Backdated: Adrienne & Cecilia

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Backdated to last Saturday: Cecilia and Adrienne do some getting-to-know-you girltalk on the way to District X.


Adrienne was early getting to the garage to meet Cecelia, so she threw her bag into her car and went over to the row of motorcycles, reaching out both hands to pet her two bikes longingly. It had only been two months since she'd taken them out on the road, but it seemed like forever. Adrienne did not cope with winter very well. "Soon, my pretties," she murmured to them, eyes narrowed in determination. "Soon this horrid white stuff will be banished for another year and we will ride once again! Mua ha ha!"

"We can only hope," Cecilia said dryly. She'd come dressed in jeans and, for winter protection, an old bomber jacket of her brother's. The only jacket she apparently still owned. "Nice to meet you in person," she smiled and dangled Wade's keys. "Mind if I drive?"

Adrienne whipped around guiltily, face reddening in embarrassment. "Hi," she said quickly, smiling and trying to shrug off the feeling that that had been the worst first impression ever. "No, not at all." She opened her car door to pull her bag out and when she straightened up again she offered a hand to Cecelia. "Nice to meet you, too." With a quick glance and the culmination of twenty-five years of experience she formed some mental notes on Cecelia's measurements and style from the way she dressed, made herself up, and carried herself. She'd also used the information she'd taken from Cecelia's journal replies to dress herself in such a way as to try and make Cecelia comfortable with her, choosing jeans and a plain cashmere sweater with a simple peacoat and a scarf she'd knit herself, but adding a pair of brown knee-high Gucci leather boots with four-inch stiletto heels to complete the ensemble. "So did you know Wade before you returned here?" she asked curiously. Of course, it wouldn't really surprise her if Wade had lent his keys to a complete stranger, but she also knew that Wade had traveled extensively, so it was possible he'd run into Cecelia somewhere?

Oh my God, those boots. Cecilia eyed them and couldn't honestly remember when she'd last seen, let alone worn, heels like that. "Nope," she shrugged. "Don't think so anyway. Is he the type to lend strangers his expensive fancy cars?" She hopped in the front seat and dropped her clutch in the back. "Let's see if this thing — oh, here we go." She stuck the keys in the ignition and turned the car on. "Yup."

"Yeah," Adrienne replied with a nod, sliding into the seat next to Cecelia, "he's exactly the type. "So can I start my interrogation of you now?" she inquired with a smirk. "It's been too long since anyone moved in who wasn't a teenager."

Cecilia rolled her eyes, but mostly for show. She'd been expecting as much "Long as it doesn't impede with your ability to tell me where to go, sure." The garage door opened, and she pulled out. Wade's ride was a beauty, for sure, but she hadn't handled a car with that kind of power in a while. Which meant she knew she'd have to be extra careful not to get pulled over for speeding. "Go ahead."

"Well, it's a long drive into Manhattan, so I figure I'll have plenty of time to grill you before I need to give you directions," Adrienne answered with a waggle of her eyebrows. "So what brings you back to the mansion, if you don't mind my asking? Powers trouble?" she asked in true Adrienne fashion, direct and uncensored.

So much for girl talk, not that Cecilia hadn't expected the question. "Doctors Without Borders decided they had borders," she said dryly. "The violence escalated too much in Honduras, where they'd sent me, and they worried doctors would start to become targets. Happened in a few other places already." They rolled up to a red light, and Cecilia glanced around the Mustang's interior for a pair of sunglasses. "So they pulled me out and sent me back here. Parents are dead, brother's overseas. No job lined up, no plan." The light turned green, and she shifted her attention back to the road. "Heading back to Mutants-R-Us was sort of the only option."

"Mutant doctors would start to become targets, or doctors in general? Which I guess is my way of asking if you're 'out' as a mutant or not," Adrienne inquired, watching as Cecelia looked around the car. "Looking for something?"

"Shades," Cecilia answered. "Left mine at home." Certainly felt weird to call the X-Mansion that again, but there it was. "All doctors. The world's been getting more violent lately, I guess. People seem to be okay with attacking, killing and raping aid workers. Les medecins," she rolled her eyes, "didn't want that on their hands."

Since she wasn't using them, Adrienne dug around in her handbag and held out her sunglasses for Cecelia. "Understandable," she shrugged, taking note of the fact that Cecelia hadn't answered her question about her mutation being public knowledge or not. "So why'd you leave in the first place? Feeling stifled? Disapproving of Xavier's using the school as superhero training grounds? Chasing a guy?" she added in a hopeful tone.

"God, thank you." Cecilia grabbed Adrienne's sunglasses and put them on. Not that it was particularly bright or the sun was in her eyes, but they went with the car. "No guy," she sighed. "Only one who paid me any attention back in the day was Paul, which..." she wrinkled her nose. "Kind of a non-starter." A Pruis in front of her suddenly switched lanes, and she had to hit the brakes but refrained from cursing the chingado yuppie asshole while she had a new potential friend in the passenger's seat. "We had a dragon born and a demon invasion within the span of two weeks." She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel idly. "And that was sort of the last straw for me. Between that, and the telepaths and, you know, the X-Men and everything... I needed some space. And to be somewhere things made a little more sense, and I could actually sit down and figure things out."

Adrienne didn't possess Cecelia's filters, and being from Boston, considered it her duty as a proud Masshole to hit the button to lower the window, flip the Prius the bird, and shout several profanity-laden insults, her usually non-existent accent very prominent. When she rolled the window back up, she continued on chatting with Cecelia. "Unfortunately, demon invasions seem mandatory," she murmured, tone apologetic. "There's one every couple months, it seems. Or a kidnapping. No dragons since I've been here, though." That was kind of impressive, she had to admit, despite the fact that if she'd witnessed one she'd probably have a heart attack. "Although I took off for about a year, myself," she added thoughtfully, "so there may have been several dragon hatchings in that time that I don't know about." She didn't bring up Cecelia's mention of 'Paul', but filed the information away to bring up later.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Cecilia said flatly. "I mean, there's always something coming and going. I think I'll be better prepared this time, whatever it is. Back then it was overload. You have your life upended, it's enough to deal with without worrying if the khaleesi'll sic her pets on you while you're sleeping." Now that they were on a highway, Cecilia applied a bit more pressure on the gas to see how the car accelerated. Smooth. "Why'd you take a hiatus?"

"I tried to fuck over the Hellfire Club and got completely fucked by them in return," Adrienne answered with a shrug. "They made threats against the people at the mansion, and instead of telling people and getting help to deal with them, I ran away. Fled like a thief in the night and all that." It felt good to be able to speak flippantly about it now that the emotional shit she'd caused Garrison had been resolved. "What's a khalessi?"

"Don't worry about it." Cecilia fiddled with the heat in Wade's car. Did the man not get cold? Jeez. "The Hellfire Club," she mused. "Doesn't sound like you'd really want to fuck with those guys." And then, unable to help herself after Adrienne had asked the same of her, Cecilia added. "Guy involved?"

Adrienne nodded and squirmed uncomfortably. "A couple, yeah. The one who was making the threats and holding the leverage over me. And the one I was trying to protect by leaving. Well, I was really trying to protect everyone at the mansion- and the Trenchcoats, and a little bit my sister Emma- but mainly him. But the best part," she carried on in an incredulous tone, "was the fact I leave the mansion to protect him and is he happy I put myself through hell for him? Is he grateful I left the first home that ever made me happy? No! What is he when I finally come back? He's fucking pissed at me! Damn emotional Canadians," she pouted. "He got over it eventually, but lemme tell you, if you've never dated a Canadian before, be prepared for mental instability. Have you ever dated a Canadian?"

"Define dated," Cecilia smirked. "No, no, I haven't. I don't think I've touched a Canadian. Not even light petting. Went out with a Cuban or two, though. And a Croatian." She wrinkled her nose. "He was pretty dour, but a lot of fun in the sack." Ah, residency. "Surprised you managed to date at the mansion, though," she said approvingly. "So much potential for drama."

"Croatian, eh?" Adrienne made a noise of approval. "Well, when you're getting attacked by demons, magically or psychically whammied, or dealing with a kidnapping every other week, the dating here actually doesn't seem all that dramatic," she commented with a wry smirk. She left off the fact that the last person she'd been with before coming to the mansion had regularly abused her, which tended to make anyone at the mansion look drama-free by comparison. "I think I can find you a Canadian to pet," she informed Cecelia proudly, playful grin on her face. "Mind you, it's a cat. But I think it's Canadian. At least, it keeps hanging out in Kane's suite on top of a moose's head and refuses to leave. And I think it drinks Kane's Canadian beer when we're not around. And sometimes I find Men With Brooms in the dvd player when we haven't watched it."

"Cat? No thanks." Cecilia scoffed. "I'm not that desperate. Not yet, anyway. Ask me again in a month," she joked. Kind of. "Anyway, I think I'll look outside the mansion for my jollies. Mostly due to lack of options, since everyone seems to be either taken or 17. Or a lady." Was this traffic? Man, that sucked. "And you know, ladies-loving-ladies is great if that's your thing, but one gynie rotation was enough lady parts for me." She wrinkled her nose thinking about it, then blinked. "Oh!" She suddenly shouted. "Brooms. Curling. Canada. Got it."

"They're not all seventeen," Adrienne responded innocently. "Some of them are twenty or twenty-two." She drummed her fingers on the dashboard, an indicator that she was relaxed and pleased with herself. She was thoroughly enjoying this car ride, apart from the mention of gynecologists, a topic she scrubbed from her mind and refused to comment on. "Yeah, the mansion's clearly not gonna work," she mumbled thoughtfully, suddenly deciding that getting Cecelia laid was her life's ambition. "But the Brownstone and District X hold a lot more potential. How do you feel about wings?"

"You know, Wade mentioned wings. I guess I'm open to it," Cecilia conceded, "although I can't even begin to imagine what that'd be like. Bet it's even more humiliating if a guy flies away after and doesn't call you again." She glanced over her shoulder before changing lanes. "So what's the deal with District X? I've been living under a rock for the last few years, as far as mutant culture, especially in New York, is concerned."

Without hesitation Adrienne stood up for her fellow opera lover. "Warren's a gentleman; he would never fly away and not call," she assured Cecelia, staring out the window at passing traffic as the other woman changed the subject. "It's a few blocks worth of buildings on the east side of midtown," she attempted to explain. "After the Apocalypse clusterfuck, it became the rallying point for mutant aid, and I guess a lot of mutants just... never left, and now it's a mutant neighbourhood. Wait... you heard about the Apocalypse clusterfuck, right?" Maybe she was making no sense.

"Yeah, of course." Cecilia waved her on. "I mean, I watch the news." Kind of, vaguely. "Plus Shan was still the librarian than, so she told me it was a thing. I just... didn't realize a mutant village sprang up in Manhattan in the aftermath." That certainly seemed like an interesting social experiment, anyway. A car cut over two lanes in front of her, and she slammed on the horn. "Hijo de puta," she muttered, then cast a sheepish look in Adrienne's direction. "Sorry. So... mutant neighborhood? Weird to think a place like that exists in Manhattan. Although, you know, Manhattan. Anything goes."

"Ahh, I didn't know you knew Shan. We defused a bomb together during the Apocalypse thing," she explained casually. "Funny how that doesn't even seem particularly cool to me anymore, what with so much crazy shit happening on a regular basis," she muttered aloud, waving off Cecelia's apology for cursing. She'd have done it too, but she'd been distracted thinking about the mansion's magnetism for insane shit. "Is that line about Manhattan a musical reference? If it's a musical reference, I don't know if we can be friends anymore," she teased.

"Ick, no musicals," Cecilia assured her. "Just, like, a thing that people say. Or used to say. I don't know this country any more." The image of Shan defusing a bomb popped in her head, and she just grinned. Didn't seem quite her speed. "And how long have you been doing the fashion-boutique-slash-help-outfit-the-clueless-who-lack-real-winter-clothes business?"

"I don't want to tell you in actual years because it'll make me sound old," Adrienne began, "so I'll just say I started my first company when I was nineteen. I had to sell it last year, but I bought a partnership in the District X clothing shop instead. I don't regret selling, but I still miss it, y'know? It was a modeling agency first and foremost, before it was also a clothing label, and there was this room..." She paused as if in reverence to the Closet. "You know all the clothes models wear in magazines and at shows? Well, the designers and the magazines give everything to the models. But oftentimes they don't want it. So it all used to go to this room. And that is where I used to take people to outfit them. I miss that."

"You're seriously talking about old? To me?" Cecilia cocked an eyebrow but kept her eyes on the road. "Come on, now. We have to bond agains the onslaught of mutant youth now threatening to make us obselete. Or something."

Cars began to speed up again, and Cecilia followed suit. "That sounds like a lot of fun. Getting all those runway clothes people just dream of wearing but nobody imagines ever seeing on the rack." Not that Cecilia was necessarily one of those people, although every now and then some designer item in an online slideshow caught her eye. "How'd you get into fashion? That's not everyone's cup of tea."

Though she hadn't smoked in two years, Adrienne pulled out the silver Zippo lighter she still carried around in her purse and flipped it around the fingers of her right hand; over and under, back and forth. "I started as a model when I was fifteen," she answered with a smile that quickly faded. "I guess it was a combination of, for one, wanting everyone in the world to love me, pay attention to me; but also wanting to travel, to be away from home as much as possible.

"How about you?" she asked, brightening again and wanting some quid pro quo. "How'd you get into doctoring? I'd say that's even less everyone's cup of tea than the fashion business."

"A model, eh?" Cecilia turned away from the road for a second to look at Adrienne. "Yep," she smirked, looking back in front of her. "Looks about right."

"You know," she told Adrienne, a light smile playing on her lips, "I don't think anyone's asked me the 'why medicine?' question in years? Usually I just get 'so when you'd first...' and then they do this thing," she gave Adrienne the plaintive this-is-awkward-you-know-what-I-mean-so-don't-make-me-say-it-look. "And then they ask for painkillers."

Her playfulness faded. "My dad went to work one day when I was six, and he died on the bus," she finally answered. "And the doctors didn't know what it was. I mean, they said they couldn't figure it out. It was the South Bronx in the '80s, so I don't know that they really tried, but..." She shrugged. Didn't matter now. "So I wanted to become a doctor. At six. So I could help people, and nobody else would have to deal with that."

Uh oh. Someone relating something sad. That meant saying something comforting. Crap. Adrienne couldn't do comforting. She was awful at it. "They didn't really try? But isn't that against the Hippocratic oath or whatever it's called? Aren't doctors duty-bound to provide care and answers without prejudice?" Damn. That probably wasn't comforting, was it? Was she ever going to get it right? To stop feeling horribly inept when it came to comforting people?

"Sure," Cecilia shrugged, her eyes fixed on the road. "But when you've got shootings and gang violence, not to mention the crack epidemic and all those neglected kids, you don't have time to perform the most thorough autopsy. And anyway," she pointed out somewhat coldly, "what happened isn't really an issue since they didn't prevent it. Maybe couldn't." She knew that sounded callous, but whatever.

"I wonder if the bus would still be in circulation," Adrienne muttered thoughtfully. "If it was, and you knew which bus it was, I could tell you exactly what happened. Assuming you wanted to know, I mean." She was guessing not, what with Cecelia saying what happened wasn't an issue. But maybe she was just saying it wasn't an issue because that was what she had to tell herself without the possibility of actually finding out what happened.

Cecilia bristled at the suggestion. "No," she said dismissively. This was the problem with do-gooder mutants. "Couldn't possibly see the point." She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's been almost 30 years, you know? Even if the bus were still working — which it's probably not — and I knew anything about it, which I don't, what good would it do? It's not going to make me want to save lives or help other people any less than I already do. Worst case scenario, I end up on a myopic quest to cure some specific disease and ignore all the other things I could help fight."

She realized she'd been gripping the steering wheel a little tight, and she loosened her grip. "I'm a curious girl when it comes to diseases, and I like to read and research and have explanations for everything. But sometimes, it's just better not to know."

"Yeah, I'm with you there," Adrienne agreed with a firm nod. "I just figured I'd offer since I have the power, y'know? While I like the students to think I'm a heartless bitch, and most adults, I tend to let people I respect know what I can do to help them out if they need it. But truthfully I'm glad you said no," she admitted with a wry laugh. "Some of the stuff people have asked me to Read for them is not a lot of fun for me. And it's not like I retain the images in perfect clarity for all time anymore, like I used to, but still. Why dwell on the past when you've already moved forward and put it behind you? I don't understand people who get obsessed like that." Despite how the mansion had changed her, Adrienne still believed in self-preservation. She'd closed the doors on so many unsavoury chapters of her own past in order to be where she was now, so she completely understood Cecelia's desire not to open a door like that herself. "And speaking of my ability to Read the entire history of any object I touch," she went on in a breezy tone, "I don't believe I've grilled you on what your mutant ability is yet. Share-sies?"

Ah, so Adrienne respected her. That was nice to hear. "I've got a force field," Cecilia answered. "You know, so if people try to stab me or shoot me or blast me with their laser eyes, I'm protected. Still hurts like hell, though, and it takes a lot out of you to protect yourself. Doesn't help with telepaths, though," she frowned. "Comes in handy, though."

"Everyone has cooler powers than me," Adrienne pouted, smirking at Cecelia so she'd know Adrienne was joking. "Does it extend to other people around you? Can you see it? Is it like a bubble? One of those plastic Zorb bubbles? Can you move around in it like a Zorb bubble?" Except Zorbs probably wouldn't stop bullets. Or knives. Or laser eyebeams. Except maybe the water-filled ones could. Damn, now she wanted to go Zorbing. She'd have to mention it to Tandy and the girls and see if they'd go with her so she could maintain a pretense of having been dragged along with teenagers.

"No, it..." Cecilia cocked an eyebrow. "What the hell is a Zorb bubble?"

"It's this big plastic bubble, like a human hamster ball," Adrienne snorted, not quite realizing how ridiculous that sounded until she said it to a doctor. "Some are filled with water to suspend the rider inside, some have harnesses, some just let you roll around. Then you roll in it down a hill. I have to chaperone the students sometimes," she added, not quite wanting to admit that she thought it was fun.

"Huh." Cecilia responded with a slow nod. "That sounds... huh. Okay." She scratched her nose, trying to decide whether Zorb bubbles were fun or idiotic. "Well, no, my force field's not, uh, quite like that. I haven't experimented much, to be honest. Thought maybe I'd start... training or whatever now that I'm back." Frustrated with the glacial pace of the left lane, she cut the wheel to the right and moved over. "Westchester is just forever away from civilization."

"Yeah it is," Adrienne agreed. "But you'll get used to it. Unless you don't, and move into the city. How come you're staying out at the mansion, anyway?" she inquired casually. "Just to experiment with your powers?"

Cecilia had a striking sense of deja vu, since she'd been answering that question nonstop for the past week. "Well, couldn't afford to stay in a hotel until I figured out my next step, and like I said, with both my parents gone and my brother abroad, I wasn't sure where else I could go. My aunts and uncles and cousins who are still in the city already all live in crowded, small apartments. And I just didn't feel comfortable imposing on friends." Well, except Shan, but Cecilia didn't quite feel right about that either, because the girl had her own issues to deal with.

"So I dunno. I feel like you have to know somebody really well to say 'hey, can I stay with you for an undetermined amount of time?', you know?" She chewed her lip. "Guess the X-Mansion's the closest thing I have to a home these days." Madre de Dios, there was a horrifying (or maybe mildly comforting) thought. "Although I hardly know anybody there anymore. Coming back was like finding out a new family moved in."

Since she'd also returned to the mansion because she'd felt she had nowhere else to go, that it had been the closest thing to her home as well, Adrienne wasn't about to naysay Cecelia's reasoning. "New family, yet probably all the same stereotypes and tropes as the old one, huh?" she questioned. "Moody teens, overambitious college kids, horny teens and college kids, petty sibling-esque rivalries and disputes, mothering adults, adult males who avoid contact with all the other stereotypes in favour of seeking out quiet places to watch sports and drink beer..."

"Just about right," Cecilia laughed. "Nosy do-gooders, frustratingly arrogant men. Different faces, same personalities." She gave Adrienne a playful grin. "Which one are you?"

"Definitely moody teen," Adrienne responded immediately, nodding enthusiastically. "Although horny teen comes in a close second, but that's probably best left between Garrison and myself. And I am frustratingly arrogant a lot of the time. And I do have a lot of sibling-esque rivalries with people. And I do avoid the mothering types and the kids to watch sports and drink beer quite a bit," she muttered thoughtfully, frowning. "How about you? What's your personality in this messed-up family?"

"I'm the daughter who couldn't wait to go to college and cast off the stain of her crazy family, but suddenly finds herself moving in with her parents and realizing they're not so bad," Cecilia answered without missing a beat. "Only I'm 10 years older than that person usually is, and I have a lot fewer sexual misadventures." She bobbed her head. "And an advanced degree. But otherwise, sadly accurate."

"Don't worry," Adrienne said in a soothing tone. "We'll find you lots of sexual misadventures!"

"Oh, gee, thanks!" Cecilia took her right hand off the wheel and playfully pushed Adrienne. "Can't they just be adventures? And then I later decide I'm not into it, even though the sex is great and the guy is perfect?" She rolled her eyes. "You know, I didn't have have sex once in Honduras?" She glanced at the oncoming highway signs. "You'll have to tell me where to go soon."

"Of course I'll tell you. And of course they can be sexual adventures instead of misadventures, dear," Adrienne answered, patting Cecelia's arm. "Wow, not once? Wait; how long were you there, again? I mean, we're talking, like... six weeks or maybe two months, right?" she questioned teasingly. Of course, seeing how Adrienne hadn't been with anyone in nearly eight years between Steven's death and dating Jake, it was all pretense that she tease Cecelia. She had, after all, referred to herself as the mansion nun on a regular basis before Jake.

"Oh my God," Cecilia groaned, "try closer to two years." And a few months before that. It had been a while. "Wasn't the easiest place to be a single americana, or a mutant to boot. And honestly, with all the doctoring without borders, there wasn't a lot of free time for romps in the sack." Plus, even then, who would she have slept with? Another doctor? Out of the question. "I should have called an old friend when I was staying in that hotel..."

"That is possibly the saddest thing I've heard in months," Adrienne replied sympathetically. "We will definitely have to rectify this sad, sad state of affairs. No more doctoring without borders for you if it keeps you from sexual adventures. Promise me that. Where are you working here?"

"Unclear," Cecilia responded. "Still figuring that out. Had a few hospital jobs in the city that might be possibilities, but... sort of at a dead end. Might talk to someone about X-Corps, but I don't know if it'll fulfill the surgery, healing urge that I've got going on." She switched lanes again. "Haven't said anything to anyone officially, but I guess I'll be helping Jean out at the school, at least while I'm around."

"So it's a right at the second set of lights there," Adrienne directed. "I've gotta say, it's kinda sad that in a place with less than fifty people we have more than enough work for three doctors, but I'm sure the mansion will fulfill those urges for you nicely."

"Let's hope," Cecilia said somewhat absently before realizing how terrible that sounded. "I mean, not that people get injured," she turned the wheel, "but that I'm useful in some way. Gotta find some way to fill my days, you know?" The car slowed as they came to a red light. "And you do what at the mansion again? Teaching, I'm guessing?"

"I thought sexual adventures were going to be your primary focus to fill your days?" Adrienne deadpanned. "Hang another right after that blue truck up there. Yeah, I teach math. How do you feel about baseball?"

Cecilia followed Adrienne's directions to get them across town. "Los yanquis," she answered. "What?" She frowned at Adrienne's expression. "I grew up in the South Bronx! Yankee Stadium was right there. I make no apologies for the construction decision that put Yankee Stadium in my borough."

Adrienne's expression included her best death glare and some strangling motions. "Not another one! I'll have to introduce you to Sue Storm. You two can try and gang up on the rest of us. We have quite the plethora of baseball loyalties here," she explained. "There's a lot of communal game-watching, which can certainly fill up some time in your days. Other than that, there's not much else to do around the mansion except eat things, drink at Harry's, work out, and fight whatever demon or curse is the flavour of the week."

"Same as it ever was," Cecilia grinned. "And you're what, a Sox fan? Pffft. Get outta here."

"Gladly," Adrienne snorted derisively, and mimed opening the car door. "Nah. I suppose if I can date a Blue Jays fan I can hang out with an Evil Empire fan."

"Evil Empire?" Cecilia smirked. "This from someone who tried to fuck over the Hellfire Club? Come on now." Now that they were in the city, she removed the sunglasses from her face and passed them back to Adrienne. No need for those when buildings were around to block any available light. "Guess I should be nicer if you're gonna be sprucing up my wardrobe."

"Hey, I succeeded in fucking them over in the end," Adrienne pointed out. "So you'd better be nicer to me for that alone, never mind the wardrobe thing."

"Duly noted," Cecilia responded dryly. "Duly noted."