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Tweak says, "why are there still monkeys?"

Elisabeth "Betsy" Braddock (comeonbetsy) wrote in devolve,
@ 2011-02-05 16:49:00

Entry tags:

betsy_braddock, raven_darkhoelme

Characters: Raven and Betsy
NPCs: n/a
Location: Xavier’s
Timeline: Backdated to Thursday, midday.
Description: They train, they talk, they make lunch. Just getting to know each other!
Rating: PGish? Mild mild violence.

For all that she could stop hits telekinetically (sometimes) she had to be able to see them coming to do that, and Raven was just too fast for her. Betsy was still struggling to develop skills that seemed so completely ingrained for Raven, and she wasn’t really any match for the woman in close combat, even with powers.

Without, though, she felt little more than useless, and she only barely managed not to grunt as Raven floored her for what felt like the hundredth time. She took a deep breath and then picked herself up off the floor. She was always just a split second too late, it seemed like. Or sometimes more. Or sometimes, even if she wasn’t a too late, her technique was off and she lost anyway. Still, that was why she was trying to learn, and she did feel like she was learning. She was getting better with ever lesson, and she wasn’t about to give up. Betsy was determined, and when she set her mind to something -- whether it was getting out of the UK or becoming someone completely new or acing university or learning to defend herself -- she intended to follow through.

So she tried to stay positive as she shook it off and faced Raven again. “All right, so what did I do wrong that time?”

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comeonbetsy
2011-02-06 08:27 am UTC (link)

Terrorist? Mercenary? Betsy’s telekinetic preparation of lunch paused, which was now at the point where it was mostly just stirring the simmering sauce and the boiling pasta every once in a while. She looked at the other woman and considered her for a moment.

“I took part in some mutant rights activism,” Betsy said carefully. “But I’d never have been labelled a terrorist. Nor have I, of course, had any military affiliation. I’m afraid I don’t quite know what you mean.”

Or... technically that wasn’t true. She knew what all of those words meant, in terms of the actual definitions, but Betsy couldn’t imagine speaking so casually about murder and manipulation of the magnitude Raven seemed to be suggesting. Was that really what the woman was saying?

Betsy had heard about the radicals, of course. Rumours were passed around in hushed or awed or scandalized or disgusted tones at the protests and rallies she’d attended. People either idolized them for their actions or hated them for giving all mutants a bad name. Betsy, for her part, had been part of the nonviolent activists, but now that she thought of it, she thought she’d heard a story of a blue woman who’d singlehandedly taken out two rumoured mutant testing facilities in one day, killing everyone employed there. Supposedly someone had heard from someone else who knew someone who’d been there, and Betsy had thought it was either a total fabrication or else an utter exaggeration, since nothing of substance had made it to the news, but now she cocked her head curiously.

“Unless you mean... things like the Commercial Way and Site Four laboratory bombings,” Betsy added, after a moment of wracking her brain for the locators they’d used to refer to the attacks in the story. The only reason she recalled at all was because the story had struck her, and she’d spent days combing the internet for more information afterwards, curious to find out if it had been true or not.

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blue_bitch
2011-02-06 07:54 pm UTC (link)

Though Raven was absolutely proud of her accomplishments, she wasn't in the habit of bragging about them to everyone. Especially when constant reminders of her illegal tendencies could possibly add even more distrust to the equation. Though it seemed unlikely that the colony's fearless leader would throw her out on the street, if only because of the woman's bleeding heart tendencies and the X-Men's incorrect theory that everyone had the potential to be a good person, Raven liked to minimize risks. Going into too detailed of an explanation about her activities would probably not do much for her situation.

Then there was the fact that if Betsy didn't understand the meaning of the word terrorist, it might not even be worth a full explanation, especially when the word had such a negative connotation. Raven could appreciate the term being applicable to what she was and what she'd done, but she did not appreciate the fact that the label lumped her in with some individuals who were completely insane. The gears in Betsy's head were clearly turning, and the corner of Raven's mouth twitched into a small smile as the girl named two specific incidents.

"Yes," she replied after a brief pause, during which she pretended that she had to think back to remember what Betsy was referring to. "I suppose I do mean things like the Commercial Way and Site Four laboratory bombings. Good examples."

She'd spent months infiltrating both sites, as well as numerous government agencies, gathering information and making contacts. The bombings themselves were just the end result of her investigation, but they were always the part that got the most attention... even when those responsible for the atrocities happening within the facilities did their best to bury the incidents. Raven took a sip of her water and added, "Though I suppose they may not be good examples, considering how both incidents were reportedly just gas leaks and electrical system malfunctions."

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comeonbetsy
2011-02-07 08:29 pm UTC (link)

"I had heard that it was a blue woman who was responsible," Betsy said carefully in response, putting her mind back to work on lunch. It didn't really matter if it really had been her or not though, not really. She'd just said she'd done things like that, so evidently she had been involved in much more than Betsy had been. The woman had obviously been an extremist.

And Betsy wasn't sure how she felt about that. Before, she wouldn't have hesitated to say that killing all those people was evil, that there were other ways, less awful ways to work towards eqaulity. But now... Now that didn't matter. Now everything was different and past discretions, however extreme, didn't change the way things were.

Now, what did things like good and evil really matter?

There were no laboratories, there were no governments to fight against, there were no equality issues to struggle against. There was just this now. Surviving. And if they cured it, Betsy thought the world afterwards would probably be by vast majority mutants, if not exclusively. There had been a few humans in their group, but Betsy doubted they had lived through the attack. So long as Raven was helping them survive now, so long as she would never risk any of them, that was what was important.

Of course, knowing what Raven was capable of made Betsy look at her in a very different light. It frightened Betsy a little, especially since she didn't really know her well enough to trust her, even if the woman seemed to like Betsy well enough.

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blue_bitch
2011-02-08 05:33 am UTC (link)

There were more than a few slightly off-topic rants that Raven had prepared for when people accused her of things simply because a blue woman had reportedly been involved. They ranged from mild suggestions to be less judgmental to outright accusations of racism, but it really didn't feel like the appropriate time for any of them. Not when Betsy was right and Raven was supposed to be playing nice.

"Well, if you heard it..." she shook her head. "I wasn't solely responsible." Mostly, yes, but she hadn't been working alone. None of it would have been possible without Irene's visions, and there were certain tasks that were far too menial for Raven to want to do herself. Others had been involved, even if much of the planning and action had come from her.

Though Raven's methods were definitely not the kind of thing that most people would subscribe to right off the bat, Raven made no apologies for them. She could rationalize every single dead body and find a reason for why they had to die. Granted, there were a few who simply had to die because she wanted something to do, but the ones at the lab sites were all involved in something much bigger and much worse than most people realized. They were not good people, and Raven knew for a fact that if they weren't taken out, they'd just set up shop elsewhere to continue their work. Nobody else was going to step forward to take care of the problem. Certainly not the X-Men, because they were good people. What it had really boiled down to was trust. Raven trusted herself to get the job done. She didn't trust it to resolve itself and she definitely didn't trust anyone else to be adequately thorough.

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comeonbetsy
2011-02-10 05:31 am UTC (link)

Considering this information for a moment, Betsy decided it didn't really change all that much for her. She would still train with Raven, still talk to her. Maybe she wouldn't necessarily give her the benefit of the doubt in certain situations, but she was slow to trust people anyway, whether or not they'd killed people.

Besides, if Raven had been fighting for mutant equality, then she didn't really have much left to fight for. There were hardly any homo sapiens left, and even the homo superiors were extremely dwindling in numbers. Whether everyone agreed with each other's politics or not, they all had to work together. This was a new beginning, in a way, beacuse they didn't have the option to get too caught up in what anyone had done before.

So, she just nodded and said, "Okay."

Deciding a change in subject was in order then, because though Raven didn't seem to mind the topic of discussion, Betsy found it a little disturbing, she said thoughtfully, "It's a very different world now, anyway."

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blue_bitch
2011-02-10 08:50 am UTC (link)

Raven was glad that Betsy decided that it was okay. It wouldn't have changed her feelings on the matter or made her lose any sleep over it had the girl decided she wasn't okay with it, but okay was a better reaction than oh god, you monster. Not that that didn't have significant entertainment value.

"To say the least," Raven agreed. Even if she were so inclined to perpetrate any acts of terrorism just then, there would be absolutely no point to it. It had become a world where nothing like that had any place or purpose, and she certainly wasn't one to act with no purpose. "The only thing that really matters now is survival."

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comeonbetsy
2011-02-12 10:29 pm UTC (link)

"I suppose," Betsy said. There was no point voicing her beliefs that companionship and personal relationships were important too. She'd been so lonely while she was out. She still lonely, even though she'd been here for months. She had a few friends, sort of, but she missed her boyfriend, even though she had a feeling she'd never see him again. There was something about the sort of intimacy they'd shared that had made her feel better even when things were awful.

She didn't want to get quite that personal with Raven, however. She respected the woman, and those sorts of feelings made Betsy feel powerless and a little... pathetic. So she just smiled.

"At least we seem to stand a good shot at survival for now. Nothing's fool proof, of course, but things here... aren't bad."

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