2020-06-11: Trouble With Time

Players:

ConnorF_icon.jpg RashmiF_icon.jpg RobynF_icon.jpg

Summary: Trouble With Time

Date: June 11, 2020

Trouble With Time

Rating: PG-13


The Future - The Underground - Meeting Room

One of the bigger tunnels has been turned into a meeting room for those who are plotting the next stab at freedom or the next sentinel attack. There are lights hanging from the pipes above and table in the middle of the area where people can stand around as there isnt really room for chairs. Papers and maps cover the table and there are boxes on shelves with information thats been gathered. This is the only place down in the mutant tunnels that has some electricity from a small generator that's charge via mutant powers and its used sparingly so that the Rebellion can gather information to make their next move.


Last night was a tough night but Robyn found out what he could, he's got some papers in front of him in the meeting room. He's called Rashmi and Volk in here, disappointed that Lucas wasn't to be found but if he shows up later he'll let him know. He hasn't slept since he got back, just kind of anxious with news. He's got a cup of Dingo's homemade brew that's he's been taking large gulps from before he starts talking. "Tooth is back…and he's at the Hunter's Den. Things are…fucked up." He says for lack of a better word.

Back in his full gear, rifle slung behind him, and the new sniper rifle leaning against the table as he moves to sit down, Volk writes down in soft print, -You have no idea, Robyn.- His face somber seeming, serious, a lot of the old and angry man the pair have come to know in the past 2 years… but there seems to be a new edge to it.

"Makes sense," Rashmi murmurs, leaning against the table and paging through sheaf after sheaf of old notes, tearing a small divot in the top middle of each page that needs updating. "Salem Center's close enough to a forward outpost he'd eventually be there once he'd gotten back." Looking up from her notes, she reads over Volk's note at a glance, brow furrowing, then up to the mercenary. "…Sounds like you've found something too… Okay. What are the details, Robyn? It sounds like you've got more than a position."

Looking through the papers he passes them to Volk first. "I do have an idea." The problem is Robyn and Connor are talking about two sperate things right now. "Tooth is one of their top Hunters on some sort of…special program. He's a free hunter, basically they let him run free they just have him check in occasionally to reset a device installed in his spine, that if detonated..well..it's bad. He needs to reset it in order to keep on going. He was in Africa, he volunteered to come back New York to ferret out the resistance. He's gonna be one of the ones that's going to be going into the subway tunnels to ferret us out and collapse them. I got his physic profile….he's been reprogrammed by them once but he's considered loyal just not eligible for promotion. I dunno. Though I did find out he has a handler…I'm gonna be going in there."

After looking back and forth for several moments, and then picking up and rifling through the file… Volk stops and closes it. Walking away from the chair he was in he paces back to the end of the long room and stands there in the darkness for several moments… just doing nothing. Finally, he walks back to the group, and then reaches over to write something on the back of a map report, -I cannot explain this properly to either of you, but something happened last night. I was dreaming of another reality. You both know this is what my power does to me, but this time… the dream I think became memory. I remember it clearly, like I lived it, instead of just remembering it like a scene. Ahab was there. Ten years ago in Central Park, and he took Cam and Jeremy as Hounds. He also impaled To-… He stops and then erases that, -James with a harpoon, claiming him as his own. I don't think this happened, but it feels real. But it feels wrong. Chloe, Betsy, and Dunstin are also all aware that this h

-But it feels wrong. Chloe, Betsy, and Dunstin are also all aware that this has occured. This changes EVERYTHING. Even revenge.-

Rashmi listens intently, slowly lowering the papers in her hands. "Okay, do we have a name for the handler? …Maybe even a file, however much of a miracle that'd be? Because if we c—" Trailing off as Volk's report grows in length, the furrow between her eyebrows grows deeper and deeper. "Um, Volk… Cam and Jeremy were *always* Hounds, remember? What you're talking about… that was when all this insanity started. You and everyone else coming back from Central Park, talking about what happened, scaring the living daylights out of everyone. We tried to find them, but…" She shakes her head, sighing quietly. "…I didn't think Dunstin would ever recover, you know…?"

"No, I don't have a name for the handler, but I'm gonna find out and I'm going to become that handler." Robyn says answers Rashmi before stopping and nodding along with her. "Yeah, they were the first two hounds. The day James came back…." His voice trails off as he doesn't want to remember the days when he cared. "But that was the day that changed everything, when he got Cam and Jeremy and…" There's a shudder as he can't help but let the hounds scare him. "But I know your dreams Volk so….what do you mean this changes everything, even revenge?"

Locking eyes with Robyn for a long moment, Volk turns the paper over, and then looks back and forth, before writing down, -HEATHER. The day I got back into town because of the deal I burned, was the day she was taken. Last night was when the whatever it was happened. Last night I saw them taken. Heather can manipulate time. The Ahab who I saw was not the Ahab of ten years ago. It was the Ahab of today. He called me Volk. Not Connor.-

Rashmi's gaze turns inward for a moment, lips moving in echo of memory. "Heather Brown, codename: Timeslip is dead… Kill her on sight. Signed, Heather Brown, codename: Timeslip…." Her eyes widen. "I was right. Oh, shit, I was…" Pushing away from the table, she hugs her arms, thinking as she talks. "Okay. Okay. We can work with this. Volk. Get ahold of all of them. Chloe, Betsy, Dunstin. I want them all here, and I want Jericho. We need to verify this, and if you're right…? Then we need to start thinking on this *right now.* Robyn. Work on the handler, but don't move until after we've gotten everyone done with this meeting. You're the Redeemer's planning guy, we'll need you *bad* for this."

"I'm not doing until I'm rested, this is something I actually need sleep for." When's the last time Robyn said that. "So…FUCK! They got us on this one and I couldn't even see it coming. There was -nothing- on this, damnit I've been looking in the wrong fucking spot the entire time." He says slamming his fist on the table. "Heather…time travel…it's all part of the puzzle…I'm gonna be doing a lot of recon out there, a lot." He says shaking his head mad about the situation and mad at himself.

Volk then writes down and circles, -WHO/WHAT are we being diverted from?- Tapping that a few times before giving Rashmi and Robyn an apologetic look, but then walks over and puts his hands on Rashmi's shoulders and looks down at her, and there's a rasping thing that comes from him as they both here softly spoken in a voice that seems half-animal in it's growl, "Sor…ry…" His jaw clenching as he then looks away from her but remains touching.

"At the moment, nothing." Rashmi taps one of the maps scattered on the table, glaring at a two-inch circle of nothing as her mind races. "Keep making the plans, keep collecting whatever information we can. We don't know if we *can* do much about this as things stand, so there's no sense in abandoning everything else on our plate. Besides. Whatever *we* get out of it, taking James out still keeps *other* people safe abroad. But we need to get *all* the information we can together, or we're going to screw it up badly somewhere."

The sound of Volk's voice causes Robyn's heart to skip a beat but he shakes his off fast wheeling himself next to Rashmi and his voice is very dull, it's that thing Robyn does when he knows he is getting too close to feeling and shuts it all off. "Okay…so, Rashmi, since we can't screw this up. Before I go out anywhere, I'll talk with you or Jericho first. Any hit I sent Volk on….if you're still up for it, I run by you and Jericho first. We need three eyes looking at everything. I'm still going to find James, after all, he's still a hunter. Heather doesn't change what he's done, I agree Rash. Now…tomorrow I'll find his handler." He says a he hates seeing Rashmi in so much pain cause of what happened with her daughter and with Luke. "We just have many things we have to do now, to focus on. Not just one goal but several. We should start making different areas for different puzzles with different clues /and/ start restricting who sees this stuff since I agree with Jeri that their might be a mole."

Exhaling once, Volk leans back once more, removing his hands from Rashmi and then removes his rifle and settles it next to the sniper rifle, the merc steeples his fingers on the table. Tapping the table once more, he then takes the paper and erases part of what he wrote down. A frown creases the balaklava for several moments before after a sense of careful consideration he writes down -No. I'm not a part of the resistance or the redeemers. I never have been. I made my peace with things a long time ago. What you're asking me to do is tantamount to joining. That means I have to trust Jericho, and I have to submit to a mindscan. I -CANNOT- do that. If I do… I don't know what will happen to me. You need Volk. I'll work the same as we have before. I'll also take the targets I can. Hate it all you want, but it's the only way this can work.-

Rashmi's eyes narrow at the note, lips pressing into a thin line. For a long moment, she falls silent, the only sound that comes from her is slow, steady breathing, and the errant pop of knuckles as her hands clench now and again. "….Fine," she says, her voice hard as she turns away from the table. "We'll get someone else to get everyone together. I'll have a target for you by tomorrow."

"That's not what I'm asking Volk…I just want to make sure I'm not making mistakes and asking you to kill the wrong person." Robyn says quietly not looking at either of them, keeping his eyes fixed on a map in front of him. "But yes, we'll work the same way and speaking of same way I got you info on Tooth, where's my chocolate?" He finally looks over with a smile as he turns around in his wheelchair. "I just can't afford to make a mistake and over look something like this again. I can't." Robyn says through clenched teeth as his fist hits the arm of his chair as if he's mad at hismself.

Rubbing along the un-covered side of his face, there's a grumble that comes from the merc before he suddenly throws up his hands in frustration. He begins to gesticulate almost wildly at Rashmi's back, as if silently having an argument. Motioning his hands at her, he shakes them, slapping his palms on his hands, and hanging his head as he grits his teeth. Suddenly he rounds on Robyn and motions at her with both hands, angry and expectant at the same time, then crosses his arms, and for some reason crosses around BEHIND the redeemer and stands there tapping his foot…

"You know I can tell when you're ranting at me, Volk," Rashmi's voice drifts calmly from behind her back. "You'll have to get farther away to pull that off."

Robyn just shrugs at Volk as if to say 'and I'm supposed to help you how?' "Sorry Volk…Rashmi's head strong in her thoughts, she's been like that since we were kids, remember?" He wheels around the room looking until he finds a piece of paper and a pen and starts writing stuff down like 'Heather, Cam, Jeremy, Ahab, James, 2010, start, time shift, Volk' "When Luke gets back, you can tell him what I found out, or I can. I just hope I didn't laspe on my 8 hours and he's doing something…Luke like." Meaning stupid.

Into the pocket of his BDUs, Volk digs out something, and sets down next to Robyn a block of mexican chocolate, complete with little pieces of smoked pepper inside of it. There's another heavy exhale as he walks around to Rashmi once more and removes the HUD-eye, the removes the balaklava. Meeting her eyes with his bare face, there's an angry set to his jaw… and leaning in close, he brings his fingers up and barely brushes the two bare ones to her lips… but then they fall away. Looking down and off to one side, there's an almost resigned sound from deep in his throat before he looks back up, and closing his eyes… he nods once.

Rashmi turns her head to one side, not meeting the mercenary's eyes. "I already promised you, Volk. You do what you need to do. We'll do the same. Offer's still open, but nobody can make you pick it up. That'll be your call to make." Taking a deep breath, she turns to the maps. "Okay… so. First order of business, get a message to Jericho five minutes ago. That's not a figure of speech, anymore."

Robyn takes the chocolate and breaks off three small pieces, giving one to Rashmi and one to Connor, the rest is saved for him and for trading purposes. "Thanks Volk. So…yes..message to Jeri five minutes ago. As soon as he's back we tell him. I'll see what I can dig up on anything with time control. I wonder if I can get closer to Ahab somehow, close to his hounds…." He doesn't know if that's a risk he's willing to take, even if he can do it. The hunters are something different. "So whose giving Ahab the orders? That's what I want to know."

Coming back to the table, Volk writes down, -Psylocke. I am going to speak to her. According to Chloe, she may be even immune to the time shifts. If it happens again, all the information we get may become moot, or worse, gone. And I don't know how much I will know when it comes again. Whatever else, she needs to be involved from this point forwards. Please. You KNOW how I feel about telepaths. This is ME asking.- Standing up and crossing his arms, he finally reaches down and slings up the sniper rifle over his shoulder, barrel up. Taking up the assault rifle, it rests comfortably in his hands before it's set on the table and maps so he can pull his mask and HUD back in place, waiting for the other's responses.

Rashmi turns back nodding absently as she scans over the note. "Thank you, Volk…. Seriously. For everything. I just…." Sighing, she lifts a shoulder, snatching a relatively unfilled sheet of paper and copying down Robyn's notes. "Mnh. We've had this argument already, and we don't have any more time for diversions. I'll see if I can't get ahold of Chloe, and is Robin too dead to keep training, or will you want an interpereter soon?" Looking up at Robyn, the redhead frowns slightly. "It didn't even occur to me that he *is* taking orders. I'll have to try and corral Magneto and see if he has any ideas."

"I'm convinced he is, or that he's working with someone. He has the hounds but Ahab doesn't control the Hunters or the Sentinels, there's more than one force here and they're allied. But…there's gotta be someone uptop right?" Robyn says as a lot of the emotional stuff is just blocked out by him. "I'll talk to Betsy for you Volk. She won't get in your head, promise. You heading out?" He asks Volk as he notices him getting geared up.

Volk shakes his head, and points at himself, twice for emphasis. The rifle is taken up and slung to the opposite shoulder, now resting in both hands. A look is shot at Rashmi and then written down is, -I talk to Psylocke. Robyn talks to Jericho. Rashmi talks to Chloe. We had our jobs from the beginning. Don't take burdens you don't owe, and stop trying to coddle me. Meet and discuss later.- That little bit of a smile comes back as he rests the rifle in his grip once more. Turning to leave, a few steps and then stops next to Rashmi. Reaching down to her hand he touches the ring… and only the ring. And then he walks out… nothing else.

"He's right," Rashmi murmurs, watching Volk walk out the door. "We all have our jobs to do. Let's be about it, then. We can worry about the rest after the dust settles." Drawing in a deep breath, she shakes her head, turning the ring around her finger. "Robyn… Is it just me…. or did everything just get a whole lot more urgent?"

"Everything's always been urgent Rash..but I know what you mean." Robyn is very distance right now and has that careless look in his eyes. "I'll talk to Jeri as soon as I see him, but things have just been upped. They have the edge, and edge we never could have imagined. Who ever thought time travel would be a factor in this? I never did. It's something we all overlooked and…fuck Time travel Rash…how do we counter that?"

"I don't know," Rashmi murmurs, frowning down at the maps. "….But you know what, Robyn…? If we *can?* That means…. if we take this fight into *time travel,* we…" The redhead sighs, closing her eyes and shaking ehr head. "…We could make it so this war *never happened.* And… yeah okay maybe it's crazy, but…. that's *got* to be worth something, right?"

Robyn pushes his hair back with both hands and shakes his head. "You still have hope don't you?" It's not asked in a mean or a nice way, just asked as he rolls himself over to look at something pinned to the wall. "How are we gonna get involved in time travel, what do we have on our side that will allow it? And is it really going to be that easy to forgive what we've done even if it 'never happened'. I'm sorry Rashmi but this is all happening now, we can't run from that."

"I've got to, Robyn," Rashmi says, voice weary, older than her years. "There's just no other choice anymore. If I don't… I can't keep fighting. No matter *what* we do… We have to be doing it for a purpose, you know?"

"I fight for our future, that's my purpose. So that one day this will be over and we won't have to live in fear." Robyn says as hope is something he just can't feel anymore it's easy to see how far off he is from the person he used to be but at the same time so much the same. "We'll explore this time travel angle but I'm afraid they might have us on this Rash….fucking a." He says as this is just beyond anything he thought.

Rashmi pauses on her way out the door, lips pursing. "They don't, Robyn. They don't have us at all. And the harder we think that, the more likely it'll be when we find out how to screw them over once and for all." The door is hauled open, and she comes to a halt again. "I know what's happened to you, Robyn. But you need to start caring again. For *your* sake."

Robyn grips the handles of his wheel chair as Rashmi says the last words and he looks down and whispers to her, "I can't Rashmi…I just can't." And he doesn't move, he just lets her leave if she wants to. It's so hard for him to let all that emotion spill over, it's too much for him to handle. "Not until this is over."

Rashmi does walk out the door, the last thing heard from her before the door closes; "I'm sorry, Robyn."

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