[13:45] * JJ (Goldbolt@ksa-65s999o3.dyn.optonline.net) has joined #DiveBomb
[13:47] <Sisip> The message had been sent, and Beth was waiting.  Would he show up?  She had no idea, but she was determined to wait it out.  The bar was empty, the day still too young for even her most loyal of drunken patrons.
[13:48] * JJ is now known as Kraken
[13:53] <Kraken> * JJ it wouldn't be too long before JJ showed up. A secret message from an unknown number to a secret location? Suspicious, but JJ was prepared. He had his Tron suit ready to pop on at a moment's notice. And the secret meeting place was... Not what he thought a secret meeting place would look like. It was a public business? OK! That made things less creepy. In he goes!
[13:55] <Sisip> Beth was sitting at the emtpy bar, reading a book while jazz music played on the jukebox.  As the door opened she turned to look at him.  He's given no smile.  She marks her place in the book with a napkin and sets it aside.  "Thank you, JJ... for coming."  She motions to a table before standing and pouring two glasses of water.  She moves over to said table and sits, water for him and water for her!
[13:58] <Kraken> * JJ That goofy smile appeared on his face as he spotted Beth. "Beth!" But the smile was short lived as her face was blanker than the napkin she just used as a bookmark. That could only mean ba news. Seriously bad news. She trailed off as she said his name. Something was wrong! JJ started to feel apprehensive as he took the seat. Please, let no one be dead...
[14:03] <Sisip> There was only one thing dead to the solemn brunette right now, and that was Cobalt itself.  She takes a bit of a breath before she sips her water, "JJ.. I need a favour."  Her brown contact-lensed eyes lock on the fellow,  "A big one.. but one that.. I think... is owed to us."  Us?  Yes!  That's what she said!
[14:10] <Kraken> knew all about Beth's origins. He, Uncle Dillon, and a few others had helped smuggle her out of Cobalt and make sure she didn't get tomatoed like all the other Klones. Yes. Clone with a K. Kayla clone, Klones. But Beth said US, as in plural. But Beth was the only Klone to survive the tomatoing... no! Wait, she was obviously talkign about, "Trenton... you and Trenton..." he bit his lip
[14:10] <Kraken> and his eyes glowed just a smidge. "What do you need?..."
[14:16] <Sisip> She nods a bit when he names Trenton,  "He was braceletted, JJ.  Because of something that Cobalt was responsible for.  He wouldn't have been there if Marlo had the balls to tell the truth.  He wouldn't have gotten upset if Di..."  She faulters on that name.  ".. if Professor Anderson... hadn't stuck his nose in.  But he's the one being punished."  Her anger is undeniable.  "Anderson is still ... doing what he does.. in Cobalt.. Marlo.. he's still out chasing badguys.. right?  Oh.. without Trenton, because.. "  She jazzhands ".. SNDd... they're just doin what they do."  She shakes her head, "I need you to remove it, JJ."
[14:33] <Kraken> * JJ shuddered. He hated SNDs, even the term braceletted... it was just so wrong. Powers yearned to be free! She blamed Marlo, she blamed Uncle Dillon... even dropped the familiarty and called him Professor Anderson. Both felt like punches to JJ's gut and a squeeze to his heart. It showed on the techie's face. Beth was sounding dangerously close to an us and them mentality. "I can do
[14:33] <Kraken> that..." JJ said in asmall sad voice.
[14:39] <Sisip> At this point she felt like it was an us versus them situation.  She didn't expect him to acquiesce so quickly and his response caught her a bit off guard.  She nods, "Th.. Thank you, JJ.  Trent is running some errands, but perhaps... once he gets back."  Beth 'uhms' quietly, ".. would.. you like some peanuts?  Or pretzels?"
[14:46] <Kraken> * JJ his eyes ceased their glowing and he twiddled his thumbs. Whatever he'd been expecting upon setting out on his mystery adventure - this wasn't it. This was a friend... and she was making him think bad thoughts and do... well it technically wasn't a bad thing. Trenton deserved his freedom. And it wasn't like he'd succeeded in eating Uncle Dillon. Dillon was fine now. Had an awesome
[14:46] <Kraken> scar on his leg but no longer needed to use a cane when he walked. Marlo... was Marlo. There was a funny taste in JJ's mouth. "Pretzels, please..." He said those words like a kicked puppy, like somehow it was his fault.
[14:56] <Sisip> She gets up and moves over to the bar, grabbing a couple bowls.  One was filled with pretzels, one with unshelled peanuts, and another was to drop peanut shells into.  She settled down across from JJ before sliding the pretzels over to him.  "I will never speak for Trenton, JJ.. I would never make this choice for him.. but .. I think I'm done."  She shakes her head, "I'm not afraid of Cobalt anymore.  Not like I was.  I'm afraid of it for a different reason now."  She unshells a peanut, nibbling on it for a moment, "I don't see that overwhelming shiny building that represents equality and safety.. I see the cracks.. I see the tarnish.   I see ... inequality.  I see it struggling to be relevant in a world that is leaving it behind."
[15:06] <Kraken> <JJ> "Only Trenton can speak for himself... I don't know what Uncle Dillon said to him, but he'd never make or w-w-want anything like that to happen to any of his students or those he tries to help..." JJ's world was crashing down around him. Beth's anger, accusations, and worries were palpable. "marlo's... a caveman. Everything's rocks and sticks..." You throw it or you smash it.
[15:06] <Kraken> But JJ still loved the guy like a big brother. "You're d-done? Afraid? Cobalt?... I was born there...." It's all JJ had ever known. "Cracks? Inequality?.."
[15:16] <Sisip> Beth nods, "I know you were."  She gives a bit of a bitter laugh, "So was I."  She looks down at a peanut in her hand, "So were the others.  But we weren't convinient.  We weren't part of the group.  We were ... expendable.  Living, breathing, sentient... but not important."  Her shoulders shrug, "Now they have a glorifiend man-child running his super hero obsessed, daddy issues filled, wet dream team.. doing more damage out there than the badguys end up doing.  Doing damage not only to his own home.. but to the city."  She shakes her head, "But he's important.  He can do what he wants."  She raises a hand, waving it in the air, "I'm sorry, JJ, this isn't your fault... none of this is your fault.  I'm just.. tired of Cobalt.  Pretending it's there for mutantkind while in reality it's driving us into hiding or slapping inhibitors on  us because they can't control us."
[15:28] <Kraken> * JJ winced. Yes. How could he forget that? beth had also been 'born' at Cobalt. Not that it made a difference but she'd been cloned and had all of Kayla's memories up until that moment of... was it technically budding? That was the term in the animal kingdom right? Or maybe parenthogenesis was a better one? But Beth had been fully formed. Kayla sized and fully cognizant. There had been
[15:28] <Kraken> no baby stage for her, only Kayla's experiences. "We?... the other Kay-Clones?" another wince from the J-ster. "I think you were the only independent one..." The others... basically cartoonish lemmings. Running around with no clear goal, running amok. Or did Beth mean her and Trent were these left-overs. Then she really tore into Marlo. JJ didn't touch the pretzels or the peanuts.
[15:28] <Kraken> "Marlo's not in charge of the team anymore. He hasn't since... you know. They did bring Shannon back in after that." JJ needed to do something with his hands, he was fidgeting. "There has to be some other way..."
[15:40] <Sisip> <Beth> The girl shakes her head, "I'm sorry JJ.. I just.. needed to unload. You're here, doing me a favour, and for that I will always be grateful. Absolutely without doubt." She gives a smile, but it's a tired one, "You've always been one of the good ones." As few and far between they were.
[15:45] <Kraken> * JJ did Beth know who Shannon was? Kayla had, right? "I... just don't wanna lump Uncle Dillon and Marlo in the same catergory as those nut jobs of Faust's running around the city trying to impress Pathogen so he'll give them his blessing." JJ sounded sick saying the words. He popped one of the Faust minion Minions out of a compartment on his robo-arm. He just needed to fiddle with
[15:45] <Kraken> something, and snapping the little arms off a toy Insaniac sounded like a good idea.
[15:54] * @TentacleBeast (uid308203@jr-755348.stonehaven.irccloud.com) Quit (Quit: Connection closed for inactivity)
[16:05] <Sisip> Beth knew who Shannon was, yes, which was why she didn't go after her like she had gone after Marlo.  small blessings that she was in charge now.  "Proffessor Anderson would never dirty his hands like that.. but .. Marlo?  OH I know he's changed his name... as if being Impact will erase the damage done by Crippler.  As if this makes the damage he's doing... legitimate."  She looks over at the little toy, an actual smile being hinted at, "That's cute, JJ, you make that?"
[16:20] <Kraken> "He's trying... he's just," an idiot. "He's trying to change. I think the incident where Uncle Dillon got hurt made him tone it down a little, that and realize that Crippler's a bad guy's name. We..." yes, this time JJ said we, including himself. "are..." saying trying again made everythign sound uber lame. "A bunch of idiots in over our heads... standers-by get hurt... the bad
[16:20] <Kraken> guys all have lawyers even if we catch them... who lawyers these things?!" Yes, the Insaniac Minion went snap. "I modeled and printed them... yeah...."
[16:26] <Sisip> <Beth> The girl just sits quietly, listening. She nods a bit.. money. Money made even good people defend monsters. "What does it do?" She reaches her hand out, obviously wanting to see the little thing.
[16:35] <Kraken> <JJ> "Nothing... it's just 3D printed plastic. I made them up as a visual aid for planning how to take out the real ones..." JJ shook the rest of them out of his arm and onto the table. "Bunch of little trouble makers... new girl at Cobalt thinks I'm developmentally delayed and my worries of villains attacking are me pretending with them..." he complained.
[16:41] <Sisip> She hmms softly, giving a shrug of her shoulders, "Even a bit of a plan is better than just charging in and hoping for the best."  That gets a bit of a laugh out of Beth, "Well, everyone was new once.   She probably has zero clue about anything mutant related in Salem."
[16:48] <Kraken> * JJ one of those plans that had the figure laid out on a big map. JJ had yet to make the map. "Exactly... something other than a hose to keep the metal aliens from killing each other..." Quilver didn't go actively earching for MetalHead, she just went bonkers whenever she caught scent of him. "But... when they're all vieing for favor... you know it's gonna get worse. Planning... maybe
[16:48] <Kraken> we can use it to our advantage, get them to turn on each other for their stupid prize and even take Pathogen out too!" JJ scowled - a little. "There's new and then there's... her."
[17:34] <Kraken> AFK>>