infcrncs

[infcrncs]

makomuses:

“Sounds good,” Bella agreed with an apologetic smile. She wasn’t too keen on using one of those stepping discs for short-range travel… but it was her fault that Illyana was carrying damp towels, so she reckoned it wasn’t really her place to shoot down a shortcut. “Sorry,” she repeated.

“Hey, I was the one who brought you near the pool. I should have asked more questions about how your powers work.” Illyana casually summoned up a stepping disc. She felt a little bad for having to put Bella through this again, but she really did want to get going as soon as possible. “So if you’re comfortable, how exactly does it all work?”

[infcrncs]

Illyana just looked at him for a moment, really looked at him. As goofy and flaily as he was, Wade really seemed to have a problem when it came to people. Not that Illyana herself was amazing herself at letting people care about her, but she was on the outside looking in here. “Like it or not, we’re friends now. Which means caring and all that shit. And I really don’t understand why you think that a wood chipper would ever be the end of me. Besides, already died before.” She tried to say this nonchalant-like. “I can give you a headache sooner if you want? You also make it sound like divorce is involved here at least once...”

         “ - Ooookay,” he snorts, and flaps his hands at her, grumbling under his breath. “You, sweetheart, like the rest of the world should certainly run off into the ‘don’t care’ category. Learn it. People that stick close to me get, like, mulched. Wood chipper future, Yana! Wood chipper.”

Gently, so gently, a gloved hand comes to rest over her mouth, and he offers her a blank white gaze. “You’re gonna give me a headache. Don’t worry, I know deep down your brother loves me and one day I’ll be the bitchiest in-law you could ever have.”

[infcrncs]

makomuses:

“Sounds good to me,” Bella agreed cheerfully. “Oh, um-” she began when Illyana started walking. “can you pick those up? Sorry. I would, but I’d just grow a tail again,” she explained, contrite.

Illyana stopped in place, and looked behind her. Wet towels. Awesome. She went back, and picked them up. Catching back up to Bella by walking with purpose (never running- she was reckless, but not needlessly so), Illyana suggested, “How about we take a nice stepping disc to the dormitory area first- starting with the laundry facilities?”

[infcrncs]

makomuses:

“I think you mean Vidal Sassoon,” Bella supplied, helpfully. “I mean. I could take a shower if I really wanted to, but it involves me sitting on the shower floor… tried it, wouldn’t recommend it. Baths work well enough, though.” Around then, she reached the point where she was apparently dry enough to transform back - in possession of her legs and fully clothed once more, she stood up.

“Alright, looks like I’m good to go - what’s next? I reckon we should return the towels, yeah?”

“Isn’t that what I just said?” Illyana asked, knowing full well that was not at all what she had just said. But that was not the point- she had been close enough. “Bath. Okay.” Aaaand now she was thinking about how the skin underneath all of the scales got cleaned. These were bad thoughts, so she just continued to look away until Bella was back. “Right, uhm, now we can check out where the food is, where people sleep, where people actually enjoy themselves apart from basic human needs...”

[infcrncs]

“It’s called giving a shit and not caring very much about shoulds and should nots,” Illyana said stubbornly. “Flavor is important because he put some thought into which one to toss your way. As thoughtful as he seems, he doesn’t always think things through. Now imagine just how different the thought process between someone that throws their favorite flavor away and someone else’s preferred one away.”

           “Yeah, well, you should know along with the rest of the world not to bother asking about the inside of my head,” he snorts, and shrugs. Flavor? Why did the flavor matter at all? “Uh, it was, like, chewy chocolate chip or some shit. He knew better than to try with a healthier flavor.”

[infcrncs]

makomuses:

“I don’t think hairdryers come in wireless form, no,” Bella agreed. “That’s alright though, this should work. As long as I can get my hair dry enough that it doesn’t drip anymore, that’s usually good enough for some reason.” The rest of her though, she would need to dry. She used the first towel until it was too saturated to be of any use, then proceeded to drag herself away from the wet tile beneath her and onto a drier patch. 

“Well that’s stupid. Everything else is wireless. Why am I not in charge of... What’s a hair products company? Vital Bassoon?” Something like that, probably. Illyana had a heck of a lot of trouble keeping track of what brands were called because she held onto what she liked and paid no attention to the brand. “Wait, does this mean that you can’t shower? Because that is the takeaway I’m getting from this.”

[infcrncs]

makomuses:

“Maybe not, but it I’d say it’s efficient enough to make up for that,” Bella reasoned, though maybe that wasn’t the case for short distances. At Illyana’s suggestion of getting closer to the ladder, she shook her head, recalling an incident where she’d tried to pull herself from a pool via ladder instead of ledge. It hadn’t gone well. “Nah, I think we’re fine here. Just one good tug should do…” Dr. McCoy looked like he was strong enough for that to be the case, which fortunately turned out to be true. “Thank you so much,” she told him, situating herself (slightly) more comfortably on the tile before reaching for a towel and setting to work drying herself off.

Wow, yeah, okay, even if the built-in bikini thing was modest enough, Illyana felt bad for gawking. After waving off the good doctor, Illyana had to figure out what to do with her eyes now. Looking up at the sky instead of down and feeling like a crep, she decided to keep up the conversation. “Do you need more towels? I don’t really know how your power works, but it looks like you’re drying off there, and getting 100% dry is a pretty novel concept out here. Hairdryers don’t come in wireless form, do they?”

[infcrncs]

makomuses:

“That’s true, thanks,” Bella agreed, cringing at the idea of transforming in a cold, sterile environment, presumably surrounded by fragile and expensive equipment. At Dr. McCoy’s request, she provided a skin sample and a strand of hair.

“I wouldn’t say I hated it,” Bella agreed, though truth be told she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it yet. With everything that had happened over the course of the last hour, teleporting through a demonic realm had been just one of a series of disconcerting events, and only time would tell which ones she’d get used to.

“Um- if we’re all done with samples for now, could I maybe get a hand out of here?” she asked hopefully. She’d be able to get out on her own eventually if need be, but it really would be a lot easier with help.

“I guess it’s not the most fun way of traveling...” Illyana peered down into the water to assess how well this lifting job might work... Probably not so well if she had to be involved. She was not exactly sure how much that tail weighed, but it certainly looked heavy. It seemed like a crappy idea to point that out in polite company, though, so she nudged for Hank to try. “I’ll hold your stuff and will guard it with my life,” she promised. 

She took up whatever science stuff that Hank had brought, and took a few steps back. Something told her that this might get messy. “Maybe you guys should start by the ladder? That might help.” Backseat driving was her specialty.

[infcrncs]

“Just saying... ‘Fine’ and ‘physically healthy’ are not the same thing. Trust me,” Illyana told him, simultaneously serious and poking fun. Eyeing some liquor store candy, she asked, “Important question: What flavor of protein bar was it?”

           “What? I’m fine! Duh!” Grinning madly, he skips beside her, the same over-eager, highly-energized toddler as always. “Oh, oh my god, yeah! Yeah, last time instead of backhanding me into the sun he just sighed and gave me a protein bar! It’s progress!”

[infcrncs]

makomuses:

“I’m not going anywhere,” Bella assured Illyana with a wry smile, pushing off from the edge and slipping underwater once the teleporter had vanished from sight. She reckoned that at least this way, people wouldn’t be able to see from a distance that there was a mermaid in the pool. She surfaced again at the sight of the telltale glow, a little surprised to see that Illyana had brought not just towels, but what looked to be a blue, furry person in a labcoat. Suddenly, she felt a little less self conscious about the whole mermaid thing. “No, that’s fine” she told Illyana, turning to the man (was it a man? She was pretty sure it was a man). “Um, hi. I’m Bella… Are you Dr. McCoy?” She was still a little nervous about the whole situation, but tried not to show it.

She had once read somewhere that humans were soothed by watching water. Was it like that to watch a tailed person in water too? “Figured that this was easier rather than having you break your tail out in a sterile environment,” Illyana explained, watching interestedly as Hank moved forward to do his thing.

There did not seem to be much that could be done outside of the lab, but he did request a skin and hair sample (only the kinds that came off naturally - no need to try to obtain those dangerously. He mumbled something about possibly meeting him in the lab later, but that he was going to go back there on foot. Although he did not move just yet.

“I don’t know what’s so disconcerting about my way of travel,” Illyana commented. “You did not hate it, did you, Bella?”

[infcrncs]

makomuses:

That was a fair question, Bella decided. “I mean, I don’t mind hanging out in here… but I’ll need to get out eventually, yeah? And drying off takes a while, so sooner might be better than later… you guys wouldn’t happen to have any towels around here, would you?” she asked hopefully, though she didn’t really see where any could be. “And, um. I may need some help getting out,” she admitted. If she had to, she could probably drag herself out on her own, but that sounded almost as painful as landing on the tile would have been.

Illyana looked around, and realized there were indeed no towels lurking around the pool area. “Seriously, mansion? No, it looks like we don’t, actually. I can run and get some. Stay put. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” If she was going to show off, then she was going to do it now. Besides, how bad could it be for a mermaid in a pool of water? 

She summoned up a stepping disc, and headed first for the linen closet. Towels, check. And then she headed for the medical ward, and only had to give a twenty second explanation to convince Hank to come along. “We’re baaaaack, and I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve brought a friend.”

[infcrncs]

“Will you be okay in a few? We can sit down or something.” They probably look like the weirdest duo, but there really isn’t anything the greater public can do about two costumed oddballs that just want some snacks. “I don’t even think he liked Say Anything... Or maybe that was me. No, yeah, that was just me. Wait, did he do something instead of crushing you? I’m kind of curious.”

           “Owie,” he groans, but hobbles along after Illyana persistently enough with only a little bit of a petulant whine in his voice. It all pretty much fades in about three seconds, though, and he’s bouncing along as excited as ever at the prospect of food! “Hey, listen, I totally already won him over! He didn’t crush me into the ground for boomboxing his window the last time!”

[infcrncs]

makomuses:

Bella swam to the surface, trying not to panic about her biggest secret being revealed to two total strangers and one near-total stranger. All three were mutants, but still. What if this was too weird? She could wind up in an exhibit, or dissected, or - her train of thought was cut off by Illyana’s insistence that the teens apologize to her. “I’m fine,” she assured them. “I may need a hand getting out of here, but no harm done.” Provided they would stop gawking at her… which miraculously enough, they did. “Sorry about that,” she apologized to Illyana, a little sheepish. “I’m… used to running. Usually not toward people, but there wasn’t anywhere to hide. Not to mention, landing on tile hurts.”

The teenagers in the pool almost got into a bickering war with Illyana until Bella had interrupted. Grateful that she was all right, Illyana knelt down to see what had actually happened. Yup, that was definitely a tail. “I guess I can imagine how that might have gone wrong.” She looked up at the teens, and gestured for them to shoo away. One gave her a look that said ‘make me,’ so she just ignored him. “You don’t need to run from us, but, uh, what actually happened? It’s okay if you just want to hang out in here, I guess.” She was trying not to look too intrigued by what had happened, but what kind of mutation came with a built-in bra?

[infcrncs]

makomuses:

“Seeing as I’ve just graduated, that’s a relief” Bella half-joked, privately a little relieved to hear that it wasn’t too late for her to make friends just because she’d more or less missed out on that until this point. “Um. What does Canada have to do with anything?” she asked, even more confused than she’d been about the amazing-yet-not sword. As confusing as the matter was though, she managed to be distracted by their arrival at the pool. It was larger than expected, which was a plus, but there was also a great deal more splashing going on than she’d been anticipating. She stopped short quite a ways back, warily eyeing a pair of teenagers who were using their mutant powers to have some sort of sparring match in the pool. It wasn’t enough. One of the kids shot a blast of water straight at the other, who dodged, sending it straight for her. Crap. She looked around frantically for somewhere to hide, but there wasn’t anywhere. Shit. Except… did she really need to hide? It wasn’t as if growing a tail here was going to be as big a deal as it was anywhere else. She broke out in a sprint towards the pool, making it just in time. Transforming in the pool was not ideal, but it was at least better than transforming on the hard tile surrounding it.

Illyana was going to explain that she made terrible jokes about her own country of origin guessing skills (now that she had had a while to overthink them), but then a series of rather strange events happened. First, she was splashed. That was not terrifically unusual by itself. They were near the pool and teenagers could be reckless. It did not seem important to her thoughts that she was only a couple years out from being a teenager herself. Second, Bella, who had gotten the full force of the water blast, took off running toward the pool. She could imagine a whole hoard of authority figures reminding her that running around the pool for recreation was not suggested, but then the third thing happened. Bella executed an impressive (although not Olympic-caliber) dive into the pool. Approaching swiftly (by power-walking, not running. Take that!), she looked down at the dive spot, and then back up to the teenagers. “Don’t just gawk. See if she’s okay and apologize!”

[infcrncs]

makomuses:

Now Bella was left to wonder how a sword could both A) be cool enough to rank as a mutant power up there with astral projection, and B) not be that cool after all. It seemed to her that something wasn’t quite adding up, but she decided not to push the matter. “That’s really cool,” she commented, a little surprised by how small Illyana’s class had been - the danger room hadn’t exactly been empty, but the school seemed much more crowded now by comparison. “It must have been nice, having people you could talk to about this stuff with,” she mused. 

“Yeah. I’m lucky to have had them. There’s always more people to meet that come in, but there’s nothing like the people that you went through hell and back with.” Almost literally, but that had not been the sort of wordplay that had come on purpose. Whatever. “Piotr- my brother- was closer to your age when he joined up with the X-men, if it helps. You don’t need to go through high school stuff to befriend someone, you know?” Illyana reconsidered what she said. ”Well, I don’t know if you know. All I’ve got is that you’re not from Canada and you’ve never told anyone about your powers unprompted. Anyway, we’re almost to the pool.”

[infcrncs]

makomuses:

“A sword?” Bella asked, not quite sure how having a sword was a mutant power. It must be one hell of a sword if it ranked up there with astral projection. “Cool. I’d love to see it someday.” She didn’t phrase that as a question, giving Illyana the opportunity to skate right over the comment without further answers if the sword itself was something more personal than she was comfortable sharing. “How long have you known about this place? Did you go to school here?” She remembered Illyana’s comments about her education and guessed maybe not - but then again, maybe she’d just meant that she hadn’t been to university. 

“Yeah, maybe? My sword’s not that cool.” Illyana definitely had lied about that because she thought her sword was objectively awesome. It just came with a lot of complications that she did not want to delve into. Best to downplay that. She was forced to answer honestly about how long she had known about Xavier’s. Her sense of morality was pretty skewed, but she did not know how she could lie about how long she had known about Xavier’s. ‘A while’ was a dissatisfying answer. “I’ve known since I was a little kid. My brother went here before I did.” It had been different when he had been there, but still. “I did go here, yeah. Sam from before was one of my classmates. We weren’t a very big class. Remember those Danger Room kids? There were about as many of them as there were of us in the entire school.”

[infcrncs]

Bold what applies to your muse. Italics apply sometimes. 

APHRODITE: laughter-loving. |  sweet smiles. | dressed in silk and satin. | flower in their hair. | sees the world as a runway. | unapologetically sexual. | the sea washing their ankles.|in love with love. | stirrer of passion. | cunning concealed by painted lips. | secret daggers. | doves. | revolution in their kiss. | delighting in the waves. | flirtatious winks. | strolling along the beach. |  staring wistfully from a balcony. | this is how to be a heartbreaker. |  wants to be adored. | gets turned on by danger. |

APOLLO: glitz and glamour. | art galleries. | turning the volume up. | being made of gold. | neatly-organised music sheets. | notebooks filled with poetry. | bathing in the sunlight. | the powerful urge to create. | collecting vinyl records. |  beautiful cover of wonderwall. | playing multiple instruments. | tasting like sunshine. | healing touch. | speaking in prophecies. |smile mingled with wrath. |  shunning lies. | sporting shades. | hanging out at music festivals with their friends. | sleeps naked. |  arrow to the heart. | paint brushes. | probably has a tinder account. |

ARES: armed for battle. | wants to raise a dog with their significant other. | soft spot for children. |  gives piggyback rides. | scarred body. |  blood on their hands and face. | willing to fight the world for the ones they love. |  fights against injustice. | warm hugs. | well-worn combat boots. | boxing gloves. | bandages wrapped around bruised knuckles. | fist raised in protest. | ignites revolutions. | fear is a prison. |  more sensitive than what their tough shell would have you think. | exhausted. | damaged goods. |force to be reckoned with. | red roses. | curses under their breath. |

ARTEMIS: keen sense of a hunter. | freckles like constellations on their skin. | piercing eyes | disheveled braid. |  moonlight peeking through the shadows. | the calm of the forest at night. | lying on the grass and staring at the stars. | mother doe and her fawn. |  protecting their kin.| the moon shimmering on a still lake. | quiver full of arrows resting against the bark of a tree. |running with wolves. |  bonding while circled around a campfire. | not being much of a people person. | arrow hitting a target. | popping egos. | patience on 3%. | touches heaven and returns howling. |

ATHENA: discerning gaze. | unreadable face. | quiet museums. | owl perched on their finger. | armor that intimidates. | eye for architecture. |  plays the sims for the sole purpose of building houses. |  studied the blade while everyone else was busy getting laid. |  big fan of logic. | loves brain teasers | ancient buildings. |  sweaters in neutrals and cool colors. | hair done up. | can kill you with their brain. |  heads to the library often to research. | sharpened pencils. | abs that can cut steel. | stoic statues. | pottery classes. |

DEMETER: soil-covered hands. | smile that can bloom flowers. | skin loved by the sun. | being the mom-friend. | can lift you and your friends. | flowers kept in the pockets of overalls. | takes pride in their beautiful garden. | speaks to their plants. | leaves rustling in the wind. | stalks of wheat. | picking fruit. | greenhouses. |  heart as strong as a mountain. |  values simplicity. | daisies dotted across a collarbone. | curls crowned with flowers. |  folded pile of sweaters in warm hues. | pulling out fresh baked bread out of the oven and the smell wafting through the air. |

DIONYSUS: drunk shitposter. | on their sixth glass of wine before you’ve even finished your second. | seductive smirks. |  untamed curls. | rich fabrics on dark skin. | sleek-furred panthers. | theater masks. | stage productions. | receiving a standing ovation. | rose caught between their teeth. | being the baby of the bunch. | wild parties that last from sundown to sunup. | creeping vines. | inspiring loyalty. | grand opera houses. | masquerade balls. | rolls of film. | shattered chandeliers with broken glass scattered across the wine-spilled floor. | pouring champagne into flutes. | lives for the applause. |

HEPHAESTUS: the calloused hands of someone who knows labor. |  sweaty brow. |flame burning in their eyes. | inventive mind. | broad shoulders. | steampunk goggles. | nuts and bolts stored away in little boxes. | ashes. | striking a match. | blueprints for future projects. |  fixing up a busted up car and giving it cool upgrades. | wrestles with bitterness. |  work boots have seen better years. | wrinkled plaid shirts. |  iron melted in blazing fire. |huge jackets. |  crafting masterpieces. |  greased-stained overalls. | fascination with robotics. | pain is fuel. | stack of weaponry. | even their muscles have muscles. |

HERA:  resting bitch face. | dressed to the nines. | cows grazing on a pasture. | cool rain. |loving and hating fiercely. | hand clutching a string of pearls. | large chandelier with glittering crystals. | plays the sims for the sole purpose of killing off their sims. |  romance to realism. | pictures of the sky while flying on a plane. | files that under fuck it. | downs glasses of wine as they relax with a scented bubble bath and netflix. | like their selfie or you’re grounded. | knows 57 convenient ways to murder a man. | dark eyes that penetrate your soul. | marble and gold. |

HERMES: devil-may-care smile. | always up-to-date on the latest technology. |  will steal your french fries. | does it for the vine. | shitposter. | puts googly eyes on everything. |meme hoarder. | long drives on the highway. |  ma and pop diners. | spontaneous road trips. | folded maps. | fingers dancing across the keyboard of a laptop. | shooting hoops on the basketball court. | chatting up strangers as you all journey to your own destinations. | goes jogging in the morning. | mixes redbull with coffee. | menace on april fool’s. | hoodies and sneakers. |

POSEIDON: storm with skin. | colorful coral reefs. | waves crashing against the shore. | stroking the soft fur of a cat. | their heart pounding as their horse’s gentle trot speeds into a gallop. | tousled locks. | clothes smeared with paint. |  owns several sketchbooks yet always yearns to own more. | leather jackets. | fondness for diy projects. | handwriting that flows across the page. | nimble fingers playing the strings of a violin. | velvety singing voice that haunts your dreams. |  mood as ever-changing as the sea. | the roar of a motorcycle.|compass with a spinning arrow. |

ZEUS: thunder in their heart. |  running on coffee. | flash of lightning. | natural charisma.| eloquence. | badass in a nice suit. | aficionado of history. | force of nature. | lenny face. |nightmare-filled nights. |  proud arm around their lover’s waist. |  high-rise buildings. |planes soaring through a cloudless sky. | technician on the piano. | maintains order. | strong handshake. | juggling multiple events on their busy schedule with ease. | expensive watch. |

Tagged by: @thatmouthymerc

Tagging: @makomuses, @rocketlegs ?? I don’t know, friends ‘n’ acquaintances. If you’re as much of a nerd for greek myths as I am feel free to HAVE AT IT. Or don’t.