Kurt
—
He relaxed, his smile stretching wider as Mariko agreed to stay and pulled up...the arm of the couch. Apparently Rogue had made her point a bit too well.

"Would you like a demonstration? I believe Kurt has just volunteered."

He grinned cheekily at Rogue when she tugged off a glove and shot him one of her patented glares of flaming death.

"Goodbye, cruel world," he warbled in response, shrinking melodramatically away from her.

Not like he didn't agree that her power was both dangerous and sucktastic, of course, but he absolutely refused to let her get away with isolating herself or thinking she was less than human because of it. Bad enough that she was stuck carting bits and pieces of all of them around with her all the time, but it still wasn't an excuse for being so verdammt paranoid with everyone. Not that it was an argument he ever seemed likely to win, of course, but it didn't mean he'd stop trying. He was nothing if not stubborn, after all.

"On second thought... Not sure I want you bouncing around my head today."

"Hah! Saved by...wait, what's wrong with having me bounce around your head?" he asked, sticking his tongue out at her as his tail twined around her wrist and tugged her back towards the couch.

"Did you guys say you're like brother and sister?" Mariko asked as he perched comfortably on the edge of the couch and tugged on Rogue again to get her to sit next to him.

"Heh." He pushed a hand through his disheveled hair. "Kind of sort of in a manner of speaking but not really?" he answered unhelpfully, golden eyes sparkling as he shot a mischievous grin between Rogue and Mariko.

"Really, though, my psycho mother - who dumped me not long after squeezing me out," he wrinkled his nose in distaste, "adopted her a few years later. Managed to screw us both over pretty thoroughly along the way, so it's as good a familial bond as any, nein?" he asked with deceptive cheer as he leaned closer to Rogue.

"Do you see the family resemblance?"

Rogue
—
"Hah! Saved by...wait, what's wrong with having me bounce around your head?"

She snorted. "Have you met yourself?" In response, he stuck out his tongue and yanked her back toward the couch. Kurt Wagner, the epitome of maturity.

"Did you guys say you're like brother and sister?" She turned to answer, but was jerked onto the couch before any words were able to leave her mouth. Kurt was lucky that she didn't want to offend the new kid anymore than she already had. Clamping her mouth shut, she sat down next to him.

"Heh." He pushed a hand through his disheveled hair. "Kind of sort of in a manner of speaking but not really?" Yes, talking in convoluted, incomprehensible circles was exactly the kind of thing that people learning the language liked to be confronted with. Kurt, of all people, should have known that.

"Really, though, my psycho mother - who dumped me not long after squeezing me out," he wrinkled his nose in distaste, "adopted her a few years later. Managed to screw us both over pretty thoroughly along the way, so it's as good a familial bond as any, nein?" She shot him a somewhat supportive look. About as supportive as she could muster, considering the fact that her wrist was tingling in an unnatural way from all of his yanking. Mystique was a complicated thing. A fucked up, complicated thing. It never ceased to amaze her that someone like that could actually exist. How anyone was able to use another human being like that was beyond her. And the fact that she'd allowed herself to be used was even more sickening.

"Do you see the family resemblance?" She snapped back to attention as Kurt leaned in, and it was all she could do to keep herself from reaching out and pushing him away by his face. Instead, she pulled her legs up onto the couch and straightened one of them out, pushing him away with her shoe. Looking back at Mariko, she added, "You'll probably get to meet her sometime. She's got a nasty habit of stopping by to interfere with our lives, make us help evil superbeings take over the world..."

Fucking Apocalypse.

Pulling her leg back, she frowned. Yup, all the happiness was officially sucked from the air. Goddamn Mystique, ruining her life even when she wasn't actually there. I'm always h-- "Shut the fuck up."

She looked up, realizing that she'd been responding to the psyche aloud. Sighing, she closed her eyes. "Sorry about that. She was talking."

Mariko
—
"Heh. Kind of sort of in a manner of speaking but not really?"

Mariko arched one eyebrow inquisitively, a slight smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. Kurt was kind of fun, plus the fact that he seemed to speak worse English than she did was somehow reassuring.

"Really, though, my psycho mother - who dumped me not long after squeezing me out, adopted her a few years later. Managed to screw us both over pretty thoroughly along the way, so it's as good a familial bond as any, nein?"

Kurt grimaced and Mariko wrinkled her nose as well, that sounded like a level of unfun that she couldn't even begin to imagine.

"Do you see the family resemblance?"

"Yeah, it's in the,-" Mariko frowned as she waved a finger in a lazy circle around Kurt and Rogue's faces, "eyes?" she ventured after a moment, grinning broadly.

"You'll probably get to meet her sometime. She's got a nasty habit of stopping by to interfere with our lives, make us help evil superbeings take over the world..."

Mariko's grin faded; so much for mutant school being a happy little safe haven. Not too mention that however bad things were for her, they must have been infinitely worse for Kurt and Rogue. She was about to attempt some conciliatory words but apparently that wasn't such a good idea.

"Shut the fuck up. Sorry about that. She was talking."

The following words were even more confusing. For a moment, Mariko considered the possibility that Rogue was insane. All she'd seen, however, made her convinced that that would have been a rash mistake. "Can I ask?" she ventured tentatively. She was fairly sure that she didn't fully understand Rogue's powers. Or maybe it was something to do with her mother's powers.

Kurt
—
Kurt almost laughed at the look Rogue shot him when he finished his explanation. He was pretty sure it was meant to be encouraging or something, but it came off looking a whole lot more like she had gas than anything else. Of course it didn't hold a candle to the glare it switched into as he leaned closer so Mariko could admire their non-existent family resemblance and she used her foot to unceremoniously shove him away. Mariko, at least, was more relaxed, though.

"Yeah, it's in the,-" Mariko frowned as she waved a finger in a lazy circle around Kurt and Rogue's faces, "eyes?" she ventured after a moment, grinning broadly and Kurt smiled back cheerily in response for the moment before Rogue went into little black raincloud mode.

"You'll probably get to meet her sometime. She's got a nasty habit of stopping by to interfere with our lives, make us help evil superbeings take over the world..." she informed Mariko and Kurt resisted the urge to groan at the turn this conversation was taking...all that perfectly good brushing gone to waste if she was going to tie herself up in knots like that. Not to mention that Mariko looked more than a little taken aback by the comment, and he shot her a reassuring look, which was all he really got the chance for before Rogue was talking again.

"Shut the fuck up." she snarled half under her breath and Kurt grimaced at the realization that she was holding an argument with...well, probably with Mystique, under the circumstances. Some serious damage control was in order here, but he wasn't entirely sure how to go about it at this point, so he just shot Mariko what he hoped was a reassuring look as Rogue, apparently just realizing what she'd done, sighed and closed her eyes before apologizing.

"Tell her to go find Buckethead and bitch at him if she's in the mood to screw with someone," he suggested, throwing caution to the winds and reaching out to squeeze her arm gently. She probably wouldn't take it well at the moment, but he had no real idea what else to do and he was entirely too tactile to be able to resist the instinct to offer some kind of physical comfort. Too bad it was probably too late to assume himself into any more brushing, since he'd lay money that it relaxed her almost as much as it did him. Suck.

"Can I ask?" Mariko asked tentatively, and Kurt marveled at the girl's balls, sticking it out through this conversation. Definitely had to give her credit for that. And much as he would have liked to spare Rogue answering that one, he wasn't touching it with a ten foot pole with her sitting right there.

"Hey, look!" he pointed to the TV in some vague hope of redirecting the conversation, "it's Miracle Max. Gotta love Miracle Max..."

Rogue
—
She cracked a smile at Mariko's attempt to find a resemblance between the two, almost forgetting that the link between them was Mystique. Almost. It was probably a good idea to inform the new girl of the bitch and her tendencies toward maniacal kidnapping plots. As the remnant of Mystique's psyche voiced her opinions in Rogue's head, she hissed for it to stop, realizing too late that she had been speaking aloud.

"Tell her to go find Buckethead and bitch at him if she's in the mood to screw with someone." She flinched as he put his hand on her arm, not expecting the sudden contact. Glaring at him, despite the fact that he wasn't the one she was angry with, she scoffed. "Right. Because the two of them arguing is so much better."

She closed her eyes again, trying to build up a mental wall, as the Professor had taught her. The walls never held everyone.

"Can I ask?" She opened one eye and looked at Mariko, expression stoic. She really didn't want to explain everything, but it was probably better for Mariko to hear it straight from her than from Bobby or someone. He'd probably just tell her that Rogue was schizophrenic. "Whenever I absorb someone, part of their mind gets stuck in mine. I can hear them. They talk. A lot."

Frowning, she turned back to the popcorn, not entirely keen on looking at anyone. Maybe it was time she just went back to her room. She wasn't the best at playing welcome wagon, but Kurt could handle it. He'd be fine hanging out with the new girl if she left. He'd already been brushed, and that was what he'd dragged her downstairs for in the first place. Sighing, she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Hey, look!" She turned her head slightly, following Kurt's finger back to the television screen. "it's Miracle Max. Gotta love Miracle Max..."

Well, it was a nice try at least. She sighed, trying to think of something worthwhile to add to the conversation. It just wasn't happening. She'd have to settle. "Billy Crystal has a gigantic forehead. Bet he's a mutant."

Mariko
—
"Hey, look! It's Miracle Max. Gotta love Miracle Max..."

Miracle Max? "Yes, you have to love Miracle Max," Mariko agreed with something less than concrete certainty. "Who is Miracle Max?" Glancing at the screen, it didn't take her long to decide who Miracle Max was. She wasn't entirely sure why she was supposed to love him.

"Whenever I absorb someone, part of their mind gets stuck in mine. I can hear them. They talk. A lot."

Mariko grimaced but said nothing. She wasn't too sure that there was anything she could say that wouldn't just sound trite.

"Billy Crystal has a gigantic forehead. Bet he's a mutant."

Fingers dancing erratically in the air, Mariko gave an evil laugh, "Fear the wrath of the uber-headbutt," she demanded before planting her fists firmly on her hips and angling her head back. It was clearly the pose of a leader worthy of fear and adulation. Tucking her legs up so she was balanced cross legged on the arm, Mariko let her hands fall onto her knees as she shot the pair an apologetic grin. "It was the only power I could pair with a big forehead."

Kurt
—
Okay, maybe Miracle Max wasn't the best diversion in the world, especially when New Girl - Mariko - obviously didn't have any clue who he was. But it was the best he could do under the circumstances, and Mariko and Rogue were both making an effort, Gott sei danke.

"Yes, you have to love Miracle Max," Mariko agreed with something less than concrete certainty. "Who is Miracle Max?"

"Don't rush me sonny. You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles," Kurt quoted along with Billy Crystal, grinning over at Mariko as he did so.

"Billy Crystal has a gigantic forehead. Bet he's a mutant." Rogue chipped in and Kurt cocked his head slightly, knees pulled up and tail tip twitching as he gave the matter due consideration.

Fingers dancing erratically in the air, Mariko gave an evil laugh, "Fear the wrath of the uber-headbutt," she demanded before planting her fists firmly on her hips and angling her head back and Kurt snorted in laughter.

Tucking her legs up so she was balanced cross legged on the arm, Mariko let her hands fall onto her knees as she shot the pair an apologetic grin. "It was the only power I could pair with a big forehead."

"Gott, that would definitely take the prize for codenames," he offered, still laughing as he continued. "Headbutt Man, with the uncanny mutant ability to do impressions. Maybe he doesn't need makeup for any of his roles.

"Ever wonder," he asked, leaning back into the cushions and grinning between the two girls as he grabbed another handful of popcorn, "if there's anyone out there with some totally lame power like peeing in technicolor or growing their hair superfast?"

Rogue
—
It was a stupid observation, and she fully expected the both of them to just laugh at her. Not with her, at her. "Fear the wrath of the uber-headbutt," Or they could run with it. That was always a good thing. She watched Mariko strike a pose and almost smiled. Almost. The whole Mystique thing had put a bit of a dampener on her mood. "It was the only power I could pair with a big forehead."

"Gott, that would definitely take the prize for codenames. Headbutt Man, with the uncanny mutant ability to do impressions. Maybe he doesn't need makeup for any of his roles." Were they really talking about Billy Crystal's forehead? She wasn't sure if that was worse than it would have been if they'd just decided to ignore the comment. She smirked, getting as close to an actual smile as she probably would for a little bit.

"Nah. Nothing beats Schlong the One-Eyed Monster."

And really, nothing did. Scott was, after all, a dick.

"Ever wonder if there's anyone out there with some totally lame power like peeing in technicolor or growing their hair superfast?" She thought about it for a minute. There had to be someone somewhere with an utterly useless power. Growing hair superfast wasn't a cool thing. Not at all. Learned that the hard way the first time she met Sabretooth. Peeing in technicolor, though...

"I'd pay to see someone piss the rainbow."