3621/Memory's Path

Memory's Path
Date of Scene:	10 January 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Vincent Black, White Phoenix

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Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent has completely recovered from his trip with Batman and is taking it slowly since helping Hope escape from SHIELD custody, and yet he's back at his appartment. In the bedroom, he has his mattress flipped over and against the wall with a duffle bag on the floor with him rooting around in the closet. The man doesn't seem happy, but he's far too focused on the guns and devices stuffed into his closet.

    The man pulls out a small metallic egg from the very bottom of his closet and moves it so slowly and carefully into the bag, with his back turned towards the doorway, making sure Hope can't see the thing and he covers it with a pair of black underwear, to deter his redhead.

    Vince doesn't speak any words towards Hope, he's certain she knows what to do. They're emptying the apartment to get a fresh start and get to work on this X-Force thing.

White Phoenix has posed:
    Hope has already stripped her own room. She didn't have a whole lot to begin with. They hadn't been back in this timeline that long really. A few clothes, a couple of pictures of her with Cable or Vincent. One with all three of them whch was her personal favorite. She has one bagged filled with weapons. Because, one can never have toom any of those. She has couple of high tech ones from her time in the future. Her BFG and a handheld energy blaster. Other than that, it was things from this world. From AR-15s to semi automatic guns. She doesn't have any automatics. Yet. They hadn't quite gotten that far before everything went to hell in a handbasket.

    There is another bag in the kitchen already filled with non-perishable food items. A few MREs are in the mix. They can get more of those later.

    She wanders to Vincent's bedroom door, glancing in just in time to see absolutely nothing that he was doing. "I'm about set. You?"

Vincent Black has posed:
    "Yeah, I'm ready to---" Vincent's interrupted by a loud shaking boom as the entire apartment building rocks, sways, and all sound is washed out by an enormous deep WHOOMPHF sound and the windows shatter inwards, raining glass into the living room and the master bedroom, showering the ground and Vincent's bag and his hunched over form with shards.

    The explosion billowing black smoke and orange fire into the air from the appartment building next door. The place smells of fire and there's a ringing in the ears of Vincent and Hope and anyone else that was close enough to have been in part of the blast radius. "HOOOOOPE!" Vincent cries out as he stands up, grabbing at his bag and turning towards the living room where she was coming from.

White Phoenix has posed:
    Hope had made it to the hallway before the explosion. It's the only reason why she isn't hurt more badly from the glass exploding into the room from the shattered windows. There are a few scrapes and cuts but it isn't nearly as bad as it would've been if she'd still be in the living room.

    "I'm alright, Dad!" she yells back. She realized she had drawn a gun from her waistband when she fell, automically taking the defensive as though it was an attack. When she realizes it is, she jumps to her feet and shoves the gun into her waistband at the small of her back. Then she rushes into his room. "You okay? What was that?" She looks toward the window and sees the building next door. "Oh holy hell."

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent is slowly pushing himself off the ground and winces with a groan before he reaches over his shoulder with a frown as he can't quite make it. There's a large piece of glass stuck into his back and it slowly dawns on Vincent, "Little help?" The cop asks his daughter, turning the injury towards her and points.

    Outside, the smoke and ash and fires plume and billow into the air. Sound slowly begins to return with the tinkling sound fading out of Hope and Vincent's ears and the sounds of screams and cries fill the air. From within the inferno and tumbling bricks walks out a single figure, wearing a long black jacket with sleeved all torn and scorched with a pair of fingerless gloves on the man's fingers. He has black hair that curls down from his head in sweat soaked strands as he steps out of a window and onto the ground, ash and soot and dust streaming off him and his long duster. He has a cruel smile on his thin lips as he looks left then right and then wanders off deeper into the apartment complex.

White Phoenix has posed:
    Taking the piece of glass carefully, Hope pulls it free and tosses it on the floor nearby. It's kind of silly to try to find a wastebasket since thare are hundreds of other glass pieces already scattered all over the furniture and floor. She knows it will heal but she does give a quick glance at the wound before moving closer to the window.

    At that moment, the figure leaves the building that has been demolished. Normally she wouldn't judge someone on their appearance but the way he smiles, she feels the hairs on the back on her neck stand up. "Tell me I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing. He...Did he...?" She looks over at Vincent in concern then quicky back to the man as he is walking further into the complex. "If he did that, we can't let him go."

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent turns his head to face Hope at the same time she looks to him and he lets her speak. "Come on. It's moving out day." The man says in the worst one liner of his lengthy life as he picks up his duffle bag and the extra bag in the kitchen. He's the bigger of the two, so he carries more weight. That's the rule. Though she's starting to catch up to her not very tall dad.

    Vincent pulls out his personal pistol, careful to not grab his police issue weapon. The thought goes through his head to leave his badge and gun in the apartment, but he refuses. "Hope, don't draw on his powers." The cop says as he boots down his own door and quickly makes his way down the stairs.

    The man is moving towards the parking lot where many people have started to gather, to watch the building burn down, many people are crying or gasping, some are trying to call 911, and yet the man in black keeps walking through the crowd before he suddenly stops and grabs his stomach, doubling over.

White Phoenix has posed:
    "No danger of that," Hope mutters. Perhaps a little bitterly. She still hasn't had any hint of power since the day she tried to kill Magneto. Since her gift was stripped from her. She slings her two duffles over her shoulders and quickly follows after him. "What's going on?" she asks as they rush down the stairs to the outside world.

    There she sees the man as he enters the crowd. For a moment, she is terrified he might hurt someone but then he is doubling over. Her brow knits together as she looks to Vincent, wondering if they are going to do or say something or simply get out of dodge. Already there are sirens in the distance, responding to those 911 calls.

Vincent Black has posed:
    "That was almost identical to when we met..." Vincent says with a soft frown as his back finishes healing and the mutant is walking towards the parking lot. The man is what set off the last 20 years of Vincent's life, roughly, and the detective wants to thank him for all the trouble and pain caused by the mutant who has refused to seek help, and instead now seems to enjoy his life of evil. Vincent stacks up next to a large van and hunkers down low, his hand pressed agaisnt the panel as he checks his pistol, making sure the bullet is chambered and ready. He motions Hope over and gives her a few signals to keep an eye on the man. He's dangerous. Especially dangers, Vincent wants to be the one to approach, he's the only one who can close the distance without fear.

    The siren calls seem to cause the man to snap his head up as he looks around and frowns. "Damn. Too fast. Ruining my fun." He snarls before shoving his way out of the crowd with a heavy shoulder and elbow into the side of a woman with a young child clinging to her knee crying. Seems like he's more than just a vile man, he's rude. His fingers begin to glow orange as it seems like he's charging up and moving towards the sounds of the sirens.

White Phoenix has posed:
    That gets Hope's attention. She blinks as it hadn't even sunk in. There is a sharp intake of breath from her. She looks more sharply at the suspect. Because that is what he is now. This is the one that was there that day, the one that a toddler copied powers from that she didn't understand or know how to control. This was the man that ruined her life. Or saved it since it brought her to her Father. Then to Cable who became a second father to her. All because of this man.

    She shifts into tactical mode, following Vincent and taking up her position keeping track of the man. She hears his words and she frowns, knowing that he is going to be going after the cops now. She can't let that happen. She looks to her father and frowns. He knows those responding. The cops, probably the firefighters too. Some may be friends.

    They can't let the man do what he has planned. Her own gun is back in hand as she shifts around the van, letting Vincent take point but not going to allow him to go without someone watching his back.

    Not for the first time, she wishes her powers were back.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent darts forward and into the crowd. "WPD! FREEZE!" The detective screams loudly as he raises his weapon to level at the man's head.

    "A cop. Good. I was waiting for you to show up. This is going to be a blast!" The man cackles loudly as his entire face starts to glow the same orange color as his fingers and then his hair begins to lift off his face and back, glowing even his scalp.

    Vincent starts to turn his back to duck, this is going to hurt and for some reason he thinks of only saving Hope in this instant.

White Phoenix has posed:
    It's a calculated risk. Trying to interfere with the man when he is powered up may lead to him releasing all that energy in another explosion which will take her father and her in the process. To do nothing, then her father will be the target of all that power. He'll survive. Hope has seen him take blasts from Sentinels. She has no doubt he will.

    But he is still her father. This is the man that is responsible for everything that has happened. He is the one that set her on the path her life took, as surely as Magneto was. She failed against the master of magnetism. She will not fail her father.

    BOOM!

    The sound of the gunshot is loud, sending people running and screaming in a scramble to get away. They seem to be moving in slow motion as they turn to run.

    BOOM!

    One to the heart. One to the head. Just like her Father taught her to do.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent drops to his knees and hands as the gunshots ring out and moments after the gunshots ring out, the body hits the concrete in a heavy, wet crunch splat with a gasp of wind exiting his lips.

    Vincent rolls over onto his back and props his head up with his elbows on the ground. Quickly rolling over and getting to his feet, Vincent runs towards Hope and takes her wrist in one hand. "We've got to go." He says, before starting to run with Hope in tow towards his car.

White Phoenix has posed:
    It isn't her first kill. It won't be her last. Hope watches as the orange glow disappears from the man as he is falling toward the ground. No explosion. With that, he will never destroy another building. He will never hurt another person. She doesn't feel a thing as she quickly tucks her gun back into the waistband at the small of her back then she is hefting her two bags and running to the car with her father.

    The trunk opens and she throws the two bags into it then runs around to the passenger side to pull open the door and slip inside. She can hear the sirens getting closer. The people that had been in the parking lot have run to hide anywhere they can find once the shots were heard. Some may even report what they saw.

    Others will never say a word. They will officially say they saw nothing. The man who was taken down destroyed their homes, their property. Maybe some of their friends or family were in that building when it blew. In their minds, this pair did what the cops wouldn't have. They did what needed to be done to take down a monster.

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent tosses his bags into the trunk and slams the thing shut before taking three steps around the car to get into the driver seat. He turns the key, throws it into drive and then squeals the tires as he sets off. The detective looks over at Hope as soon as they're on the road.

    "Are you okay?" Vincent asks with a glance towards his daughter. He knows she is, but it's been a hell of an afternoon. They just left the apartment he's owned for several years, but she's only been in it a few weeks, maybe months, so he realizes that wont bother her, but the girl did just kill the man that she stole the powers off of to set her down this path, this life that she's lived for the past fifteen years.

White Phoenix has posed:
    Her seatbelt is already fastened as they take off in the opposite direction the sirens are approaching from. They emergency responders will be busy with the apartment complex and the disaster there. They won't be after them for a while. It will give them time to put plenty of distance between them and the authorities.

    At the question, she glances over at her father and gives him a brief nod. "I'm alright." She wonders why he is asking. After all, she's killed plenty of people during the war. But none of those had effected her life as profoundly as the man back there dead on the concrete. "He's the one that was near the house. The one that caused me to blow up the building. Not on purpose. He couldn't have known I would copy him. Unless he was going to do so but I was the unforseen circumstance." She considers, looking out the windshield to the world racing by at high speed. "We'll never know. And I'm okay with that. He was evil." She glances back over at Vincent. "I'm sorry that I messed everything up. Made us leave this life. I seem to have messed up everything for you from the moment you found me."

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent hits the brakes, hard. The car tips forward under the heavy weight transfer, and the tires lock up and slide quite a ways on the cool ground. He turns the wheel reactionary as he keeps the car pointed straight and even aims it into a parking spot on the side of the road.

    Vincent turns to face Hope after shifting the transmission into park and he looks at her with his hard brown eyes. "I have NEVER regretted a single moment with you." There's the hint of tears welling up at the bottom of his eyes and he wants to reach out to comfort her but he can't physically move, his hands and knees are shaking. It's rage, fear, it's a desire to see her safe but he knows he can't protect her and it seems like they're stepping into a war again, an even darker more dangerous war somehow.

White Phoenix has posed:
    As the car comes to a stop, Hope looks over sharply at Vincent. His reaction is not what she expected. She finds herself staring at him with wide eyes, wanting to reach out and hug him but she can see that shaking. His emotions are running too hot right now. "Daddy," she says softly. That word carries all the love she has in her for the man beside her. It shows how much he means to her and how she worries. "I know you don't regret. But it's the truth. You had to live through the Mutant Wars again because of Cable and I. You had to give up your life. You had to become that person you were trying to get away from being." She does reach out a hand tentatively, trying to cover his.

    "Now, you've given up your career. Your home. Everything. To be on te run with me. Again." She shakes her head. "I can't help feeling responsible for that."

Vincent Black has posed:
    Vincent's hand rolls against the steering wheel to hold Hope's smaller hand in his smooth clean palm. The callouses she should have developed but thankfully didn't because of his healing factor in her blood. He holds her too tightly, with his eyes turning to face the gauge cluster blankly, he wants to pour his heart out, but it wasn't anything he ever learned how to do. However Hope has grounded him and wormed her way through his guards and emotional walls he's spent centuries building up and honing.

    "Hope. I'll give up everything for you." Whispers the ancient mutant with a hollow wheezy throat, a lump formed there over his daughter.

White Phoenix has posed:
    "You already did," Hope whispers back softly. She unhooks her seatbelt then leans over to hug him tightly. "I love you, Daddy," she murmurs against his shoulder. She sniffles softly, her own tears sliding down her cheeks and soaking his shirt. "We'll get through this. Like we have everything else. Together."