Redd> "Please," she snorted. "I can do anything they can do." Redd jostled her a bit.

<Carol> "Oh yeah? Bet ya can't."

<Redd> "Well, I'd need a step stool to reach the top shelf and a sperm bank to father a kid, but otherwise..." She grinned.

<Carol> "I don't need help to reach the top shelf," Carol assured her, "Lucky for you, I already did the accidentally pregnant thing."

<Redd> "Oh, no shit?" She moved to actually look at her. "Wow."

<Carol> "She lives with her dad, his not-wife, and her half brother... my life is complicated."

<Redd> "It sounds like it." She chewed her lip. "Do you ever see her? Or do you want to?"

<Carol> "Yeah... I see her when I'm allowed to... which isn't often..." she gave a heavy sigh, "I haven't seen her for a while..."

<Redd> "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring you down." She wondered what she meant by allowed, but it wasn't her business, she supposed.

<Carol> Carol shook her head, "You haven't... I'm used to it... When I lived in DC I had way less opportunities to visit."

<Redd> "Oh, so they live here in Boston, too?"

<Carol> "Mmhmm, they moved here a while back and never left. Greer works for SHIELD. Chris works for himself."

<Redd> "Like Jean," she snickered. "Nothing like setting your own hours and your own rules, huh?"

<Carol> "I don't know... I'm too used to being told where to go and what to do."

<Redd> "There are benefits to that, too." She smirked. "Want me to give you some orders to make you feel more at home?"

<Carol> She laughed, "Well I don't know... what kind of orders are you going to give me?"

<Redd> Redd grinned and nuzzled Carol's short, messy hair and nipped at her earlobe. After a moment to consider her options, she whispered a few ideas into her ear.
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