15077/Trying to find the answers.

Trying to find the answers.
Date of Scene:	13 May 2023
Location:	Backyard - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Angelica introduced Copycat to Penance in hopes to help the latter.
Cast of Characters:	Firestar, M, Copycat, Phoenix

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Firestar has posed:
It took a bit to get it all taken care of, but Angelica finally manages to get the three of them together. She walks with Vanessa and talks in an easy conversational tone,"It is tricky, but we managed to find a way to communicate. I just think you will be able to do it easier and maybe find a way to help her too."

The duo walk around the corner of the house and Angelica indicates Penance when she sees her. As they draw near she tells Penance,"This is my friend Vanessa. She's willing to try and help."

M has posed:
The grounds are where Penance prefers to spend her time. Mostly because she's less likely to damage anything or hurt anyone.

And so, the red-skinned mutant prowls. Almost literally as she sometimes just ends up moving in some variation of 'all fours.' Hunched down, talon-like fingers adding to her support. In part, it's to make herself smaller. It's a protectionary measure. And in the moment, she's watching some students off by the baseball diamond, playing a game.

When Angelica speaks, Penance looks over to her. Then to Vanessa. She nods understanding.

Copycat has posed:
Copycat Nods her head " So is she in a coma or something that's why she can't comunicate what's going on here? " she asks then she spots the woman " Oh " She says softly as she cocks her head .. She slowly walks closer and looks over "Would it be okay if I grabbed your hadn a moment? "

Firestar has posed:
"Not exactly." Angelica replies to Vanessa question. When she notes that Penance responds to them. When Vanessa asks about taking Penance's hand Angelica tells the other quietly,"She is my friend. She won't hurt you. It's a little strange at first, just be patient."

M has posed:
Clearly, it's not Vanessa that Penance is concerned about. She crouches there, looks at one hand then the other. There's a long moment, but finally she curls her talons in against her hand as tightly as possible and reaches out her arm.

A bit of leather is still missing from when she sliced it away the other day, baring some red skin at her wrist. This is what she proffers to Vanessa to touch; trying to stay away from any of her sharp parts.

Copycat has posed:
Copycat Blinks as she touches the arm for a moment and closes her eye's , After all she copies people.. she dosn't just copy your powers.. she copys who you are and how you think.. even your memories so she touches the other mutant and triest to download what she can.. though she has to close her eye's to keep herself from shifting into the other person right away .

Firestar has posed:
Waiting patiently, Angelica can do very little to faciliate more than introducing the two women. She just watches as things progress quietly and waiting to see what comes of things.

M has posed:
Darkness. Loneliness. Pain. *Years* of it. This dominates almost all else in Penance's memories. Kept isolated, trapped, in a pocket dimension only to be fed on by a mutant -- Emplate, her *brother* -- because of her regeneratize capabilities. A process that slowly turned her into what she is now. The day she was freed was the day she arrived at Xavier's; a rip in the fabric of space and time opened and she was thrust through it without fanfare.

But as Vanessa copies Penance, she will find more. Before Emplate took her away, she was Monet St. Croix: alumni of Xavier's and a powerful mutant in her own right who has been missing for three years and presumed... well presumed to be jetsetting or whatever. Monet, in her bitchiness, has no resemblance to Penance who showcases all the trademarks of someone abused for a long period of time.

It's a mind in need of healing, a lot of it. Even were she in her own form, chances are she would be the mute, telepathic-resistant creature she is now. It's all a subconscious means of protection.

Copycat has posed:
     Tears start to run down her face she shifts a little and frowns slowly shifting back.. having taken on Penance's skin color not her own .. She shudders feeling that pain. She knows it herself better than most but Penance, got a enough for several people .. She gasps and lets go shivering.. and bites her lip "I'm sorry " Is all she can say her own eye's haunted for a moment .. She holds her head a moment kneeling trying to come to grips with the pain she feels..

     she kneels to fight for herself it's a side effect of her powers she sometimes shifts withut wanting too.. what's more the poor girl has ALOT of pain makes it hard! But she shudders " She was a student here " .

Firestar has posed:
When she starts to cry and shift, Angelica moves to her, kneeling behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder. She knows Vanessa's power can be a double edged sword so she doesn't seem too surprised, concerned sure enough.

Her gaze back to Penance and with her free hand she holds it palm out,"Give us a second." she tells her softly. Her attention to Vanessa,"Can you tell Jean about that? Get it to her since she seems to be resistant to the telepaths or do I need to get you to bed and talk to Jean about it?"

M has posed:
This was not what she was expecting. Likely the mutant that was Monet assumed it'd be like her telepathy in that life; able to just observe, detach from the memories and emotions.

Penance shrinks back onto herself. She doesn't flee, but she looks quite tempted. One red-clawed hand starts to reach out in sympathy as well, but she retracts before hurting anyone. Instead, those big blue eyes look very, very apologetic.

Copycat has posed:
Copycat Sniffles and shakes her head she looks to Penance " No she's strong " She says looking at Penance with her own eyes' now blue just like her own.. Some parts of her shifting... She becomes how Penance used to see herself she becomes Monet. She looks over "She was Monet St. Croix " She motions " This is what she looks like.. this is who she is " SHe looks to Penance " She needs help is all "

Firestar has posed:
When Vanessa seems better, Angelica gives her a little squeeze to her shoulder and rises again. Her gaze finds Monet again and she tells her,"All right. We need to talk to Jean, maybe get her out here if possible, right now. Then probably we're going to need someone more magically inclined. Illyana or maybe Dr. Strange. I am just guessing here, this is outside science for me."

M has posed:
The secret is out, but so far it's of no help to Penance. She barely moves, looking between Angelica and Vanessa. Back and forth between them.

Her hunched stature speaks to still feeling guilty, still feeling bad for Vanessa experiencing everything. She hunkers down, digging her talons into the dirt. As if doing so will ensure no one gets hurt; accidental or otherwise.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey steps into the backyard, having received a text message from Angelica. Something about Penance, the new student, which has her concerned. She's here as quickly as she can, peering around with some concern, and once she spies Angelica,she makes her way towards her and the others. Spying Vanessa and Penance as well, Jean nods to them, gaze lingering the longest on the latter. "Hello girls, is everything alright?"

Copycat has posed:
     That's the thing one moment she's her white-haired blue self the next she's somebody else, somebody Penance and Jean might know as she moves over and kneels to touch the other woman " It's okay I know I know " she says brightly as she looks " this is your, this is the you on the inside we'll get you the help you need " .

     https://tinyurl.com/29mbbwth

Firestar has posed:
The look of relief when Jean arrives is impossible to miss. Angelica tells her softly,"Ms. Grey. Glad you were close." she tells her. Most of her attention is on Jean, but she remains mindful of the other two as well.

She indicates Penance and tells Jean,"She's Monet St. Croix." Angelica tells Jean,"She was a student here as I understand it. I never knew her, but I did hear the name somewhere,"Apparently someone did this to her. I don't know if we can fix this without magic, but I don't know much about that either."

M has posed:
Everything is certainly *not* all right. Vanessa has been crying. Penance is just shy of freaking out. And poor Angelica is trying to hold it all together. Hopefully no new empaths have moved in recently or else they're in for a field day of overwhelming emotions.

When Copycat-as-Monet steps over toward her, Penance is stunned for a moment. She starts to backpedal, but can't quite fast enough before she's face to face with... herself. At least the self she knew.

Unable to help herself, she lifts one of those be-taloned hands to touch Vanessa's cheek, as if unable to believe what she's seeing in spite of understanding the other woman's powers. The talons are sharp and a cut swift... but Monet's powers include regeneration so even if it hurts, it won't hurt long.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey blinks slowly at Vanessa's transformation, which looks nothing like Penance. "Monet St Croix? hmm, I have heard of her, she was one of Emma's students when she ran Generation X.."

She frowns softly at the thought, shaking her head. And of course she can feel Penance's pain as she cries, being one of the strongest empathy out there..

"Penance? What's wrong?" she keeps her voice steady, trying not to crowd the crying girl, her voice gentle, soothing. she is indeed an empath, and it's likely she can project emotions as well as sense them.

"What hapoened here?"

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa has a healing factor already so when she takes Penance's it's just super bost so by the time she turns to look at jean her cheek is already healed hell she barley noticed the pain.. as she touches Penance's cheek softly she looks over " I found out who she is ..I copied her.. She can talk through me .. I .. I know who she is and what happened " . She says softly "Your gonna be okay hun " She says to Penance.

Firestar has posed:
Holding it together is a stretch, but Angelica does her best to do that very thing. She starts to reply to Jean, but when Vanessa answers her Angelica just shrugs in that "What she said." way. Nothing the cut open and close instantly Angelica raises a brow thoughtfully, but doesn't comment just now.

M has posed:
It's difficult, seeing yourself when you *aren't* yourself. A disconnection that seethes. It's important, Penance can acknowledge that much at least. This is a step toward being and feeling whole again. But in the moment, she feels empty; divided; torn; directionless.

Jean's question just earns a long, wide-eyed look; the blue depths of those big eyes watery, giving them a variation in hue the otherwise pupil- and iris-less vessels are usually lacking. Even with the inability to speak aside it seems she's... well, speechless: both literally *and* figuratively.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey frowns, folding her arms as she watches Vanessa expectedly. "Okay then...Tell is what you learned. What happened and how did she become..This..?"

Copycat has posed:
Copycat Looks at Penance "it's up to you if you wanna say " She says softly to the woman " I know this is alot .. your thinking fast it's okay we wanna help " she smiles a little " She was trapped and tortured.. we have to go slow " She says softly

Firestar has posed:
This isn't blowing up things or burning things. She can't make a formula to help this along, so Angelica stays close to Vanessa even as she listens to the conversation. Her eyes to fall on Penance again and there is clearly a hurt there, not that she can feel her pain physically and she isn't an empath persay, she just hates to see other people hurt as a general rule.

M has posed:
So long as Vanessa still 'knows' her, Penance shifts where she's crouched as she tries to focus on the pertinent details. Each note, each tidbit of information comes with the memories.

<My brother took me. Again.> Those that knew Monet would be aware it wasn't the first time Emplate, her elder brother, had kidnapped her. <His condition means he has to feed... on mutants.> And her regeneration made her a good meal.

It's not Penance speaking, per se. It's Penance focusing on the right memories and Monet, perhaps, 'speaking' to Vanessa. <This is what I became. What I *had* to become to survive.> A creature with diamond-hard skin, regenerative capabilities, and the telepathic resistance to fight her brother.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey frowns softly. "Yes, Emplate, I have heard the name..So he is back then? I thought he was defeated.." dead, banished, the details are fuzzy but..

"Then your brother did this to you again? or you transformed into this form to protect yourself..?"

She smiles, "Don't worry Penance, We will protect you, all of you. You are safe here.."

Copycat has posed:
Copycat She moves closer and just hugs the other woman no worries of her hurting her just hugs the other girl softly for a long moment " Were here okay .. Like jean said it's safe here.. " she grins " We can help " She seems to have an idea how she can help but she's unsure and looks up " I will help " hshe says to her " Best I can.. I'm new to my powers but I will do my best "

Firestar has posed:
Though usually the quiet one, the soft touch, when Angelica is angry the fire in her changes to something very cool...almost emotionless,"Let him try." She says in an even tone,"If he comes here he can find out what real fire is."

The quiet one, but also the defender when it comes to others. While she and Penance don't know each other well, she can somewhat understand where she is coming from and that makes the protector come out.