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| Scene Title | New Years Revolutions |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | A ghost, condemned to solitude awaits the day she can take her life back. Come what may. |
| Date | December 31 |
Once upon a time, the New York Public Library was one of the most important libraries in America. The system, of which this branch was the center, was among the foremost lending libraries /and/ research libraries in the world.
The bomb changed that, as it changed so much else.
By virtue of distance, the library building was not demolished entirely, like so many others north of it; however, the walls on its northern side have been badly damaged, and their stability is suspect. The interior is a shambles, tattered books strewn about the chambers and halls, many shelves pulled over. Some have even been pulled apart; piles of char in some corners suggest some of their pieces, as well as some of the books, have been used to fuel fires for people who sought shelter here in the past.
In the two years since the bomb, the library — despite being one of the icons of New York City — has been left to decay. The wind whistles through shattered windows, broken by either the blast-front or subsequent vandals, carrying dust and debris in with it. Rats, cats, and stray dogs often seek shelter within its walls, especially on cold nights. Between the fear of radiation and the lack of funds, recovery of the library is on indefinite hiatus; this place, too, has been forgotten.
There are memories of last Christmas that are filled with warmth and family fun, the holiday spirit and moments that were captured on film to be You Tubed later. Mother and father are gone… Have been gone for years, yet somehow since then Harmony has managed to make the best of every year. She, Nathan and a great bunch of their collective friends would get together, and make an event of it.
It was like a Verizon holiday commercial, filled with pretty people and winter smiles, and some new technological device that someone else got someone for Christmas. Someone would have trouble using it, and Nathan Roberts would come in to save the day. He thinks he is so smart… Always quick to offer in his opinion or some insightful factoid in every conversation.
Last year… Oh man.. last year was the year of the mistletoe belt. A terrible but hilarious idea if Harmony could ever think of one, she insisted Nathan that it would totally get him slapped, a dozen times over. Boy.. she was wrong. Nathan, Nathan, Nathan, luck always seemed to follow him, but that is her baby brother for you. Ending up with not one, but two girls on Christmas, making it a very Merry one for him indeed. Even Harmony could declare non-single status back then, and she recalls how nice it felt to have a warm arm wrapped around her as they all walked and laughed down the streets of San Francesco.
Where is she this year? Why, just take a look…
It used to be beautiful, and busy.. Well, not on the holidays, but it was probably still pretty and cozy at one time. Now it is cold and desolate, with broken tables, burnt books, and shattered shelves strewn about. The library is huge, and Richard’s Refugees have only taken residence in a small section, where they have made a warm hovel for them to hide out in.
But Harmony isn’t there. No one is, because they are all off with their families or at least with their friends. She really doesn’t want the off chance that someone could come back, and share with her just how wonderful their Christmas went, to serve as a reminder how not hers was. She is indeed alone, with just the shadows to keep her company. She knows this because she cannot sense another mind anywhere near her vicinity.
This damned telepathy… If not for it, she wouldn’t even be here, wandering the ruins of the old Midtown Library, wallowing in her own little prison devised to keep the massive flow of bullshit that people think about, from flowing into her head. For now, things like parties and grocery shopping just don’t happen for her. She wouldn’t last a minute in the bombardment of busy New York. But that doesn’t stop her from longing for it in the least.
She is really starting to hate what was done to her, and for weeks now, she has thought about just what she could have done to have stopped it from happening. Rather than stand there, looking confused, Harmony could have… should have kicked her hesitation to use her ability to the side, and blew a hole right in the future Cardinal’s chest. It would have alllll been over, and she would be out now… on New Years, enjoying the turn of 2011 with.. someone, instead of being here, alone, with no one, save for the shadows.. and the rats contained there within.
Well one thing is for sure. It’ll never happen again. If there are people like future Cardinal who can push her around like this, then Harmony is just going to have to step up and push back much harder. Her true ability is dangerous enough for her to make people think twice about messing with her. She just has to be willing to show them that she isn’t going to be taken lightly, or ignored. Maybe when she blows up a building, or gives a person or two cancer, people will say ‘Hey, it’s proooobably a good idea to stay on her good side.’
Yeah… It is gonna take some kind of proving for people to look up and notice Harmony, and realize that she is not gonna take it anymore. Maybe.. she’ll make a habit of stopping people like future Cardinal all together. He can’t cause much terror if an arm is incinerated off, or maybe he won’t be so concerned about altering the past if he has to worry about the radiation sickness he got from poking with the nuclear blonde.
Hey! Maybe she won’t wait for him to come to her next time. Why not seek him out. That’s kinda what Redbird does, right? Sorta? She is sure there is much more than she is being let in on, but whatever. Nip it in the bud, stop the bad guys instead of wondering what he’ll do next, and just how to stop him. You stop him by fucking frying his face. That his how you stop him.
Generate an EMP next time, to take care of that fancy suit he was wearing, and then give him a particle beam to the puss! Nothing says ‘Back up off me, bitch!’ like a face full of charged energy. She’ll just have to learn to be quicker on the draw than him… Or anyone else really. Hell, why stop with just him. There are plenty of people out there who should probably be stopped. Her offensive capabilities generally have the same effect on everyone, so why not make a few of them sorry they even thought of misbehaving? She’s got the power, so use it.
Yeah… That’ll be her New Year’s resolution. To stand up and be recognized as the wrong bitch to mess with, and make other realize that it is a bad idea to be a bad guy while she is around. After all, she has a future to protect, herself.
‘Oh, that’s right… there is that too. Hmm… Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Alone if we have to. After all… I survived this Christmas all alone. And New Years? Just a few minutes away. Maybe… I don’t need anyone but myself.’ A vibrating buzz comes from the pocket on the side of her pants, and Harmony lifts the cellphone from the compartment, looking at the message displayed across the screen.
Nathan: Where are you? Harmony, answer me, please? I haven’t heard from you in weeks. I’m so worried. Please, if you get this, get back to me, let me know you’re okay?
‘Yeah, that is the thing little brother. I don’t know if I am anymore. But don’t worry, I’ll be alright soon. Just a few more months, and things are going to change, one way or another. Whether united, or alone. I’m sick of feeling like this. No one… and I mean absolutely no one is going to make me feel this way ever again.’
She twists away from the more well lit portion of the library, and carries herself into the dark, like a forgotten, wandering spirit, forced to haunt this place for just a bit longer. It’s a New Year, just not a very happy one.