2091/Bullet Blasted Bodacious Buddies

Bullet Blasted Bodacious Buddies
Date of Scene:	20 August 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Voodoo, Rainmaker

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Voodoo has posed:
It's late at night, though not nearly as late at night as when Priss //used// to get off work. She has come down from the roof of the hotel's roof along the stairs, and is now making her way down the hallway, past the door to the large suite Sarah shares with her roommates, heading for her own door at the end of the hall, as she fumbles a bit for her keys.

Priss has been careful enough to sweep ahead of her with her empathy, making sure no one is hanging around in the hallway to see her current condition, as much to hide that she's wearing her Voodoo vigilante costume - what's left of it - as to hide the fact that there are large swaths of said costume that are now missing, with big holes on her left shoulder and the center of her chest, and huge swaths missing along her back, all showing unblemished mocha-colored skin and tattoo. It wouldn't be too hard to realize that said flesh wasn't previously so pristine looking, given the big blood stains on the fabric.

It's a mess.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Most people are involved in their own issues this time of night, either watching the game (5E) or the nightly fight between the couple (2G) or the, ah, very active older couple downstairs (4B). But generally, you're safe to sneak down from the roof.

    However, you do however, sense a familiar presence sharpen as you head past the Gen13 Party Suite (as Roxie keeps calling it), right before the door opens as Sarah pokes her head. "Priss! Hey, you're -" And that's about as far as she gets, before she takes in the damage to your costume, a spike of alarm and fear crossing her mind as she immediately steps out, not caring that she herself is definitely dressed for comfort more than walking outisde (as she's wearing a oversized t-shirt and underwear and that's about it this time of night).

    She hurries over to your side, reaching out to touch one of the huge holes, that sense of fear receding as she realizes you seem healed, and definitely relief, followed by a little surge of protectiveness mixing with the still existing concern as she glances around to visually check for anyone watching.

    She doesn't question though. That can wait until you're inside, though you can sense she's itching to snag the keys from you to get the door open that much faster and the two of you inside.

Voodoo has posed:
Priss feels as much as hears the door about to open, and turns to face her girlfriend, her face still completely hidden by her mask, while the rest of her is not so much, given the damage. "Hi, honey. Yes. I'm home." She doesn't address anything else, just stands still, letting Sarah reassure herself, touching her bare skin through the holes. Then she moves down the hall to her door, unlocking it and stepping inside.

Then Priss turns, and holds the door open for Sarah, closing it and locking it behind her, and tosses her keys in the little bowl on the table by the door. "Sorry for the shocker, Sarah. Can you give me a minute to peel this off? I still have no idea how much is salvageable." That said, she gives her girlfriend a kiss to her forehead, and then heads into the bedroom briefly to take off her gear, then peel out of the remains of her costume. Eyeing it critically, she goes to the bathroom, pulls out a bucket, and runs water in the shower until she gets hot water to fill it. She adds some special laundry soap to this, and then deposits the shredded garment inside and comes back to the living room and kitchenette area on bare feet.

"Sorry for that. I'm back, now." And that's all Priss says, because she knows Sarah needs to express herself. Priss will get her say eventually, but right now, she needs to open the way for Sarah to react; she has been so good containing it thus far, that's far enough.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah remains veerrrry patient through all of this, though she wanders after you a bit, like she doesn't want to let you out of her sight, just to remind herself you're there. Your calm helps her calm down a bit, though she leans in the doorway, her eyes flicking over your form as you bare even more of it than the costume already did, before she vanishes, returning with a little package of wet naps.

    When you come back to her, she lets out a low sigh, then reaches up to gently cup your face, leaning in to give you a soft, welcoming kiss. "Rough day, hmm?' she murmurs softly, trying to put some humor into her voice, even though inwardly she's still upset. She knows she is, and she's trying not to be, you can feel her trying to calm herself down, just so it doesn't leak to you and make you upset too. "Mmm...I'd say I'd try to wipe some of that off, but I think a shower might be simplest at this point..." she looks down at the almost artful curves and arcs of drying blood where the holes in the costume were, then reaches out to gently rest her palm against your belly, just...touching, before she looks back up into your eyes. "But I can get the worst off if you want to wait on that?"

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla pauses for only a moment, and then sides her arms completely around Sarah, encircling her and pulling her close as the kiss, tender, gentle, but brimming with an edge of 'need' continues. Then she nuzzles the other woman, and listens. She doesn't seem to mind that Sarah is upset; she doesn't prod at her to go ahead and burst out with tears or yelling, but she isn't wincing at the intense emotions, either.

"A shower would probably work better, it's true. But if I'm taking a shower, you should come with me." Priss doesn't explain why; she will, if asked, but she sees no need to put into words that she can tell the other woman needs to see her, needs to touch her, needs to feel with her senses that Priss is OK, despite what her head knows distinctly has to have happened. "You're right. It was a rough night. But it's over for now."

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah's arms slide around Priss, squeezing firmly for a moment, heedless of any mess that might mess her shirt. The offer to shower with her, though, that draws at least a little impish twinkle from the other woman's eyes as she looks back into yours. "Ah, well...someone needs to watch your back and those hard to reach places, after all...' she murmurs, before she shucks off the loose t-shirt, then her panties, nudging them into a little pile by the bathroom door, before taking Priss's hands, tugging her back inside to start the water. She glances at the remains of the costume in the sink, then murmurs. "I hope you've got a clothing allowance with the new job, because...I'm not sure you'll be able to save that...'

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla steps in under the water's spray and waits on Sarah, then closes the curtain. "I have no idea if there's a clothing allowance or not. But that isn't the only copy of that costume I have. I guess I can ask Abby about a clothing allowance later." That said, some time is spent just enjoying a hot shower, scrubbing herself and being scrubbed and even scrubbing Sarah a bit just for fun.

Up close inspection proves that there are no marks, no scars, nor even any distortions in Priscilla's flesh, no sign of what had to have been truly terrible injuries inflicted earlier that night. "I know it's freaky, and upsetting. I'm sorry. If it helps at all, we caught the guy who did this." Whether they'll manage to catch the person or persons who //hired// his sniper ass is a different question.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Priss will be able to feel Sarah calm down more as she's able to visually be sure of that, in the course of actually scrubbing. It does help to see that there really isn't a wound, even if she knows that there likely isn't given your abilities. "You might want to talk to Abby about something more durable and armored too, maybe. They must have all sorts of high tech fabrics and such that could help with that..."

    And of course, the scrubbing and playing gets her a bit flushed by the time it's done, before she just pauses to slide her arms around her lover, squeezing her gently as she presses up against her back, then kisses her shoulder quietly. "Was this someone after you, or was this someone you were hunting down for work?' she asks softly. "And yes, it is freaky and unsettling and I reserve the right as the woman who loves you to be a tiny bit freaked out when it happenes, even if I know you're a heck of a lot tougher than me." She sighs. "...does help that you caught him and hopefully tossed in him a cell where he's not going to hurt anyone else." she adds.

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla holds Sarah once she's ready for just holding, and cradles the other woman against her, brushing her lips against the Amerindian's forehead as they just embrace each other beneath the spray. Said spray will start to cool off soon, as the hot water heaters are not that great here, but for now good is good enough.

"I'm not as strong as Zealot, so I never went for the armor. It slowed me down a lot." Priss admits. But that was a good while ago. And even if she's no stronger now, she is one //Hell// of a lot faster, now. Blurringly fast, indeed. So a slow down from that is a lot more tolerable, one supposes, as long as Priss isn't expecting to catch speeding cars. "I'll ask, though."

"Since you asked," Priscilla offers, nuzzling Sarah a bit more, "I'm pretty sure he was after me //because// we were after someone else. He specifically caught me between my transfer point and the target. Not just depleted uranium, either. Jackass. //Explosive// shells. F**king things HURT!" Then she nods sharply. "But he's in a cell, and shouldn't be getting out." She's been doing this too long to say 'won't', however.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah lets out a little sigh as she tilts her head at the kiss a bit, then nuzzles back against Priss's neck lightly. "...mmm, then we might need to arrange to get your costumes in bulk, if nothing else." she says, with dry amusement, before her head tilts back up, eyes dancing as she tilts her head to the side to bare more neck for nuzzling.

    She winces at the explosive rounds. "...ow. Wow. That's a scary thought, snipers with explosive rounds hanging around to shoot whoever shows up.' she murmurs, another rush of sympathy and a little fear and protectiveness again. "Did the other one get away?" she says softly, rubbing the toned back under her hand, then, registering the cool water finally, reaches up to shut it off, then reaches out to snag one of the towels to begin gently drying off the mulatto woman sharing it with her. She's gone into pampering mode a bit at this point; she can't do anything about the (likely intense) pain of being shot by something like that, but she's trying to at least relax and comfort as best she can.

Voodoo has posed:
"Our original target?" Priscilla inquires, as she nibbles along Sarah's neck. "Yeah. They got away. We have a few sensor readings, but apparently not enough for the tech brains to track this person. Something like turning a cellphone off and yanking the battery, I guess." Priss, totally NOT a techno brain. Ever. Period. "But Abby is convinced we can get them. Right now, they are interrogating the sniper to see what they can learn." Note: they have not asked the telepath in on this questioning, since she's here.

"Mmmm. Thank you, honey." Priscilla offers, as the cooler water is shut off and the towel retrieved for the beginning of buffing one another dry. "I'm not sure how to order my costume in bulk. It's a custom fit." Priss' body proportions are not exactly catalog-friendly, after all. And that costume fits pretty much as painted-on from scalp to toes and everywhere in between. "But it's an idea, at least. I'll ask about armor and try some things out, and ask about the clothing allowance. If the armor just won't work, maybe we can investigate bulk ordering somehow."

Rainmaker has posed:
    "Sorry then hon, but maybe you'll get something from this guy still..." she says, kneeling down to rub down those lovely legs in question, then gently running a hand up the back of Priss's thigh as she plants a soft kiss on the other woman's hip, before straightening up again. "My pleasure...hmm, you'd think there must be something like supertailors out there who do this sort of thing professionally. You can't be the only girl in need of replacing her outfits at times." she muses, then nuzzles. "And I'm not saying I don't love the costume as it is, mind you." she teases. "Because you perfectly well how gorgeous I think you look in it." She's well aware she gets those hot little flashes of desire...so she figures Priss is perfectly used to it happening when she sees her in it.

    Well when she's not also covered in blood too, anyway.

    "We can figure something out." she says, hanging the towel up and standing still if Priss looks like she's going to do the same. "...are you enjoying it, Priss?" she says softly. "I mean...the new job?"

Voodoo has posed:
"We can hope." Priscilla offers, sighing as Sarah is so gently careful and solicitous, drying her off and then cuddling close. "Honestly, if there's some kind of 'supertailor' out there, I've never heard of him. Or her. Or whatever." Which doesn't mean they don't exist; Priss hasn't exactly circulated in the 'usual' metahuman circles, after all. Priss graces Sarah with another tender kiss and a wink. "I know you like the costume, honey. I like yours, you know." It isn't something they've discussed before, really. But it seems the right time.

"Mmm? Actually, yes. I am enjoying the new job. It's a lot different than working the club." Priscilla answers, as she slides her arms around Sarah and guides the other woman out towards the sofa in the living room, gathering the blanket off the back and stretching it out so that they can wrap up inside it. "In a way, it's really close to how it felt to be on the team, back then. Not quite so much the 'family' thing. But I get that here. But I'm making a difference, and in more than just getting some guy's jollies. It feels more like work worth doing."

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah flushes. "...my terrible missing my left leg costume?" she says with a little roll of her eyes, but smiles at Priss. "Yours looks way better, honestly. IF it wasn't all I had to wear when we escaped I might have not taken it." she admits., stepping back from the other woman, though still holding her hands, looking a bit pleased. "I'm glad. I think it'll be a lot more challenging to you too. No offense sweetie, but while you're an awesome dancer, I think the rest of you is wasted on -just- dancing. You have a lot more to you that deserves the chance to shine." she says, leaning in to nip the Priss's lips softly, before parting her own to deepen the kiss with a slow, gentle pressure. "Mmmmmm..."

    After a long moment, she pulls back again, sighing out softly. "It makes me really happy to know you're enjoying it." She ers. "...snipers aside, anyway."

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla tucks Sarah against her side and pulls up the blanket, wrapping it around them both as they snuggle on the sofa together. "Well, if I find anything about a 'supertailor', I will be sure to let you know so you can get a different costume made." she offers her girlfriend with a smile, nestled close.

"It's true. It is more challenging. I've done some vigilante stuff since I left the old team. But nothing like this. It's really stretching me." Priscilla admits. "I've been training harder, since. I guess I slacked off a bit, after leaving the team." It wasn't fun. Unpleasant memories of those she was missing.

"I'm glad I'm enjoying it, too. I wouldn't want to let down Abby, either. She pretty clearly needs the help. Works herself to the bone and forgets to eat, she works so hard." Priscilla comments.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah happily snuggles into the woman next to her as the blanket slides over, quite comfy with having nothing underneath to get in the way of being skin to skin. Touch, Priss has likely found by now, is one of Sarah's favorite things, her go to comfort; just being in contact, tracing, feeling, resting a hand...any of these seems to give her a sort of happy, content feeling, that sense of comfortable intimacy of letting someone touch her back she trusts.

    "Poor Abby..." she says thoughfully. "Maybe we could invite her out for dinner, or drinks, or something sometime? Sort of gently push her to take a break. Or she could come over for a movie night, maybe."

    She rests her cheek against Priss's shoulder comfortably, her arms sliding around the mulatto woman under the blanket. "She seems fun, she'd probably like a silly B-movie or something, as long as it didn't remind her of work too much.

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla too is an exceptionally 'touchy' person, as Sarah has surely learned by now. Her greatest comfort and pleasure comes from being in touch with others, though for Priss emotional connections are just as great as physical ones. Go figure, for the empath.

"I'm not entirely sure if she'd come when invited." Priscilla admits. "But it's not a bad idea. We should at least try, at some point. She is terrible at taking care of herself." Or taking time for herself. "Maybe once we find the right movie, we'll make the invite?" So as to make sure they pick one that avoids 'work' connotations.

Rainmaker has posed:
    "...well, we could kidnap her, I suppose..." Sarah says, a bit teasingly now as she ponders it. "She might take it amiss." Though there's something about that idea that sends the tiniest little thrill through Sarah nonetheless, even though she's not seriously considering it, though Priss has been around her enough to know that she at least finds Abigail attractive, though she has no plans of acting on it. "Hmmm...maybe you could sort of casually try to find out which types of movies she likes, so we could narrow it down?" she suggests, closing her eyes a bit. Mmmm, warm shoulder. "And what kind of food she likes...we could do takeout if it's too complex to make." Sarah's not the greatest cook either. She's alright, but only with a recipe.

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla snorts. "No. No kidnapping. She would definitely take that amiss, even with tickling afterwards." Abby can be very much a stickler for some things. "I'm pretty sure I can troll her a bit for food and movie suggestions, though. I'll let you know what I find." And Priscilla apparently has no problem with her girlfriend finding her boss attractive; Abby is cute, after all. And not against the idea herself, though Priss has never made an issue of that.

Priss settles in quietly for a bit, her fingers trailing through Sarah's long, dampened hair and across her bare shoulder beneath the blanket. Nestled together, she's quiet content right now. "So. We haven't really talked about it. With your new ID, you have a lot more options than before. Have you thought about what you want to do?" After all, Sarah has made such a point of improving Priscilla's life, they should work on Sarah's too. Maybe she can finally go to school?

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah mmms at the stroking, keeping her eyes closed so she can just focus on the soft sensations, nodding in agreement at Priss's promise to try and get some info out of said cute boss. She mmms, then seems quite happy to be silent for a bit, until Priss speaks again, which causes her to open her eyes, a flicker of suprise running through her. She tilts her head up so she can see the other woman's eyes, then says thoughfully. "I've...consider it. I don't know." she admits softly. "I've been trying to help some of the other girls like us I've run into...metahumans who ended up here who don't quite know what they're doing yet, or want to stay on their own instead of joining some school with it's issues..." she murmurs.

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla considers that answer for a while, again quite happy for some silent contemplation and snuggling time. Eventually, though, she does speak again. "So ... you've been working as a superpowered social worker for metahumans, without much in the way of resources?" she inquires, curiously, while mulling that over. That does indeed sound like something true to what she knows of Sarah's heart. But she can also imagine Sarah wanting more. She won't pry or prod, just yet. But she lets the thought percolate, to see if other insights occur to her. "You mean ... a school like Dani's?" Dani did say she went to a special school, for mutants, and it was mentioned that she is a part of the 'X-Men', whomever or whatever that might be. Could the two things be related?

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah nods a little bit. "Well...yes..I mean, I don't have a lot to offer, but I can at least give them my number and advice....and maybe point them towards Dani's school, yeah. She seems fine, and she likes it, so...maybe it's a good place? Though I think it may be only for mutants..." she admits thoughfully. "Not sure if that's a general rule or a hard rule, honestly." She tilts her head. "I've heard there's another school that might be like it in Metropolis too, and there's the Titans and stuff, but I don't know anything about them. And those Legion people, but I don't know much about them either." she admits with a sigh. "....so...yeah. I guess it isn't as useful as it could be." she admits glumly. "I like helping them though, especaily the ones who don't have anyone to fall back on..."

Voodoo has posed:
"It sounds to me like someone very special, with a good heart, just needs the right resources to enable her to make a better difference in the lives she connects with." Priscilla offers. No, she doesn't think what Sarah is doing is silly, or pointless. She would just like to see Sarah be more successful, more able to help those she touches.

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah gets a faint blush at that. "Maybe, but..I have no idea how to make that more effective. I mean...I don't have any resources, I wouldnt' know who to go to, for resources like that? Most of the groups that might be interested already have their own outreach programs, usually recruiting whoever it is to become a Young Avenger, or a Titan, or something like that, or to go to a private style school." She sighs a bit. "And I don't even know who I can trust beyond that. I mean, you, obviously, and Dani, and I trust your judgement, so that's SWORD and Dani's school, but...I don't want to choose wrong and have some poor kid end up suffering for my mistakes."

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla gently runs her fingers over Sarah's tummy in light caresses, helping to soothe and reassure her, to help all of the tension she just built up start to slowly bleed off. "Mmm. Well then, I think we have two goals, right? One, to get you better information so that you can help them make better informed decisions. And secondly, to get you more resources so that you can expand the possibilities of your ... outreach? Is that what you call it?" It probably seems a mite weird, the way Priscilla just seems to consider these checkboxes on a form to success, rather than obstacles.

Rainmaker has posed:
    "I suppose that's the best thing to call it, sure? It's not exactly social work...I mean, maybe for some people who don't have support or aren't just going to school and keeping their abilities quiet. I met a cheerleader the other day like that...cute little thing, maybe five feet. I felt like I towered over her. But a sweet kid." She looks thoughful. "She told me she used to be more a mean girl, then this happened to her and now she's completely changed, wanting to figure out what to do with it, if she wants to even be a heroine or look into something else in college."

    She hmms. "Well...better information would be a good start. Mm, I feel like a guidance counselor or something." she muses.

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla considers all of this, mulling it over, letting it breathe, as it were, as she does. Finally, words bubble upwards again. "Guidance counselor is like a social worker focused only on the kids in a school. At least, that's how they explained it to me, years ago." Because Priss had close and continuous contact with social workers, as a ward of the state and an orphan in Louisiana. "You know, they're not geniuses. Their two big qualities are giving a damn about what happens to the people they're put in touch with, and being determined enough to look up and find whatever will help those people put themselves into a better situation." The way Priscilla says that, one can almost hear another voice in tandem with hers, one who taught her that line of thinking by repetition.

"It's really hard, when you suddenly discover everything you thought you knew about yourself is not all there is. Especially when what you learn changes everything you knew." Both Sarah and Priss know that feeling, though Priss a bit more; Sarah had an active support system when she learned those things about herself and her father, even if it wasn't easy. "And you strive to put all of that into something active, something to make a difference." Probably why Priss herself came to so identify with her old team, when they were the support structure that got her through her own transformation of identity. And why losing them hurt so much. "Did you give her a way to contact you, so that she can ask questions, or ask for help?"

Rainmaker has posed:
    "That's true..." Sarah says softly, then nuzzles Priss's hair gently, before resting her chin on the other womans' shoulder, her hand under the blanket idly tracing up and down along the mulatto womans' side, running over her skin as she thinks. It's like a fidget spinner for her, but infinitely more fun! "Yes, it's like that...she seemed....she seemed like she was genuinely trying to figure out how to be better, and she was a nice person already, from what I saw. So...good for her." She murmurs. "And yes, I did, and told her she could call whenever she needed. Bought her a lunch, that sort of thing. She's over at a college at least, so she's got a support staff. I told her I thought she should figure out what she wanted to do and then if her ability fit into that...." She pats Priss's tummy. "She's a super fast healer. Doesn't feel pain either. I saw her tail a harpoon through the chest and just shrug it off after complaining about it being a new top." She grins at the memory. "She was -so- annoyed, if it hadn't been so serious at the time I would have laughed I think."

Voodoo has posed:
Priscilla winces. "Well, I'd have been upset aout a new top, too. But my powers don't damp the pain. //At all//." One can imagine that wouldn't be the way it would work for an empath, after all. "I will say that coming into and learning about my powers changed my possibilities. I never could have been who I have become, or done what I have done, without that experience." And without her powers. "I imagine this cheerleader will have a similar situation: who and what she can be has changed significantly with the awakening of her powers." It made a former 'mean girl' learn not to be, and to consider something greater than herself, something and someone beyond herself: that is the very foundations of heroism. "I'm glad you gave her your number. I hope she calls."

Rainmaker has posed:
    Sarah looks curious. "...me too...do you want to meet her if she does, next time? I think she'd be up for that, meeting other people like her." She frowns thoughfully, peering up at Priss. "...how did you find out?" she wonders curiously. "I mean...when you first realized you were feeling what other people were thinking?"

Voodoo has posed:
"Yes, actually. If she does not mind, I would very much like to meet her, if she decides she would like to meet me." Priscilla answers, as she snuggles comfortable with Sarah, considering her question. "Honestly, I never realized what I was doing was anything more than being a really good 'people person.'" Priss pauses for a few moments. "Not until the night three Daemonites and a hit squad came into the club where I was dancing ... and so did my old team. I could See the Daemonites riding those men. I knew they were monsters, and I started to freak out. Then they started blasting, and I knew before they fired. I jumped down off the stage to cover, and my old team took that as the clue to charge them." Priss shakes herself a bit with the memory. "My empathy ended up the reason my team survived that fight, because I could feel the lethal intent of those creatures, and the moment they decided to attack. Everything else followed when the team took me away, and started to train me."