Help Me

Participants:

kaylee3_icon.gif luther_icon.gif tibby4_icon.gif

Scene Title Help Me
Synopsis After a great start to their working relationship, Tibby asks for what she needs the most in this world.
Date January 18, 2020

???


The sound of a light thumping can be heard in the background of Kaylee's mind accompanied by a persistent droning. Upon opening her eyes she finds herself not bound, not gagged but her head feels like it was hit by a sack of bricks ten times over. "Won't feel okay in the head for awhile," That feminine voice unfamiliar voice is probably not what she expected, who’s telling what Kaylee remembers of what transpired not too long ago. It's not the evening time, not yet but the sun has begun to dip below the horizon.

The thumping is a washer and dryer unit in the corner of the large room. An abandoned warehouse type building, not Tibby's home but she's made it look like it is. A bank of monitors sit on a plain plastic table, the droning is coming from a generator that spits alive on the last of the gas that Tibby has. Appearances are everything. Though there isn't much need for secrecy where her oddities are involved. The monitors display various bits of information. Photos of Kaylee, the Raytech building, Kaylee's home. The NYPD headquarters. Papers sit on the table but they can't be read from so far away.

The small pale haired woman sits off to the side at a table, one arm laid out in front of her with… some sort of cable connected to her. The other arm is outstretched, she's holding a gun.

"Apologies for the drama," Her accent is a weird mix, maybe British.. maybe somewhere else. "You're the most well known telepath around." As if that should explain enough of Tibby's motives. Whatever it is she wants, it's got to do with the power of the mind so she naturally sought out an expert.

Pain.

It was Kaylee’s whole world as she slowly returned to consciousness. The sounds around her like a hammer against the side of her skull, while the coppery taste of blood at the back of her throat makes her stomach do unpleasant things. A groan of pain escapes her as she sits limply on the chair, head loosely hanging in front of her. Fingers twitching, then reaching to grip her head, like they could hold it together.

Swimming through the pain, it takes her a few groggy moments, but Kaylee remembers. An icy spike of fear plunges into her stomach. Her head snaps up at the mention of who Kaylee is.

Big mistake.

The pain blossoms to a whole other level at the sudden movement, making the world spin. There was only a moment to see what was in front of her, before she was forced to look away. Saliva coating the inside of her mouth, as her stomach threatens to empty its contents right then and there. Tibby can see the telepath pale suddenly, eyes shut tight as she struggles not to disgrace herself in front of her kidnapper. It’s quite the fight, forcing her to cover her mouth with a trembling hand.

She remembers. This woman drugged her, something that hasn’t ever been done to her before. Kaylee’s ability was burned and useless. What little still worked she had no control over or make sense of. The minds around her like zaps of electricity, sharp and painful. This meant that she was this person’s captive. Was this the one that kidnapped….? Couldn’t be.

Slowly, Kaylee forces herself to look up at Tibby again, not bothering to hide her anger. A glance goes to the monitor’s, but then she focuses on her capture “You sure know me, but who the hell are you?”

As large a man as Luther is, he has a way of quiet, unobtrusive presence that seems to hide from notice. A habit born of years of wandering homeless through the streets of New York and elsewhere. Another habit is the conservation of his energies when low on it, though part of that is a passive effect of his power. Which is why when Kaylee starts to stir, he does not immediately jump up to go to her, despite all concern.

"Secret admirer gone wrong."

Luther's latest guess for Tibby's motive rumbles out of him at a volume not enough to overtake the thumping washer-dryer combo, yet audibly low enough to slide beneath the machinery's noise. Grey eyes flick away from the telepath to the cybernetic arm and the charging wire attached to it, to the much less electronic stolen pistol held in Tibby's other hand.

The man sits on the floor, knees folded up close, arms hanging off their caps. The better to keep his wound out of Kaylee's view at the angle she's sat at. The better to put Tibby at ease that Luther's not about any sudden gouts of flame or rushing movements. A placid hostage is he. For now.

"Buck up boet," Emerald eyes shift over to Luther's imposing form and her eyebrows lift, "It was fun," He definitely put up a challenge. "Now quiet, the Mamas are talkin, ya?" Tibby's expression shifts a bit when looking at Kaylee. Woman to woman, she would have rather not done this but when a woman such as this is surrounded by men who knew nothing but violence. Well, Tibby adapts.

There's no point in keeping her name to herself, what she wanted done would lay all her secrets bare anyway. "Tibby. Naidu. Tibby Naidu," Her voice is small though that doesn't match her demeanor at all, she sits with a regality befit a queen. Perhaps she was a princess once, wherever she's from. Perhaps there is something for the two to relate on, two women from powerful families. Powerful in their own right. If either of Tibby's "guests" were to look around they would find more photos. Another massive whiteboard with words mostly written in another language scrawled across. Dates, timelines, meticulously put together. Tibby doesn't have strings but she does have lines of marker she has made connecting events and photos.

They know that type of wall.

Tibby is looking for someone.

Most of the people in the photo are African, ranging from all types. Women, men. There's a photo of Tibby on there, she's younger. She leans on the side of a very tall and imposing figure, his dark skin absorbing the light of the photo it seems, luminous blue eyes stare ahead. Both of them are laughing. Underneath is underlined and in bold red marker: Baruti Naidu.

"We are alike," she speaks slowly, eyes shifting between the two one more time before they firmly stay on Kaylee. She's fast enough to survive whatever Luther will do, that's all that matters. She's been actively ignoring the WARNING WARNING WARNING pings splashing in her HUD in regards to Luther's proximity. Keeping one eye close doesn't totally help but sorta.

She's done fighting today. "Notable families… some questionable reputation… earned by our fathers…" A lift of her chin towards Kaylee. "But held onto by even our own actions," They were no saints. Those didn't exist in this world anyway.

"Don't know the full story of you and your Pa but mine. Has strayed." Tibby chokes out the last bit, veins bulging in her neck. She moves to tip a trio of white pills into her mouth and dries swallow. The pain was coming in more intense, she had overdone it. There would be hell to pay this evening. "I need to find him." A small smile, breaking her pride to ask anyone for help. She wasn't use to it. "But there's something…" The pale haired woman snorts and leans back in her chair, frustrated.

"Blocking my memories, I… can't remember too well. Him. And.. there are events… things I never remember happening. They've come forth." If she didn't sound confused, worried, scared or all of the above before now her eyes widen a bit as she sees the robes in her eyes. Hears the chanting of the ancient language echoing from the past, her father among them. "Strange events, Kaylee."

With her ability burned out, Kaylee is surprised by the sound of a familiar rumble near her. Head snapping around to look at him, she instantly regrets it as her vision swims edged in red. Eye close and hand presses to her stomach against the sudden rise in nausea again. She manages to hear through it, realizing she’s being addressed. After giving Luther an apologetic look, the telepath focuses on her kidnapper. She’ll probably blame herself for getting him into this mess with her, what a pair they were.

Swallowing, Kaylee listens to the explanation with a blank expression. Or tries too, at least. Lip press tight as they are compared, her flat look says she doesn’t they are anything alike. “The names mean nothing to me,” she finally croaks out around the bile that threatens to ruin her day. “But… If you need help, why do this?” A hand groggily motions around them. “You could have just asked nicely.” There is an accusation in those words, but also… disbelief. She almost sounds like she is gently scolding a child, who meant well but screwed it all up.

“Now we’re here, my security team must be frantic, and my ability is completely blown out for a while.” It’s clear that Kaylee is sympathetic though.

A snort of sardonic disbelief escapes the man in the corner at the name Naidu. Luther squints, a faint grimace twisting his features from the sting of pain and a swimming incoherence that soon passes. He doesn't interrupt otherwise, mostly heeding Tibby's comment to be quiet. But moreso because the story she spins is almost incredible. Baruti Naidu, international terrorist and wanted for the attack on Liberty Island, now wanted by his daughter?

"Chuck and Barry 're going to be real pissed," he adds in to Kaylee's note on security, not even mentioning several other members of the Raytech security team perhaps at this very moment gearing up for a hunt. He barely moves only to shift slightly in a lean back against the supporting, solid wall. Luther's jaw works, clenching to stifle a pained grunt.

He quiets again after the repositioning, gaze shifting between telepath and cyborg. Curiosity fills him too, given the somewhat wild situation they're all in now.

There is a moment of regret in those emerald green eyes but Tibby simply nods her head, it's a good question. "Your family and friends are known for putting bad people down. I thought if I got you alone I could convince you…" She stops and barks out a laugh unexpectedly.

"I seem just like him right now eh?" The muscles in her jaw clench and unclench and then she shakes her head. Dwase meisie. Her father use to say that to her when she messed up, as did her grandmother.

"You two are free to leave, whenever you can." She offers this softly and lowers her gun. "This… mess… has irrational actions. All over." Her irrational actions. "Could I… call you? In a few days. Would you look in my memories?" Tibby's eyes close and she bows her head. There's a little light that blinks in the corner of her elbow to signify her charging is of her Talon is almost complete. Not totally defenseless without a gun anymore.

"I get it, if it's a no."

Kaylee’s gut reaction was to say No, in fact, her mouth opens to give her that exact answer. However, something stops her. A thought.

A sigh escapes her and her head bows… again a mistake as the world tries to tip violently sideway. Her body tips a little to one side, before the motion dissipates and she can catch herself. Swallowing the rising bile, Kaylee glances at Luther again before saying.

“Not all bad people, only the ones we're certain can’t come back from it,” Kaylee says, giving Tibby a sympathetic look. “My family also believes in second chances. We’ve all got things we’ll have to answer to the higher powers for.” The two were not much different it seems, only… the telepath had found a support system in people like Luther. They both took different paths to get to that moment. “But… we also know that some people can be better.”

Glancing down, Kaylee gives a show of giving her request some serious thought. Finally, the telepath gives a small nod, “I’ll help you.”

Luther's head tilts in confused study of Tibby's sudden shift in manner. Skepticism riddles his frowning expression, suspecting some kind of other play that can turn on a dime. Are they free to go? Tibby does still have the gun, after all, and the cybernetics - her capabilities remain unknown to him. But Kaylee's answer is the one that pulls his tensed, ready defensive posture back a touch.

Second chances. Grey eyes dart back to telepath, and the man blinks heavily a couple of times. He wants to protest. It's not his choice. Luther stays silent for a couple beats more before letting out a disgruntled, pained sigh. "Great," rumbles the man, "well then, she'll have her people call your people, you'll do lunch." Somehow he doesn't actually sound sarcastic about it either, like there's a relief to this peaceful conclusion.

Without thinking too hard on it, Luther starts to unfold himself and rise to his feet, only to stumble with a bout of weakness. The man plants a hand against the wall he was leaning up against, revealing injury as his fingers leave streaks of blood against the wall.

The cyborg herself looks relieved and nods her head slowly, "Thank you," Did her father deserve a second chance? Would it even be allowed? Had he gone to far?

All of these things run through Tibby's mind as she watches Luther move and it's revealed how injured he is. She's sorry about that too but it can't be helped now. Maybe they can be friends later…

"I'll contact soon."

As she considers what that might mean she blinks and holds up her phone. "By normal means."

Maybe Tibby could find him, maybe before it was too late.


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