Amanda, Marie/Logan -Friday evening
Sep. 29th, 2006 07:48 pmBeer O'Clock and the Snow Valley crew are at Finnegan's. As agreed, 'Marie' joins them, leading to altogether the wrong conclusion.
Marie strolled into the bar Amanda had named, adjusting the cowboy hat that was balanced on her head. Her black sleeveless top was unremarkable except for the fact that she never wore such things. Looping her bare thumb through the belt loop in her jeans skirt, she surveyed the bar. Winking at a patron sitting at one of the tables, she ignored the sleepy protest in the back of her mind and walked up to the bar to order a beer, waiting for Amanda and whoever else might be arriving.
"Marie!" Amanda's call came from a corner booth, where a few of the Snow Valley crowd were sitting. Wriggling past Doug, the Brit came over to the bar, taking in Marie's outfit with raised eyebrows. By contrast she was still in her work clothes - simple dark grey slacks and a pale blue shirt - although her leather motorbike jacket was slung over the back of a chair. "Letting your hair down tonight, I see," she told her friend, grinning at the new look. "Special occasion or just needing the downtime?"
Marie grinned at the blond girl, a slight smirk appearing on her face as she heard a faint plea. Please don't go freakin' out one of the few friends Ah have that doesn't think Ah'm completely crazy... Grabbing her mug, she downed half of it in one swig. "Skin needs to breathe every now and again. Need a beer kid?" Without waiting for an answer, she gestured to the bartender to bring another.
"Kid?" Amanda snorted. "I'm what, a couple of years younger than you? Don't make me start calling you 'old lady'." She accepted the beer with a grin and leaned against the bar next to her friend. "So, sounds like you lot had a busy night. And Remy coming in looking like something the cat threw up is awfully coincidental." The Cajun was with the rest of the group, looking battered and particularly pissed off, a bandage on his forehead startlingly white in the dimly-lit pub. "How're you holding up?"
Marie shrugged, taking another sip of her beer. "Just one of those nights. Couple close calls, but it all turned out fine." She frowned, remembering what her crumpled body had looked like as it fell still on the concrete floor. "Don't like it when things get that close." Wrinkling her nose at the smell in the bar, she pulled a cigar out of her pocket.
Amanda's eyebrows didn't just rise this time, they shot up. "Don't tell me you've started smoking too." Then she frowned. The speech patterns, the clothes, the body language... something definitely wasn't right here. And it had a horrible familiarity. Malice. Jean. Mystique. "Right," she said, voice dropping into her businesslike tone, the same one she used on jobs. "Who are you and what the fuck have you done with Marie? And if you think I'm joking, I'll have you know that one yell from me will have some serious bastards coming down on you like the wrath of the gods." Her eyes flicked meaningfully over to the Snow Valley table. "If you've bloody well hurt her, I swear I'll do something horribly painful to you."
Marie snorted, not looking particularly concerned, as she lit the cigar and took a deep drag, releasing the smoke slowly. "Oh, don't go getting all worked up. I am Marie, it's just the one you're used to talking to isn't the one driving at the moment." She hooked a bar stool with her booted foot, pulling it towards her and sitting down. "You know how Marie's powers work, right?" She held up one hand, wiggling all five fingers.
Amanda wasn't entirely convinced, but then again, the rest of the crew was just over there. She wrinkled her nose at the cigar smoke, the smell evoking memories of renovating and a chat with... "Oh my fucking God," she breathed, sitting down abruptly on another stool and nearly missing. "Logan? That's you in there?" Suddenly it all made sense. "But I thought it was just powers..." She trailled off - hadn't Angelo told her so very long ago that Marie's powers included taking a person's memories and personality? "What the fuck happened last night?"
Marie reached out to steady Amanda, wrapping her hand around the girl's forearm. She ignored the string of cursewords that exploded in the back of her mind. "She was going to die, so I made a choice," she replied with a shrug. "And Logan will recover with his healing factor, but they'd neutralized all of Marie's. It wasn't a pretty picture." She set down her empty glass and picked up the full one the bartender had already set beside her.
Amanda's shirt was short-sleeved - the office tended to be on the warm side - but at the touch of the other girl's hand on her bare skin, nothing at all happened. The witch looked down at Marie's hand, and then up to her face, looking as stunned as she felt. "What... who... you..." she babbled as Marie let go and picked up her beer. "The fuck?!"
Crap. "Don't ask me," she said. "Kid's got her own set of problems to work out." She took another swig of her beer. "You going to be ok?" she asked, peering into the other girl's face.
Amanda grabbed her own beer, drinking until the nearly-full glass was empty. Setting it down with a small thump, she nodded at the bartender for another. "I will be. Just give me a sec," she said, before draining that one too. Stifling a small belch with her hand, she took a breath and addressed the girl sitting opposite her. "Right. Okay. Let's try this again. I think it's pretty clear Marie's not in the driver's seat here. So, how long does this last? And is she gunna be all right after? The last time she left, it was partly 'cause she couldn't cope with the people in her head."
She watched in amusement as Amanda downed the two beers, puffing on the cigar. "It'll last as long as it takes her to recover. She almost died," Marie said bluntly. "And the switch back won't be sudden. We'll trade back and forth as she gets stronger again." She finished the rest of her beer and smiled. "You'll have to ask Marie about the sanity bit. I wouldn't worry too much though. Girl's stronger than she gives herself credit for." Leaning closer to Amanda, she winked. "Plus, I _was_ already in here."
Almost died? Marie?! What the hell had they run into? "Well, I guess this puts a whole new angle on the girls' nights," Amanda said wryly, pushing aside the worry in favour of thinking of some of the conversations she and Marie had had over pizza and beer. "All right, got my brain wrapped around this. I think. So... this is usual? When she uses her power?"
"You'll have to ask her," Marie said with a shrug. "Not my power. But it's not the first time she's been a back-seat driver." she said and then poured herself another pint from the pitcher that the barman had finally decided on. "Dunno, I could get used to this. Strong, tough, flight ... kid's a scrapper." she said with a crooked little grin.
"Well, don't get too comfortable," Amanda told her, perhaps a little defensively. "You're just squatting." Glancing over at the Snow Valley group, she grinned. "So, this is going to mess with just about everyone, but at least I won't be the only one. Wanna go be social?"
Marie's grin widened and she tipped her hat to the blonde. "Don't worry, kid, I always fade. But nothing says I can't enjoy being out while I can." Grabbing her beer and the pitcher, she swaggered over to the table with the rest of the Snow Valley crew.
Marie strolled into the bar Amanda had named, adjusting the cowboy hat that was balanced on her head. Her black sleeveless top was unremarkable except for the fact that she never wore such things. Looping her bare thumb through the belt loop in her jeans skirt, she surveyed the bar. Winking at a patron sitting at one of the tables, she ignored the sleepy protest in the back of her mind and walked up to the bar to order a beer, waiting for Amanda and whoever else might be arriving.
"Marie!" Amanda's call came from a corner booth, where a few of the Snow Valley crowd were sitting. Wriggling past Doug, the Brit came over to the bar, taking in Marie's outfit with raised eyebrows. By contrast she was still in her work clothes - simple dark grey slacks and a pale blue shirt - although her leather motorbike jacket was slung over the back of a chair. "Letting your hair down tonight, I see," she told her friend, grinning at the new look. "Special occasion or just needing the downtime?"
Marie grinned at the blond girl, a slight smirk appearing on her face as she heard a faint plea. Please don't go freakin' out one of the few friends Ah have that doesn't think Ah'm completely crazy... Grabbing her mug, she downed half of it in one swig. "Skin needs to breathe every now and again. Need a beer kid?" Without waiting for an answer, she gestured to the bartender to bring another.
"Kid?" Amanda snorted. "I'm what, a couple of years younger than you? Don't make me start calling you 'old lady'." She accepted the beer with a grin and leaned against the bar next to her friend. "So, sounds like you lot had a busy night. And Remy coming in looking like something the cat threw up is awfully coincidental." The Cajun was with the rest of the group, looking battered and particularly pissed off, a bandage on his forehead startlingly white in the dimly-lit pub. "How're you holding up?"
Marie shrugged, taking another sip of her beer. "Just one of those nights. Couple close calls, but it all turned out fine." She frowned, remembering what her crumpled body had looked like as it fell still on the concrete floor. "Don't like it when things get that close." Wrinkling her nose at the smell in the bar, she pulled a cigar out of her pocket.
Amanda's eyebrows didn't just rise this time, they shot up. "Don't tell me you've started smoking too." Then she frowned. The speech patterns, the clothes, the body language... something definitely wasn't right here. And it had a horrible familiarity. Malice. Jean. Mystique. "Right," she said, voice dropping into her businesslike tone, the same one she used on jobs. "Who are you and what the fuck have you done with Marie? And if you think I'm joking, I'll have you know that one yell from me will have some serious bastards coming down on you like the wrath of the gods." Her eyes flicked meaningfully over to the Snow Valley table. "If you've bloody well hurt her, I swear I'll do something horribly painful to you."
Marie snorted, not looking particularly concerned, as she lit the cigar and took a deep drag, releasing the smoke slowly. "Oh, don't go getting all worked up. I am Marie, it's just the one you're used to talking to isn't the one driving at the moment." She hooked a bar stool with her booted foot, pulling it towards her and sitting down. "You know how Marie's powers work, right?" She held up one hand, wiggling all five fingers.
Amanda wasn't entirely convinced, but then again, the rest of the crew was just over there. She wrinkled her nose at the cigar smoke, the smell evoking memories of renovating and a chat with... "Oh my fucking God," she breathed, sitting down abruptly on another stool and nearly missing. "Logan? That's you in there?" Suddenly it all made sense. "But I thought it was just powers..." She trailled off - hadn't Angelo told her so very long ago that Marie's powers included taking a person's memories and personality? "What the fuck happened last night?"
Marie reached out to steady Amanda, wrapping her hand around the girl's forearm. She ignored the string of cursewords that exploded in the back of her mind. "She was going to die, so I made a choice," she replied with a shrug. "And Logan will recover with his healing factor, but they'd neutralized all of Marie's. It wasn't a pretty picture." She set down her empty glass and picked up the full one the bartender had already set beside her.
Amanda's shirt was short-sleeved - the office tended to be on the warm side - but at the touch of the other girl's hand on her bare skin, nothing at all happened. The witch looked down at Marie's hand, and then up to her face, looking as stunned as she felt. "What... who... you..." she babbled as Marie let go and picked up her beer. "The fuck?!"
Crap. "Don't ask me," she said. "Kid's got her own set of problems to work out." She took another swig of her beer. "You going to be ok?" she asked, peering into the other girl's face.
Amanda grabbed her own beer, drinking until the nearly-full glass was empty. Setting it down with a small thump, she nodded at the bartender for another. "I will be. Just give me a sec," she said, before draining that one too. Stifling a small belch with her hand, she took a breath and addressed the girl sitting opposite her. "Right. Okay. Let's try this again. I think it's pretty clear Marie's not in the driver's seat here. So, how long does this last? And is she gunna be all right after? The last time she left, it was partly 'cause she couldn't cope with the people in her head."
She watched in amusement as Amanda downed the two beers, puffing on the cigar. "It'll last as long as it takes her to recover. She almost died," Marie said bluntly. "And the switch back won't be sudden. We'll trade back and forth as she gets stronger again." She finished the rest of her beer and smiled. "You'll have to ask Marie about the sanity bit. I wouldn't worry too much though. Girl's stronger than she gives herself credit for." Leaning closer to Amanda, she winked. "Plus, I _was_ already in here."
Almost died? Marie?! What the hell had they run into? "Well, I guess this puts a whole new angle on the girls' nights," Amanda said wryly, pushing aside the worry in favour of thinking of some of the conversations she and Marie had had over pizza and beer. "All right, got my brain wrapped around this. I think. So... this is usual? When she uses her power?"
"You'll have to ask her," Marie said with a shrug. "Not my power. But it's not the first time she's been a back-seat driver." she said and then poured herself another pint from the pitcher that the barman had finally decided on. "Dunno, I could get used to this. Strong, tough, flight ... kid's a scrapper." she said with a crooked little grin.
"Well, don't get too comfortable," Amanda told her, perhaps a little defensively. "You're just squatting." Glancing over at the Snow Valley group, she grinned. "So, this is going to mess with just about everyone, but at least I won't be the only one. Wanna go be social?"
Marie's grin widened and she tipped her hat to the blonde. "Don't worry, kid, I always fade. But nothing says I can't enjoy being out while I can." Grabbing her beer and the pitcher, she swaggered over to the table with the rest of the Snow Valley crew.