[IC] The Unwanted. Superpowered RP with a hint of horror.

[Rawk]

Lowered Expectations

_{a collab with @Subject Zero}

Vincent leaned his head back against the wall, staring up through half opened eyes at one of the Nates who had shuffled into the bathroom asking about all the commotion.

“I have no idea, bro.” Vin responded, releasing a long breath of air. “No. Idea.”

He drew a knee up toward his chest, positioning himself on the shower floor so at least his midsection wasn’t in complete and awkward view of the guy standing there. Not that it mattered much to Vin at this point, since there were certainly more pressing concerns than his dignity.

“What are we anyway?” He asked, closing his eyes to hopefully clear the migraine that continued to beat around in his head. “And what the hell did I do back there and, more importantly, why can’t I control it?”

"What are we?" said Nate, echoing Vin's question. "Well that's a loaded question...Handsome devils for one." He turned and planted his back against the glass of the shower, sliding down until he was sitting on the ground as he continued "Maybe we're mutants...Maybe we're superheroes...Maybe we're just people who have been through some really messed up shit." Nate glanced over at Vin for a second, realizing that he really had been through a lot. It would have been a lot for Nate, nevermind a civvie. "I don't have the answers." He informed Vin "...But I plan on finding them. That's why we're going where we're going. Maybe once we get there we'll figure out why you can do what you do...Or, better yet, stop doing what you do...I don't want to end up like that poor bastard in the alley."

Vin shook his head, cringing at the thoughts of those wildly chaotic scenes playing out in his visions, not quite grasping whether it was truth or simply what he wanted to see.

“Are you planning on killing her? JJ, I mean?”

Nate scrunched his face up at the question, looking both confused and annoyed at the same time. "Kill JJ?" he asked. "No. I mean I know she's annoying but not so much that I'd put a bullet in her...Not yet anyway." He turned to Vin again and said "I'm a bodyguard. Not a killer."

“Hey I’m just asking questions bro, trying to wrap my head around the shit storm brewing over our heads. It seems every-fucking-where-we-go, someone or some thing is trying to end us like yesterday’s news. My head is filled with unimaginable shit I’ve never experienced in my life. In fact…” He paused for a moment, hesitant to even broach the subject. “Forget it. All I know I owe her, and I don’t want to see her dead. Not by you, not by anyone...”

Vin reached to grab the towel hanging on the hook, and wrapped it around his waist as he slowly stood to his feet. Holding the wall for support, he stepped from the shower onto the cool tile.

“Well, I either need to get the blood off of those...” He said, pointing to the cluster of bloodied clothing on the floor. ”Or, I find replacements.” Vin glanced up at Nate and smirked. “I don’t know if you’re actually Nate or a copy, but it must be nice not having to change.”

Vincent picked up his clothes, walked out into the bedroom, and collapsed onto the bed, which had probably been the softest landing he'd experienced in the last couple of days. He lifted his arms and examined the tattoos, which he'd had for nearly ten years, never having any problems with them trying to kill other people, or him. "Mutants." He mused aloud, thinking back to what Nate had said and guessing he'd read too many comic books lately. He then dropped both arms to his side and stared up at the stucco ceiling, tracing the lines and imperfections in the patterns.

"But what else could we be?..."

"Awesome." was Nate's response to that as he followed Vin back into the bedroom, pulling his t-shirt over his head as he went. "I mean think about what we could do if we actually figured out how to use these powers properly." His shoes were kicked off and were quickly followed by his pants. "We could be pretty awesome." He gathered up the clothes and tossed them to Vin on the bed before saying "I'd give you the underwear too but I don't think we're at that stage in our relationship yet." Nate stood with his hands on his hips for a second, clearly thinking about something and then said "Y'know what? I'm a nice guy. Here." A pair of boxer briefs were then thrown at Vin, landing on his chest.

Vin lifted his head and made a sour face, as he tossed the boxers off to the side. "What the fuck, you fucked up-" And then he noticed the pile of clothes lying next to him that Nate had apparently given him in his own twisted manner. "Ah, shit...I see what you did there."

He sat up and looked at the clothes, and back at the fully naked Nate, and couldn't help but laugh, possibly because of the absolute absurdity of the whole situation, or maybe he was in fact going insane. Either way, the one question still begged to be asked:

"Where they hell do these clothes go when you disappear?"

"No idea." answered Nate after he had thought about it for a moment. "But won't it be fun to find out?"

There was a lot Nate didn't understand about his powers. Where did the extra matter come from. Where did it go? He knew enough about physics to know that matter can't be destroyed. It was simply transformed. But what did that mean? Was he converting air molecules into human life when he created his clones? The implications of that made his head hurt so he decided to change the subject. And Nate always fell back on annoying others when he wanted to avoid a subject.

"So I bet this isn't the first time you've been naked in a bedroom with another man." He winked sarcastically at Vin, knowing that it would weird him out.

"Actually no, but I was also stoned out of my mind and I'm pretty sure nothing happened..." He paused for a moment to think, then shrugged as he grabbed the pile of clothes Nate threw on the bed, and handed them to him as he walked by.

"And thanks but no thanks. I think I'll take my chances with JJ's washing machine, provided I can find it." He said, patting Nate on the shoulder, picking up his bloodied clothing, and heading out into the living room area where he tried to guess where the laundry room might be.

The clone followed after him, not bothering to put his clothes back on. Nate, having emerged from JJ's room, looked at the situation, noting that Vin was only wearing a towel. "I don't even want to know." he said, throwing his hands in the air.

@Subject Zero
@Xandrya

[Xandrya]

Jennifer

She was tempted to throw something at Nate, hell, one of the pillows would have sufficed, but he quickly closed the door behind him. Now that he was finally out of her room, Jennifer took off the remainder of her clothes before walking back into the bathroom. She tossed them aside as she closed the door behind her, then walked over to the shower to turn it on. After letting it run for a second or two so it could get to the perfect temperature, she got inside to let her body relax.

--

About 15 minutes later, Jennifer stepped out of the shower. She wrapped her hair with a small towel and covered up with the bathrobe hanging from the back of her door. Leaving the insanely humid bathroom, she headed to her closet to finally pick out some clothes that fit her and didn't make her look like a stripper. Nearly a minute passed before Jennifer decided on a simple pair of jeans, short black boots, and a maroon top. She grabbed the outfit and laid them out on her bed, going back into the bathroom to let her hair down and run some leave-in conditioner through her strands. She couldn't help but sigh in contempt as the curls started to appear again, but there was nothing she could do. She had been cursed with a hair type she didn't like but then again, who was ever satisfied?

Jennifer continued getting ready, hoping the guys outside wouldn't be making much of a mess. She applied some basic make-up, that which consisted of mascara and some light lipstick. Dabbing the excess off with her pinkie, Jennifer looked herself over one more time before heading back to the bedroom to get dressed. She noticed her purse on the nightstand, then remembered she had to charge her phone. After taking care of that, she got dressed and walked out into the living room. She noticed Vin sitting on the couch with a towel wrapped around his waist, but at least he looked more like himself now.

"Did you two get to know each other a little bit better?" she asked Nate, who was also in the living room.

@Subject Zero
@Rawk

[Subject Zero]

Having reabsorbed all of his clones except for the one in the kitchen who was currently making a mess in his attempts to make something resembling pork pozole, Nate dropped down onto the couch and draped an arm over the back. At JJ's question about whether he and Vin had gotten to know each other better, he began stroking the back of Vin's head as he informed her "Oh, we got to know each other very well." He tried very hard to not laugh at that but a light snort could be heard coming from him.

Seeing Vin naked wasn't something Nate wanted but since he had, he was going to use it to annoy the living daylights out of the other man. It was the least he deserved. Nate was well aware that he wasn't blameless in the clusterfuck that had been the past day but blaming himself wasn't nearly as fun as blaming other people. Nate may have looked like a man on the outside but on the inside he was very much still an immature asshole.

@Xandrya
@Rawk

[Rawk]

Vin took a seat on the couch, and sank into the cushion until his head rested comfortably against the backrest. He was dead on the his feet since the last chaotic episode he’d had in the bathroom, and his thoughts drifted off for a moment, allowing the calm ambiance of the apartment to sooth his racing mind. He didn’t notice when JJ had re-emerged from her bedroom, but her voice caught him off guard and snapped him from his reverie otherwise. He lifted his head and instantly transfixed on her, noticing for the first time, all her radiance and beauty. He’d only known her for a short while, but up until this point, he’d been so consumed by every emotion that could be thrown at him in one fell swoop he’d never really seen her. But this was different. There she was, the woman who had sacrificed a part of herself to save a wretched creature like Vincent. A man who didn’t deserve it, but was nonetheless healed through her powers, albeit, with a heavy price she had to pay. Nevertheless, in that instance, Vin felt genuine adoration for her, something that he hadn’t felt in more years than he cared to count.

“Wow, you look great...” Was about all he could muster up at the moment, until Nate decided to slip his hand behind his head, causing Vin to move a few inches away from the creep, followed by a barrage of exclamatory remarks targeted at him.

He returned his attention to JJ. “Ah, yeah, I think we got close enough. Oh, and by the way, I took the liberty of tossing my clothes in your incredibly awesome washing machine. Figured we’d be here for a bit anyway, so...uh...” He brought his voice down a notch. “Hopefully that’s okay with you, yeah?”

He turned back to Nate, shooting him a sour expression. “And can you keep your damn brothers in check? I swear they snoop around like lost puppies!”

@Xandrya
@Subject Zero

[Xandrya]

Jennifer

"Take a picture, Vin, it'll last longer," she added playfully as she sat next to him. Jennifer had noticed one of the clones in her kitchen, making a mess expected.

"Isn't that a nice view?" she added, more so to distract herself from killing the second Nate, not that it would do much anyway. "I've fallen asleep more times than I count on this couch just looking out past that balcony, but of course, more than half of those nights I can't even remember. If only--"

Jennifer stopped when she heard a crash from the kitchen. "Hey! This isn't your mother's kitchen!" She pushed herself up by placing a hand on Vincent's tigh, not concerned with the fact that he was only wearing a towel. As she headed to the kitchen, she saw the clone looking at his hands as he slowly began to fade away. The last thing Jennifer saw was a fearful expression on his face.

"Hey, Nate, can you tell me why your clone looked scared out of his mind when he disappeared?" she asked, walking back towards the living room to sit next to Vin again.

@Rawk
@Subject Zero

[Subject Zero]

Nate slowly sat forward as his clone vanished. He felt his muscles tensing and he clasped his hands together, holding them over his knees. Something was wrong here. Usually, when he reabsorbed his clones, they became a part of him again. Their memories became his. Their thoughts and feelings all merged with his own. But this was different. Only a part came back. Fractured. Broken. There was a vague sense of fear that rushed through him as though the clone knew what was happening to him wasn't normal. Like he was afraid they he wouldn't get back to Nate. That he would really be gone.

Nate heard JJ's question but it was like an echo in his head. Like she was far away. His concentration was elsewhere but he heard her and he did his best to answer. "Because fading into nothing is terrifying." he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Nate had never really put much thought into where his clones go when they disappear. He always just assumed they became a part of him again, mentally and physically. But now he had to consider other possibilities.

@Xandrya
@Rawk

[Rawk]

As if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders, having Jennifer’s presence next to him wasn’t just mere superfluous eye-candy, but instead her aura seemed to permeate a calmness that transcended beyond anything Vincent had felt in awhile. It was as though the raging creatures living inside him were held at bay by a mysterious force, unexplained, but still very real nonetheless. His skin didn’t have the same eerie sensations he’d experienced moments ago and that was just fine by him. Vin caught the girl’s sweet scent, a mixture of hair conditioner and light perfume she was wearing, hoping that it would sustain itself in his memories forever, or at least as long as possible.

Jennifer motioned a hand toward the balcony as she spoke to Vin, mentioning the majestic view she had of the cityscape, until a crash in the kitchen suddenly broke her off mid-sentence, and broke up the moment as she rose from the couch to head over to the kitchen. Vincent turned to see one of the clones vanish, apparently unexpectedly, and he glanced over at Nate, who appeared perplexed. The kid’s theories and explanations of what may or may not have just occurred were hard enough to follow, and yet Vincent couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor bastard.

“Shit, I can’t imagine what that’s like bro, but…” Vin thought about holding his tongue, but then continued. “...maybe it’s a reprieve. You said yourself that the clone’s memories, emotions, and whatnot come flooding in, but maybe now your head can finally take a break. Maybe?”

Vin wasn’t sure if that really helped Nate at all, especially knowing that he’s the last person anyone would want to ask for advice or guidance about anything psychological, or…supernatural, as it were. He barely understood himself, so how in the hell could he decipher the mental train wreck of anyone else?

@Subject Zero
@Xandrya

[Xandrya]

Jennifer

"Or...maybe he got tired of you already," she added, regardless of how inappropriate her comment sounded at the moment. Jennifer went back to the kitchen to pour herself a drink, walking directly over the mess the clone had left. "By the way, you're stuck cleaning this now that your #1 fan is gone," she said to Nate from behind the counter before opening one of the cabinets to fetch her bottle of wine. She then reached for a glass, looking back towards the living room. "Any of you want anything to drink?"

@Rawk
@Subject Zero

[Subject Zero]

"What just happened?"
"Where did he go?"
"What's going on?"
"I don't like this."
"Are there snacks?"
"Is he gone?"
"What happened!?"

A barrage of voices hit Nate's head like a wave. They were his own voice but he didn't feel like they were coming from him. It was as though a group of clones were whispering directly into his brain and he didn't like it. He planted his elbows on his knees and his hands against his temples, trying to make the voices stop. He didn't know what was going on. Was he going insane? Is this what that felt like? Maybe it wasn't as fun as he had been led to believe. The voices were making his head hurt. Or maybe that was the result of pressing his hands into his temples. Either way, it hurt and he couldn't focus on anything other than the voices and the pain.

He heard another voice say something but he couldn't make out what it was. This voice wasn't his own though.

Who was it?

A woman?

JJ?

He couldn't focus enough to listen to the single voice. He was too distracted by the others. He rocked forwards and back gently as he whispered something to himself, looking increasingly unhinged, until he finally stood in a flash. He stood stock still for a moment, his hands dropping to his sides as he stared out the window at the city. After a brief pause, he suddenly turned and snatched up his jacket. He was quickly out of the door, leaving JJ and Vin confused.

@Xandrya
@Rawk

[Thundercrash]

As the Miller kid left, stammering something about how she had literally been there just a second ago, Daniel groaned on the ground. His leg felt like it was on fire; he wasn't stupid, he knew that if he didn't get it looked after it was going to be bad. His feet were numb from when that bastard Eli had made him walk in the river. And now supposedly he was supposed to apologize to that bitch, who wasn't even there? “F-fuck you. Fuck all of you,” he snarled through gritted teeth, “You're just like her aren't you.” He remembered what Eli had done, though he was at a loss as to how he had set his friends on fire. Maybe he was some kind of demon “Go to hell. There's no fucking way I'm doing anything you freaks say, and I sure as hell ain't apologising to that whore. She deserves everything she's gonna get, and so are you.”

Inside the cave, huddled unseen against the wall, Christi kept trying to compress herself even smaller, and fresh tears began leaking from her eyes.

@AcerRo

[Xandrya]

A collab between @Rawk and myself

---

“Well, yeah, since you’re asking, I’ll have-” Strangely enough, Vin had to think about Jennifer’s offer of a drink, knowing he hadn’t even eaten anything since… “Eh, maybe just a water for right now. If I don’t get some food inside me soon I probably won’t make it out of this apartment.” He smirked, and then glanced around. “Which wouldn’t be bad, all things considered.”

He looked back at Nate, who was mumbling incoherent nonsense under his breath and rocking back and forth with his hands pressed against his head like a disturbed child. Vin leaned closer to him. “Hey bro, are you-” At that moment, Nate stood up, grabbed his coat, and booked ass out the front door. “...Okay?”

Vin stood up and shot Jennifer a baffled expression. “What the hell just happened?” He then quickly ran to the front door, swung it open, and found nothing but an empty hallway. "Shit!, really?..." He closed the door, and strolled over to the kitchen area.

"Well...maybe I'll take a stronger drink afterall."

"Looks like he's currently having a bad case of existential crisis," Jennifer smirked, fetching for some of the stronger stuff for Vin, "but if I were you, I wouldn't worry about him. The guy may get off on annoying the hell out of us, but he's not stupid. He can take care of himself, that much I know."

Vin sat down on the bar stool along the kitchen island, propping his head up with one arm atop the counter, and watching Jennifer floating from one side of the kitchen to the other as she went about her business.

"Hey, thanks for allowing us to stay here, even if it's only temporary. And uh, I'm not even sure I ever gave you my name." He grinned. "Although I guess this is really the first time any of us have had a chance to breathe. But anyway, my name is Vincent...or, Vin if you prefer."

"Vin...Vincent. I don't know, either one works for me. But there's no use in introducing myself," Jennifer added, pouring him some whiskey on a short glass before sliding it over to his side of the counter. "If you didn't know my name by now, then you wouldn't be able to sit in my kitchen with only a towel wrapped around your waist. That, and you're a decent-looking guy."

That last bit she said with a smile, but she turned around before Vin could notice. Jennifer reached for some ham and cheese from her fridge, then grabbed the few slices of bread that were left in her pantry.

"Here, this should hold us over until we're able to leave," she dropped the ingredients next to Vin's drink. "Make me a sandwich, please? I know we're not that familiar with each other yet, but it's a small price to pay to be in my presence." She laughed a little, wondering what in the world prompted her to say such a thing. "Be right back," she added, heading to one of the small closets to grab a broom.

"Yes ma'am!" He mocked a salute in her direction, and started throwing together a couple of sandwiches, using up the rest of the meat and cheese between the two, knowing that this might be their last meal for quite awhile. It was only then, as he took a couple of bites, that the realization hit him. "Shit...where does all this leave us?" He mumbled to himself as he chewed.

Vincent's life had been relatively free of any real problems that he couldn't handle. In fact, he'd always felt in control, even when he wasn't, but this time things changed and the cards he once held guaranteeing a "sure thing", became random and unpredictable. These powers were obviously not under the normal rules for human living, and moreso, whatever was living inside him certainly wasn't of this world. Or was it? He examined at the myriad of tattoos along his arm once again, but still didn't see anything that was out of place.

"Hey JJ?...do you have a phone I can use?" He said aloud, slightly garbled by the food in his mouth. Vin needed answers, and perhaps reaching out to the one guy he could trust, the one he knew who had extensive knowledge on the inks used in the tattoo industry, might bring some sense of closure.

"Go ahead, it's in my room charging. Don't mind the mess."

“I wouldn’t dream of looking at all your feminine shit lying about.” He smirked, heading over toward her bedroom.

Jennifer walked back to the kitchen, catching a glimpse of Vin as he entered her bedroom. She caught herself staring at his tattoos, and then at him.

Like he'd be interested in pursuing anything other than sex, she thought, reaching for her glass of wine before sweeping up Nate's mess. She threw the broken plate and the few ingredients that were on it in the trash, Nate's abrupt exit unexpectedly coming to mind again. Jennifer couldn't help but worry about him at this point. They had been on the news after all, and both of them had made an enemy out of that officer back in the hotel. Who's to say he wasn't looking to get revenge?

Even though she wasn't as worried before, her concern had suddenly grown. With somewhat of a hurry, she grabbed her glass of wine and one of the sandwiches before checking on Vin's clothes. Hopefully it wouldn't take much longer.

“Geez, what a mess…” He mumbled to himself, stepping over various pieces of clothing and reaching for the phone on the nightstand. He dialed James’ cell, and listened as the phone rang several times, before the voicemail picked up. “Shit”. He tried the number again with the same result. “C’mon man, you always pick up…” Vincent was getting antsy, as he sat down on the edge of the bed, calling the number once more to leave a message this time.

“James, it’s me. Look I know you’re probably pissed right now but I need your help bro. Can you-”

Vin was suddenly cut off by the auto-attendant advising him that his message was too long, and did he want to save it or re-record. Anything after that was blurred out by a barrage of curse words that flowed freely from Vin’s mouth. He held on to the phone and left Jennifer’s room in a hurry, almost running into her as he turned the corner to the laundry room, putting them inches from one another.

“Shit, sorry!” He exclaimed, pausing for a moment and staring into her intense brown eyes, before snapping himself back to earth. “Oh...I see my clothes are done.” He said with a sheepish grin, noticing Jennifer holding them.

"Uh, yeah, here you go." Jennifer handed Vin his clothes, unsure of why she felt a little bit nervous being within such close proximity of him. "Get dressed and maybe we can have some real food to eat before we go look for Nate. He seemed a bit distraught and, well, we're both wanted..."

Jennifer was rambling on, but she stopped herself mid-sentence to take another sip of wine, her eyes on Vin as she gulped down the drink. "Don't take too long, okay?" she smiled, poking his chest with her finger. The drink was having a quicker effect on her than expected.

Vincent…well, being Vincent, would have totally taken advantage of the fact that the chick he was finding himself falling for was already riding the express train into tipsy-land, but this wasn’t the time for it, and she deserved better. Not that he would blame her, considering the psychotic, and apparently, bloody massacre he'd been responsible for earlier. Why the hell would she even want to be near him? Vin slipped back into her room and changed as quickly as he could, buttoning up his shirt while he walked back out into the living room.

“Here, by the way…” Vin handed Jennifer the phone, before heading toward the front door. “So, where do we start looking?”

[Subject Zero]

Alone In The Crowd

---

---

Alone In The Crowd

---

---

It took a while but, eventually, the noise stopped. The voices faded. Or rather they merged into one. The chaotic mess of sound and thoughts was once again his own, solo, internal monologue.

When Nate finally came to his senses, he was standing in a hallway with his head pressed against the cold tiles on the wall. He stared at these tiles for a moment, utterly confused by them. Then he blinked and looked around. He was standing in the small lobby of an apartment building that was definitely not Jennifer's. This lobby was little more than a hallway at the bottom of a flight of stairs with mailboxes on the opposite wall. Nate noticed a taxi drive past through the glass door and he stared out onto the street for another long moment. His mind was still clouded. He couldn't even remember how he had gotten here. Hell, he didn't even remember leaving JJ's place.

He blinked a couple of times before pinching the bridge of his nose to try and abate the dull throb in the front of his head. He had no idea what was going on. Had he blacked out? That was weird. That normally only happened after celebrating the Lakers win and he was pretty sure they weren't even playing today. Had someone slipped him something? If Vin had roofied him there was going to be hell to pay.

Shaking his head to get rid of the cloudiness, he looked up at the stairs and wondered if he had come here to see someone. The place didn't look familiar but maybe he had gotten a call from someone who asked to meet him. He pulled his phone from his pocket but noticed there had been no incoming calls for a while. No text messages either. Weird.

He didn't like this at all. Not knowing what had happened made him uneasy. He knew enough about medical science to know that blacking out was never a good thing and he worried that something may have been wrong. He wondered if all of this had something to do with why his clone had vanished earlier. He knew there were others out there. Clones he had left in the world for some purpose. The one he had sent to retrieve Vin's phone at the crime scene. The two he had left to clean up the mess Vin had made at the second crime scene....Boy, Vin was really on a tear. Maybe leaving him with JJ was not the best idea. But he didn't exactly have a say in the matter....Not that he remembered anyway.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard an incoming text on his phone, which read;

797 Cypress Street.
Meet me there.
Got the package.
Bring chicken.

Well apparently not all of the clones had vanished. This one at least was still around. Maybe whatever whammied him earlier only affected the clones within a certain radius. This one seemed to be far enough out to have avoided it. And maybe that was all nonsense. Nate had no idea. He couldn't rap his head around it and so he wasn't going to try.

The clone had sent an address for a meet and so Nate headed for the door. Maybe if he took Vin's precious phone back to him he'd stop whining about it.

Nate stepped out into the street and looked around, realizing that to get to the clone, he'd first have to figure out where the hell he was.

---

---

A short while later, Nate arrived at the address, realizing then that it had been somewhat vague. It took him a minute or two of wandering around to figure out where his clone was hiding. Down a driveway between two apartment buildings there was a gate which lead to a courtyard in the middle of one of the buildings. In the middle of this courtyard was a swimming pool. And sitting by the side of this pool, dangling his feet in the water, was the clone. He looked like he didn't have a care in the world as he sat there, bobbing his head up and down and humming to himself. Nate had a truly surreal moment as he saw himself the way others must see him all the time.

Just then, the clone turned his head to see Nate, raising an eyebrow when he saw him just standing there. “You okay?” he asked, which snapped Nate out of his thoughts.

“Um...Yeah.” Nate informed him, wandering over but not looking the clone in the eye as he asked “Where's the phone?”

The clone stared up at him, eyebrow still raised as he responded “Where's the chicken?”

“Kentucky.” Nate said, obviously in no mood.

The clone picked himself up from the edge of the pool and complained “Come on, man. I haven't eaten all day!”

“Neither have--” Nate stopped his sentence short as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, realizing how absurd it was that he was having this argument with himself. “Just give me the phone.” he said, holding out his hand.

“Fine.” said the clone, reaching into his pocket and pulling out Vin's phone. He didn't hand it to Nate though. Instead, he held it up and asked “Do you have any idea what I had to do to get this?”

“No.” Nate told him “But I'm about to find out.”

Nate grabbed the clone by the shoulder like he had done every other time he reabsorbed one of his duplicates. Only this time nothing happened. The clone looked from side to side as Nate furrowed his brow in confusion and let go. He thought about it for a moment then grabbed the clone again, this time on both shoulders.

Still nothing.

Nate let go of the clone go again, looking increasingly aggravated. “This normally works.” he said, rubbing his forehead.

“That's alright, buddy. Everyone has performance issues every now and then.” the clone joked, giving Nate a playful tap on the arm. “Everything o--?”

He didn't get the chance to finish his question as Nate grabbed him by the shirt and tried physically pulling him back into him. All that resulted in was their faces being smooshed together. His face pressed against Nate's, the clone did his best to say “Kay, this is getting a little awkward.”

Nate let him go and stepped back, looking thoroughly confused. As the clone straightened his shirt, Nate said “I don't know what's happening. I was at JJ's place and the other me...you...he just sort of...vanished.....Like into thin air. I don't know what happened after that. I kinda blacked out for a while and now it's like these powers that I had are just...gone.”

The clone stared at him for a moment, pondering what all of that meant. Gone? Forever? What did that mean for him? Was he going to be a separate person now? He wasn't sure if he liked that idea or not.
Nate sat down on a nearby sun lounger, looking tired and confused as he said “It's weird. I never wanted any of this. I didn't want clones. I didn't want voices in my head. But now that they're gone...”

Watching Nate, the clone's face began to mirror his. He knew exactly what Nate was thinking. He was Nate after all. There was a long, quiet moment where neither said anything. They simply stared into nothing. But then the clone perked up and said “Don't worry, man. You've still got me.”

There was a huge smile on the clone's face but Nate just looked up at him and said “...Great...”

There was another long silence as the clone's smile slowly faded. Eventually Nate picked himself up and motioned with his hand for the clone to follow him. “Come on. We should get going.”

Nate wandered off and the clone watched him go for a moment. He then picked up his shoes and trailed after him. As he caught up, he said “You know Vin's boyfriend seemed pretty pissed off when he called...Especially after I told him about all the butt stuff we were doing.” Nate actually laughed at that one. “Do you think we ruined their relationship?” asked the clone.

“Probably/” was Nate's only response.

They continued to walk in silence then, until the clone declared “I still want that chicken.”

[AcerRo]

It took all Eli had to not kill Danny on the spot. But slowly stepping on that leg of his, that didn't take anything. Eli almost enjoyed the screams of agony. He hated people like this, bullys and chicken shits everyone of them.

When Eli let off of Danny's leg he slowly walked to his head and squatted down. "Danny, you will apologize to that poor girl. What happened to your Momma wasn't her fault. Hell if that woman was still above ground, she'd put you six feet under for doing half the shit you've done." Eli said calmly, with almost sorrowful expression.

"Now I know you heard the stories about the shit I did in war. I've killed a lot people Danny, tortured plenty too." Eli stood up and started pacing around Danny. "Shit one time, I got a man  to sing 'My Little Buttercup'  in three different languages. By the time I was done with him, I knew everything. Wife, kids, friends, who went where with who, who did what with who. That poor man... He did everything he could to hold out. I liked him, he was good, loyal man. I wish that could have went another way.

Eli light a cigarette and took a deep drag. "If I'll do that to a guy I like. Imagine what I'll do to you." Eli flicked an ash over Danny with a stern face, he wasn't playing.

"Even if what she did to that piss ant old was an accident. She took a stand. As long as she's willing to do that, no one is gonna hurt that girl again." Eli took another drag and flicked it on Danny. "BUT! We gotta make wait for her to show up. Where ever she is." Eli said clapping his hands. If there was a time he wish he could set someone on fire it was right now. He didn't know if he was the one starting the fires, he wished he was.If he could, it would be an amazing thing to do. Eli wanted to know more. He wanted to get to the bottom of what going on, but it would have to wait for now.

Eli walked into cave without another word to Danny. Eric Miller said she was here just a few seconds a go. The girl was quick but not that quick, no one was... Right? As he looked closer, he could some wood shavings on the cave floor. There weren't many and how he noticed it was beyond him.

He moved to closer to the shavings. As he squatted down and reached out to pick them he couldn't help but get an odd and unnerving feeling. Was he being watched? What was going on here? Eli rolled some of the shavings in his hands. They seemed fresh, like they were just take form a live tree.

"I hope that girl is okay." Eli said softly. "Where could she have gotten too?" Eli said standing back "What do you think dog? Can't imagine she'd leave you behind." Eli said giving the dog a scratch behind the ears.

@Thundercrash

[AcerRo]

"Do we have a lock on their phones?" One man asked another. "Yeah, ones off Cyprus and the other is off Lakeland and whatever. Lakeland just made a call to a James something or other, Cyprus is heading south." The second of three responded.

"Did anyone ever tell you how shitty you are at your job?" The third, a woman asked.

"Good enough for this place."

"Shut up and send units to both. Lakeland that the girl? She's been spotted over half the town why are we just now getting this? You know, just send units and take her in." The Woman said. "What about Cyprus?"

"That is the other one... Hunter... Nathan I belive. He's heading south at a slow rate. Probably on foot. He's the body guard and military guy. We're still waiting for the powers that be to tell us what he did in the Army. They don't want to say." The first man said.

"Gotta love how the system works. We're gonna take the girl, let the FBI know about Hunter. They want to risk the men to get him they can. Tell them we can send a drone if they want." The woman I charged said. "Anything else?"

"Lakeland was last seen heading to her apartment with two males, one was Hunter. We haven't IDed the other yet. Hunter was seen leaving a little over an hour ago but we don't know another male. We think he was with the girl and Hunter during the shoot." The First male said.

"Only in a place like this could a shoot out that kills four people not be in the news. Local PD can only do such." The second male said.

"Send the units and have SWAT standing by at both locations." The woman in charge left the two men behind. She was heading to inform her boss, the Chief of Police, what was about to happen. She just happy that they both dumb enough to learn their phones on.

@Subject Zero@Xandrya@Rawk

[Rawk]

Vincent and Jennifer made it to the parking garage level, thankfully quicker than they had anticipated, considering no one was using the elevators, nor were there any nosey neighbors asking questions they would have rather not heard the answers to. As the elevator doors opened, Jennifer felt a bit unsteady on her feet, almost stumbling forward until Vin held her steady by the arm.

“Wow, a bit too much wine I’m afraid” She smiled, holding onto the railing as she walked with Vin through the doors into the garage entrance. “But, I’ll be fine, you don’t need to be my crutch or anything.”

“Better than having you fall on your ass” He grinned, grabbing the car keys from her hand. “Or...crashing your car.” He hit the lock/unlock button a few times to pinpoint where her car was by the quick chirp of the alarm siren. “C’mon, you’ll be fine once you’ve had a chance to sit.”

Vincent opened the passenger’s side door, and slowly helped her inside.

“So when did you become such a gentleman?” Jennifer mused aloud. “I can’t even remember the last time someone made a gesture like that.”

“I guess I have my moments.” He shrugged, grabbing the door and leaning in a bit. “Just remember though, if you do decide to throw up, this is your car.” He said giving her a little nudge before closing the door.

Vin turned to find a gun pointed at his head, and the man behind the gun not appearing to be in a mood for many words.

“Okay...so I’m guessing you’re not valet?” Vin said with a straight face, as though he were speaking directly down the barrel of the pistol.

“Turn around asshole and put your hands on the roof.” The guy in the business suit said in a relatively calm voice as he patted down his new prisoner.

Jennifer opened the door and leaned her head out slightly. “What the hell is-”

“Get back in the car, miss, you’re part of this too.” The gunman said pulling out a pair of cuffs and securing Vin’s wrists together behind his back.

“You really don’t want to touch me, dipshit.” Vincent said, knowing what would follow. However, for once since all of this started, he hadn’t felt any of his inherent power reveal itself in any way, even under duress. The tattoos didn’t begin to move, and the feeling of his skin crawling never came. There was nothing.

“Oh please shut the hell up scumbag. You and the whore are coming with us to answer a few questions, so don’t make this any-”

Vincent cut off his annoying speech by snapping his head back and popping the gunman in the nose, causing a bit of blood to run down his face. The gunman cracked him in the back of the head with the gun handle, sending him to his knees and writhing in pain. He stepped over to the passenger side and grabbed Jennifer by the arm, moving out of the way as one of her fists almost connected with his face.

“Let go of me you damn perve!” She said, struggling to get free from his grasp, as she was pulled from the car and thrown to the ground, her head hitting the neighboring car door.

“Leave her alone asshole!” Vin yelled, trying to pick himself up. “I swear if you touch her again I’ll-”

“You’ll what, genius?” The man said, pointing the gun back at Vincent and pulling another from under his coat that he pointed at Jennifer. “We now have both of your sorry asses, and there’s not a goddamn thing you can do about it.”

Vincent gritted his teeth as he stared at Jennifer holding the back of her head. He was scared, probably more than he’d been in a long time, but not so much for his own life anymore. His thoughts and fears fell squarely on the girl across from him, and yet for once he felt helpless to do anything...

@Xandrya

[Subject Zero]

The Chase Scene

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The Chase Scene

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“Fried chicken makes everything better.”

“I told you, man.” replied the clone as Nate took another piece of chicken from the bucket he held and shoved it in his mouth. Nate mumbled something completely incomprehensible around the food in his mouth. Not even the clone understood. But he did ask “Feeling better?” Nate nodded but only half paid attention to the clone, electing instead to check out a blonde that passed them on the street. The smiled at each other as she passed and it took all of Nate's inner strength to not follow her. Fried chicken was good but he knew something that would make him feel a lot better.

“I'm glad you're feeling better,” said the clone. “Because you're probably going to feel worse in a moment.”

Nate slowly turned back to his clone with a look on his face that the clone entirely understood to be him asking 'What now?'

The clone stopped and turned to face Nate. “See the guy over my shoulder? On the other side of the street?” Nate glanced over the clone's shoulder to see a man in sunglasses across the street, trying to look inconspicuous. “He's been following us for a while now. And he's not alone.” the clone informed him. Sure enough, as Nate looked around, he spotted several others taking up positions. He had been trained in this line of work and he knew how to spot an undercover tactical team.

“This way.” he told the clone as he took another bite of chicken before ducking into a nearby alley, his clone close behind him.

Everything kicked off then as the tac team knew they had been spotted and gave up any pretense of being average people on the street. They shot after the two identical men who had now slipped in through the back door of a Chinese restaurant. The Nates scurried through the confined space, being yelled at in Cantonese as they went, but didn't have much time before the tac team burst in through the door with one of them yelling “Freeze!” as he pointed his gun at them. The chefs screamed in fright and out of panic, headed for the door, causing enough of a distraction and a roadblock for Nate and the clone to get out of the kitchen.

They shot into the main restaurant, knocking down a waiter as they went. Two more FBI agent's, these ones much more obvious with their blue wind breakers, were waiting here but were taken entirely by surprise by how fast Nate and the clone were. As they began to raise their weapons, Nate's boot was planted full force in one of their chests, sending him careening all the way through the glass door he had just entered. The clone was only a fraction of a second slower but elected not to dropkick the second poor schmuck and instead grabbed the other agent by the arm as he moved out of range of his gun, lifting him up over his shoulder and slamming him down onto a table, utterly ruining a young couple's meal. The entire move was so fluid that it barely slowed the clone down at all and he was quickly following Nate out onto the street, jumping over the broken glass and the agent writhing on the sidewalk.

In a blur of motion, both men shot across the street. Nate narrowly avoided being hit by a car and leaped over the hood. “Hey! Watch it!” yelled the driver as he stuck his head out of the window. He only grew more annoyed when the clone did the same thing. Seeing the FBI team following after the twins, the driver slowly rolled up his window and made sure he didn't get involved.

Running down the block, Nate and the clone found themselves cut off by an SUV coming the other way. The car pulled up onto the sidewalk and another couple of agents jumped out. Nate and the clone ducked into the nearest doorway, finding themselves in a tiny little chapel. Nate's reaction to the location surprised even himself. As the clone did his best to barricade the door with whatever he could find nearby, Nate stopped dead in his tracks, staring up at the crucifix with a look that seemed a mix of awe and horror. Memories of Sunday school came flooding back and made him cringe. The clone was having none of that though and grabbed Nate by the arm, dragging him through the back door.

In the alley behind the building, they found themselves running again as another SUV pulled into the far end of the alley, forcing them to run the other way and scale a steel gate to get away. “Shit!” yelled one of the agents as the car slammed into the gate, sending the clone off the other side. The clone barely managed to land on his feet and grunted in annoyance at landing so awkwardly. He was quickly back up and running, albeit with a slight limp now.

They rounded a corner and found themselves alone. Finally out of sight of their pursuers, they had a second to breath and ducked into cover just before the two agents from the car rounded the corner and came barreling past them. They didn't see the Nate's slip away in the other direction.

A few minutes later, Nate and the clone had made it back to the car Nate had stashed a few streets away. “That was actually a lot closer than I thought it would be.” said the clone with a smug smile as he slid into the passenger seat, finally taking a moment to rub at his ankle. It was swelling quickly after his bad landing earlier and as the adrenaline wore off, he was finally starting to feel it.

Nate took the drivers seat and replied “Yeah well it's not over yet. It's time to get Tweedledee and Tweedledumbass and get the hell out of this town.”

The car hummed to life and was quickly on the move again, zipping in and out of the city traffic with ease and a little recklessness. After the adrenaline fueled past few moments. The come down in the car was almost unbearable. The long silence, broken only by the dull sounds of the city on the other side of the window was practically painful for Nate and his clone seemed to echo this feeling as he tapped the foot that wasn't aching like an impatient child coming down from a sugar rush. After a long moment, after he could bear the silence no longer, the clone turned to Nate with a smile and opened his mouth to say something.

He didn't get the chance though, as the car was suddenly t-boned by an SUV that slammed into it's side after speeding through a junction. The much smaller car that Nate drove went careening off to the side of the street, jostling it's inhabitants around like rag dolls. Nate's head smashed into the side window and as pain rushed through him and blood whipped across his vision, a face popped into his mind for a split second. Someone he hadn't seen in a long time. He didn't have the time to reflect on this vision though as he was still being smashed around and felt the distinctive sensation of a rib being broken. Something heavy slammed into his side. He couldn't see what it was but he had the sickening thought that it was his clone.

When the car finally came to a rest, upside down, there was a silence that was eerily reminiscent of the silence Nate had felt a few moments earlier. It took him a moment to realize that this silence was because he had smashed his head and his brain was readjusting. When the sound finally returned, there was an ear splitting alarm in the air that only made his head hurt more. His eyes were squeezed shut in an attempt to lessen the pain but when he realized it wasn't working, he opened them and was immediately disoriented by the fact that he was upside down, hanging from his seat belt. He looked around, his vision fading in and out, and spotted his clone propped up against the passenger side window.

For a second, Nate panicked, thinking his clone was dead. But when the clone jerked awake, his heart settle. For a moment at least.

The clone looked around at the situation he had found himself in and groaned in annoyance. Nate's vision continued to fade in and out and he felt like he was about to pass out but he saw the clone give him a smile, teeth coated in blood, and say “I don't think fried chicken can make this better.”

Even in the situation that he was in, Nate couldn't help but chuckle at that. He laughed until he physically couldn't anymore. And the clone did the same. He laughed at his own terrible joke and the last thing Nate saw before he passed out was his clone being pulled from the wreckage by unknown hands, laughing the entire time.

[AcerRo]

"Hey Uh, Boss Lady... I just got off the phone with the FBI. They said they aren't looking into things with Interpol. They don't even have anyone asking questions in town yet." One man said to his boss.

"Yeah they do, we've seen them... Get SWAT scrambled to every location right now. Get the County Sheriff office on the phone. I want them stopping everyone that even remotely looks like FBI." The second in command of the Atlanta Police Department shouted.

"Boss they're not... " He was sharply cut off." Ask them if they are okay with the prime suspects of terrorist attack being kidnapped!" She roared back.

Yes ma'am the only reply.

The sounds of boots hitting the the parking deck ground were soft. No words were needed as this had been trained into them a a thousand times over. They wouldn't utter a sound until they had their targets surrounded. The first and only words said were commands to drop their weapons. Gunfire opened up at the first sign of disobedience.

The next step was to secure their targets. They were none to kind about either. Tossing both Vin and JJ on the ground. They were escorted without a word to the back of a SUV and taken to lock up.

"Command this Red Team, we have the girl and secondary. Enroute to base. Does Blue Team need assisting?" The Red Team leader asked.

Orders came back to rush to Blue Team location. Where as Red Team operation was a work of art, Blue Teams operation was quickly falling apart. As Blue Team arrived, Nate's lifeless body and his clone was being tossed in to the back of a car. Their kidnappers opened fire on site. What started as a smash and grab become a full fledged fire fight.  The only saving grace was Blue Team managed to entrap and keep the kidnappers pinned down.

Like clock work when Red Team showed up so did reinforcements.  As they came together only more bullets started flying. The standoff seemed to last for hours. But in the end, it was the SWAT team that came out victorious.

When the shoot out was over it was Nate that was quickly taken to the nearest hospital. It didn't take long for a clean bill of health to be given and Nate taken to lockup.

[Xandrya]

Jennifer

She was a mess. Again. Jennifer remained silent throughout the car ride to the station, or wherever the hell they were taking them. Her head hurt, but she couldn't do anything to lessen the pain. The handcuffs around her wrists were secured tighter than she would have liked, but her earlier complaints weren't acknowledged by the SWAT officer as they violently took custody of her and Vin. She tried to think straight, hopefully find a way out of this mess, but she felt trapped. Vin sat next to her, and judging by his solemn expression, she guessed that he felt as helpless as her.

The two men in the front remained quiet as well, the only sound within the vehicle being that of their radio going off every so often with status updates and other random chatter Jennifer couldn't quite make out. At least they were wearing uniforms and she could identify them, although the situation they found themselves in was still questionable. Who were the men in suits back there, and why were they involved in a violent exchange against these guys?

Once they arrived at their location, Vin and Jennifer were pulled out of the vehicle and escorted inside the building. Jennifer recognized the halls she had walked through some years back, and she noted not a lot had changed. When they reached a block of holding cells, Jennifer was instructed to go inside one of them after the officer held the door open for her. She did as was told, then he ordered her to stand still as he removed her handcuffs. For a split second, Jennifer felt the urge to turn around and attack the man as soon as one of her hands was free, but she dismissed the thought. She didn't need additional assault charges on top of whatever mess she was already in.

As soon as her hands were free, the officer stepped out of the cell and locked her inside. She sat down, her back against the wall, hoping that maybe she could find a way out of there soon.

@Rawk

[Rawk]

“Ow!, what the fuck, bro? I’m already walking with you, so can you try not to-” Vincent’s futile complaint was cut off by a quick slap to the back of the head by the officer, as both him and Jennifer were taken into the police precinct and into the holding area.

“Police brutality! Fucker touched me inappropriately!” Vin shouted down the hallway, being more of a smartass than usual.

“No one cares, so do us all a favor and shut your mouth” The cop said in a matter of fact tone, grabbing Vin’s arm and shoving him into the small holding cell next to the one they put Jennifer in.

“How many times do I have to tell you pervs to stop touching me, eh? I have rights!”

“You lost those rights a long time ago, chief.” The officer said with a smirk, slamming the cage door in Vin’s face. “So, just sit tight and this will all be sorted out soon enough.”

“Sit tight, geez…” Vin mumbled to himself, as he walked over to the bench along the wall and sat.

“You’re going to hear from my lawyer asshole!” He suddenly blurted out, as though it was just the right thing to say in the most dire situation.

“Looking forward to it…” The officer’s voice trailed down the hall as he vanished into the other room.

Vincent leaned back against the wall, feeling the onset of a headache forming in the back of his head, knowing that it will eventually make it’s way around to the front and make an already chaotic day an absolute cluster. He turned to look over at Jennifer, who was sitting against the wall, staring out in space as though she were in deep thought.

“Some date, huh?” Vincent said with a grin, trying to shed a bit of humor on an otherwise solemn moment.

@Xandrya

[Xandrya]

Jennifer

"Who said this was a date?" Jennifer replied to match Vin's smart-ass remarks he had exchanged with the officer. She couldn't help but smile a little bit at the thought of the two going on a date, although there were some obvious obstacles in the way before they could be spotted together in some fancy Italian restaurant.

"Vincent, we need to find a way out of here," she added, now speaking with a sense of urgency. "This whole day has been one mess after the other..." Jennifer got up, leaning close to the bars before lowering her voice, "...but it's all because of our abilities, or curse, or whatever the hell we have. Who knows what they want with us, but I'm not ready to find out."

Jennifer started to pace back and forth, nervously biting one of her fingernails. "And to add to our list of problems, we also need to find a Nate, unless they have him already. But he'd be here with us, wouldn't he?"

She looked toward the direction of his cell, hoping that somehow, he had a brilliant idea to get them out of there.

@Rawk