Peas Without a Pod

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ash_icon.gif griffin_icon.gif

Scene Title Peas Without a Pod
Synopsis Griffin shows up in the Howland Hook, Ash gives him a welcoming and a tour.
Date September 22nd, 2010

Howland Hook Facility

Unfinished buildings that look like gutted iron rib cages is all that remains of the unfinished Howland Hook Facility. What was going to be a revitalization of Staten Island's abandoned rail system was cancelled after the bomb of 2006 ripped thorugh Manhattan and sent a poisonous fallout cloud down onto Staten Island. All that remains of this massive abandoned facility is a sprawl of seventeen unfinished buildings in various state of disrepair over 187 acres of land.

Ranging from two floor office spaces to gigantic roofless skeletons of warehouses the Howland Hook new constructions only serve as haunting landmarks between far older though more intact structures. Old rail houses and terminal stations for Staten Island's abandoned rail network rise up from the crumbling concrete parking lots and industrial parkland here, connecting old and derelict rail lines that criss-cross through Staten Island and north into Jersey City through tunnels that cut beneath the northern river.

This complex was intended to be a container ship port and features a derelict ship berth 9,000 feet long that had been intended for the use of loading and unloading cargo. Shipping cranes have since been left abandoned here, reaching up with peeling paint and rust towards the skies.


It's a lovely day. The sun is shining, there's hardly a cloud in the sky to mar that blue expanse above, and the weather is comfortable. It doesn't do much in the way of cheering up this somber, abandoned complex, however. Griffin Mihangle doesn't seem to mind too much, though; it's beautiful here in its own way. The tall man has freshly shaved today, and he wears a rather sharp-looking outfit consisting of dress slacks, a black button-up shirt, a silken vest, and a black tie; completing his ensemble is a black bowler hat.

At least he can still keep himself looking sharp.

A piece of paper is held in his hands as his shoes crunch against cracked, unfinished pavement and grass, the man looking around as he makes his way into this property with raised brows.

The Howland Hook actually has some good activity in it. People going to and fro. While it's not packed, it does have the feeling of being busy, the members of Messiah going about their daily tasks. Ash has pulled the excersize mats out to the main room today, and has a small class of people out on them, practicing fighting. Various styles are displayed in the practice, kick boxing being the primary one, as it is Ash's specialty.

Ash himself is watching the other members of the freedom fighters, correcting where needed, and praising when due. He pauses to look up as he notices a new face, his head tilting to the side. "Be right back guys…" he comments to them. They continue to practice as he pulls away from the group, making his way towards Griffin. "Can I help you?"

His eyes linger on those practicing their fighting, Griffin lifting his hand to remove that hat, brushing a hand through his hair. As he is approached by Ash, both of those somewhat bushy eyebrows raise, prompting a wrinkle to his forehead. After a moment of examining the man, a small smile appears on Griffin's face. "You can, actually." He pauses, glancing around once more, before his gaze returns to Ash.

"I've just made my way here from Chicago. An old friend of mine informed me that assistance was needed here, and that I am to speak to either Rupert, or Peter." Griffin tilts his head to the side. After a moment, he offers his hand. "Griffin Mihangle."

Ash crosses his powerful arms over his chest, the man's eyes peering over at Griffin as he goes about playing with his hat and hair. His head is given a slight tilt forwards in acknowledgement of the fact that he can help, but he waits to hear how before speaking again. "I see. I'm not sure Pete or Rupe are here, but I can send someone to go look for them." he turns to one of the kids practicing. "Go see if you can find Peter or Rupert for me would yah?" And in a blur of speed the kid is gone, speeding off through the facility to go look. Ash turns back and smiles lightly. "Ash…" he reaches his hand out and takes the other man's giving it a firm shake before pulling his hand back to himself. "They've both been a bit scarce as of late, not sure what they're up to…" he pauses as the blur appears again, squeaking to a stop to Ash's right. THe kid gives a negative shake of his head. "Not here." Ash sighs and nods to him, thanking him before his eyes pull back to Griffin. "Maybe I can help you out a bit until you meet up with one of them."

Griffin's eyes turn to watch as the boy speeds off, his head slanting to one side. He's had his ability for ten years, but it's still strange to see other Evolved displaying their abilities. His eyes turn back up to Ash's face, then, nodding in greeting. Once the handshake is finished, the man brings his hand back to his side. He's about to speak when the boy zooms back, causing him to pause as he watches the negative answer.

Finally, a small smile forms across the man's face, the man making eye contact with Ash. "That's fine.

Ash watches as the younger guy goes back over to the fighting mats and resumes practicing with his opponent. Ash's eyes turn back away from them and onto Griffin, the man shifting his stance slightly, one foot to the other, then settling still, relaxing a bit as his arms uncross and his thumbs catch on his pants pockets. "What can I help you with then? Getting settled in? Finding out what's going on here?" He is being friendly… and some people say he's not capable of it.
Ash looks around the facility slowly. "We've got a lot going on here, training, outfitting, and general basic life. It's… a small community really."

"Well, I've found myself a place on mainland. Abandoned tenement, seems fairly pleasant." A shrug raises Griffin's shoulders up and down, his eyes still roaming about the facility. "It sounds like a good community to be involved in." He tilts his head toward the mat of students training, accidentally flashing Ash a full-on glimpse of that Moab scar. "Perhaps you could give me a tour? If I am going to be involved here, then I should probably get to know this place, I'm sure…"

Ash purses his lips, the man's eyes traveling still, alighting form place to place and person to person until finally coming back around to the practice mats. "It is. it's rough though. Everyone is on edge, waiting for something to go down…" He puffs his cheeks out and lets out a sigh, and the Moab scar is noticed indeed. Ash makes no attempt to hide the one on the side of his own neck. A lot of Messiah were Moab detainees. The government wanted monsters to hunt, well they made them. "There's not a whole lot to see, but yeah, I can give you a tour." He begins to walk towards a side door at a slow pace.

Griff makes note of Ash's scar as well, a small smile forming on his face as he moves to follow the man. "I can imagine. I've not been involved until just recently, but I can certainly see how things would be tense in these times." His hands are shoved into his pocket as he slowly trails behind Ash, memorizing the layout of the place with roving eyes.

Ash gives his head a slow tilt forwards, then back upwards. "It happens, but when you're fighting for your freedoms, sacrafices have to be made, personal sacrafices, and sometimes the ultimate one. Thankfully a lot of us really don't seem to have much in the way of loved ones beyond each other, so there's no one really to miss us when we die." His shoulders shrug to the sad grim truth he speaks. "In here we've got store rooms. Some of them are used as armories, some as workout rooms, some as hangout rooms. Minute to minute use more or less." He continues on, walking through hallways, pointing out rooms that are used, and ones that aren't. Eventually coming to some stairs and leading the man up them. "Up at the top of the facility is the conference room where we hold our usually aggressive and argumenative meetings. I'm usually the one causing the most problems."

A small, sad smile forms on Griffin's face at Ash's remark, nodding slowly. "I have a sister, and a son, myself…but I doubt my son even knows my name, and I'm fairly sure my sister loathes me." He could be wrong, but he'd rather be correct. "So I suppose we're all in the same boat here." A slow nod confirms the grim truth for Ash's statement. His green eyes travel over each area that he points out, before turning back to him, listening intently.

"Aggressive and argumentative meetings. Sounds…entertaining." He's certainly being sarcastic with that remark.

Ash hops his way up the steps effortlessly, climbing up towards the top of the facility, pointing out things as they climb. "Yeah, they are. I'm not one to blindly follow into things, and well, Rupert sort of expects the blind faith thing. I butt heads with him a lot." he laughs lightly as he climbs, slowing up to allow Griffin to keep up with him. ONce at the top he pushes open the door to the once time office, now conference room with it's big table and makeshift chairs scattered about. "It's not much, but it's brain central for planning."

The man's brows raise, his head inclining toward Ash as he makes his way up the stairs, a fair deal slower than Ash. It's on the stairs that the limp in his right leg is painfully obvious, the man gripping the rail to help himself up. "Hmm. I'm not much of one for blind faith myself. I prefer to look at things from afar and then make my decisions." Once he reaches the top of the stairs, he pants slightly, rubbing at his knee to make the ache go away.

Ash doesn't offer his help to the man, simply watching him as he climbs, noting the limp and the aching of the knee. He waits patiently until he's up at the top. "What happened to the leg?" he asks in a curious, but not rude tone, the man's eyes studying the other's knee, then lifting to his features. "I prefer to know what I'm getting into as well, Rupert doesn't seem to care for that, but Peter is understanding of it. He's a good man Peter. Not so sure about Rupert…." And from the tone of his voice that not so sure amounts to barely tolerating the man's existence. "What brought you out here from Chicago?"

Griffin smiles. "Old, old injury that never quite healed right. Basketball, senior year of high school, I tore my ACL. Never has healed right, even with the surgery." He straightens. "I've learned to deal with it. Thankfully the weather here is pleasant right now." He offers a small chuckle, nodding along with the other. "Well, I'll have to see for myself, though I anticipate meeting both of them in the future."

The final question sends Griff's head tilting to the side. "Jesse Murphy and I spoke every once in a while, back in Utah. He found me, told me about this operation, and when I agreed, he sent me here. Quite a good place to get away from the past, as well."
Ash frowns a little bit, but gives his head a slight tilt. "Wonder if it could still be healed. There are healers in the city, though one of the abilities leaves a black hand print on your body…" he reaches down and pulls up a pant leg, showing the black hand print on his left calf (Maybe right calf?) from his own healing. "Peter had the ability for a time and healed me. Took a good deal of shrapnel from an exploding grenade. Nearly cost me my life. Just cost me this in the end though." he flashes a smile, then moves into the conference room. "Can't say I know the name, but I'm sure Peter will. And it's always good to have more people around, more team mates and people supporting the cause."

The man chuckles. "Oh, it's not the worst handicap I could have, by far." He reaches down, pulling up his pant leg to show the surgery scar on the outside of his knee. "Though perhaps a healer could help. Never know." He offers a small shrug, as if it doesn't matter one way or another. He has accepted his handicap, and he has other means of moving about, in any case. "Jesse runs the Chicago branch, I am fairly certain." He chuckles. "I think…that it will be nice, to join this cause. It gives me hope of a better future, no matter how small it may be."

Ash nods his head, a slight smirk touching his lips. "Well, we have a plan, and if you check out you'll be made privy to what most of us know." He smiles and then turns back towards the stairs. "Ready for the trip back down? We've had people come and go, and we've lost a few of our own, but we're getting things done, and without mass destruction like PARIAH did. They got things done, but at the cost of civilian lives. We're doing our best to keep them out of it, but… collateral does happen." He then begins to walk down the stairs, slowly though, giving the other man plenty of time and a chance to keep up.

Why not? After all, no need to keep secrets among potential friends.

Griffin smirks quietly as Ash begins the slow descent down the stairs, chuckling softly to himself. Suddenly, his eyes begin to glow a soft bluish-white, and the man promptly raises in the air. The slap of hands on the banister can be heard, though there are no hands visible as Griffin floats over Ash's head, landing easily down on the ground at the bottom of the stairs. Besides, going up and then down in such quick succession is painful.

"Well…I hope that I do check out." Griffin turns those white eyes toward Ash for a moment, before they fade back to their typical green. "And I'm quite thrilled to hear that this group attempts to avoid civilian deaths."

Ash doesn't seem at all surprised by the floating man. He takes in stride, a light chuckles and a shake of his head are his only reactions to it. He hops down the stairs, four and five at a time after that, rather quickly arriving at the bottom of the rather tall staircase. "I'm sure you will. Doubt you'd walk into the middle of a viper's nest and not be a viper." He winks over at Griffin, a smirk playing over his features as well. "And yes, we do. We're not trying to create fear in people. We're trying to fight against a government that is opressing and destroying us, hunting us like animals. Turning the civilian populace against us is not the best way to do that."

The man chuckles softly, nodding toward Ash. "You put it quite eloquently." He nods toward the man as he arrives at the bottom of the stairs. "And I completely support that. My son, while he likely doesn't know I exist, may be an Evolved. I hope to work toward a future where I don't have to worry for his safety at all times." He tilts his head to one side.

Ash gives hsi head a deep nod, and a deeper frown graces hsi lips. He purses those lips, then nods his head again. "We lost someone recently. He wasn't Messiah, but he was int eh care of one of our members. He tagged along on a mission without us knowing about it, and ended up getting shot and killed. It… was hard. Kids like that are the reason I fight. He should have been able to grow up, read his comic books, and have a good happy life. Not worry about his friends getting killed trying to fight back against the government. He was 17…" Ash's eyes close a moment, then open, banishing the heavy emotion that was moments ago present on his face. "So, while I don't have family of my own to worry about, I do sympathize with your desire."

The man chuckles, nodding slowly. "I must agree. I want my son…he needs to grow up normal. Happy. Not in a world like this…" He glances up with a soft sigh. "I don't know if I can protect him from the bad things…but I can give it imy all." Griffin offers a small, melancholy smile to Ash. Then, he shakes his head slowly, pushing back any of the heavy emotions that threaten to come crashing down on him, in favor of a slight widening of his smile turned toward the younger man. "I think everyone here has a reason to fight. Some may be different from others, but in the end…we all have desires that can be sympathized with."
Ash rolls his broad shoulders a little bit before his head dips in acknowledgement of the man's statement. "We do. Though some of us have less reason than others. But we all have our reasons. You for your son, myself for what's been done to me and those around me, others for loved ones, others for other friends and family." He heads back out into the main room, feet scuffing slightly. Attention turns to the guys who are now no longer practicing fighting moves, but break dancing on the mats. Ash lifts a hand and smacks himself in the face lightly before chuckling and shaking his head. "Kids. I'm glad though that they still have light enough hearts that they can play around."

The man nods slowly. "There is no such thing as less reason. Someone who is only out to protect themselves may have just as valid, just as strong a reason as I do." He offers a small smile as he follows after Ash, his hands still tucked into his pockets. "It's all a matter of perspective, really. What really matters is conviction, the ability to choose what is right." He smiles.

Griffin is left chuckling at the break dancing youths, shaking his head slowly. Certainly not something he would ever be able to do. "Yes…good to see that it's not all work and no play. around here."

Ash turns his head a bit. "For some of us it is. But that…" he gestures to the kids, really they're 18 and 19 year old young men, but kids to him, and to most. "Is what I want to protect. They should be able to hang out at the mall with their friends after work and do that, not have to do it here in an old rail facility hiding from the government. And now I'm rambling and repeating myself. Heh… sorry." He gives a soft laugh and his head is shaken once again. "For some of us though, it is all work. I just hope there's not a need for people like me in the future."

A hand is raised and waved, Griffin shaking his head. "Don't worry about rambling and repeating yourself. I tend toward that more often than not, myself." He smiles softly toward the teenagers, though there's still that melancholy edge to it. "You and I are not quite as different as we may seem." He lifts the derby hat, placing it back on his head with a small smile. "And hopefully, neither of us will need to use whatever skills we have accrued in our lifetimes, one day. To be rendered useless by the circumstances of this country would be bliss."

He dips his head toward Ash in a respectful nod. "It was quite the pleasure to meet you, Ash. I will be in touch…I'm sure you will be seeing me around."

Ash bows his head to Griffin in return. "And a pleasure to meet you as well. And I'm not sure about bliss, as I'd be bored out of my mind, but I would definetley be a lot happier for the boredom." he winks at the man, a soft smile touching Ash's lips, tugging at his scarred cheek. "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other around. Have yourself a good day Griffin."


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