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The Stopped; Black Tom, ask for invite.
Topic Started: Mar 28 2010, 12:08 AM (365 Views)
Juggernaut
Unregistered

March 24, 8 am


Cain sat upon his bed in the barracks, elbows on knees and his helm in his hands. The goliath was in a dismal mood, distraught by the way things had turned out. He had forgotten who he was, what he was here for. The Brotherhood had become a burden to him and they did not understand the way he saw things. Perhaps they did, perhaps he was even to dumb to realize they did, but that didn't really matter. There we things about him that not even Magneto knew. He never recalled ever telling people who it was he was aiming for, perhaps mentioning it only as his half-brother. But as Charles Xavier... He wondered if anyone would even know the name here. He could have asked, but for him it was now too late.

Cain was selfish, arrogant, and a bastard. He knew he was haunted by his past, by the early years of his life and the events that had occured. They had turned him into a monster. This monstrosity was welcomed. Violence is what he loved and destruction was what he needed. He was the paragon of destruction, capable of running through armies -- anything. Even before the Brotherhood he had been on a warpath, robbing banks and working as a mercenary across the world. He had thousands of dollars saved up, gotten all the riches he needed and was part of the most dangerous organization in the world.

But that wasn't enough. All the money in the world wasn't enough. There were things for Cain that were more important than being able to punch through a man's chest or fight in any war.

Charles had to die. That was it.

It all useless to him if he couldn't do that. That was his ambition, his drive. It was the very reason he was a mutant. Rage had awakened his mutation and hatred drove it through mountains. He was going to carve a scar into the land until he found his brother.

Letting the helm slip from his great hands onto the floor with a metallic thud, Cain mulled over his options. He could leave -- he wanted too -- or stay. Staying meant he'd have to continue this pointless endeavor of supporting a cause he didn't really give a damn about. Humans were weak, mutants were strong. Simple as that. It had barely any affect on him. What was the world going to do, stop him?

Giving a sigh, Cain burried his bald head into his hands. He didn't know whether to weep at all the time he had wasted or lash out and destroy the base. He needed to break something.
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Black Tom
Unregistered

Magneto’s plans were moving right along, unerring and undeterred. There had been a few hitches along the way but nothing major to complain about really. With the recent attacks on the American infrastructure and the icons that people seemed to hold dear. The Golden Gate Bridge had come down to great effect. Traffic across the bay was at a standstill and all those automobiles had to take the detour along the coast costing them hours of their day. The main point to drive home for that attack was that mutants could destroy in a matter of moments what humans had tried to pull together after months of reconstruction. The Hoover Dam was still undergoing massive repairs to replace the dynamos that were destroyed and the New York City Transit Authority was probably still scraping blood off the tiles of the subway station.

A couple of those concerted attacks didn’t go off as well as the Brotherhood had planned. The strike team that teleported into Fort Knox had almost been eradicated with a few of their members being held for questioning. There wasn’t a terrible worry about them, they were a cell that was far removed from the inner workings of the Brotherhood that they wouldn’t have very much information to divulge to the authorities. In addition to that small setback, one of the off shore oilrigs that had been targeted did not fall according to plan. Unfortunately for the mutants, there had been a strong naval contingent nearby doing training exercises and that cell had been outgunned.

Aside from all that, everything else was going swimmingly. The hushed rumor was that things were going well for their moving project as well. There hadn’t been any explosions of anger for no apparent reason so that seemed to be a good sign that events were on track in that venue. Tom had also not been as angry and enraged as he usually had been. It wasn’t that he had become used to fact that he was a tree; it was something that he had to learn to accept for the foreseeable future. It was probably more that he had been too busy to dwell on that fact.

Black Tom had finished helping with some of the heavy lifting around the compound in the early morning and was heading to his quarters for a rest. It turned out that there was occasionally rest for the wicked. Tom was walking down the corridor when he heard a metallic clang on the floor. He whipped around looking for the source of the noise. The sound was quite heavy and it seemed to come from one of the private quarters. Tom walked stooped already to fit in the hallway and he hunched down to look into the bedroom. There he found his friend, Cain, sitting down with his head buried in his hands. “You look like your best friend died, and that can’t be true because I’m standing right here,” the Irishman said.

Tom wasn’t one for expressing his feelings. He kept them bottled up and definitely wasn’t the type to nag on someone’s ear and sob into a tissue. After a few pints, that might be a different story, but not at that moment. Over time he had grown close to Cain and seeing him like this was very disconcerting. Cain Marko was the Unstoppable Juggernaut. He was known for kicking a short-bus full of kids across the state, not for heart wrenching emotional expressions.
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Juggernaut
Unregistered

You look like your best friend died, and that can't be true because I'm standing right here."

Cain lifted his head from his palms, looking towards the door to find the entombed face of Black Tom peering in at him. It had been a long while since Tom had changed from his former human-looking self. Now the tree-Tom was as tall as Cain, maybe even taller give or take a branch. Like Cain, he had to hunch over to get between doors. Letting his arms sag over his legs, Cain gave half a smile towards his friend. Out of everyone, Black Tom was the person he trusted here most and would consider a true friend. They got along great, worked a lot better together than most of the other Brotherhood, and hardly caused problems. Cain was suprised they hadn't been promoted to Acolytes yet just on that fact.

"Hey Tom," he said soberly. "How's the heavy lifting goin'? Shoulda got up earlier to help." He only said it just to feign interest in what was actually going on. He didn't care anymore. If the Brotherhood asked him to do it, he would have done it before. Today, yesterday, and the weeks before he just wasn't caring. After the attacks on the Dam he had lost his will for the Brotherhood. Maybe it was because they were attacking something that was standing still and didn't struggle.

Leaning over, Cain scooped up his helm and set it on the bed next to him. He glared at his reflection on the polished surface for a moment before looking back to Tom. Cain was half-dressed, his lower torso garbed in the red attire and the rest of it having yet been pulled up. His loaded boots sat on the floor nearby.

"So... What are today's plans for the world's most dangerous tree?"
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Black Tom
Unregistered

Cain raised his head to look at the transformed Irishman. The look there matched what Tom had suspected from the behemoth’s posture. Cain was literally an unstoppable force. It was easy for Tom, and probably the rest of the world, to identity the mutant with his powers; to think they were one in the same. Tom thought about laughing it off, that Cain was taking the piss. Like the rest of them, Cain was as subject to human emotions and vulnerabilities as well. Tom liked to play it smooth and suave but he knew there was a heart lurking inside him as well. Tom always looked out for Number One but he felt that if something terrible happened to Terry he would do one of two things. He would either have a nervous break down but more likely he’d hunt down the sick son of a bitch that hurt her.

"Hey Tom," he said soberly. "How's the heavy lifting goin'? Shoulda got up earlier to help."

Black Tom seemed to pick up on the lack of conviction in Cain’s words. They seemed hollow. Cain was by no means a poet but he just seemed to be going through the motions. The big guy could probably care less about how the menial work had gone. Tom wanted to lighten the mood by saying, “I was glad to do it. I was starting to fear they just wanted me around for my looks.”

"So... What are today's plans for the world's most dangerous tree?"

Black Tom chuckled. The world’s most dangerous tree. That was a good one. Tom would have to tell Ariel that one. She had blathered about killer plants in some movie and he’d have to bring that up. Tom stretched his craggy, wooden face into a non chalant look. “Nothing except for the usual mayhem and madness. I think there’s a recon mission checking out a potential recruit in the Saint Mary’s hospital. A young kid with some kind of perception powers. I’m on standby with Ariel in case there’s a need to get rowdy,” Tom said.

Juggernaut had scooped up his helmet and peered at it before he had looked at his friend. “Care to say what’s on your mind, mate?” Tom asked simply and straight to the point.
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Juggernaut
Unregistered

Cain put a little effort into a laugh, but part of it was true. "It'll be the Apocalypse before they start gettin' used to your ugly mug, Tom. Since we just had one, I think we'll be due for one in a few dozen centuries." He gave a honest smile, but it faded rather quickly. Usually Cain was up for a few good jokes at other people's expense, even if that person was his best friend. He didn't think Tom would be offended by it, though. It wasn't personal or anything. Cain got enough of punching Tom's face when Tom grew into a tree over-night and those creeping spawns took over the facility, so there was no need to take a full swing at it.

Adjusting himself, Cain began to draw the red suit up around himself. One arm at a time, the Juggernaut pulled it up until it was taut around his figure. It had a strong collar built into the suit, which allowed Cain to fix his helmet to his body without worry of having it be lost in a rampage. Zipping the suit up, Cain nodded in acknowledgement of the events going on. "Who's it this time? It ain't a kid, is it? Kids ain't old enough to pick sides in this sort of business... I should probably give Ariel a talk to..."

"Care to say what's on your mind, mate?"

Yes. He did. Only, he didn't know how to say it. He thought it'd just be stupid to go 'I quit' to the Brotherhood's face. To Tom? Yes. He could. But he didn't believe he was leaving for good.

Cain's bald head lifted, his blue eyes looking right at the woodkin face of Black Tom. "I'm going to be leaving, Tom. Got to put the Brotherhood on hold and get my own things done." Level and straight, Cain showed no signs of humor.

Heaving himself to a stand, the titanic mutant fixed his bracers onto his arms. "Normally I'd ask you to come, Tom, but these are things I have to do on my own. I came to the Brotherhood for a reason and I forgot it. I need to get back to it."
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Black Tom
Unregistered

Black Tom liked that about Cain. He could go from being all busy at one moment and then cutting up and joking like one of the boys before you could spit. Tom knew the different between the two. He knew what was important like work and what could be put off for a little while. Like shenanigans. They had their time and place but jokes and having fun, doing the things that one found pleasure in, were vital in keeping a body sane. Thomas Cassidy, before he had become a tree, had always been one to indulge in what he could find pleasure. Cain wasn’t really in the mood for jokes or funning around that was clear.

The Juggernaut leaned down and then pulled the rest of his suit up and became fully dressed. The heavy collar around the neck allowed Cain to fasten the most important part of his uniform, his helmet. His body was nearly indestructible but his mind was fragile to psychic attacks. That pretty purple princess had done a number on Cain though. "I'm going to be leaving, Tom. Got to put the Brotherhood on hold and get my own things done."

His words were even. Cain was not joking at all. He was serious about leaving the ranks of the Brotherhood. It had been done before but in several cases there had been terrible recompense. The Irishman had thought Cain was pretty content and convicted with the cause of the Brotherhood. Tom was shocked to say the least about what his friend had said. Was Cain going to ask Tom to come along? They had become fast friends and trusted each other very much. Tom felt like he owed the Brotherhood a lot especially since they had not killed him when he transformed. “Normally I'd ask you to come, Tom, but these are things I have to do on my own. I came to the Brotherhood for a reason and I forgot it. I need to get back to it."

Black Tom valued what friendship he had with Cain but he felt, strange as it would sound, a sense of duty growing for the Brotherhood. He was still looking out for himself but things could flow in his favor when he used the Brotherhood as a vehicle for those motives. “That’s big, Cain,” Tom said. “We’ve done a lot together but I’m not a man to tell any other bloke what to do. Is this business something the Brotherhood could help with?”
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Juggernaut
Unregistered

Cain managed a grin. "Yeah, we've been through a shit ton of stuff. Like the dam -- those are good times." Ah, yes. These were things that Cain could look fondly back on. Killing a whole island of humans (although the reason why was dumb as hell), robbing banks, muscling around Mutant Town, and breaking dams that powered a whole quarter of the continent were always fun things to reflect on. Cain was always fond of the way he was brought into the Brotherhood too. Kidnapping one of their members and being summoned by the Master of Magnetism himself -- though Cain kinda summoned him instead -- and being personally invited to the Brotherhood by the same guy was pretty awesome. He didn't hate that he had joined. He had joined for a reason -- to kill a certain man. But as things happened, Cain had let it slip away.

Cain's bald head gave a saddened shake. "No. The Brotherhood's the cause of this, Tom. I may not be very smart, but I know when something gets in the way of what I want to do. I've been here for a good while now and I haven't made any leeway on my own shit. Brotherhood's taking up too much of the time I should be spending going after him." He gave an uncaring shrug. He'd be faithful and all to the cause of mutant freedom or whatever, but there were things more important than fighting to Cain.

Like killing Charles.

Running his hands over his bracers, Cain made sure they were fitted right. Leaning over a degree, a laden arm gripped at the faceholes of Cain's helm, lifting it from the bed.

"I'm going to kill him, Tom. I'm going to kill my half-brother, even if it means having to rip this whole world and every person apart to find him."

Cain didn't recall if he had ever talked to Tom about his past. Usually it came up when fighting people, but only internally. He never really talked about himself, where he came from or what he was doing here. Fighting was a good enough reason, wasn't it?
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Black Tom
Unregistered

That was a shocking revelation. Cain replied that being in the Brotherhood was the reason he was leaving. It was getting in the way of what he wanted to do. Okay, that wasn’t so much of a stretch. Being in a terrorist organization one had to be discrete in their actions to a certain degree or risk exposing themselves to the authorities that would love to capture them. It was possible however to make progress on your personal side project. Tom had made several contacts through Magneto that he hadn’t had before. The terrorist organization moved a lot of explosives and weapons and the Irishman was happy to get his paws into the mix on that.

"I'm going to kill him, Tom. I'm going to kill my half-brother, even if it means having to rip this whole world and every person apart to find him."

Juggernaut meant Charles. The founder of the X-Men. Cain wanted to kill one of the most important men in the world of mutants who just so happened to be his half-brother. That was some heavy shit when you thought about it. Tom had a lot of bad blood with his cousin Sean and was absolutely sure he’d love to see the Chosen One twist in the wind. It just so happened that Sean was an X-Man and they had their chances to duke it out so Tom could relate to wanting to kill a relative.

“I was going to say that the Brotherhood could help you out there again but that sounds really personal,” Tom said.

Tom wasn’t one to go on philosophical tangents but he could feel one coming on. He wasn’t good with giving advice. He’d tried to give little Terry advice when she was young but it was terribly difficult. Tom couldn’t imagine having a biological daughter and trying to raise her. “If that’s the way you feel, friend, you might have to follow it. Sounds like your being eaten up by it and something that dark could tear you apart. And if he’s done you as bad as it sounds, your boy-o has his lumps coming.”
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Juggernaut
Unregistered

"I was going to say that the Brotherhood could help you out there again but that sounds really personal," the walking tree said from the doorway.

Cain gave a slight nod, continuing to look in his friend's direction. "Yeah..." Rather blunt, no? Trying to gather his thoughts on the matter, Cain furrowed his brow, lifting a free hand to palm at his face out of internal frustration. He didn't really expect to talk to anyone about this. It was hard for him. Whenever he thought about it someone usually died and there was no one here that he actually wanted to kill. Though that was just a minor part of it, Cain wasn't exactly the most emotional person. Anger and rage were his most common, but trying to communicate through words with someone -- even Tom -- was difficult.

He didn't have any clue how to tell Tom about the deep-seeded hatred within him. He didn't know how to tell Tom why he hated Charles or how it all even happened. He didn't know how to say that ever human he crushed he put Charles' face on, or why he called every bald bastard Charles. It was an obsession, a vehement affliction that had plagued Cain since his youth. He had the resources to deal with his problems, but after he started looking for Charles, where was he? There wasn't a sign on any map, any hint in the news, any type of paper-trail he could follow easy. Cain didn't know how to find people. He knew how to lure them out.

That's what he was going to do... Trek across the country until Charles Xavier showed himself. The Juggernaut wouldn't stop until a scar of broken bones and suffering families were left in his wake. Charles would have to come out of his hiding. No more of the damn mindfucks. Cain was going to pop Charles' head like a zit when he got ahold of him.

"He took everything from me. My life, my future. Even my father. I'm going to kill him for that and I'm going to feed him four decades of bitter hatred by shoving my fist down his throat." Cain fell silently for a moment, trying to supress all the horrible things he had thought about doing to Charles. Ripping his head off, killing his lovers, breaking Charles' arms bone by bone. Doing everything possible to weaken his brother's mind and make him beg for forgiveness.

"I don't want you to get into that Tom, or the other kids around here. It's one thing to go around killing soldiers and fighting for ideas. That's a war. We don't kill anyone but the ones we're fighting. The Juggernaut won't care whose in its way or what they want, not until it comes to a stop."
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Black Tom
Unregistered

Cain’s face was terribly tormented. He was carrying his body with a heavy weight, almost even too much for him to carry, and was wiping his face seeming like he was trying to make sense of it all. Tom didn’t know if his friend was struggling to find the words to express how he was feeling. The Irishman was not the most empathetic bloke on the planet. He was not a lovey dovey type of man and finding a connection with others was not in his job description. His goals were much more self centered. He could find the right words to woo a lovely lady for the night but it was as if he was unable to make the more basic and fundamental connections.

The Juggernaut then continued to explain his past with Charles. The wrongs that were done upon his person. Charles was the chosen one in the family apparently. Charles was the one that got the spotlight and Cain was lucky to just get the leftovers. It was sad and Tom knew it because he could relate so well to the situation. Sean was the family favorite even though Thomas was the rightful heir to the family fortune and estate. Tom was only good as a scapegoat for them. He was always getting into trouble and it was easy to pin the bad news on him. Tom tried to buck against it at first. He didn’t want to be the black sheep. Eventually he embraced it. He was good at it. It used to be that trouble came to find him but then he started to seek her out himself.

Then Cain said that he didn’t want his friend or any of the kids that ran with the Brotherhood to get involved. They were fighting a war and as a direct result there were casualties. That was the nature of the beast. Tom didn’t have an aversion to death and violence, especially since his transformation. There were moments when he’d get lost in the fury but he could see the point that Cain was making. He was going out for murder. There was no purpose in the death of his brother other than fulfilling his primal need. It was revenge that was driving him. There were some of the people on their team that had less than honorable intentions and some were downright insane in the amount of blood they craved to spill. Cain Marko was protecting the more noble and innocent (a loosely used term) members.

Tom reached out and placed a bark covered hand on his friend’s shoulder. It was slightly awkward but Tom meant it as a friendly gesture. “This is something you’ve got to do and no one is going to stand in your way. Literally and figuratively. I’d hate to be the one who does try to stop you,” Tom replied. “And your right. A lot of the kiddies aren’t cut out for the deeds you’ve got in mind.”

Tom pulled his hand away. “I imagine you’ll be leaving soon. Is there anything you need of me?” Black Tom offered.
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Juggernaut
Unregistered

"They ain't. They fight, they've killed, but I don't think any of them have gone through what I have... Maybe I'm being selfish, but I don't see it in their eyes. They're young. They can get over the problems they have early. I'm tired of living with this burden. Not everyone can become young again, although I'm sure bark does wonders for the skin." Cain managed a half-assed smirk in his friend's direction, accepting the friendly gesture of the tree-man's hand on a shoulder. Sometimes he just couldn't miss a little quirk, even if it meant ruining the mood of how pissed off Cain was or how everyone else hasn't gone through what he had. But, that seemed to be something that was rather characteristic of him, wasn't it? He was the Juggernaut after all. Not even dopey histories stopped the momentum of his words.

"I imagine you'll be leaving soon. Is there anything you need of me?"

Cain looked down at his helmet briefly, imaging himself rampaging across the states and the world around him. Battering through trains, through cities. Running through the Mississippi, kicking through fault lines. Fantastical things he could do. But that was all free-thinking. He knew it wasn't going to be anything glorious like that. He was going to become one of the most wanted criminals on the continent. He'd probably earn the entire notice of the States.

He always imagined who would win: the United States Military or the Juggernaut? Maybe they'd sick their own government super-powered dogs on him.

"Not unless you can plant some telepathy-blocking seeds in my head. I know a guy I'm gonna hit up on my way outta here. He's gonna lock my mind down. I know I don't have the best head in the game and... if something does happen and I lose my helm, I'm gonna need something to guard the shit I don't want being found out. I ain't gonna betray the Brotherhood like that. You can tell Mags that he doesn't need to come looking for me or try to cave my helmet in on my head like a zit."

Stepping under the door, Cain rested his own hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'll be back Tom. If I don't find what I'm lookin' for then I'll just be the most famous dangerous mutant next to the the Brotherhood itself. I'll hire you as my PR manager, after I get back."

It wasn't much of a good-bye. Hell, it wasn't much of anything. Cain wasn't thinking about leaving forever. This was going to be a short interim of absence. Besides, it's not like he was getting dropped because someone couldn't give him any attention. What was he, a puppy?

"I know it's spring, but don't pollinate unless you wear a condom. I don't wanna come back to find out I'm a godfather to a daisy." Walking past the local Ent with a fading smile, Cain turned down the hallway and away from his friend, away from the people he had lived and fought with. Hefting the polished helm over his head, the Juggernaut disappeared into the labyrinth of cooridors to whatever station Ariel was.

He'd probably give her a pat on the head, give her a short goodbye and disappear through a door. He'd probably tell her to stay sharp before he went through, tell her to deal with her problems before she got lost to them. He'd tell her to make sure she sat up straight at dinner, never hurt kids, and to watch her friend's backs. She'd probably nod, say 'yes'sir' or something and he'd give her the eye just to affirm his words. He'd step through the door, tell her to never open it again. She'd be confused at first, but he'd just say "there's no looking back" and shut the door.

And he couldn't. He couldn't look back further than what he had his eyes set on. He couldn't look back because his eyeholes weren't that wide. He couldn't look back because his helm was bolted in place. There was no way to look back without turning around. He wouldn't turn away from his goal. Not for the Brotherhood, nor his best friend.

He was going to kill Charles Xavier, and nothing in the world was going to stop him.

Nothing stopped the Unstoppable Juggernaut.
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Black Tom
Unregistered

Black Tom couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes he felt like an old man around all the idealistic kids in the Brotherhood but then he remembered that there were some of their number that were even older and more experienced than he was. Razorback, Voght, Magneto and Juggernaut had all been around the block before he had to some degree. Cain had been carrying the burden of the persecution at Charles’ hand for most of his life and that had molded him into the man he had become. Everyone had their own cross to bear but Cain had been lugging that along for longer than many of their comrades had been alive.

The hulk of a man stared long and hard that the held in his hand. Tom wondered what he saw reflected in the surface. Were scenes of Cain’s life flashing before him as if they were projected from some inner movie reel to show up on his helmet? Was he thinking about how he would crush the life out of his brother slowly and savoring every moment? Cain Marko suggested that Tom could help if he had some sort of anti-telepathy seeds. The Irishman was going to joke that the only seeds he sowed were in the bellies of some pretty young thing along the road but his sentiment was derailed by Cain’s plans. He knew a telepath that was going to lock down his mind and secure Brotherhood secrets. That was an important step. The Brotherhood had gone after deserters before. Razorback, Rage and Voght had taken out a low level Brother who had gone to snitch to the authorities. Tom knew he would have a difficult time of the mission if he had been sent after his friend Cain.

Juggernaut put his hand on Tom’s high shoulder and said the good-bye the best he could. He had a mission in life that needed tending. “Good luck, mate,” Tom replied as Cain exited.

Black Tom watched his friend exit the room and walk down the hallway for a moment. He then turned and headed toward his own quarters. Juggernaut was leaving the Brotherhood but it wouldn’t be the last time they heard from the man. There would be no doubt he would crop up on the news again and who knew; there might even be a report of Charles Xavier being stomped flat as a pancake.


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