Cleanliness is next to General Storage, Sat. afternoon (ISO: Rogue)

[Anole]

Victor had never done laundry before, but because of this his mom had had him do some practice loads at home before he left. So he wasn't calling home for a completely new wardrobe after shrinking it all down to lillyput size or dyeing it all pink or leaving gum in his pockets. The plastic basket was mostly shirts and underthings and socks; he didn't throw his shorts and jeans in after a single wear.

Hefting the basket to the top of the washer next to the washer he was going to use, he checked the settings, added his clothes (carefully pocket checked), soap, and boom. God, he felt proud. Washed in cold, too. Saving energy!

Dad had advised sitting down there till it was all done, having had some scrapes and mishaps with people shopping in the laundry room while he was in college. So Vic gladly took out his DS and started playing Professor Layton. He'd done it all once, but he wanted to get all the coins this time.

[Rogue]

Even though Rogue had only been there for a few days, she had a ton of laundry to do. She'd grabbed things so quickly when she was leaving that a good deal of it was dirty. Not disgusting dirty. Probably wearable again before anyone even noticed that they were dirty. But still dirty. She'd shoved just about everything into a stuff sack and pulled on the only clean, clean pair of pants that she owned right then, along with a long-sleeved hooded shirt. As she headed down to the laundry room, she realized that wearing her Brotherhood pants around the place while the X-Men were out of the area was probably not the wisest choice. But it was either that or shorts and she really felt a lot more comfortable with actual pants. Besides, it wasn't like she was wearing the rest of the uniform. They could just be pants she liked. They were pants she liked. So... there.

She drifted down the stairs, landing softly at the bottom of the final flight and heading across to the laundry room. Even though the conversation she'd had the last time she was in the basement wasn't exactly the friendliest, she was glad that she'd already been down there. Otherwise, she would have been wandering the halls trying to remember where the laundry room was while carrying a bag big enough to contain a body and wearing her Brotherhood pants. That probably wouldn't have gone over so well. She stepped into the room, looking around and immediately spotting a green boy. Victor. That was what Megan and Kitty had said the green lizard boy's name was. Maybe. Hopefully.

"Hey," she greeted, trying to keep herself from getting too worried that they were going to think she was there to kill him. She found a washing machine a relatively safe distance away from the one he was near and dropped her bag heavily beside it. "Your name's Victor, right?"

[Anole]

It was unfortunate being the green lizard boy because it meant everyone knew who he was before he knew they existed. But most of the time they were nice about it, so it was marginally less freaky. However, this was the Brotherhood girl, who could beat him up and stuff. Not that everyone in the mansion couldn't beat him up, but she was supposed to have been a Bad Guy. Like the kind who'd broken into his house and made his mom cry.

Except that she was a mutant too and not really there because she'd wanted to be. Victor felt a little sorry for her, but it was tempered with the fear she'd really beat him up. She had to be strong. She was carrying a sack of clothes bigger than a small horse.

"Hey. Your name's Victor, right?"

"Yeah. And you're?" He would've held out a hand to shake, except she had her hands full. Briefly, he paused his game and turned it off. "You need any help?"

Ever the gentleman, even to the Bad Guys.

[Rogue]

Rogue was glad to see that it looked like they had plenty of laundry detergent down there. She hadn't brought any along with her and leaving the grounds to buy some was completely out of the question. She probably could have bummed some off of whoever else was down there, but it really was so much easier with it just already being there. As she walked in, she smiled a little bit, glad that for once she actually knew the name of the new person she was about to meet. Hopefully. Or else she was probably about to make a complete ass of herself. "Hey. Your name's Victor, right?"

"Yeah. And you're?" Score. And also oh. Right. She smiled a little bit.

"Rogue." With a nod, she dropped her bag in front of some of the washers farther down the line and turned to open the lid on the nearest one. Empty. She tipped the lid on the next one up as well and peered inside, then reached down to haul her bag into an upright position so she could start sorting the laundry out.

"You need any help?" She looked over at him and then back down at the laundry. It was a lot, but it wasn't going to be all that hard to actually get it done. Just the sorting would be a pain in the ass and she didn't really want to make a stranger go through her dirty clothes anyway.

"Nah, I'm good. But thanks." She smiled at him again and started to tug some of the clothes out of the bag, frowning at a long-sleeved shirt that had decided to get tangled in everything else near it. Once she got it out and tossed it in one of the open washers, she frowned and reached for a few gloves that'd decided to make a break for it and land on the floor. She sat them on top of one of the other washers and looked back over at Victor. "Was that creepy? Me knowing your name? I promise, I wasn't trying to be creepy. Kitty and Megan told me who you were."

[Anole]

"Rogue."

Victor bit his tongue. His very, very long tongue. He wanted to go 'Rogue? Really?' but hey, some kids had parents like his and some had parents like Frank Zappa. It wasn't her fault and he'd be a dick for pointing it out. So he just smiled. As she checked the washers, he said helpfully, "They're all empty, but the ones on the end are a little bigger."

For those industrial size jobs like sheets and pillows and stuff, Victor thought. Rogue went through her huge bag like it was nothing, tossing and unwinding like a pro. This was someone who could do laundry and Victor was nothing but admiring.

"Was that creepy? Me knowing your name? I promise, I wasn't trying to be creepy. Kitty and Megan told me who you were."

He wasn't expecting the question and it showed on his face before he laughed. "Nah. It's how people say hi to me now. It's not a big thing, but you hear about the green lizard boy and it's sort of obvious." He shrugged. "In a way it's nice and in a way it's sort of unfair because I don't get the same thing in return. Much."

Pink girl with butterfly wings. Blue guy with a tail. Skinny dude with red sunglasses. Big metal Russian. Girl with the bones. Guy with no mouth. Babbling Asian chick.

"Wow. You know, you could use two machines. No one would care."

[Rogue]

"They're all empty, but the ones on the end are a little bigger." She smiled over at him again and then headed over to the bigger machines and started to sort through her clothes, tossing the colors in one machine as she put the gloves on top of another and the whites on top of the one on the other side. She realized as she did it that she may have come off as a little bit creepy, knowing his name right off the bat like that. "Was that creepy? Me knowing your name? I promise, I wasn't trying to be creepy. Kitty and Megan told me who you were."

"Nah. It's how people say hi to me now. It's not a big thing, but you hear about the green lizard boy and it's sort of obvious." He shrugged. "In a way it's nice and in a way it's sort of unfair because I don't get the same thing in return. Much."

"I bet," she replied, nodding. "If it helps, I probably could have figured it out if you weren't green and lizardy. Just based on who I've bet and how I haven't met a Victor yet. Plus, most folks seem to know who I am before I know who they are. Here, at least." She looked him over again and nodded. "And scaly just looks good on some people. You make it work."

"Wow. You know, you could use two machines. No one would care." She looked at her stuff, scrunching her face up as she tried to figure out just how many machines she would need. she was sorta particular about the way she washed her stuff. Colors went in one, whites in another, gloves and other delicate stuff in another. She really didn't want to use all of the machines, though. Not when other people could come in and need them.

"I think I need at least three," she replied, opening the other big washer and moving some of her whites in there. "Maybe more depending on how much I can get in here. I usually do the gloves separate." Laundry was boring to talk about, though. There had to be something cooler that they could discuss. "How long have you been here?"

[Anole]

He watched as a truly amazing amount of clothing came out of the huge sack. Victor didn't think he had enough clothes altogether to fill three washers but in reality probably did, if he counted all his summer and winter clothes together. Still, count on a girl to have a full closet. Even an evil one.

"If it helps, I probably could have figured it out if you weren't green and lizardy. Just based on who I've met and how I haven't met a Victor yet. Plus, most folks seem to know who I am before I know who they are. Here, at least."

"I'm the youngest too. And the shortest." And seemingly the only male who ventured out much. The mansion was teeming with loud girls and their lip gloss and pastel shirts and stuffed animals. Sometimes Victor felt like the only guy in the world. "I didn't know who you were."

Which was mostly him forgetting things during the briefings. With all the information coming in and going out, who was he to forget someone's name or where they came from or how they got here? It was all said like it was horribly important, but Vic knew it was just more people. Nothing to get uptight about. Though putting his name on stuff in the fridge? Starting to look like a good idea. MY cookies.

"I think I need at least three."

"One, three, doesn't matter," he said amiably. "I try to do my wash when no one else is. I don't think anyone will come in."

"Maybe more depending on how much I can get in here. I usually do the gloves separate."

She had a whole load just for gloves? How... weirdly Victorian. "Why?"

"How long have you been here?"

"Month. I think you'll like it. People are nice. Oh, and Megan makes these super desserts. Cookies, cake, pie, stuff you've never heard of but tastes fantastic."

[Rogue]

"I'm the youngest too. And the shortest." She nodded as she pointed at him, giving him a "see?" look. It wasn't just the green and scaly. Sure, the green and scaly helped but she would have definitely figured out which one was Victor anyway. "I didn't know who you were."

"They didn't tell you?" She frowned. That didn't seem right, that they wouldn't tell the youngest person there. Unless he just hadn't paid attention. If that was the case... well, that was kinda dumb of him. Wasn't her place to tell him just how stupid it was to ignore it when people were telling him things like the potential crazy evil person living with them. Not when she was that potentially crazy evil person.

She had a lot of laundry. Part of the reason it would take more than the usual number of machines was because of the way she sorted things. She put her gloves in their own, on a gentle cycle. Colors had another and whites had a third. She didn't like to smash things in, either. Rogue didn't actually know if it made a huge difference, spacing things out like that but she did it anyway.

"Why?" She looked up, frowning for a second. Why... oh, gloves.

"I put them on gentle. It keeps them from getting all chewed up. I think, at least. I go through them pretty fast anyway." Still. She tried to keep them for as long as she could. Especially since it was a pain in the ass to buy a new pair. She usually had to re-sew at least some of the fingers to keep them from bunching up and sometimes she had to do more to get them to fit in a not completely annoying way. It really was a pain in the ass. "How long have you been here?"

"Month. I think you'll like it. People are nice. Oh, and Megan makes these super desserts. Cookies, cake, pie, stuff you've never heard of but tastes fantastic."

"We had a whole baking discussion the other day," she replied, nodding. "She sounds pretty good at it." He'd only been there for a month. That made it a little bit more okay that he hadn't listened to what they had to say about her. There was a good chance that he just didn't know.

"So... what do you do?" There was a chance that he had power similar to Mystique's. Or maybe no powers at all. She looked down into her bag, fishing out the last few pair of gloves and adding them to the pile on top of the washer then shoving the bag into the machine with the colors and closing both doors. Only three machines! That was good! She moved to open the lid on one of the smaller ones and sweep the gloves into that machine as she waited to hear Victor's answer.

[Anole]

"They didn't tell you?"

Victor shrugged, smiling a little. "They do, but I've only been here a month. There were a ton of people introducing themselves, where they were from, what they did, stuff like that. And then there were these little meetings with more stuff like that, and then... sometimes the information just... ran together. I didn't worry about it. I figured I'd meet everyone sooner or later and if someone was like, a mutant who burst into flame if you looked at them, I thought there would be a notice or something."

No fuss, no muss.

On the gloves, Vic had been more on why she had so many when most people had... none, but she chose the cycle route instead. "I put them on gentle. It keeps them from getting all chewed up. I think, at least. I go through them pretty fast anyway."

There was girl logic for you again. If she went through them like Kleenex, what did it matter if the cycle was normal? Or if there were a pair or six of jeans in there? Victor was an equal opportunity launderer, stuffing it all in one. There was no segregation of colors and whites. Besides, he had white shirts with stripes. Where did they go then, hmmm? But instead he said, "Why do you have gloves at all? I mean, it's kinda cool, but... do you have poor circulation?"

His tone wasn't derogatory, but just interested and concerned.

"We had a whole baking discussion the other day. She sounds pretty good at it."

Vic's eyes got stars in them. "You have never known real cookies till you taste her baking. Homemade everything. It's insane. She has this chocolate cake you so rich it's like, like, you can taste how heavy it is in your stomach." Definite glassy overtones going on in those big greens. "I think she uses actual butter and cream and stuff. I don't know why the whole place isn't a hundred pounds overweight, diabetic, and covered with zits."

Okay, back to reality. "So... what do you do?"

"Do?" For a minute he was puzzled, and then Victor smiled. Sheepishly. "I'm a lizard boy," he grinned. Then his smiled faded and he added, "I can jump real high, and stick to walls, and my tongue is really long and can catch stuff. Oh! And I can... do that thing a chameleon does. Camouflage."

Sliding down from the top of the washer, he put down his DS and knelt in front of the white metal. "Here, I'll show you!"

In three seconds he'd faded, like a scene fade in the movies, but just him, till there were just clothes sketchily outlining a body and a pair of eyes, which he closed.

[Rogue]

Rogue could definitely understand the whole having a million things coming at you at once problem. In the time that she'd been there, they'd thrown so much at her that she was shocked that she could remember as much of it as she could. Xavier's tinkering probably helped with that, though.

"Why do you have gloves at all? I mean, it's kinda cool, but... do you have poor circulation?" She frowned at Victor for a moment. That wasn't even really close. Like, at all. She shook her head, reminding herself that he wasn't an idiot, he was a kid. A kid who didn't really pay attention when people told him things, even when they were things that would possibly get him killed.

"Nah," she replied, shaking her head. "My powers work through my skin. I can't touch anyone without knocking them out. So gloves. And sleeves." She gestured at the machines. "And lots of laundry." Probably too much laundry, since she didn't actually have to layer things the way she did. It was just more comfortable that way, so she could take things off when there weren't other people near enough to worry about accidentally touching them.

"You have never known real cookies till you taste her baking. Homemade everything. It's insane." Rogue smiled slightly. Meg really hadn't been kidding when she said she had a fanboy. "She has this chocolate cake you so rich it's like, like, you can taste how heavy it is in your stomach." Definite glassy overtones going on in those big greens. "I think she uses actual butter and cream and stuff. I don't know why the whole place isn't a hundred pounds overweight, diabetic, and covered with zits." That got a laugh, and Rogue nodded, trying not to picture a morbidly obese Cyclops trying to squeeze through the front door. It actually just looked a lot like the Blob with glasses on, and she was torn between wanting to barf and wanting to laugh. Instead, she changed the subject in an attempt to just completely forget she'd ever pictured that.

"Do?" For a minute he was puzzled, and then Victor smiled. Sheepishly. "I'm a lizard boy," he grinned. She gave him an "and" look, hoping that he was going to elaborate. If there was more. Maybe there wasn't. "I can jump real high, and stick to walls, and my tongue is really long and can catch stuff. Oh! And I can... do that thing a chameleon does. Camouflage. Here, I'll show you!"

She watched as he disappeared against the washer, matching the color of the machine perfectly. Okay, that was kinda cool. It almost completely made up for the grossness of him having the same tongue thing going for him as Toad did. She looked down at the spot where he was, squinting slightly in an attempt to convince herself that she could see him better than she could.

"That is pretty awesome," she decided, nodding and then blinking as she remembered that she still hadn't actually started the machines. As she turned to grab the detergent, she smiled at him over her shoulder. "My mom kinda does something like that. She's sorta lizardy, too. Except blue, not green. And she's got yellow eyes. She's a shapeshifter."

[Anole]

For a moment, Rogue frowned back at him. But not in concern. No, her frown was more 'what's a moron like this doing running heavy machinery?'. Victor waited.

"My powers work through my skin. I can't touch anyone without knocking them out. So gloves. And sleeves. And lots of laundry."

"Ooooh, right. That's you." Okay. Now he saw. But again, there was no reason to get excited. When he had those little jam sessions with the bigwigs, Victor mostly listened for things he'd have to watch for. If they'd said 'girl named Rogue, skin to skin powers will suck you dry - oh, and she runs around naked a lot and has this spontaneous hugging thing' then he would've made some serious mental notes. But she had it in the bag (or... now, in the washer), so he wasn't worried. The only part of her not covered? Not like he was going to kiss her or anything.

He chuckled along with her, thinking up his own images, like that Warren fellow with his nose to a mirror, popping his pimples. Ew. Okay, nix that.

The camo demonstration went over a lot better. It was the first time he'd done that kind of thing for someone. Usually he just rattled off the list. Most of his powers weren't of the 'here let me show you' variety. The sticking to walls was sort of dizzying for him, and the tongue thing was pretty gross, even for him. So he could play frisbee with himself. Sort of ew. It was cool till you factored in all the saliva.

"That is pretty awesome."

"Thanks!" Fade back to Victor, and he hopped back atop his washer, smiling.

"My mom kinda does something like that. She's sorta lizardy, too. Except blue, not green. And she's got yellow eyes. She's a shapeshifter."

Victor blinked. "Sorta lizardy? You mean she... what? Scales?" Blue too. That bore thinking. As lizards went, there wasn't much by way of color selection unless you got really exotic. Victor preferred his own green to the other common-ish color, yellow or brown. But blue? Hmmm. Could do it. "Sounds cool. I'm just all green. Except my tongue and teeth."

Leaning back on his palms, he thought more and then said, "It must be confusing being a shapeshifter. All the things you could be, you might lose yourself a little."

[Rogue]

It was neat, seeing that Vic actually liked his powers. It couldn't be easy, being that physical of a mutant when the world was like it was. Hell, that was a big part of the reason why the Brotherhood was doing what they were doing. She hadn't said it to Megan because she had a feeling that they'd take it the wrong way and think that she was still on their side, but it really was one of the driving forces behind their actions. They sincerely wanted to make the world the kind of place where people like Megan and Victor and Kurt and Warren and... she couldn't think of any other examples. Remy, maybe. Whatever. They wanted to make the world the kind of place where they could all go out whenever they wanted, without having to hide who and what they were. Even if the way that the Brotherhood went about doing it wasn't exactly the most flatscan-friendly, it was still for them. But it really was nice seeing that Vic seemed to be happy, even thought the world wasn't the place that it should have been.

"Sorta lizardy? You mean she... what? Scales?" Rogue nodded. "Sounds cool. I'm just all green. Except my tongue and teeth."

"Her tongue and teeth are normal, too. Her eyes are all reptilian, though. Yellow. And she's got red hair. But she's got the blue and scales all over her skin. Like, she doesn't even wear clothes because they cover everything. 'Course, even when she is wearing clothes, she's not really. Whole shapeshifting thing. She just makes them."

"It must be confusing being a shapeshifter. All the things you could be, you might lose yourself a little." Rogue shrugged as she started up the machines.

"I don't know if she does. I don't think so, though. She's pretty much always... just Mystique." Rogue often wondered how her mother managed to keep her mind in one piece, when she had so much to remember. The woman spoke so many languages and dialects and remembered the slightest detail about people. Standing next to her when Mystique was pretending to be her, even all of her freckles were in exactly the right places. Rogue didn't even know where all the freckles on her arms and shoulders and chest were, but Raven did. And it wasn't just her. She seemed to know everyone with that level of detail. "I guess she's got a system or something. She's got her powers figured out better than pretty much anyone I know. Except maybe my other mom. Maybe."

It was really hard to compare them because the powers were so totally different, but Rogue knew for a fact that Irene's powers confused the shit out of her. Made it all that much more impressive when Irene actually used them.