---- Recall start ---- Huh? (Type "help" for help.) Pete Wisdom says "SHould I sceneset or...I should sceneset." Blacklight says "Cool with me. :)" Hey look, it's the bad part of town. It's all...bad. And creepy. And people die here all the time, or something. It's a little windy, and definitely chilly, and the cabs just won't make any pickups here at all. Very rarely will they drop anyone off, and they don't loiter. For a certain black-haired Englishman who, for the most part, keeps his angst to himself, it's the perfect opportunity to stalk down the street and berate himself for not even noticing 'Kitty's holiday' go past - he really can't blame himself, as it wasn't this time of year where he came from, but he does anyway. Walking, smoking, glooming. Ray arrives from City Seat Circle. Ray has arrived. Ray says "Whoa, scuse me.:)" Ray goes into Beacon Parkway. Ray has left. You must be on Public to do that. [Public] Pete Wisdom has joined this channel. [Public] Pete Wisdom says, "COOTIES!" -- Players -- Eclipse Blacklight Pete Wisdom(#432PXc) -- Objects -- -- Public -- [Public] Pete Wisdom says, "And he's not even on channel." [Public] Music Of The Night, Blacklight sniggers. Blacklight pages: Time of day? Blacklight pages: What time of day are we looking at? :) Long distance to Blacklight: Pete Wisdom uhs... Long distance to Blacklight: Pete Wisdom sorries, was posing elseMU*. :) "Midafternoon?" Blacklight pages: Night, I'd be flying pretty openly, since black on black doesn't show. Day, I'd be ground-based. :) Blacklight pages: No problem. :) You paged Blacklight with 'Doesn't have to be! I hadn't set one because it didn't occur to me.'. You paged Blacklight with 'That's just what time it is here. :)'. Yeah, yeah. Ho ho bloody ho. Pete's not the only one having a rough Christmas season. In the alleyways and backstreets of the badlands, one of the buildings' shadows seems to darken, forming into a man-shaped... or vaguely man-shaped... actually, rather woman-shaped, but anyway! ... figure that soars out and into the alleyway. The wings beat a few times to keep her balance, then stop as she holds in the air, hovering, scanning the street for a moment to check just wh-... hang on a moment. Is that a familiar face over there? The eyepatch doesn't look right, but otherwise.... Blacklight pages: Nah. :) I don't mind. I just wanted to check. From afar, Blacklight isn't ICly used to not being shot on sight, yet. ;) As if to seal things, Wisdom flicks his cigarette butt to the gutter, and fishes out another, which he quite obviously - if you're watching him - lights with his hand. And then he shoves both his hands in his pockets, hunching his shoulders slightly, the cigarette hanging from his lips. Glower. A-yeah. That would be him. Pete's the only one that Blacklight knows who smokes quite like that. At least, who looks like that _and_ smokes like that. Wings release her from the hover, dropping her to the ground and folding angel-like up against her back. "..... Pete?" she attempts, rather hesitantly, as she takes a half-step outside of the comforting shadow of the alleyway. "..." Pete turns to look, and his remaining eye is a brilliantly clear blue, like it should be. But it narrows slightly, in suspicion; to those familiar with the meanings of posture and body language, it should be obvious he's just taken a subtley defensive stance. Taking the cigarette from his mouth and ashing on the sidewalk, he asks calmly, "Who's asking?" Yep, right accent. Blacklight blinks at the patch... even though the motion is lost beneath the pool of shadow. There's a story under that patch. She just knows it. Asking about it can come after reunions... or, as the case may be, first meetings. She's not sure which, yet. "It's Blacklight." she finally says, not completely sure whether the name'll be recognized, but hoping. [Public] Alex has connected. Not even a flicker. Pete looks at her blankly, then shakes his head. "Sorry, love. You must know a different me." Grimacing - that sort of sentence is never going to taste good - he takes a drag off his cigarette. Then he focuses on her again, quickly. "You're not a native, are you?" He answers himself immediately, "No - too young. Blacklight, is it?" The sigh can be heard beneath the shadow. "That obvious, is it?" she asks, ironically. "Don't mind me. I just spent a couple hours trying to figure a couple things out. Still lost." And with a shrug, the wings disperse on tendrils of shadow, almost misty as they rejoin the shadows behind her and around her body as though they were spun from it. "That's right. Blacklight. We've met once... ah, you know what I mean." She thinks? Shrugging, still not giving much up - he's just naturally cautious. Or paranoid, as the case may be. "You'd have to be a bit older to have known me if you were native," the ex-spy explains, somewhat cryptically. "Unless you're older than you sound. And /we/ haven't." He ashes again, his movements slow and smooth; he's either tired or hung over. Or just been caught mid-angst. Pete Wisdom, sly. Pete Wisdom mavs. :) Blacklight again shrugs her shoulders. "Older than I look, probably. Although, yeah. I don't think I know you after all." Angst is right. Well, she had to hope it was someone she knew before this. "Anyway," she says as the rest of the shadow spins away as well, matching into the dark behind her rather casually and revealing the figure underneath... er, mostly revealing it, rather, considering how much is naturally covered... "Sorry for the confusion. Guess you get used to it, though?" Blacklight snickers. :) And as the shadows leave and the costume's revealed, Pete's gaze, merely cautious before, turns hard. "No, you don't know me. I'll bet you don't know Pryde, either. Surprised you'd even -talk- to me." Ooh, bite bite. It's not sarcasm, but it's scathing nonetheless. Blacklight arches her eyebrows. Ok. She's apparently been recognized after all? "Uh, probably not the Pryde you know, but I know her." she says, voice sounding more cautious than anything. She's getting the feeling that this could be somewhat touchy... but this is thin ice that she's going to have to walk on to figure out. "And," she adds after a moment, "no idea why I wouldn't talk to you." Guest2 pages: So... You paged Guest2 with 'Ook.'. Guest2 pages: Are you leaving ZH altogether? You paged Guest2 with 'I believe so, yes.'. Guest2 pages: ... Why? You paged Guest2 with 'Many reasons.'. You paged Guest2 with 'None of which I'm prepared to explain while midscene. :)'. Not you, just the symbol on your costume. But it's impossible to know that. "No? You weren't one of the spandex lot that so vehemently disapproved of me? That Kitty was far too good for me?" Pete's tone takes on a bitterness, "Not that I don't disagree, but she was old enough to make her own decisions." He ashes compulsively, more viciously, and takes another drag, then exhales as he speaks. "You weren't one of the ones that hoped she'd come to her senses and run back to Rasputin, and never watch him for homicidal tendencies?" Maybe if Pete was nice enough to _say_ something about said symbol? This little problem has yet to tweak poor Blacklight, yet. "What? No! Ok, you've completely lost me here, I think." Little lights are flashing behind her eyes that state, 'Does not compute... does not compute...' "I never had a problem with you. Not that I knew of. Well other than the fact you were bound and determined to cut down my team." They're rednecks. You're... you. Go figure! "I never even knew you knew Kitty." From afar, Alex raars. You paged Alex with 'Rarr! :D'. [Public] Tigra has connected. It hasn't -occurred- to him yet. Until now. "Cut down your team? The bloody X-Men never had a good thing to say about me, once. Not -once-. And when I started seeing their precious 'kitten'--" This bit's derisive "--I was evil incarnate, instead of a necessity to be tolerated. And when Colossus...when he...it was *my* fault, to you lot," Wisdom gestures at the X. "My bleeding fault. Because I'd proposed and raised his ire." Blacklight blinks down at the mark for a moment, then her eyes alight with understanding. "Oh! That!" Ok, yes. Things make sense! Er, wait. No they don't. But they don't have to, because that's not her world. And if she tries to think about this any more, she's going to worry herself into a shaking fit again. Oy. Confusion. "Nono. No. No. I mean, we've really gone the wrong direction, here. When I remember you.. where I... oh, fu-... er, screw it." At least she's trying to watch her mouth. A little. "When I remember seeing you, you were in Europe, Kitty was in the U.S., the twain had never met. Not that I know of, anyhow. And same with Colossus. You and he were on the same team." [Public] Whisper has connected. [Public] Batman has connected. Pete Wisdom's eye darkens. "We -were- on the same team. With Pryde. Didn't change a bloody thing. He wanted her, but she had me; he got jealous, the X-mansion lot preferred him so didn't listen to me; he killed her." He looks away, still hanging on to the last bit of his cigarette; he smokes it and flicks it to the gutter to join the other. "So you're not one of Xavier's puppets, then?" Insert... jawdrop... here. "...." Ok. Apparently, Pete may just have made a few enemies with that comment. "I... what the hell are you talking about?" asks Blacklight, righteous indignation almost ringing off those words. Your earlier ones kinda got lost in the interim somewhere. A lot of 'hes' and 'shes' that is going to take too long to sort out. The words 'Xavier's puppet', though... now _that_ hit below the belt. "I have no clue what you've got against Xavier, but..." Blacklight shakes a fist at you. ;) "And just when things almost made some sense, there! Feh." Huh? (Type "help" for help.) "What've I got against him? I 'corrupted'--" Can you hear the quotes? They're loud. "--his precious porcelain doll, what he was grooming to be the matriarch of his X-army, an' he withdrew all support for her - her what he'd treated as a daughter before. She was grown! And he couldn't fathom treating her as an adult - so it was me, it was my fault, and he got the entire fucking mansion on my case. An' when she died - when my Kitty died, when *Colossus* /killed/ her in cold blood, that was my fault too, because he was the fortunate son." Oceans of bitterness. Blacklight just stiffens her back. A bar of iron, even though she's not that tall, or that broad. "No way." she says, her voice sharp and bitter, a knife beneath every syllable as she talks to you. "No, fucking, way. I don't know what you have against him, or who's fried your brain or who convinced you otherwise, but no Xavier I've _ever_ known... I, have, _ever_, known... could ever be like that." Her stare is positively cold, her lips lined together in a sharp slash of barely withheld anger. "I don't know what happened, but that is _not_ Xavier." Blacklight teaches her spellchecker the word 'fucking'. Tee hee. Huh? (Type "help" for help.) Pete Wisdom giggles! Blacklight even corrupts spellcheckers! ;D "Welcome to an alternate universe, kid," says Pete, biting the words out. "Welcome to Beacon Harbor. An' *that's* the attitude - 'Oh, never! Xavier can do no wrong! A saint, he is!' - that's the attitude that got Pryde killed. Him an' 'is favorites. Anything what went wrong, 's always the fault of an interloper. Always. 'Cos he's *perfect*." He scowlingly lights yet another cigarette. "What makes you think it wasn't something that Colossus did?" Blacklight ripostes. "Or for that matter, how do you know it wasn't something that Kitty did?" She's positively outraged, now, lashing out verbally without even really thinking about the words. Better verbally than physically, at least... though from the tremor that wracks one hand, the temptation to do just that was almost overwhelming. "You little idiot!" blasts Pete finally, gesticulating, smoke trailing from his cigarette in patterns in the air. "It *was* something Colossus did! I watched him KILL her! He was headed for me - kill me first, then her - and she stepped in the way, solid - thought, bless, that he'd never hurt her. And he fucking ripped her apart! But Xavier held it was *my* fucking fault, do you understand? That I should never have proposed to her! That I should never have dared get in the way of an X-wedding, for Christ's sake! Do you *understand* the depth of this? Rasputin killing my *everything* was my fault - according to Xavier, according to the rest of his followers, who think he can do no wrong!" Player Name On For Idle Which foo do you pity? Marley 00:08 1m Randy Giles?! Lindsey 00:23 44s Batman 00:34 34m Whisper 00:42 26m Tigra 00:51 6s Freeze 01:13 47s Radar 01:14 5m Kelissan 01:14 1m Alex 01:21 1m Kess 01:22 46s Chirp? Ray 01:47 4m Eclipse 02:18 5m Supernova 02:38 20m Blacklight 03:49 3m Pete Wisdom 03:53 0s Cassiopeia 17:53 23m Got wang? 16 Players logged in, 50 record, no maximum. Some small trace of mollification, though Blacklight's still blazing-angry at Pete, unable to even begin to fathom what he's telling her. Alternate universe or not, she just can't _envision_ this. She just can't get it into her mind. "I don't know what happened there, but there's no way that Xavier would say anything like that." Too many possible explanations come to mind for her. She can think of too many reasons he would say something like that. Her fingers knot into a fist at her side, as though she could grab the temper and just hold it down. "Well he *did*," insists Pete. "An' if you're just going to stand there an' defend him, like the rest of the lot of costumed 'heroes', then I'm off. Got better things t'do than listen." Grr. Then, as if to grind in the point, "And this is *after* that onslaught business, and *before* the evil twin business. So y'can just naffing -forget- that." [Public] Constantine has connected. Pete's words don't make a lick of difference. Particularly because the words 'Onslaught' and 'evil twin' just earn a rather confused stare for a moment before she simply hackles up again. "Fine then." Blackie snaps, the words as sharp as they had been when it had all started. "I don't think I have the stomach for some bloody git..." She's apparently been hanging around you too long. She's borrowing European swear-words... but they fit so well in this situation! "... badmouth the Professor." "Fine!" seethes Pete. "And you sound like a twit when you say 'bloody git'!" He gets in one final glare and spins on his heel, and starts to stalk off. Then he pauses and notes begrudgingly, "No property damage. Ta. Though you're still a twit." "Of course not." said twit snaps back. "I learned from Xavier." And while ripples of raw, red anger still cross her eyes, she simply grits her teeth against it. For one thing: he's out of arm's reach, and thus isn't close enough to be backhanded. For another thing... wait. There is no other thing. Darn that out of arm's reach thing. Constantine pages: Pete still staying with John and Buffy? :) "Can't figure *how*, since he never bleeding *taught* it," mutters Pete, loud enough to be heard, but an obvious aside. Provoke, provoke. Every Xavier he's ever met was a manipulative creep, see. You paged Constantine with 'Yes. :)'. From afar, Constantine okays. :) You paged Constantine with 'Why? :)'. From afar, Constantine is trying to email-RP with her. Had to let her know. :) Both hands go into fists, now. "Like hell he didn't. Some idiots just never learned how to listen to it." comes back, Blacklight's head turned to glare harshly. You paged Constantine with 'Email-RP? o.O'. Constantine pages: According to Marley it's *not* abysmally slow. I dunno. I have to try! Angst. ;) You paged Constantine with 'What's the...why? She can't connect?'. Constantine pages: I dunno how it's better on email. But yeah, she can only connect from work. The connection jack at home is all screwed up. It's with a vicious, immature glee that Wisdom turns again and smugs, "You just badmouthed your entire team, love. Quit while you're only a little behind." Grr. He hasn't got in a fight for a good long time. It's too bad she's a girl - and probably good at heart. Even though she's a blind-following sort. Well, he could use a one-sided fight, too. You paged Constantine with 'How's the scene going? :)'. Constantine pages: We just started. :) Long distance to Constantine: Pete Wisdom can't wait to see the log. :> "Not the _whole_ thing." she snaps back. "Just two members." Yeah, if Blacklight was less angry, she'd probably be dying laughing at that right now, considering that she's said that about a million times. A fight? Right now, the thought's very, very tempting. [Public] Batman has disconnected. Alex pages: Damn you! Rar! "I could stand here an' list the entire roster of the X-Men, an' you'd tell me they wouldn't carelessly explode half a city block because they were pissed? Rum world you've got," sneers Wisdom, crossing his arms, standing about ten feet from her, You paged Alex with 'Rar?'. Alex pages: Rarr specifically. :) Freeze has arrived. Freeze arrives from the OOC Complex. Long distance to Alex: Pete Wisdom ohs! You already disconnected! Freeze eeps! Sorry.. Pete Wisdom says "Hiii, Freezie. :)" Alex pages: After half an hour. :) Blacklight says "Freeeeeze!:)" Blacklight says "No 'sorries' needed. Pete's just being a prick. ;)" Freeze says "My apologies. Just moving to investigaet the real estate." *grin* Ya'll have fun!" Freeze Blasts him! Rarrh! Blacklight says "My hero o/~" Long distance to Alex: Pete Wisdom doesn't always check! I think it'll be fun. But I can't app until after XMas. :) Freeze flex! Pete Wisdom bahs. Freeze enters the apartment complex. Freeze has left. Ten feet is close enough, too. That's the kicker. "Yeah. Yeah, I could." she snaps. "I could, I would, and I'd mean every step of it. I have no idea what's in those cigs you're smoking, but it's gone long-bad." Ten feet just happens to be where he stopped to turn around. "What the hell do you even -mean-? That made no sense at *all*," says the Englishman, genuinely baffled. "Look, why don't you come argue tomorrow when you're a bit more collected." Blacklight? Collected? That's a good one. "What do you mean, what do I mean? I mean just what I sound like I mean: that you're smoking crack, and it's about gone off. Not a single one of the X-men would go off destroying the city. Can't say the same for a dumbass teammate of mine, but I can say for sure that not a single one of the X-men would." Tendrils of shadow, reacting to the temper's flare and her mind's readiness to jump Pete, slip from the alleyway behind her and spin a bodysuit to the neck, though she doesn't even really notice it. She's too used to the stuff by now. Pete Wisdom pauses. "You're not an X-Man?" he asks blankly. Blacklight shakes her head. "No. We ended up breaking off. Still work under Xavier, though." Thus, the reason for the glaring. Eric Draven arrives from City Seat Circle. Eric Draven has arrived. Mystique arrives from Sunnydale Arms -- Badlands. Mystique has arrived. Eric Draven says "Scuse." Eric Draven goes into City Seat Circle. Eric Draven has left. Mystique says "Me too" Mystique goes into City Seat Circle. Mystique has left. Blacklight chuckles. :) "o/~ Strangers in the niiiight... o/~" [Public] Raven has connected. "So the X-Men are saints and Xavier is god, yeah? Anyone ever tell you humans ain't sheep? And that *NO ONE* is perfect?" Pete's frustrated - he can't understand blind devotion. Which is strange, since he's guilty of it with Kitty. 'To her virtues be very kind, and to her faults a little blind.' Blacklight nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I've heard that before. I still believe it. But what you're talking about is _not_ Xavier. I don't care what mistakes he's made, I don't care what he might have said or done in the past, that is _not_ Xavier. And I... am not... a sheep." she adds finally, the rest of the shadowsuit finishing the 'clothing', covering the emblem effectively. The only thing it doesn't cover is her face. "That's the Xavier from my world!" explodes Pete, who will *not* be contradicted one more time. His eye flares red. "You don't know me, you don't know what I've seen your damned X-Men *do*, and what they've decided they just didn't see. And your blind assumption that every fucking Xavier is alike, is a sane and balanced man, is a *good* man, it's going to get you killed. You've got eyes! Keep them open, for Chrissake." Blacklight is quite willing to contradict again. "Like _hell_ they aren't open!" she snaps out. "But you just don't get it: that is _not_ Xavier! Something happened, some_one_ happened, but it sure as hell wasn't Xavier. Now if you'd shut your fucking mouth, open your fucking eyes, and maybe try and get a look at what happened..." She doesn't even stop to think about the fact that she wasn't exactly there to see what happened. "He's out of reach here," says Pete, finally, after a lengthy pause. "I'm not a native, either. And I know exactly what happened, because I was there for it. But don't assume anything here is the same as you knew it, because I'll tell you right now - none of it is." Blacklight lets Pete win that round, by taking a step backwards, deliberately increasing the spacing between them. "No shit, Sherlock." she answers in a low voice. But even under the 'no shit', she's still angry. Still too firmly believing that the Xavier she knows... hell, _any_ Xavier... could never be like that. "Get the hell out of my face, huh?" she says, finishing the statement up. [Public] Eclipse has disconnected. "You're the one who can *fly*. An' you're the one what stopped -me- on the street," points out Pete, infuriatingly. "-You- go." "Fuck you." Yeah, she can fly. Yeah, she could get out of here easier than Pete could. You actually think she's going to? "_You're_ the one who actually knows where he's going in this god-damned place." From afar, Blacklight looks at you sadly. "My character's a bitch when she's had a bad day, you know that?" ;) "Not bloody likely. I made a wrong turn about five streets up and haven't a fucking clue where I am," retorts Pete, as though it's an accomplishment. "So bugger off." You paged Blacklight with 'Mine's a stubborn asshole all the time. :)'. From afar, Blacklight facepalms. :) "They're arguing... about who storms out first. There's just something sick about this. Maybe I should prod BL into taking the first swing?" Blacklight pages: Not like she's LISTENING to me. ;) Pete needs to insult her again. You paged Blacklight with 'Tell you what. :)'. From afar, Blacklight wuh ohs. :) "What?" You paged Blacklight with 'I have to go to work - but I'll be back tonight. If you can get on reasonably before 1 AM EST - like an hour, an hour and a half - we can fight then. ;)'. You paged Blacklight with 'And Pete won't ever take the first swing in a situation like this. :)'. From afar, Blacklight grins. "Blacklight usually doesn't. But that temper... you know how it is. ;) And I can get on, yeah." Blacklight pages: Shall we pause here? Or shall I storm off and we catch back up? Long distance to Blacklight: Pete Wisdom nods, pause! :) Long distance to Constantine: Pete Wisdom snugs! Time for work. From afar, Blacklight nods. :) "Poor Tigra! I keep saying I'll catch up to her!" Pete Wisdom says "Must to go!" Blacklight says "Bai!" *** TinyMUX Disconnected *** MAIL: Mailbox purged. _____ ____ _______ __ _____ _____ _________ /____ \ /__ \ / ___ / / / /____/ /____//___ ___/ ____/ / ___) / / / / / / / ____ __ / / / ____/ / _/ / / / / __ / / / __/ / / / / / / / /\ \ / /__/ / / /__/ / / /__ / /__ / / /_/ /_/ /_/ /______/ /______/ /____/ /____/ /_/ __ __ __ ______ __ __ __ __ _________ __ __ / //__\ / //_____// //__\ / // //___ ___// / / / / /__ __ / /____ / /__ __ / // / / / / /____/ / / // / \ \/ // __/ / // / \ \/ // / / / /___ ___/ / // / \ // / / // / \ // / / / / / /_//_/ /_//_/ /_//_/ /_//_/ /_/ /_/ Visit our homepage at: http://www.pimux.godlike.com/ This world is Pueblo 1.10 enhanced. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To connect to an existing character, type: connect To connect to a guest character, type: connect guest To view help files, type: help To see who is online, type: WHO To quit, type: QUIT ------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOTD: ** PENDING APPS ** Apps waiting for votes: 2. ** NEW UPDATE ** Please pay attention to the News Update file as this contains important information on what news files have been updated recently. This would also go for bboards and the @motd. ** LAST UPDATED ** May 25, 2001 ** MAILING LIST ** The Project Infinity Players' Mailing List has been created! Read 'Two-Part Announcement' on bboard 2 for more information. Also, there is now a new address to send applications to: PIApps@godlike.com. ** WEB SITE MOVED! ** The Project Infinity MUX web site has been relocated to http://www.pimux.godlike.com/. See the Announcements BBoard for details. ** NEW APP POLICY ** A new Character Application policy has been added to the newsfiles. Please see the Announcements bboard and news app limits for details. [Public] Pete Wisdom has connected. Last connect was from haven.Stanford.EDU on Wed Dec 19 08:22:11 2001. MAIL: 6 messages in folder 0 [unnamed] (0 unread, 0 cleared). Badlands Southland Drive leaves the City Circle to the north and begins to work its way though the thick urban development that has earned the name "The Badlands" by city residents. Huge towering housing projects, like monolith of steel and stone, cast long shadows over slum ridden side streets. Old hotels, once the pride of a grow city, are worn down and broken, serving as low income housing or rented by the hour. The side streets off of Southland are narrow, broken affairs, with the occasional burned out lot along the side standing as mute testament to the problems this area has. Many businesses lie empty and abandoned, the economic boom blessing much of the rest of the city seeming to leave this area untouched. Southland continues south, working its way free of the stagnating currents of too many people living in too small an area. DAMAGE Obvious exits: Beacon Parkway Cypher Pass City Seat Crossroads Blue Notes Free Clinic Diablo Industries Abandoned Apartments Sunnydale Arms Rohrer Housing You go OOC. Superhero Snack Bar It's a place of wonderment, this location. A place where the heroic and villainous alike come to rest their weary bones from a hard day of Good Versus Evil. A lone Apu in a striped shirt and paper hat runs a snack bar in the back of the room. The front counter is loaded down with bags of chips and poured sodas, and plenty of superhero merchandise. Please keep in mind, that as a lounge where people of all ages, genders, and states of application can come together, that conversation should be kept to a PG-13 level. So, relax, pull up a chair and reminisce about that battle that you just fought or the hero that got away. Contents: Blacklight Betsy Constantine Holmes Guest3 Izzy Scott(#1484P?Jce) Guest2 Guest1 Erik Logan Drusilla DarkStorm The Doctor Tulio Mael's Sample Stats Object(#772Vs) Obvious exits: Emergency IC Link Game Room Recruitment Room Building Nexus Free Code Room Guest Starting Room Lost and Found Room Multi-Purpose Room Player Starting Room Quiet Room You have mail. Welcome back, Pete Wisdom. Pete Wisdom alohas! :) Scott clings Pete! Tulio hops into Pete's arms! Erik rar Pete! Pete Wisdom is piled on. Izzy pages: Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeete. Drusilla says "That's ouo, John!" Tulio then promptly starts to cry. Poor Melaka! Izzy goes into Quiet Room. Izzy has left. Blacklight clings to Pete. Constantine says "oUo!" You paged Izzy with 'Izzzzzzeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.'. Constantine leaps at Pete. Drusilla says "Little baby u!" Logan just watches the depravity. Blacklight says "We've got one another's butts to kick!" Constantine says "Big capital U!" Pete Wisdom aughs! Gets finally splattered! Constantine says "Ask Buffy!" From afar, Izzy grins. They're too noisy tonight for my poor eyes. How're you? From afar, Erik kicks you a bit. Did you ever listen to that song? :) Drusilla says "Buffy is just being nice." Constantine says "She is not! I'll email her asking!" You paged Izzy with 'Rather overwhelmed but not awake enough to be worried by it. :)'. You paged Erik with 'No! :)'. Izzy pages: Erk. Anything I can help with? You paged Erik with 'I'll put it on the downstairs computer so I can listen to it in a bit. (Yay network!)'. From afar, Erik woo network! Holmes goes into Quiet Room. Holmes has left. You paged Izzy with 'Nah. It's the same old list, though some things are off it, and other things are looming-deadlining.'. DarkStorm says "...." You say "...let us go kick arse, Traceykins!" Blacklight salutes! You go back IC. Badlands Southland Drive leaves the City Circle to the north and begins to work its way though the thick urban development that has earned the name "The Badlands" by city residents. Huge towering housing projects, like monolith of steel and stone, cast long shadows over slum ridden side streets. Old hotels, once the pride of a grow city, are worn down and broken, serving as low income housing or rented by the hour. The side streets off of Southland are narrow, broken affairs, with the occasional burned out lot along the side standing as mute testament to the problems this area has. Many businesses lie empty and abandoned, the economic boom blessing much of the rest of the city seeming to leave this area untouched. Southland continues south, working its way free of the stagnating currents of too many people living in too small an area. DAMAGE Obvious exits: Beacon Parkway Cypher Pass City Seat Crossroads Blue Notes Free Clinic Diablo Industries Abandoned Apartments Sunnydale Arms Rohrer Housing Blacklight suddenly enters from a shadow that darkens, then lightens once more as she emerges. Blacklight has arrived. Blacklight arrives from the OOC Complex. Blacklight cracks her knuckles. "Now, where were we?" Pete Wisdom says "Were you logging and have you got lasts? :)" Blacklight dangs. :) "No and no." Pete Wisdom says "All right. Then let me grab quickish." From afar, Izzy nods. Blacklight says "No prob!" Huh? (Type "help" for help.) ---- Recall end ---- Pete Wisdom says "Your pose! I said I made a wrong turn and don't know where I am, and told you to bugger off." You paged Izzy with 'On the plus side, I'm nearly out of debt.'. Blacklight says "Right!" Blacklight sounds way too enthused with that. ;) Izzy pages: Oh cool. Pete Wisdom grins. You paged Izzy with 'On the even more plus side, I found the most marvelously engaging book.'. You paged Izzy with 'It's brand new.'. Izzy pages: Oh? You paged Izzy with 'Called _The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay_. Lemme type you the back cover blurb...'. Izzy pages: Cool. :) Sure. Blacklight might be able to fly, yes. It might get her out of there faster. But stubborn knows no limits. And right now, yes. She's being stubborn. Mainly because she's decided she doesn't much like you. Or at the very least that she's _really_ pissed at you. "Then go take a _right_ turn, Dickwad." she suggests bluntly. "You at least had somewhere you wanted to be, so why not go there." Blacklight cheerfully teaches her spellchecker another word. You paged Izzy with 'Joe Kavalier, a young Jewish artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed in New York City. His Brooklyn cousin Sammy Clay is looking for a partner to create heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit America -- the comic book. Drawing on their own fears and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the Escapist, the MOnitor, and Luna Moth, inspired by the beautiful Rosa Saks, who will become linked by powerful ties fo both men. With exhilarating style and grace, Michael Chabon tells an unforgettable story about American romance and possibilty.'. "Where in frigging hell do you come off trying to predict my moves? I haven't *anywhere* I wanted to be, and I'm not going to let some silly emotional little spandex bint tell me where to go!" Stubborn meets stubborn, and it's like two alpha animals circling, about ready to butt antlered heads. Pete's eye flares red again and holds - he was in a rotten mood as it was, and then this. He's not quite livid - he's too aware of his own idiocy in bringing this stalemate to pass to be honestly angry with her - but the frustration he feels at the actions and attitude of the girl makes a fair substitute. You paged Izzy with 'The words the guy uses, writing this - I *never* look words up. I've looked up three so far, and they were the exact perfect words to use where he used them. His prose is art.'. From afar, Izzy grins. Cool. Long distance to Izzy: Pete Wisdom nods! ^_^ Izzy pages: Meanwhile, I'm laughing my ass off at things on another mush. Long distance to Izzy: Pete Wisdom ohboys. :> Izzy pages: Not Myriad. Cris is offline for the next week or two, family visiting. And Will is still modemless. Unfortunately... for Blacklight, that is... she's the one to make the first move, then. The insult is just the last little straw that broke the camel's back, and before she can even really think about it, she's taking a stride forward to swing a quick backhand at the man. Pure temper flareup, not even a comment or warning preceding the motion, really. What was that about emotional? Yeah, she is that, alright... Long distance to Izzy: Pete Wisdom whews. :) Myriad RP, it seems, has - as of late - been good and still INCREDIBLY frustrating for you, at the same time, more often than not. Izzy pages: Well, the frustration by and large is because of scheduling. Izzy pages: (Though I did a couple of scenes with Just Cris, and ... that was much easier on my nerves. It's only when it's -both- of them that there's any problem.) Izzy pages: Christian talked Arnaul into going to Paris :) [Public] Erik has disconnected. Wisdom's been in fights before. And he's been in bar brawls, too, which don't really count as fights because they're easier to read (since drunk people don't tend to try and hide their intentions), and this is a lot closer to a bar brawl (in terms of readability) than an out-and-out vicious professional deathmatch. He ducks back, and the blow breaks his cigarette in half. Now he doesn't look angry so much as annoyed. "Bloody hell, girl. I'm not going to hit *you*. And you've broken me fag." You paged Izzy with 'Arnaul...is your temporary?'. Izzy pages: Yeah. Johaan Arnaul, 'Saint-Protector of Saarbrucken'. Long distance to Izzy: Pete Wisdom ahyeahs. :) That one swing's apparently about all she needed to throw, since she just glares daggers from close range for a few moments (not quite as effectively as you do, of course), gulping in a few breaths as she tries to get hold of her temper at least a _little_ bit. "Good. Better than breaking _you_." she snaps. The tone of voice doesn't suggest a threat or brag... hell, even she knows that she probably isn't strong enough to actually break you... but that's about as close as she's going to come to admitting, 'Hey, I fucked up' Izzy pages: We did a scene 'the next night', without Will's char, and the energy was a -lot- more readable. [Public] Erik has connected. Izzy pages: I hate getting email with headers that're supposed to look all intimate and friendly like it's from someone I know. [Public] Logan has disconnected. % Activity in world rarr You paged Izzy with 'I hate spam, period!'. From afar, Izzy grins. Well, yeah, but it's worse when you're secretly wishing for something nifty. [Public] Whisper has connected. Erik has arrived. Erik arrives from the OOC Complex. Erik sneaks off to a scene. :) Erik goes into City Seat Circle. Erik has left. And Pete is absolutely not going to say 'I told you so'. Because honestly, she had every right to be angry with him - even though they were talking about two different sets of X-Men, from entirely different worlds, *he* assumes they're all rotten and *she* assumes they're all brilliant - *anyone* might've snapped at him after all that, and it's just the girl's luck that she wears an X and Pete has the opportunity to be self-righteous about the spandex set. He's got most of it out of his system. Today's ire, anyway. He just raises his eyebrows at her and relights the end of his cigarette, pointedly glancing at her hand. "Burned, were you?" You paged Izzy with 'Yeah. Bastards.'. From afar, Izzy grins. I want love letters, dammit. Blacklight flicks her hand briefly. "Nah. Shadow protected that." Well, yeah. It stung. A bit. Certainly not going to end up scarring or anything, though. Heck, an 'I told you so' would probably be entitled, right now. Or a 'Just like I thought'. ... though that last one would probably have her hopping mad again. More staredown for a moment, before Blacklight apparently decides that rather than just breaking into tears from raw rage and frustration, she'd be best just getting out of here. "Screw it." she says with a catch in her voice, just taking a step back and spacing that distance again. Shit, he made her cry. Now instead of going back to John's house and feeling all self-satisfied, he's going to go back to John's house and feel like an asshole. "Listen," he says reluctantly. "Listen. Different worlds make for different people." "Yeah. So I'm seeing." Blacklight manages. "You were actually semi-reasonable where I came from." Pot, kettle? Pete Wisdom gives Blacklight a *look*. "Cheap shot." There really wasn't enough of that cigarette left to be any good at all, and Pete occupies himself with the task of finding another and lighting it off the butt of the last, like any halfway-dedicated chainsmoker would. "An' I dimly recall you saying something about my counterpart riding your team." Blacklight nods. "Yeah. Then again, so did I. Then again, guess dick-headedness carries over. Just depends on the extent." She's still struggling against a case of the tears, mainly because she is _not_ about to give you the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Much. Oddly, if Blacklight -really- wanted to get back at Pete, she -would- cry. Because Wisdom's not the kind of dick who gets satisfaction out of seeing someone break - he's the kind of dick who gets satisfaction out of making someone storm off, honestly pissed. "Look here," he says, mildly peeved now, instead of any of the other myriad of kneejerk emotions he's been displaying. "If y'weren't so fucking insistent about your bloody target-costume mutant self-styled Messiahs being the be-all end-all -- including Chrome Dome himself -- the multiverse over, I mightn't've gotten on yer arse about 'em. An' maybe if you'd seen what I've seen, and had taken from you what I've had taken from me, yeh'd have a bit more of an idea've why I fucking reacted the way I did." Blacklight shakes her head. "Oh no. Don't _even_ go there. I've _had_ plenty of stuff taken from me, and Xavier's the one who helped me put things together again. Or, don't tell me: Hellfire Club's just a bunch of sweethearts in your world too, right?" Oh, the sarcasm that royally drips off that line of words. "Nooo, the Hellfire Club's a bunch of megalomanic bondage fuckwits," says Pete patiently. "An' I'm *sure* my Xavier, an' my X-Men, *always* think they're doin' what's best. They just don't fucking stop to consider that what's best for -them-, or their inbred little royal vamily, is what's best for the world at large -- or for the people they immediately affect." Surely, the overpatient tone is more maddening than any sarcasm could be in return. Probably. But the words alone completely defuse what Blacklight's point could ever be. "Just forget it, Ok? Just forget it." Her hands come out and down, as though completely wiping away the words. "You're right. Alright? Fine. You're right. I'll agree with you. Satisfied now?" Oh yeah. Those tears aren't holding back much any more. She isn't bawling like a baby, but they're running down her cheeks, streaking the mask, and vanishing into the neckline of the shadow-formed bodysuit. "Just forget about it." "...fuck," says Pete; it comes out a sigh. He raises a hand to wipe at his face, at once furious with himself and with her, and being too goddamned tired - of anger, of X-Men, of himself, of life without Kitty, of trying to make some kind of sense of this world - to do a blessed thing about that fury other than drop the cigarette, step on it, and look over at Blacklight, all the starch gone out of him. "I'm sorry," he says. It doesn't sound wrenched - but it sounds sincere. "Yeah. Me too." Again, more snap than serious. "Sorry about your loss, sorry about my loss, sorry about being stuck here when I should be there, sorry about .... just... fucking... sorry." A leap brings her a few feet off the ground, but enough that the wings of shadow can unfold themselves from the suit of blackness she wears, catching the air and holding her aloft that way. There's no way that she could explain just what a little solidarity might mean right now... and Xavier's always been that solidarity. From afar, Guest2 hugs. Long distance to Guest2: Pete Wisdom hiyos. That's not, unfortunately, the kind of solidarity Wisdom can provide. Even before his all-consuming disgust with and near-despising of (and, in no small way, though he'd never EVER admit it even to himself, hurt disappointment in) all that is X, he never had a very high opinion of Xavier. If Blacklight were a different sort of person, he'd offer her a drink - but all he can read from the conclusion of this incident is that he should leave her well enough alone. And still - his shoulders are down; his posture's quite a bit more broken than anyone who'd be smug over getting that kind of reaction out of Blackie would be. He *is* sorry. But other than saying it, there's nothing he can do - so he finally just turns and starts walking down the street. Wordless. While Wisdom goes street-wise, Blacklight goes up some, twisting in the air to head for the shadows again. If nothing else, she can cry herself out where no one is going to have to come in and see her, then go from there. Who knows. Maybe later, when she's actually thinking, she might be able to give apologies, offers, et cetera, where they're due. For the moment? All too new, all too strange, and all too world-shattering. Pete Wisdom says "Sorry. :)" [Public] Whisper has disconnected. Blacklight grins. "No problem! She's just had a rough time of things." ;) Blacklight says "Besides, if I believed you right off the bat, how am I supposed to get involved with X? ;)" [Public] Aya has connected. Aya has connected. Aya says "Meep." Blacklight says "Boo!" Pete Wisdom says "Hiya." Pete Wisdom says "This is true -- and I wasn't aiming at putting you off the native Xavier, as I don't know him at all. Mostly, after Pete's gut reaction to the X, he was just trying to get Tracey to...well, be less of a follower. But that was pretty obvious. :) Also, be less trusting of things she thinks she should be able to trust." Blacklight says "Of course! :D And probably later, she's going to be all upset and grumpy at herself for being such a bitch." Blacklight doesn't hold permanent grudges. ;) Not at the moment. Pete Wisdom says "Right off the bat, for instance, Pete - who's probably the least trusting person on the grid, or close - got himself eyepatch-deep in exactly the kind of horrible bullshit he was hoping to avoid in this Sparkly New Place Where No One's After His Head Yet." Pete Wisdom nodnods. And maybe soon I -can- buy you a drink. ;) Blacklight beams and nods. "She could _use_ it!" ;) Blacklight informs Aya, "Pete's a dick!" ;) [Public] DarkStorm waves to Aya. :) From afar, Guest2 hms. "Night, I guess." Izzy pages: God, I'm out of it. You paged Guest2 with 'Night! I'm about to log off, yes.'. From afar, Guest2 HUGS. Aya just watches, bemusedly. Long distance to Izzy: Pete Wisdom is, too. However, it's a quarter after one and I have to hit the hay. [Public] Darwin's Nightmare, Aya says, "Hallo, deah." Pete Wisdom is indeed a dick. :)