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| Harsh Realizations; (Jon) | |
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| Topic Started: Jan 13 2009, 07:10 AM (386 Views) | |
| Julio Richter | Jan 13 2009, 07:10 AM Post #1 |
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Unregistered
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Place in Timeline – January 20th Time of Day – 9:30 am Julio sat in front of the toilet his head buried in the bowl resting on his forearm. He had already vomited twice and lost count of the dry heaves. His abdominals had constricted so much that they quickly became sore. His arms and legs were weak and quivered uncontrollably. He was amazed that he actually made it to the toilet instead of having to clean up a mess on the floor. He chilled as a cold sweat made his shirt stick to his back. Rictor knew exactly what was happening to him; he was experiencing withdrawal symptoms. It was weird and someone disturbing. He woke up and could feel that he needed the drug, and when he went to use his inhaler it was already empty. He briefly started searching for another canister, but was halted when nausea hit him and began to vomit. That was a while earlier and he had been in front of the toilet ever since. <How did I run out that quickly?> he thought <That should have lasted longer.> He paused in his thinking to grunt with the next wave of dry heaves. <Something’s different this time. It’s not right. Aingeru must have done something to the ones he gave me.> Rictor hoped that no one would walk into his room and see him like this. There would be a lot of explaining and disappointment towards him. After all he really couldn’t blame them. He told lie after lie and hid this from them and jeopardize not only himself, but also the rest of the team publicly. |
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| Volt | Jan 13 2009, 10:59 AM Post #2 |
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Electrokinesis / Cloned Origin
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When Jon was a killer without conscience and consciousness, he never slept, never dreamt. Each mission, and in his three years of servitude there had been many, had ended with him returning obediently to a vat of sticky, slimy, amniotic goo, where he would go into stasis, machines broadcasting learning programs into his susceptible brain. All of the clones had been programmed to it, except Longshot, who had been allowed free rein, which was of course his downfall, and the reason for the different treatment of the others. It was not until these past ten months or so that he had been a man and not a tool, that he had developed the ability to sleep like a regular man, and while he had yet to recognizably dream, he had begun to understand the joys of sleeping in. But it was morning, the sun was up, and in the room adjoining his, sharing a bathroom, belonged to Alex Summers and Lorna Dane, and apparently, Bossman and his green haired love, were feeling a little... amorous. Not normally a problem for anyone, but Jon's hearing had been enhanced just enough by his creators that the slight buzz of giggling and whispered words of passion had woken him up. He yawned, stretched, and threw on a pair of jeans and a dark colored sweater with white stripes on the sleeves that if you looked carefully, was actually made of Xs. His plan was to go to the kitchen and make some breakfast, maybe loaf on the couch in the lounge. The sound of someone vomiting in the room down the hall hit him. He knocked on the door, but only as a way to announce that he was coming in, and he soon stood, leaning against the jamb, his arms folded. "Told you not to eat Shane's Super Spicy Mango Salsa last night," he said, with a smirk to the suffering Rictor, "I don't trust mangoes. They're related to poison ivy... or is it poison oak? I always get those two confused." |
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| Julio Richter | Jan 15 2009, 11:20 PM Post #3 |
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Unregistered
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The water was slightly warm as it ran from the faucet and collected in Rictor’s cupped hands. Sucking the water into his mouth he swished and spat it out to rinse out the vomit taste. For the moment it felt like the dry heaving had subsided, but the nausea was still present. He collected more water and splashed it on his face. He felt a little better, but not much. Looking in the mirror and saw the water droplets run down his pale face and into his stubble. I look so old, he thought. Rictor never really paid attention to his features until now. He noticed what looked like finer wrinkles in the corner of his eyes. His stubble had grown out and looked rather shaggy instead of accenting his jaw line. The gray bags under his eyes were so large they might be able to get tagged for cargo luggage at the airport. Suddenly he could feel the churning in his stomach and he darted to the toilet. "Told you not to eat Shane's Super Spicy Mango Salsa last night," Jon said now leaning in the doorway smirking at Rictor, "I don't trust mangoes. They're related to poison ivy... or is it poison oak? I always get those two confused." Rictor groaned partly from the dry heaving, but mostly because Jon walked in. This was something that he really didn’t need at the moment. “Leave me alone, Jon.” Rictor said irritably, “and everyone ate the salsa.” Rictor turned his head to look at Jon. If Jon were very observant he would notice that his pupils were dilated and that his hands were shaking. That is if Jon was observant. “What do you want?” Rictor said trying not to sound so irritable, after all Jon was probably just trying to help. |
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| Volt | Jan 16 2009, 10:15 AM Post #4 |
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Electrokinesis / Cloned Origin
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Rictor snapped at him, which was very unlike Rictor, and had it been a month ago when Alix was missing, Jon might've thought that had something to do with it. But she was home, and though there was some healing to be done, there had been no suggestion that they were having any kind of trouble in the relationship. So, that meant something else was bothering Ric, and when he turned to look at Jon, the dilation in his pupils definitely spoke of something more than the flu. Restlessly, Jon rubbed the spot where a man normally wore a wedding ring. As a cloned assassin, he had been programmed to have an innate addiction to the cocktail of drugs that returned him to his compliant and malleable state whenever there was a deviation in his programming, a flicker of free will. He had self delivered the drug via a needle concealed in the wedding ring he wore in a mockery of the original Jonathan Harper, a ring that he had given to Mina when he decided to be who he wanted to be, breaking Mojo's last hold over him. But he recognized that look on Ric's face. He had his own little master now, didn't he? Jon didn't move from his slouch against the door jamb, leaving no room for Rictor to pass him. He looked at his hand, "You know, Ric, I know a little bit about being enslaved. You want to convince me you're the master, I'm all ears. You don't want to talk to me, I'll direct you to Alex, someone else with some experience with slavery." He glanced back at Rictor, "But you aren't leaving until you talk to one of us, got me? What are you taking? I was a damn assassin, Ric, I had dealings with the darkest bit of the underworld. I know my drugs." |
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| Julio Richter | Jan 18 2009, 05:32 AM Post #5 |
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Unregistered
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Rictor honestly didn’t mean to snap, but what was done was done. Hopefully it was enough to settle Jon’s mind and send him on his way. Julio didn’t really want him poking his nose in and discovering his secret. As the old saying goes ignorance is bliss; however, Jon may have a reputation as a kidder but he is not ignorant. Rictor could see it in Jon’s eyes the moment he knew he was hiding something. Ay carajo Rictor thought as he let out a sigh. He prepared for the verbal onslaught that he deserved. Suddenly Jon seemed a lot bigger than before standing in the doorway. "You know, Ric, I know a little bit about being enslaved. You want to convince me you're the master, I'm all ears. You don't want to talk to me, I'll direct you to Alex, someone else with some experience with slavery," Jon said surprisingly calm. "But you aren't leaving until you talk to one of us, got me? Rictor was surprised at Jon’s calmness. He’d expected the tongue-lashing of the century, but it never came. Jon kept an even tone, but remained calm and uncharacteristically stoic. Rictor remember when Jon reluctantly assumed the role of leader he didn’t think he was cut out for it. Jon had come far since then and the role seemed fitting for him. Rictor, on the other hand, felt like he had let everyone down many times over and over again. What kind of leader does drugs when people are depending on them? ”What are you taking?” Jon asked trying to get him to talk. “Nothing,” Rictor answered still staring into the toilet. God, just leave me alone. “I was a damn assassin, Ric, I had dealings with the darkest bit of the underworld. I know my drugs,” Jon said sternly. Jon was not going to leave and he was determined to get him to talk one way or another. One of the many things that X-Factor has shown countless times is its forgiveness. They have opened their doors and accepted people all with different backgrounds. Jon already made it clear that he would listen. He and Alex had all went through the same thing with drugs so if Rictor was going to talk they would be his best bet, and Jon was standing there beside him. “KICK,” he said low with a sigh hanging his head. |
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| Volt | Jan 18 2009, 07:21 AM Post #6 |
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Electrokinesis / Cloned Origin
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"KICK." A single simple admission, that made all the difference in the world. Jon's expression didn't change, he was far too good at what he had been brainwashed into becoming to let something like this rattle him. He ran his hand over his short brown hair, as he let the implications of what Ric was telling him sink in. "KICK," Jon muttered, quietly, "I'll spare you the anti-drug speech we've been giving the kids we've pulled off the street because of KICK, and you already know the stories about people losing control of their powers by taking too much, or by taking not enough. By the looks of it, you are either out of it, or running too low to take, am I right?" He put his hand on Ric's shoulder and said, "Come on, Julio, we're going to get you off this, whether you like it or not. You need it to make yourself better, you need it to be stronger? Well, I'm going to let you know something, and you take it the way you like, but you move the earth, man, the ground under our feet. How could you possibly think that is something you need to enhance? In California, you'd be a frikkin' god." His joking tone dropped and Jon Harper, a man who had only been a man for a few months, turned his friend around and said, "Ric, you need to stop. Ok? You're better than this." |
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| Julio Richter | Jan 23 2009, 05:08 AM Post #7 |
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This was it. Everything was out in the open. He knew he couldn’t keep it hidden forever he just hoped it wouldn’t have emerged so quickly. With one simple word Rictor’s secret had been exposed. The one simple admission was the icing on Black Tom’s twisted cake. Rictor didn’t know if he was prepared to deal the consequences, but he knew he had to get there fast. He expected what was left his world to start crumbling down around him very shortly: his new meaning of life with X-Factor; his new friends; and Alix. Soon everything would be gone just as it had always been since he was a child. "KICK," Jon said quietly, "I'll spare you the anti-drug speech we've been giving the kids we've pulled off the street because of KICK, and you already know the stories about people losing control of their powers by taking too much, or by taking not enough. By the looks of it, you are either out of it, or running too low to take, am I right?" Julio couldn’t look at Jon so he kept staring at the hole in the bottom of the toilet and nodded. This is it, he thought. God, I don’t want to move again. Suddenly he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. Jon spoke everything that Rictor hadn’t thought before. “I don’t need to keep using KICK. I can already do so much,” but it still didn’t stop him. “Thanks, but I tried over and over to stop, and each time... I felt so in tune with the earth before KICK I honestly couldn’t think of anything else that would be better. It was as if I was one with the entire planet. Then after Black Tom forced it to me it felt like I could do so much more. Each time I seemed to come down from it I started to feel out of tune like I was slipping away from the Earth,” Rictor said now looking Jon in the eye. They say the first step of recovery is admitting you have a problem, and Rictor had just taken the first step. |
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| Volt | Jan 23 2009, 09:46 PM Post #8 |
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Electrokinesis / Cloned Origin
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Jon listened to his friend's tale and said, "I'm going to let you in on a secret, Ric. Something I haven't really told anyone yet." He perched on the edge of the tub, and sighed, "I hate being Volt. I'm living a lie. As much as I want to be Jon Harper, as much as I want to pretend that I am just him, his life briefly interrupted by disease and death and rebirth in the cloning vats of the Mojoverse.... I'm not him. When we are in battle, I have to forcibly stop myself from showing who I really am, deep down, have to stop Specimen 73826 from coming out of me and unleashing the holy hell that it was built cell by cell to do. 26 is more powerful than Volt, because he isn't bound by the morals and responsibilities that I am trying to live by now. The power that I hold in check every day because I want to be a good guy and not a mindless tool of my abilities eats at me, and sometimes I just want to put my fist to my head and see how many lightning bolts to the brain it will take to kill me." He sighed, and said, "Look, Riccy, you can connect to the earth all you want, but the fact of the matter is, you are losing your connection to yourself by doing it. Do you want to be more than your powers? I've given up everything that I was programmed to be to be what I want to be. I want to be a hero, not a villain. I want to be a man, not a tool. I want to be in control, not controlled. If you want to be Julio Richter, agent of X-Factor, role model and hero to billions of mutie kids, then you can't be Ric the KICK head. Choice is yours. Sounds like you're blaming Black Tom for hooking you, but it's up to you to get the help to get off that hook." He stood up and said, "I'm your boy, Ric. You need help, I'm here, and I'll guarantee so's Alex, and everyone else. You want help? Just say so, and it's done." Jonny looked down at his friend and said, "But you gotta say the words." |
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| Julio Richter | Feb 4 2009, 07:41 PM Post #9 |
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Unregistered
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Rictor listened intently as Jon revealed a hidden truth. The way Jon explained it Julio could make a connection to his life recently. Jon was using a technique that most counselors do with their patient’s. He was relating certain aspect of his life to help further his point and to keep the situation as informal as possible. He was a lot better at giving advice and helping people than he gave himself credit for. Perhaps Jon was more human than he thought he was. Jon, also very counselor like, gave Rictor an ultimatum. He could stay on his drugs and give up everything he had worked for and gained with X-Factor. The other choice offered was the obvious choice “give up KICK.” Rictor didn’t want children looking up to him and growing up to use drugs because he had been. That would add to the burden of his past sins and it was already heavy enough. “I'm your boy, Ric. You need help, I'm here, and I'll guarantee so's Alex, and everyone else. You want help? Just say so, and it's done." Jonny looked down at his friend and said, "But you gotta say the words." Julio remained silent for a moment not really to think about his decision, but to try and fight back another wave of nausea. “Yes, please, Jon.” That was one of the hardest things for Rictor to do; asking for help. “I want your help.” This was it. Rictor embarked on the road to recovery. Would he make it? Some part of him doubted it or a moment, but he knew he had friends that he could turn to. With them at his side he couldn’t fail. |
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| Volt | Feb 5 2009, 01:42 AM Post #10 |
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Electrokinesis / Cloned Origin
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Ric wasn't a bad guy, even though he had clearly made some bad choices in his life. Jon knew the guy had been a mercenary, knew he had done some bad things, and now this... Ric had a long road ahead of him. But, he wasn't a druggie, he wasn't a criminal, he wasn't weak. He met Jon's eyes and asked for help, and Jon smiled at him, infinitely proud at this moment to be associated with a place like X-Factor. Ric's weakness would have been either programmed out of him, or he would have been ... recycled. Here though, he was going to get help, and no one was going to say anything judgmental or cruel. Jon put out his hand, clasping Ric by the wrist and helping him to his feet. "Good man," he said, encouragingly. "I knew you'd make the right decision. We're going to get you help, Riccy, I promise." He crossed his heart, theatrically, "I've never lied to you... in fact, probably been a little more honest than I should be. All that stuff I told you, let's keep it between you and me, capisce?" He took on a tough tone and held up his free hand, sparking one finger menacingly. He slung his arm around Ric and said, "Best thing about hitting rock bottom, my friend, is there's no where to go but up." He nodded, "Let's go get the Bossman and..." He suddenly remembered what he'd heard Alex and Lorna up to this morning and he smiled, "On second thought, let's go kick it in the lounge until he's finished with his... morning stretches." This was the first step for Ric, but hell, the journey of a thousand miles started with a single step. Good for Ric for starting the journey, and thank God he wasn't going to have to take it alone. [align=center] Thread Closed [/align]
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9:01 AM Jul 11