2009-12-10: X-Force Reunion Of Confusion

Players:

Ben_icon.jpg Julio_icon.jpg Sam_icon.jpg

Summary: Shatterstar and Rictor come back to the school but Ben leaves Julio and Sam with too many questions.

Date: December 10, 2009

Log Title X-Force Reunion of Confusion.

Rating: PG


Xavier Mansion - Lobby

A large chandelier causes light to shine over the polished surfaces of the Lobby creating a bright welcome. A few wooden benches blend in with the wooden walls. A large portrait of Professor Xavier is displayed on the wall. On each wall is a doorway that leads to a different part of the school.


After getting out of running a Danger Room session for the New Mutants, Sam is about to go take a walk outside when his cell phone rang. Right now he's in the lobby of the Mansion standing by the window, not really paying attention to what's outside, as he talks. "Ah know Paige, Ah know…..Ah'll be home for Christams, ya'll can tell Ma that. Okay?" His sister has kinda been going on and he's just doing the older Brother just say yes to get her off the phone.

It's been a very long time since he's been anywhere near Xavier's. He's not even been on the X-radar so to speak since the incident in Paris as the failed X-Cororation team so he's rather surprised the securtity system still lets him in. Either way, Julio Richter is making his way up to the front door of the mansion. He's in jeans, a t-shirt, and a green duster at the moment and mostly focusing on the door as he reaches out to open it. "Hello?" he calls as he steps into the lobby, looking around for anyone in there. When he sees Sam, and that the other mutant is on the phone, Julio just stands there and waits.

He doesn't have to work today. But, he does tomorrow. Sure, Kenta told Ben he could stay the night, but Kenta had to go do something, so Ben is walking down the stairs to the lobby, just to get a bit of a look around. He has his backpack on his back, as always. He never goes anywhere without it. The place is strange. He knows there's more here than he's seeing. He knows there are things missing and in hiding. But he's not saying anything right now. Just trying to avoid being obvious.His hair is pulled up under a hat, and he has the makeup on again. He's trying to hide himself. With portraits around on the walls, he begins inspecting them.

"Oh man…" Sam mutters on the phone as he spots Julio walking in, and just stares at him with surprise. "Paige, Ah gotta go, something came up." And before Paige can say 'goodbye' Sam snaps his phone shut and looks at Juilo. "Wow, Am Ah surprised tah see ya, what are ya doin' back here?" It's at that moment he spots Ben walking down the stairs as well but does't him much notice at the moment, too surprised that his former teamate is back.

Julio gives a shingle-shoulder shrug. "Nice seeing you again too," he mutters. "Well, I was a way for so long. Figured I'd come by now that things are settled back home," he says. Glancing to the side, Rictor spots Ben coming down the stairs and tenses. That's a completely unexpected development.

He pauses over a picture of X-Force. The generation of someone familiar. "What is this place really?" He asks to no one in particular. After all, Ben's caught up in the moment and doesn't notice the other two yet. He touches his own face and touches the picture on the wall. He has a picture like it in his memory. But they're not in costumes. They're in spandex body suits. They're not using abilities… they're just performing.

Sam pats Julio quickly on the upper arm and smiles at him. "Welcome back then. Hope everythin' treatin' ya alright now." Sam says as Rictor would know he's now an X-Men, again. He's not surprised at Rictor's muttering as the two were never much more than teamates. He looks up at the voice and gives a puzzled look. "Howdy, is there something Ah can help ya with?" He hasn't gotten a good chance to look at Ben yet and see anything that looks familar.

Julio offers a slight smile to Sam. "Thanks. Things are alright. How's the X-men stuff?" he asks, not really taking his gaze away from Ben. He leans slightly closer to Sam to whisper something. "Do you know ehen he got here?"

Turning to the voice, Ben tilts his head. "No. Kenta said he would find someone to help me today. I… there's something wrong with my head." He states simply before he notes Julio there and sighs. "I should have known I'd find you here, too." He says, looking away and back at the picture. "This school. These grounds. They're the same as in my memory… but different."

Sam looks at Julio, then looks at Ben and squints. "Shatterstar?" He asks with a surprise. "Ah thought you was missin' When did ya get back?" He says not really registering what he said. "What do ya mean, somethin's wrong with your head?" He looks at Julio with some confusion. "Ya mean ya'll didn't get back together?"

Julio gives a little wave at Ben's sigh. "<That makes one of us,>" he mutters to himself in spanish, saying it before he realizes it. Then Sam says the name and Julio lets out a little sigh. Confirmation he's not crazy and the only one seeing it. He shakes his head at the X-man's question though. "Until the other day, I hadn't seen him in a long while," he replies, slightly sad tone in his voice.

"<It really isn't polite to talk in another language if you don't know if others can understand you or not.>" Ben says, responding in fluent spanish. He turns back to Sam. "I don't know who you're talking about. I'm sorry, Sam. My name is Ben. Ben Starr. I work at a starbucks in New York. I've been having strange dreams and memories that aren't synching with reality. I decided to follow them and it led me here. I met one of my friends already here. Kenta. And he told me to stay last night."

"Well Ah ain't seen either of ya in a long time." Sam says as he's not really surprised neither of them kept in contact with him and vice versa, he's also has no idea what either of them is saying in Spanish. "Yeah, Kenat works here, and what do ya means ya don't know what Ah'm talkin' 'bout. Cable? Ya'll remember him?" And it's obvious to Sam, Ben remembers who he is. "Ya've been workin' at a Starbucks? Man that ain't like ya at all."

Julio didn't really keep in contact with anyone. It wasn't anything against them, just the seismic mutant trying to deal with things in his head. Ben gets a look though. "It was a slip. You know I do that sometimes," he says. When Sam mentions Cable, Rictor glances away. Still hates him. "He's not acting like himself at all. Even covering up his tattoo."

"Who?" Ben asks, tilting his head as he tries to put things together. "Not a clue." He says, shaking his head. "How did you end up here? I thought you went down to Kentucky to teach Gymnastics." He says to Sam, offering that. "You and Tabby." Yep. That's how his memories are. Some of the people but not quite the same. "Though she didn't really want to go. Said she'd miss the city life too much."

"Cable, he lead us when we were with X-Force." Sam tells Ben and at Julio's words he looks at him curiously. "What happened to ya Sha-Ben?" He says quitely thinking that he must have gotten invovled with something weird. "Ah was down there runnin' mah own farm for a bit, and Gymnastics? Ah ain't no gymnast." It's a very weird thought to Sam. "And Tabby, here an Ah ain't been together since, well a long time." Lila was his last girlfriend….again.

"Nathan," Julio supplies the man's real name in hopes of it helping. "He was like this the other day too. He's got the names all mixed up. And doesn't seem to remember me at all," he says. "I think someone messed with his head," the vibratory mutant's clearly displeased about this.

"Well, it's been a while since we were taking classes. And you were too a gymnast, stop it. You had more time jumping, flipping, and leaping from place to place than anyone. We couldn't keep you out of the air. And you never got hurt when you fall. It's like you were indestructible or something. He looks at Julio. "Coach Nathan, him, I remember." Ben nods quickly as he looks around.

"Ah'm not a gymnast, Ah'm a mutant, Ah can fly, like a rocket." Sam says hoping that saying this will bring some sense to Ben. "Nathan was more than a 'coach', he was our leader, he was the leader of XForce." And he became a father figure to Sam, and when he's around he still is to the XMan. He turns to Julio and takes a deep breath. "Ah'm wondering if Shatterstar here got int' some trouble and had his head messed with." He knows he's saying it right in front of Ben and he kind of wants to vocalize his theory for him to hear.

Julio still isn't happy about Cable-related talk but if it helps Shatterstar, he'll put up with it. When Sam turns to him, Rictor nods. "That's what I was thinking," he agrees with Sam.

"I really haven't got a clue what you're talking about." Ben says plainly. He ponders for a moment before nodding and pulling a photo album out of the backpack he's wearing. He offers it to Sam. Throughout it are pictures of people that look REMARKABLY like the X-Forcers, but all at Gymnastics meets and other types of functions. Oddly, the opposing teams look like MLF members and others. Oddly, there is someone missing from any of them.

Sam looks at the pictures, looks at Ben, looks at the pictures and then shows it to Julio. "Ah reckon something awfully strange is goin' on. Ah don't ever remember doin' anythin' like this but Ah gotta agree, that sure as hell looks like me. And there's Theresa and Roberto, but Ah ain't seein' ya in here Julio…this is mighty strange." Sam says quite confused now. "Ah think that makes both of us, not havin' a clue what the other is talkin' 'bout."

Julio takes a look at the pictures when they're offered to him. "There's definitely something wrong," he says, looking the pictures over. "Before, in the coffee shop," he looks up at Ben. You said there might have been someone with the last name Richter on your old team. Who was it?" he asks. "Why would I be the only one missing?"

"I said I didn't think there was anyone. I don't recognize the name." Ben says, plainly, beginning to look annoyed that he's being pressed for things in his past. Even yesterday, that's the past. His past is strange, and he knows it. It's not working quite right… the memories.

"Besides all this Gymnastics? What do ya remember?" Sam asks trying to figure out what's going on. "Ah can tell ya what Ah remember if ya like, and Ah am pretty sure we're gonna have different memories of eachother." He says with a sigh as he shakes his head. "Mah name's Sam Guthrie, we were teamates, back on XForce together. Ya was an amazin' sword fighter."

Julio mutters a profanity, rubbing the bridge of his nose. THe vibratory mutant goes otherwise quiet, trying to figure out what to do.

"No, you're Sam Smith. She's Tabitha Guthrie." Ben says with earnesty. "And yes, I'm good with swords, but I don't know why. I've always had them." He shrugs slightly. This is what he knows. And he has the images to prove it. They look authentic too.

Sam shakes his head. "Ah don't know this Sam Smith ya know, but it ain't me. Ah'm Sam Guthrie and Tabby's last name was Smith." He finds it weird that their last names are reversed since that chapter is long over in his life. "Ya'll were there when Ah was stabbed by Sauron. Ah really don't know what tah tell ya, Ah was never a Gymnast. Hey, Julio, do ya have any pictures of us back in our XForce days? There might be some in the old records here too."

Julio reaches for his wallet, pulling out a folded picture of the old X-force team. "Yeah…I keep the one," he says, showing the picture of the team in uniform. Such bad uniforms.

"I don't know what's going on here." Ben says plainly and leaves it at that. There's nothing more he can say. All he knows it his memories say what he knows. He's confused, but there's nothing else he can do about it.

Sam winces when he sees the purple jacket. "Can ya'll believe I actually still own that uniform somewhere?" He shakes his head, getting off track. "Listen Ben, Ah know you and Ah were never great friends, but we were team mates and Ah'm gettin' worried 'bout ya." He was the second in command of XForce after all and he did, and does, care about his old teammates. He reaches out a hand and places it on Shatterstar's shoulder. "Ah don't know either, Ah really don't, but we gotta get to the bottom of this."

Julio shrugs. "I still have mine too," he says, not finding it all that weird. There's a little flicker in Julio's eye when Sam reaches out to touch Ben but he says nothing. Putting the photo away, Julio takes a moment to look at another picture in his wallet…one of when he and Shatterstar arrived down in Mexico for their trip to deal with Rictor's family matters. Brows furrow and the wallet is put away before the seismic mutant looks back up. "We will get to the bottom of it."

"I have to work tomorrow. I should head back to town." Ben says, looking towards the door. "Just because something crazy is going on doesn't mean people don't still need coffee."He shrugs the bag higher on his shoulder.

Sam nods and is really debating if the Ben in front of him really is his old teammate or not. It's just weird to him, things make sense in some odd fashion but in a nonodd fashion, they really don't. "If ya gotta go, just…will ya let us try t' help ya and help us get to the bottom of this and figure out what's wrong?" He doesn't want to leave it unsolved.

Julio's frown gets a little deeper. "And come back here? After work?" he adds, really not wanting Ben to go. Sure, there is the possibility that this could not be his old friend but there's too much that makes sense for him to even look that way.

"I want to know why someone looks like me, too." Ben says, plainly. "I may come back. I don't know." He says to Julio. He eyes Julio with a little distrust. After all, he's not someone from his past, and looks nothing like anyone he's ever met.

"Well, here's mah number." Sam says taking out a piece of paper and pen and joting it down. "Ah think it'd be best if ya came back and we could figure out more about what's goin' on. See what telepaths we know 'round here if ya'd be up for that." He looks at Ben with a sort of reluctantance and unsureness. "Take care Ben, okay? Stay safe."

Julio jumps slightly, cursing in his head for not writing his number down sooner. He does the same after Sam, offering his number as well. The look from Ben hurts, Julio looking away after a moment. "Not the first time somone's looked like you…" he trails off quietly.

Pocketing the numbers, Ben just begins walking towards the door. Time to get home and back to work. "You know where to find me." He says. After all, he told Julio where he lives and where he works. More or less.

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