14161/From Southern Belle to Southern Hell in one conversation...

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From Southern Belle to Southern Hell in one conversation...
Date of Scene: 01 March 2022
Location: Hank's Lab - X-Men Base
Synopsis: Rogue goes to Hank to let out some frustrations. Cuddle times lead to panic as her powers turn back on. It's a Blue Rogue!
Cast of Characters: Rogue, Beast




Rogue has posed:
Regardless of whether or not Hank is in his lab right now, Rogue storms through the doors and flops down onto one of the beds and lets out a very huffy huff of a breath. She's fuming, and she looks like she's all sorts of angry but with nowhere to shove it. After the flop down, she sits up and begins muttering under her breath about cajuns and how stupid they are. Maybe a thought or two about men who think with the wrong brain in general. She probably should have just gone to the gym to beat one of the punching bags into submission, maybe put a certain Cajun's face on it for good measure. But no, she came to Hank's lab, and actually manages to get into his stash of twinkies. She knows where you hide them, Blue Meanie!

Beast has posed:
On the top shelf of the machine that looks like it's some kind of science-fiction odd calibration device, but is in fact... a coffee machine. A rather fancy sort of single-cup dispensor of his own creation that swishes fresh grounds into a pod-like device and fills a fresh cup with perfection. There. At the back, behind the creamer. And she doesn't even need to hop up on anything or hang like a monkey to get them, she just has to fly up a couple of feet and grab.

Hank IS here, but at this precise moment, judging by the freeze frame and massive eyes behind the magnifying goggles he's wearing, along with the myriad of wires attached to a belt and the distorted undulating bubble of lighter blue energy, he MIGHT be trying to see if she's like a T-rex in the jurassic park version. Don't move and she can't see you? He pokes a couple of buttons on his belt, adjusts a knob and unfortunately manages to make all his fur and hair stand up on end.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue tears into the wrapper of the claimed twinkie, turning around just in time to be mid-bite when she finds Hank...looking like a fuzzy ball of puff. She can't stay mad when this is what her sight is being subjected to, and there's a giggle that comes from her while she finishes the bite into the twinkie. "What in the world are you doin', Hank?" Asking this while moving to sit back down in a chair this time, tucking her legs up underneath herself. "Somethin' to do with electricity yeah? Which is why all your hair is now standing on end?" Asking this, with another bite of twinkie taken and she seems to settle back in her seat a bit more as well.

Beast has posed:
Cheesy grin. Lots of pearly whites on display and his oversized lower fangs. "Electromagnetic energy, combined with static energy, based on tesla's principles. I'm trying to create a mono-ionic biosphere barrier. With the right frequency, it would have two purposes -- one to protect an individual or vehicle from localized electro-magnetic discharge, such as an EMP or a personal individual from biomagnetic field interferance. Instead of the person's biomagnetic sphere being compromised they'd be tackling the mono-ionic barrier." He says, matter of factly, though he's looking left and right at his forearms and down at his chest. "I must look like the weirdest plushie from Monster's INC right now. Fiddling with the shield generator is a fine art of fiddling with knobs and looking like a dandilion, I'm afraid."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue seems to relax even more as Hank explains what he's doing. She kinda gets it, not completely, but sort of. Likely enough that she doesn't ask questions, even though there's likely a few running through her mind. The twinkie helps too, of course, to calm her down just a bit. Not to mention, Hank hasn't brought attention to her temper, he's just talked to her like she's not any sort of emotional wreck - which could mean one thing or the other - and she doubts it's because he doesn't care but more so there's not any more focus being put into what's got her upset. Don't fuel the fire and it will eventually simmer down. "How close are you to getting it to work like you want?"

Beast has posed:
"Ohhh, gracious. Months. Months and months. Yonkers even. I only just started fiddling with the prototype this morning. Hence why I look like I'm an extra from the invasion of the very poorly made belt-wearing robots from the Outer rings. But I'll get there in the end." Hank replies with a cheerful tone, turning the knob and pressing a different combination of buttons and examining what his periphery vision can tell him of his hair status and the blue nimbus. Less fluctuation, barely visible but keeps shorting out in places. Non-intact biomagnetic shield, check. He spends a few moments smoothing down his hair, which gives off little crackles of static here and there, then touches a metal surface with a soft 'pop' of transferred electricity. "Yee-hee! Right then..."

Holding up a finger, he hops onto one of the poles and scurries up to a higher device and fiddles with a few things, holding onto it just with his feet, taps data into one of the data pads up there, then sommersaults down and humming heads over to a multi-tubed distillation device, attached to several compressed gas cannisters. It's over by the centrifuge, so it might be something related to pathology work. Then he slaps a flask underneath a nozzle and waits as caramel coloured liquid that bubbles and fizzes, dispenses into the container. It's brought over and .... a straw gets plunked in as he hands it over. "Cherry limeade soda at your disposal. So. I am going to take a wild leap of logic and assume that Remy was a twonk again?"

Rogue has posed:
"Of course you will. These is the sort of thing you do. Build, test, tweak, test, tweak a little more, test, untweak, test...and then you suddenly have a working thing that does what you wanted it to do. Perhaps even more than depending." Rogue offers, watching him as he does a few more things here and there before he finally touches a ball of metal and all seems to go back to normal. Then she watches as he inputs something here and ... fills a flash up there. A tilt of her head is given when he plonks a straw into the flask and presents it to her, but when he says what's inside, she flushes.

"You remembered.. I mean it's you so of course you remembered, but you also...made something so I could have it on tap any time? That's... really sweet of you, Hank." She smiles then, taking a sip and wiggles in her chair some, happily so. "It's delicious. And yes. You're right. I mean it's partly my fault, cause I told him why my powers aren't working right now, but he just... he really laid into me. And I get it... I need to be careful... but there's telling me because you care and...telling me but also make me feel like trash on the ground being stomped on by every boot in the world."

Beast has posed:
"Yes, well, erm... Remy isn't known for his tact. More for his libido and way with being a criminal lethario. I'm sorry you got treated like that..." but there's a grin "...but of course on the soda. I actually just had to callibrate the syrup mixture to get the taste right, but now that I know what you like it was a matter of just coding the levels. I don't keep regular glasses in here and the straw's metal, but sometimes you need a soda in the middle of science." And therefore, he bows with a flourish over his rolling wrist and hand.

"I have to admit though," he says as he straightens. "I've always wondered how Gambit doesn't perpetually swagger from all the low-blows. Both the ones that tumble off of his tongue and the ones he's inevitably had when someone kicks him in the voonerables. Are you okay now?"

Rogue has posed:
"Yes well. Points to me for not lying to him, but part of me feels like I should have. I might have avoided such tongue lashing." Rogue offers and then takes another sip of her cherry limeade. "Really good job, this tastes nice. I like it." A smile then before she giggles at the last comment Hank makes. "Yeah well, if he didn't watch himself he'd be crawlin' back to his damn boathouse rather than swaggerin'.."

She does take a moment to consider that last question and then nods her head. "Yeah. I'm good now. Thank you, Hank." This much said as she sips more from the flask. "Did you do anything else today or just work on that bio manipulator thingie?"

Beast has posed:
"I'm glad it meets with the Anna-Marie seal of approval," Hank offers, slipping onto one of his stools by one of his monitors and checking briefly on the data gleaned from his experiment, meaty hand entirely encapsulating his jaw as he peers at the screen. A bit of rapid typing afterwards, some programming later, and he's removing the gadget and letting the computer do some of the analysis and mathematical hooplah for him. It's set on a workbench and he slides himself onto one of the stools nearby, hooking heels onto the rung. "Mostly just this, but I've also been running a few background programs, looking at this or that. That and surfing the news. I'm rather glad to say that the powerplant in Keflye, Africa, hasn't exploded, so clearly I didn't send the damn thing into meltdown. With the work on the hydro-electric power grid there, it looks like the nation'll slowly be up and running again. Avengers work -- although sometimes I wonder what the heck I get myself into. I didn't tell you about that, did I?" He coughs.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue takes a moment, while he's finishing up his work stuff for the moment and pulls out her phone to check messages and social media a moment. Sipping on her drink every so often, letting herself just relax and hang out while Hank works. She could get used to this, really. Just hanging around while Hank does his thing, keeping him company but not being in the way. "I'm not in the way while I'm sitting here, I hope. I'm sure you'd tell me, and warn me away if you didn't want anyone in here...but....I kinda like this. It feels... I feel relaxed in this room. Can't imagine why." She offers and then considers when he talks about the power plant in Africa. "You might have mentioned it. I think you were fresh off the job at that point, and I might have distracted you with flirty kisses and made your brain go all mushy..." She grins then, as if she's really happy about that fact.

Beast has posed:
"Indeed. There was much hijacking of my frontal lobe and misfiring of my ability to speak in coherant sentences. I heartily approve of that," Hank grins, but shakes his head. "You're not in the way. You're /never/ in the way Anna-Marie. Just remember that, ok?" He swings himself off the stool and leans the short distance, given that she's still ungloved and apparently safe to touch, to give a kiss -- cherry-lime flavoured as it might be, sweeping his clawtips through the abundance of auburn curls. A little rowl at the back of his throat, felinesque and he leans back again with a softer expression, gaze a bit misty. Making the most of that whilst he still can? Yep. He settles back onto the stool, albeit it seems a bit reluctantly.

"If you like, I could teach you in biohazard PPE nursing... not that you're actually going to need to be in full PPE, but the practices and techniques of keeping yourself out of contact with someone else's skin and bodily fluids could help if you wanted to help out here at any time. Occasionally, it'd be good to have a very strong pair of extra hands when I'm having to do triage and surgery." He leaves it hanging and utterly up to her, of course.

"...But ah... yes. I suppose if you have to get two critical infrastructures up and running in a crippled state, sending myself and Tony Stark in, are reasonably logical choices. I did enjoy playing bowling for mercenaries with a tank though."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue would protest that a bit but before she can, she's being kissed, and she returns that kiss and feels fingers brush through her hair. Oh that feels nice, she's missed being able to enjoy the touch of another. As the kiss breaks and he settles back she takes a deep breath in and lets it out slowly before busying herself with her soda for a moment.

"I think I could handle that. Helping you out with triage and such..surgeries if need be. Could also help you if you're working on some equipment and need a bit of a stronger hand." Rogue offers this much with a nod. "It'd be nice to pull my weight around here a little bit more, especially since I don't really have a class of my own and the kids seem fairly well behaved. Heh."

There's a final nod to his last statement before letting it lie where it lands. She watches Hank for a moment and then looks around the lab before, "Jeeves? Will you lock the door and switch off the cameras in the lab?" Asking this and then she holds up a finger at Hank, taking the last few sips of her drink before setting the flask aside. "It doesn't have to be much...but I have a sneaky feeling this whole pause on my abilities isn't going to last much longer...and I want to take as much advantage of it as I can before I have to work on it all over again. So..." She motions. "You wanna cuddle for a bit?"

Beast has posed:
"Of course, Anna-Marie." That voice from the speaker sounds a little bit amused, as the magnetic lock engages and the red lights from the cameras in the medbay go offline.

Hank arches an eyebrow, points at one of them that's still winking an occasional blue pulse and waggles a finger at it. "Keep the corridor sensors on though, just in case. And for heaven's sake, warn us, if someone's going to start knocking urgently, okay?" "Okay. I didn't really need to be told that, you know." "This is what I get for giving my AI a bit of sass..." laughing softly, Hank takes a deep breath and lets it out in a guff of air, giving a little smile with his head tilted that's just shy of bittersweet. Appreciating the moment, no doubt. The medbeds are a bit narrow, but he keeps a wider hospital cot in here, for times when he's doing 24 hour shifts and needs a catnap. Most beds don't quite hold up to his width, more than his weight. He even hangs up his labcoat on a peg, leaving him in a plain old white T-shirt and comfortable sweats. It's rare that he ever wears shoes about the manse, his feet are far more useful when they're nekkid. He settles on the edge of the cot bed, pats the side next to him and kind of swings up in one rolly motion. "Cuddling is a hundred percent a valid use of time."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue giggles. "Aww, but I like sassy Jeeves. Little personality never hurt an AI..." Rogue offers this while looking around, and maybe the medbay isn't the *best* place in the world for the two of them to cuddle, but she also wasn't of the mind to really have them leave to go anywhere else. Time is of the essence, considering she has no idea when her powers are going to snap back to life. Never the less, as he settles on the bigger cot, and makes that comment about cuddling, she smiles and moves to join him after he gets himself all settled. Him big spoon, her little perhaps, and she nestles back against him for the moment. "Don't know when we might be able to do this again without me having exposed skin...plus...I like when my hair is played with...so you kinda hit a spot without knowing..."

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy's bicep makes a fantastic and large pillow. She isn't all that much shorter than him though, which means the spooning isn't an overarching thing. And damn, he's warm. Fur coat and all that, with a naturally slow heartbeat and very large lungs. His breathing is almost a sedative if you listen to the rhythm of it. He props his head on his left hand, so he's a little propped up and sets to a bit of scalp scratching and hair combing with his claws retracted. They're still little sharp hooks of scritchiness though, despite that, as any cat-owner knows.

"I felt like Tony's AI was too compliant. Besides, then it ended up being Vision and that was a whole other bag of strange. So, Jeeves is a combination of Jeeves and Wooster." He explains, leaning down to sniff her hair a bit, the fragrance from the scalp. He actually smells rather simple; mild fabric softener, clean shower-gel smell that has hints of rosemary and the odd aromas of equipment, which do sometimes leave their own particular tang. Electrical stuff, in particular. "There's always the shower cubicle of Doom, but I imagine there's a dulling of sensation there and it's not exactly a hundred percent foolproof." He murmurs.

Rogue has posed:
Queue the little noises that a Rogue can make when she's actually throughly relaxed and content. They're just murmurs, but they can seem a bit weird seeing as how they're not sounds she usually makes. Her hair scents of floral and coconut, but there's a sort of woodsy scent about her as well - that would be her perfume. Not much, a little spritz, enough to tantalize the senses. Though she's also trying to be lighter with it still because she's sure Hank has sensitive nose and such. "I've used the shower box a few times, but...I think I want to try and focus more on getting my emotions in check. I've been thinking...and I have a theory...because of where and how it all seems to work. We can talk shop later though..." She offers this and snuggles back into him, taking in his warmth against the slight chill of the lab - and the outside really.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy's senses are acute. Not quite as strong as Wolverine's and he doesn't regularly make a fuss about them, but yes. He can track almost as well as the angry canuck and his hearing is as sensitive. His night vision though, has Logan beat. It's probably only matched by Jax or Kit; the joys of having genetic atavism. She can't see it, but each of those little sounds makes his ears twitch, shift and move just a little to focus on the sound. Another soft sniff though and he exhales warmth, bending his head just a measure enough to let his nose get tickled by auburn. He lays off the scalp scritches then though, in favour of an arm around her, brushing occasional knuckles against her chin in the snuggle. "I'm just glad it was able to give you what you needed then." He offers, gazing over at the computer that's working through data, his glasses slipping down his nose. "Although it is a messy solution."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is getting comfortable, content, and letting down all her guards. Perhaps too much and for too long. Enjoying a moment of normality that was not meant to last simply because she hasn't gotten a hold on her actual powers just yet - a thing she is still working on. So as she nuzzles back and he nuzzles her head, what is just a normal touch...begins to tingle. Her eyes open wide as she can begin to feel that tingle, that knowing of how every contact of her against him will begin to drain his powers any moment. As this happens, she begins to panick, and in her panick it might begin to draw on his powers faster, because her emotions go all awry. Wiggling, she shakes her head as she scrambles to get off the bed from him. "No... no no no....damnit..." All other topics of conversation are out the window as she tries to save a Hank from herself.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy's breath hitches just a bit. "Damn..." one word he gets out, before with gritted teeth, his head flops backwards a bit and his muscles relax their grip on reality.

Two things: Recent memories of creating a bio-field electro-magnetic shielding was entirely inspired by the concept that magnetic field control could bi-pass bio-electric fields and allow disruption of such field-related abilities to take place. Scientifically speaking (with all that knowledge flitting into her head) magnetic field control would allow someone with a dangerous bio-electric field to physically touch someone else without negative effect. Not just about EMPS and personal shielding, but that's also a nifty side effect don't you think Henry? Being able to potentially diffuse a lightning strike or discharge around the personal EM field, would be quite awesome. Lots of potential uses that...

2nd: Really quite hungry. Hungry for red meat, potentially still warm. The hunt, the kill, the thrill, the stalk, the prey. And it sits underneath all the time, gleefully drowned out by twinkies, inventing things, fixing things, going for runs, reading, reading, reading, looking at pictures of a certainly lovely young mississipi beauty and the need to run in the wild. Every day. Before anyone sees, because you have to keep that secret. Don't. Give. In.

And a lot of fur. And fangs. And claws. And probably that's it for now, because she DID feel it coming.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue grabs onto the bed next to her and pants out a breath or few as the changes take place. Fur, blue fur, and fangs and claws. Then comes the recent memories, and the constant of everything else. The hunger, goodness her, the hunger. And what she's suddenly hungry for! She doesn't want to see the intimate thoughts and memories of her partner. Her friend. Yet there they are, and that glimpse of him looking at her. That just makes her 'awww' for a moment. Then she turns to look at Hank, a bit of fear in her eyes. "I'm sorry... Hank... I'm so sorry...I..." Shaking her head, she tries to breathe through it. She didn't know it was going to happen just then, but she was also stupid for not taking more precaution just in case. Her senses are in overdrive, her mind trying to think of a way to fix it (not that it will) and - well - she does the first thing that comes to mind. And sits in a chair.

Beast has posed:
He had brown hair once. Lookit. And blue eyes that didn't have slits. He's still very well built, because he WAS a linebacker and had a lantern jaw and well... no, you really can't say that Henry McCoy was what you'd call classically handsome. He really isn't. He's attractive enough, in that his features are even and he's proportionate, but when the world is filled with Lokis and Worthingtons and heck, even Summers in various incarnations, he's the guy next door. Pleasantly average. The only thing that wasn't EVER average about Beast was his brain. She can also see all the scars that are usually hidden, many on his face, a multitude on his arms, all of which are usually covered in fur. His hands have oodles of them, most of them old and faded.

But she didn't touch him for all that long, enough to get a drain going, enough to pick up his powers for a while, but also not long enough, much as with Logan, to really knock it all out for long. The fur that all fell out reasserts itself, his pupils, dazed as they were go from round to slitted and before she knows it, there he is again. Because he actually DOES regenerate, so recovery time is quicker. "Oh, my stars and garters..." mumbled.

Rogue has posed:
"My... you're a looker even without your fur..." Rogue offers with a smile, though the sight of all those scars has her looking a bit worried, even if most of them are all faded. Boy next door, indeed. Definitely Rogue's type. Especially with that brain... "Okay. First question... how long have you been admiring pictures of me?" She smiles. "Secondly... you are one hell of a person being able to withstand all...all.." She motions a hand around her head. "This. Goddess bless..." This gives her a more intimate look than she might ever want with anyone, and yet with Hank it makes her that much more appreciative. She never made fun of him, defended him with others tried, and knowing what she was protecting... means a little more to her then.

Still, she's shaking, filled with worry, and even as Hank regenerates what he lost, that's not going to help Rogue in the long run here. "Don't take this the wrong way... I don't think I can go anywhere looking like this. Less because I'm all blue and furry because that's just how things are, and more because people will know my powers were used on you...and that might get people to talkin'. I don't like it when people talk..."

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy swings his feet around to sit on the edge of the cot, giving a full body shake and a gurn of air and vocalization as the shake takes his head, too. He grasps the edge of the cot, a little hard, but his body's reeling. He squints over at her, then realizes his glasses fell off and sniffs, turning his head to spot'm and shove them back on, looking back. "Flattery will get you extra access to the super secret pumpkin spice twinkies," is what he says first. "And about since you started giving me the time of day. So about a year. Give or take." He pokes the glasses flush with a pinky finger, and makes his mouth a small purse. "Thank you. It's like pain. You build up a tolerance for it. I don't like that aspect about me, so I'd... I'd actually appreciate you not you know... making a bigger thing of it. Sorry you've had a whammy of it, without all my tricks for keeping it in check. Damned nuisance it is. Erm." Except that you're quite obviously a bit shaken, because you erm'd. Sssh. Maybe she won't notice that. It's an odd kind of telepathy, touching someone's person and enveloping thier brain...

He holds up a hand, pushes up from the cot and with a bit of a wobble, which he corrects with both arms out an an 'enough of that!' hand gesture of NOPE... goes over to his desk to write on one of his letterhead doctor's note pads. He signs with a flourish and hands it to her, which is probably meant to be humerous. 'I, Doctor McCoy, hereby state that the transient state of blueness sported by miss Rogue is entirely consensual and occurred during an experimentation. Any and all talk will be had with myself personally, because I can see you all on the cameras. HM.' It's handed to her. "You can scrunch it up and toss it in the bin if you like. You only touched me for about three to five seconds. It'll all wear off and fall out in about five minutes at most."

Rogue has posed:
"I won't make a bigger thing of it...I also cannot promise that I will forget it's a part of you. Though it might also disappear like most of the memories do once everything fades away." Except for Carol Dover. She had to get that memory locked up and away...and even then...well she pushes that all away for now. Rogue then has to smile and blush a little - though the coloration might be hidden by the blue. "Now I really wish I had said something a lot sooner. If I'd known you were sort of pining over me for a year..." She smiles. Then, she gets up and searches easily for rubber gloves, placing them on her hands, she moves back over to Hank and very carefully reaches to touch newly gloved hands against his cheeks. "I see you, Hank McCoy. In more ways than you likely ever knew." She smiles. "Anyway...this will pass...and we'll work on...moving forward...I just..." She almost pulls back, her range of emotions on a roller coaster. "...I hope you don't give up on me..."

Beast has posed:
"You do know you're talking to me, right?" With his cheeks embraced with rubber gloves. "Next time, get the vinyl examination gloves they're a heck of a lot more flattering." He offers, with a glance to the marigolds and back up to her. Then though there's just quiet, because he's smiling awkwardly with his cheeks cupped and looking up at her at the same time. "I haven't been able to quit twinkies, sodas and donuts. I am not a quitter. I'll be an old man vehemently denying going to Anonymous meetings!" Then there's a quieter "Sorry. I can't seem to stop the need to joke to deflect. I've always done that. I don't mean to lessen what you're saying." And to make a point of that, he reaches for her hair again, but before he does, he flexes his claws, extending them to their fullest. And so, to punctuate and conclude this moment, there's a hand through her hair, gliding over her and claw backs streaking lines over her scalp as that is dead tissue and has no biofield to effect. A touch without touching, concluded with a nod. "Never."