Players: Vinny
Summary: Part 1 of Vinny's Walkabout
Date: January 1, 2012
Log Title: Walkabout Pt 1
Rating: PG
Outback
A wide path of grassland, a few grazing animals dot the landscape here and there and beyond it lay the forests and hills of the true outback, the untamed wilderness. A simple dirt path is the only road through this region.
Vinny stood on the dirt path watching the cloud of dust that was the jeep his parents were in vanish into the distance and turned his gaze slowly towards the grassland in front of him with the forest and mountains beyond. A wave of emotions washed over him but mainly he couldn't help but think back to the events that lead to this. With his visa to the United States having expired in October he took Emma Frost up on her offer of catching a ride back to Australia using the X-men's Blackbird. A 6 hour flight sounded allot more appealing than the 24 hour flight he'd have to deal with on a commercial airline. He had them drop him about a mile from his home on the outskirts of Melbourne and walked from there. The house was just as he'd left it, sitting on the banks of a clear blue lake with only a few other lakeside homes in sight on the far end. He didn't bother to knock, he knew his folks wouldn't be home yet so he simply unlocked the back door and stepped inside. Hearing some activity in the house he tensed, his last memory of this place being the attack on his parents that outed him as a mutant and his bone spurs sprung from behind his wrists as he moved towards the sound. Mabye his time in the states had made him paranoid, but he wasn't thinking about that right now. His electrolocation sense told him there was somone else in the house and he cautiously crept into the kitchen, only to relax and retract the spurs as he saw the form of his family's friend and housekeeper. The old Aboriginal woman was humming a song to herself as she moved about the kitchen cleaning up and stopped to give him a wide smile as he made his presence known. "Vincent my boy! Come here and give old Hassi a hug!" Vinny grinned and hugged the elderly woman warmly. "Good to be home Hassi, looks like ya've kept things in order while I was gone." The old woman nodded and gave him a pat on the shoulder "Yes I been keepin' the house while your parents are at work, you want I should call them and tell them you've come home?" Vinny shook his head and smiled "Naw they'll see me when they get here, frankly right now I need a swim."
The cool clear water was a fresh relief that he'd not felt in over a year, the water in New York either polluted or treated with harsh chemicals. Last time he'd tried to use the pool in mutant town the chlorine had turned his fur green. He shot through the water like a missle, cutting loose and enjoying himself for the first time in way too long until the sun hung low in the sky and his frolicking was ended by the sound of his parents returning home. Climbing from the water and grabbing a towel he walked out to meet them. His return was a surprise, they'd expected him to call saying what flight he was taking but his explained he'd made other arrangements and wanted to surprise them. They had so many questions and he promised he'd answer them all soon, but needed some time to relax first. They agreed and that night they gathered around a bonfire on the shore of the lake, grilling fresh fish and playing music like in the old days.
After awhile he put his didgeridoo aside and began telling them about his time in the States, and he held nothing back. The attack on Mutant Town by the Gamesmen before he arrived, his various encounters with the mutant terrorist Dingo, Police Corruption, and his battles against the MGH dealers which nearly ended in him murdering the Mutant Chemicallo in cold blood. He watched the expression on their faces change from time to time, curiosity, wonder, horror. He told of them of the friends he'd made, the people he'd met including Magneto, Iron Man, and Emma Frost. He wasn't sure what to make of thier reactions, they went to bed that night without saying a word and when he woke up the next morning no one was home. He waited around the house for a few hours until he heard them return and got a shock when he saw them unloading various camping supplies from the jeep. When he stepped up his father turned and gave him a smile. "Son, yer mother and I are proud of ya. Ya been through things we can't ever imagine and ya came out of it on top. Ya didn't always succeed but then again ya can't expect ta come out on top of everything. However we do have something ta say about this plan of yers to go on Walkabout." Vinny's heart sank, he didn't think his folk would approve but had hoped to avoid this argument, his father simply grinned. "If ya think yer going out there without being fully ready for it, yer crazy. Now yer a good bushman we're not gonna argue that, but you don't know everything we do. However if put yer plans on hold till after Christmas, you will." Vinny smiled wide and nodded, he can certainly push things back a bit to take time for something like this. His father waved him over and headed for the storm doors leading to the basement of the house. "We've been planning this for a bit now, so step one is gonna be introducing ya to some new items." Stepping into the basement where they kept all the trophies and other items from their travels he followed his father to a table covered in a blanket. As his father pulled it away a wide variety of new items came into view, including several firearms. Vinny looked puzzled but his father was quick to explain. "Any man that goes into the bush without a gun is either crazy or stupid. I know ya can do some impressive things with those powers'a yers but ya can't always depend on um." He motions to the rifle and the pair of handguns "7.62mm Bolt-action rifle, 6 round magazine. Trigger guard is removed so ya can fire it but when the safety is on the trigger folds up flat to the frame to keep it from getting snagged. The two revolvers are .44 Caliber, same features. All good guns, rugged and dependable, even after getting submerged in water… I figured ya would appreciate that. Had them custom made when ya originally told us about this plan to go walkabout. The rest of this is yer basic survival gear. First aid kit, anti-venom, flares, etc. Now for something a little new."
He walked over and picked up a length of rope tied to a ridged and grooved piece of wood in the shape of a eye. "This.. is a bull-roarer,an aboriginal tool for communication. Hassi will teach you how to use it correctly while we're teaching ya. Yer gonna need one of these where yer headed. Now lets go give yer mother a hand unloading the rest of the supplies before she kills us both." He chuckles and they bother headed back up. The next two months were wonderful, they'd driven out into the outback but kept to familiar territory, there his parents proceed to teach him all they knew about survival and other bushcraft, while Hassi taught him to use the bull-roarer and gave him a crash course in tribal life and etiquette for the tribes he may encounter on his trip. The training was difficult, especially learning to shoot and care for the new firearms. But the nights were just quality time with the family, singing and playing around the fire and swapping stories. November came and went, and then December. They'd gone home for Christmas and after the new year driven out to where he'd begin his trip. This brings him back to the present, he turned to watch the dust fade and them again back to his future. Shouldering his pack he started walking.
Elsewhere, Two weeks later.:
An image of Vinny from a US newspaper is projected on the screen as a man in military uniform watches on. Another man talks quietly. "Vincent Wilks. Son of environmentalists Jacob and Jennifer Wilks who both currently work at the Melbourne Zoo. Vincent is an Alpha level Hydrokenetic, and Gamma level animal ability. Animal abilities are unknown except for possessing bone spurs and a paralytic neurotoxin. Last seen in New York City his visa expired several months ago but somehow he returned to the country unnoticed so our agents were unable to apprehend him. We only learned of his return from our contacts at the Zoo. The wilks took a leave of absence and vanished into the wilderness. They returned and were overheard tell our contacts that their son had returned and was on.. ahem. Walkabout." The first man frowned slowly "Walkabout.. leave it to a pair of tree-huggers to encourage such an outdated tribal tradition. Alright so what do we know about him?" The second man speaks again "His powers have increased dramatically since he left Australia, we have reports of him fighting fires and having various clashes with anti- mutant groups in the states. So it's safe to assume he's seen combat with his abilities." The first man sighs "Great.. I knew we should have recruited him before he left the country.. damn red tape. Alright send out recon teams in sets of two.. find out what tribes the Wilks have had contact with and start with those areas, he'll likely stick to territory he knows for now. Find him and bring him in…" The second man nods and hesitantly adds. "We also know he's had contact with Mr Jumbuck.. he might be expecting us."
The first man nods "Well then, we'll have to do this the hard way."
