41 * accidental video

[starchilde_lost]

[It appears the giant nose of a cat is attacking, but really it's just Mercy, batting at the Network device before hopping over to Rachel's bed where Keffie's already curled up with a speaking Rachel. The clock reads very, very early in the morning, and it's pretty obvious she hasn't slept, or was woken up by the compulsion to talk.]

...life incarnate, and yeah, it sounds cliche, but that's just... I've never met anyone with that much life. Which is ironic, seeing as how she's dead now. And then there's my Dad, who's probably as insular as my Mom was outgoing. But that whole still waters run deep? Totally applies to Scott. No matter how much chaos there is around him, he's... still. Strong. One of the only people I believe when they tell me it's going to be okay, and it still works today.

My brother's like that too, only with a temper. Got that from his Mom. Oh my God, Maddie was a piece of work. Totally fine, right up until she went crazy and tried to destroy the world.

[The cats seem to disbelieve this, or perhaps they're wondering why Rachel's still talking.]

Then there's my Granddad on my father's side, Corsair, Christopher Summers was his real name, but by the time Dad and Alex found him again, he hadn't used it in years. Space pirate by trade, and no, I'm not kidding about that either. He was a really great man, loyal to his crew, loved Scott and Alex to pieces... Gabriel, too. Even when Gabriel killed him, he was trying to stop him, save him from what he was becoming.

We couldn't save him. I couldn't save him. [She's visibly shaken now and her mouth opens and closes a few times like she's trying not to talk.]

Couldn't save my Mom's parents either. My Gram'pa, he was the kindest soul I've ever met. Just invited me to stay with them even though he didn't know a thing about me. Did you know he played a mean game of basket ball? He was GOOD, too. And he just... accepted me, didn't matter to him what had happened in the past, or what was happening around us, he just... he loved me.

And I couldn't save him. He was killed just because he was related to me and I couldn't save him. Him, my mom's entire family, all killed. And the real kicker - it was just blood, technically none of those people were my family, they were just... their timeline's version of what my family was back home. My real home. But the didn't care - they just took me in and it got them killed.

[She throws a pillow across the room and the the cats streak out and Rachel's left crying and talking to herself.]

Then there's Scott's grandparents, up in Alaska, they owned an small air shipping business...

...God, why am I still talking about my family?! I should be asleep!

Comments

[voice]

[theshockvalue.livejournal.com]

Hey...Ray...?

[voice]

[starchilde_lost]

Brennan? I... I can't stop, it's like I want to say everything about my family ever.

Like Alex? He's so much better than he thinks he is and-

[voice]

[theshockvalue.livejournal.com]

It's probably a curse.

Um...you call your dad "Scott"?

[voice]

[starchilde_lost]

Yeah, that's his name, I go back and forth depending on what kinda mood I'm in. See, he met me before he knew he was my Dad - to him I was just this time-traveling red-headed kid - so I called him Scott and-

...see there I go again. Damn curse, I have better things to do than talk about my family.

Re: [voice]

[theshockvalue.livejournal.com]

He's a good guy, though? I've never really met a good dad, you know? Always wondered what they were like.

[voice]

[starchilde_lost]

Yeah, he's a great guy, I wish you could. I mean, technically I'm not even his, Nathan, is though, with his first wife Madelyne... anyway, he doesn't care about that, Jean didn't either at the end...

Take it you didn't have it that good, did you?

[voice]

[theshockvalue.livejournal.com]

What's he like?

My dad died before I was born. He was a pilot, in Vietnam.

[voice]

[starchilde_lost]

Like a rock - and he's brilliant, he's been the X-Men's leader for a real long time, tactical genius. He's loyal and caring, and I don't really like his current girlfriend, but he's happy so I deal.

Did you have anyone growing up?

[voice]

[theshockvalue.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a good man, yeah.

Not really. [a small scoff] My mom remarried. He was a dick. We left. She died. Then it was foster homes. They gave me an ultimatum in High School: go to a juvenile detention center or counciling. Dr. Palance was the first person who ever really cared about me.

[voice]

[starchilde_lost]

I'm sorry about your mom, my parents died when I was fourteen...

Tell me about him, Dr. Palance, he sounds nice.

[voice]

[theshockvalue.livejournal.com]

Where did you end up?

He used to tell me when he heard me talk he heard a good man. He told me that if I put my mind to it, I could do all sorts of good things. I guess he was right. I ran into him recently. He said he was proud. [pause as Brennan swallows] I almost lost him, too. He had a heart attack. Luckily, Brennan Mulwray comes with built in defibrillators.

[voice]

[starchilde_lost]

Ahab... he... he was the one that made me hunt. And when I broke free they put me in a mutant camp, my family was long dead.

Lucky man, I'm glad you were able to save him.

[voice]

[theshockvalue.livejournal.com]

Heh, you know, I was saddled with a sub-dermal governor and used by a secret genetic research facility to hunt down mutants myself. Then, I helped a really exclusive mutants-only club break a bunch of people out. Then, they asked me to join.

What's a mutant camp?

Well, he was the first person I told about my powers. My mom didn't even know.

Re: [voice]

[starchilde_lost]

...think concentration camp only for mutants. We were fitted with collars so we couldn't use our powers. I was glad my parents weren't there to see it.

...join - were they... good people?

And he didn't mind? He was supportive?

[voice]

[theshockvalue.livejournal.com]

Damn.

I...well, yeah. I mean, I'm still a member.

No, he didn't mind at all.

[voice]

[starchilde_lost]

The world I was born in didn't look too kindly on mutants.

...you're talking about your team, aren't you? That group, right?

I'm really glad you had that.

[voice]

[theshockvalue.livejournal.com]

We're trying to hide our existence where I'm from. So far, so good.

Mutant X, yeah.

I think I'd been in prison if it weren't for Dr. Palance.

[voice]

[starchilde_lost]

It's always better to have friends. People you can count on to watch your back no matter what.

I know I'd be dead if it weren't for mine.

...I'm glad you met him, then. Don't think you and I would get along so well from prison.

[voice]

[theshockvalue.livejournal.com]

Well, I've been in jail before, but trust me, with the stuff I've done, they'd lock me up as long as they could.

[starfleet-pimp.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you've got a pretty good family.

[starchilde_lost]

I wish most of it wasn't in the past tense.

Scott's tried really hard since my mom's family was killed, so has Alex. Alex... God, he must be a prisoner back home, we had to leave him behind and he surrendered to save Lorna and the others... he's like that, I guess we all are...

Jesus, I can't stop.

[starfleet-pimp.livejournal.com]

It must be a curse.

[starchilde_lost]

My family is cursed. I mean, lots of families back home have issues, but between Apocalypse and the clones... oh, God, the clones. Maddie was bad, but my brother's clone, Stryfe...

Okay, I need to find something to knock me out.

[starfleet-pimp.livejournal.com]

Do you think that would work?

[starchilde_lost]

Maybe? I dunno, maybe I'd just talk in my sleep, but then I don't have to listen to me talking about Alex's self-confidence issues and on-again, off-again relationship with Lorna...

[starfleet-pimp.livejournal.com]

It would probably be broadcast over the network though.

[starchilde_lost]

Well, I wouldn't have to deal with it. It would just be gone. Like Stryfe's sanity. That's assuming the guy had any to begin with and Nathan told me that was dicey.

[starfleet-pimp.livejournal.com]

Does your family have a history of mental illness? It would explain why you're dating Brennan.

[starchilde_lost]

Well... the clones were certifiable. Gabriel was an abused slave when he was young then he was trapped in a island in outer space so him going crazy wasn't all that surprising. Phoenix... is a little harder to pin down, but she did have Mastermind digging about in her head so maybe that's a write off.

I think I just have a bad temper.

[starfleet-pimp.livejournal.com]

It's not that bad.

[starchilde_lost]

Logan had to stab me in the chest to keep me from killing someone once.

She totally deserved it.

[starfleet-pimp.livejournal.com]

You have strange friends.

[starchilde_lost]

We have strange lives.

[starfleet-pimp.livejournal.com]

I'm getting that.

[knockoff-hero.livejournal.com]

Curse. I can't stop either, though I don't really mind, since they're awesome.

You probably don't want to hear about how awesome my family is, right now, though. Maybe since you posted the City will let you sleep.

[starchilde_lost]

I don't know, I still... want to talk. You know my brother's older than both his parents together? My family is sooooo, weird.

[knockoff-hero.livejournal.com]

That's kind of bizarre. I'm the only weird one in my family, at least in the meta-weird sense.

[starchilde_lost]

Nope, my whole family. Well, everyone from my grandparents on down and my Aunt Sarah. Well there are cousins and what-not, but my entire immediate family are mutants. Scott, Jean, Nathan, Alex... Gabriel. Even the clones, although Maddie....

[knockoff-hero.livejournal.com]

Clones? Not that I'm so surprised considering what's happened with some of my teammates...

[starchilde_lost]

Stryfe and Maddie - Stryfe's a clone of my brother and Madelyne was a clone of my mother who married my father and had Nathan, my brother.

Why can't I stop talking about this? I want to go to sleep.

[knockoff-hero.livejournal.com]

Um. Huh.

Yeah, we should probably stop this conversation before I start naming all my obnoxious little cousins and stuff.

[starchilde_lost]

I wish I'd gotten to spend more time with Joey and Galen - they're my cousins, my Aunt Sarah's-

Jeez.

[knockoff-hero.livejournal.com]

My cousin Jorge's pretty cool. I admire him for actually coming out of the closet to the entire family. Only ever since that all happened, my mother's been really paranoid that I'm keeping stuff from her--even after I told her about the superpowers.

Seriously, this curse.

[starchilde_lost]

It's driving me crazy. Crazier than Maddie and she opened portals to Limbo and turned New York into a demonic haven.

We fixed it.