Choosing Scylla

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Scene Title Choosing Scylla
Synopsis Veronica seeks advice in an unlikely place.
Date June 17, 2009

A cemetery in NYC


It's past "business hours," but a wrought iron gate never stopped Veronica from entering somewhere she wanted to go. Watching for any sign of the groundskeepers for a moment, the girl hops up to grab two of the ornate rods at the top of the gate, then catches a foothold on the wrought-iron swirls that decorate the gate. One good swing, and she's over the top and landing in a crouch on the other side. She's dressed casually, because no one here will care that she's in ratty jeans and a hoodie sweatshirt with a flask of whiskey in the pocket.

She walks over the lush grass, her feet somehow knowing the way that her mind does not. She has only been here once before, and while it wasn't long ago, her conscious brain isn't capable of remembering the details of the spot she seeks. Somehow, her body knows, and soon she finds herself in front of whom she seeks.

"Hey," Vee says, sinking down to sit, indian-style. She pulls out the flask and takes a long drink. "I'm sorry I haven't been to visit you yet," she adds. The benefit of being here after hours means no one else is around to hear what she has to say. There's no one here to judge her. No one here to hate her or pity her or fear her.

There is only Kat.

She glances down at the flat marble headstone. It's still clean, but some clippings from the perfectly-groomed grass obscure some of the words there. She brushed them off and stares at the name: Katherine Montoya Marks, June 1, 1981-April 29, 2009. Too short a life.

Why is it everyone she begins to truly care about is taken from her? Her father. Hell, her mother, too, though not in such an obvious way. Alcohol and drugs claimed her mother after her father died. She was just getting close to Kat when she died. Now even Brian's missing. And the only other person she would truly call a friend in the time she's been in New York has turned turncoat. Minea's the enemy.

"I need you, Kat," Vee whispers. "I don't know what to do…" she whispers, taking another drink of the whiskey and then splashing a bit on the grass under which her friend is buried. Share and share alike. Most of their most adventurous times were spent after a few drinks, after all.

She sits, knees coming up so that she can wrap her arms around them, holding the flask in front of her. She stares at Kat's name, and suddenly it seems the other agent's voice is speaking in her head.

"I have an ability… I can't say that my life is normal, since I'm used to getting shot at or having abilities used against me, but I can say that I have a job and a life and for the most part I'm a fairly happy person. I have friends who also have abilities, as does my partner here. The news does not have it completely correct. All we want is to make sure the public at large is safe. Some do have dangerous abilities and they have to be tempered."

Katherine believed in the job the Company was doing. While it could have been just a line fed to an Evo on the run, Veronica was there to hear the sincerity in Kat's voice when she said it. She was Evolved and she still believed the Company was doing the right thing.

"I hope you're right, Kat," Veronica says, finishing the flask of whiskey. Good thing she's walking home. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a bright orange hibiscus flower and lays it on the corner of the grave marker. "I hope you're right."

Veronica stands and walks the lonesome walk of the sole living person in this sacred place — a walk much like Odysseus' when he made his way into the Underworld to ask Teiresius' advice of how to make it home safely. And just like that advice, the answer here is not an easy path. There will be pain and bloodshed no matter which way she goes.

She's damned if she does and damned if she doesn't. She might as well stay on the path laid out for her. She chooses the six-headed monster.


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