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Post by James Adler on Jul 24, 2011 0:14:09 GMT -5
James had never been to New York. He got close once when his high school basketball team closed in on national in his junior year, but they didn't pull it off, it was a long-shot of a game anyway, and it was better left forgotten as far as James was concerned.
Now was the time to live in the present. He was in New York, the big apple, the city of lights. He should enjoy it for what it was worth, of course he would have enjoyed it a lot more if he had any money. As it was he still had not earned a penny to his name Thus he still only had a dollar fifty crumpled into his jeans pocket, a dollar fifty six to be exact. He had counted it. Twice.
So why was now such a good time to be in New York? Short answer: It wasn't, but he had some business to attend to, and for the safety of others, as well as the school in general, it would be best if he took care of it now instead of later.
James was wandering, searching really through the back alleys of the city at night. It was clear that at the moment he could be in a better mood, but after searching all day he just didn't have the energy anymore. He wandered around the back alley's invisible to the eye, looking for a man, the only man who could teach him what he wanted to know.
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Post by Night Wolf on Jul 24, 2011 0:24:12 GMT -5
Night Wolf had spent the night looking around for those gang members he knew that might have some information for him. They could have been weaker mutants or just normal humans, but it wouldn't have mattered since Night just needed to ask them some questions. It might have been nicely or it might have been after he had to rough them up a bit, but he would get what he needed no matter what they chose to do. He had seen very few of them lately, it was as if the gang now had an idea of what he looked like and were avoiding anyone who looked like him. He went down a dark alleyway were he didn't see anything when a scent caught his attention. He recognized the scent from that time he was in the infirmary at the institute. He moved up behind were the person should have been standing and placed his hand on his what he guessed was his shoulder, he had done so silently out of habit.
" What brings you to such a dangerous area of the city so late at night? Shouldn't you be back at that school for mutants doing whatever it was you were doing there?" Night asked as he waited for the man to show himself.
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Post by James Adler on Jul 24, 2011 0:45:28 GMT -5
James walked down yet another abandoned alleyway....This whole day sucked....he just walked around in dirty alleyways and skeevy bars, and dark dank holes looking for one guy, in all of New York City. Granted it was dumb, but he didn't know what else to do. The school didn't really have any information on the guy, and the only person who might be able to give him a lead was Alex, which would involve telling Alex why he was looking for Night in the first place. No that just wouldn't pan out. It was either go with this incredibly crappy plan, or do nothing, and this was too important to do nothing about, so here he was. The cesspool of America.
James stopped to get a drink from out of his duffel bag. He may have been poor, but that didn't mean he had to come unprepared. Xavier's school was a seemingly unlimited charity towards him and they had no problem with him packing as many previsions as he wanted for the trip...however long it was going to be.
Putting his hand on his shoulder...he felt something strange...and hairy...turning his head to see what it was he was met with the gawking eyes of Night. He could of been surprised, terrified even...but this situation was just...creepy...backing up a few feet James willed himself visible and awkwardly greeted his acquaintance.
"Hey...hows it goin?"
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Post by Night Wolf on Jul 24, 2011 12:41:15 GMT -5
Night Wolf looked at the man before him. This guy was trying to act casual and friendly even though it was clear he wasn't saying anything about how he really felt. Night never knew why people tried to lie when their body language always said what they were thinking despite their words. Night had a wolf mutation though and wolves relied more of body language then human's did to communicate though as well. Night looked at the man some more before he just sighed.
" I'm fine, but you need to get out of this area. This place isn't safe for anyone to begin with and it is even less so for a mutant right now." Night said to him in a calm serious voice that had an undertone of a threat in it. " It doesn't matter what your powers can do to fool people, it can't fool mutant detectors or sensory type mutations in other mutants. Take me finding you as a great example of that, so keep that in mind and get out of this area now."
Night knew he sounded harsh, but that is how he needed to sound right now to get his point across to this guy. He had no clue what kind of trouble he was in if he didn't get out of here soon.
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Post by James Adler on Jul 25, 2011 15:40:24 GMT -5
James stared still somewhat dumbfoundedly at night as he tried to shake off the awkwardness of the situation. It took him a second to take Night's tone into consideration.
"If that's true what are you doing stalking around here? I may not be able to teleport like you, but my guess is I have about as much of a shot of getting out of this area as you do, so what exactly is worth all the trouble? Listen...I just had a pretty crappy day slumming around here and looking for you...So, if you could give me some courtesy and not blow me off, that'd be great" It was a little rude, and to be honest James felt a little bad immediately for having said it, but he wasn't exactly in the mood to humor anyone's games, or for that matter, be treated like some little kid who wasn't able to take care of himself.
"Listen if you have something here that is really important, that's fine. You'll do a lot better off having two mutants instead of one, otherwise you should take your own advice and we should get out of here, if it's really that dangerous."
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Post by Night Wolf on Jul 25, 2011 16:02:18 GMT -5
Night Wolf looked at this guy in front of him with a confused look on his face. Did this guy really not understand what it was like in this area? The guy didn't have a gun or a knife or anything on him in which to protect himself, and Night has two of each. And what was this about looking for him? What could this guy want from him? He didn't remember anything too spectacular happening that he should go looking for him. Seems he would just have to humor him for a short time and see what he wanted, the thugling rabbits were hunkered down in their holes tonight anyways.
" I guess I can talk tonight, their not coming out right now since I started hunting them down anyways." Night said to him. " Let's go find a place to grab something to eat if we are going to talk. I haven't eaten anything yet since I woke up about and hour or two ago."
Night lead the guy out of the alleyway and to a hole in the wall dinner that was on the outside edge of the gang territory they were just in. He sat them down in a spot that he could see what was going on in the dinner, while no one could hear their chat. He looked at the guy after looking over the dinner.
" You are wrong about something though, I don't teleport. What I do is something I like to call traveling. It may seem similar to you, but it is different." Night said to him after they got sat down.
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Post by James Adler on Jul 25, 2011 16:38:06 GMT -5
James followed him silently, his limbs were a bit stiff from walking around all day, plus all the way to New York the bus was standing room only, so that proved to be some fun. It'd be good to get some food though, even if he couldn't pay. Speaking of which....
"Hey, uhh...I don't really have that much money on me right now, so..." he awkwardly stammered maybe he could just stick with water...? rolls maybe? he had enough snacks in his bag to hold him over easily...he packed for a week if need be...
This was important and not something to be taken lightly...now that he was here it was vital that he learned as much as he could.
"Listen Night, I know we don't really know each other very well or anything...but I need a favor...Ya know that whole incident with Alice in the hospital room? I need to know how you calmed her down. I figure it had something to do with the shadow wolves you summoned...meaning that it has to do with shadow manipulation...but I think it is important that someone at the school be able to look out for her...So I want to see if I can learn how to help her. If she is possessed by a shadow, I could clear it away with my light, but that was a shadow that I do not understand how to reach."
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Post by Night Wolf on Jul 25, 2011 19:43:21 GMT -5
" Order what you like, I'll cover the bill. You can think of it as a thanks for helping get Alex away from Alice that time." Night said to him.
This guy wanted to know how he could try and stop Alice, but Night didn't know what to tell him. It would be impossible for someone who couldn't navigate and survive in the shadow plane let alone get there. All Night knew was that one or two of the most powerful beings in the shadow plane had been using her as a way of playing with this plane. They were one of the few beings there that weren't scared of the shadow wolves as well. How could this guy help Alice out with his powers even though they allow him to manipulate light from what he could tell? He couldn't without killing her, and if he went to the shadow plane his powers would be pointless since light does not exist in the shadow plane. He just needed to tell him that right now so he wouldn't be trying anything crazy.
" You can't help Alice out. There is no possible way for you to be able to." Night said to him in a calm, serious way that left no hint of doubt. " She loses control like that do to an extremely powerful being of the shadow plane, the place that both her power and mine are linked to. She brings beings in from that world and fuses them into the shadows of our own and forces them to do what she wants. I on the other hand absorb the energies of the shadow plane and use it to enter the shadow plane as well as provide openings into this world for the shadow wolves. I do not control them like she does the shadow beings she brings out, they do what they please and only do what I ask if they want to do it. Alice though doesn't bring shadows into her body like I do so the thing controlling her isn't inside her in the sense you think of it. It is in the shadow plane and your light can never touch it and even if you tried to use your powers on Alice it would just end up harming her or killing her. And do not even think of traveling to the shadow plane, no light can exist there. I tried to bring in a flashlight, a torch, matches, flint and steel, everything that can create light. Nothing worked, light just does not and can not exist there so your powers would be useless and the beings there would slaughter you the moment you entered for being a foreign entity. That is why it takes so much for me to bring another person into and through the shadow plane, I absorb the shadows that go to attack them and bring the torture and pain onto myself."
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Post by James Adler on Jul 26, 2011 0:51:01 GMT -5
"I get it...I get it..." James responded nonchalantly before taking a drink of water. "Your saying there is absolutely nothing I can do and your absolutely sure about that I take it..." he continued giving Night a long hard determined stare. "Figures as much the way my days been going...should have seen this coming I guess, but you see I still have a problem. When Alice gets out of control like that no one can really stop her, and I want to keep everyone safe, including(especially) her. So you see I really cannot go back empty handed, you gotta be able to give me something man, it wouldn't take much to brighten my day today."
James really considered ordering a drink. He wasn't really a drinker, especially in strange company, but today had just been one of those days you don't get all that often. Ultimately he thought better of it, he had to get home on his own after all, so it was best not to start. There was one thing today he had been glad for, free food, you could never be unthankful for free food.
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Post by Night Wolf on Jul 26, 2011 0:58:26 GMT -5
Night Wolf looked at him as he thought of what he might be able to do. Alice seemed like she didn't put up much resistance usually, but she could control them if she needed to. The shadow beings weren't as brave as they might seem, even the powerful ones. Truly only the shadow wolves had any kind of spine or courage when faced with something new and sudden and startling. He might be able to try that, but that would mean that he would need to catch her completely by surprise.
" I do know of one thing you could do." Night said to him. " If you can get behind her or catch her off-guard while she is going berserk then if you blind fold her or do anything to suddenly startle her, she should come back to her senses. I wouldn't try that with a shadow wolf, but with the other shadow beings it is possible that could work. If not then you will need to contact me so I can do something about it. I want to help her out too, so I will come as quickly as I can to make sure she doesn't hurt herself and others."
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Post by James Adler on Jul 26, 2011 1:18:57 GMT -5
"fair enough..." James responded taking a bite into his meal(the stuff was really good but James could hardly taste it) "I really appreciate you helping me out, and the free food of course." he said holding up his fork with meat on it. "I take it your offering means that your ability can get you to the school quickly then? seconds could mean lives....and probably mine would be first...so the quicker you are the better..." he said taking out his phone. "Here's my number, call me if you ever get into any trouble as well, its only fair I pay you back. As far as surprising her goes...I should be able to do that for a while anyway...so hopefully there won't be too many problems early on..." he uttered, now staring down at his food as he chewed.
This silence continued for a little while as they both ate their food, one scarcely looking at the other intent simply to focus on their respective meals.
After a few minutes James spoke up again with a slight hesitation: "Hey what do you think of her?....Alice I mean?"
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Post by Night Wolf on Jul 26, 2011 1:41:03 GMT -5
Night Wolf looked over at James. He wanted to know how quickly he could get to the school? So far it didn't take him long to get in or out, maybe 2 seconds at the most for him. The school was close by and he had been there before so it was an easy travel distance in the shadow plane. Finding a berserking Alice also made the traveling easier to do since she stuck out like a lighthouse on a moonless night in the shadows. He was going to tell him that, but he was too busy eating his food when he asked to tell him. Food always got Night's attention quickly, it was a weakness if anything. His attention was gotten though when he asked him about what he thought of Alice. He wasn't completely sure of the answer to that.
" Well let me answer your first question, I can be there in almost an instance. Traveling to a place you have been before and with having Alice there using her powers like that, it is an easy road to walk. If you need me I will be there as soon as you tell me where to be." Night said to him as he stopped eating. " And what do I think of Alice?Well I think many things about her. We have a bond and feel drawn to each other, but I also want to help her since she hasn't had much of a normal upbringing which has effected her emotions. There are many emotions she doesn't recognize when she manages to feel them, so I want to try and help her notice them and recognize what they are."
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Post by James Adler on Jul 26, 2011 2:04:14 GMT -5
It was a real relieve to hear how easily Night could get to them in a seconds notice, it took a lot of edge off of James, he seemed to have taken on the weight of this issue all by himself, and its effects were showing clearly on a day like today. He listened intently interested in what Night had to say, and when he finished he responded:
"You know I feel exactly the same way...I want to help her she is clearly in far above her head, and the world, even the school, seems to have it in for her. I can't for the life of me figure out why though...When I look at her all I see is a girl who needs help...not some horrifying monster, that everyone else seems to see...even that time...I wasn't scared or horrified really...mostly I was just sad...she has so much beauty...and...and...I just hate to see it tainted by such a dark power...I just want to show her the world you know...all the beauty there is out there...but she's not ready yet...uggh...I don't know man...I just want to be there for her ya know? she needs someone to be there for her..."
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Post by Night Wolf on Jul 26, 2011 2:25:17 GMT -5
Night Wolf looked at him and wondered if this guy knew what he was talking about. He had blinded himself it seems to what Alice truly was. Night knew what she was and how to help her, but that was only because he was the same as her in more ways then one. They shared a similar power, but they also had a past devoid of parents were their powers ruled their everyday lives and their survivals themselves. Alice had been mentally while his had been physically. He knew she lived in a completely different world then everyone else and she never would be able to live in the same one as them. Night was much the same in a sense, his past was always with him forever carved into his body and he would never be rid of it. She was a monster because of both her powers and just who she was now, but night was the same, he was a monster forever to this world. This guy needed to understand she didn't need some savior from her reality, but someone who lived in it with her.
" You don't understand who she truly is then. Yes she is beautiful, but she isn't tainted by her powers. She is a girl, but she is also a monster. Her beauty and her powers are very much one and the same. She is a female monster who is also a girl. You want to bring her to your world? You want to bring her to the world that refuses to understand her? What you want to do is selfish and is only to make yourself feel better. She doesn't need to be fixed and made into a normal girl, what she needs is for someone to allow her to see who she really is with nothing that needs to be fixed or changed. She has her own reality now, one you can't hope to be apart of, so stop trying to bring her into your reality. I can understand her, but that is because I am more like her then you realize. Stop playing this game before you cause any harm to her, because if you do anything to that girl I will hunt you down and I will see to it that you find out why the shadow wolves decide to listen to me."
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Post by James Adler on Jul 26, 2011 3:06:08 GMT -5
James listened quietly content to take in any wisdom and insight this man had to offer on her, that was until a certain point.
When Night called her, no even compared her to a monster James went livid. James rose to his feet pounding the table slightly causing the dishes to rattle on the table.
"SHE ISN'T A MONSTER. She may live in a different world one that no one else can truly understand, but she isn't a monster. Her powers do not make her beautiful, she does it herself. Her powers control her, and she doesn't control her powers. She isn't the monster, its those beast from the shadow realm who are to blame! Do I think she needs to be fixed? No far from it she is a beautiful the way she is I just don't think that she has to live a sad tortured miserable life all alone. I just want to show her the beauty of my world, and maybe one day she will show me the beauty of hers, but she isn't a monster! She is just a mutant with a power she can't control! And guess what Mutants are scarey! Look around you! The World is scared shitless by us! They think we're all monsters! But guess what? We aren't, we are just normal people like everyone else. You can go ahead and keep thinking that your a monster and that there isn't a god damn thing you can do about it, and guess what your right! as long as you think your a monster you can't do anything! I'm not going to let the world dictate what Alice is! She isn't a monster! but if you want to be one that's your choice... "
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