2014.02.17 - Morning Deal

The sun is barely peeking up over the eastern horizon, rays shooting through the trees at harsh angles. Through the forest Kwabena runs, leaping past trees and timing his footsteps to the rough terrain below.

Ten minutes ago, he'd been watching the grounds from the Institute's rooftop, looking for a familiar morning runner. Her regime was like clockwork.

Dressed in an X.I.-branded hoodie and his X-Men uniform, Kwabena is using the forest as a way to intercept Jocelyn's route. His strategy is a combination of agile and deliberate path seeking, with the occasional shortcut made by letting an arm or leg strike a troublesome tree trunk, the resulting smoke proving that if there isn't an efficient path, he'll make one.

Eventually, Kwabena bursts through the tree line, trails of smoke following and forming up into his body as he approaches.

"Morning!"

For whatever reason Jocelyn doesn't have Rachel with her this morning. Her friend had taken up training with her, the poor woman. Still, there were mornings where the run or something like that didn't happen, and Jocelyn just happens to be alone on this one. If she'd spotted Kwabena's life sign prior to his arrival, she shows no initial sign of slowing until she's a few feet from the man, at which point she stops. She's dressed in a grey tank top and a pair of black running pants. Her power to convert energy into thermal energy had it's uses.

"Morning Kwabena". She'd long since stopped being surprised by others being awake at her usual time. The school held a lot of people who seemed to be okay with mornings. "How's it going?" the teenager asks. "And you joining me?" she adds with a grin. "Rachel dare you to join me or something?"

Kwabena only slows so much. There's a lot of sweat on his face and he's breathing heavily, but it's a steady pace that's far from becoming exhausted. "No, Chuck did. In a way. C'mon." He jerks his head the way Jocelyn had been going, then picks up his pace again and heads along the way she'd been going.

"I hope you're going easy on her," he remarks. "I mean -- shortah legs and all dat -- course -- she can give herself -- a telepathic boost -- if she needs to." Phrases come between measured breaths.

"Oh, so he talked to you". Jocelyn obviously knew there was going to be a meeting. She had made her suggestion to Charles because, frankly, she thought Kwabena knew her better than most. She picks her pace up again to match Kwabena's, falling in line easily enough.

"And she knows I can tell when she's using her power and I can give her grief about it. But I only push her as hard as she can safely go". Which wasn't as hard as Rachel seemed to think she could go. Something Jocelyn understood all too well. "I think she actually appreciates, on some level, that I won't let her cheat in her training. Besides, we do some powers stuff in the Danger Room too". So they get that out of their system.

"I'm sure she does," answers Kwabena. "You're nevah growing unless you're hurting."

Kwabena leads them around a bend. He knew the route Jocelyn preferred, given that they've made this run before. "He did -- talk to me. Asked my opinion -- of you, and stuff." He pauses for a moment or two, simply running. Soon enough, however, he slows the pace to a more leisurely jog, still moving fast enough to keep their blood moving and their legs from cramping. Then he looks over toward Jocelyn. "I don't think I evah asked. Why did you leave de team? I mean, on a full time basis. Needed some time away or something?"

"I never left the team. I took a leave of absence because I didn't feel like my powers, after Genosha and the Horsemen, were as under control as they should have been. They took too large of a jump," Jocelyn explains. "It was like shooting a pistol all your life and then being told you shoot heavy artillary. It took some time to adjust. It simply wasn't safe for me to undertake missions until I adjusted, not with my powers". It was a simple reason. "I honestly thought this would be a matter of 'Okay, you've adjusted to this jump in your powers, come back on missions'. But the Professor has decided I needed to be completely re-evaluated because of it".

There isn't a lot of question, based on the tone of her voice and body language that there is a bit of hurt there over the way things have gone. "Really nothing more too it than that".

Theres a long silence afterward. Kwabena can virtually feel the woman's pain. He was in a tender place himself, and he's been worried that... well, should anyone learn what he did to Steve Mercer, they might force him off the team. Even if the son of a bitch thug deserved every minute of Kwabena's retribution.

"I'm sure he's got his reasons." There's a glib tone of voice when he admits that. "He thinks highly of you, I can tell. I think, as much as he doesn't want anyone to get hurt, he doesn't want you to get hurt, too. Finding out you can do shit you nevah imagined? It's scary."

He should know a few things about that. It's a wonder the same hasn't happened yet to Kwabena.

Picking up the pace again, Kwabena leads them along the next bend in the run. A rueful grin spreads across his face. "He had Domino test you? She's a tough one to impress."

"That's code for 'I agree with you, but respect the Professor too'. Which is fine," Jocelyn says with a small grin. "We all assume risks. Heck, when I first came here and I walked down the streets of New York there was a fifty-fifty chance of something popping up and attacking people. First week here a bunch of us got kidnapped. I'm used to a bit of danger". Not that they ever liked it, but it was something they had to deal with.

Then the topic of Domino comes up.

"Domino openly stated she didn't want me on the team to the Professor right in front of me. She had me handle a live situation while she sat on the hood of her car and did jack shit to help," Jocelyn says, practically spitting the words. "I don't care about impressing her, because I lost my respect for her when she chose to stand by and do nothing. Nobody on the team would do something like that. That's what the Danger Room is for". She sighs a little as she blows of that steam. "I know you're friends with her and I'm sorry, but I'm not going to lie about how I feel about her decision there. I'll still work with her when the situation requires it, don't get me wrong, but it's a working relationship only".

Laughter comes at Jocelyn's first response. "Well, sort of!" he defends. "Look, I know de Professah -- knows of my history. He extends a lot of trust keeping me around -- around de kids -- given I could go and get a needle any damn time I want." He looks Jocelyn's way. "Don't think I haven't thought about it eidah. Dere are moments."

Kwabena has been clean for well over a year. It doesn't mean he's not a recovering addict. He is, and he always will be.

On the topic of Domino, Kwabena seems a bit surprised at what Jocelyn says. He even slows his steps until he comes to a halt, turning to look at Jocelyn with an empty expression, one a street kid would easily identify as subdued surprise. "She..." and he just stops there. "I wouldn't say we're friends. Not since Genosha. Been on... one op since? And she didn't even care to acknowledge me." He smirks ruefully and adds, "What I do know of her?" He reaches across, putting a hand on Jocelyn's shoulder. "Don't take it personally."

Turning again, Kwabena resumes the run. "We're a team, any of us who decide to be a paht of it. We got to look out for each oddah, even when de oddahs aren't looking out for us. Don't think for a moment dat Charles hasn't put Scott, or Bobby, or anyone else through de same kind of examination, because I can bet he has."

"There are always moments. But the moments pass". Jocelyn had never openly said anything about the use of certain drugs, but she figured Kwabena knew she'd tried a few in her days on the street. She just didn't have the prior addiction the way Kwabena did, something she was grateful for.

The topic of Domino and Kwabena's response gets a nod from Jocelyn. "Huh. Didn't know that," she says in response of them not really being friends. They'd always seemed like it before, but that might have been the past.

"I know. Like I said, I'm not going to not pull Domino's ass out of the fire if it comes down to it or anything like that. Or anyone's on the team just because I'm annoyed with them". She knew Kwabena knew her better than that. She'd been practically left in charge in Genosha for a month or so. Just because you were annoyed with someone didn't mean you could be unfair to them when you had power over them. Running a hospital had taught her that in a hurry.

"How're things going with you anyway? Anything particularly interesting going on?"

The moments do pass... for Kwabena, it's often at great pain. He just never shows it.

"Things change, Detroit." That's all he offers at first, though he does shoot Jocelyn a disapproving look. "Come on, like shed evah be dad unlucky." He reaches out to mock punch Jocelyn in the shoulder.

"Shit. Dere's always something interesting. Betsy and I had a little chat with my countahpart, you know? Well, he's agreed to play nice in exchange for our help getting him back home. Which... means I -- have some calls to make."

He slows a bit. "And... I ran into a kid. Kid who's dad I murdered." It goes without saying, it wasn't an act he did recently, nor was it something he's particularly proud of. He's also not making any effort to look Jocelyn in the eye, but he clearly trusts her enough to tell her.

"Yeah. I was standing guard," Jocelyn offers. "Calling up the Legion I take it". It made sense to her. "I suppose if you think about it, they all probably know who we are anyway, if they got their history books and all that stuff laying around or in a computer". Silly time travel and it's quirks.

There is silence at first when Kwabena tells her of the kid. It's not the disapproving kind. It's more of the respectful understanding. When you mess with someone's life in that sort of way, it could come back. "I'm sorry. How is the kid?" There's more to the question than the surface, of course. Did he recognize Kwabena? Did he hold a grudge? How did this meeting play out? The unasked questions that Jocelyn's question asked were Kwabena's to answer or not, as he chose, with no judgement either way. Another one of those codes.

"I figure, between Krinn and Booster.." Kwabena shakes his head, his arms making a shrug between pumping motions. "I dunno how de hell it works. It's what's dey're good at. I'm good at blowing shit up."

He finally slows, coming to a rest. For a moment he looks off toward the lake, then finally settles his eyes on Jocelyn. "Full of hate." His eyes narrow just so. Kwabena is worried for the boy. Worried about what he might become. "But... I handled it. Just got to keep an eye on him, make sure none of dese thug leaches get on his case. Latchkey kid, you know? Working mom. Easy target. But I think I made an impression. Just... hope it's de right one."

"Well, if they need some sort of converter for some sort of weird energy device, you let me know and I can probably power it," Jocelyn tells Kwabena. Because given a small sample of whatever energy was needed, she could reproduce it on a very large scale. "Or if there's anything else you need from me there".

There's a nod of understanding regarding the kid. "Yeah, I know the types. I can put a few words in with some of my contacts, get him off-limits from a few groups". She knew the gangs that targeted kids reasonably well. It was the type of group she'd started out in.

"You did your best. You can't change the past or 'make up for it', so to speak". That was something she knew from her past. Jocelyn reaches over to put her hand on his shoulder now. "But you do something to make the future better and you're moving the right direction. That's what we gotta keep doing and remembering".

"Just tell 'em to look at Steve Mercer as an example," Kwabena answers in regard to the kid. "Kid's name is Jamaal Jennings. Hell's Kitchen, close to St. Anthony's." Kwabena is not entirely sure if anyone would approve of his method, but he know, for certain, it would be effective. The moment Jocelyn puts word out and name drops Mercer? It'll seal the deal, and Jennings will be considered hands off.

"Thanks," he says, then tips a two fingered salute toward his street-rooted counterpart. "You'll hear from me when it's time."

Then, he's off and headed back for that forest. He's got some practice making through forests in a way unlike any other.