Twisted Fate

[Firestar]

Dave stirred from his light sleep, lingering for a moment. He held in his arms the one thing that made life in this hellish place worth living, and the reason he kept fighting. He would gladly have remained there with her the entire day; sadly, duty called, and the state of the world would not allow him such luxuries. There were people he needed to track down and deal with. People who knew too much, people who were threats, people he just didn't like.
Lightly, he kissed Max on the neck before getting up to get dressed. He looked around for various articles of clothing, and narrowed his eyes at one heap on the floor.
"Darn it, Max, you ripped my pants last night!" he said, not caring whether or not she was awake.

[Max452]

Max was half asleep as she laid in bed next to Dave. Last night was a splendid blur. She was curled up next to Dave, enjoying the warmth of his body when she felt him stir. She mentally groaned. He had worked today. Blast it, of all days. She had just come back from a job in India and only desired to spend the day with Dave before she had to speed off to Mexico, where apparently a priceless artifact was found. She felt Dave's lips brush against her neck, a small smile forming. Who would have thought she would be with Dave? She never thought she would find happiness in this hell hole. After New York and some other areas were practically destroyed by weird blasts and a lot of her friends were killed, she had lost all hope in the world. Heck, even grifting seemed worthless, but then she met Dave. She giggled when Dave yelled.

Covering herself with the blanket she turned around to see him staring at his torn pants. She gave him a mixed coy and innocent smile. "You didn't need them." She rolled her eyes before he could protest anymore. "Besides, its not like you can't fix 'em" She twirled her fingers in the air. "Maybe its a sign that you're not suppose to work, today." She dared him to argue.

[Firestar]

Dave looked incredulously over his shoulder at Max as he bent over and lifted his mutilated pants from the floor, shaking his head. He supposed he couldn't blame her, really. They'd been seperated for a while and it had left them both rather desperate. Still...
"Yeah, yeah, it's a pain having to be a steamstress, though," he complained. He heard her suggestion that he not work that day. Well...what could it hurt? It's not like those people were going anywhere he wouldn't be able to track. He threw his pants back down on the floor and returned to the bed.
"I suppose being a few hours late wouldn't be too terrible," he said with a sly grin before kissing her. Then somewhere in a distant corner of the room, his pager beeped. He ignored it for a moment, though as it became more persistent, he finally said "I really should get that..."

[Max452]

Max held in laughter as Dave revealed more of the pants. Maybe she had been a bit overzealous last night. "But you would look so cute in an apron." She jibed at him. A large victorious grin spread across her face as Dave returned to bed. "Or a day..." She muttered as she pulled him closer to her, their lips meeting. Her hands freely roamed across his chest and arms as her kisses became more passionate. Before she lost control, the accursed beeper had to go off! She felt herself grip him tighter, trying to get him to ignore it, but alas, it only worked for a moment. She groaned as he parted from her. "Fine!" She gave up and dejectedly got out of bed, sweeping the covers from her with irritation. She began to look for her clothes and began to dress. "I swear, I'm going to kill whoever that is." She grumbled in her british accent as she got into her pants, which were mutilated-free. She then proceeded to put on the rest of her clothes. "What do they want this time?" She demanded, still irritated at beeper man.

[Firestar]

Dave regretfully parted from Max, just as irritated with the beeper as she was. He snatched his panted back up from the floor and used his telekinesis to sew it back together seamlessly. Then he pulled them on as he went hunting for the beeper.
He scowled at the message. It was a list of names, as he'd expected, along with their last known locations.
"Same old same old," he told her. He was about to toss the beeper aside when he noticed the last name on the list. He froze, for a moment feeling rather sickened.
Monroe, Felicity. Last known location: New York City, NY. So she was still alive, huh? And it seemed his little sister was also having a hard time getting over the explosion that had annhilated their home city. Dave hadn't heard from either of his siblings and assumed they had died.
Well now it seemed dear Lissy had caught the attention of his bosses. And now she needed to be eliminated in one way or another.
After his initial surprise by the name, Dave felt his face blank out and he put the beeper in his pocket. He put on his shirt and over that the black trenchcoat he had started wearing. As he belted on his gun, he walked over to Max and gave her another quick kiss. "I'll try to be back early tonight," he told her. "I want at least some time with you before you run off on your next job."

[Max452]

OOC: I love alternate timelines! lol. Hehehe....I'm thinking of having a hero evil...hmm...which one, which one.

Max had finished dressing and was now watching Dave with scrutiny. He had seemed surprised when he looked at his beeper. That caused some concern. She tried not to think too much about it, especially when she spotted him belting his gun. She let out an disgusted sound. "Do you have to carry that wretched thing? You know how much I hate them." She was surprised she even allowed it in her apartment, but then again, she was really preoccupied with other things last night to really care. The quick kiss sent her some ease, but it also shot back her previous concern. "Hey, Dave. My name isn't on there is it?" She asked, gripping his hand softly. Why else would he be surprised? Everyone they really cared about was either long dead or they had abandoned them. The only other thing she could think of to make Dave surprised or upset was if she was on the list. After all, she hadn't chosen a side and had decided to run instead and keep low. However, her other nature would also get the best of her and she would wind up stealing things to survive. She wasn't exactly an exemplar citizen...in well, any country.

***
Sam grunted and wiped the blood away that was trinkling down his lips with the back of his hand. He stared at the stupid men that were sent to grab him. "Bunch of prissys. Next time send more of a challenge." He challenged the dead men around him. "Well, it was nice doing business with ya gents." He laughed and walked out of the alleyway that he had lured the men into. That was fun. He thought to himself as he reverted his metal arms back to their original, "normal" state. Placing his hands in his pockets, he whistled as he walked among the desolate streets of New York City, wondering who else he could pick a fight, or better yet, if any more agents were sent to kill him. He was tired of running, and it was about time that he did something about it...to make those "regulars", as he nicknamed ungifted humans, regret the day they ever tried to kill him.

***
Jack Kane stood in front of Congress, addressing them and pleading with them. "Those with abilities are not a threat. They are human! We need to be helping them understand who they are, and make peace with them. If we continue with this ridiculous notion that they are inhumane, war will be upon us!" Jack pleaded as he heard some voices of disagreement. "My stance is that if we help them, work with them, then we can rebuild the United States into something better! A more peaceful and powerful country that our founding fathers can be proud of! It states in our the Declaration of Independance, "We the people" not "We the the People without powers!" He seemed to smirk at that comment. "We are all equal! We are all special, and so, we all need to be United! I stand here today to call a veto upon the decree of hunting down our fellowmen!"
An out roar began as Congressmen and Congresswomen began to shout agreement and disagreements across the Congress.
"They're animals, not humans!" Jack heard a Senator proclaim.
"Look what they did to New York! They're not welcomed here!"
Jack sighed, hoping that someone would realize the deadly decision they were making.

[Firestar]

OOC: Yep...there's just so much potential here. Original profiles can be thrown out the window and our characters be almost totally remade.

Dave rolled his eyes when Max brought up the topic of his gun. This was not the first time they'd had this conversation.
"I guess I don't have to have it. It is a little more convinent if I want to stay on the down-low, though. Less flashy than, say, dropping a roof on their heads or suffocating them." Truthfully, he didn't care much for the weapon either. Guns never had been his thing, until now. But if he was assigned to kill someone who could steal abilities, or otherwise stop him from using his, it was good to have as a backup.
He kept his face blank as Max asked about his message. So she'd noticed...he really should have expected it, but the fact still made things complicated for him.
He shook his head and held onto her hand, forcing a smile. "No worries, babe. You're not on my hit list. Besides, I doubt I could manage to kill you anyway." He hoped she would leave it at that. He really didn't want to mention that on his hit list was his sister. Mentally, he was disgusted; his boss had probably arranged it that way. There were others he could have given her to, and he would never have needed to know she was even still alive.
~~~~~
Alicia licked her lips, the sweet taste of human blood still lingering on them. She really had no qualms about feeding off the men who tried to kill her. It brought her even more satisfaction than general feeding ever had, because she knew she was striking back at those weak, scared humans.
She trotted through the desolate streets; New York was much the same as it had always been. Dark, ruined, decay everywhere. Just as her first impression of it had been that day she woke up.
She frowned as a picture of a particular human came to her mind. She had no idea who he was, or even what his name was. But she knew he was in some way precious to her. She couldn't imagine why any human would mean anything to her. And he really couldn't be that special, since he'd never come for her.
She smiled as she spotted Sam perhaps a block or two away. Bounding forward, she caught up to him.
"Having fun?" she asked, reading his expression like a book.

[Max452]

OOC: Lol. Most definitely.

Max relaxed a bit after Dave told her she wasn't being hunted. She gave him a playful smirked. "You could try to kill me, but I'll just throw you against the wall....oh wait...I did that last night..." She gave him a sheepish grin, slightly embarrassed. She mentally pushed away Dave's words. She was positive that he meant it in a totally different way. She never said that she loved him, nor did he, or none that she would acknowledge. She hated being mushy, but she knew deep down, that she had come to love the man before her.

"Anyway," she began, trying to change the subject back to her concern. "is everything okay then? You know I didn't miss you're surprised and tense look." She playfully slapped his face with her free hand; the other gently holding his, but afterward, her hand lingered on his cheek, underlining her concern. "It's not like you; what's wrong?"

***
OOC: Alicia is thinking of Will right?

Sam stopped whistling at a sound of a female voice. He looked over his shoulder, his pace not slowing for Alicia. "Immensely." He replied, wondering what Alicia wanted. "What are you up to today?" He asked her, making his way toward a small shopping district. He briefly read some of the signs. La Petit Boutique ...7-Eleven...Books for Less. His eyes tore away from the signs, recognizing the usual path that he took back to his place.

[Firestar]

Dave smirked as Max gave him a sheepish grin, and found himself regretting even more the fact that he had to go to work today. He had no idea where he would be today if it weren't for her. Probably would have put a bullet in his brain before too long. Somehow Max had managed to give him a purpose, and a reason to live. On top of that, he knew he was undeniably in love with her, and it was more than just a feeling. The reason he kept hunting down these people day after day was out of hopes that one day the world would once again be a safe place for them. Maybe if that day came, the two of them could settle down...and possibly get married. Every time that thought crossed his mind, he would laugh to himself, trying to imagine the two of them one day as an old married couple.
When Max returned the topic back to her original concern, he sighed. On the one hand, he was glad she was worried about him, but he still didn't like her prying.
"I just thought I'd recognized a name on the list," he said with a shrug. "It's nothing, though. Now," he felt rushed in order to avoid her delving any deeper, "I really should get going. Especially if you want me back in time tonight to enjoy my company again before you leave for Siberia or wherever next." He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in and giving her an unnecessarily long goodbye kiss.
~~~~~
OOC: Yeah, she's thinking of Will. But she's had anmesia ever since the big booms.

Alicia giggled as she walked along with Sam, feeling energetic--maybe even hyper--after having drunk her fill earlier.
"Oh, the same," she told him. Sam had been the first person after she'd woken up who was like her. Well, like her in the day that he wasn't an ordinary human out to get her. It was because he was a kindred spirit that she hadn't killed him on the spot when they first met. Ever since then, she'd been tagging along almost everywhere he went. It was a nice friendship, and something about being with a man who was older than she was felt right, like something had almost clicked into place for her life.
"Some humans just tried to kill me, that was all. They were rather tasty." She grinned at him, then noticed a smear of blood on his lips and chin. She raised an eyebrow as she caught his chin with her quick fingers, never breaking her stride as they walked down the street.
"Geez, you make a bigger mess of yourself than I do," she said. She leaned in and licked the blood off his face, then smiled. "There. That's better."
OOC: Hehe, I think she's a little crazy in this universe.

[Max452]

Max didn't buy Dave's excuse, but before she had time to get it out of him, he made an excuse to leave. She was about to protest again, along with a nice snarky comment, but he distracted her. She mentally groaned to herself as he brought his lips against her's. Not from the kiss, but from the fact that Dave could easily distract her thoughts. Well, this wasn't like a bad distraction. She fell into his kiss, drawing her hands up to his face, dreading their separation. Thankfully, for both of them, well, for Dave at least, Max parted from him. "You better hurry back. And you know quite well that I hate the cold; I'm going to Mexico." She kissed him quickly. "Mmm, go. Before I decide to hold you hostage here." She opened the door. "If you get hurt, I'll kill whoever did it right after I kick your butt." She threatened, allowing him to leave.

***
Sam smirked at Alicia's energy. She must have had a good breakfast. "Yeah, they just attacked me too...they're getting bolder." He muttered to her as they walked closer to the flower boutique. He reflected to himself about how he and Alicia met. He was working for the government then. It happened right after they injected him. His powers took a bit to come, but they did eventually come. Right before the stupid explosion that knocked this place to oblivion. He spotted Alicia's grin and couldn't help give one of his own to her. She was a good kid, well, despite her diet. After the explosion, he found his own friends coming after him, and that was when he found Alicia. They immediately helped each other and since then, she never wandered too far. It was nice. To have a friend that didn't want to kill you. Although, he wondered if Alicia would ever try to bit him. As that thought came, Alicia licked him. "Alicia! Geez!" Sam jerked away, irritated. He took a hand and wiped where she licked him. "You know I hate when you do that." He relaxed after a moment. She was definitely uniqued.

They walked closer to the flower shop. Sam had always purposely walked this route for two reasons,one, the people here were nicer to them than other areas, and two, he always hoped to see the owner of the flower shop. He didn't know why, but he always felt drawn there. "Hey, Alicia," Sam decided to confide in his friend, "do you believe that people can know each other even if they never met each other?" He asked her, anticipating that one glance inside the flower shop window. He hoped he didn't sound too nuts.

[Firestar]

Dave raised an eyebrow and smiled when Max told him she was going to Mexico. Well, that wasn't too far. She would still be on the same continent, even. He chuckled at her parting statement.
"Kicking an injured person. Geez, you're an abusive woman." He tipped an imaginary hat to her as he walked out the door. "Adios, senorita." He left the apartment without glancing back, knowing she'd be waiting for him tonight. After he'd gone a fair distance, he glanced at his list again. The first person on his list was last spotted in Arizona. He put away the message and then concentrated on disassembling himself down to mere atoms, putting himself back together in the distant state. Gaining such mastery over his extreme telekinesis had been extremely difficult and dangerous, but it was well worth it. Though it was perhaps not as instantaneous as true teleportation, he could still travel the world in next to no time.
Once he was in Pheonix, he glanced around, looking for a clue as to exactly where he might start. He would find his target in less than ten minutes, he was sure.
~~~~~
Alicia snickered and rolled her eyes at the same time when Sam complained about her behavior.
"Well, you shouldn't go make such a mess of yourself. Someone has to keep you looking decent." She skipped alongside him, staring up at the dark gray sky. Sam had told her at one point that the sky was actually blue, and at night it would grow dark black with tiny points of light called stars, but she'd never seen them. It was always cloudy in the remains of New York. She wasn't sure what she would even think of a blue sky.
She frowned at Sam's question. Something seemed to be bothering him, especially when they passed that old flower shop. She never could understand it, but maybe it was similar to the nameless human in her mind.
"I don't remember a thing about who I am and where I came from, and you're asking me if it's possible to know someone without meeting them?" she asked. She giggled again, but then turned more serious. "I don't know. There is that guy that I keep thinking about...I don't know who he is, but I can't help but think he's somehow important to me. And then there's...other things." She struggled as she tried to think of an explanation. "Sometimes when I look in the future, I don't think I'm actually seeing the future. I think it's...Well, it's like, I see New York the way you described it to me, before all this," she gestured to the familiar destruction. "But I know it's not the past, because I've seen calendars. It's like I'm seeing what might have happened if the explosion never happened."

[Max452]

Max made a suggestive raise of an eyebrow. "You always seemed to like it when I'm a bit...abusive." She rolled her eyes then, at Dave's imaginary hat. "See you, cowboy." She smirked as the door closed. Max made a small pout then. "Well, there goes my whole day." She muttered, placing a thin finger on her lip as she pondered. "I guess, I suppose, I can do a little shopping." She smirked at herself then. "There is an interesting art gallery that just opened up." Max grabbed her leather jacket and bounded off, all the while, praying that Dave would be okay.

***
Sam smirked at Alicia, "I always look descent." He told her as they continued to walk. He suddenly felt bad as Alicia talked about a sensitive topic - her memory. He really wondered what happened that made her not remember who she was. He listened as she turned serious. "What? like, an alternate time?" Sam looked at her skeptic. "You think we're suppose to be in another time? Like...the twilight zone?" He thought for a moment. "I think that's crazy. You know what, I think what I said was crazy...forget I said anything." He told her, walking closer to the shop.

[Firestar]

There you are, Dave thought as he located his first target. He considered his next action, and prepared a trap. He would need it if he had any chance.
After he set it up, he began to give an obvious chase. She was fast, as expected. He would never have been able to keep up. But that's why he'd planned. He set up a route that would take her directly to his trap, where he sprang the chains he'd found forward and cut off her escape route. The instant he sensed contact, he looped the chains around her wrists and ankles and suspended her in the air.
Kate's eyes were wide with shock. She was unable to move; she'd been caught, like a rat in a trap. She'd never been caught before. She watched as the man who'd chased her approached calmly, a placid look on his face. He pulled out the gun he carried and seemed to consider shooting her. Then he seemed to change his mind and put the gun away.
A moment later, she vanished. As if she'd never existed in the first place. Dave had simultaneously split every molecule in her body. It seemed the most merciful death he could give to one of his own kind. She didn't even suffer.
~~~~~
Alicia stared at Sam blankly. "Twilight Zone?" she asked. The guy seemed to come up with the weirdest ideas sometimes. She laughed a little when he said their ideas were crazy.
"Of course, but crazy isn't a bad thing," she said. "Being crazy is what keeps me sane."

[Max452]

OOC: AGH! Poor Kate...

Leo was walking back from the store, a bag of groceries in his hand. He was heading to his apartment, where he hoped he could just rest from a good hard day at work. He hadn't used his powers in years, fearful of that day when New York blew up. Since then, he cleaned his act up and started a normal life. He even got a real job and it wasn't bad. Who knew he would be good at being a normal citizen. He was still angry with his past, but, it was better then being chased. He gave it up. The blast was his wake up call. So now, he walked silently back to his apartment.

***
"Yeah, its a tv show...where different realities are possible..." Sam noticed the blank stare. "Never mind." He smiled at her laugh. "Well, that's just a paradox." He teased her a bit as they walked in front of the window of La Petit Boutique. His eyes scanned inside to see if the shopkeeper was there. He just wanted his daily glimpse of her...that was all. That wasn't creepy was it?