Cat Scratch Fever || Searching
May. 15th, 2017 10:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsXFI searches Central Park. Slightly backdated due to plot runner brain faiture
Alex made a face, knocking his knuckles against the side of his head. It felt like a badly tuned radio was playing in his brain. "Q sucks at this," he muttered as he held up his flashlight, sweeping the area around them. The sun was just setting, making it hard enough to see that assistance was required.
"Pleasant it is not." Hope agreed. She easily ignored the sound though, used to the peculiarities of telepathy after having lived with telepath for a while, even if that had been in a different reality. "Perhaps we can recommend to someone he gets some more training in this?" She paused at the thick patch of bushes before them. "I do not see anyone around, do you?"
"I'm sure he's aware he sucks." Alex sighed, looking around. "I've got nothing. This place is huge. We could search all night and find nothing." He was trying not to be a downer, but this was starting to feel more and more hopeless.
"I was thinking more that if no one is around, I can ghost out and go through the thickets around us much faster and then searching manually." Hope suggested mildly. "I would allow us to cover far more ground in less time."
"Yeah, that might be good," Alex agreed. "If you don't mind me piggy backing your body I can keep looking on the ground, too." There were some places where trees might obscure an aerial view. And it never hurt to have two pairs of eyes.
Hope raised an eyebrow at him, glad she had worn khaki's for the search. "As long as you do not mind carrying me around... If you can turn..." As gracefully as possible she climbed on his back and when she had a secure hold, she let the flower unfold in her mind and her pearly astral form hovered in front of Alex.
"I gotchu," Alex said to possibly no one - he had no idea if Hope could still hear him - as he secured her and began walking again, still swinging his flashlight around. It landed on a few people, and he got a weird look from one lady out for a late jog. "Lost my dog," he called cheerfully. "And my girlfriend's drunk. Just not my night, huh?"
~No sign of him here.~ Hope relayed to Alex, hoping he would hear he with all the static from Quentin in his head. Poking her 'head' outside the bushes she checked if the coast was clear, then floated over the next thicket to check. ~We should see if we can find a feral or someone with enhanced senses to join XFI. It would make searches like this a lot easier.~
Alex could pick out bits and pieces of what Hope was saying, but had no idea how to answer. Rather than look like even more of a weirdo to anyone walking by him, he stayed silent, peeking through some bushes. "Oops, sorry!" He said cheerfully to the couple he'd interrupted. "Just looking for my dog, don't mind me." He hurried away before they could question him.
Hope 'shook' her head she scouted among the tops of the trees in case Colin's feral mutation made him a climber, then dove to search some thorny bushes. ~Have you heard anything from the others?~ She paused a moment, then added. ~I can hear you if you speak normally.~
"Yeah, but so can anyone around me," Alex said in a hushed voice, trying not to attract attention. "I'm already the weird guy with a flashlight carrying an unconscious girl. And no, I haven't. Everyone's just looking."
~Alright, alright...~ Hope cast around, trying to imagine where she would go if she were Colin. Somewhere quiet... somewhere sheltered... ~Alex, do you see that copse of trees over there? It looks quiet and there seem to be sheltered corners...~
"On it," Alex said, heading in that direction. "We should've brought coffee." He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
~Preferably with something extra in it~ Hope added. ~I just hope he is there.~
There was something about Sunset in Central Park that would just send shivers down your spine and brought a song to her lips. Yet here she was, traipsing through one of her favorite places in the city with Warren Worthington if the late night sleepovers and the gala trips hadn't been enough to get the gossips tongue's wagging, then this certainly would. The blonde tilted her head to her side, glancing up at the man as a playful smile tugged at her lips before shaking her head...naaah it was like making sure your big brother didn't get into more trouble. "And you stay away from reading my thoughts Quentin," she muttered, barely audibly.
Warren made a 'hmm?' noise at Sue. She seemed to be frowning at nothing -- at least, nothing he could see. He heard a random noise in his head though, and he rolled his eyes. "Seems like Q can't handle the interference," Warren chuckled. "Think it's too much for him? I knew I shouldn't have given him a raise."
A laugh slipped past Sue's lips as she turned around, blue eye dancing with humour as she stared at Warren, "To be fair, it's the first time he's ever done this," she pointed out, "He's gonna have one hell of a hangover in the morning although." The blonde grinned at her older friend, "you do give out pay rises waay to fast, I swear it's almost like you give them out if someone gives you a cup of coffee," she teased.
"Hardly," Warren said, slightly offended. "I subscribe to the whole 'pay them a little more faster, and then hold off forever on the big raises' theory. I think there's an actual word for it, but my dictionary is on holiday in the Maldives." He paused. "Wait, you're right. I pay people entirely too much if they can afford a holiday like that." He peered around and stretched. "This is ridiculous by the way. Speaking of money and all that. This is all overtime, and no one's found this boy."
Sue arched an eyebrow in response, turning around to spread her hands out to her sides to encompass the entire park, the entire city with her arms. "It's a big city, and we're a small team," she pointed out. "It's very easy to hide, and not that easy to find you if you're careful. I mean talk about a needle in a haystack, finding someone running away in the city is nearly impossible unless we get lucky." She fell silent for a minute before grinning at Warren, "So, how do you feel about cloning, we happen to have someone super lucky right at hand as it were," she pointed out, an amused smirk painting her features.
Warren had stopped listening, and as such, was confused by her comment. "What? Cloning? What are we talking about?" He stopped and furrowed his brow. "Are we talking about sheep now? I know I was talking, but I actually didn't hear what you said. I was too busy being offended."
The blonde stopped and turned to face Warren, her blue eyes sparkling, anger flashing in her gaze. "Warren Worthington," Sue's voice was pitched quietly, as she bit off each syllable, "Do you normally just zone out when I'm talking?"
This was a trick question. This was a very bad trick question. And yet, Warren couldn't stop himself from forming the following word: "Yes?"
The sparks of fire in the blonde girl's eyes flared up, the blue orbs cutting at Warren like diamonds, like cold ice. "I see." There was no emotion in Sue's voice as she examined the man before something cuffed him around the head before an invisible force drove itself into his stomach. "That's not very nice Warren," she chided hiding the laughter that threatened to break out past her lips.
"I'm not always nice," he said by way of apology. "But look, here I am, searching for someone out of the goodness of my heart." Warren grinned. "And a paycheque. I pay myself handsomely, you know. Also, Worthington Industries. There. Now I can write this off on my taxes."
"Taxbreak huh," Sue's eyes sparkled with amusement as she slipped her hands into her pockets, eyes narrowing as she smirked at him, "Well then, since you're writing this off anyway and you're feeling oh so generous I'm sure you don't mind contributing that paycheque of yours to the 'send the girls on a spa day and relaxtion trip for putting up with me' fund would you?"
"Send Lorna to bat her eyelashes at me...and maybe we'll see." He paused. "Does Quire count for your spa day?"
Maintaining a psychic connection between six people spread out over 800 acres was testing the limits of even Quentin's formidable psychic prowess (at least, that's how he liked to describe himself). It was like trying to find the right station on one of those olde-timey radios, getting the needle at exactly the right position to get a clear sound and not a lot of disturbance. Quentin smacked his head with his wrist, as if he could jostle his brain into place.
"There, I think I got it, finally," he said, sensing his teammates' thoughts start to filter through his mind.
Lorna looked over her shoulder towards Quentin, "Don't go reading my deepest darkest secrets. Would hate to give you nightmares." She was mostly teasing.
The look her gave her made it clear he didn't think that quip funny. "First, eww. Second, if I was gonna read your mind, I'd just look for your memories of your fiance in the shower. And I can't believe that would be nightmarish." He glanced around at the crowds milling about. "How're we even supposed to find Catboy?"
"Hmmm Alex in the shower." She smirked with a thought. "Glad to know that you think my thoughts are mostly perverted." There were worst things he could find. "More than likely he already knows we are here. And it might help if we don't call him Catboy. Poor kid has had it rough that he doesn't need more name calling."
"It's not name calling," Quentin protested, perhaps a tad petulantly. "He needs a mutant name. Daddy Dearest is all about that, don't you know? Why else would he call himself something ridiculous like 'Magneto'? I've been thinking about one for myself. Omega. It's the end of things. It's fitting, don't you think?"
"The difference is that my dad actually came up with the name himself." Looking over at him with a smirk, "And you called my dad's codename ridiculous. But I'll bite, why Omega?"
"Then Collin can choose his own name, whatever. And three reasons for Omega." He counted them off on his fingers, clearly pleased with himself for such thoughtfulness. "One, it's the last letter of the Greek alphabet. It signifies the end of things, just like I'm going to see the end of mutant suffering. Two, biologists use it as a shorthand for fitness, so it's like how mutants are driving human evolution forward instead of letting it stagnate. And third, in physics, it's the symbol for resistance."
Lorna thought about it, "I like it. It has meaning and it obviously you put a lot of thought into it. I like codenames that have a meaning to it."
"It's also what you get for Wikipedia surfing while high. And they say weed kills brain cells." Quentin stopped mid-step, his gaze focusing on a figure curled up under a tree a few yards away. "Hey, what was Collin's school's mascot again?"
"Whoever said that never had a good joint, followed by the munchies." Lorna also stopped, "I believe it was some kind of Panther." Seeing where Quentin was looking, Lorna looked over, "Collin?"
Collin had heard them before they'd come close to him. He was still getting used to all his enhanced senses, but he had to admit: they were pretty handy. The feline qualities helped him stay quiet, but they also tired him out. In fact, just running in general was exhausting. It felt like he'd been running for years.
Perking up, he opened a eye before scooting backwards into the tree. Who were these people? Were they friends? Foe? He wasn't hanging around to find out. Taking off like a shot, he ran further into the trees.
"You little bitch," Quentin growled before taking off after him. All that jogging was finally finding a purpose beyond cruising. #Found him#, he sent to the rest of the team, hoping they were getting his message and he wasn't just screaming into the void. #Near the lake, west of the boat rentals. He's . . . feisty.#
"Wait." Lorna took to the air to get on pace with him. "Your dad hired us. I promised him we would find you and protect you. We are like you."
His dad? Collin slowed down slightly, and looked behind him. His eyes widened at the sight of the woman flying but he still wasn't sure if he believed her. The police were supposed to help him too, and they didn't. No one helped him. "I don't believe you!"
Quentin slid to a stop, kicking up a small cloud of dirt, and frowned as he wiped off the cuffs of his pants. "Randy and Addison Bush of Cypress Street in Salem Center. You're a senior at Salem High. It's 2017 and you still have a poster of Tony Hawk hanging in your room. And you've been missing from home for three weeks and your parents are literally shitting themselves worrying about you."
Lorna landed nearby, "We have no reason to lie." She slowly pulled out her business card. "We are a Private Investigation agency - we specialize in cases, like yours. My name is Lorna, my friend over there is Quentin."
Collin found himself about to defend his Tony Hawk poster, when Lorna spoke. The business card looked real enough, and Collin tentatively accepted it. "I was going to go back eventually," he muttered. He turned the card over in his hands. "And what do you mean, cases like mine?"
"We take on cases involving people like you and me all the time. We care and thus we will help whenever we can." She gave him a warm smile. "We really do want to help you. Maybe come back with us to our office? Get you something warm to eat."
Collin still wasn't sure. The other guy looked angry, but the woman seemed nice...."Can I call my parents?"
Quentin blinked. #Hoo boy. I'll let you tell him. After we get him somewhere else,# he said to Lorna. He then took out his cell phone from his pocket and levitated it to Collin, another display of their shared mutant heritage. "Here. You should definitely call your mother. Your dad's out looking for you, too."
Taking the phone warily, Collin called the familiar numbers and waited anxiously for his mother to answer. At the sound of her voice, he found himself holding back tears. "Mom? I want to come home...."
Despite himself, Quentin informed the rest of the team their mission was done and dropped the psychic link, and then extended a probe to Collin. Not to eavesdrop, per se, but just to hear for the first time in his life what it was like to have a parent who worried themselves to death over the safety and wellbeing of their mutant child. A parent who actually cared.
Lorna crossed her arms as she looked at Collin. She would have to break the news about his father if his mother didn't later. But knew that the voice of hearing her son was all that she would need at the moment.
Alex made a face, knocking his knuckles against the side of his head. It felt like a badly tuned radio was playing in his brain. "Q sucks at this," he muttered as he held up his flashlight, sweeping the area around them. The sun was just setting, making it hard enough to see that assistance was required.
"Pleasant it is not." Hope agreed. She easily ignored the sound though, used to the peculiarities of telepathy after having lived with telepath for a while, even if that had been in a different reality. "Perhaps we can recommend to someone he gets some more training in this?" She paused at the thick patch of bushes before them. "I do not see anyone around, do you?"
"I'm sure he's aware he sucks." Alex sighed, looking around. "I've got nothing. This place is huge. We could search all night and find nothing." He was trying not to be a downer, but this was starting to feel more and more hopeless.
"I was thinking more that if no one is around, I can ghost out and go through the thickets around us much faster and then searching manually." Hope suggested mildly. "I would allow us to cover far more ground in less time."
"Yeah, that might be good," Alex agreed. "If you don't mind me piggy backing your body I can keep looking on the ground, too." There were some places where trees might obscure an aerial view. And it never hurt to have two pairs of eyes.
Hope raised an eyebrow at him, glad she had worn khaki's for the search. "As long as you do not mind carrying me around... If you can turn..." As gracefully as possible she climbed on his back and when she had a secure hold, she let the flower unfold in her mind and her pearly astral form hovered in front of Alex.
"I gotchu," Alex said to possibly no one - he had no idea if Hope could still hear him - as he secured her and began walking again, still swinging his flashlight around. It landed on a few people, and he got a weird look from one lady out for a late jog. "Lost my dog," he called cheerfully. "And my girlfriend's drunk. Just not my night, huh?"
~No sign of him here.~ Hope relayed to Alex, hoping he would hear he with all the static from Quentin in his head. Poking her 'head' outside the bushes she checked if the coast was clear, then floated over the next thicket to check. ~We should see if we can find a feral or someone with enhanced senses to join XFI. It would make searches like this a lot easier.~
Alex could pick out bits and pieces of what Hope was saying, but had no idea how to answer. Rather than look like even more of a weirdo to anyone walking by him, he stayed silent, peeking through some bushes. "Oops, sorry!" He said cheerfully to the couple he'd interrupted. "Just looking for my dog, don't mind me." He hurried away before they could question him.
Hope 'shook' her head she scouted among the tops of the trees in case Colin's feral mutation made him a climber, then dove to search some thorny bushes. ~Have you heard anything from the others?~ She paused a moment, then added. ~I can hear you if you speak normally.~
"Yeah, but so can anyone around me," Alex said in a hushed voice, trying not to attract attention. "I'm already the weird guy with a flashlight carrying an unconscious girl. And no, I haven't. Everyone's just looking."
~Alright, alright...~ Hope cast around, trying to imagine where she would go if she were Colin. Somewhere quiet... somewhere sheltered... ~Alex, do you see that copse of trees over there? It looks quiet and there seem to be sheltered corners...~
"On it," Alex said, heading in that direction. "We should've brought coffee." He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
~Preferably with something extra in it~ Hope added. ~I just hope he is there.~
There was something about Sunset in Central Park that would just send shivers down your spine and brought a song to her lips. Yet here she was, traipsing through one of her favorite places in the city with Warren Worthington if the late night sleepovers and the gala trips hadn't been enough to get the gossips tongue's wagging, then this certainly would. The blonde tilted her head to her side, glancing up at the man as a playful smile tugged at her lips before shaking her head...naaah it was like making sure your big brother didn't get into more trouble. "And you stay away from reading my thoughts Quentin," she muttered, barely audibly.
Warren made a 'hmm?' noise at Sue. She seemed to be frowning at nothing -- at least, nothing he could see. He heard a random noise in his head though, and he rolled his eyes. "Seems like Q can't handle the interference," Warren chuckled. "Think it's too much for him? I knew I shouldn't have given him a raise."
A laugh slipped past Sue's lips as she turned around, blue eye dancing with humour as she stared at Warren, "To be fair, it's the first time he's ever done this," she pointed out, "He's gonna have one hell of a hangover in the morning although." The blonde grinned at her older friend, "you do give out pay rises waay to fast, I swear it's almost like you give them out if someone gives you a cup of coffee," she teased.
"Hardly," Warren said, slightly offended. "I subscribe to the whole 'pay them a little more faster, and then hold off forever on the big raises' theory. I think there's an actual word for it, but my dictionary is on holiday in the Maldives." He paused. "Wait, you're right. I pay people entirely too much if they can afford a holiday like that." He peered around and stretched. "This is ridiculous by the way. Speaking of money and all that. This is all overtime, and no one's found this boy."
Sue arched an eyebrow in response, turning around to spread her hands out to her sides to encompass the entire park, the entire city with her arms. "It's a big city, and we're a small team," she pointed out. "It's very easy to hide, and not that easy to find you if you're careful. I mean talk about a needle in a haystack, finding someone running away in the city is nearly impossible unless we get lucky." She fell silent for a minute before grinning at Warren, "So, how do you feel about cloning, we happen to have someone super lucky right at hand as it were," she pointed out, an amused smirk painting her features.
Warren had stopped listening, and as such, was confused by her comment. "What? Cloning? What are we talking about?" He stopped and furrowed his brow. "Are we talking about sheep now? I know I was talking, but I actually didn't hear what you said. I was too busy being offended."
The blonde stopped and turned to face Warren, her blue eyes sparkling, anger flashing in her gaze. "Warren Worthington," Sue's voice was pitched quietly, as she bit off each syllable, "Do you normally just zone out when I'm talking?"
This was a trick question. This was a very bad trick question. And yet, Warren couldn't stop himself from forming the following word: "Yes?"
The sparks of fire in the blonde girl's eyes flared up, the blue orbs cutting at Warren like diamonds, like cold ice. "I see." There was no emotion in Sue's voice as she examined the man before something cuffed him around the head before an invisible force drove itself into his stomach. "That's not very nice Warren," she chided hiding the laughter that threatened to break out past her lips.
"I'm not always nice," he said by way of apology. "But look, here I am, searching for someone out of the goodness of my heart." Warren grinned. "And a paycheque. I pay myself handsomely, you know. Also, Worthington Industries. There. Now I can write this off on my taxes."
"Taxbreak huh," Sue's eyes sparkled with amusement as she slipped her hands into her pockets, eyes narrowing as she smirked at him, "Well then, since you're writing this off anyway and you're feeling oh so generous I'm sure you don't mind contributing that paycheque of yours to the 'send the girls on a spa day and relaxtion trip for putting up with me' fund would you?"
"Send Lorna to bat her eyelashes at me...and maybe we'll see." He paused. "Does Quire count for your spa day?"
Maintaining a psychic connection between six people spread out over 800 acres was testing the limits of even Quentin's formidable psychic prowess (at least, that's how he liked to describe himself). It was like trying to find the right station on one of those olde-timey radios, getting the needle at exactly the right position to get a clear sound and not a lot of disturbance. Quentin smacked his head with his wrist, as if he could jostle his brain into place.
"There, I think I got it, finally," he said, sensing his teammates' thoughts start to filter through his mind.
Lorna looked over her shoulder towards Quentin, "Don't go reading my deepest darkest secrets. Would hate to give you nightmares." She was mostly teasing.
The look her gave her made it clear he didn't think that quip funny. "First, eww. Second, if I was gonna read your mind, I'd just look for your memories of your fiance in the shower. And I can't believe that would be nightmarish." He glanced around at the crowds milling about. "How're we even supposed to find Catboy?"
"Hmmm Alex in the shower." She smirked with a thought. "Glad to know that you think my thoughts are mostly perverted." There were worst things he could find. "More than likely he already knows we are here. And it might help if we don't call him Catboy. Poor kid has had it rough that he doesn't need more name calling."
"It's not name calling," Quentin protested, perhaps a tad petulantly. "He needs a mutant name. Daddy Dearest is all about that, don't you know? Why else would he call himself something ridiculous like 'Magneto'? I've been thinking about one for myself. Omega. It's the end of things. It's fitting, don't you think?"
"The difference is that my dad actually came up with the name himself." Looking over at him with a smirk, "And you called my dad's codename ridiculous. But I'll bite, why Omega?"
"Then Collin can choose his own name, whatever. And three reasons for Omega." He counted them off on his fingers, clearly pleased with himself for such thoughtfulness. "One, it's the last letter of the Greek alphabet. It signifies the end of things, just like I'm going to see the end of mutant suffering. Two, biologists use it as a shorthand for fitness, so it's like how mutants are driving human evolution forward instead of letting it stagnate. And third, in physics, it's the symbol for resistance."
Lorna thought about it, "I like it. It has meaning and it obviously you put a lot of thought into it. I like codenames that have a meaning to it."
"It's also what you get for Wikipedia surfing while high. And they say weed kills brain cells." Quentin stopped mid-step, his gaze focusing on a figure curled up under a tree a few yards away. "Hey, what was Collin's school's mascot again?"
"Whoever said that never had a good joint, followed by the munchies." Lorna also stopped, "I believe it was some kind of Panther." Seeing where Quentin was looking, Lorna looked over, "Collin?"
Collin had heard them before they'd come close to him. He was still getting used to all his enhanced senses, but he had to admit: they were pretty handy. The feline qualities helped him stay quiet, but they also tired him out. In fact, just running in general was exhausting. It felt like he'd been running for years.
Perking up, he opened a eye before scooting backwards into the tree. Who were these people? Were they friends? Foe? He wasn't hanging around to find out. Taking off like a shot, he ran further into the trees.
"You little bitch," Quentin growled before taking off after him. All that jogging was finally finding a purpose beyond cruising. #Found him#, he sent to the rest of the team, hoping they were getting his message and he wasn't just screaming into the void. #Near the lake, west of the boat rentals. He's . . . feisty.#
"Wait." Lorna took to the air to get on pace with him. "Your dad hired us. I promised him we would find you and protect you. We are like you."
His dad? Collin slowed down slightly, and looked behind him. His eyes widened at the sight of the woman flying but he still wasn't sure if he believed her. The police were supposed to help him too, and they didn't. No one helped him. "I don't believe you!"
Quentin slid to a stop, kicking up a small cloud of dirt, and frowned as he wiped off the cuffs of his pants. "Randy and Addison Bush of Cypress Street in Salem Center. You're a senior at Salem High. It's 2017 and you still have a poster of Tony Hawk hanging in your room. And you've been missing from home for three weeks and your parents are literally shitting themselves worrying about you."
Lorna landed nearby, "We have no reason to lie." She slowly pulled out her business card. "We are a Private Investigation agency - we specialize in cases, like yours. My name is Lorna, my friend over there is Quentin."
Collin found himself about to defend his Tony Hawk poster, when Lorna spoke. The business card looked real enough, and Collin tentatively accepted it. "I was going to go back eventually," he muttered. He turned the card over in his hands. "And what do you mean, cases like mine?"
"We take on cases involving people like you and me all the time. We care and thus we will help whenever we can." She gave him a warm smile. "We really do want to help you. Maybe come back with us to our office? Get you something warm to eat."
Collin still wasn't sure. The other guy looked angry, but the woman seemed nice...."Can I call my parents?"
Quentin blinked. #Hoo boy. I'll let you tell him. After we get him somewhere else,# he said to Lorna. He then took out his cell phone from his pocket and levitated it to Collin, another display of their shared mutant heritage. "Here. You should definitely call your mother. Your dad's out looking for you, too."
Taking the phone warily, Collin called the familiar numbers and waited anxiously for his mother to answer. At the sound of her voice, he found himself holding back tears. "Mom? I want to come home...."
Despite himself, Quentin informed the rest of the team their mission was done and dropped the psychic link, and then extended a probe to Collin. Not to eavesdrop, per se, but just to hear for the first time in his life what it was like to have a parent who worried themselves to death over the safety and wellbeing of their mutant child. A parent who actually cared.
Lorna crossed her arms as she looked at Collin. She would have to break the news about his father if his mother didn't later. But knew that the voice of hearing her son was all that she would need at the moment.
