Participants:
Scene Title | Pissing Off the Pain Girl |
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Synopsis | Ash and Melissa discuss Messiah, birthdays and murder. |
Date | June 11, 2010 |
It's two days after the meeting, where Melissa's presence shocked more than one person, and a day after the freaky premonition that shocked Mel. Which means she's outside doing what she does best. Cleaning.
She's in an old set of clothes, black pants and a black long-sleeved tee-shirt, and she's busy scrubbing the porch to get years of grime and dirt off of it. Her phone is in her pocket, and headphones lead from it to her ears, blaring music which she's humming to.
Ash has been at the Hook facility for the past couple of days, since the meeting he's been networkign so to speak with the other cells, talking with the veterans, getting to know everyone, at least,w ell enough that he'll trust people to watch his back. But, with the meet and greet over he's headed back into the city, or well, to the rest of Staten Island.
He's not entirely sure why he's stopped by Mel's house, maybe random wanderings led him here, maybe he came here with a purpose unbeknownst to him. Either way, he stops on the walkway, watching her scrub her porch, hi shands in the pockets of his coat, silent, not speaking yet, watching the woman.
With the headphones in place, Melissa doesn't hear Ash approach. So she just remains there, scrub, scrub, scrubbing, her back to the yard itself. But after a minute she sits back and stretches her back a little, then her neck, and it's while she's doing that that she notices that she has a visitor.
Tugging the headphones from her ears Mel turns to face him more directly, plopping down on her butt. "Hey Ash. I'd say long time no see, but…" She trails off, shrugging.
Ash watches her working, not interupting, just standing there, his lips pressed tight together. When she finally notices him his head slips forwards in a very slight incline, then straightens back up. He breathes in slowly, then exhales before he shrugs his own broad shoulders.
"It has been a long while. Been waiting for you to give me that call to come finish helping you fix the place up…." He leaves his hands in his pockets, but takes a couple steps forwards. "So that was him huh? The cause of the tequila binge that night?"
Mel starts to respond to the comment about the phone call, only to have her mouth snap shut at the question that follows. A few slow breaths are taken before she finally does speak. "My phone was dead for a while, and since the cell service and electricity came back up, I've been busy trying to get everything settled. Work. My stuff from my old place. Kendall, of course."
Stretching her legs out and leaning back against the side of the house, Mel pulls out a cigarette and lights it. "Do still need help though. Did a lot of cleaning while we were stuck pretty much inside, but the plumbing is still a joke and a half." Beat. "Speaking of, Kendall's birthday was Wednesday. Having some people over tomorrow night to celebrate. You're welcome to come. If you want."
Ash sees her mouth snap shut on her reply, and his head tilts a little bit to the action, confirming rather clearly his suspicions. He arches a slight brow at the mention of the dead phones and everything, his shoulders giving a slight shrug. "I'd have still come by. Not like I've had anything else to do." He offers a light smile, tinged with amusement.
Ash steps closer, finding a patch of wall to lean against a few feet down, his head tilting back and his eyes lifting to the sky. "Maybe. Don't know the kid, would seem kind of presumptuous to show up at his birthday party." He glances over to her hiw lower jaw shifting around as he thinks. "Realized he was someone important to you when you came in with him to the meeting. After all, couple months ago, if that, you didn't want to hear anything about the fight I was part of, then you come waltzing in with this guy…. yeah, pretty big clue." He snorts softly and shakes his head, his hand dipping into his pocket to find his habitual flask and he unstoppers it before offering it out.
Melissa sighs and lets her head fall back against the wall, but she takes the flask, and a healthy drink of it, before she shrugs. "When you were talkin' to me before, I was in a different place, Ash. There were reasons I didn't want to hear. And reasons why I wanted to stay out of the fight. Those reasons…" She shakes her head and lets her eyes close. "They either no longer exist or don't matter so much."
Eyes open and fix on Ash's face. "He is important to me, yes, but that's not why I signed on. I've hated the government since they threw me in Moab for doing nothing more than existing. More, I have someone else depending on me now. Another evolved. And I refuse to allow the government to shove him in a cell like they did me. I've never killed, but I would happily slaughter every member of the government if it meant keeping him safe and free."
Her head tilts as she offers the flask back. "As for the party…Not presumptuous. He needs to be around people. More, he needs to be around other evolved who are fine with what they are. As for the other…why do care if he's important to me or not?"
Ash glances over for a few moments, eyes lingering on her as she drinks and talks. Whens he hands the flask back his big hand closes around it, lifting it up to his lips for a long swallow of the harsh liquor inside of it, his face screwing up a touch. It's moonshine if she'd recognize the taste of it, backyard liquor. He purses his lips before taking another swallow, then caps the flask for the moment. "So what changed? Everything you just stated was already a factor when I was talking to you. Kendall was already relying on you, you already knew the government was out to get us, already knew they'd engineered that bullshit flu." He grunts, then uncaps the flask again, taking a sip before passing it back. "So, what changed in the last month and a half two months to make you sign on? Then you weren't willing to risk leaving Kendall alone, now you're willing to kill for him, trying to understand your decision." He grunts, and offers a shrug to the question. "Because." Is the only answer she gets.
It may be the only answer he wants to give, but Melissa is more stubborn than that. "Answer my question, and I'll answer yours," she says, taking the flask again, sipping, and following with another drag off her cigarette.
Ash taps his chin a moment before shaking his head. "Seeing as I asked you first and you didn't really answer my question, you get to answer first." He smirks, but it's a half hearted smirk, he's as stubborn as she is, as they both know from having stormed away from each other a couple of times now, a certain scene above a pawn shop coming to mind.
He remains in place, leaned back against the wall, his eyes closed and a relaxed look on his features, not something that graces his face very often.
Melissa studies him for a long moment, especially once his eyes close. "Part of it, I wasn't ready. Another part, I barely knew you. Another? I had other obligations that kept me from taking on anything new. Yet another? I wasn't sure how I felt about having an adopted son who's just ten years younger than me. Good enough?"
Ash can't help the slight smile of victory that dawns on his features as she gives in first and answers him, but it's quickly gone, instead his eyes turn towards her and he tips his head a bit. "His being important to you matters to me, because despite appearances, I actually like you, and care about your well being. Do I know you terribly well? No. But I don't need to. You're a kindred spirit in situation and temperament." He shrugs his shoulders a bit, lifting his flask to his lips for a sip. "Why weren't you ready then but are now? What changed? I'm a soldier Mel, this line of questions isn't just about you. I have to know that if we get into the nitty gritty somewhere, I can trust you to watch my back if it needs watching, or to get done what needs to be done if I'm incapable of doing it and such. You said you've never killed, but you'd kill to protect Kendall. If you've never killed, then you don't know that."
"Wrong," Melissa says, shaking her head. "I know. When you have an ability like mine, you already have to be…" She's quiet for a moment as she searches for the right word or phrase. "Cold. Determined. Practical. I'm well aware that hurting isn't killing, but in some ways, it's worse. Aren't there people out there who can kill but not torture?"
Ash presses his lips together, letting her finish talking before he speaks. "I'm capable of torture, but I prefer not to. I am not capable of inflicting needless pain though. Killing? I can do without hesitation if the target is important. I'm the kind of Evolved that the government should imprison, though they're the ones who made me this way, so fuck them." He laughs lightly, sipping from his flask again before handing it over. "Killing and inflicting pain are very different. Even torturing someone with your ability is not killing them. You know that at the end, you won't be killing them. When you kill a man, and watch the light fade from his eyes, and have your mind wracked by the torment of having ended the life of a man who was just doing his job… ended his hopes, his dreams, his loves, his worries, destroyed his relationships, or future relationships, taken him from those that loved him. When you've done that, you can say that you'll be okay with killing. I've killed dozens since Moab, all for a cause, but I have alot of blood on my hands. can you carry that same blood?" He looks over at her, it's not a mocking question, he's quite serious about the question.
"See? Even you, who admit to killing, can't do what I can do. What I've done," Melissa says, sounding tired. "There are things I've done that I've regretted, but they were necessary, so I don't feel guilty about them, not really. I've dropped entire crowds of people in intense, mind-numbing pain, and lost no sleep over it. So yes, I can do what I need to do. I know it. And clearly Peter believes it, or he wouldn't have taken me to the little get together the other night."
Ash arches a brow slowly. "I didn't say I can't, I said that I prefer not to. I'm not capable of inflicting needless pain. Pain without purpose is a waste. Can you tell me you've needlessly tortured people with pain because it suited your fancy?" He cocks a brow upwards at the small woman, he himself sounds quite tired, but also determined, there's steel in his voice, even if it's hidden steel. "I don't know Peter, so I can't say one way or the other what he believes. And some of us are not brought in to kill Melissa. You might be one of those." His shoulders rise and fall slowly. He stops his flask and tucks it into his pocket, giving a soft sigh. "I don't want to discourage you away, not my intention. Just making sure you can do what needs doing. You saw Magnes last night. I have a feeling he'll be betraying us at some point. I told him what this thing was, Messiah, he clearly didn't take what I said to heart, because he was shocked last night. He's not ready for this."
"Magnes is an idiot," Melissa says flatly. "He's a boy playing at being a man, but he doesn't do too badly in high pressure situations. Whether he is capable of hurting or killing, I don't know. But I know what I'm capable of. You can believe me or not. It's not really my problem, now is it?" she asks, head tilting.
"I've told you, several times, that I'm up for the task, and you keep pressing. Which means either you are trying to discourage me, or you just don't believe me. Either way is insulting. I've answered your question. Accept it or not, that's up to you. But I have as much reason as anyone else to fight, and I've been doing that in my own way for quite a while."
Ash narrows his eyes at Melissa as she makes that comment about it not being her problem. "No, it's not your problem, it's everyone who will have to fight alongside of you's problem. They're the ones who have to rely on you Melissa. so you can take you fucking attitude and shove it." the last comment is growled out. "Forgive me if I have a hard time taking in a massive change in a person from not being willing to fight to being all on board for a fucking terrorist group. God forgive a little lack of fucking faith." Yeah, he's not too happy with her statements. He pushes off from the wall, glancing to her. "We all have been, and a lot of us have died for the fighting. Never said you didn't have reason to fight. But you have a lot more reason than most /not/ to fight."
"Not true. Kendall gives me more reason to fight. More, he's seventeen now. And I have friends I know will take him in if anything happens to me," Melissa argues with a shake of her head. "And no, it's your problem, Ash. You're the one who's doubting me. Why bother asking me at all if you're going to ignore what I say? Should I go out and find a random person to kill just so you can feel safe?"
Ash arches a brow slowly. "As I said. I never said you didn't have reason to fight. But you have a lot more reason than most not to fight. You have an adopted son, regardless of his age. You have actual family, a home, a life Melissa. That is far more than most of us have. It gives you great reason to fight, and great reason not to fight. If I had family to protect, I can't honestly say whether I'd be fighting or not, or just seeking to protect them personally." He goes quiet as she makes her further statements. "it's not /my/ problem Melissa. Most of the people involved have already proven themselves capable. It is not /my/ problem. It is everyone's problem. We have to rely on you, stop acting like my fucking worry has anything to do with you on a personal level." He shakes his head, a few more curse words used in conjunction with women and such. "No, you shouldn't. I just want to know that you're ready. This Peter guy doesn't mean shit to most of us. We don't know him. We've been operating in cells, not as an army, that's changing, and we need to know our comrades. I've been at the barracks since the meeting doing just that, getting to know those that were there."
Ash says, "Sorry that you think I'm attacking you. But I'm a soldier. I have to know the man to my right is going to hold his shield up and block the arrow meant for my heart, that is all. It's not personal doubt, it's professional doubt."
Melissa's eyes close and she sighs as she rubs at her temple. "Jesus fucking Christ, Ash," she mutters. "Okay, look. Regardless of my reasons to fight or not to fight, I am going to fight. And that doesn't mean I'm going to try to fight, I will fight. If that means torturing, killing, or whatever, so be it. And if you can't believe me, then why are we having this conversation?"
Mel's legs draw in, knees against her chest. "You say it's everyone's problem. Fine. But everyone isn't standing here asking me over and over again if I can kill if need be. You are. But there are only so many ways that I can say yes. So you can either accept that for now, or you can't. That part isn't my problem. I've answered you. Short of killing someone, that's the best I can do. So why are you still harping on the same question? The answer isn't going to change."
Ash lets a slow smile spread over his lips as she gets mad and frustrated with him, swearing and telling him that she's going to fight regardless of what he believes of her and she'll do what needs to be done. That smile turns into a satisfied grin and his head tips to her, the man leaning his head back against the wall. He doesn't reply to her irritated words, just smirks and grins in satisfaction and his eyes close a moment. Finally he murmurs a single word. "Good." His hands tuck into the pockets of his coat again and his head pulls away from the wall. "Resolve Melissa. It's all about resolve." He winks at her, that smirk still plastered across his features.
Melissa rolls her eyes. "If there's anything I've got, it's resolve, Ash. And right now it's that resolve that's keeping you from keeling over," she mutters. "No one can piss me off like you do. So just drop the subject already before I forget that we're on the same side."
Ash bursts out laughing, the man leaning back against the wall as his loud laughter rolls from his body, his face scrunched up nice and tight, eyes squinting. The laughter rumbles on for a long few moments before slowly settling down and he chuckles a bit. "Same is pretty true Melissa. I've not met a single person in this city that makes me want to break a wall more than you. And I've already dropped it, the resolve comment was more to explain my badgering and my cajoling." Meaning, he antagonized her and questioned her repeatedly to see if she'd give, to see if she'd budge on her statement of begin ready and willing to kill.
Melissa's eyes narrow and her head cants to one side. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't go ahead and hurt you just to let off some steam? Because I'm having trouble thinking of one right now."
Ash turns his head, a thoughtful look on his features as he thinks about. "Because you think I'm cute?" he offers, a hesitant smirk forming once again on his lips. He looks up at the sky for a long moment, eyes lingering on the blue expanse. "You're one of the good ones Melissa." He finally murmurs. "Yeah your power is nasty, but you yourself… you're one of the good ones. If you weren't you wouldn't have bothered sticking around the night we met at the Nite Owl. You sat there and pestered me until I talked to you and opened up a bit. You've taken this kid in and given him a home and someone to care about him. I don't want to see you lose what makes you good inside, so maybe that's part of it as well." he turns his head, his eyes settling on her before his shoulders offer a slow shrug. "Not many in your situation could still be one of the good ones."
Melissa looks a little uncomfortable at his comments and she jerks a shoulder in what could be a shrug. "I'd lose more if I sat back and let what happened to me happen to Kendall," she mutters.
Ash nods his head forwards a touch, lifting a hand to run his fingers back through his short hair, slowly, letting his hand fall back to his side eventually before he offers a light sigh. "You probably would. Doesn't change my statements… but … you're right." He looks over to her for a moment, then away, watching the world around the little house. "Sorry." He murmurs finally in apology for making her uncomfortable. He pushes off of the wall and takes a few steps forwards, away from the house.
Melissa shrugs again. "Don't worry about it. Just remember to bring Kendall a present or something. He likes comics and some weird card game."
Ash looks over his shoulder to Melissa, a bit of sadness in his eyes. "I'll see what I can do." He murmurs softly, eyes going thoughtful before a slight smile crosses his lips, some warmth to it. "I'll get my comic collection. The dojo I used to live in is condemned at the moment, but my old stuff is there. I've got a collection of comic books sitting in a crate there."
Melissa smiles faintly. "Sounds good. Aren't old comics more sought after than new ones anyway? Either way…take it easy, Ash."
Ash nods his head a little bit. "They usually are yeah. Comics helped me get through school. I was one of the nerds that got beat on and picked on when I was in school. It's why I learned to fight, but before that, I used books and comics to escape from it, have a decent collection. If they can make the kid happy…" He shrugs a little bit, then tilts his head towards her, a soft smile gracing the hard man's lips. "You too Mel." With that he turns and walks back out onto the road.