Players:
Summary: Envy runs into one of the members of her old crime syndicate.
Date: June 6, 2020
Title: Memories of Another Life
Rating: G
The Future - NYC - Mutant Town
The air has a permanent stench of burning rubble and death about it. Most of the buildings have been reduced to nothing, as Mutant Town was where a large battle between mutants and sentinels took place, with the sentinels winning. Many mutants lost their lives the day the sentinels destroyed the area. The neighbor hood has become a burned shell. The Homeless people tend to find small areas to hide and sleep amongst the rubble of Mutant Town but nowadays, not many people find reason to travel here. Occasionally you can find graffiti on the wreckage spouting messages to loved ones who died here.
Additional NPCs
Scene
Mutant Town is not nearly what it had once been. Once a place where mutants could walk freely, it has since become not more than a tomb. The light of the setting sun reflects off of the puddles that have accumulated in the many craters of the area.
Envy looks toward the sky for a moment, watching a patrol of Sentinels as they pass overhead. Mutant Town rarely turns up any quarry, but occasionally the Hound gets lucky and picks up someone stopping by to leave flowers. The woman hops down from a pile of rubble that was once a Sentinel. She prepares to leave the area when she catches sight of movement out of the corner of her eye. The woman turns her head and sees a shadow dart into the skeleton of a nearby building.
The woman proceeds forward quickly, materializing a crystal scythe as she trots into the building after the movement. It is possible that what she saw was a homeless human, they can frequently be found roving around this area. It is also possible that what she saw was a stray dog or cat, as the city has been filled with them ever since the battles had displaced their owners. Envy enters the building and sees the shadow dart up the stairs. It is definitely human and seems to be trying to get away from her. She follows slowly, knowing that this could be a trap. “You would do best to show yourself. If you are not a mutant you are free to go. If you are a mutant, then hiding will only make this harder for you.”
The woman steps into a room and stops, grabbing her head. Suddenly the room is new and undamaged. A man stands next to the window, his face shadowed out by the glair of the sun. The image is gone as soon as it appears. Only a flash, a shadow of a memory that may have happened in another life. Envy shakes her head and continues on, passing through a door and into another room. This one also causes the woman to stop, pausing to examine a large photograph hanging on the wall. Though the image has deteriorated over time, it clearly shows seven individuals. One of those in the picture is Envy herself.
A male voice speaks out from the shadows behind Envy. “I can’t believe it. I’d heard that you survived Envy, but I thought they were just rumors. But here you are, back home again.” The man steps out of the shadows to approach the woman. The man speaks in an Irish accent and wears sunglasses even indoors. The sunlight streaming through a shattered wall causes his red hair to shine like gold. “But it’s not really you, is it Envy? I’d heard you work for him now. The same man who killed your precious Wrath.”
Envy Turns to face the voice. The man is similar to one from the picture on the wall behind her, but he appears to have aged ten years since this photograph was taken. “This section of the city is off limits to civilians. If you are human, then you may leave immediately.” She holds up a hand-scanner similar to the ones the Sentinels use. It beeps an affirmation that the man before her is indeed a mutant. “It seems that you will not be given that chance. Come quietly and you will be allowed to live.” She raises her scythe and proceeds forward slowly. If this mutant remembers her from the past and approaches her so willingly, he may have a very strong ability. If she can capture him she is certain the Master will be pleased.
The man shakes his head. “Envy, Envy. Is that any way to treat an old associate? You remember me, don’t you? How could you forget good old Lust?” As he speaks his name he removes his sunglasses, revealing his heterochromatic eyes. His left eye is a vibrant green, while the right is a bright blue. He locks eyes with the woman, refamiliarizing her with his ability. When he heard that Envy was alive, Lust assumed one of two things: she had awaken with amnesia, or she was taken by the enemy. He did not expect the truth to be a combination of the two. He hopes that by speaking to the woman he will be able to awaken some of her older memories, but in order to speak with her safely he will need to sedate her slightly.
Envy looks into the mans eyes and has another flash, this time it is of Lust and a woman with black hair laughing and playing a card game. This memory also fades quickly, leaving Envy to pursue the man again. By Envy does not approach further. She finds it suddenly hard to move, as though she is overcome with a combination of severe vertigo and fatigue. The woman drops her scythe and leans against an old desk, squinting her eyes as she looks at the man. “You…You stop…Stop whatever…Doing…You…Arrest…”
Lust steps forward, keeping his eyes locked on Envy’s. “That’s right. Ya never could resist me eyes, could ya love?” He narrows his eyes at the woman, staring into her eyes as though searching for something. “You recognized me there for a second, didn’t you? You’re still in there aren’t you Envy?” He knows that the Hounds are reprogrammed, but he is unsure about what the reprogramming does to the subject’s memories. “But you didn’t remember enough. You didn’t know not to look me in the eye.” He takes a casual stance and reduces his power level slightly, still keeping the woman sedated while allowing her enough clarity to speak.
Envy sways slightly and falls down on her knees, trying for the world to remember why she came here in the first place. The mutant, that’s right. This mutant here. What is he doing to her? She feels almost drunk. Envy tries to stand but finds her balance to be a bit off. “Who are you? You said your name was Lust? The Lust of the Sins is recorded in our systems as having been killed four years ago. There is no way you could avoid detection for that long.” She tries to steady herself as she kneels on the floor, still too dizzy to stand. What is this place? It seems somehow familiar, but Envy has no memory before joining Ahab. Where did she come from? Who is this man that claims to know her? And why does he make her wonder such things?
Lust gets down on one knee and looks at the other woman. He reaches out to her and looks for a moment as though he may touch her face, but his hand stops before he does. “My poor Envy. You really don’t remember, do you? How could you forget us? We were your family. This place? Our home.” He gestures to the destroyed building around him. “And Wrath. Don’t tell me you don’t even remember your dear Wrath.”
Envy’s head is too clouded to use her abilities with any accuracy. Whether it be from this man’s ability or because she wants to hear what he has to say Envy cannot decide, but for the moment she does not move to retaliate. “Wrath?” That first flash is back, the man silhouetted against the sun. It is gone almost immediately again, and though she tries she cannot picture the man’s face. “What are you doing to me? You are trying to implant false memories to try and turn me against my Master. I will have you yet.” She lunges forward toward the man and materializes a crystal dagger, slashing it toward the man calling himself Lust.
Lust doesn’t even need to dodge Envy’s attack. She is affected by his ability to the extend that she stumbles sideways halfway through her thrust. He shakes his head and looks down at the woman, his expression one of great sadness. “Oh Envy, I can’t believe that they got you. I should probably kill you now, but Wrath wouldn’t want that.” He kicks her dagger away from her and uses his foot to roll the woman onto her back. “Sorry to do this to you love, but I can’t have you following’ me back.” Lust closes his eyes for a moment and reopens them. They are no longer the mismatched blue and green, but have both turned deep red in color.
Envy breathes heavily and closes her eyes, trying to clear her head of whatever it is this man has done to her. When she is flipped over she attempts to avoid eye contact, but she catches the new color and is drawn to his gaze again. As soon as she makes eye contact her body goes rigid. In her mind it seems as though days pass by. Days in which all she can experience are dizzying confusion and a numbing paralysis. More images flash in her mind, though these ones seem disconnected from earlier, perhaps hallucinations caused by whatever ability Lust has just used on her.
Lust shakes his head as he looks down at his former comrade. He closes his eyes again and reopens them to reveal his usual blue-green combination. He replaces his sunglasses and walks away from the woman. The effects of his gaze will wear off in a couple of minutes, though she may still feel drunk for an hour or two. He figures she’ll be fine though. With all of the Sentinels around many of the mutants who would take this opportunity to kill a helpless Hound will probably avoid this area of town. Lust takes one last look at Envy before leaving her there on the floor.
After what seems like days have passed Envy finally is able to move and think clearly. In truth she can not have been laying on the floor for more than fifteen minutes, but the experience still causes her to vomit. It will take her another thirty minutes before she feels well enough to head back to the compound. Once she returns, she immediately updates the information she remembers from her meeting. If Lust is still alive, then others they have listed as deceased may still be prowling around the city as well. If that is the case she will find them, and she will capture them.
~ Fin ~
