2013-02-24 Familiarity

It is getting late, but Nate has yet to return to New York. The chat with Kurt reminded him past times, another lifetime. Little more than six months since he crossed over realities and already some of his memories feel ancient. Truth is his memory was rather scrambled at first, but he got over it.
Or did it? Nate sits in a corner (with good visibility to all doors and windows) with a few expensive-looking leather bound books. Trying to remember the dialogs of Shakespeare plays he used to know very well. Book rarely interest him, they don't 'tell' much to a telepath, he prefers to learn from experience and from people. But this is different, the plays bring back good memories form at time when good memories are scarce.
Domino's given herself some time to think about how she wants to proceed with this little confrontation. Time alone hasn't been enough for her to get her head straight. Something in her world isn't right. When something isn't right, she's not in control of it. The problem is that there isn't any obvious 'right' way to handle this matter. Her initial desire to come in heavy and armed isn't going to work out so well inside of a school, though it doesn't stop her from tracking you down to the library and stepping inside in her full combat dress. Black and blue armor, red and black 'X' belt, and a trench to cover up all of the weaponry that accompanies her. Subtlety has a time and place. This is not its time.
She briskly walks in, does a quick look around for any potential bystanders, then comes to stand right in front of you, about three feet away. "Does the name 'Cable' mean anything to you?"
Nate glances up at Domino when she steps into the library. By the scowl, it is not a conversation he wants to have. Her opening line makes him blink, though. "It carries electrical current?" He deadpans. "No, it has no particular meaning to me, why?" Now he is a bit curious, so he loses some of the frowning.
"Because you remind me of someone," Dom says while folding her arms in front of herself. For such a small figure she sure does try to command all of your attention. "It took me a while to put the pieces together. A few months ago a man caught up to me, said that he was from a 'possible future' where war had destroyed most of the planet and he came back to prevent it from happening. He was either psychic or a pre-cog, knew things before I did. Metal arm, glowing eye, white hair. Called himself Cable. Disappeared without a trace some time ago. Now there's you, from some sort of alternate reality or whatever the hell. There's a resemblance."
The... what? Nate's jaw drops. "That is... hell. Okay." He looks up at the dark-haired woman, squinting his eyes. "I have no idea, but it is not impossible. Looks like my family might have a... story, with time traveling. I kinda have a sister around too." Pause, "I need to see him, can you bring this Cable to your memory now?"
Well, there's the confirmation that Domino had been looking for, and not expected to get. It's equally strange how you're so quick to accept it all as having really happened, face value and all that. As soon as you ask your question, more pieces fall into place. Not a pre-cog, a psychic. As are you, it would seem... She had been guarded before, now she's actively defensive. "Hold up there, buster. I didn't single you out so that you could invade my thoughts."
"I asked first, didn't I?" Replies Nate tensely. It is Xavier's house, so he is following the rules and not going into her head uninvited. "What did this Cable want from you? If it was me..." he scowls again. "Sorry, but you would be among the last mutants I would want to see again." Yes, he said 'again'.
Funny. Domino continues to stare at you for a moment, unmoving, silent. Considering. "He said that he was recruiting. I must have made the initial cut, though he only dropped by twice. For all I know he's either dead or in some other timeline or reality now."
Just how badly did she want to solve this puzzle? Bad enough to let you, a complete stranger, rummage around inside of her thoughts? She could always drop the matter and walk away from it. Except that it's a little too late for that to still be an option. She's only got herself to blame for it, too. Sigh.
"Take a look, then get out. This isn't an open invite to pick me apart." She's armed. She can see it coming well in advance. None of it does much to settle her nerves.
Nate glares, Domino does not feel anything, really. "I don't look much like that old geezer," he protests. Yes, he does. But 20 or 30 years older. Same eyes, same nose, same face, same scowl. Just less scars and less muscles, but Nate is still growing, and still collecting scars. He sighs, looking away. "Rachel also said the world was going to hell, soon. She is a time traveler too."
Rachel... From another time. Didn't Scott mention some daughter by that name from the future, before? "Well who in this damn building isn't?" Domino practically blurts out in frustration. "You look more like he does than anyone else around here, and you've both got works of science fiction for backgrounds. Maybe he's your father? Twin brother? I don't know, but this is all starting to get -really- convoluted and I'm not too thrilled at being at its apex. Can you do anything useful with this info or are you just as lost and confused by it as I am?"
"Yes, Rachel is Scott's daughter from the future. And I am Scott's son in a parallel universe. If you think it is fantastic, imagine how it is for us. The apex, uh? Bit egocentric of you," notes Nate with a smirk. "I am pretty sure Rachel told me she is a single child, so I guess if he is part of the family he must be from another parallel reality, or something even stranger." Like him being Nate from the future, which would definitely be awkward even for what his last six months have been. "I... could try to find him, I suppose." In fact, how could he not try to find him now he knows about him?
Dom's eyes narrow an instant later. "I said you could take a peek, not make yourself at home in there. Out, -now.-" Maybe she had been thinking with the silencer off..? Either way, she is not a fan of mind readers. Not even slightly.
"Have -you- met Cable? Has Rachel? Scott? Has -anyone- else in this entire building met the guy? I'm at the apex because I'm apparently the only one that knows anything about him, even if it's pathetically little. He had singled me out back there." His follow-through leaves a little to be desired, too. "Hell, if not for that second visit I would still be bleeding power from my plasma rifle. Somehow I had fit into things with him. Don't know how, or why, or what he even wanted me for. At least you're easier to talk to by comparison, but only by a little."
She looks off to the side, stealing a long breath to try and settle her nerves. "I don't like loose threads or unexplained situations happening in my life. That man tops both of those lists. Good luck finding him, 'cause I've got nothing."
"I haven't, I don't know about the others." replies Nate. "And I am not in your head. Not that you could know if I was." Except she might be able, if she has some training at it. Nate is not Xavier, he isn't subtle. But if it unnerves her, that is alright in his book.
"So he managed to get under you skin, uh?" Nate half-smirks. "I have no idea why he went to you and not to Xavier or Scott. That would make more sense." At lest that is what he would have done. Or maybe Illyana. "When was this? When did you meet him?"
"Not inspiring confidence, Nate," Domino warns. Truth of the matter is that she doesn't have much experience with mind readers. Right now she's also irked and quite possibly somewhat paranoid. The chances of her knowing whether you're snooping around in there or not is slim to nil.
"Clearly it runs in the family," she observes with a dead tone. "It's because I'm not one of Xavier or Scott's usual fares that he came to me. Back then I was completely unaffiliated." Also not afraid to get her hands dirty, though that much still hasn't changed. "September twenty-sixth and October thirtieth." Kinda strange how she could be the 'expert' after having only spent about thirty minutes with the guy. Had he really avoided making any other social calls in that month?
No, the dates mean nothing to Nate. "Oh sure, almost no one trust telepaths. Not even other mutants. Funny that." The young man doesn't seem too convinced with Domino's explanation, though. "So you are not one of Xavier usual fares, uh? Yet you ended up here anyway. If he was trying to avoid Xavier he shouldn't have contacted another American mutant. Unless he really needed you specifically for something, in which case, he will be back."
"Do I look like the rest of the kids in this fancy building?" Dom asks with a slight challenge in her tone. "I'm sure my nationality had nothing to do with his decision. Maybe I was important in his timeline." Or, maybe he just wanted to recruit someone that was a mean shot with anything containing a trigger. She chooses to leave her particular skills, and her power, out of this conversation.
"Maybe. Maybe whatever he thought he needed me for is no longer a concern, too. Until then, if you catch wind of this guy anywhere I'd really appreciate being kept in the loop."
"I don't know all the kids in the fancy building," replies Nate. "Do /I/ look like the rest of them?" Because he would be a bit disappointed if he does. Most people in this Earth have had an easier life. On the other hand, he is trying to learn to be more normal. "Oh, alright," he agrees reluctantly, "you do the same, willya?"
"Sure," Dom automatically replies. Least she can do, right? Though already your question is distracting her from such matters, as it's a very good one to be asking. She should have thought about it some time ago on her own. "Why are you here, anyway? Looking to get Xavier's help in sorting your other reality memories together or something?" That earlier frustration in her seems to have gotten shelved as quickly as the topic gets changed. Cable annoyed her from the start and only continued to get worse from there. Not continuing to dwell on the matter can only be a good thing.
"I... it is complicated." Give him a minute of awkward silence, okay? "Yeah, see... there was a war in my world. Humans against mutants, and no punches pulled. There was death camps, nukes, giant killer robots, alien weapons, and at the end, no survivors but me. Well, I came to this world because I got lucky, but I have found some hints of the same things that tore apart my world are starting to happen here. I am going to do my best so it doesn't happen, and of course Xavier can do quite a bit about it. My world is pretty much his worst nightmare. Then there are personal reasons, of course. Like the... people I knew being here, or at least their doubles in this world. Including my parents."
"So aside from the addition of family, you're here for the same damned reason he had come back to this timeline," Domino concludes. "Why can't we ever get someone from a -good- future..? Just once? Is it really too much to ask?" Oy. "Well, I guess the next time you're shopping for a group of 'rough and tumble' sorts to lead offensive tactical strikes against high-risk targets, you know where to find me. Looks like my schedule's clear." At least she can get some clear answers from you, too.
Nate arches an eyebrow. The hell? "Uh, maybe the people from nice futures has no reason to leave?" He guesses. "And I am already in a crew of like-minded warriors." Which pretty much fit Domino's group definition; what an interesting coincidence. "Not from Xavier's students... well, there is one or two. And you..." he clenches his jaw. "I met another you back home, y'know? It was not a good meeting."
Okay, things just went from weird to downright creepy. "You've met another me?" Domino asks, not even trying to hide her surprise. "I don't even--wow. There's not much I can say to that. Point is, that other me wasn't..isn't..the current me. I don't know what made it a bad meeting but that sort of history doesn't have to repeat itself."
Except that she marched right on in here with a serious chip on her shoulder. Whoops.
"I'm just ..." Just what? "..Going to stop talking now. Be seein' ya, Nate."
Nate nods, "yeah, we can talk later," when everything feels a little less freaky. The Domino he remembers back in his homeworld was a sadistic assassin. This one, well, she came to talk with him in the library armed to the teeth! She is a different Domino, right? Maybe? He might be willing to accept it at a rational level, but he is not going to trust her right away.
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