The Bicameral Mentality- Capt. Marvel/Rogue

[Judi Strange]

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High above the mansion where unsung heroes dwell hovered a lone figure, apart and deep in concentration while bathed in the cosmic fires of the fantastic. That figure was Carol Danvers, known to most as Captain Marvel. She looked down, her presence masked by the golden rays of the sun, lingering for some time as if in a deep concentration. Here, away from all she felt peace, tranquility and the screams of guilt at the death of so many somewhat abated. More and more this seemed the case, more and more she pulled away from the others of her team, her family- humanity.



There was however a lingering vestige of what was, a sore tooth that demanded attention in her consciousness. Perhaps pulling away was a bad thing, well, it certainly was- but it felt, peaceful. Up here and beyond she didn’t feel the hate, the lingering gaze of those who suspected she had lost it, or worse- had lost control and bordered the very evil she and the other Avengers fought almost daily. This, perhaps, would be a start back. Tactically it was sound, the X-men were as outlaw as it seemed most felt she was these days.



Taking that as resolve she descended, landing on the tarmac in a brilliant bathing of colored cosmic flame. It left a mark that would in time wash away, the grass regrows where the overburn had killed it. It drew stares, it always did even then but not the stares held a hint of fear- perhaps hatred?



Setting her smile she approached a wary student, inquired to speak to senior faculty, perhaps Professor Xaivier, the man who single handedly rebuilt her life from ashes. Perhaps he could do it again if she could only reach out form this heroic armored cage, she felt trapped in, the cage called “Captain Marvel” herself.



In due course she was shown in, found herself in the guest foyer among the scattered memories of photos- students and alumni. From under her helmet, she canned them all, some she knew- some she did not. Regardless, as she waited, she recorded them, setting names to faces and then outward to databases. She herself was in a few, the face of Carol then was hauntingly happy; it had been after Xaivier restored her mind- She was there and yet felt like it was lifetimes ago.



Then, even as raw and barely reconstructed she seemed happier than she had felt now in some time, it drew a thin hard expression as she moved on with her correlation; duty could be a wonderful opiate to dull your pain.

Carols Theme song: Metric:Black Sheep 
Heroes: Magik |Captain Marvel| She-Hulk | Pixie | Jean Grey | 
Villains: Spiral | Typhoid Mary | White Rabbit 

[Martyr]

ROGUE IN
THE BICAMERAL MENTALITY
-- --          --  --
HEY, SUGAH!
⦻

---

There was always a danger when protecting a world that hates and fears them. The danger being that it would come home. It wouldn't matter if the X-men were there or in the Savage Land or on some distant moon. Someone or something would come to attack. It would not matter still the particulars of whom they were attacking. It did not matter if the one attacked could defend themselves or not. Whether their powers were offensive or simply cosmetic.

In an ideal world, a school, even and especially a school for mutants would not be attacked. While Xavier's dream may eventually come, it was not yet realized. So, they had to be prepared. When their numbers were high enough, some number of them did not go on any given mission so that there would be somebody to defend against a threat should it occur when the others were away.

So, Rogue was among the few X-men available to answer this call from one of the Avengers.

Part of the reason for the visitor's wait was not only tracking down a staff member, but Rogue quickly getting into uniform.

Her uniform was green and white, her usual colors. The costume included a hood and cape. It covered most of her body, a relic of when she had no control of her powers.

"What do you need, sugah?" Her words had the feel of a waitress forced to be polite out of obligation.

Template adapted from Silv.

[Judi Strange]

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 How long she had waited she was not certain, but she was far from idle. Though this was not an official call she nonetheless stood in the foyer cataloging names to faces on picture and any other scant bits of intel. You never knew when you needed that edge down the road it seemed. To the external world the tarnished golden idol that was Captain marvel stood near motionless like a machine lost in her work and correlation through the presented memories of others on display.



So lost in fact at first, she did not register the pleasantries of the southern Belle, forced though they were, finally she turned her helmeted profile to the sound of the inquiry. “Ah, of course.” she said before it could be strangled under the banner of formality and decorum. Turning, she faced the Rogue, not just a name but for Carol very much a description if not vocation for the woman who with a caress ended all you were, all you could ever be.



She stepped forward with a crisp military-like demeanor, letting training and formality offer a saving grace; the effect was a bit stiff, perhaps robotic- but diplomatic, nonetheless. A hand started forward, the fingers flexed under the glove and offered only the barest moment of hesitation, curling to a fist then relaxing. “Rogue, it has been some time.” a thin, engineered smile played down the lower facial features that could be read- now more than ever had it the ability Carol would have preferred the helm to be all encompassing.



She stopped close but not invading the space of the mutant belle. “I have been remiss, I wanted to offer my sympathy to Jean; also, to inquire if there was a charity that could be donated to in her honor for myself, and perhaps other Avengers.” back on target, focus the conversation on the business- that would pull this meeting from going south, even if there was much left unfinished between them. The only telltale was the front of her jaw, and the dispassion in the words that were aimed to be sympathetic, in a way had it been anyone else perhaps a means to reach to the past- a reset to save her drowning emotionally.

Outwardly the still down faceplate took in all of the former denizen of Caldecott; presenting to any a visage in Captain marvel that was, while lovely, it resonated as cold, hard and uncompromising perhaps even inhuman.



A darker thought moved behind her blue eyes, a whisper that practically blamed Rogue for Mckinney. Had Rogue not destroyed her life years ago, forced Charles Xaivier to jigsaw piece her mind together- would she have been stronger, could she have... not fallen so very far from grace. Back then she was the golden Avenger, loved and admired and Rogue the tarnished soul, the criminal and exiled- The Irony of the position reversal was not lost on Carol, not one bit.

Carols Theme song: Metric:Black Sheep 
Heroes: Magik |Captain Marvel| She-Hulk | Pixie | Jean Grey | 
Villains: Spiral | Typhoid Mary | White Rabbit 

[Martyr]

ROGUE IN
THE BICAMERAL MENTALITY
-- --          --  --
HEY, SUGAH!
⦻

---

That's what this was. A social call. Even given its grim nature, that was somewhat of a relief. Given that she was holding the fort, if this were a call for added muscle against some interdimensional threat not even the Avengers could assemble against, they would not likely be in much of a position to help.

Her response to Captain Marvel's small talk was just as wrapped in layers and layers and layers and layers of unspoken tension coached in formality. 

"It has, sugah." Because there was no coming back from where they were before. In effect, for a period, Rogue had taken Carol's soul.

But this? This was a social call. She could do this and do this alone, even with a woman like Carol Danvers. It helped that she knew her well, perhaps more than the woman knew herself. Danvers had lived rent free in her mind for decades due to an extended physical touch all those years ago.

The request for charity seemed like something less personal and more formal. It was a decision of a committee. 

"She had a few charities she liked, yeah. Ah can give y'all a list."

They moved further into the mansion. 

"Ah don't think y've been back since—"

Template adapted from Silv.

[Judi Strange]

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The smile remained as affixed, and seemingly permanent as the helm. It offered little in the way of making it easy to read her mood; it's pale milky white optics that offered a pulsing glow now and again did well to hide how anyone was looked out, any trace of emotion the eyes would betray.

Hearing her voice, the optics narrowed slightly, the jaw set heroically stern yet practiced neutrality with the smile acting as a buffer. "Great to hear, and yes a list would be appreciated. To tell the truth, I half expected to run into Logan or Scott- everything ok in these parts?" She followed the belles lead, friendly in tone the questions probed no doubt as much as the scanning she habitually did behind the helms masked veneer. 

Moving with a slow casual gait she walked halls she felt she had not seen in years; it felt like a soldier seeing how what was once home had evolved in her absence, her gazed turned to Rogue herself. Somewhere in that "reformed" terrorists mind was vestiges of her, a her that she could not even connect to being anymore. That Carol was a good deal less complicated, it was almost envious to contemplate.

"No, it's been a while- at first there was the idea of space; it seemed best for everyone involved. It seems to have largely been the right idea." The smile tugged at the corners of her mouth with practiced perfection; no need to add that post Texas hanging out with the fringe and often anti-hero X-men was counter productive to being free herself.

She moved still with a military woman bearing, snap and sharp movements- if a little cooler. Was it proximity to Rogue herself or other more external emotional factors- only Carol could say, and she did not often share as easily these days. "You seem to be keeping well, I know it's been complicated for you in the past- evening out I take it?" The voice remained even; friendly really if one didn't know Carol- to those who knew her it felt cooler, a little more distant that bordered on mechanical. 

Carols Theme song: Metric:Black Sheep 
Heroes: Magik |Captain Marvel| She-Hulk | Pixie | Jean Grey | 
Villains: Spiral | Typhoid Mary | White Rabbit 

[Martyr]

ROGUE IN
THE BICAMERAL MENTALITY
-- --          --  --
HEY, SUGAH!
⦻

---

Her voice. Her voice was always in the back of her mind, one of dozens really, but it was there. Like a festering wound that just would not heal completely. 

"Apocalypse swept through again." Speaking of festering wounds that wouldn't go away. "He is the reason Jean is gone, after all. Logan was turned against us. He's not quite returned. Scott ain't been the same. He's lost her all ovah." Captain Marvel used their real names instead of their codenames. It was a mark of familiarity. One that was shared more as part of the superhero community as a group rather than the X-men specifically.

Left unsaid was that Remy was in the same sort of darkness that Logan had fallen into. He too was lost and wondering. He had not come to them. He was not at any the usual haunts that doted cajun country. She'd checked every one of them.

She no doubt knew it if only from contact between the X-men and the Avengers. She no doubt knew about their relationship. Battlefield couples tended to be pretty obvious.

Wait, evening out?

"Ah don't know what you mean, sugah. Ah'm right here." 

Template adapted from Silv.

[John Kilroy]

Keep it together, just keep it together....

"my apologies, I didn't mean to imply anything."

The right words were there, even the tone on-surface was there but it  still was cold and mechanical even Carol herself could hardly believe it had she really become that distant. Maybe she needed to...let herself become vulnerable for a bit. After all, she had her personal mission to fulfill for the betterment of all and if she was going to succeed she couldn't make it work by herself. She needed everyone's trust...even if that was hard to come by nowadays even if it was hard to make yourself vulnerable. 

Carol let out a sigh and groan as she slid her hands down her helmet and lower part of her face. "Look I'm sorry. I feel like I'm acting more like a LMD (Life-Model Decoy) than an actual person. I just...I know what it feels like to have the weight of the world on your shoulders even when you don't. I just assumed that maybe you went out to get your mind off of things because if I was stressed and had a heavy weight on me that's what I would do and I know we're both alike, maybe too alike...for obvious reasons."

Carol gave a playful smirk, making it clear she was trying to dissipate whatever tension was in the air. 

[Martyr]

ROGUE IN
THE BICAMERAL MENTALITY
-- --          --  --
HEY, SUGAH!
⦻

---

Danvers' tone changed. She was trying to break the ice. It was sudden. Maybe it was a change in tactic.



Danvers told Rogue that she didn't mean to imply anything with her comment. Rogue didn't seem to take overt offense to it. The two weren't currently leveling the mansion with mountain-destroying blows.



Rogue listened as Captain Marvel tried to piece together the why of most of the X-men being missing. Out of the town. That'd be lovely. It did happen on rare occasion but usually for a handful of them at a time.



"This is a school. Most of the X-men are on a mission. I'm holdin' the fort. If Ultron comes 'round to the Avengers Mansion and tries to level it, well, y'all are adults who know exactly what you signed up for. Y'all can fight 'im. If someone comes 'round here lookin' for a ruckus, we need adults here to fight 'em off 'cause these kids ain't necessarily there yet. Even if they are, they're kids sugah, they get inta all sorts of trouble. It's like havin' a dozen Clint Bartons. C'mon, you should meet 'em."

Template adapted from Silv.

[John Kilroy]

Carol puts a finger to her chin. "You know, I bet we could help you upgrade your security. beef some things up. maybe an auto-defense grid, some anti-aircraft turrets, a laser defense grid, some buffed-up shielding..." 

At this point, she was just shooting off ideas off the top of her head. It was no secret that Carol had an ugly history with Rogue, what wasn't well known however was that she had felt awful for how she treated Rogue while she inhabited the mutant's body and wanted to make up for it. So any she was looking for any kind of gesture of goodwill. Lord only knew that everything revolving around the SRA had made things harder on the mutants even though they themselves were exempt, too many probably looked at it and saw the frakenstienesque resurrection of the former Mutant Registration Act. 

"Do you think it would be wise for me to meet them? My duties after becoming the head of SRA enforcement haven't exactly made me the most popular person in the country as of late. I can only imagine what a group of people who already have a distrust towards humans with government authority would think of someone like me."

[stormshadow]

Weeks ago, Warpath brought in a new girl who was a Native American just like him and she had some of his powers, so he knew what she was going through. He knew she would have trouble fitting in, but this is for the best, it will keep the law off of her. She accidently caused some problems while in the city and was blamed for putting three guys in the hospital and injuring three others. It was self-defense but they want her to go to jail.

Now:
Jimmy was out in the woods when he heard someone approach outside from the woods trying to sneak up on him. The New girl looked sad. She approached Jimmy and began to talk, "I don't belong here they are so mean. I hate this place, they are so mean to me, making fun of my clothes and hair. They started doing the tomahawk chop the other day in class."



Warpath smiles and almost laughs. "Relax kiddo, life is hard get used to it, you can't just kick everyone's ass because you can, you need to realize that your special. It is part of growing up. Life moves fast, you need to learn the difference between good and evil it lives in all of us. An old chief was trying to teach his grandson when he said this.

A fight is going on inside me, he said to the boy. It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One is evil he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.

The other is good he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person, too. The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, Which wolf will win? The old chief simply replied, the one you feed."

*Story from Cherokee folklore. *

Jimmy heard someone fly into area about a minute ago as some of the early warning alarms went off. "I have to go; you head back inside and relax. People are mean sometimes; they just need to get to know you." Warpath was completely aware of what was going on he heard from the distance, he didn't ease drop though, but he knew it might be dangerous. He moved inside at a superhuman pace to the mansion, not making a sound up to where Rogue was with Captain Marvel of all people. Knowing this would take them both by surprise but he needed to make sure everything was all right. "Hello ladies, nice night, everything ok tonight? For being unregistered and wanted in a few states like Arizona as a suspect for questioning this was probably a bad idea.

[John Kilroy]

Carol nearly jumped a hundred feet into the air when she felt something, or someone graze her shoulder. "Jeez!" as her heart practically went up to her throat, she took a deep breath and gathered her barring all while clutching her heart. "*pant* *pant* don't sneak up on a woman like that.  That's a good way to get blasted!" After a few seconds, her face softened and she visibly relaxed. She had no idea who this guy was. The two had never met or at least if they had met, then she clearly didn't remember it. the guy was jacked she had to give him credit for that. He looked like he could rip someone apart with ease if he wanted to. She stared at him awkwardly for a few seconds before clearing her throat. 


"Uh, high. Captain Carol Danvers, a member of the Avengers and proud member of the Airforce. It's nice to meet you. Have we met before?

[Martyr]

ROGUE IN
THE BICAMERAL MENTALITY
-- --          --  --
HEY, SUGAH!
⦻

---

Much like Danvers, Rogue wasn't exactly expecting Warpath to show up. While she knew he wasn't on one of the missions, when X-men weren't on-the-clock so to speak, they sometimes pursued personal agendas, around the mansion or far from it. Lord knows she'd followed dead end trails after Gambit more than once in the past few months. She had expected he was still doing his own thing.

Unlike the Avenger, Rogue didn't jump out of her skin. Perhaps her proximity to Nightcrawler meant that sudden appearances just didn't activate her fight-or-flight response in quite the same way.

Given how battle hardened the soldier was, it was a bit surprising, her yelp. Although, she'd used her powers on enough combat veterans to realize that sometimes the disarray of a battlefield stayed with someone long after they've physically left it.

"Captain Marvel is here askin' on Jean, seein' how we're holdin' up.", Rogue explained.

It may well be a bit more somber of a reason than anticipated. 

Template adapted from Silv.

[stormshadow]

Warpath flexes a bit like a stretch then backs off with a slight smile he responds. He knew it would be best if he left the ladies alone and let them sort it out plus it has been a while since he seen a good fight if this escalates. Listing in on heartbeats and he could feel the tension if only slight. "Hi there, Captain Carol Danvers if so, a long time ago. I was in the background you were in the spotlight so to speak. If your intentions are honorable, I have no problem with you being here as for our defenses, they are way better than you think. I normally keep quiet about some of the things going on. I will leave that to the two of you. Alright Captain Carol Danvers and Marie um Rogue If you need me, I'm going to grab some food." He said that to let her know they knew she was there or at least he did. And if Rogue says its ok it is fine by him.**(Exit Warpath unless prompted to stay)**

[John Kilroy]

"Ok then." Carol said. It'd ultimately be Anna's call if the guy stayed or not. Part of her just wanted to jump right back into space again. Oh the irony, the woman who at one time was the epitome of outgoing, a bright and shining star who could relate to and appeal to the highest and the lowest, now could not relate to anybody. But that was the thing. Captain Marvel was not Carol Danvers. At least, not The Warbird. Carol Danvers the Warbird went MIA after the Civil War during a drinking binge. That was when The Warbird disappeared and Captain Marvel took her place. 

 Still, Captain Marvel couldn't help but envy Warbird. Warbird was so outgoing and so strong, not just physically but Moreso emotionally.  Even after everything she had gone through, her violation at the hands of Marcus, and nearly getting absorbed by Rogue, yet she was able to keep going, yes, she had her low points and her battles with the bottle for every low point, she would eventually bounce back...so why did Captain Marvel feel like she was at her breaking point? Why did she feel like such a fraud?

she let those feelings sink to the back of her mind. There was something to be said about faking it till she made it. Maybe if she started talking to people again she could rediscover that which made Carol the person she was in the first place. After all the memories and experiences were there, they weren't going away. Maybe it was time to go back to basics.

"Now that he mentions it I'm kind of famished myself. Want to get some food and just talk? Maybe talk about some non-doom and gloom stuff?"

[Martyr]

ROGUE IN
THE BICAMERAL MENTALITY
-- --          --  --
HEY, SUGAH!
⦻

---

"If y'all want a little bite to eat, it'll have to be from here. Like Ah said before, Ah ain't leavin' this place. Holdin' down the fort in case somethin' comes our way. We do have a kitchen, but it ain't going to be nothin' fancy. Probably better'n an MRE though. An, Warpath, you can eat too if you're so inclined."

There were certain heroes, him, Wolverine, who sometimes choose to get what they could in the vast woods around the property for a variety of reasons.

Rogue wasn't a gourmet. She wasn't Gambit. As she'd said, what cooking skills she picked up were utilitarian. They were forged to feed criminals on the run. Mystique and her incarnation of the Brotherhood.

She made spaghetti. It was simple, paired with black pepper and parm. The perfect thing for a half empty pantry even if the one at the mansion was fully stocked.

Template adapted from Silv.