xmansion | The Cuckoo in the Canary's nest [Open]

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The Cuckoo in the Canary's nest [Open]

Liz's office

Dr Elizabeth Masters is still in the process of getting settled into her new job, and her office floor remains littered with boxes, the contents of which she's still mid-way through putting onto shelves around the room. Her radio's on and she's listening to some old southern tunes, humming along melodiously as she works, her office door invitingly ajar to encourage anyone who might be passing to drop by.

Currently she's working on her computer, turned carefully away from the door, windows and any reflections so that only she can see the screen, typing up an official US government memorandum that someone like Liz Masters would have no business writing. It's a risk, but the incredibly dangerous woman lurking beneath Liz's skin has a great many calls on her time, other identities to be maintained, assets to be managed or controlled, and even when taking time out to play the schoolteacher she cannot let other matters slide.

In the Hallways

Liz rarely moves around without a cup of coffee in hand, and today is no different as she weaves her way through the Mansion, heading from her office toward the classroom where she has students to teach. If she sees you coming down the hallway she'll give a warm smile, particularly if it looks like you need help, and direct you to where you need to be, or answer any other questions for that matter. She's there to help.

In class

"Morning everyone!" Liz exclaimed brightly as she moved into the classroom, casting her eyes about for any signs of misbehaviour and pleased not to find any, moving toward the front to deposit her files. "Today we're going to be starting a new part of the curriculum; World War Two! Plus we're going to be starting it with a documentary movie, exciting huh?" She grinned, moving over to the projector to set up the film she wanted to show to the class, a carefully chosen episode of The Nazis, a Warning From History.

"Any questions before we get started?"

By the pool

It's late in the day and after a hard day's teaching Liz is relaxing in a white bikini on a sun lounger by the side of the pool, sunglasses perched on the top of her head reading a book. It's past the time at which students are allowed to use the pool, so it's not at all busy, Liz being the only person there, or at least so she thinks, so deeply is she buried in her book that she doesn't even notice you approach...or so it appears.

Around

[Wildcard: The cafeteria, the library, the grounds, anywhere except the subbasement-Liz isn't a member of the X-Men so isn't allowed down there.]

Seeking out Warren [Closed]

Warren Worthington was one of the more troubled students attending the school, and as a dutiful teacher Liz Masters was honor bound to help him out, although perhaps that wasn't entirely what had brought her out to one of the remotest parts of the mansion grounds, dressed in a white flannel shirt and smart black business trousers. It's hot and muggy and Liz was perspiring slightly as she tromped along the dusty path, the top buttons of her shirt undone so as to let a little air in, not really visible from ground level, but from above? Perhaps it would be enough to encourage a certain someone to come down to talk to her.

"Hello, Warren?" She called out, sounding uncertain as to whether he was actually there or not. "I'm Dr Liz Masters the new careers advisory, I was hoping to have a talk with you, if you're even here and I'm not just talking to myself that is."

She wasn't. It was so very easy to make the adjustments to her inner ear and nose to heighten their sensitivity, and the smell of his body and the thump of his heartbeat let her pinpoint exactly where the winged mutant was amidst the trees. But it suited her to allow him to think she had no idea where he was, even turning away to look at an entirely different section of trees altogether.

Of all the brats here and the oafs teaching them, this one showed by far the most promise.

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To Liz Masters every one of the students in this school mattered, it being her job to look after the young talents being nurtured here. But to Mystique there were only two lives that she valued, one of whom had just stepped through the office door. Turning her screen to a Word lesson planner with a quick click of her mouse, Liz gave the new arrival a warm smile, waving for Rogue to come in.

"Oh hello, no I'm not at all busy please come in." She gestured to the chair opposite her desk. "I definitely haven't forgotten your name, I'm still getting used to the codenames people use around here but Rogue is definitely unique." Reaching over to the CD player Liz turned down the volume so that the very deliberately chosen music wasn't so loud, and looked expectantly at her student.

"So, what is it I can I help you with?"

Rogue takes a seat, dropping her head slightly at the mention of her name being unique. "Thanks- It was a nickname I used to have, whenever I was in trouble." Which had been quite often. Why she was telling Dr. Masters this, she had no idea. But she seemed easy to talk to, understanding already.

"I wanted to talk to you about the lesson plans. We're studying World War 2... I'd like to be excused from any classes about the Holocaust, if you don't mind." She worries at her gloves, sure that Liz is going to accuse her of being some sort of Holocaust denier. The truth is potentially worse. But also not something easily spoken about.

There are some people who are just naturally easy to talk to and it seems like Liz is one of them, there's an easiness to her smile, a warmth in her eyes that just encourage others to confide in her. Perhaps it's what's made her such a successful ~~infiltrator~~teacher.

"I see, well I hope you haven't been getting into any trouble here?" Liz grins, half-jokingly, her smile fading a little bit at the request, it definitely being a first in her teaching career.

"Oh, can I ask why?" She blinked in confusion, cocking her head sympathetically and giving Rogue an encouraging look to go on, already guessing what the girl would say.

Rogue finds herself matching the grin. "Only a little," she returns with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

She nods, because of course she'd need to explain. She wasn't mad about it. It was just the way it was. "Uhm- I don't know if anyone told you about my powers, but part of it is that I absorb memories of people I touch..." She swallows. "I have a lot of memories from a man who was held at Auschwitz. I don't wanna give those memories a reason to get stronger or anything. They're, ah, really hard to deal with."

Liz's jaw drops at the admission, clearly at a loss about what to say for a moment before finally managing. "Oh goodness that's really awful, Rogue I'm so sorry." Liz leans forward to give Rogue's gloved hand a compassionate squeeze.

"Well I can excuse you from those classes, but are you really sure that's what you want?" She pauses for a moment, stopping to chew anxiously on her lip for a moment before continuing. "I can only imagine what's in your mind and how terrible it must be, but if they're already hard to deal with then perhaps confronting them is better than letting them eat away at you?"

Besides, how would the girl accept how awful humans could be if she refused to accept that glaring truth as shown in Erik's memories?

The touch earns a sharp recoil from Rogue, followed by a sheepish look as if to apologize. It wasn't personal. It was just her powers.

Rogue presses her lips together, unconsciously mimicking Liz's actions. She knows it's silly, to a degree. They're just memories, and they aren't her own. But so often she feels like they are. Like she was that little boy looking at the coin.

"Maybe?" she offers, looking up just a little. "I mean- I got a lot of other memories, but those're... probably the worst ones." Of the ones that aren't her own.

For a moment Liz obviously didn't understand why Rogue would recoil and looks a little hurt, understanding following a moment later as she folded her arms, looking equally apologetic.

"Of course and it's only natural to want to suppress them but if you do it'll only make it worse. If it helps you could try talking about them and I could give you some context, or you could talk with someone you feel comfortable with? A boyfriend perhaps?" Liz grinned and gave a little wink.

She had an instinct that Rogue wouldn't want to discuss Magneto's memories with boyscout Drake considering their content whether in Auschwitz or the bedroom, something that would only highlight the problems in a relationship of not being able to touch. But it never hurt to give someone only one option dressed up to look like two.

Her boyfriend? rogue raises an eyebrow and tries hard not to scoff. “no- it’s not something I’d wanna talk with him about. He already worries too much as-is.” And talking about the heavy memories, even those of the older man in a very different context, would probably only give him the much needed push away from her.

“Besides, he already blames himself for the fact I’ve got ‘em in the first place.” Bobby had told her to run and she had. At least the person she thought was Bobby. Later they had discussed and realized it wasn’t him. But Bobby still blamed himself. Not that she did in the least.

"I see, well if there's anything you'd like to discuss with me I'll help you as much as I can. In the meantime, how about this, I'll have a really careful think about what I'll put in the lessons and you come to the first one to see whether you it helps, deal?" It seemed like a nice compromise, taking into account Rogue's request but actually circumventing it entirely.

In the meantime it wasn't hard to guess what Rogue was getting at regarding Bobby Drake. The boy apparently (and needlessly) blamed himself for her impersonation of him, but Liz wouldn't know that and Mystique hadn't either until now, a useful little nugget that she immediately committed to memory. "Was he responsible?" She asked carefully, clearly not wanting to pry if Rogue didn't want to talk about it, but ready to offer support if needed.

rogue considered it. The suggestion was a fair compromise and she nodded. “I think that sounds alright.” Hopefully she didn’t get into anything too awful, but considering the topic, she wasn’t too hopeful.

“God no- he didn’t have anything to do with it. Our friendship was taken advantage of. I was
Fooled by someone posing as him, simple as that.” Shapeshifters suck.

"Good." Liz smiled encouragingly, reaching for a tin of cookies that she kept on hand to give to students who might need a pick-me-up and offering one to Rogue.

"You couldn't tell?" Liz looked visibly confused about how Rogue could have mistaken someone else for her own boyfriend, but didn't pry any further, plucking a cookie for herself and dunking it in her mug of coffee.

Gingerly, she reaches for one of the cookies. She doesn't remove her gloves.

She shakes her head. "No- there's a shapeshifter-- I didn't even know they were looking for me in the first place-- and somehow she knew we were friends. After... an incident the night before, she took his form and told me that everyone was mad at me. That I should leave.

"So I did." Absentmindedly, she puts her hand on her chest where Logan's claws had pierced her sternum.

"A shapeshifter? That's freaky." Liz looks disturbed that there's someone with powers like that out there, let alone that they're clearly being misused ~~including at that very moment~~.

"And neither of you've been able to quite forget it?" She asked gently, knowing what that gesture meant, having felt the cut of those awfully sharp claws herself, but deliberately interpreting it to think Rogue felt sick about it.

"That must have made it harder with him? Particularly if you can't touch." Liz smiled hitched a little, the topic obviously affecting her, but she continued in the interest of helping empathise with her student. "I have a similar problem."

She knew it wasn't nice to say it, but Mystique looked pretty freaky, too. Some sort of weird snake, more fluid than solid. "And she happens to be one of the worst ones." It'd be different of she was on their side. But Mystique was nothing but bad.

She shakes her head. "No. I got really hurt, after I left campus. Dr. Grey told me I flatlined..." Rogue swallows. Logan had saved life her for the second time in 24 hours. ~~At least she'd saved his life first~~.

"I... I guess. I thought we were past it." she sighs and runs her hands through her hair. At Liz's admission, Rogue pauses and looks up. 'You- you do?" She leans forward.

"Damn." Liz murmurs sympathetically, forgetting her language in front of a student for a moment at the revelation.

"That's very tough Rogue, I can only imagine what you've been through on both counts." She says softly, there being a distinct tone in her voice that if Rogue ever wanted to talk about it then Liz would be happy to listen and help.

"Yeah hang on I'll show you..." Liz nods enthusiastically, closing her eyes and screwing up her face in concentration as...nothing happens. After a moment Liz opens one eye looks down at herself and lets out an irritated, "shoot!"

"Thank you." There's more than a surprising amount of gratitude in Rogue's words as she looks at her new teacher with clear green eyes. She could hear between the lines, and the offer, even if unspoken, was appreciated.

It'd be good, maybe. To have someone to talk to that hadn't actually been there for the whole debacle.

Rogue leans forward, lips pursing slightly as she waits to see what she can do. When nothing happens, she offers a sympathetic grimace. "It's alright. Stuff happens." People couldn't perform. That's why they were here: to learn. It was a school, after all.

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The Cuckoo in the Canary's nest [Open]

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