(2016-08-13) Jean and Rogue Visit Serenity
Jean and Rogue Visit Serenity
Summary: Things don't go quite as planned when Jean and Rogue attempt to recruit "Marie" to come to Xavier's.
Date: 2016-08-13
Related: None
NPCs: None
Scene Runner: NA
Social/Plot: Social
Players:
serenity..rogue..white-phoenix..

Rogue will hear a familiar voice echoing in her head, as Jean reaches her telepathically <Rogue, we have an X-Men mission on our hands, a recruitment to the Institute, I would like for you to tag along. Do you think you're feeling up for it? It's a chance to help a fellow mutant.>


When Jean had contacted her, Rogue had been with her friends in Westchester. One of the friends was a wealthy college kid and his parents were out of town, so there was a party going on at his house. One of the boys at the party had been flirting heavily with Rogue, to the point of being a 'major douchewad' and when Jean's telepathic power hit her mind, Anna-Marie was up on the third story of the giant house, with the annoying kid dangling by a vacuum cord that Rogue had tied around his wrist.

The girl with the multi-colored hair looked around at the extensive green backyard of the rich people's house and she spoke outloud. "Sure, Jeanie. Just tell me where t'meet ya." She said, the boy who was hanging from the cord was flailing all around and occasionally screaming.

Wherever Jean had told her to go, that's where the loyal Rogue would show up! Probably after letting the Bad Flirter go, safely, probably…


<I hope you have been following the reports, we'll try and make contact with Marie, she should be at Central Park, but I'll stop by so we can go together,> and so Jean flies towards Rogue's position first, before the two of them continue in a combination of flight and telepathic invisibility as they make their way to Central Park, to Serenity's location.


Though she started the morning near the zoo, Serenity has moved to the area of the Bethesda Terrace and its iconic fountain. She's actually sitting on the edge of the fountain with a cap sitting on the ground in front of her.

There is no crowd at the moment around her as most of the people who were listening have moved on to get dinner, so she's currently playing mostly for herself, classical music on the guitar.


Rogue had been happy to find out that they were headed to the Bethesda place. It was her favorite part of Central Park. When the arrived she touched down lightly on the stone park area and her gloved hands were slipped into her leather jacket's side pockets. She started to walk slowly around the fountain, eyeing the bustling civilian activity here today… which made her smile happily.

She swerved her course over toward Jean then and leaned over to bump shoulders with the redhead. "This person any sorta bit'a hostile? Or are they just a bit lost'n confused…?" Her right gloved hand went up to stroke her white bangs back out of her eyes which were covered over by her aviator sunglasses.


When the two arrive, Jean finds the most opportune moment to remove the telepathic invisibility, ensuring they don't freak out anyone by just appearing out of thin air. She nudges Rogue lightly towards the girl playing the guitar, "a musical girl, but very much on her own, name's Marie…but let's go meet her ourselves," Jean says as she reaches for her wallet, and hands Rogue a $10 bill, "go tip her for her music and say hello." She wants to let Rogue be in the driver's seat, curious to see how she'll do.


Serenity does not look up from her guitar often when she plays, especially when she's playing for herself. In fact she might be sitting there playing complicated classical music with her eyes closed.


Anna-Marie walked along beside Jean, wishing internally that she could hide herself when she flew around… she was often unable to use her flight power because people would see her. She'd even been shot at before from some redneck once who thought she was a government drone.

"Sounds eerily familiar." Rogue mumbled at first to Jean's words, then watched the woman brandish a 10-spot and Rogue grinned from ear to ear. "Oh sick! Hotdog time!" She took the bill, smirked when she registered Jean's true intention for the money and then took the bill, put it into her leather jacket's pockets and started to walk toward Serenity where she played.

Rogue's leather boots clopped quietly on the stone floor as she approached the fellow guitarist and she cracked a grin at the woman, listened for a moment and then crouched to drop the ten dollar bill into the cap. But she didn't speak yet, cause its rude to interrupt a street performer while they're performing… she should know, she'd lived off of that revenue for quite awhile.


Jean keeps her distance, though she's clearly invested in the music, no different from any who might stop to listen for a beautiful music offered by street musicians. Even so, her full attention is on Rogue, she figured for this one Rogue might actually do the job better than her.


Though her eyes were closed, the instant that Rogue's footsteps come anywhere near Serenity, her yes pop open again. She looks over to see how close the other girl is coming without ever looking up enough to expose her eyes.

As Rogue approaches her, the classical music comes to an end in the middle of a piece so she can start playing something more current. Since she's doing it quickly, she drops into a song she's very familiar with, Patsy Cline's Crazy (Acoustic version).


"Crazy. I'm crazy for feeling so lonely…" Jean starts to sing the moment Serenity plays a very familiar song, approaching the guitar playing girl, "are you feeling so lonely? You shouldn't with such a lovely gift for music," Jean comments with a smile on her lips.


Rogue was also listening to the tune, she recognized the song as well. When Jean approached and sang to it, she grinned and leaned toward her friend. "Its a fine line doin' this sorta thing and not comin' off as weirdos with a unmarked van and a handful'a free candy, huh?" She said in a whisper to Jean.

Leaning straight again, Rogue kept her gloved hands inside her leather jacket. "You got some good skill there, I know some guys at a music shop in Westcheste'ah if you're eve'ah lookin' for some deals on equipment or what not."


In deference to the 10 dropped into her cap, Serenity suppresses any urge she might have to tell Jean she's singing a little flat. It's not Jean's fault Serenity has perfect pitch. She smiles through the instinct instead then pauses at the end of the song, "Westchester's a bit far to go for equipment. And thanks. I try to sing my best. Either of you ladies want to make a request?"


Not that Jean would have taken offense at being told as much, few could compare with the magnificent Patsy Cline, and Jean wasn't even a professional singer. "My request would be to ask for an answer to the question I asked, if it's not too rude of me," Jean offers with a pleasant smile, and cheats a little with her empathy to ensure at the very least that Serenity isn't inclined to take offense at her rather personal question.


Rogue looked from her friend on her left to the woman playing the guitar before her. She smirked softly at the distance comment about Westchester and nodded her head slowly one time. "Fair enough."

She replied quietly to that as she pulled her pack of cigarettes out of her jacket and went to light one up with a metal zippo held in her other hand. Click-clink and the cigarette was lit, puffed on and the lighter was stuffed back into her jacket with the rest of the pack.

"Sweet child'a mine, Guns n Roses." She said then to the girl who did ask for requests after all.


Serenity is instantly wary when Jean pushes the question even though it's done in a friendly and non-threatening way. "I get plenty of company from my audiences. Why would I be lonely?" It's a lie but she doesn't seem to feel bad about lying about it.

She doesn't bother to suppress a relieved look when Rogue makes a request instead of pushing as well. She lifts her guitar again to begin playing. Though the original was not done on an acoustic guitar, her version leaves nothing lacking. She transposes it to a slightly higher key for singing it in her own voice.


Jean arches a brow at Serenity's wary response, seems the girl is quite attuned to telepathic defenses naturally, the way she shook off Jean's empathic attempt to put her at ease. Impressive for someone who supposedly had no training. "It was your choice to sing the song," Jean says with a smile, "I felt like you sang to us…asking us to stay so you won't be alone. Do you often feel that way?" Jean asks, not coming any closer to Serenity, though she does put more effort on her empathy to put the girl at ease. As far as she knew the girl's powers had to do with sound projection, but that doesn't mean she wasn't a latent telepath or empath on top of it. But then the girl simply moves on to the next song, and Jean quiets down, letting her perform it. <So…you think this one likes living on the street and being alone? Or she putting an act for us?> Jean thinks to Rogue.


Rogue listened to the two of them give their exchange to one another, she enjoyed the rendition of the Guns n Roses song… having gone to the concert in Jersey just the other week.

Rogue glanced to Jean. <When ya live on the road, ya get short with people. Ya don't really like talkin' that much. Faces don't mean'a lot to ya, words even less.> Rogue's green eyes went back to Serenity and she puffed on her cigarette, pulled out a business card and crouched to show it off before dropping it into the cap with the money.

"We're teache'ahs at a school. Also in Westchest'ah. We can help ya flourish this talent'a yours, as well as any othe'ahs. If ya feel like it, stop on by some time. We got everythin' ya could want to get a career in this sorta field off the ground, includin' some serious connections in the music industry."

With that said, the southern belle rose back up to her full height, put her cigarette back between her red painted lips and she glanced to Jean again. <I figure we did our job. Not much else t'be said.>


Serenity relaxes when Jean pushes a little harder with her empathy but she fidgets a little. She's not felt at ease in a really long time so the feeling is more than just a little strange to her. She actually looks confused for a moment. She blinks once and closes her eyes to replay what Rogue just said in her mind since she hadn't been listening at all. She finishes her song then tentatively looks up at Rogue. "You teach at a music school?" She looks between the two of them curiously now.


Jean seems impressed with Rogue's handling of this unexpected turn of events, as she lets her empathic push ease on Serenity. She points towards Rogue, "she's the one who does music, but it's only if you're interested. We just liked your music," Jean says, brushing off too much interest, she follows Rogue's advice in not bothering with conversation. This one just might be a long term project. Maybe it's something to do with music types, Dazzler also pretty much flipped the X-Men the finger the first time they tried to recruit her, and that was a much more extravagant affair.

"Thank you for playing some Patsy Cline, rare for someone so young to appreciate her work," she starts to turn to leave, not telling Rogue anything, giving her a chance to bond with Marie without her presence. It was clear she didn't hit it off well with Serenity.


Rogue flashed a grin at the girl, glanced sidelong to Jean as the lovely redhead added some more information and then turned to leave. Rogue's green eyes went back toward Serenity then. "She's Jean. I'm Anna-Marie. Or just Marie. Some even call me Rogue, which… well, that's neithe'ah here nor there." She placed her cigarette back between her lips for another inhale of smoke and then shot it out, tilted chin upward so the smoke went skyward.

"Music is just one'a many course we offe'ah. And we got some forme'ah students who've gone a long way in the industry, so the connections run deep there. If it sounds interestin', hit us up. If ya need a ride even, just ring us and we'll send a car to whereve'ah ya're hangin' out."

Rogue flashed the girl a big grin. "Love your tunes. I bettah keep up with Red there, she's my ride." Rogue offered a light wave of her left gloved hand, then turned to walk along with Jean… leaving it entirely up to Serenity as to what she wants to do with her future.

Rogue leaned over and bumped shoulders with Jean again, just cause.


Serenity actually smiles when Jean thanks her. "Oh you're welcome. I mean who doesn't love Patsy Cline? She's amazing. My mother…" She shakes her head as though to clear it and lets the comment about her mother drift off rather than being finished as she has to fight down the profound sadness that wells up any time she thinks about her mother. She glances up at the departing women then sets down her guitar beside her.

Serenity presses her hands on either side of her thighs on the fountain. She lets her hair fall forward and stream around her face to hide her grief.


Jean does delay a moment before leaving when Serenity takes the time to speak to her, smiling warmly at the girl as she gives an indication of the link to her knowing Patsy Cline, "indeed, she had quite the voice," Jean concurs, before asking, "I take it she was a fan? Psychology is actually more of my subject, if you need a weight lifted from your heart, I'd be happy to listen to you." She makes the offer, but doesn't press, Serenity has the card Rogue left for her in case she feels inclined to investigate the Xavier Institute. For the time being, it seems giving the girl time to process her own thoughts is the best course of action.

As Rogue joins Jean when the two move away from Serenity, Jean wraps an arm around Rogue's shoulders and gives her a one armed embrace, squeezing at her shoulder affectionately, <you did better than I did, Rogue, and to think you wanted to leave…what would I do without you?> She thinks to her teammate.


Rogue grinned toward her friend when the arm went around her shoulders, her leather jacket and hair kept any sort of dangerous contact at a near-zero chance! <Hey. I didn't want t'leave so much as I needed t'weigh my options. I'm a hot commodity, ya know?> She grinned at the redhead to her side and put her aviators back on over her eyes. "Hot dog time!" She announced then, meaning to aim them toward a nearby food vendor.


With the grief already welling up inside her, Jean's question about her mother sends the tears she was trying to suppress streaming down her cheeks despite her attempts to control them. No answer comes to the questions for Serenity cannot form the words. Since she can never forget the sounds, Serenity does not like to hear grief in her own voice. Her shoulders begin to shake with silent tears as she struggles at least to keep her grief silent. She leans forward and moves her hands to brace against her knees instead as all the pain she refuses to speak aloud practically screams wordlessly for release in her mind.


With Serenity breaking in tears when Jean asks about her mother, she moves a little closer, and whispers, "It's okay…" reaching to embrace Serenity, assuming she's a little bit too taken with grief to really become abrasive at her touch. The girl looks like she needs some comforting. She does a brief telepathic scan of Serenity to ascertain whether her mother died, or is estranged.


Rogue watched this unfold and she glanced back toward the hotdog vendor as he started to roll his cart further away. She grimaced at the sight of the sweet meats getting further and further away, but she looked back and tilted her head then. THIS, was definitely not Anna-Marie's strong-suit, dealing with people who are in tears. "Hey. Uh… Sorry if… something… You're uh… Music was great!" She smiled then and tilted her aviators down to peer out from behind them.


An attempt to scan Serenity's mind finds it oh so incredibly cluttered. Everything she's ever experienced since she was a toddler is there waiting to be touched and felt all over again. Despite the girl's best efforts, Jean's embrace draws a sound of raw agony from her.

It helps Jean's search for information, that sound since it is a sound Serenity cannot help but associate with a time when her memories of her mother were fresh. One such memory is drawn forward, the last one. Serenity's hands lift toward her ears as the memory runs through her mind, clear as when it happened.

Mother and daughter driving in a terrible rain storm. "Mother, please. You have to explain. I don't understand. Please." Her mother looked away from the road at her daughter for just a second too long as she tried to explain, "Serenity, I know you love him but he's just not… OH MY GOD!" She looked back to see the vehicle out of place. The wheel is jerked to bring them back to the proper place but on the wet roads, the overreaction sends them spinning off the road and down and embankment. Serenity's memories become a jumble as a freak failure of the seatbelt sends her flying from the car, striking her head and losing consciousness.


Jean isn't trying to be invasive, so she's mostly looking at a surface level to see whether Serenity experienced the loss of her mother. But when one memory proves so powerful it jumps at her, there isn't much she can do but let it show itself to her. She tightens her embrace of the girl and whispers in her ears, "it's all good, you're here, you're alive, and you're not alone…there are people who would love to stand with you. To have you stand with them. To be your family. You don't have to be alone…" it's only a moment later that Jean would finally reveal to Serenity that she has powers of her own when she speaks to her telepathically for the first time, <I have experienced losses. Great losses. Being alone only makes it worse…why don't you try and visit Xavier Institute? See what it's like…you don't have to stay.>


Serenity physically jumps at the sound of Jean's voice in her mind. She starts to pull away then stops. <Xavier's… Wait. That's a school for mutants. You've made a mistake. I'm not a mutant. Why would you think I'm a mutant?>

Wariness begins to drive Serenity to shut down again. Even though she wants to believe Jean means well, she cannot help doubting the woman's sincerity. Or at least her motivations. It's a conflict since Serenity really doesn't want to continue to be alone either.

She gently pushes her way free of Jean's oh so comforting embrace. "I'm sure it's a great school for the people it was meant to help." She isn't sure of any such thing but it's the polite thing to say right?


<Who said anything about you being a mutant…?> Jean's voice asks Serenity, still in her head, <I said we could help with your pain, with your loneliness, Rogue over there suggested helping with your music…what does any of that has to do with you being a mutant?> The question linger as Jean releases Serenity when she struggles free of her embrace, she was trying to calm the girl, not fight her. "If you have ill feelings about mutants, it is your choice, an unlearned one, but still yours. I'm not going to help you with it, but you're in pain…Marie…and I," she looks at Rogue, "we," and then back at Serenity, "can help. Only if you want to. You have our card, think about it for a few days…a visit won't hurt, right? What better way to learn the truth than on your own, rather then the words of others?" It's an offer, Jean could, if she wanted, calm the girl. She could make her believe her fondest wish as to go with Rogue and herself. But that wasn't Jean Grey, and that wasn't Xavier's Dream. The girl was given an overview of what is offered, it is for her to decide to take or reject the offer.

"Thank you again for playing that wonderful Patsy Cline song for us, I hope to hear you play it again someday…maybe you can teach me how to sing it properly," Jean offers playfully leaving it to the girl to remember if she shared her feelings of Jean's singing ability or not.

Turning to Rogue, Jean starts to walk away, "so, you were saying we should go for hot dogs, right?"


Rogue stood by and watched the both of them, her aviators resting down on the tip of her small nose. She seemed to be just standing-by now. She did occasionally look off to the side here and there when people would go by, always playing the game in her head 'Spot the Hottest Guy'.

When Jean spoke to her she flashed a grin and pushed her sunglasses back up over her eyes. "You know it. I got a pow'ahful need t'eat me a tasty dog." She said these words in her thick southern tones, laced with that husky voice of hers.


Serenity looks down at the card in her cap then rubs at her cheeks to scrub at her cheeks. She closes her eyes and tries not to think for a while as she lets them walk away from her.

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