Cat Scratch Fever || The Friends
May. 14th, 2017 10:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsQuentin, Alex, and Hope track down Collin’s friends.
It was a slightly chillier morning than usual, but that didn't stop the hardcore skater kids of Salem Center from hitting the ramps. The park was surprisingly crowded, and Alex frowned as he looked around, then looked down at his phone again to see the pictures of Collin's friends Warren had found on the kid's Facebook.
"You guys see them?"
Quentin looked over Alex's shoulder to glance at the pictures, too, then up to the skatepark patrons, then back to the phone. "They all look literally the same," he said. "Is it still 1999? Who skates anymore?"
"Is there anyone with some kind of distinguishing mark or some kind of distinctive piece of clothing we can look for?" Hope asked as she leaned over his shoulder to check the picture. "That kid seems to wearing... is that an orange cap?" She commented with a frown.
"Orange cap and skull stickers on the bottom of his board. Those are distinguishing enough." He looked around, finding a group of kids sitting on a nearby bench. "Orange cap, skull stickers. Think that's one of our kids."
"It's going to look real weird if three random people go over to talk to them," Quentin warned. "They're not gonna talk. I'll hang back but I can . . ." He tapped his forehead, already gently extending his telepathy to make contact with their targets. Easy, easy. Just like Jean had shown him. "Don't fuck it up."
"I think you are probably the one they will talk to the most, Alex." Hope replied after a moment of consideration, gesturing at the neat slacks and coat that she was wearing. "Why don't you go make contact and I will join you in a few moments? I want to take a look around to see if I can find any of his other friends."
Alex wished he'd thought ahead to bring his board, but alas. He shoved his hands in his pockets, making his way toward the group. "Hey," he said pleasantly as he approached, unsurprisingly earning himself a distrustful look from each of the boys. Nothing earned more ire than looking out of place at the skate park. "Any of you know a kid named Collin Bush?"
The boys exchanged looks. "I do," Mr. Orange Cap said finally.
#You really should have brought your skateboard, too,# Quentin telepathically berated Alex. #Could you look any more like a narc? Just be upfront. They've seen the shit Collin's had to deal with for being a mutant. For all they know, you're FOH.#
#Dude you wanna talk to them?# Alex had no idea if Quentin actually picked up on that, but he thought it really hard. "His dad hired me and my friends to try and find him."
"His dad's in jail." Everyone had heard about what had happened at the bank the day before.
"That does not mean his father is not worried for him." Hope interjected as she came up behind Alex after finishing her look around. "We know Collin is 'in trouble'. We just want to find him before more trouble finds him."
The one upshot to spending all this time with a bunch of non-mutants was that not a single one of them could keep Quentin out of their minds. Just a gentle probe revealed what "trouble" Collin had already experienced. #Their house has been egged and graffitied half a dozen times in the last couple months,# he informed the others, sharing the images he'd picked up from the boys. #Ask about that.#
Ouch. "I bet Collin felt like he was causing his parents a lot of trouble," Alex said, and the boys exchanged looks again.
"Those anti-mutant assholes kept harassing him and his 'rents," Orange Cap said finally. "Ya know, spray painting 'kill the mutie' on their house and egging it and shit."
"How did Collin react to that?" Hope asked after glancing at Alex. "Did he say something strange or did his mood change? Anything might help us to find him."
Orange Cap frowned. "You really wanna find him and help?" He asked finally. "No tricks?"
"No tricks," Alex promised. "We want to help him and his parents."
Orange Cap leaned forward so his elbows were resting on his knees. "Collin was pretty fucked up. It was bad enough he couldn't even go out and do anything, and his parents were being harassed because of him. He hated it."
#How'd his parents take it?# Quentin wondered. #If Papa went through with holding a fucking bank hostage just for his missing son, it couldn't've bothered him that much, right? He cares more about Collin than anything. So if Collin was a shut in because he couldn't be outside without getting attacked, then he wasn't, like, kidnapped, right? No one broke into their house.#
"His dad seemed alright with Collin being a mutant when we talked to him..." Hope turned to the boy next to Orange Cap, who suddenly seemed to find his finger nails really interesting. "Did he ever happen to mention anything different? And what about his mother? Was she okay with it?"
No one said anything. "Dudes," Alex said. "You wanna protect your friend, we get it. But if you know something about where he is, you''re not doing any favors by not telling us or his parents. He's worse off if he's living on the streets than he would be at home."
"We don't know where he is," the boy next to Orange Cap said. "He... he mighta run away, though. He said was sick of being a burden on his parents and that was the last time any of us talked to him, I swear."
That answer made Quentin frown. #It's the truth#, he informed his partners. #He's thinking maybe Central Park, they liked to skate down there. Of course Central Park is over 800 acres and literally every homeless person and runaway likes to go there. And it's the scene of the crime for about fifty percent of cop procedurals on TV, so.# The minor bit of hope he had felt when the friends had started talking quickly fizzled away now.
Alex did his best not to let his own feelings show in his face. Central Park. Fantastic. "Alright," he said after a moment. "Look, if you hear from Colin, at least call his mom, alright?"
"We will," Orange Cap said quickly. And Alex believed him.
"Thank you." Hope added with a small smile. "We'll be doing our best as well to find him as quickly as possible."
It was a slightly chillier morning than usual, but that didn't stop the hardcore skater kids of Salem Center from hitting the ramps. The park was surprisingly crowded, and Alex frowned as he looked around, then looked down at his phone again to see the pictures of Collin's friends Warren had found on the kid's Facebook.
"You guys see them?"
Quentin looked over Alex's shoulder to glance at the pictures, too, then up to the skatepark patrons, then back to the phone. "They all look literally the same," he said. "Is it still 1999? Who skates anymore?"
"Is there anyone with some kind of distinguishing mark or some kind of distinctive piece of clothing we can look for?" Hope asked as she leaned over his shoulder to check the picture. "That kid seems to wearing... is that an orange cap?" She commented with a frown.
"Orange cap and skull stickers on the bottom of his board. Those are distinguishing enough." He looked around, finding a group of kids sitting on a nearby bench. "Orange cap, skull stickers. Think that's one of our kids."
"It's going to look real weird if three random people go over to talk to them," Quentin warned. "They're not gonna talk. I'll hang back but I can . . ." He tapped his forehead, already gently extending his telepathy to make contact with their targets. Easy, easy. Just like Jean had shown him. "Don't fuck it up."
"I think you are probably the one they will talk to the most, Alex." Hope replied after a moment of consideration, gesturing at the neat slacks and coat that she was wearing. "Why don't you go make contact and I will join you in a few moments? I want to take a look around to see if I can find any of his other friends."
Alex wished he'd thought ahead to bring his board, but alas. He shoved his hands in his pockets, making his way toward the group. "Hey," he said pleasantly as he approached, unsurprisingly earning himself a distrustful look from each of the boys. Nothing earned more ire than looking out of place at the skate park. "Any of you know a kid named Collin Bush?"
The boys exchanged looks. "I do," Mr. Orange Cap said finally.
#You really should have brought your skateboard, too,# Quentin telepathically berated Alex. #Could you look any more like a narc? Just be upfront. They've seen the shit Collin's had to deal with for being a mutant. For all they know, you're FOH.#
#Dude you wanna talk to them?# Alex had no idea if Quentin actually picked up on that, but he thought it really hard. "His dad hired me and my friends to try and find him."
"His dad's in jail." Everyone had heard about what had happened at the bank the day before.
"That does not mean his father is not worried for him." Hope interjected as she came up behind Alex after finishing her look around. "We know Collin is 'in trouble'. We just want to find him before more trouble finds him."
The one upshot to spending all this time with a bunch of non-mutants was that not a single one of them could keep Quentin out of their minds. Just a gentle probe revealed what "trouble" Collin had already experienced. #Their house has been egged and graffitied half a dozen times in the last couple months,# he informed the others, sharing the images he'd picked up from the boys. #Ask about that.#
Ouch. "I bet Collin felt like he was causing his parents a lot of trouble," Alex said, and the boys exchanged looks again.
"Those anti-mutant assholes kept harassing him and his 'rents," Orange Cap said finally. "Ya know, spray painting 'kill the mutie' on their house and egging it and shit."
"How did Collin react to that?" Hope asked after glancing at Alex. "Did he say something strange or did his mood change? Anything might help us to find him."
Orange Cap frowned. "You really wanna find him and help?" He asked finally. "No tricks?"
"No tricks," Alex promised. "We want to help him and his parents."
Orange Cap leaned forward so his elbows were resting on his knees. "Collin was pretty fucked up. It was bad enough he couldn't even go out and do anything, and his parents were being harassed because of him. He hated it."
#How'd his parents take it?# Quentin wondered. #If Papa went through with holding a fucking bank hostage just for his missing son, it couldn't've bothered him that much, right? He cares more about Collin than anything. So if Collin was a shut in because he couldn't be outside without getting attacked, then he wasn't, like, kidnapped, right? No one broke into their house.#
"His dad seemed alright with Collin being a mutant when we talked to him..." Hope turned to the boy next to Orange Cap, who suddenly seemed to find his finger nails really interesting. "Did he ever happen to mention anything different? And what about his mother? Was she okay with it?"
No one said anything. "Dudes," Alex said. "You wanna protect your friend, we get it. But if you know something about where he is, you''re not doing any favors by not telling us or his parents. He's worse off if he's living on the streets than he would be at home."
"We don't know where he is," the boy next to Orange Cap said. "He... he mighta run away, though. He said was sick of being a burden on his parents and that was the last time any of us talked to him, I swear."
That answer made Quentin frown. #It's the truth#, he informed his partners. #He's thinking maybe Central Park, they liked to skate down there. Of course Central Park is over 800 acres and literally every homeless person and runaway likes to go there. And it's the scene of the crime for about fifty percent of cop procedurals on TV, so.# The minor bit of hope he had felt when the friends had started talking quickly fizzled away now.
Alex did his best not to let his own feelings show in his face. Central Park. Fantastic. "Alright," he said after a moment. "Look, if you hear from Colin, at least call his mom, alright?"
"We will," Orange Cap said quickly. And Alex believed him.
"Thank you." Hope added with a small smile. "We'll be doing our best as well to find him as quickly as possible."
