Phoenix
Disastrous
Alexandra Wolfblood
Posts: 12
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Post by Phoenix on Oct 25, 2010 20:06:31 GMT -5
If you let me I could. I'd show you how to build your fences; Set restrictions, separate from the world. The constant battle that you hate to fight; Just blame the limelight. Don't look up just let them think there's no place else you'd rather be in now. You can't turn back, because this road is all you'll ever have.
Omnomnom, gumbo.For the fourth time that week, Ali was chomping away on Leatherhead's delicious seafood gumbo. She knew she should have been sick of that stuff by now, as often as Leatherhead made it, but she just couldn't find it in her heart to get sick of something that tasted so damn good. It was the only thing her friend could make, true, but the time and attention he put into making it was obvious. It was better than anything she could cook, anyways. Leatherhead normally ended up cooking for the pair of them, because no one wanted to eat her burned cereal. And when it was supposed to be her turn to cook, Ali tended to go and get some take out or order a pizza, or do something that kept her far away from the kitchen. That was not where she belonged, after all. Currently, the young woman was in her human form, though she wasn't too sure how "human" this was. Her body was completely human, but her skin was purple - a trait that stood out no matter where she was went. That was why she preferred to hang out with her friend (who currently was swimming in the river that connected to the bay), or just spend some time alone. And that was what she was about to do. She had only been in this form for about an hour and a half, but Ali knew her time was growing thin. She would have to go back into her natural form before the second hour drew near, but before that came, she really wanted to go swimming. And alligator or not, she was going in that damned water. Picking up her bowl and spoon, the young woman dipped them both into the bay and began to gently wash the residue off of the plastic. She knew it wasn't the most sanitary of things, but it would work for now. And the fishes would get a yummy snack.
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Negate
Genetic
Mark LaRoche
Posts: 19
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Post by Negate on Oct 25, 2010 20:23:22 GMT -5
Negate was walking along the harbor, just...doing his thing. He was essentially homeless, afraid to return to either home for fear of who might be there, and what they might know about him. It was HIS blood that was the active ingredient of the N-67s.
It was then that he saw a girl, washing dishes in the water, or something. He watched, sort of amused, sort of curious. He noticed, though, that she was purple. Part of him wondered whether or not to use his power on her. But he could very well remember the last time he did that to someone against their will on a fun whim. That changed his life forever, because it was Scarab and Hellcat.
He looked at his life as it stood. Hell, if I can't use a change now... He used his power, the girl's skin changing colors, from purple to...human. Now to see this work. Or blow up in his face...
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Phoenix
Disastrous
Alexandra Wolfblood
Posts: 12
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Post by Phoenix on Oct 25, 2010 21:38:16 GMT -5
Ali had the bowl and spoon packed and the basket shut before she finally realized that her skin was no longer purple. Instead of that bright, blinding color, her flesh was now a normal color. It wasn't dark, as if she had been tanning for days on end, but it also wasn't pale. It was a healthy color.
She faultered, standing. "What in the world...?" She murmured, glancing down at her hand. Ali turned her hand palm up, and then palm down; her eyes traveled up her arm, then down the other. She was genuinely confused as to how this had happened.
But when she looked up, she saw another. He was an African American male, just a few years older than her. She couldn't tell his powers by looking at him, which meant he was one of the "normal" Abnormals - a paradox in itself. Her nose scruntched, showing her confusion.
"Hello?" She called, obviously surprised by his sudden appearance.
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Negate
Genetic
Mark LaRoche
Posts: 19
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Post by Negate on Oct 25, 2010 21:47:23 GMT -5
He smiled politely. "Hey," he replied, glad he was finally taking charge in his life again. A thousand thoughts crossed his mind, but he tossed those aside--well, the negative ones. So...nine hundred and ninety nine of them were cast aside. He swallowed, finally about to interact with another Abnormal since being sent to Adanac.
He stopped focusing, turning her skin purple again, and approached. "Sorry about that. I normally don't come into contact with others anymore, so I'm not as...social as I used to be. Anyways, you can call me Negate." He chuckled nervously.
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Phoenix
Disastrous
Alexandra Wolfblood
Posts: 12
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Post by Phoenix on Oct 26, 2010 15:56:38 GMT -5
Her tanned skin turned a bright purple, and Ali gave a slight shiver. She glanced down at her hands again, looking them over with a thoughtful look on her face. "Negate..." She murmured, rolling the name around in her mouth. It sounded very familiar to her, for reasons she couldn't quite place.
The powers and name - she had heard them both somewhere before. It was something important, that much she knew, but she just couldn't get it to click. It had to be something that she had heard before the explosion, before she had been turned into an Abnormal. God only knew what information that had knocked out of her mind.
"Phoenix," she murmured, offering out a hand. Her eyes sparkled warmly; she was trying to be friendly. God knew she didn't have many friends in Adanac, despite both of her siblings being there as well. "Nice to meet you, Negate."
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Negate
Genetic
Mark LaRoche
Posts: 19
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Post by Negate on Oct 26, 2010 19:58:31 GMT -5
"Well, alternate identities don't matter anymore, so if you want to, my real name is Mark LaRoche," he said. He'd noticed how she reacted when her skin turned back.
"Pleasure to meet you, Phoenix." He nodded, thinking. "I'm sorry I used my power on you like that. Just the first thing that came to mind. Of course, I wouldn't know, but, a lot of Abnormals aren't like me. They can't blend in as well as I can--or could if I didn't have a criminal record from my younger days." He shook his head.
"I'm rambling. What I'm trying to say is, maybe, every once in a while, everyone needs to feel...I don't know how to describe it, but the look on your face said it all. Everyone, at some point or another, needs that but not from an N-67..." He shuddered at the last word.
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Phoenix
Disastrous
Alexandra Wolfblood
Posts: 12
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Post by Phoenix on Oct 26, 2010 21:08:38 GMT -5
When he gave his name, Ali realized exactly where it was she had heard his name from.
Mark LaRoche, AKA: Negate; capable of shorting out the powers and abilities of any Abnormal for at least an hour. It was his blood that caused the N-67s to work so well; it was his blood that had caused so many people to be relocated into this hell-hole. But that wasn't his fault; it was the Antidote's.
"Alexandra... Alexandra Wolfblood," she murmured, her voice shaking slightly as she pulled her hand back. The young woman let it fall to her side, obviously thinking. "But those I know just call me Ali, it's a lot easier. And not as difficult for people to pronouce." She had always found it stupid how people couldn't pronounce her first name correctly.
They always called her Alexandria.
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Negate
Genetic
Mark LaRoche
Posts: 19
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Post by Negate on Oct 26, 2010 21:21:03 GMT -5
"Alexandra Wolfblood," he repeated, pronouncing it perfectly. "Ali. I like it." He looked around; he didn't really frequent this area, so he was surveying his surroundings. He stuck his hands in his pockets.
"I haven't been to this part of the pri--I mean, city before," he said, quickly covering his habit of calling Adanac what it really was, a prison. "So, what's there to do in these parts?" he asked casually, actually curious.
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Phoenix
Disastrous
Alexandra Wolfblood
Posts: 12
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Post by Phoenix on Oct 26, 2010 22:26:39 GMT -5
When he pronounced her name correctly, the young woman nearly clapped. She was glad that someone is this accursed hell hole (aside from Leatherhead) could properly pronounce her name without her having to point out that there was not an I between the R and the A. At is his question, however, she faultered.
Ali reached up, rubbing the back of her neck as she thought. She actually wasn't sure what there was to do around Adanac, at least not around these parts, anyways. She was just there to eat and wait for her friend to return from his swim. And maybe swim a bit herself.
"Other than a dip in the bay? Not much around these parts, I'm afraid." She glanced over her shoulder, back at the water. Her eyes sparkled, "And I've heard there's a Croc in there."
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Negate
Genetic
Mark LaRoche
Posts: 19
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Post by Negate on Oct 26, 2010 22:38:23 GMT -5
"Makes sense. I'm not much of a swimmer, anyway. Though...you may want to be careful. I heard that river leads straight to the outer limits. And that's worse than this part of this hellhole," he warned. "You know...so I hear." Honestly, he'd tried to escape before. He barely got back alive.
"I was just curious. Wondering how much of a stereotypical harbor this was. Apparently, very much so." He chuckled. Honestly, he was enjoying the company, for a change. It was nice to just....talk.
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Phoenix
Disastrous
Alexandra Wolfblood
Posts: 12
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Post by Phoenix on Oct 26, 2010 22:47:37 GMT -5
Remembering the plans she had ran on Adanac, Ali nodded. Adanac was essentially a prison, meant to keep Lessers in and normal people out, unless they were Antidotes - and even then, they were made sure to stay in the right places. Yes, the outer edge of Adanac was not a fun thing to explore.
"I'm sure that things are in- and exported here, but I don't think any Lessers can get in or out. Actually, I know they can't." She frowned slightly, an upset look in her eye. Being an ex-Antidote, she knew how both sides of the coin were treated, and she wasn't happy about either one. But there wasn't much she could do, not from here.
"But other than that, I know a few people go swimming in the bay and rivers." At that, she knelt beside the bay, letting her fingers run across the surface of the water, "It's something I'll do occasionally, depending on my mood."
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Negate
Genetic
Mark LaRoche
Posts: 19
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Post by Negate on Oct 26, 2010 22:59:17 GMT -5
"Well...I've been looking at that. There may be a way, but..." he sighed. "It'd take a certain kind of Abnormal to do it, so...it doesn't really help. So...yeah, there's no way. Trust me, I tried." He winked.
He sat on the edge, sort of just looking out across the water as it shimmered. "Prison or not...I gotta say this part of the city looks really nice. I mean, the way the sun makes the water seem to shine in some spots. Almost like someone out there actually cares for Abnormals. You know, besides other Abnormals, I mean. Beauty like this almost makes me forget the Hell I'm suffering..." The last part was accidentally spoken, but he didn't catch it.
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Phoenix
Disastrous
Alexandra Wolfblood
Posts: 12
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Post by Phoenix on Oct 27, 2010 17:02:56 GMT -5
Ali nodded her head. "It's a hell we all share," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. She reached up, brushed a strand of red hair behind her ear, and then gave a little sigh. "It's a good thing we're all pretty much in this together, huh?"
And she fully believed that, too. She and Leatherhead were bound by the past, bound by rules and promises that they couldn't break. She owed him her life; he, his sanity. For every meal he cooked, she made sure he was calm and collected whenever someone pissed him off a bit too much. It was just their way of surviving.
Her fingers swirled in the bay's water, making little ripplies on the clear surface. Beneath, one who the world had long since deemed a monster watched and waited, tail twitching. He needed the boy to leave before he surfaced. That was just his way.
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Negate
Genetic
Mark LaRoche
Posts: 19
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Post by Negate on Oct 27, 2010 17:10:37 GMT -5
"Adanac is everyone's Hell, yes. But on top of that, we all have our own, personal Hell to face. I've done many things in my past, my early years I'm not proud of. Then I finally get friends and I do something stupid."
He shook it off, just staring out at the water, closing his eyes to forget what he'd been through. Trying to shut out the fear he had of seeing Scarab or Hellcat again. His fear of no longer being welcome.
"Once you think about it, I guess we are all in this together. A lot just don't think about it in that light." He opened his eyes, standing up.
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Phoenix
Disastrous
Alexandra Wolfblood
Posts: 12
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Post by Phoenix on Oct 27, 2010 18:14:47 GMT -5
When he started talking about "personal Hell," the girl had to nod. She couldn't express, not in words or in emotions, how true that statement was. She had her past, her time with the Antidote, that she never wanted to bring up again. True, she was a bit... hesitant when it came to embracing her past, but that didn't make it disappear.
"No," she agreed to his last comment, "most of us are in it for ourselves. The individual wants to escape, and that's all the individual cares about. But, you know... that's how things are. Not everyone thinks about their neighbor."
There was a ripple in the water, by her hands, and Ali glanced down. Her eyes sparkled when she realized Leatherhead was there, waiting for the boy to leave. But Ali didn't want him to leave, not yet. He seemed like a decent enough guy, and she needed to have friends other than just Leatherhead.
"Hey, how are you about reptiles?"
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