2013.07.17 - Be Well Kwabena

It's been five days since anyone has seen or heard from Kwabena. The truth is, he has been hiding in his sublevel quarters, suffering through the acute withdrawal symptoms that are part and parcel of having his nanites destroyed by Magneto.
It hasn't been pretty, to say the least.
For the first time in almost a week, Kwabena surfaces, and he does so through the secret X-Men entrance in the mansion grounds. Emerging from within the trees, he walks out into the hot evening air, and promptly lights a cigarette.
And out there, with a laptop that shockingly hasn't blow up yet by her use, is Jocelyn. The teenager does, of course, pick up on the movement around her. The slight bit of thermal energy from the cigarette. She glances over easily as Kwabena emerges. Up on the screen of her laptop is what looks like a report she's putting together for the X-Men. Jocelyn had kept herself busy, but that wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
"Hi there Kwabena," Jocelyn greets the man. She was kind of used to Shift disappearing for days at a time. Truthfully, it wasn't that uncommon for her to disappear as well. "Pull up a seat," the teen offers, gesturing to one of the chairs that are scattered about the general area. "Haven't seen a trace of you for awhile. What've you been up to?"
An interesting play had developed in Kwabena's life. It was an effort of simply -not thinking-. The plan he had proposed to Jean Grey, if seen through to its conclusion, would involve the forced swapping of his memories. The more memories that needed to be swapped, the more difficult the job would be. As such, he's been doing a lot of meditating. Clearing his mind, and not thinking about anything except his withdrawal and detoxification process.
It has aided in his recovery, but has also made him somewhat reclusive.
Such it is that when Jocelyn calls for him, Kwabena seems... distant. He walks over as requested, of course, but as he takes a seat, he might strike one as being more Logan-ish than Shift-ish.
"Hey," he answers in a non-committal tone, and swaps the cigarette to another hand. "Spent some few days in Genosha. Africa. Dropped by de old village for a minute." There is a moment where he simply looks off toward the distant place where a line of trees meets the evening sky, then suddenly looks over at Jocelyn. "You?"
"Sounds like you've been busy. I got myself a summer job. Pays in cash too, which is nice". For all sorts of reasons, which Jocelyn is sure Shift can appreciate. "I think I can make some guesses about why you might have been in Genosha, given the news". Jocelyn has steered clear of it herself. She wasn't planning on going there short of an official operation. It just didn't seem smart. "Was it a productive trip?" If it was something for the X-Men officially, she was sure she'd see the report.
"I've managed to find myself accidentally in Thor's home turf after that attack on Manhattan. Seems Asgard is under attack, and it's starting to leak over here on Earth. How that's going to manifest, I'm not sure. Lots of the elves and swordsmen and Asgardian magic villains will be showing up, potentially. I was just working on a report from my meeting with him. He's stuck in Asgard, as he is now serving as King instead of Prince". Jocelyn did run into a lot of messes.
Jocelyn does note the oddity in energy, however. Shift did look...different. It was hard to put her finger on exactly what it was though. A lot of different things for her to sort out. It'd take a few minutes. "How was the trip home?" she asks.
Another sideward glance is given when she asks of the trip. "Time will tell," he answers. A cryptic enough response.
Kwabena is definitely playing the hand close to his chest. It may seem odd, or it may raise any number of questions. However, unfortunate as it may seem, that isn't about to change soon. He seems thankful for the change of subject matter, growing more interested when she mentions Asgard.
"Is dat so?" he asks, brightening just a bit. "Thor is... an intahresting charactah. Definitely not from around here." That much is certain. "Magic villains are... distasteful," he notes. "At least our abilities can be somewhat explained away through science. You can't do dat with magic. I don't like it."
When she asks of the trip home, however, Kwa seems to clam up again. He looks away, off toward the trees, and allows a frown to form. "Uneventful," he remarks.
She may not realize just how important 'uneventful' really is.
"No. I actually attended his and Sif's wedding earlier this summer," Jocelyn says, switching gears over to to more pleasant topics. Even if she doesn't know what is going on, Jocelyn knows Kwabena well enough to know when to avoid a particular topic. It was weird for him to be so...well, kind of like most of the other X-Men from when she was still sixteen, really. Closed off and reserved. "It was quite the event," Jocelyn remarks easily enough.
"I think I've run into enough magic users to have some understanding of it. It's just another type of energy to me. I've sort of wielded it before, when I absorb it and make use of it. Wiccan or Amanda, or some of the stuff I've absorbed from various attackers. It doesn't behave like other types of energy, and tends to have it's own opinions on things". Jocelyn shrugs a little. "I'm sure any of the magic users would find the way I'm explaining it horrible, but there you go".
Jocelyn then reaches over to take hold of a water bottle, still mentally going over what was going on with Shift's energy. It was a bit of a puzzle, that was for certain.
"I'll bet," remarks Kwabena with a grin regarding the Asgardian wedding.
He'd been invited too. He never made it.
"I suppose dat is similah to trying to explain the science behind de X-Gene," he offers. "I mean, think about it. Some of the things we do? Makes no sense. Based on everything we know about human biology and various sciences, some of our mutations don't make sense. How does Bobby freeze without dying? How do Cessily and I maintain our consciousness when in forms dat are clearly not human?" He shakes his head, recalling the way Magneto spoke of his own power. "It is difficult for even scientists to explain."
It was a shame. Channel could have used someone else there she knew. But, such as it was, Jocelyn did know enough people to have a decent enough time of it. "Part of it is just that each mutation is unique, and so if a scientist can't study that individual, then they can't necessarily explain it," Jocelyn offers. "You can come up with generalities, but we don't really know just what the X-Gene is capable of fully. You have people who can do little things like go for days without sleep, and then you have people who shoot lasers out of their eyes or turn into animals or have powers that are almost beyond comprehension in power". The teen offers a casual shrug. "I just accept that there is a lot more possible than we can currently understand. Maybe one day science will catch up, but it's not there yet".
The woman takes another drink. "So, have you got any plans for the rest of the summer? Laura is taking a bunch of us to see where she was raised. Supervised, of course". Because there was no way the Young X-Men were going to that facility alone. It would help them all understand Laura a bit better, however.
For a few moments, Kwabena shows his hand, just a little. He looks over toward Jocelyn with a half raised eyebrow, and a grin starts to form. So, she's been paying close attention in her classes, which is a good thing. He would compliment her on it, but... something reminds him that the reason he was holding the deck so close has to do precisely with keeping his bonds of friendship shut down.
All part of the long play.
He's also not entirely sure he would want to see where Laura was raised. The idea of laboratories and experimental devices only brings him back to Latveria. "I have not taken any students for de summah," he answers, truthfully. "So, dere are some jobs I will take up. Try to reconnect with my mercenary leads in an effort to find out where dis Inhibitah is hiding."
"The Inhibitor," Jocelyn responds. A good name for them. "Do we know if it is technological or ability based yet?" Jocelyn questions, taking a drink. The look that Jocelyn gets is one that Kwabena would be familiar with. It was that knowing look that says Jocelyn has been looking into this matter a little bit on her own as well. She was technically old enough, even if she wasn't a full member of the team yet, to do that. Nobody had ordered her not to, after all. "I may have a lead on an edge in dealing with them, even if our abilities are removed from us".
The girl does notice the grin, but Jocelyn doesn't comment on it. She knows enough to know that part of the Shift she was used to, at the very least, was still around. But she wasn't going to push him, either. She suspected that something happened to Shift, and that he didn't want to talk about it. So she was making it a point to not push where Kwabena didn't want to be pushed.
"We do not," answers Kwabena. "Though I suspect whatevah it is, if it is technological, is small enough to be carried on one's person," he explains. "Given our encountah with him in Honduras, dere's no way a large device could have survived de blast created by Rosa."
Discarding the cigarette by grinding it into the ground and then tucking the spent butt into his pocket, he turns around and faces Jocelyn a bit more directly now. "What kind of an edge?" he asks, with a tone that leans on pressing.
"You know I've done a fair bit of teaming up with the Young Allies. A few months ago, when you were away, we fought a group of villains called the Young Masters. One of them we defeated was known as Disruptor. She had technology built into her costume that allowed her to shut down any metahuman ability," Jocelyn explains. "I didn't have a chance to analyze it completely, but I believe I can acquire and control this costume, given my contacts and...favors owed. Give me an image inducer, and I can level the playing field a little bit if the ability is related to metahuman skills. If it is not, I might be able to speak with some of my contacts to have it modified to have a negative effect on electronic devices. Some sort of EMP sort of weapon".
Nope. Jocelyn hadn't been putting all this together for a couple weeks now. Not at all. She just wanted to make sure she could do it first.
Ever higher goes Kwabena's eyebrow. "Jesus," he curses. "I don't know if I'd trust anybody with dat kind of technology," he offers. "I mean, no offense to you, my young friend, but dat..." He shakes his head, then seems to settle back and give Jocelyn a more studious look. "You'd have to know how to use it well," he warns. "Wouldn't want to shut down de wrong peopah." Beat. "Even dough if we're going up against him, if we're able to track him down, it wouldn't really' mattah. Like you said, it would levah de playing field."
"Which is why I plan to get it now and learn how to use it. From what I can tell, it is very much 'point and shoot'. It creates an energy field around the hangs, sort of like a gauntlet. So it wouldn't be unlike my powers now," Jocelyn explains. "But you could say that right now, my name...is a little cleaner than it has been, thanks to some work I've done. And I believe I can gain access to where it is stored with a few phone calls".
Kwabena wasn't the only one with a few secrets.
"It would also, if this works, serve as a measure to protect those whom losing their powers would be actively dangerous for their health". Such as Laura and Wolverine. "I haven't wanted to advertise this because if someone got caught...". Hello interrogation.
Kwabena nods his head slowly. If someone got caught. Suddenly, his deck of cards is being held right back up against his chest again, and he looks away, emotion draining from his face. "Be safe with it," he advises.
Then, he casts a single glance her way. "Be safe in general. I have some few things to attend do. It will keep me away from the..."
He stops, going cold for a moment. The medicine Jean had given him had long lasting effects, but when they wore off, it became imperative that he return for more. Otherwise, all progress would be halted, and there was no time for that.
Kwabena shifts, and begins to stand. "...it will keep me away," he finishes.
The sudden change is noted. Jocelyn frowns very briefly, but schools her emotions outwardly. Her body language, that of the street, does show concern, but also respect. She wasn't going to push if he didn't want her to. She figured Kwabena knew that she'd help however she could, if it was necessary.
"Then you be safe as well, Kwabena. You know how to reach me if you need my help," Jocelyn tells her friend with a soft smile. "I will retrieve the device, and I will tell others when the time is right for them to know, and make use of contacts I know outside of our facility, for our protection".
She pauses briefly. "Though I do suspect that if you keep a careful eye on the news, you may find mention of me. In a roundabout fashion". Just in case Kwabena wanted to keep an eye on her. She takes another drink of water.
"And be well, Kwabena".
Category:Log