Logs:Water Under The Bridge

Water Under The Bridge
cn: threats of physical violence, choking
Dramatis Personae Akihiro, Anahita, Carnage, Erik
In Absentia Leo, Charles	2023-01-08 "I was a child and you were my hero."
Location <NYC> Freaktown - The Bronx
Two snail-shaped pumps -- each the size of a medium dog, made of cast iron -- sit side-by-side at the bottom of a seven-foot deep cylindrical drainage pit. It's a bit cramped, just enough to fit one or two people -- with a channel at the bottom cut on the north, south, and east sides for thick cable to run through and under. The drainage pit is... currently got only about six inches of water in it. This is on account of the fact that a spare sump-pump that's been working over-time has successfully pulled most of the rain-water out of the drainage pit, pushing it up a hose that sticks out of the pit and runs down the length of the greenhouse, outside to the street, draining into a flood-drain that's part of a whole different system. The man working on the pumps below -- Marlowe, a heavy-set gentleman with umber skin, a grey jumpsuit, and rather prominent jet-black horns (each the size of a thumb, each looking like they were -- at some point in the past -- neatly sawed off and sanded, but have now been permitted to start growing back in) -- climbs out of the pit via the ladder, breathing heavily and mopping his brow. "Alright, uh..." He looks over back into the greenhouse, sitting on the edge of the drain-pit, calling out to Erik: "Pumps oughta be working... you good on your end? Anything else you need?" Just as this conversation is finishing up, another one is coming in range -- across the way from the large community green-house, Cletus is walking ahead of a group of two -- Anahita and Akihiro. Cletus is dressed in a black wind-breaker, the one-eyed red-headed man grinning like a cat who's on his way to reveal a deep secret. "...anyway, yeah -- I thought you might wanna meet a friend of... well, alright, I don't actually know the guy, but..." Anahita hasn't said much during this walk, trailing Cletus and searching the street around them with sharp, restless eyes. She's wearing a solid red kerchief on her head, her hair braided and coiled up beneath it in back, a loose black canvas jacket, a pink mao shirt, gray corduroys, and black engineer boots. The drainage pit draws her attention away from Cletus's explanation for a moment. When the who had been working on it turns to the greenhouse, so does she. And stops in her tracks. She says nothing, still, her face a blank mask as she stares at Erik. Erik has just stepped back out from the greenhouse, evidently satisfied by the drying out of the pit. "No, I do believe that will suffice, Mr. Marlowe. Thank you." The German accent in his voice is not as strong as it was when Erik began this subterfuge many months ago, nor is his hair as red (despite many liberal applications of stronger hair dye in the interim). "Max" wears just regular glasses now, his cloth mask often looped on his wrist instead of covering his face. He has innovated slightly on practical fashion -- while his work pants and boots are plain browns, his black chore jacket is covered with metal spikes and studs. At some point while Marlowe was climbing the ladder, Erik reassembled and organized all the tools in the box, which he now presents to the other mutant. It's over Marlowe's shoulder that Erik spots the others. "I suspect you are needed elsewhere -- do make sure you take time to rest, mm?" With that excuse, his attention turns to the approaching trio. "Mr. Kasady. Akihiro. Is something the matter?" His gaze lands just behind the two men, meeting Anahita's stare with a deepening furrow of his brow. "Who is this?" "I don't actually know, but I saw Cletus heading this way and figured I should tag along, just in case." Akihiro says before taking a drag from his cigarette, stopping several paces behind Anahita." His dark hair has been slicked back to keep it out of his face, and he's dressed in a blue and orange flannel over a gray hoodie and a pair of blue jeans. "I'm hoping it's a friendly visit though." Despite his tone being mostly pleasant, there is the barest hint of promised violence. Marlowe nods, swiftly gathering up his tools and making his exit -- with a passing glance toward the approaching trio, followed by one more glance Erik's way. Soon enough, he's gone... and Cletus is striding forward, waving a (notably red) hand toward the greenhouse -- and toward Erik. Something about the whole situation seems to have only just now occurred to Cletus as potentially awkward. He steps aside for Anahita, staring first at Erik, then at the ground in front of Erik. "This is -- uh, Anahita. She knew you -- I mean, she... she was tellin' me all this shit about back in the day, when y'all were on an island, yeah? And I realized -- oh, shit! I know that guy. And I just thought, uh... it'd be cool if -- hm." He looks increasingly embarrassed, his red hand moving to scratch the back of his head -- as if this all seemed like a spectacularly good move all the way up until the moment he did it. "...you... uh. Got to meet... again?" Anahita does not take her eyes off of Erik, but turns her head just enough to make it clear she's talking to Cletus. "If I'd known who you meant, I might have saved us all the trouble. I doubt he even remembers me." She does finally look away, if only to eye Akihiro warily. "Are you in the habit of stabbing people for not being friendly enough to him?" This does not sound particularly sarcastic, just sort of tired and dismayed. “Anahita…” Erik’s eyes narrow further, staring at the woman longer until, whether by Carnage’s trailing explanations or her reaction to him, it finally clicks. “— Xiaolien.” He falls silent for a moment, studying the woman before him with slightly vacant eyes — it’s unclear if he’s hearing whatever exchange Anahita and Akihiro are having or if he’s otherwise lost in — thought? Memory? “Stand down,” he says at last. “I remember her — I remember you,” Erik corrects, closing some of the distance between him and Anahita but not all of it. “Her mother,” he declares to both men, “was a trusted friend, and a hero — You’ve grown so much.” This last back to Anahita, disbelief and awe and nostalgia bleeding into his tone. Akihiro flashes Anahita grin before dropping his cigarette butt and stomping it out, "I try not to be, but you can never be too careful." His attention snaps back towards Erik, relaxing visibly when he's told to stand down. "In that case, it's good to have you here. I apologize for the paranoia, but I'm sure you understand the need for it." The smile he offers this time is entirely genuine. "It's a regret of mine that I didn't meet Erik sooner, I'd of loved to have been able to meet everyone." "Naw, don't mind him, he's just an ol' teddy-bear," Cletus tells Anahita with a breathless, anxious laugh. He's still a little put-off by his sudden realization that this might not have been a good idea -- further cemented when Anahita confirms that he wouldn't remember her. Cletus takes a step back, looking increasingly embarrassed... until Erik's moment of recognition. All at once, he perks up and beams -- like a puppy who just realized he did, indeed, perform the correct trick. "Hero -- damn! Y'hear that?" His elbow (explicitly not the red one) juts out toward Akihiro's ribs. He adds, almost casually, to Akihiro, his voice a little lower: "See? Relax. I know what I'm doing." Debatable, judging by the look of relief on his face. Something changes subtly in Anahita's expression at the name "Xiaolien", but what it indicates is hard to say. "Thank you, Cletus. It was very thoughtful of you to bring me." Her smile is thin and small. "I don't think it's paranoia when the danger is real and ever-present. It's important for us to look after each other." There's a kind of sadness in her determined smile when she looks back up at Erik. "Puberty does that. Among other things." There's a very brief hesitation. "I know you had a lot on your plate, after. But it felt like you didn't even see me." She blinks rapidly, taking a long breath before continuing. "Did you ever try to check up on me?" "I don't know our little island would have suited you," Erik comments, looking pointedly from Akihiro to the burned-out cigarette and back again. "We were only farmers, then, caring for the land." Erik frowns at Anahita's question, brows furrowing. "You were not the only child orphaned that day. I am sorry if you needed more from me, but Helen seemed perfectly capable of caring for you -- others needed more." He's making an admirable effort to keep the dismissiveness off of Helen's name, but it bleeds through anyway. "I had thought being with her people would be best --" Erik stops, frowns, backtracks, comprehension slowing working itself across his features. "...but of course, had I looked, I would have discovered you were one of ours, yes? Akihiro -- no, you just followed -- Mr. Kasady, how exactly did you make Lien's acquaintance?" The question is pointed, frustrated. "You got lucky." Akihiro lowers his voice and leans into the nudge, "Max is a big deal outside of us too, might wanna triple check just to be safe in the future." When Erik speaks to him again he straightens and nods, "That's fair, I was a little more wild back then. Seems like I spend most of my time now farming and building, but it's definitely more comforting to be productive in my old age." A grin pulls at the corner of his mouth, "No offense." "--wait, you left her with -- oh." Cletus is trying to catch up. His body tenses, then relaxes at Erik's mention of not realizing she was one of theirs. His brow remains crumpled, though; like he's still trying to puzzle this whole thing out. "Shit, how many fucked up childhoods we got here? Were we all in a competition?" When Erik asks him where he made her acquaintance -- and refers to him as 'Mr. Kasady' -- he folds his arms, stiffening a little: "She's a friend of Leo's. Popped by to visit him. Was just telling me about that whole Utopia thing. It sounded --" His arms tighten a little around himself; he looks off to the left, away from the group. "--anyway. Sorry to hear about how it all... went down." Anahita bows her head slightly, and does not immediately look back up. "Helen lost her home and family too. Again. But no one asked if she had anywhere to go." When she does meet Erik's eyes again, hers are only a touch glassy. "Or if I wanted to go with her. Perhaps it was unfair of me to expect more, but I was a child and you were my hero." She glances at Cletus, sad smile returning. "Oh, I was fucked up before Utopia. I'm sorry you were in the running, but that's a competition with no winners. When might makes right, the weak suffer for the choices of the strong. Children included." She gathers herself, and even at a wispy 5'3" somehow looks no smaller now than the men around her. "Utopia was different. It wasn't just the land we cared for. I do recall some wild times, though, and plenty of smoking." Her eyes cut aside to the drainage pit. "I wish I could have learned this there..." White mist swirls up out of it, coalesces into a small cloud that a moment later starts raining back into the pit. "...and not in a cage. But I had seen what we could be, and that kept me going." She reaches out to catch the rain in the hollow of her hand. The droplets gather into one large bead that quivers like something alive. "My resentment is mine to reckon. I'm still thankful for Utopia and to all who dreamed it to life." She actually bows at Erik, this time. "To you and Ch --" The corner of her mouth gives a small twitch. "-- your husband." "We used ashtrays," Erik grumbles, half-voiced. It's not focused, this comment -- his watery blue gaze doesn't stray from Anahita, watching the display of power with intensity. Erik's lips press thinly together when Cletus explains, tighter when Anahita calls him her hero, tighter at the mention of cages, tighter still when the water gathers in her hand. "Yuehai should have been alive to teach you." Is this an apology? An admission of failure? It's not clear, and Erik is opening his mouth to say something else -- -- right as Anahita stumbles over the "Ch-", right as she changes to mention his husband. Around all four of the little group, there is a vibration in the metal within and without their bodies -- a tremor in the zipper of Cletus's windbreaker, a deep shiver in Akihiro's adamantium-plated bones, a rattle in the buckles of Anahita's jacket and boots. The moment passes. When Erik speaks again, his voice is cold. "You have been away too long, Lien, and are far too eager to tell stories. Never speak his name and mine together." At her neck, the chain holding her crystal pendant tightens -- not enough to choke or bruise, but enough to make the consequences of disobeying Erik's demands obvious. "Do we understand each other, child?" Akihiro coughs softly and kneels down to scoop the cigarette butt up, slipping it into his pocket as he rises. He shuffles slightly as he listens, any trace of playfulness disappearing as he realizes the gravity of the situation. At the mention of cages he reaches a hand over to rub at his forearm and looks like he's about to open his mouth, only for his own eyes to shoot open at the stumbling. Despite clenching his teeth and bracing for the magnetic outburst, the grip on his arm tightens and there's an audible snikt sound as his claws burst out from the spaces between his knuckles. "Alright," he squeaks out, "maybe we take a second to breathe?" Cletus says nothing in response to Anahita's point regarding the weak suffering. He just shrinks back, staring at the ground -- as if suddenly desperate to not be seen. But then... she uses her power, and he perks back up, a ghost of a smile tugging at his face. When she bows to Erik -- and mentions his husband -- both eyebrows shoot up. His arms unfold; he suddenly seems supremely interested in Erik. But then -- there's that ripple of pressure in the air, Akihiro is stumbling, and-- Kasady is fast. In an instant, he's wedging himself between Anahita and Erik. The anxiety is gone; the eye is glowing bright. The red hand is made of woven sinew, glistening red; tiny crystals crackle like a thin sheet of splintering ice as they extend and sharpen at each fingertip -- their presence subtle, but distinct. "Yo. Gandalf. Chill the fuck out," Carnage says, his face split by a... very bright grin. "You ain't gotta pull that shit with us. Save it for the fuckers locking the cages." Anahita frowns when the rattling first starts. Then her eyes widen, perhaps just with dawning comprehension, but it's hard to say because they are shortly going much, much wider. The chain may not be tight enough to choke, but she's hyperventilating all the same, hands shooting up to tug it away from her throat, hastily enough to bruise herself in the process. But when Carnage steps in front of her she stills. Just for a moment, while he speaks. She peels one hand from the chain and lays it gently on his shoulder. "It's okay, Cletus." She's trembling and breathing fast, but her voice is steady and soothing. In the midst of all this, she shoots Akihiro an inscrutable glance, one eyebrow cocked. Her eyes are still wide when she looks past Carnage to Erik. "I'm sorry, Sir. I understand." Erik does not outwardly acknowledge Akihiro but he breathes in anyway, nostrils flaring. On the exhale, his eyes glance to Carnage, the red blood hand, then up to Anahita and the red welts from her own scrabbling around her neck. Breathes in. Breathes out, and the necklace falls loose around Anahita's collar again, the tension in the other metals released. "Good. Loose lips sink ships, as they used to say. Watch yours as well, Mr. Kasady." Erik looks at Akihiro now, looks at the claws and the places where the skin is red with cuts. There is a flush rising in Erik's cheeks as he turns away from the group to face the greenhouse. "If you would both escort Ms. Anahita to one of the medic stations -- her necklace was caught on a branch, and she would benefit from some ice or a healer." A pause, another inhale like Erik is about to continue, but then nothing -- he begins to walk towards the greenhouse door. Akihiro looks ready to jump in on Erik's behalf, but relaxes when he moves to deescalate the situation instead, allowing his claws to sink back into his forearm, the small cuts left behind closing up on their own. "Of course Max." He digs his pack of cigarettes out, mouthing 'Sorry' towards the pair before placing one of the Marlboro's between his lips and lighting it up. There is, for just a moment, a point where Carnage's smile gets even bigger -- as if, despite his words, some monstrous joy is fighting inside him to spill forth. But when Anahita's hand touches his shoulder, when she says his name -- all that joy melts out of him. The hand softens; the grin fades into a wary little smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. The left side of his mouth twitches at Erik's comment about Anahita's necklace; the moment Erik has stepped away, he turns and looks at it. "...the fuck?" Cletus is staring at the bruises. His eyes go to Akihiro. "The fuck?!" he repeats, just a little louder -- though not before snapping his head back to make sure Erik is out of immediate ear-shot. The red hand ripples, little sharp edges emerging and retracting in geometric patterns along its length. "Fuckin' -- fuck. You alright? You alright?" He's speaking first to Anahita, then to Akihiro; the second statement's anger is accompanied with puzzlement. "What did he do to you? Fuckin' -- fuck. I'm sorry, that isn't -- Christ. I shouldn't have brought you here." Anahita blinks rapidly at Erik's exhortation to silence, and yet more at his proposed cover story. She opens her mouth, then seems to think better and closes it until the old man is well away from them. Her hand is still on Cletus's shoulder, leaning on him just a little now. "I'm fine." Which doesn't stop her flinching when she fastidiously straightens her necklace, then straightens her collar to cover the mark it left. "Some people are sensitive about their sexuality," she offers dryly by way of explanation. Then, softer, "Thank you, Cletus. That was a brave thing you did, and I'm sorry to have put you in danger. You, too." She looks over at Akihiro, both eyebrows raising at how quickly the wounds close up. "But the danger is always there, with men like him. Please be careful." She lets go of Cletus, starting to lift a hand to the back of her neck and quickly checking the motion. "I think," she says with a weary smile, "I'm going to stay away from this neighborhood for a little while." Akihiro raises a hand towards Cletus, "He didn't do it on purpose. When I was in my cage they decided to pump me full of metal, trying to make an invincible super soldier. So between that and the grip I had on my arm my claws slid out." "It's a sore subject, after Utopia they had a falling out. Charles thinks that if we play nice and save them they'll stop locking us in cages and experimenting on us. He's had a hard time adjusting, I partially blame myself for taking so long to find him." He offers a sad sort of smile. "Be patient with him, I'm sure he'll apologize after he's had a chance to cool off and think about it. Old men like us can be rash sometimes." Anahita's eyebrows keep going up. "Ah. That tells me more about you than him, but thank you." She seems to consider leaving it at that, but as she turns to go she adds, lightly, "My ex stole our son and raised him to hate me, but at least he has good praxis."