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multiverseofmiracleshq · 5 years

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Where do we go when they’re gone? The question has been on everyone’s mind, even if no one knew the answer. A support group at the New Avenger’s Facilities attempted to try and help the survivors, but it wasn’t the cleanest of conversations as multiple personalities butted heads.

THIS IS THE OFFICIAL COMPLETE CHAT LOG COVERAGE OF THE IC

NATASHA: Steve was supposed to be leading. It would make the most sense, after all. He felt deeply and intensely. It was hard not to in the climate that they lived in, but Natasha knew he felt the failure prominently as if it was his fault. It wasn’t. It was all of theirs. That was why this group had been formed in the first place. The Cleanse Support Counseling Group, they had decided to call it. A group of people talking wouldn’t fix things, but maybe it would raise morale. Steve was supposed to be leaving, and yet, he wasn’t there. Natasha wasn’t sure why but he wasn’t and she wasn’t going to call him out on it. Instead she would fill in and do her best. Shifting in the front of the room, Natasha gestured to the rows of chairs that had been set up. A circle would have been better - more welcoming, they said ) but the amount of people suspected had stopped that from occurring. “Everyone can take a seat, and if anyone wants to speak up they can. We’re all here for the same reasons. We’ve either lost people to Thanos or felt something as a result of what he’s done. People need to express themselves, and this is your chance to do it.”

JULIAN: He'd kissed her. Like a complete and utter idiot, Julian had kissed Kate. And it wasn't some run of the mill peck on the lips, signaling an 'i missed you' like he'd try to play it off as....it was careful and delicate. Loving. All the passion they had built in their relationship that had abruptly ended came alive in just one kiss, and he couldn't stop thinking about it. As he drove her back to the Institute, they sat in complete silence, mostly because Julian didn't have much to say. Their relationship was nothing and he was going to have to face what happened between them eventually. But for now, he couldn't. He didn't know how. Pulling up, he put the car in park and got out, circling quickly to help her out of the car. She was only a few days healed and Julian had argued about letting her go, but Kate had made a good point. Someone would suspect something eventually. And she'd been insistent on going anyway. "Are you sure about this?" he finally said.

ROCKET: rocket scoffed from his seat, arms crossed and ears flattened back against his head. really, he was only here because his new ‘friends’ ( mostly thor ) convinced him to come. “can we go now?”

VALKYRIE: "Not now, Rabbit thing." Val frowned down at him. "This is important to Thor."

ERIC: Eric felt extremely uncomfortable coming here. He wasn't what anyone would call an open book and he normally just drank and broke stuff to deal with his emotions, not actually talking about them. Sure he helped work out his feelings of not actually being a mutant with Graymalkin and Blindfold, but that was about it. Sure, he lost people he knew from the cleanse but he got most of them back when the mutants all came back. What was killing him was his uncertainty. He couldn't help but think of his brothers he left behind and not knowing if they were still around. He sat in the back with his head lowered and his foot tapping. He doubted that he'd end up stepping up to talk but maybe this would help him figure out what was left for him to do.

KATE: She was fucked. Completely and utterly fucked. And not only because of the fact that she had been stabbed either. That also did suck, if she was gonna think about it. It was more that she had gotten herself stabbed and called her ex-boyfriend rather than her mentor, closest friend or actual boyfriend. Great job, Kate. Great job. She had gone to Julian on the 25th of January. It was now the 10th of February. That was way too long and she knew it but had no viable excuse. Taking Julian’s hand to pull herself out, Kate dropped it after a moment once she was upright. Her gut hurt but it was manageable. “I’m sure. We have to face everyone eventually and it’s been too long already.” With that she gave him one last smile and a squeeze of his hand before turning to slowly walk inside.

SUSAN: It was hard to be there. The last thing Susan wanted was to linger on the fact that Reed was gone and her family now lacked a husband and father, but she knew it was good for Franklin so she sat there next to her son with her head held high and the intention to not cry.

JULIAN: Julian followed behind her, keeping a bit of a distance. More than he had been since she'd called him. Maybe the guilt was finally starting to settle in, manifesting in the distance he put between them. What was his next move? As they entered through the doors, it was almost comical how easily he found Laura, and how difficult it was going to be to explain what happened. To tell her the truth. Giving Kate a final glance, he made his way over to her. "I didn't expect to see you here."

THOR: Thor couldn’t get himself to look directly at anyone in the room, even as he stood and began to speak. “It is difficult to form the exact words to fit how I have felt these past few years. But there is one thing I have been wanting to say all this time.” He paused, reaching down to something beside him to reveal Stormbreaker. He grasped it with both hands and glanced down to it, feeling himself tense. “This is the first time I have touched this weapon since that day. Even now, I cannot look at it and not see my failure. This was supposed to end Thanos. I was supposed to end Thanos, but I was foolish. And I am sorry I didn’t not stop our suffering. If I had been clearer of mind, this all could have been prevented. And not a day goes by in which I do not feel the weight of that.”

NATASHA: Natasha watched Thor carefully, remembering the moment it had happened. She had been pinned down but she had been there. She had seen the aftermath and the crippling silence that had occurred in the seconds after. "We all failed." She finally said. "Some of ours are more prominent than others. You feel. I feel it too, and I know others are there with us. We all could have prevented this and we didn't."

VALKYRIE: In an affectionate move that wasn't always the norm, Val reached out to squeeze Thor’s hand where it rested on the weapon. "You did more than many. That counts as well."

FRANKLIN: As Val spoke up Franklin nodded as he looked to Thor before his eyes rested on the floor. He did nothing that day to help the cause. He has all this power and when it mattered he was useless.

SUSAN: “I’m angry.” Sue finally spoke up. “Not at you, Thor, or Natasha. At myself mostly because we have all this science but still were useless. We could have tried and stopped him before he even arrived and it didn’t. I don’t believe in fair. It’s not logical. But I don’t know how to center my anger without negatively impacting my kids or my siblings or my team.”

RITCHIE: Ritchie had decided to attend the support group meeting in hopes that somehow his girlfriend would finally make an appearance there. She hadn't explained to him the reason for her initial absence, but Kate just sort of did that sometimes. Disappeared without warning. Only this time, it had been for far too long. Visibly tensing at the sudden unwelcome presence of Julian, Ritchie did the exact opposite of what his heart was screaming at him to do. He ignored Kate. Face knit into a bit of a scowl, he listened on, waiting for her to make the next move.

FRANKLIN: Franklin looked to his mother with some surprise. She finally said it out loud. He knew she was mad. It was hard to be such a powerful telepath and not accidentally pick up on those details. Franklin took a second to search for his words. "Mom. I'd rather you just open up about than me picking up on it. I know I'm pissed off about it. I mean what use is having a team with so much power but doesn't do anything when it comes down to it?"

DAISY: Daisy glanced to Sue and Franklin from where she sat. “Most of the time people tend to focus on grief and sorrow so much that we push anger off to the side-- but your worry about affecting your family? I understand that. I was sad and I was broken, yes, and we can’t ignore those-- but is there a single person in here who isn’t angry?” She looked around for a moment, then continued. “I was so angry at how unfair it all was that I abandoned my team. I left the people I loved. Because I couldn’t bare to hurt them, and make their pain worse. Anger has the potential to break people apart when we should be supporting each other.”

LAURA: She was sitting by Warren. After Julian had gone entirely MIA she had been torn between worry and wanting to respect his independence. Funnily enough, she smelled his scent before he entered. It was mixed with another unfamiliar one that had blood mixed in and when Julian entered she automatically tensed due to Kate being in front of him. Oh. “Why would I not?” Laura asked, voice remaining monotone. She wanted to glance towards Warren but resisted the urge so that her eyes remained on Julian’s face. “You did not return any of my calls for the last few weeks.” It was easiest to start there.

CRYSTALIA: It seemed pointless to be there. Yes, the Inhumans had suffered from the Cleanse but the problems being discussed here were not her own. Crystalia had gone and brought Luna, the child strapped across her chest as she sent a singular pointed look at Erik from where she sat next to Noh-Varr. “I’m really not. It’s more the general incompetence afterwards that’s been annoying.”

JULIAN: Julian took a seat next to her, tension remaining in his shoulders despite being near her. Since their time together in the red world, Julian had learned to take solace in Laura's company. Something about her demeanor eased him, but not tonight. "This isn't really for us." he said, letting his words sit between them as he tried to come up with some excuse. But alas, "There was an emergency. Kate got hurt. I was the only person around to help." he looked up at her, finally meeting her eyes. "I should've returned your calls." And with that, Julian reached out to place a feather light touch on her knee.

NADIA: Nadia had come to mourn the father she had never gotten the chance to meet. Having a friend who had lost someone as well ( even if Richard and Sam hadn’t been very close ) acted as a comfort. Head tilted to rest on Sam’s shoulder, she took in the crowd and listened to their words. “I didn’t expect this to be so sad. I’m glad you’re here.”

SUSAN: “Your father - Reed,” Susan choked out. “We went through a lot of impossible odds together. I knew statistically this would happen, but the sheer monument of it was a surprise. I like having answers. I think a lot of people do, and not being able to find them hurts. But you’re right, Daisy. We can handle pain in ways better than anger. It can just be hard to find out how.”

NOH-VARR: Noh looked to Crys for a moment. She was being cold again, but she had a point "Earthlings are emotional, Crys. You can't expect all of them to be ready to go right away. Although I do think we need to start handling things more efficiently. The universe failed, it's time to pick up the pieces." He meant no harm and his tone had a hint of kindness to it.

ERIK: Erik had done his best to tune out the noise in the room-- it was almost too much for him. And he hadn’t wanted to come, but somehow Jean convinced him and so now here he was. Crystalia’s short glare caught his attention as he sat there and his eyes flicked over to her and then to the baby she held in front of her. He didn’t say a word, but then he turned to Jean. “Are you going to speak at all tonight?”

LAURA: “We turned to ash. It is for us.” Laura’s voice didn’t fluctuate at all. She was angry, and a part of her felt betrayed. She didn’t want to overreact though, here in her first real relationship. “And yes, you should have. Even if she was hurt, it has been over a week. “You could have found a way to reach out.” When his hand dropped down onto leg, Laura shifted ever so slightly away to remove it. “What else happened then?”

WARREN: This room was tense, like that cliche of being able to cut through it all with a knife kind of tense. Warren had no plans to give a speech but at least he was present. As Julian walked in and sat down Warren watched him from the corner of his eye and did his best to not eavesdrop on the conversation between him and Laura. That was proving to be a bit difficult, but he kept his mouth shut.

JEAN: “I feel like I should.” Jean admitted. “But I don’t know what I’m supposed to say. I’m not angry. I’ve been confused, if anything, and that’s because of Other Jean. Do you think that it’s a good idea?”

KATE: Every movement was stiff. It hurt to sit down due to the moving of her midsection and Kate let out a slight hiss of pain. “I should have called.” She finally said. “I know, I should have called, and I’m so sorry. I got into something and it took longer to bounce back than I thought it would.”

CRYSTALIA: “Aren’t they? Noh-Varr is right, even if you don’t want to hear it. We have children. We need something to rebuild the world for them.” Crystalia said firmly.

SAM: Resting his own head gently against Nadia's, Sam unconsciously reached out to lace their fingers together. Despite the actual reality of his relationship with the elder Nova, emotion still threatened to spill over as he listened to the others speak, and he was feeling extra needy today when it came to human contact, "Right back at you." His smile still didn't quite reach his eyes, even though he knew Nadia couldn't see his face.

ERIK: Erik shrugged. “These people seem to be speaking of the first thing that comes to mind. I don’t see how you chiming in would make it any worse.”

JULIAN: "And I should have." Julian answered honestly. His phone had died, he'd been too preoccupied to charge it. He owed her the truth, but he couldn't bring himself to give it to her. "Nothing happened, Laura."

ROGER: Roger knew Jess was here, but like some annoyed middle school kid that just found out his crush didn't actually like him back, he was doing everything in his power to stay as far away from her as possible. He wasn't mad at her necessarily, but after finding out the family he thought had been relatively unharmed post-cleanse, was actually torn apart-- leaving him suddenly a father again? There wasn't exactly a For Dummies manual for that.

LAURA: Her head automatically went to the side as her ears specifically went to the beating of his heart. Lying. She knew it but she didn’t know if she should say something or let it fade away. “Would Kate say the same?” Laura finally asked. She wasn’t mad and her voice was calm. It was easier to remain emotionless.

NADIA: It was without hesitation that Nadia mirrored Sam’s actions and her fingers intertwined with his own. “You don’t have to pretend to smile, you know.” She said as she shifted her bare legs, free hand moving to tug her skirt down. “I love to smile but it’s too hard to right now. We get a pass this time.”

JESSICA DREW: It was time to cut the bullshit. They were there because they had lost someone in common. Jessica moved from her position by the wall to drop into the chair next to Roger. Leaning forwards to brace her arms against her legs, Jessica couldn’t help but snort. “Of course we’re angry. I lost my bloody toddler. Some of us aren’t doing very well at rebuilding the world because we’re barely making it by ourselves.”

RITCHIE: Refusing to make eye contact yet, Ritchie still caught the slight pained reaction Kate gave as she occupied the seat next to him. Of course it had been empty. Jaw clenching for a moment as he listened to her apology ( if you could even call it that ), Ritchie finally decided to respond, his tone clipped, "---we're not doing this here."

JEAN: “Speaking your mind isn’t always the best, and I’m honestly surprised Other Jean here even though it makes me a little more at ease. You could say something too, you know.” Jean pointed out. “You were there with me in the Soul Stone.”

KATE: “Now’s as fine a time as ever. It’s better than sitting here in silence while we act like you’re not pissed and I didn’t mess up.” She shifted closer to him even though it hurt, but she didn’t touch him. That would have been wrong. “You want to see where I was?”

JIMMY: Jimmy had been dividing his attention. Partially to the room, partially to Jean and Erik and partially on Julian and Laura. His he could smell his stress hormones. He was lying through his teeth. Even though Laura and Jimmy didn't really act much like siblings or really know each other something about this was really pissing him off. Brought back by Jean's words. "Why don't you both just speak up? Your both famous mutants and you were both in there. People will listen, won't they?"

JEAN: Jean shot Jimmy a quick look. She knew he was right, but still. He was on her team here and she was incredibly hesitant and a little bit scared. "I know they'll listen, which is why I'm even more worried about saying something."

ERIK: At Jean’s suggestion Erik fell silent, but after Jimmy spoke up he became tense and oddly defensive. “And what exactly would all these people gain by hearing tales of long lost mutants? We came back, and the people they all care about did not. My words would be wasted on resentful ears. What reason do they have to listen, Jean?”

JULIAN: He watched her move away from him, and Julian curled his fingers in, moving his arm back. "Yes." he swallowed. "She would."

NOH-VARR: Noh nodded, a slight smirk on his face. Having a princess on your side always felt good. "I know now's not the place for this but just think about it. If earth continues down this path you'll never evolve."

DAISY: “So maybe the lesson we all need to learn right now is take care of ourselves? I know I need that idea practically beaten into me before I’ll listen.” Daisy spoke up again, offering Jess and sympathetic look. “I’m so sorry about your son.”

SAM: Sam's forced expression melted back into a slight frown at Nadia's words, before fizzling out into nothing as he spoke up once again, voice a whisper over the others, "--I can't tell if this was worth it or not."

JESSICA: “Yeah, me too.” Jessica shook her head. “I let it ruin my life, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.” She sent a look over to Roger. “Let’s cut the therapy pretense. We all have emotions. Lovely. The alien and his baby mama are right. We have to do something here.”

JIMMY: "Well shit." Was all Jimmy replied before rolling his eyes and slouching further in his seat. He wasn't about to deal with that moody old bitch when he was already pissed about the pheromones Julian was putting off.

ROGER: “Well, maybe it'd be a bit easier if some of us were more open to accepting help from others," Roger muttered, loud enough that Jessica could definitely hear, despite the conversation progressing as he folded his arms over his chest.

LAURA: Laura bit back a groan. “I can hear your heartbeat tick. Jimmy can as well,” she gestured to her sort of brother. “And I’m sure Warren can as well because he has eyes.” Not that she wanted to drag Warren into her own problems.

NADIA: “Well,” Nadia winced. “I think it will be nothing if not interesting? Maybe we should have brought a snack. Do you have anything on you?”

JIMMY: At the sound of his name Jimmy snapped his head toward Julian and gave a small nod.

JESSICA: “Well, maybe some of us are doing their best but have bad emotional processors.” Jessica hissed back.

WARREN: “Yeaahh--” Warren leaned over for a second, taking the advantage to say something. “You might want to get a bit better at the whole lying thing, dude. Or just fess up. That could work too.”

JEAN: “Erik,” Jean gently let a hand rest on his arm and prayed it wasn’t too forward and wasn’t going to upset it. “You don’t have to speak. It’s our choice and I’m sure Jimmy will support us no matter what.” Easy on him, she shot telepathically to her teammate. This is hard.

JULIAN: "I was gone for a week." Over. "I didn't answer your calls, I didn't call you back, and I don't have a good enough reason." Julian glanced at Jimmy before continuing. "If I wasn't a little worried don't you think that would be worse?"

DAISY: “Okay, just hold on a sec--” Daisy stood up upon hearing Jess and Roger’s bickering get worse. “None of us here are perfect. We’ve all screwed up, we’ve done shit we’re not proud of. And with our jobs it’s sometimes hard to accept help-- or give help. Let’s ease up a bit, shall we?

LAURA: “Eleven days.” Laura automatically corrected him. “It should have been because you care about me, but I know that is a lot to expected. This is stupid, Julian.” She shook her head. “We do not need to cause a scene. I would rather there just be honesty.”

JULIAN: "You know I care about you." how did he keep this from spiraling? "I made a mistake. That doesn't change how I feel about you." I love you, you know that? I never stopped. "Nothing happened, Laura. She was injured, badly. We were holed up in an old estate that belongs to my parents. My phone died and I had no way of charging it. I couldn't leave her until I knew she was going to be okay. I can't change what happened, but I can't give you words that don't exist."

JIMMY: Jimmy gave a small grunt of agreeance as he heard Jean in his head but did not take his eyes off of Julian.

AMADEUS: Amadeus was getting real annoyed with everyone before Daisy spoke up. His vines stopped bulging as he took a breath and spoke up. "I'm with Daisy on this. We're here to mourn and work things out, something I know for a fact is super important. We can talk about what we're doing wrong and how to get back on track tomorrow, but tonight can we please just be here for each other?"

RITCHIE: Ritchie finally granted Kate a glance, but only for a brief moment, to give her a tired once-over. She was alive, that concern was gone. What emotion remained was only a confused numbness, and a fist that ached to meet Julian's face. For what reason? He didn't know. But he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know either, "--nothing. I heard nothing. It's been over two weeks."

ERIK: Erik let out a stifled sigh and sat back in his seat. “There is nothing here but petty squabbles. But Jean--” He turned to her finally, appreciating her calmness. “Whatever you have to say would be far more beneficial than anything else said so far. Much more than empty words and disagreements. They should be grateful you are here.”

CRYSTALIA: “This all seems pointless.” Crystalia couldn’t help but intone. She had to rise to start bouncing the baby as Luna began to start to gurgle. “If you all want to talk about your feelings, you’ll have to allow one another to become angry. That includes you." She pointed a finger at Erik and Jean. "You're 'leaders', aren't you?"

SAM: Sam dug through his pockets absentmindedly at Nadia's question, turning up almost empty-- aside from a single bag of fruit snacks. "Oh, hey-- nice."

NADIA: “Share.” Nadia held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “I was about to comment that it was good Amadeus hadn’t gotten involved. Never mind. If you need to escape, let me know. We can both fly.”

AMADEUS: "Because that's helped me so much in the past." Amadeus muttered to himself.

KATE: “It was less, actually.” Kate said before quickly regretting it. “But yeah, I understand what you’re saying. It was wrong. Here,” she tugged up the hem of her skirt to show off the grossly large bandage that still covered her abdomen. “I got stabbed. Badly. It was stupid but I went into shock. I called Julian and he took me to one of his estates. It took me a while to get back on my feet and sort everything out. If you want to ask me anything, do it.”

JEAN: Erik’s words reassured her. Jean took a deep breath and despite her fear stood up. “It’s not pointless.” She responded to Crystalia with a sharp look. “Some of us didn’t only lose people. We lost ourselves. I’m not the only one here who went through that --” There was Julian and Laura. Laurie. “We went through hell. The dead aren’t just gone, they’re suffering and that means something.”

ERIK: “If I am not mistaken, the title of ’Princess’ puts you in the very category you are speaking of.” Erik shot back. “So why don’t you speak up? Clearly you have a lot to say.”

NOH-VARR: Noh-Varr rolled his eyes as Erik spoke up. "What exactly do you think it is that she's been doing?"

CRYSTALIA: “My apologies. I hadn’t realized I had muttered. I said this was pointless.” Crystalia sent a demure smile over towards her technical father in law. “I am a leader, which is why I am not only here but speaking, as Noh-Varr has pointed out.”

LAURA: “Okay.” Laura nodded. “I believe that you care about me, but I do not believe that nothing happened. I am sorry that Kate was hurt and it was good of you to be a good friend, but I now realize that we should break up.” She stated matter of factly.

ROGER: Roger let out a bitter chuckle at the meager attempts being made to mediate. This clearly wasn't going to end well. And judging by the ever rising level of irritation with many of those speaking, the end appeared to be on its way there. Standing up abruptly but quietly, so as to not make a scene, Roger shook his head, addressing no one in particular "--While I appreciate the attempt to bring us together, but there was no way in hell this was going to work out. Now if you guys'll excuse me, I have to get home--" tears welling in his eyes, Roger shakily let out the last few words before turning to leave, "--to my daughter."

JULIAN: Julian felt his mouth close and his teeth press roughly against one another. What had he expected when he offered her excuses and half truths. "Two years Laura, is it that easy for you?"

JESSICA: “Your daughter?” Jessica shot up as well, already following Roger to the door. “What, did you get custody all of a sudden? Gerry died and you’ve gone and started paying attention to your own kid now?”

SAM: Sam watched on warily as a few of the arguments that had been brewing suddenly escalated. Leaving was becoming more and more enticing. Tearing open the bag before dumping half its contents into Nadia's palm, Sam shrugged, "---I'm kinda worried somebody might shoot us if we try."

LAURA: “No, of course not.” It actually hurt. Laura had been injured before but this was different. “But if you care about me and love her,” she titled her head towards Kate. “Which I know you do, then we should not be together. Especially if I was her replacement during the Cleanse. I care about you, Julian, more than I have ever cared about anyone. But if being in a relationship has taught me anything it is that I also have to care for myself.”

WARREN: Throughout the course of the evening, Warren had gone back to listening to different conversations here and there. The room wasn’t quiet and it wasn’t all supportive either, even though that’s what this event was created to be. Then he heard the words “we should break up” and his eyes widened. But he didn’t react any further-- he just started tuning in to what was happening next to him some more.

JULIAN: Julian pushed his fingers through his hair, unable to really process what she was saying. What she was doing. "I love you too." But not in the way he loved Kate. He knew that, Laura knew that, yet he couldn't stop fighting. "You were never her replacement, Laura. You need to believe that. I care about you in a different way, but that doesn't have to change anything."

RITCHIE: "Right, semantics I guess," a soft yet bitter laugh followed his words as he looked at her again and examined her wound, his gaze cold. I went into shock. And your first instinct was to call your ex? That didn't sit well with Ritchie. This entire interaction hadn't from the beginning. Debating whether or not he wanted to dive further, he decided confrontation was inevitable, "--did anything happen between you two while you were gone?" He wasn't an idiot, Laura and Julian weren't exactly having a silent conversation. Whether or not Kate would tell him the truth, now that was the real game, wasn't it?

JIMMY: It was taking a lot for Jimmy to keep his trap shut. It was his instinct to call out the punk ass Julian but it wasn't his place, yet.

ERIK: “Well at least you and I can agree on one thing-- that this has been pointless.” Erik replied to Crystalia. “Nothing I could say would change that.”

CRYSTALIA: “Don’t you care about your grandchild? Luna is all the family you have left besides Lorna, and from what I’ve heard she’s not only disinterested in you but crazy as well.”

NADIA: “If we get shot it’s because we are caught in the cross fire.” Nadia popped one into her mouth with wide eyes. “This was supposed to be a good thing. О Господи.”

LAURA: “I know.” Laura nodded, unable to hide the sadness that passed over her face. “I love you, too. I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to do that, so I thank you. We do not need a bad breakup, Julian. You loving me too is something neither of us should settle for. I like to think we can both find more.” She wanted to believe his words, so after a pause she nodded once more. “I will try to keep that in mind, but it does have to change. There is no way for you and me to end well.”

KATE: “Not semantics.” Kate sighed. “It’s -- it’s complicated, okay? I know that’s a shitty answer but it is. I can’t tell you why I called him, if it was muscle memory or something else. All I knew was that I was bleeding out and I had to call someone. It wasn’t you. I’m so sorry that it wasn’t.” Taking a pause, Kate took a deep breath and winced momentarily at the sting. “He told me he still loved me. We kissed. Nothing further, even though that’s more than should have happened.”

ERIK: ”Keep my daughter’s name out of your mouth!” Erik was standing now-- not quite yelling but his voice was harsh. “You and I are family but that does not give you the right to speak on my relationships. I care about your daughter, but I would not extend the same courtesy to you.”

ROGER: Roger stopped and turned on his heel, only about a foot from Jessica's face as he replied, his voice wavering ever so slightly, "Olivia's gone, Jess. I only found out this morning that Kalie's been staying with a friend's family since the cleanse. No one could find me in order to tell her both her parents weren't ash. But I have her now--- and shit father or not, I'm all she has left."

CRYSTALIA: Crystalia bent down and very carefully passed Luna off to Noh-Varr to free both of her hands. She couldn’t argue with the prick while holding his granddaughter in her arms. That felt wrong. “No, you and Luna are family. You and I have nothing in common because the version of your son I married is gone, just like the one here. You and I have [i] nothing [/i] in common except for her, and you are lucky to be in her life at all with the track record you have with keeping children alive.” Two down, one to go after all.

JESSICA: “Gone? Shite, Rog.” Jess ran a tired hand over her equally tired face. “And you really didn’t know? Do you have everything you need to take care of her? I have Gerry’s... I have some stuff in the apartment still. I couldn’t donate it. If you need anything, I can try and help even if you and I have been rocky. For her sake, at least.” For her sake because Jessica couldn’t admit that she missed Roger. It was easier to blame it on her own latent motherly instinct.

RITCHIE: Ritchie squeezed his eyes shut at Kate's confession. There it was. That sting that felt something akin to what he imagined Kate's wound was doing to her right now. The sting of betrayal. Sure, the term felt a bit archaic, but there was no other way to describe it. Ritchie had never been cheated on, to any degree, so the hurt was new to him. And it made him do and say some stupid things. "And what does this mean for us--"

NOH-VARR: Noh awkwardly took Luna and was afraid to move and that something would come out of either end and stain his outfit

SAM: Sam shoveled his half into his mouth all at once, leaning over to whisper to Nadia, looking almost like a distressed chipmunk, "---you wanna go grab some ice cream then head back home and watch some Star Wars?"

NADIA: “Yes! I’ve heard all about the war of the stars but never actually seen it. I want that one kind. Half baked. There’s so much going on in your mouth. It’s amazing.”

WARREN: Alright, so how was he gonna go about this? Warren had just listened to Laura and Julian break-up right next to him and now, even though the room was full to the brim with people, they were alone. He allowed for a few extended moments of silence, but after a bit he couldn’t take it anymore. “That was-- a lot.” He turned to her, trying not to be creepy but searching her face for answers. “Are you alright? Do you wanna-- I don’t know, head out? Feels like we don’t need to be here anymore.”

ROGER: Avoiding Jessica's gaze as he nodded in confirmation, Roger could feel his throat tightening, "I uh--- the last time we talked- didn't end great-- I just assumed she was mad at me." Shrugging, he shoved his hands into his pockets, unsure of what to do with his body as he fought off whatever emotion was continuing to slowly leak out, "-that would be-- that would be great actually. Thanks."

LAURA: Laura squeezed her eyes shut, determined to choke away the feeling of tears prickling at her eyelids. It worked. “I’m fine.” She replied without hesitation when she opened them once more, but she had a feeling it would not be easy to tell that she was not. How could she be? This was a feeling she had never had before. “I -- Yes. I think that would be best. I’ve never done this before.”

JESSICA: “You’re her dad, Roger. It wouldn’t matter if Olivia was mad at you. Kalie is lucky to have a dad.” Jessica would never apologize for having Gerry or doing it without a man. She could have filled his life with positive male influences that weren’t his biologic father. It didn’t matter much anymore though. “Of course. It’s not doing anything gathering dust and I have time on my hands. I s’pose some kind of outlet for this anger wouldn’t hurt.” It was funny how easy it felt to talk to Roger after all that had happened.

ERIK: Erik let Crystalia come closer as she spoke, his blood boiling. His eyes squinted as he looked to her and his expression was pure rage, but inside he felt his anger begin to mix with all that pushed aside grief and guilt. His hands clenched into white-knuckled fists at his side, and the chairs on either side of him slid a few inches in either direction like two magnets brought too close together. “I would advise you to not speak any further. Fine. We are not family. I feel no loss at the idea of our separate identities.”

KATE: “I don’t know.” Kate exhaled. “I wish I did. It’s all just been a lot recently. This still hurts like hell but I’m not going to blame it for my bad decisions. I ruin good things, just ask Noh-Varr sometime when he’s not holding a baby. Julian and I never really finished, but when you and I started everything changed.”

WARREN: Laura handled that situation way better than Warren thought was possible for anyone. Break-ups were notoriously not great, but she kept herself together. He just didn’t want her to feel any pressure to keep it all together just for the sake of it-- so he stood up and offered out a hand to help her stand up. “C’mon, let's get out of here. Got any place you’d like to be? I can get us anywhere you want!”

JEAN: “This has officially gotten out of hand.” Jean muttered under her breath. Get a hold of yourself! her voice rang out telepathically towards Erik. This isn’t worth it. SHE’S not worth it. Don’t let her provoke you. Please? For me? Tonight was supposed to be healing and I get that it’s not but we can just go. We don’t have to stay here.

SAM: Eyeing the door, Sam stood up suddenly, still remaining hunched over as he gently nudged Nadia, "--there's a corner store a few blocks away from here. And a pint of Half Baked with your name on it."

ERIC: "Not good." Eric said to himself from the back as he spotted Magneto and the Inhuman queen lock in an argument. Was X-Men vs Inhumans 2 really about to start?" He didn't know if he should try to use his telepathy to talk to Erik or if that would just make it worse. All of this was fun to watch in his shows but a nightmare up close.

ERIK: Jean’s voice broke through his rage-fueled trance and he whipped around to look at her. In that moment he realized how harsh his breathing had been, and he took in a breath before straightening up and unclenching his hands. Fine. He answered Jean mentally and then used his powers to move the chairs back to their rightful place, leaving Crystalia without a final look back. “I think it is time for us to go.” Erik spoke roughly, walking past Jean towards the exit and assuming she would follow.

JEAN: “You’re awful.” Jean spoke out loud to Crystalia before turning to follow Erik. “Are you coming?” She paused by Jimmy’s chair. “If you stay the ‘princess’ may go for you as well.” Leaving him to decide for herself, she jogged slightly to catch up with Erik. “Thank you. So much. I’m sorry to have yelled, but you needed to hear that.”

ROGER: Unable to keep himself from doing it, not caring about the possible repercussions, Roger reached out to envelop Jess in a hug, his cheeks wet. An I miss you was left unsaid. The time didn't entirely feel right. But this? An ounce of support from another person? God, did Roger need it. "--I'm sorry," he didn't know what he was apologizing for exactly, but those were the only words his tired, emotionally drained brain could muster.

CRYSTALIA: “I don’t care.” Crystalia rolled her eyes before gesturing for Noh-Varr to hand back her daughter. “I think it’s long past time for us to leave.”

JESSICA: At first Jessica flinched slightly, body remembering that no one had affectionally touched her since Gerry had died. Who would? Carol was gone and she had pushed everyone else away. If he had said what he was thinking she would have responded that she missed him too, because she did. It was why she was working with Ben again, why she had followed him out. Jess missed Gerry and she missed Roger and if she had the chance to reconnect with one of them she had to take it. What happened was not Roger’s fault. She never should have pretended like it was. Instead of apologizing Jess just leaned forward and grabbed him once more, hoping he wouldn’t notice her own wet eyes where they touched his shoulder.

RITCHIE: Ritchie sat in silence for a moment after Kate's last remark. He should've known better. Falling too hard too fast, you had to hit the ground eventually. "--I think we should take a break. From each other."

ERIK: “You have no reason to apologize, Jean.” Erik reached out and pushed the door open with his powers, holding it long enough for Jean to make it through and amazingly having enough restraint to not slam it closed behind them. After a few moments he realized how fast he had been walking and slowed down to let Jean join him at his side. He was still tense, but the anger was at least subsiding. “I do not want to think about what would have happened if you had not been there. If there is someone to be thanked, it is you-- not me.”

LAURA: “Anywhere but here.” Laura admitted. She couldn’t be there anymore. The emotions were coming and she had no idea how to process them. She would get through it but once again she hated the newness of it all right after she thought she figured it out. “Can we fly? I do not care if we go anywhere. I just want to fly.”

JIMMY: "Yeah, one sec." Jimmy replied to Jean as he pulled himself up out of his chair. He looked at Crys for a moment. It wasn't out of rage but rather he wished he could understand what was going through her head. After a brief moment he followed behind Jean. Still a bit behind he looked to Laura and Warren. Warren seemed to have things under control for now, figured he'd be able to help her better than Jimmy could. Jimmy then power walked to catch up to those he came with.

KATE: “Okay.” Kate said even though her voice wavered. She deserved that. She had hurt him. Not the other way around. Kate didn’t get to be the sad one here. “I’m going to go,” she replied shakily as she slowly heaved herself to her feet and wished once again that her face could have hidden the pain. “I’m sorry, Ritchie. Have a nice night, okay?”

NOH-VARR: Noh gingerly passed Luna back to Crys. "I've been waiting for you to say that for the past twenty minutes." He replied as he stood up.

JEAN: “I feel bad for suggesting we came here in the first place.” She wrapped her arms around her body to try and unsuccessfully block out the wind chill. Once Jean caught up with Erik again, she stopped and looked around the deserted sidewalk. “You would have stopped. Those things you used to do? You don’t do them anymore because people change. Besides, Crystalia is a massive bitch but she’s Luna’s mom. You’d never take that away from her.” Turning to Jimmy, Jean gave him a tired smile. “I think we all need to go home. My head is pounding. Hello a bunch of angry thoughts.” They had been bombarding her all night but Jean didn’t want to make it about her when it wasn’t.

ROGER: Letting the hug continue for a few more much needed seconds, Roger finally pulled away, swiping under his eyes with the back of his sleeve as nonchalantly as he could, "--I really should head out though, left Kalie with uh- Julia. Don't know how well that's gone," Roger let out a halfhearted chuckle, "You're welcome to come with?" He asked, still wary, but much more open after their genuine exchange.

JESSICA: “I thought I already was.” Jessica managed to get out a small laugh. “And who’s Julia? I’d offer you a nanny recommendation, but you were the only one I had, so. Why don’t we get coffee and grab the kid? It’s been a long night.”

RITCHIE: Ritchie didn't look up as Kate left, instead getting up himself, and quietly turning to leave through a different door on the other side of the room, chest heavy with guilt and sadness all the while. What other option had been available to him? Suck it up and move on? No. They were way past that. The only path now was to move forward, whether that meant on one path, or two entirely separate ones.

WARREN: “Yeah, of course.” Warren’s smile was soft as they left the room-- specifically using the exit opposite the one Erik and Jean and Jimmy all just marched through. Once they were outside Warren was finally able to let loose, stretching out and flexing his wings after they had been cramped up during the meeting. After he was done he let them droop, white feathers dragging lightly against the ground as he stepped towards her. “I know all the places with the best views. Perfect for those times when you don’t really want to think about anything.” He offered out a hand. “You ready?”

LAURA: Laura couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight of Warren's wings in full force. They would always be beautiful. "Of course." She took his head, ready for him to lift her.

ROGER: Roger grinned, despite his gaze remaining glassy, "That sounds great actually." Following the remainder of the crowd that had started to disperse, Roger gestured with a head nod for Jess to join him, his chest already flooding with warmth at the thought of getting back to his daughter at home-- with a familiar face in tow.

ERIC: Eric watched as the room cleared out feeling entirely unfulfilled. He thought this would be therapeutic and that he'd finally be able to talk about his brothers and work out his emotions. Guess it was just another of life's disappointments. With that he made his way out the exit. Felt the sting of the bitter cold on his cheeks and took flight to go back to the institute alone.

#imevents #event: therapy session one #therapy: chatlog #momevents

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