2010-02-18: Reaching Out

Starring:

Emily_V4icon.pngGene_V4icon.png

Date: February 18, 2010

Summary:

When all else fails, call Prometheus to soothe the soul.


"Reaching Out"

Trenton Hawthorne's Penthouse

The communicator watch looked like something right out of a campy sci-fi flick. From the moment Prometheus had given it to her, Emily had had little intent to ever use the thing. It's probably a good thing she didn't just toss it in the rubbish bin because she's been eyeing the thing more and more frequently. It's like a dorky little 'told-you-so' sitting on her bedside table.

At first, she thought little of the events down at the dock. Recently, however, she's been having a crisis of conscience; the shattered bureau mirror in Trenton's penthouse is a testament to that. However, for whatever reason, Emily's finally decided that maybe she needs some help. She, needing help. It's a new feeling, for sure. Trenton is sent out on a wild goose chase to make sure the place is free for the day. The penthouse is totally clear after breakfast, when she finally snatches the little communicator in a huff, and gives it a press, waiting to see what would happen.

For roughly two minutes, nothing happens. Then a call comes to Emily's cell phone. When she picks up, she will hear the roar of a motorcycle and Prometheus' digitally altered voice if she picks up. "It's me… Is the area secure?"

Meanwhile, a very futuristic tricycle pulls up into an alleyway near Emily's appartment building, the familiar black body suit wearing 'superhero' stepping out.

"As secure as a private penthouse can get. There's nobody here but me. Just…ring or whatever when you get to the building." Of course, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Prometheus is practically there already, with that tricycle rolling up outside and filling the alleyway with all manner of echoes and roaring engine sounds. Oops! Probably going to have a few ticked-off neighbors after that! Hopefully Prometheus doesn't get a ticket either - there's quite a few No Parking signs out there on account of all the dumpsters and fire escapes.

"You got it, I'll call when I'm close." And with that response, he hangs up.

Fake license plates are just one part of being a heroic criminal. Should they try and ticket Gene, it will go to a dummy account. While there are many things he cannot prepare for, this is at least one of them. Taking off his helmet, Gene's lower face is still concealed by a ski mask that he wears. He enters the lobby holding his helmet to his side, trying to look somewhat normal. Of course, when he gets back to the elevator his helm is swiftly put back on.

As he moves up the floors, Gene uses his PDA to ring Emily's phone on the way up. "Should be there soon," he will offer simply if she should pick up. And sure enough, within a few moments, Proemtheus is there at her door, standing and waiting for Emily to let him in. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

When he knocks, Emily is pretty much ready for him. She's been pacing, antsy, through the main room of the penthouse. What is she going to say to him? How is she going to explain what happened…or does he already know? But beyond that, how does she ask for his help? It's not something she does often (or really, ever), afterall! Today's ensemble is hardly fashionable by her standards: plain old blue jeans, a wifebeater tanktop, and an unbuttoned man's dress shirt, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. He knocks, she peeks out, and swings the door open. "I wasn't waiting long. Come in."

The change of usual attire is noted, but only with a slight tilting of Prometheus' helmet. He doesn't comment on Emily's clothes, looking around the apartment for some sign of what is going on. Not finding it, the masked man turns back to the beautiful blond. "I am here, as requested. What seems to be the trouble?"

"Well, I'm sure you've heard by now, but…one half of Team Shadow, the other half of Team Shadow to be precise (dur), has been kidnapped. Big, black foreigners. Thought they were going to shoot her, but they tossed her into a shipping container and loaded her off for who knows where." Conveniently, she leaves out the part where she possessed one of the thugs, and used his body in an attempt to stop them…killing one other thug before getting him mowed down in the process. While she talks, she fidgets uncharacteristically, holding one arm about her stomach, the other picking at random little pills of lint on the well-worn shirt.

"I had gotten some information and knew that at least one of our people were in trouble… But not much after that. I suppose we should start from the beginning." The young man in black takes a seat on the nearest couch, taking a moment before adding a second line. "First things first though… Are you okay?"

"I'm ok, sure. It's hard to be killed when you're borrowing someone's body, afterall." Emily starts talking, all the while drifting towards the kitchen in the penthouse. It's not really used for any sort of cooking at all, but it's far from spotless. Empty bottles and plenty of highball glasses litter the counters and pretty much any flat surface. "Get you a drink?" she pipes up, as she slops a pretty intimidating amount of gin into a glass. "As for the kidnapping? Whoever that shapeshifting girl is, she got caught and thrown into a shipping container. I don't know a hell of a lot more than that. We were both there to get information about that whole Alpha Protocol shit."

"Get information… Sierra was taken," Prometheus is in some shock to the news he hears. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he speaks to the tall woman as he turns his head to try and follow her as she gets her drink on. "No thank you… I appreciate the thought though. Emily… You need to start from the beginning. Who was there… Who gave you the information?"

"I don't know who was there. We showed up at the docks like we were supposed to, and there was a bunch of foreign guys loading up these shipping containers. They were packing serious heat…military-looking stuff. They wore fatigues, and seemed to worship their leader like a god." Envy, though she won't say; it's not really an appropriate time. "I got this information first hand. I saw them throw her in a container and load it up. Who they were, I have no idea, but they didn't hesitate to shoot first and not worry about asking questions."

There is a short pause as Prometheus considers the information. He doesn't know anything about people that worship a guy like a god. While the docks might have some information, he doubts it. Too much time has passed. "Got the information first hand? Did someone contact you with it? Every detail could be important… I know it isn't easy, but if we wish to get your teammate as soon as possible, we need all the facts we can get right now."

"No…no, I got the info first hand. I was there, recall. I saw her get taken by these people. I managed to get close to one of them, at least. Well, mostly in the hopes of blowing them away and helping her, but that didn't go over so great, as you can see." Leaning on the counter in the kitchen, she takes ample swigs of that gin, wincing as it washes down; each swig finishes with her setting the glass down then hissing a little and shaking her head a bit.

"I see. My question is though… What caused you to go to the docks in the first place? What was the lead? It may be possible to use the lead to track down more information… More so if this was some sort of set up," the masked man claims as he uses a finger to try and mess with the neckline seal of his suit. It can get stuffy wearing the black bodysuit, trenchcoat and helmet all the time, after all.

"Hell if I remember. Something related to AP…prisoner transfer, potential targets, agents being there…I can't really remember. I'm pretty sure I bumped into an agent who was about 2 seconds away from getting killed if I hadn't intervened. It's all a damn blur at this point." One more swig after that statement; is it any wonder or question why all the events are hazy?

The young man watches Emily for awhile, thinking and considering. Slowly, he stands. "Emily… I am aware that you are having a tough time with this." He moves to stand at the other side of the counter, letting a gloved hand gently rest upon the hand that's on the glass. He will rub the hand if she allows it, trying his best to be comforting. Oddly enough, this superhero thing has helped a bit with that. "But everyone fails at some point. It isn't something we want, but it's part of life. You failed in stopping this man, failed in protecting the people you care about… But that doesn't make you a failure. It means you are dealing with adversity. Being extraordinary isn't about always winning, it's about handling adversity and never giving up, even when things get hard."

While he is still wearing the helmet, Prometheus looks right at Emily, perhaps allowing the woman to see her own reflection. "Can you do that for me… For her… For yourself?"

For a moment, she lets him rub on her hand, looking down at the counter; then she looks up into his helmet, seeing her reflection. "Ohmigosh, you are so lucky that helmet isn't a real mirror. You don't even want to see the one in the bedroom that I smashed all the hell when I realized that. I hate failure. HATE. Failure. I'll live though. But, I want to get back at them. Or someone. Somehow."

At the mention of smashing his helmet is given indirectly, Gene pulls back his hand slowly, as if ready for Emily to attack at any time. After all, if she is going through a very emotional time, she might have a 'snap'.

"Power and control… It is something you desire. Something you are used to. But you can't let the desire to control overwhelm. When you do, you lose sight of the other things in life and you become a monster, just like the people running the Alpha Protocol. We can save the people… We can stop those that were responsible. What I need to do that though… Is the information on what happened. I need you to give me the full story, giving me every detail you can remember. If you give it to me all, I can make a plan… And in the meantime, if you really want something to numb the pain, I can give that to you… I've given it to you once before. If that's what you want."

"Heh…no thanks to the drugs. Whatever the hell that was you gave me last time made me trip balls for-fucking-ever. Nooooo thanks to that again. You want details though, I'll give you them, but I've pretty much told you everything I know." Continuing to sip the gin, she goes on to recount the story: how she 'helped' Jo when she was being held up, how she 'borrowed' a thug's body to try and help Sierra after she had run out to do…something. What exactly that was, Emily was not privy to, since she spent most of the time out of sight in an alley.

The helmet hides Gene's facial expression, smirking at Emily's refusal of Lena's juju juice. Guess the dull of alcohol is a just what the doctor ordered if she's refusing anything stronger. The cheer swiftly goes as Gene gets all the information. Of course, he asks his own questions, descriptions of the men, the woman she helped (Jo), and the docks in question. While Sierra is mentioned being taken, he remembered at least Lena's watch going off. Maybe they acted without one another knowing? Well, some of the story is better than none at all.

"Thank you, Emily… I'll start trying to see where the boat at that dock was heading toward. If we have a destination, maybe we can track down whoever was responsible," the young man points out with a soft sigh. He turns, clearly preparing to head out. "Is there anything else you need me for? Because if there is, you know you only need but ask."

At first, she remains silent, head down a little, not saying anything. "No…no I think I'm good now. It's not like Trenton would understand much of this had I told him." She really wants to ask him if he has and sweet weapons in his arsenal, but knowing him, they probably aren't quite as lethal as she'd like. "Other than that…I think I'll hold onto this communicator gizmo a bit longer."

The masked man nods. "Of course… Keep it as long as you'd like. It's there for you." He takes a few steps toward the door. When the hand reaches the knob, he pauses for a moment. "I know it isn't easy, changing who you are. But I just wanted to say, I'm surprised with how far you've come. People were worried you'd turn on me the first chance you got, but you proved them wrong. Thank you… And take care of yourself." And with that, he heads out the door.

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