X-Men 2020 Role-Playing Records
The following is the story in Air Raiser's X-Men 2020 RP at http://www.oocities.org/the2020rp/.

This role playing thread invovles the interaction between Joey and Changeling between Janurary 22nd and the 30th. Continued in part X.

NOTE: Not every single posting was copied into this file. Only the posts that actually added to the plot line where added. Most of the Out Of Character (OOC) comments have been eliminated to save space. Some of the text as been changed to combine two or more different threads. If you have any problems with with this notify me, Sirah at the2020rp@yahoo.ca



Posted by Changeling on 1/22/2002, 6:11 pm
Her smile broadens when Kat notices them, showing quite normal teeth. She doesn't realize that Kat still thinks her a vampire untill they're almost to her, but her smile never falters, broad and joyously friendly.

Posted by Kat on 1/22/2002, 6:13 pm
She can't help blinking a couple of more times. Maybe Changeling had somehow shifted away the weakness to sunlight? She seemed okay when she was a bird. "Um, heya!" She says cheerfully, still obviously confused.
Joey looks up at the greeting and smiles. He can't help wondering when Kanga was gona show up. It'd been quite awhile since he'd seen the duo apart.

Posted by Changeling on 1/22/2002, 6:18 pm
She almost laughs at the confusion still evident in Kat's face and voice. Did she still think her a vampire? Even after seeing her in the sun? It occurs to her that she, having lived with the limitations, accepted the chage, while someone who didn't already know what she could and couldn't have done as a vampire would see her in a different light. She answers the greeting friendly, "Good morning!"

Posted by Kat on 1/22/2002, 6:22 pm
She just kinda skips over that question for now, she'd ponder it later or ask Joey about it if she could. She can't help smiling as Joey looks around like he's expecting someone to pop out of the wall of the building. "Kanga's sleeping in." She answers the silver haired teens unasked question.
'Oh', the expression on Joey's face clearly reads. Absently he wonders if not having Kanga around was a bad thing or a good thing. The roo-girl didn't seem to like Eliza very much, but seeing her in the sunlight might encourage the young mutant to warm up a bit.

Posted by Changeling on 1/22/2002, 6:31 pm
She was also wondering about the other girl, but shrugs at Kat's answer. Kanga wasn't her favorite person to be around anyway, and she didn't seem like she liked the fact that Joey was with her, or vice versa.

Posted by Kat on 1/22/2002, 6:40 pm
It'd taken her awhile to realize just why Kanga didn't like Changeling. It was more then her friends naturally wary nature, Kanga was jealous. Kat couldn't really understand why. It was hardly likely the tall, silver haired eighteen year old was going to fall for her somewhat short roo-girl friend. Eliza and Joey did make a much better pair, if you ignored the fact that she seemed to be a vampire.
"Yeah. So I was bored and Vision was worried about another attack of the giant pink killer bunnies so she told me to go get some fresh air." Her gaze rolls upwards at this. How was she gona finish Vision's christmas present if her oldest sister kept kicking her out of the house?

Posted by Changeling on 1/22/2002, 6:44 pm
She laughs "Sounds like a good enough reason to me... I mean, those pink killer bunnies can be dangerous." this she says with a perfectly straight face, but then a smile cracks and she gives Kat a teasing, sideways glance.

Posted by Kat on 1/22/2002, 6:47 pm
"Well if she would stop turning the setting in the danger room up to suicial it wouldn't be." Kat's perfectly serious, then she realizes Changeling was teasing her and her ears flick back in embaressment. She was glad that Vision's projection never blushed. "Um, yeah."
Joey just blinks, a faintly perplexed smile on his face. He blinks again when she mentions the setting of this danger room thing.

Posted by Changeling on 1/22/2002, 6:54 pm
She smiles and raises an eyebrow "Oh?" she wonders if the bunnies are less 'killer' on the easy level.

Posted by Kat on 1/22/2002, 6:57 pm
"Yeah, she'll come in ready to kill something and disappear in there for awhile. Then she'll come out after an hour or so in a slightly better mood but all beat up." She can't repress a shudder at the memory of the time when Vision turned it up just a little too high and staid in too long and Paradox had to go in and rescue her.

Posted by Changeling on 1/22/2002, 7:05 pm
She considers "Hmmm, that might have been something I'd've been interested in before..." she pauses, then smiles at a memory of a time before she met Tracker.

Posted by Kat on 1/22/2002, 7:11 pm
"Before?" Kat can't help enquiring, but really didn't expect an answer. She shudders again faintly. Sometimes her oldest sister scared her. "I never use anything above 'are you sure about this?' myself." She smiles faintly at the name. Mirage had written labels on all of the settings and had a bit of fun with the names.
Joey looks faintly intrigued about Changelings comment himself .

Posted by Changeling on 1/22/2002, 7:20 pm
She chuckles at the lable, then pauses, considering how to answer Kat's question. "Before I ran into Tracker... I was... shall we say, wild." she smirks at that term, then her smile turns wry "Any little thing would set me off, and I'd be at..." she stops herself before saying 'at everyone's throat' as it might not be the best phrase for the company. Instead, she settles for "... the nearest karate workout or boxing ring." those memories make her smile again.

Posted by Kat on 1/22/2002, 7:24 pm
"Oh." Is about the extent of Kat's reaction. She looks wary again, eyeing Changeling somewhat worriedly. It doesn't take her long to relax. She'd developed up a bit of a second sense about when someone was going to freak out at her by living around Vision for awhile, and she wasn't getting anything like that from Changeling. Still, the comparison was faintly disturbing.
Joey's got a very similar 'oh' expression on his face.

Posted by Changeling on 1/22/2002, 7:28 pm
She smiles apologetically "Sorry... I'm not exactly like that anymore, so you can quit worrying," her smile becomes more mirthful.

Posted by Kat on 1/22/2002, 7:30 pm
"Sorry?" She raises her eyebrows at that, an expression that was particularly well executed on the features of the projection. She shrugs, grinning faintly. "It's a bit of a natural reaction."

Posted by Changeling on 1/24/2002, 8:16 pm
She laughs lightly "Yeah, sorry..." she smiles slightly "I've aquired the terrible habit of apologising for making someone uncomfortable." her smile turns theatrically distressed and she throws her arm across her eyes dramatically.

Posted by Kat on 1/24/2002, 8:19 pm
She tilts her head. "That's a bit bizarre." Chuckles quietly at the melodramatics.

Posted by Changeling on 1/24/2002, 8:34 pm
She laughs in response "Isn't it? I keep trying to break the habit, but..." she sighs heavily, then stop and smiles.

Posted by Kat and Joey on 1/24/2002, 8:36 pm
"It's better then apologizing for everything and anything.." Puts in Joey, breaking his absent minded silence.
"And better then actually enjoying disturbing people." Kat adds with a somewhat sheepish grin.

Posted by Changeling on 1/24/2002, 8:55 pm
Changeling chuckles and nods "Verry, verry true." she pauses a moment, then, somehow feeling that the conversation needed to take a turn, she asks Kat "So, where were you heading to?"

Posted by Kat on 1/24/2002, 8:59 pm
She shrugs. "Not a clue." She smiles. "I get booted out often enough one would think I'd have some idea were find something interesting to do, but nope."

Posted by changeling on 1/24/2002, 9:02 pm
She laughs richly "How interesting... we tend to have the exact same problem every day!" she stops laughing and sighs "Well, I guess there's no help for it: new York is a boring city."

Posted by Kat on 1/24/2002, 9:05 pm
She snorts in laughter. "Yeah, but somehow I don't think you guys get kicked out because the owner of the warehouse is paranoid about another attack of the giant, pink, killer bunnies."
Coughing that sounds suspicously like laughter errupts from Joey at the last comment. "I think it's probably just that we have trouble finding the interesting bits."

Posted by Changeling on 1/24/2002, 9:11 pm
She joins in the laughter (or couging, in Joey's case) then smiles thoughtfully "No, I don't think I've ever even seen a giant pink killer bunny..." she raises an eyebrow. "And I guess Joey's right... we've only wandered around the 'slow' areas..." she cocks her head at Kat "You wouldn't care to join us on a tour of the big city, would you?"

Posted by Kat on 1/24/2002, 9:17 pm
"Err, well if you guys honestly don't mind, I'd love to, but I don't want to get in the way..." She trails off, eyeing them both for a moment. The fact that Changeling was probably a vampire just re-occured to her, not to mention she wasn't sure if she wanted to be tagging along with the couple all day. Even aside from the fact that she didn't want to be around if they started getting mushy, Kanga probably wouldn't be happy with her..

Posted by Changeling on 1/24/2002, 9:30 pm
She grins broadly and waves her hand dismissively "Don't worry, you won't be in the way... we're only wandering anyway."

Posted by Kat on 1/24/2002, 9:32 pm
Joey echo's Changeling's statements.
She looks unsure for a moment, before shruging mentally and grinning. "Well if you're sure, then yeah, I'll come along."

Posted by Changeling on 1/28/2002, 3:15 pm
Changeling gins at her answer and glances up and down the street "Well, we came from that way, so..." she turns toward the direction they were headed when they ran into Kat "Shall we keep on going that way? Or do you know of anything interesting somewhere else...?" she glances at Kat and Joey curiously.

Posted by Kat and Joey on 1/28/2002, 4:33 pm
"We could haul Joey shopping." Kat suggests with a grin.
Joey blinks, looking faintly edgy. "Um, no. How about we don't haul Joey out shopping."
Kat laughs, she'd thought Joey'd react like that.

Posted by Changeling on 1/28/2002, 4:40 pm
She grins thoughtfully at the idea of shopping "Gee, I havn't been shopping for so long..." but one glance at the look on Joey's face makes her laugh, and she nods slightly after his comment. After a short pause "Well, there's always windowshopping..." she grins again "We can just sort of browse as we pass by the shops...?" She cocks her head curiously.

Posted by Kat and Joey on 1/28/2002, 4:46 pm
"Well, I don't know how much we'll see.." Comments Kat thoughtfully, "But it can't hurt."
Joey just blinks.

Posted by Changeling on 1/28/2002, 5:12 pm
She grins and nods, pleased with herself at having found a diplomatic solution. She'd never been particularly good at that, but then again, she'd changed alot recently.

Posted by Kat and Joey on 1/28/2002, 10:03 pm
"So are we going?" Kat asks a tad impatiently.
Joey looks a Changeling, a half smile on his features. She was in charge of this little expedition, he was just coming along for the ride.

Posted by Changeling on 1/28/2002, 10:10 pm
Changeling grins at the look on Joey's face, then nods "Yup, lets go!" and starts off down the street the direction they'd decided to go. After a short while, she turns to Kat "So, what kind of storess are good around here?"

Posted by Kat on 1/28/2002, 10:18 pm
"Well." Kat thinks about it for a moment. "There's a really cool store sorta near here.. It's over that way.. " She gestures off down a side street. "Right around here?" She shrugs. "I duno.."

Posted by Changeling on 1/28/2002, 10:21 pm
She considers a second, then nods "Lets go see," she glances at Joey "'Sat work for you?" In the short time she's had with her fellow humanity, she seems to have picked up their mannerisms relatively quickly.

Posted by Kat and Joey on 1/28/2002, 10:23 pm
Joey shrugs cheerfully. "Sure."
"K, then lets go." Kat says,her invisible tail twitching.

Posted by Changeling on 1/28/2002, 10:26 pm
She smiles at the impatient Kat "Just lead the way... I have no idea where we're going."

Posted by Kat on 1/28/2002, 10:28 pm
She takes off down the street at a fast walk, anyone watching that knew Vision would be amused by the simularities. It wasn't just the hologram either, there's an air about Kat that is more then a little reminisent of her older sister.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 4:35 pm
Changeling follows, taking in the sights along the way, and smiles slightly at the similarities herself. She had been watching the diner for quite a while after all... She glances at Joey, somewhat curiously.

Posted by Joey and Kat on 1/29/2002, 4:40 pm
Joey is studying the area around them with almost as much interest as Changeling. He hadn't been in this area much, his activities had never really given him reason to come here.
Kat continues to speed along, only slowing when she realizes that she'd left Changeling and Joey behind. It was good to be in a familiar neighborhood again.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 4:44 pm
She smiles slightly as Kat takes off and leaves them behind, and hurries to catch up, glancing back at Joey to make sure he's still with them.

Posted by Joey and Kat on 1/29/2002, 4:50 pm
Kat continues to stride along, happy just to be in an area that she actually recognized. She knew this entire section of the city like the back of her hand.
Joey walks along at Changeling's shoulder, never seeming to hurry but keeping up quite easily.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 4:56 pm
She smiles, taking in the sights. She'd never really visited this area before, but Kat seemed to know it well. She decides that this must be where Kat used to live before she moved into the Diner.
They pass a man walking his dog, a large Husky, and it lifts it's head and watches her pass, hackles rising. She glances at the dog and frowns slightly as they pass it, wondering what made it do that, but shrugs it off and pushes the thought away for later.

Posted by Kat on 1/29/2002, 5:01 pm
Kat smiles when she sees the shopping center that her foster parents always went to. She slows for a moment, looking at the buildings sets of glass doors. She watches as a couple that looked remarkably like her foster parents walk out of the building. Wow, what a coincidence. Then she blinks as she realizes that it was her fosters parents coming out of the building. With a squeak she turns, burrowing between Changeling and Joey, trying to avoid letting them see her.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 5:09 pm
She stops in her tracks when Kat dives for cover, her vamp half comming to life almost instantly at the scent of danger. She manages to keep it under controll, barely, and looks around frantically for what the threat could be. At last, seeing nothing terribly threatening, she glances at Kat out of the corner of her eye. "What's wrong?" her voice betrays her worry, but something's different about it, more confident. She doesn't feel confident, however, and she keeps trying to convince her vampire half that emerging in the sunlight was a bad idea, no matter what danger they might face. It doesn't trust Joey to protect her, but admits to the logic of a vampire in the sunlight... for the moment...

Posted by Kat and Joey on 1/29/2002, 5:15 pm
The young teenager peers over the shoulders of Changeling and Joey, looking back towards the mall. "My foster parents.." Is all she can squeak as she sees that the two adults had spotted her and were walking towards her, Changeling and Joey. "Hide me!!" She tries ducking behind Joey. The silver haired teen's height blocks her from view, for the moment.
Joey blinks, faintly alarmed. "Hide you where?" He asks, unable to help commenting. Eesh, he must have been hanging around Sky too much.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 5:21 pm
She frowns some more, contemplating the reason Kat would be so afraid of her foster parents. Several possibilities jumped to mind, but none of them were terribly comforting so she concentrated on where to hide Kat. Nothing promising presents itself, so she returns her attention to the approaching adults.

Posted by Kat on 1/29/2002, 5:29 pm
The two adults continue to come closer, a rather unimposinging looking woman with dusty blond hair that appear to be in her late thirties or early fourties, and a somewhat overweight man with greying hair that was roughly the same age. Niether of them looked very dangerous. The woman stops before the two, eyeing Joey's silver hair with distrust. "Excuse me, but we were sure that we saw our daughter over here.." She steps around Joey to look at Kat.
Kat keeps her eyes on the ground below her, making an effort not to look up. "Um, no, sorry m'am. You must have made a mistake."
The man's eyes narrow in confusion. "But that's the voice of our Catherine.."
Kat can't help looking up, disarmed by the hurt in her foster fathers voice, and meets her parents eyes. Oooh boy, that was a mistake.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 5:37 pm
She'd tried to sheild Kat from the advancing parents, but her efforts would have gone nearly unnoticed. Instead, she watches the exchange with a growing frown on her face. The distrust the woman had shown Joey annoyed her more than she'd admit. How dare she? The vampire within is near exploding in anger, but she manages to keep it in check with threat of the sun.
She watches as Kat looks up at her foster parents, and wonders again why the girl had been so frightened of them. The didn't look very threatening at all... Soft, her vamp half comments disgustedly.

Posted by Kat on 1/29/2002, 5:49 pm
The two adults are completely ignoring Changeling, their focus is mostly on Kat with a bit of wary attention focused on Joey. Silver was not a natural shade for hair, the boy must be a mutant, especially with those awful scars. Both adults take a step away from Joey as they talk with Kat.
As soon as Kat meets her parents eyes, the two adults know that it was their foster daughter they were talking to. The projection looked so much like the Kat they knew. "Catherine, daughter, why'd you run away?" Kat's foster father asks, sounding hurt.
Kat's ears flick back in some undefinable emotion, she hadn't meant to hurt the people that had taken care of her for most of her short life when she'd left, but she'd been so sure they'd react violently to her becoming a mutant. She'd just left a note saying that she was running away and then left with all the stuff she could carry. It'd been at least six months since she'd seen her foster parents, probably closer to a year. She was entirely too close to breaking into tears.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 6:07 pm
She is nearly trembling with rage now. Not the fact that they ignored her, that was not only understandable, but far better than being noticed and questioned. No, her anger stems from the fact that these two... humans were treating Joey, an ANGEL for goodness sake, like some sort of leper. Her frown distorts into a half snarl, then her expression clears to one as hard as stone, and twice as cold. She's paying little or no attention to the conversation between Kat and her foster parents now, but watching their motions intently. She listens to their breating and notes their hearbeats with a deadly glare that they can't see because their backs are turned to her. They might not have trusted Joey, but they put too much trust in the dark haired girl that didn't look like a mutant.
She studies them expertly, having spent hundres of years stalking this kind of soft human prey. Something at the back of her mind sparks, but she ignores it, intent on the target of her dark gaze. Joey is just in her line of sight, but her peripheral vision is hazy, so intense is her concentration.

Posted by Kat and Joey on 1/29/2002, 6:18 pm
Neither adults notice Changeling's sudden change of expression, they're too intent on the teenager that was her foster daughter. "Aw, Catherine honey..." The woman says, taking her foster daughter's hand to pull the teenager into a hug, as she does so her hand hits the button on the projector that would turn the hologram off. She quickly realizes something is wrong as her hand connects with soft fur and not warm flesh like she'd expected....
Kat lets herself be pulled into the hug, maybe everything would be okay. Maybe her parents deep seated hatred of mutants wouldn't extend to her and she could go back to living with them, and she wouldn't have to worry about her psycho older sister anymore. At her father's horrified gasp she looks up, she'd been trying too hard not to break out crying to pay much attention to the sudden stunned silence of her parents.
Kat watches, hurt and confused, as the woman that was the only mother she'd every really known stumbles backwards away from her, face twisted in hate and fear. Her foster father's reaction is even worse, he stoops to the pavement to pick up a stone and throw it at the person he'd been ready to great as his daughter as if he was trying to protect his wife from the demon the girl had just turned into.
Kat's too shocked to react with her normal amazing speed and the stone connects with her furry cheek, leaving a rapidly growing bruise and a shallow cut. A snarl of pain is shocked out of her and her ears flick back without her knowledge.
She watches stunned as her foster father picks up another stone and throws it at her with a curse. "Get away from my wife, you freak!!" He shouts. This one connects with her nose, startling another snarl from her and breaking her from her shock.
Joey's more then a little alarmed by the sudden change of situation. He'd been more then a little worried when Changeling had reacted so badly to the couple's distrust. He was used to being snubbed. He'd stepped towards Changeling when she'd snarled, ready to move to stop her if she made any indication of becoming violent. Now he moves to stand between Kat and her foster parents, his grey eyes dark and sad.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 6:31 pm
The moment Kat's holgram shuts off, she notices the change in the heart rates of both adults. When Kat's foster father picks up the first stone her face hardens another degree, and she takes a step foreward, now standing directly behind the two.
When the second stone hits, she can no longer stand by and watch the poor girl get stoned to death by her own foster parents. She knew Joey couldn't do anything to stop it, so she does the first thing that comes to mind...
She growls deeply, shifting into a giant replica of the husky they'd passed earlier. With a leap, she clears both adults and turns to a protective stance before Kat and Joey. Her flashing blue eyes are level with those of the two she snarls at, and the fur alongher back rises in fury. Also, though it's hard to tell, her canines seem to be extra long when she snarls at them menacingly.
It's a good thing they're standing in the shade of a building...

Posted by Kat and Joey on 1/29/2002, 6:38 pm
There was one thing Joey could do, stop the stones with his own body. The hate and fear in the expressions of the two adults only grow as Joey moves to step between them and the feline mutant. To their confused and hate filled minds it looked like the silver haired teen was about to attack. There was no question in their minds that the husky was dangerous. The woman pulls a gun from her purse and raises it at Kat, only Joey is in the way as she pulls the trigger. It was point blank range, there was no way she could possibly miss.
The bullet creates a small bloody hole in Joey's body, just below where his ribs end. Other then the sudden paleness of his skin and the faint glow in the air that no one would notice, his only reaction is a small wince. He's more worried about Changeling and Kat. Bullets wouldn't do much permanent damage to him, but they would seriously harm the two females.
Kat flees up the nearest building, disappearing onto the roof where she watches the events below through the tears that continue to spill from her eyes to drip down her muzzle. She was torn between wanting to help the silver haired teen, worry for the parents that hated her, and the need to just curl up in a miserable ball and cry her eyes out. She watches horrified as her mother, the person she thought couldn't hurt a fly, pulls out a gun and shoots at Joey and Changeling in an effort to kill her.
The woman turns the gun on Changeling and pulls the trigger...

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 6:46 pm
The shot hits it's target squarely in the chest, but the impact of the bullet doesn't seem to phase her much, since the only thing that could kill her at the moment was a stake through the heart or sunlight... It does make her jerk, and the smell of her own blood trickling down her thick fur only wakes her bloodlust. She takes a step foreward, then the slight wind changes and she catches the scent of Joey's wound. That was a mistake. Her lips curl back further, and she crouches low and bunches her hind legs for the attack...

Posted by Joey on 1/29/2002, 6:55 pm
Faced with two beings that didn't seem to mind bullets much, the woman fires repeatedly at both Changeling and Joey.
"Please, put the gun down." Joey says calmly with only a hint of pain in his voice. He knew that it was very unlikely that the woman would listen to him but figured that it couldn't hurt to try. The only answer is another bullet that slams into the general vicinity of his heart. He winces, getting paler. There were people behind him and he couldn't risk dodging and letting a stray bullet hit someone.
When Changeling looks like she's about to attack Joey moves to stand between her and the two adults and receives yet another bullet. He looks upwards, noting Kat's perch above. At least someone was relatively safe. "Go check on Kat, would you?" He asks Changeling, more pain tinting his tone. At least the woman was almost out of ammo.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 7:05 pm
She snarls and almost snaps at Joey when he steps between her and her next meal. And why not let her have them? They were dangerous, that was obvious. Why even try to save them? Her outrage is conquered only by the pain in Joey's voice. She snarls again, then realizes that she's a vampire in near sun, and backs away. She changes slightly, growing her golden wings and changing shape so that she's almost human. To an outsider, she would look very much like a werewolf in half shift. With one last snarl at the two parents, she wings up to where Kat is. Once she lands, she cries out in pain. Since she was no longer a vampire, the bullet wounds are seriously dangerous... and painful. She had come up with the intention of comforting Kat, but it had cost her.
She doubles over, reeling in pain and bleeding profusely from the bullet wounds she carries.

Posted by Kat and Joey on 1/29/2002, 7:15 pm
Kat's too horrified to even notice Changeling had come up. She simply watches, stunned, as her 'mother' raises the gun to shoot Changeling out of mind air. Joey opens and then flares his wings in an effort to make himself a larger and more intimidating target. The woman lowers her aim, shooting point blank at Joey's forehead. The bullet hits his face, a surprisingly innocent hole appearing on his brow. He falls back into the alleyway, a lifeless body leaking metallic crimson fluid.
That had been the last bullet in the gun and Kat's former foster mother stumbles back, suddenly horrified by what she'd done. Kill him with a body shot, sure, but shoot him in the head? She hadn't meant to do that. The male collects his wife, hurrying her away from the suddenly empty street.
Kat collapses on the roof, crying, that had been the final horror. She couldn't watch anymore....

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 7:35 pm
She's shivering with the pain, curled up near the edge of the roof. This is so familiar... for a moment, she's a girl again in her home in Ireland teetering on the edge of her balcony. But this was a different kind of pain... She snaps back to reality with the last shot, the report sounding strangely final. She shudders and manages to open her eyes against the pain. She locates Kat first, then looks longingly to the edge of the roof before crawling slowly away from it. Had she been vampire still, she'd have healed quickly, but she knew that if she succumed now to her vamp half she'd be doomed. The roof was too open, not a shadow in sight.
So she makes her way over to Kat, strangely calm. The pain was fading somehow so she stands, but it is getting harder to move. She could still smell her own blood, but she didn't feel anything... She's confused, but when she reaches the weeping cat girl, all thoughts are banished, save the one instinct left... She touches the cat girl on the shoulder, tenderly as any mother, and gazes at her worriedly. "Kat?" her voice is faint, a mere whisper that surprises her "It'll be alright..." she sinks to her knees beside her, the pain all but gone now, only a dark memory leaving her limbs weak and heavy.

Posted by Kat on 1/29/2002, 7:40 pm
She looks up as Changeling touches her shoulder, her eyes widening as the other slumps to her knees. A whimper rises in Kat's throat, Joey was dead and Eliza was dying and there was nothing she could do... It'll be all right.. She snorts at that, her laughter only making her cry harder.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 7:47 pm
She wonders at that What is she laughing about? It will be alright... She feels very sleepy, but she needs to stay awake and comfort Kat. She folds her great golden wings and hugs the crying girl to her, nuzzling her with her long, furry muzzle.

Posted by Kat and Joey on 1/29/2002, 7:54 pm
Kat squirms, almost as if she was trying to get away. She didn't want to be near Changeling when she died, sensing that horrible stillness in someone that had been offering her comfort a moment before would probably send her over the edge. After a moment she just gives up, crying harder then ever.
Kat looks up as she spots a flash of silver, then blinks as a silver haired head peeks over the edge of the roof. The rest of Joey appears as he lands neatly on the roof and beelines directly to Changeling and Kat. He readies his healing powers, the light that could be so dangerous to Changeling giving him strength. If there was one good thing about this situation, it was that it'd happened in daylight. If it'd been night he wouldn't have come back nearly as quickly, and he would've been extremely weak when he did.
Kat goes into convulsions when Joey appears on the roof, her eyes wide, blank and staring. Strangely enough her pupils have gone blue. Something bizarre was happening.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 8:00 pm
Changeling pauses when Kat starts convulsing, waking up somewhat to more pain. She winces, but pulls away from the girl, watching her, eyes wide. What's happening? She watches Kat, as if in a trance, not even realizing that Joey's up on the roof with them. It's hard to keep her eyes open, but she's so concerned for Kat by now that it's as if she's in stasis, frozen in fascinated fear for her.

Posted by Joey on 1/29/2002, 8:07 pm
Joey heals Changeling and Kat at the same type, having gone into a bit of a trance to do so, he doesn't really notice Kat's strange reaction. The last time he'd done this he'd been too panicked by the feeling of Changeling slipping away to worry much about making it painless. This time he's still half panicked by Changeling's condition, but calm enough that he makes an effort to make it unnoticable. The bullet wounds disappear from Changeling's body, the bruise vanishing from Kat's cheek. Now he notices Kat's convulsions, which were still going on, and blinks.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 8:20 pm
She hardly notices the healing, but she does realize that the lingering pain has vanished, and she is more alert as she watches Kat. She reaches out a hand to her arm, touching her gently and hoping that the girl's fear of her isn't what's wrong. She winces and shudders, feeling instantly regretful when she realizes what Kat must have experienced... The girl would never know how she had helped Changeling stay alive.

Posted by Kat and Joey on 1/29/2002, 8:45 pm
Kat's lost in her own mind, her eyes blind to what was going on around her. To her it feels like she'd been transported someplace else, unable to move or make herself heard as she watches a little scene play out. A figure with silver hair steps out of a fiercly burning building, surrounded by a nimbus of light. There was a female figure slumped in his arms, but Kat couldn't make out who it was. She continues to watch, then the silver haired figure meets her gaze, and a jolt goes through her as she recognizes the gray eyes. Joey?!? She shouts before being dragged away from the scene. She felt like she was drowning..
Joey blinks at the images Kat is pratically throwing at him, he couldn't remember doing anything like that. He blinks again as Kat jerks upright, pupils still a shocking blue against her green eyes. "What are you?" She asks Joey, eyes narrowed in confusion. She'd seen her mother shoot him, not just once but several times. He had been dead, hadn't he? But now there were no holes in him.. Maybe she was dead, that would explain that bizarre little scene with the fire...

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 8:52 pm
Changeling knows enough to stay out of it, but she is secretly shocked. She didn't know? She couldn't see what Kat and Joey saw as clearly, only vague hints that she didn't know weren't her own imagination, but the reactions between the two told her something was happening.

Posted by Kat and Joey on 1/29/2002, 9:00 pm
"It's a long story." He says, flushing sheepishly. He was tempted to ask what that had been about, but suspected that Kat didn't know either. "So are you okay?" He asks Kat.
Kat nods and begins to answer before realizing that she was very, very tired. Mentally and physically exhausted in fact. She just kinda slumps back onto the roof, and curls up into a ball, instinctivly moving towards the nearest warm body.
Joey watches her for a moment, concerned when Kat first falls over, then relaxing faintly as he realizes that the young teenager was just exhausted. He now turns his attention on Changeling. "Are you okay?" He asks, more then a little concerned. That was two near death expirences in less then three days.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 9:13 pm
She pulls the exhausted Kat to her gently, since she happened to be the closest warmth, stroking her fur softly. There's a concerned look on her face, but she seems content that Kat was alright. She surprises herself when she realizes what she's doing, but stays close.
She looks up when Joey adresses her and smiles weakly "A little hungry maybe..." her own thoughts echo his, they were a dangerous combintion.
Then her thoughts turn to Kat, "I think we should get her home..." she sarts, then pauses, remembering what the rest of the household thought of her. They'd probably think I was the cause of Kat's condition... she reminds herself somberly. But Kat did need to rest, and a rooftop wasn't the best place in the world to do that, so she'd have to take her home.
With any luck, they might not recognise her in the winged werewolf form. Besides, she was stronger in this form.

Posted by Joey on 1/29/2002, 9:18 pm
Joey almost wraps a wing around Changeling, but remembers himself before he does so. He stands from were he'd been kneeling beside the two, studying the sky as he flexes his wings. "Did you want to carry her, or shall I?" He asks absently, the intelligence that always appeared in times of trouble fading but not completely gone yet.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 9:24 pm
She catches the slight but aborted motion and surprises herself by being disappointed that he didn't carry out that motion.
"I will." Changeling gently lifts Kat from the ground, careful not to jostle her too much, and turns to Joey. "We'll have to be careful, you know. People don't take kindly to mutants on the wing..." she comments unnessesarily with a wry smile as she turns and flexes her own wings. "Shall we go?

Posted by Joey on 1/29/2002, 9:28 pm
Joey nods at that, a rueful smile curling up the corner of his mouth. He'd been shot at enought today, thank you very much. He nods silently, and jumps smoothly off the edge of the building. His wings catch air as he waits for Changeling. His sense of direction was better in the air then it was on the ground, he was actually pointed the right direction for once.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 9:34 pm
She nods and follows his lead, adjusting Kat's weight slightly as she leans off of the building. Her great golden wings catch her fall, and she swoops up in a graceful arc. She catches up to Joey and follows his lead, trusting him completely since she hadn't explored this area before. She keeps at firm hold on her sleeping cargo, and glances down at Kat, smiling gently.

Posted by Joey on 1/29/2002, 9:39 pm
Joey smiles as Changeling smiles, touched by the half vamp's care with Kat. After a short flight he lands on the roof of Vision's building. They really hadn't gotten all that far.

Posted by Changeling on 1/29/2002, 9:42 pm
She's a little surprised herself at the short distance, and lands gracefully beside Joey, glancing at him curiously. Now what?

Posted by Joey on 1/29/2002, 10:26 pm
Joey looks around the roof, and spots the door that leads into Vision's loft apartment. He pushes at it absently, not expecting for it to be open and he tumbles head first into the doorway. A half second later his head pokes through the doorway, a faint flush visible on his cheeks and a sheepish expression on his face. "Um, yeah. I think I found the way in."

Posted by Changeling on 1/30/2002, 3:06 pm
She chuckles quietly and flips her wings to her back, folding them neatly before making her way over to the open door into the apartment. She checks on Kat, to make sure that she's still asleep and comfortable, then peers in through the doorway.

Posted by Joey on 1/30/2002, 3:28 pm
Joey looks around, eyeing the large and mostly empty area they were in. The door that leads to the real part of the home can be seen on the opposite side of the room.

Posted by Changeling on 1/30/2002, 3:39 pm
Changeling steps up behind him and glances around, her gaze finally resting on the door opposite them. "Well," she comments quietly "Do you think we should knock?" she shifts Kat's weight slightly to a more comfortable position and her wings ruffle nervously.

Posted by Joey on 1/30/2002, 3:45 pm
Joey studies the door for a moment. "Might be a good idea.." He says finally. "Considering.." The last bit is mostly to himself as he steps up to the door and raps on it's surface. A mentallic clang rings through the room, not the hollow thump the wood patterning on the door would suggest.

Posted by Changeling on 1/30/2002, 3:49 pm
She nods and takes a couple of steps foreward, stopping a little ways from the door, behind and to the side of Joey. She's curious about the sound, her excelent ears picking up the ultrasonic resonances of the struck metal. She cocks one ear, absently listening to the echoes in the room, and waits for some response within.

Posted by Vision and Mirage on 1/30/2002, 3:55 pm
Vision's icy blue eyes narrow as she looks up from the book she was reading. That knock came from the door that lead to the roof exit, no one she knew would come through the roof exit and then knock to be let in. She rises from her seat on one of the large couches in the living room and heads towards the rear of the house. She almost collides with Mirage as her younger sister bounces out of her bedroom.
"Who'd ya think that is?" Mirage asks Vision as they both head down the hall. She was in her natural form and her tail was twitching in curiousity.
Vision shrugs indifferently. "Not a clue, but if they're looking for trouble they'll regret coming here for it." She steps forward and throws open the heavy metal door, unconicously moving so that if anything attacked through the door it would have to go through her before getting anywhere near Mirage. She blinks at what she sees, eyes suddenly green as she looks over Joey. "You've got a lot of guts coming here." She says, voice icy calm.
Mirage bounces, trying to look over her sisters shoulder to see who had managed to set her sister off without a word. She frowns slightly when she sees who it is, Joey and a very strange looking wolf mutant with Kat in it's arms. She blinks when that last bit registers. "What happened to Kat?" She asks, her concern for her younger sibling obvious. Only Vision's body in blocking the door prevents her from rushing to check on her sisters still form.

Posted by Changeling on 1/30/2002, 4:05 pm
Her ears flick back, but not in anger and she lowers her head minutely. There's a sorrowful look about her canine face now, and troubled thoughts flit through her mind. She didn't want it to be like this... Since she'd become human, all she wanted was to be accepted.
When she hears Mirage's question she whines softly, wanting to answer, but not wishing to convict herself with her own words.

Posted by Various on 1/30/2002, 4:17 pm
Vision had actually managed to completely miss Kat in Changeling's arms and her eyes narrow, going greener. He raises an eyebrow at the two standing in the empty room, waiting for someone to answer her sisters question. "Well?" She asks when no one answers, and turns to study the expressions of the two. Joey's resignation and sorrow was easy to read, the teen had expressions like the characters in a Disney movie. The fact that she didn't know who the other was bugged her quite a bit.
Mirage pushes past her sister, somewhat annoyed with Vision's focus on Joey rather then the still form of Kat. She could feel the sorrow in the canine mutants manner, and a matching emotion in Joey. She studies her sister's still form, relieved to realize that Kat was only sleeping, and not dead or blacked out. "How about we get Kat into bed and then have the little spat that I can see coming?" She suggests, mostly to Vision. She could feel that Joey and Changeling were just bringing Kat back, but she knew her sister was annoyed, and when Vision was annoyed she tended to lash out.
The two cats arrive on the scene, drawn by the excitement. Rhiow recognizes Changeling immediately and beats a hasty retreat. She wasn't about to stick around now that the half vamp was a heck of a lot larger then she was. Saash realizes who the large wolf mutant was a short moment later and sits peering up at her.
Vision notes Rhiow's reaction with amusement, wondering what had gotten into the orange tabby. She wasn't afraid of Paradox, and the demonic mutant was a lot scarier then the winged wolf, why would she run from Joey's friend?

Posted by Changeling on 1/30/2002, 4:28 pm
She answers Vision's question and kneels to let Mirage inspect Kat at the same time "We came to bring Kat home... she needs to rest." her voice might have betrayed the resignation she felt at being shuned from this particular household, but it was distorted and deep enough that the two sisters might not have recognised it as Changeling, the vampire's voice. She makes no eye contact with either, but when the two cats appear she senses that they recognise her and wonders not at Rhiow's removing herself so quickly. She gives Saash a slight, secret smile, but her face turns somber again when she considers the implications in Mirage's words. She knew this was a bad idea...

Posted by Various on 1/30/2002, 4:40 pm
Saash just blinks, wondering if that was a promise that the wolf was going to get Rhiow later or something much less threatening. She disappears down the hall as soon as she realizes that the entire group would soon be moving someplace else.
Mirage nods, her manner brisk and professional, like that of a doctor. "Right. Kat's room is that way." She points, perfectly willing to let the much larger wolf mutant carry Kat. She probably could have managed if she'd been forced too, but things would be easier for everyone if someone with a lot more muscle then her carried the cat-girl's still form. "So what happened?" She asks again, studying both Joey and Changeling curiously. She could feel that her younger sister had obtained no permanent physical hurt and therefore wasn't as worried as she might have been. She's faintly perplexed by the mystery of the winged wolf herself, she had a feeling that she knew who it was, but she couldn't figure out who she reminded her of.
One gets the feeling that if Vision had fur at the moment it would be standing on end. What did her sister think she was? She was just as worried about Kat as any of them, but Mirage seemed to think that she was more interested in beating up Joey and his mysterious companion then making sure her youngest sister's was okay.
Joey's remained remarkably silent throughout this entire exchange, his expression most resembling a sigh. "We had a bit of an encounter.." he finally breaks his silence.
Mirage just raises an eyebrow at him. That wasn't much of an answer...

Posted by Changeling on 1/30/2002, 4:51 pm
She nods and rises to her feet, continuing Joey's explanation quietly "We met up with her foster parents and they..." she pauses "... weren't terribly open to mutant-kind." She doesn't exactly want to tell about what happened next, so she sort of glazes over the wounds she and Joey recieved trying to protect Kat, and her near-death experience and fear that she might have aided the collective cause of Kat's bizzare... experience at the end. "They became violent and... I guess it was sort of a shock." She finishes, keeping her icy blue eyes down and moving to follow Mirage's instructions. She stops short as Vision still blocks the doorway, glancing up tentatively at the eldest sister.

Posted by Various on 1/30/2002, 5:09 pm
Mirage's ears flick back at the mention of Kat's foster parents not liking mutants. She eyes Kat for a moment, expression sympathetic. She could tell that there was more to this tale then Changeling was telling, but she'd leave it there for the moment. "I bet." She frowns at her sister when she realizes that Vision's still blocking the door. When the older shape shifter still doesn't move Mirage clears her throat. "Um, Vision? We gota get through here." She was really going to have a talk with her older sister, soon, really soon. Before she alienated anyone else. Whomever the winged wolf was, she'd obviously run amok of Vision before.
Vision's eyes narrow even further, getting even greener then before. If her lips hadn't've been compressed into a thin line, her very feline fangs would have been seen. When Mirage comments she moves aside, resisting the urge to glare at Joey and Changeling with a very clear 'one wrong move and you're dead, got that?' expression on her face. It was a bit of a struggle. She can't help glaring at her sister as she's smacked lightly with Mirage's green and lavender tail. Why was she being blamed for this mess? When she realizes that she was growling quietly she stops, annoyed with herself and everyone in the general area.
Mirage doesn't look back, she could feel her sisters glare. "This way." She says to Changeling as she heads down the hall. She tries sending little waves of calming influence at her sister, but they just bounce off the older mutants anger.

Posted by Changeling on 1/30/2002, 5:18 pm
She watches the silent and not so silent exchange between the two sisters, and winces slightly when Vision growls, hoping it's not directed at her. She catches the warning glance, but then again, she hadn't really any desire to cause a problem in the first place, so she should have nothing to worry about.
She ducks her head to avoid hitting the doorway and follows Mirage, her shoulders and wings all but filling the hall. For some reason, it reminds one of Paradox's bulk, though not quite as demonically. Infact, her pale grey, brown and white markings and golden wings look fairly angelic.

Posted by Mirage and Vision on 1/30/2002, 5:25 pm
Mirage walks ahead, opening the door to Kat's room and then walking inside and flattening to the wall to allow the rest of the group to pass. She loved Vision dearly, but sometimes her sister was so trying. The two were just trying to help and Vision was reacting like Joey's vampire acquaintance had returned. Her fur stands faintly at that thought as Mirage tries to figure out why she felt like she'd just stumbled upon something significant.
Vision follows Joey through the door then shuts it behind them. She was unconsciously acting as rear guard, at least if something were to happen she could tackle the duo from behind. Absently she notes that the wolf mutants bulk would making fighting in the hall difficult. She drifts into the room behind the rest of the group. She looks around Kat's medium sized room, surprised as always when she notices that it looked like the girl could pack up and leave in minutes. She's faintly disturbed by it, did the girl really think she was that dangerous?

Posted by Changeling on 1/30/2002, 5:38 pm
She steps through the doorway, but one wing catches on the frame. She winces, then shifts out of the golden feathers. They were only taking up space, and she doesn't realize that the two don't already know who she is. She wasn't really trying to hide her identity, but the were form tended to give her the little more strength that she needed to carry Kat.

Posted by Various on 1/30/2002, 6:13 pm
Paradox's mental presence floats through the room, he wasn't going to risk showing himself until he knew who was visiting, but he was immensely curious just the same. He drifts past Mirage and Vision and then is amused to note Joey's presence in the group. Had the silver haired teen gotten over his original reaction to him? The demonic mutant didn't know, and he wasn't planning on adding more tension to the already high strung group. Then he notices Changeling, Hul-lo. Changeling would probably be able to feel Paradox's attention on her, the demonic mutant had quite a mental presence.
Vision frowns faintly as she feels Paradox's mental presence enter the room, the last thing they needed at the moment was the demonic mutants odd sense of humor. Despite her annoyance at the situation she can't help feeling a bit of amusement at Mirage's irritated reaction to Paradox paying so much attention to Joey's friend. The faint resemblance hadn't been lost on her. Paradox probably found the shifter quite attractive in that form.
Mirage snorts quietly her ears flicking back for a half second. They didn't need Paradox aggravating the situation any, it was already aggravated enough. She wasn't willing to admit to herself just how annoyed she was by the attention Paradox was showing the wolf mutant. Trying to ignore her irriation she gestures towards the bed, indicating that Changeling should put Kat there. The tickling feeling that she was missing something obvious didn't help her mood any.
Joey winces sympathetically as Changeling catches a wing on the doorframe. This wasn't really a good situation for either of them. He could feel Paradox's presence enter the room and shifts uncomfortably. He was still ashamed of his reaction the first time he'd met the demonic looking mutant.