2014.04.13 - The Prestige

OOC NOTE: The following scene takes place after 'The Heist'[], 'The Steal'[], and 'The Trip' [].

"It's really easy. You just hold the guitar, close your eyes and visualize the shapes. Then the music just sort of happens and people cheer for you. That's how I learned how to play, anyway."

"Check me out! I just moved that cloud in front of the sun!"

"Ugh... I'm so sick of beans..."

"Hey! Cut it out! Some of us are trying to get a tan!"

The freighter has been transformed in just a few days from something from an episode of 24, to something from an episode of Degrassi. Teenage mutants have completely taken over, relishing both their freedom from slavery and their freedom to display their powers openly with other kids. However, they are not relishing their freedom to drink alcohol in international waters. This is because Gambit, good parental figure that he is, has either hidden, destroyed, or consumed pretty much anything that teenagers would likely get into trouble with. Predictably, this means that he's currently leaning over the side of the ship, both hungover and seasick. The laughter and carousing of teenagers is therefore basically striking his ears like fingernails on a chalkboard. A nauseous chalkboard.

"Baise-moi... if it wasn't a sin, I'd jump right in the ocean and beg a shark to eat me."

With a few well-worded threats and maybe only one broken bone the previous captain agreed to take over steering the big boat in shifts with Rogue. Mostly because standing in one place holding the wheel was boring as all hell.

Rogue was sitting and braiding one of the younger runaways' hair and rolled her eyes at the sad sight and called out, "Ah told ya you had enough. But you kept sayin' 'its for the kids, it's for the kids!' Just plain sad."

She had found some clean clothing from the previous crews luggage, and kept everyone clothed. Mostly (teenagers). Rogue herself had knicked a flannel shirt she tied just underneath her chest and turned a pair of pants into shorts but was still wearing the same pair of silk gloves and had her hair all tossed back into a ponytail. She pointed over towards Gambit, "And that, Suzie is why you shouldn't drink, at least not until you're old enough to know better. Gambit clearly doesn't."

"Ugh... doesn't one of you kids have some kind of useful power? Like... making the boat stop rocking?" He continues to lean over the side, occasionally making noises that are as gross as they are pitiful. Of course, technically speaking, the rocking of the boat is already pretty minimal.

"I probably can!"

"Shut up, Whack-A-Mole, no you can't!"

"If we need anything we need whacked with a giant glowing hammer, we'll give you a call..."

The banter goes on like this, until Gambit finally stands up. Walking over to the Magic Mutant Guitar-Playing Lad with a slightly sinister expression on his face, he reaches out a hand. "Here, let me give it a try."

Somewhat reluctantly, the mutant hands over his guitar.

Rogue patted the girl on the head when she finished the French braid and the girl ran off to join with some of her new friends. Rogue laid down on top of an empty crate, cursing that her sunglasses were thousands of miles away. She placed the back of her hand against her eyes and groaned, "A very proud moment of yours Ah've been deemed worthy enough to witness, thank you. Could always make you pass out, you might be less miserable."

Picking the guitar up gingerly, Gambit tosses a scowl in Rogue's direction through half-lidded eyes. He's not the only one that'd like a pair of shades. Unfortunately, the teenagers have already called dibs on all the ones left behind by the crew.

For a few seconds, he strums the guitar's frets idly. The sounds that he produces aren't likely to be considered music by anyone. "Huh. Look at that... guess it's broken... Oh well."

Suddenly he tosses the guitar backward over his head, and towards the ocean. The sound of a guitar exploding into a shower of pink, glowing fragments is enough to get the attention of everyone on board.

"No more fun! Read some books!"

Rogue propped herself up when the sound of the Guitar exploded. And let out a loud sigh, "You know you really are a jerk. Apparently Ah was distracted by all the hotness. Glad we got that all sorted out."

She stood on top of the crate and into the distance, and pulled out her cell phone, "Got a signal! We're almost at Genosha."

She hopped off the box and nudged Gambit in the leg with her bare foot, and was sure to touch fabric. "Maybe you'll be a bit more chipper with some food in ya. Don't throw any kids overboard before we get there."

"You know, I'm feeling better already. Oh, don't pout, I'll get you two new guitars when we get to to Hammer Bay. Maybe I'll even drop your name next time I hang out with Dazzler." The kid cheers up pretty much immediately. None of them appear to be reading books though. Then again, reading material is pretty hard to come by on a smuggler's ship.

You know you're getting close to Genosha when a team of Amphibious Genoshan Commandos suddenly appears on the deck of the ship, clambering aboard from some unseen vantage point below the water. So sudden is the takeover, that not even Gambit has time to react. To make matters worse, a squad of airborne mutants is already covering the boat from above, suddenly breaking cloud cover almost perfectly in synch with the amphibious (some literally) operatives.

"Everyone down on the ground!" One of the commandos slaps his hands together, creating a flashbang effect that the comandos seem to be shielded from. "You have violated Genoshan waters, your vessel will be confiscated and you will be placed in custody! Do not resist, or we are authorized to subdue you!"

Rogue was surprised along with everyone else when Genosha greeted them with the customary welcome wagon. Oh this trip really was going swell, her next impromptu vacation needed much less troops. And Puking.

For now Rogue got to her knees and placed her hands on the back of her head, "Just simmer down. We've come with a bunch of victims of...well mutant trafficking and was planning on leaving this heap of drunk. Now you best put your guns down before you scare this kids some more, they've been through a hell of a lot."

She looked up to the one she assumed was leading the squad, "The name's Rogue. We don't mean y'all harm. Just want to get these kids somewhere safe, unless you went and closed the boarders already on me."

"Knew I forgot to do something..." Over near the railing, Gambit's words are being choked out due to the extreme amount of pressure being placed on his back by the ridiculously-ripped, scale-covered woman who 'randomly' selected him as her first detainee. "Let me speak to your commanding officer. I'm Genoshan military, just neglected to transmit the authorization codes. I was indisposed..."


 * Twenty Four Hours Ago *****

"And we're just going to show up there unannounced? Won't they care?"

"Silence, Whack-A-Mole! Use proper pirate protocol when talking to yer Captain! Now bring me rum and wenches! Yar har har!"

"I'm telling Miss Rogue that you found the rest of the rum..."


 * Now *****

"... due to an unfortunate stomach bug, which I think I got from the beans. The can looked a bit dented."

Fortunately for Gambit, verifying his story is as simple as calling the commanding officer over to look at his face. He signals the rest of the commandos, and they immediately stand down. Fortunately, nobody seems to have been hurt, though the kids are still a bit freaked out.

Rogue raised from her kneel and placed a hand on one of the kid's shoulders and gave him a small smile, hoping to comfort him. This went swell.

She muttered a thanks to the solider that had her pinned down and rushed over to Gambit and glared, "You're Genoshan military? Could have said so."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest and clicked her tongue once, "But you know that would require being honest for like five minutes. Let's get this over with, I want off of this ship."

"Come on, everybody's got to have a hobby..." Despite his attempts at levity, Gambit's face is in danger of freezing from the chill radiating off of Rogue right now.

It looks like Rogue's wish is going to come true sooner than she might have expected. After the commander calls in the proper authorization, the ship is lifted out of the water by the flying mutants and towed toward the island. A protective bubble put up by the scaly woman keeps the wind and inertial wackiness down to a minimum. Therefore, a trip that would have taken several more hours takes only a few more minutes.

During all of this, Gambit has a brief conversation with the commander. The conversation is kept low, but bits and pieces can be heard, mostly relating to the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the mutant children, and the smuggler prisoners bound down below. The number of kids they brought to Genosha slightly outweighs the number of prisoners they brought. A net gain for the island nation.

As the ship is set down in Hammer Bay, a welcoming party made up of several hastily-gathered officials assembles to greet the kids, and give everyone on board visitor's badges. Even Rogue is treated like a guest, though some of the officials seem to be as chilly toward her as she is toward Gambit.

Speaking of the mostly-recovered Diable Blanc; he waits until the entire group has been assigned billeting for the night to sneak up on Rogue again. "Here, your room key. I had you upgraded. Apparently the Ambassador's Suite isn't being used this week." Holding an envelope in his hand, he looks almost nervous giving it to the woman. "I'm still working on getting your flight situation taken care of, but it looks like you should be good to go by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."

Rogue took the envelope and slipped it into her pocket. A hotel room sounded like a dream at the moment. She stepped to the side and gestured for Gambit to follow so they could have a word in private, "Did you know from the beginnin' this is what was goin' to happen? The kids, taking us all here?"

She placed her hands on her hips, and looked to the side, "Would have helped. Sure would have...prepared a lot more. Ah'm yer friend, so you shouldn't treat me like some mark. It makes me crabby."

Her gaze shifted to the children looking happy and eating something that wasn't old beans, "Still. Better than where they were headin'. Hope Genosha treats em well."

"Treat you like a mark? Ma cherie, it wounds me to think that after everything we've gone through together the last few days you still don't trust me. And to think I was going to ask you to adopt a puppy with me." Gambit keeps his tone light, but he's having a bit of trouble maintaining eye contact at the moment. That might actually be a good sign though, when one considers that he's one of the world's most accomplished liars.

"I promise you, when I asked you to help me out, I thought we were intercepting a freighter full of guns. Or explosives. Or... hell... VX nerve gas. Actually, I had no idea what we were going to find. But I didn't think it was a cargo hold full of kids."

"But, even though things have been kind of crazy, you've handled yourself like a pro. I've got to admit. I'm impressed."

Her facial expression relaxed as she smiled at the puppy comment. She leaned up against a wall and rested the back of her head against it, "Yeah well...Ah've got a little too much experience in this sorta thing. Besides, retroactively it was done for the kids."

She reached out and gently nudged at Gambit's shoulder, "But Ah'll take the compliment. Probably the nicest thing you've said to me in the last couple of days. You get really crabby at sea, don't become a pirate. In fact avoid the ocean."

It's subtle, but Gambit responds by moving about a quarter of a step closer. Slowly, he raises his right hand. "I promise, I'm sticking to sketchy bars and pool halls. For at least a month." The hand goes down, and both of them disappear into the massive pockets on his ever-present coat. "Starting tomorrow night, of course. Tomorrow we're spending the morning at the beach. Like I said back in Louisiana: Hammer bay is real nice this time of year."

Rogue looked to the side and pushed a chunk of her hair behind her ear, with a smile spread across her lips. "That actually sounds real nice. Relaxing? No stinky boat or sleezeballs to absorb relationship from? Now /that/ actually sounds like a way to get back on my good side."

She let out a soft laugh and winked at him, "That is if you can manage not to be hung over tomorrow. What a pretty picture."

She reached out and gave him a quick grab at his side playfully, "Which Ah'll tease you about for another month or so. But Ah think it's time for me to turn in, exhausted."

Twitching only slightly, Gambit manages to avoid losing any Man Points by giggling when he is, essentially, tickled. He keeps his own hands to himself, though. "Oh, by all means, don't let me keep you up. I've seen what missing your beauty rest does to you. I can handle it, but there are going to be families on the beach tomorrow..." One of the corners of his mouth raises slightly, and he takes yet another quarter step forward, so close now that his chin is almost right above her forehead.

"Sadly, I've got things to take care of, so I'd best be scootin'... I'd ask for a goodnight kiss, but, well... you know." Which 'you know' he's referring to isn't entirely clear. It could either be the fact that her mutant power would put the whammy on him almost instantly, or he could be referring to the fact that he's spent the last few days drinking, and the last few hours puking.

Rogue's eyes rolled again, but the playful smile remained on her face, "Charmin'."

She slipped to the side and looked him over, with one brow quirked, "You ain't gettin' one today. No doubt about that. Goodnight, Gambit. Don't get into any trouble tonight."

She turned to head towards the direction of her quarter for the evening. Wait was there a small sway to her hips when she walked? Maybe she wasn't /too/ crabby then.