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Mutants & Masterminds: Future Imperfect - Chapter 4.2: Shadows of the Past


Joani

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Ronnie glared at him, looking more like herself. "You've met Celeste, briefly. And you know me. And that's it. We try to keep things separate.

"I didn't stop you from coming here because I didn't know. Before Raven knocked us out, May was a fuckin' vegetable, and that Raven-bitch didn't look like May. So I didn't fuckin' know."

She stood up, her face hurt and angry. "And I'm not an answer lever. She killed one of us! Right now, all I want from her is an exorcism."

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Travis didn't get up, didn't try to argue, "Please. I need to know. I ... I think she and I were ... lovers? Married? I don't know. She knows me, she did this to me I think." He raised his head and Ronnie could see a hurt vulnerability that she'd not seen before, "I think I made her do this, I need to know why. I promise, I'll ... I don't know. I'll ask her to leave you alone; leave you all as you are."

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"Married? Lovers?" Ronnie looked crushed. "God damnit," she whispered, lowering her head. "God damnit!" Her fist lashed out and slammed into the desk next to her, shattering the leg and sending splinters into the room. "Fucking cunt gets everything!" she roared, spinning and punching the wall. The paneling fractured, but the violence didn't seem to be enough. Ronnie screamed wordlessly, fists balled up as she vented her rage verbally.

She sagged suddenly and grabbed the desk to support herself. It collapsed and knocked her to the floor; on hands and knees, Ronnie hissed, "Well, here she comes. You're getting what you want. Hope it makes you happy."

She shuddered and shifted again. Ronnie's familiar features faded away and were replaced with Raven's stunning appearance. "Goodness, but she's a childish bitch," she sighed, rising to her knees and tossing her hair over her shoulder. Wincing, she lifted her arm and began to pick at the splinters stuck in her skin.

"So, Thomas," she said, looking up at him while she worked, "now that you've ignored your so-called friend's needs for your own, I'm sure you want to talk to me. All that hurt she's feeling... I hope she learns a lesson from this." Raven sighed. "I should have been more careful when I made her. I wanted her to like fighting, so I gave her passion, and then failed to give her the tools to pursue all passions she felt."

She got a speculative look on her face. "I think I might just wipe her out and start over. Make her better this time. Don't look at me like that - she'll look that same, and that's all that matters to you, right, Travis?"

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Travis didn't move an inch, not even a twitch of his eye lid, or an involuntary spasm in his arm. He didn't need to, he had the power to reach out and do what he wanted with a thought. No sooner than she had fairly well sneered his name did she feel the tightening about her throat as exacting pressure was put to her throat. "I'll kill you. If you so much as think about hurting her, I'll pop your head off, I don't care if it means losing any chance I have of learning my past."

He looked up, the glint of a killer in his eyes, "Don't think I won't. If you know me at all you know I don't have a problem with death, I doubt that has changed much from before." He flicked his hand and Raven was yanked to her feet, her toes now barely supporting her body weight. Travis stood as well crossed toward her. "You will explain and I will listen. Unless you can simply undo this brain wipe you did."

He brushed the long dark strands from her face. "Maybe I cared for you once. Maybe somewhere deep down I still do. But right now I only care because you have answers and I have questions, because you have hostage the only person on this earth I would die for a second time. So don't push me and don't try me." He leaned forward and stared into her eyes; she could see his resolve in his eyes, and it was growing by the second.

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Raven gasped for air as she tried to hold onto something, "Put me down, Thomas - don't be stupid. You and I had so much more and now you are trying to tell me that you fell for that bitch? She has no idea what to do with her feelings, she is flawed - incomplete. I just created her for combat purposes, nothing more. Don't tell me you fell for a flat two-dimensional persona - you used to have higher pretensions, honey."

Raven tried to break his TK clutch by physically removing it with her hands but failed miserbly, his grip was too strong. Sensing he was serious about this she changed her strategy.

"Thomas - put me down, please. Then we'll talk.", she asked him, her voice becoming eeringly overwhelming as if she spoke directly to his mind and heart.

Click to reveal..
Activating Persuader to convince Thomas ...3d10.hits(7)=6) That should total 8 Suxx. Travis/Thomas can withstand with spending 1 WP since a Willpower roll won't beat her suxx
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Travis set her down so that her feet touched the floor levelly but his grip remained at her throat. "There, I've put you down, but I won't let go. What does it matter to you what my feelings toward Ronnie are? Unless you are jealous of her? Ronnie is my friend, anything beyond that remains to be seen. If you care for me at all you will not harm her.

"Listen to me Raven, you'd better start talking or I'll tear my way out of this place and find Nash, and I'll make damn sure he knows his secretary was more that what she seemed. I want answers, I don't know what your plan was, or my plan, or who made the damn plan. All I know is that I woke up with nothing six months ago in Vegas. Ronnie has stuck by me, she's been my friend, when I had none. I've had flashbacks to ... I don't even know, memories I suppose, though I can't trust them since if I did you'd be dead. I saw your head in a box on my doorstep. I'm asking you, tell me who I was. Tell me how we were connected."

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"Very well then, Thomas. But don't blame me - you wanted to forget all this. You wanted a way out and I gave it to you. I arranged everything for you, just like you requested and now you're threatening to kill me? Kill me because I hold a made up personality of mine hostage that you've grown fond of? And that coming from the master of lies himself.", she shook her head as good as she could and laughed.

"Thomas... you and I were unstoppable. We used to be the best out there until you got a conscience all of a sudden. I didn't care because I loved you but you kept pressing the matter. I never thought you had the capacity to actually feel more than the rush of killing someone. That's the best you are at - and you're a good lay.", there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"We are mercs, Thomas. The best out there. Hired guns, killers, spies. Whatever. You did it all for the rush, I did it for the money. Around the time you 'disappeared' you've came back from germany telling me you've found something. A key and it's in your brain. It was the only thing I couldn't access because it was alien. Thomas you got a fucking alien in your head and if it's aware of you it'll kill you. Well not your body, but you. The only thing I could do is isolate the bug and keep it in the dark. You wanted the memory wipe... you even enjoyed the idea of starting over. I didn't believe it at first, but I think you've grown tired of all the killing.", she took a deep breath as good as she could and added quietly.

"I tried to kill myself in your memories hoping you wouldn't start looking for me. I'm the only person you ever loved and I loved you in return because of that. I guess I passed that to some degree to all my personalities... just to make sure you'll be safe.", she looked at him through watery green eyes that sparkled with inhuman beauty. Only a mutant could have such eyes.

"If you love her, you love me. Doesn't make much of a difference now anyway.", with that last sentence she slumped in his grip and relinquished control to Ronnie.

Startled by the transformation Travis let her go while Ronnie gasped for air. She felt how May retreated and kept her outside of her thoughts. She was the only one capable of that. She also felt a pang of pity for her and an odd love for her... mother. Getting rid of her could mean the end of all of them.

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An alien in my head. Travis looked at Raven as she suddenly retreated away from him, If you love her, you love me. He released his hold as Ronnie swelled up to take Raven's place, You wanted the memory wipe... I think you've grown tired of all the killing. Travis looked at his hands, he felt lost, and no less confused than before. He knew she wasn't lying, he could tell that he had loved her, and some part of him still did. He looked up at Ronnie, some fragment or portion of Raven created explicitly for combat. If you love her, you love me. If you love me you love her. Travis stepped back and looked at Ronnie. Raven was right, he had somehow fallen for Ronnie, it wasn't a matter of lust and he wasn't even sure there was an emotional connection there, at times she seemed so distant to him, but he couldn't deny it, her friendship meant more to him that he had realized. Part of him recalled hazy memories of Raven and confused the issue further, Ronnie is part of the whole; Raven. Raven seems weaker for the loss, she's missing a portion of herself in the process. Could I choose if I had to? "I want it all back. I don't like not knowing who I am. I'm not a stronger person for having flushed away my past." And I want you back, all of you, Ronnie especially.
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Ronnie waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to react, afraid and unsure what to do. She wanted to touch him, but that might break this silence, and if they started talking, things would change. So long as she didn't say anything, so long as he was silent, they could hang in that limbo forever.

"I want it all back. I don't like not knowing who I am. I'm not a stronger person for having flushed away my past."

Ronnie nodded, feeling her heart sink. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes, though she didn't need to do so. She told May had he'd said, though she was sure he'd heard it anyway. "She knows," Ronnie said tonelessly, tasting the bitterness of being May's errand boy. And she still didn't know how to react to Travis.

"Let's get the fuck out of here," she whispered, her eyes dropping to the floor.

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With Raven coming back, Ronnie knew that the tiny chance she had with Travis was gone. Who wanted a fragment of a woman? Even his words only provided a bit of help; they gave her the courage to think that she had a tiny chance, her last one.

Smiling despite her overwhelming sorrow and anger, she moved to kneel in front of him. "Thanks," she said softly. "That means a lot, at this moment."

She could tell Raven was upset and confused, and in this moment, Ronnie had the power to hurt her. But what she did next she would have done even if Raven hadn't been paying attention; she planted a hand on the wall on either side of Travis' head and kissed him.

If this was her last chance, she was giving it her all.

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Ronnie's kiss was forceful, there was plenty of lust but the emotion that drove it, the physicality behind it spoke a physical desire and not an emotional one. At first he returned the kiss, it was second nature to him, a reflex action. Then, in his head, he heard Raven's voice, "Goodness, but she's a childish bitch ... I gave her passion, and then failed to give her the tools to pursue all passions she felt." He knew Raven wasn't entirely right, nor was she entirely wrong however. Her kiss in the hospital had been far more vulnerable, sensitive, and caring than this. Now it felt like she was acting out of jealousy and spite as much as, if not more than, anything else.

Gently he cupped her face and pulled away from her, "This isn't what you want Ronnie. Its want I want, but not from you, not when I know this isn't you. You're letting her get to you, and whether you realize or not she's letting you get to her." I've got one woman fighting herself over me, this has to be a first. "God I can't believe I'm even saying this."

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He'll fuck anything, but he can't even kiss me. The thought was painful and Ronnie dropped back on her heels, stung. "Fine, then. Let's get out of here, deal with this later," she said, turning toward a wall. She had no way of getting out, but she'd find one, damn it, if only so she could flee this truly uncomfortable situation.

She began to run her hands over the panels, feeling for a switch or lever. "Say," she added, "I got some information from her, so if you wanna know something, ask. I might have grabbed it."

Ronnie focused on the wall with the single-minded determination of the hurt. If she worked on finding a way out, she wouldn't start crying and embarrass herself.

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Travis could see the hurt on her face plain as day. He slapped his head to his forehead, "Ronnie!" He grabbed her arm and spun her toward him, "You want this? You really want this? You want to fuck right here right now? Cause if I screw your brains out right her, right now the only thing that proves is that I'm exactly as she said and that SO. ARE. YOU!" Travis was surprised that he was saying this, surprised that he felt this strongly. "You don't want me to fuck you, that much is clear, has been for as long as I've known you. I may be a lot of things but clueless and blind isn't one of them. Don't you think for a moment I haven't seen the way you act, seen the way that you reacted toward Raven." He looked away, "That I didn't notice the difference between the way you kissed me just now and the way you did at the hospital."

He stalked away, "You're confusing the hell out of me woman, but I get it now. I get that Raven created you for a task and that you've changed and grown beyond that task." He leaned down an put his hands on the desk, bracing himself on it as though for strength. "I think I see now that you've had feelings for me and no idea how to deal with them or with me. I'm sorry for that. I wish I were a better man ... then maybe I could help you."

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Ronnie sighed and sat down. "I'm not good at this emotional shit. So let me lay it out - I love the man you are - good, bad and everything," she said, turning bright red. Her eyes had trouble meeting his, but she kept trying to look at him. "It's never been a matter of helping me, Trav. I accept who you are, but I won't be a fun fling for you. It'd suck to be that... close to you and then watch you skip off to the next pretty thing."

She sighed. "I don't need help, Travis. I need to be my own person, so that I can finish growing beyond what Raven meant me to be." She laughed harshly, dropping her head into her hands. "I'm fuckin' Pinocchio - I just want to be a real girl.

"I'm sorry about just now, but your dead ex, who's a real person, has showed back up in your life," Ronnie said, talking through her hands. "I figured I needed to make a move now, or... forever hold my peace."

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Travis slumped against the desk, "Trying to get into my pants was the wrong move at the wrong time, Violet. Why haven't you said something sooner? Or why didn't you just say that? You're right you know. I don't care about those women. I'm a misogynistic pig, I go out there an I find something pretty to fuck for a night and move on. I don't know if it's a hold over from before or encoded in my damned DNA. I know you are my friend. And I know, I can feel it, I know I loved Raven." He shook his head, he couldn't look at Ronnie cause he was afraid that he would only become more confused. "I don't know her now. This Travis ... I'm ... shit I guess this is what Alzheimers must feel like. She still loves me, and you love me, and I don't even know myself. I don't even know if I can feel love. I'm a mess ... a devil who tried to become an angel again." He was silent, the quiet hung thick like a pall over the room.

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"I wasn't trying to get in your pants, not... directly," Ronnie sighed, lifting her head and glancing around the room. "When I imagined sex with you, this wasn't the location. I was more... marking my territory... trying to tell you how I felt in my own special way."

Ronnie was quiet, then said, "She doesn't believe that you can love. I don't know about Thomas, but the man you are, the one I've known, can. When he told me to pull a piece of metal out of his chest so there'd be more oxygen for me, that was love. I don't know that it was romantic love, but that's caring for someone more than yourself. That's love.

"I know you may never feel the same about me that I feel for you, but that's fuckin' life - you always want the one you can't have," Ronnie sighed. "The fact that you were in a years-long relationship with what is essentially my mother only complicates this issue beyond belief." She laughed. "I should just take Hicks up on his offer."

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"She's not talking," Ronnie sighed, aware that she'd just said something wrong. Was it the Hicks thing? "What I now know about you I got when she let her guard down. And it was more than I wanted to know, frankly. The man she is remembering is not the one I know. I don't think the computer will do anything."

You're a fucking moron, Ron, Celeste sighed. Why did you bring up Hicks?

I dunno, I just thought that it'd be easier than sorting out this mess, Ronnie said, uncomfortably. Should I have not said it?

Well, fuckin' duh! Lena growled. Travis is practically wearing a sign that says, 'I just shut down so I didn't have a reaction.' Fix it.

How?

Say something about not meaning that, Celeste said. Unless you did, in which case, keep pushing and I'm sure you'll get Travis to leave you alone. Is that what you want?

He can't love, Raven said morosely. You're all wasting your time.

Ronnie blocked the rest of the conversation at that point. It was hard; Raven was like a lead weight in the back of her mind. In some ways, it was harder to just be herself under that pressure.

"Look... about the Hicks thing... I was just shooting my mouth off," Ronnie sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "I'm not even sure I'll exist tomorrow, so I shouldn't be trying to do anything with anyone." She pushed back the loneliness as she looked at him and met those eyes that had made her heart race for so long. "But I needed to tell you how I felt about you. Romance aside, you matter more to me than anyone else in the world."

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Travis didn't reply, instead he focused on getting out, a tangible goal that he could actually accomplish. The went around to the computer and typed "Exit" into the computer and then hit enter. Worth a shot, he thought as he waited. He tried a few other words or phrases. "Fuck you," he said to the computer not realizing that he hadn't replied to Ronnie. He heard her stifle a gasp and his shoulders slumped, "Not you dammit. Maybe Raven ..." He was irritated now and in a moment of frustration he unleashed his power. Every book on every wall suddenly flew off the walls and to the center of the room. They quickly stacked themselves neatly. Travis slumped, even that small exertion made him feel like a pile of warm shit, worse still there was nothing to be seen behind the books.

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"Right," Ronnie muttered, wondering if it was a good or bad sign that Travis was mono-focusing on this. Sighing, he drew back a fist and tried to punch her way out. Unfortunately, under the wooden veneer was some kind of metal, and Ronnie quickly stumbled back, holding her hand and cursing.

Alright, you fuckin' hag, how the fuck do we get out of here?

I'm not telling you.

Ronnie growled aloud. Why the fuck not? Oh, fine, forget you, I haven't needed you for years. She closed her eyes and focused, and after a moment, she opened them, looking irritated. "Ok, you're right," she said. "The computer controls an elevator... so that's the key."

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"Swell." Defeatist. Shit I'm a real piece of work, I don't even know what I want. Too busy trying to resurrect some part of me that is long gone so I can make him decide. "I don't suppose you can figure out how to work it?" I don't suppose you could force Raven to restore my memory? He waited, feeling sick and twitchy at the same time. Suddenly he looked confused, "Why is she hiding out in your head? She got out, why didn't she stay on her own? I mean why torment you if she wants me wouldn't it be easier if she didn't have to fight you to be her? Or ... you know, however that shit works for you?"

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"She's there... I think she's hiding from you," Ronnie said, pausing to wipe her forehead against her sleeve. She still felt awful, above and beyond the emotional crap she was going through. "She's not really keen on restoring your memory. She's pretty firm on not doing that. I'll lean on her... but I don't know that it's going to work."

She turned her full attention to the computer and began to pressure answers out of Raven. The only reason it worked was because the other woman was sick from the virus, too. Slowly, she opened a program, typed a few things in, then said, "I think this will work." Prepared for the worst, she hit the enter button and waited for the room's reaction.

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As soon as she hit enter there was a hydraulic sound and the chimney 'disappeared' into the wall getting replaced by a pair of doors which looked very familiar. It was the same type of elevator they entered earlier.

The doors opened and the mutants entered. The elevator set in motion and after a short while they got back to the main hall. The place looked just like they left it, too many people obviously doing there job and not noticing the two 'guests'.

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"I don't know," Ronnie said, her voice lowering as she concentrated, pushing past the virus. Instead of claws on each finger, she had a single horn that extended from the back of her hand like a thick, round rapier. "But I'll anal probe him right back for you." Keeping the 'sword' down by her hand, she started to leave.

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"Better him than me I guess." He looked down and saw the bone sword grow from her arm, "Are we expecting trouble, causing trouble, or just sporting the latest in fashion accessories?" Still she could see him lace his fingers and then reverse them, there was a rapid series of pops as his knuckles all popped. She knew from experience that even though it was unnecessary he used his hands to gesture when using his powers. Keeping them limber helped his control, or some he claimed. Then again at one point year before he had said that he needed his fingers ready to pleasure any woman that crossed his path at a moment's notice.

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"Seems completely reasonable, also completely insane," he shook his head, "You and I both feel like death warmed over and you want to fight your way out? Oh and I would remind you of the nifty fuck you field that they have. You remember that one? The one that takes your short and curlies and pulls on 'em 'till you wanna cry?"

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Both mutants scanned their surroundings taking in as much details as possible. There were roughly 50 employees working here, most of them sitting and working on huge flatscreens which had all kinds of data.

Close to the holographic map of the world which showed the globe in its entirety seemed to be the centre of the section. Mr. Nash was standing there talking to one of the experts and examining one of the screens.

It seemed to be an ordinary day at the Mutant Division HQ...

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"Hey Nash, I don't have all day, when are we going to get started?" Travis strode across the room purposefully, eddies of power leaking out behind him sent papers to the floor and tipped coffee cups of stale Joe over. "I want my memory back and you want your ... What the hell did you want back? You said I had something of yours but you failed to mention what? Care to give me the four-one-one?"

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Ronnie didn't say anything; this was Travis' show. She just followed him like a surly, sick, purple storm cloud. Her 'sword' was currently pointed at the ground, but her expression said she'd love a reason to point it elsewhere. Prudence suggested it was best to leave her - and the man she was clearly defending - alone.

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"Oh, there you are!", Mr. Nash smiled and waved them over, "And I was thinking you've got lost on your way to the toilet there.", he chuckled.

"Well... yes, you've got some valuable knowledge for us. Especially about the terrorist duo Wraith and Ghost you've been tracking ever since you got employed here. We were really close to catching them when you suddenly disappeared."

Travis blinked several times as the names "Wraith and Ghost" echoed through his mind.

Click to reveal..

"Wraith and Ghost strike again! Ha!", he showed her the headline of the newspaper and gave her a broad smile.

Raven frowned which made him raise an eyebrow at her, "What?"

Taking the newspaper she briefly read the first paragraph and then threw it away looking angrily at him. "You almost fucked this on up. You can't always expect me to clean up the mess you make, Thomas!"

"Hey, we're just doing what we're good at, eh? You clean up... that's what you're good at, you're a woman. You're my woman and now stop pouting.", he reached around her waist and pushed her closer to him with a short telekinetic burst.

"Here, let me show you I'm your man."

(ooc: as usual - WP roll to snap out of it, or spent 1 WP without a roll)

Ronnie was getting good at telling when Travis was having one of his episodes. She watched Nash carefully and kept an eye on Travis. Hopefully he'd snap out of it any second.

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Travis zoned out for just a second, long enough to realize that life was going to get a lot more complicated before it ever got simpler. "Those names sound familiar, but then again I may have just seen something on TV or in the paper about them. What about this thing you wanted? You said I stole something. Well, what the hell was it? For all I know It was staring me in the face in my apartment for the past three ... err six, months." Travis kept pressing Nash, he wanted to know what was so damned important, wanted to know what leverage he had over his former employer, and potentially, over Raven.

Click to reveal..
Willpower 4

(14:44:53) ChatBot: (Travis) rolls 4d10 and gets 5,2,10,2.

Result = 1 sux

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"Your last assignment was in Berlin, Germany. You've been investigating the recent developments in the country - why there's been that extreme political pull to the right wing. You've found something important but you didn't have the time to relay that information to us. And we didn't know how far we could trust your partner.", Mr. Nash looked at Ronnie with a raised eyebrow.

"Mr. Du... Mr. Kincaid, I can't tell you what you stole. And if I did I wouldn't disclose that just yet. As far as I am concerned this could be a ruse of some kind. So we make one step by step and then we'll see how much we can help you get what you want. Quid pro quo."

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Nash raised his arms defensively. "This... is not what we're going to do. What are you expecting from me, Mr. Kincaid? That I push a button or a wave a magic wand and that's it? Memory restored? 3 months ago we assumed you to be dead and then you come out of nowhere and save the country with a ragtag bunch of mutants. Right now.", he looked at both of them, "You are the most valuable assets we have. Whoever took your memory, it wasn't us. All I can give you is your old office and access to all files that you have clearing for. I suggest that you first catch up with the current situation global wide before you start digging in the dirt."

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