Generation Legacy Issue #14 "Genocide" - Part 2

[Aenion]

Karen isn't entirely sure whether she should laugh or cry at all this, Kal was in Gadget's body, a girl's body... She was in, well she couldn't really complain though she felt warm, hungry, sleepy and vulnerable... and inside her body was Mark, dressed in nothing but one of Kal's shirts with all her friends gathered around. Could things get anymore embarrassing? It didn't help that she'd rushed straight out of Cassie's bed without changing, "Th-thanks I g-guess, I d-don't really w-want you o-or anyone else in there either... Please g-give me some of m-my dignity back," she pleads.

She beats Mark to her wardrobe and hands him one of her oldest pairs of pants. She doesn't trust him to be able to control her body, she doesn't really trust him with her body to begin with, and she doesn't want him to ruin any of her still presentable clothes. It felt weird and wrong to look at herself from this angle.

Once she-he's dressed she follows hers- ... Mark to his room, getting more confused with the second. She listens to Ryan ... Cassie's outbursts and Anika ... Ryan's description of the situation, "A-are you sure th-that really isn't Ryan?" she asks looking at Ryan's body, "Cassie, three days ago you came to us that you're the reincarnation of Hope and that we should protect and work with you, that you're very important in the fight against Overseer, based on something Red Witch showed you..." she frowns angrily, in her eyes Cassie didn't have a foot to stand on after the little stunt she pulled off the day before, "Yesterday you ran off with Kelly and Chance to Milan to go shopping, without telling anyone... Where did she come from anyway?" she looks at her now 'twin'.

"Do you want to help us defeat Overseer or do you just want to do your own thing? Please quit playing the victim of the "Man" and start working together with us... If you hadn't run off, you wouldn't have been on suspension to begin with," she lets out a frustrated sigh, she was sick to her stomach of the constant bickering, "If we don't start working together and stop blaming everyone else for things we do to ourselves, we're never gonna defeat Overseer... Let alone Genocide, especially with what Chaos has dropped on us..."

 

[KaintheSeeker]

"Cassie, three days ago you came to us that you're the reincarnation of Hope and that we should protect and work with you, that you're very important in the fight against Overseer, based on something Red Witch showed you..." she frowns angrily, in her eyes Cassie didn't have a foot to stand on after the little stunt she pulled off the day before, "Yesterday you ran off with Kelly and Chance to Milan to go shopping, without telling anyone... Where did she come from anyway?" she looks at her now 'twin'.

"Do you want to help us defeat Overseer or do you just want to do your own thing? Please quit playing the victim of the "Man" and start working together with us... If you hadn't run off, you wouldn't have been on suspension to begin with," she lets out a frustrated sigh, she was sick to her stomach of the constant bickering, "If we don't start working together and stop blaming everyone else for things we do to ourselves, we're never gonna defeat Overseer... Let alone Genocide, especially with what Chaos has dropped on us..."

CAssie/Ryan turns to look at her friend. "I'm just tired of it, the bickering the sniping and the fact that no matter what I do I'm the girl outside. I come in and what is the first thing I see? Ryan tearing down someone. I don't understand a lot of things, how can I? I've only been aware of two years or so, but you should tear down someones faith.

He sighs. "That was one of the things the rape counsellor told me when I first came aware of things. Look, I'm not saying we did the right thing, but there wasn't any reason to exclude Kelly or myself, but when I tried to explain that we needed time to learn as a team.. I was rebuffed. Maybe I just got tired of hitting the wall. You're one of the few people who has accepted me without conditions, I'm sorry I let you down." He shrugs. "I need to get a handle on how I feel, I think.. I'll try and get my head in thte game. Personally, I don't feel like there is a lot of HOPE for any of us."

 

[Tokiwong]

"I need to get a handle on how I feel, I think.. I'll try and get my head in thte game. Personally, I don't feel like there is a lot of HOPE for any of us."

“Now that is a shame,” Jun Min replies, “you sound like Overseer and Genocide have already won. If you really believe that then you can leave, we don’t need someone like that on the team, because if there is one thing that Legacy is about it is hope. Hope that you students will bring about a better tomorrow through your gifts, your sense of right, and your dedication to make tomorrow a better day then today.”

“Despite everything that has happened to you guys since you have been here not one of you has given up, not even Kelly; and I will not sit here and watch you give up now because times got tough because you made mistakes that you need to learn from and pay for. I really don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to, that goes for all of you, but I do give a damn when I see students I love giving up. I put my heart and soul into this job because you all make it worthwhile; now I don’t have any answers for how to fix this, but despite that Legacy has a job to do. Now is that clear?” Jun Min finishes.

Gilden walks in after Jun Min finishes speaking, he looks a little rough. Gilden speaks, “I have no idea how I got out of that place, and I am hoping I am not the only one that had a little change in the night,” she looks at Aya, “Hey you have my body give it back… oh my god, what have you done to my hair… and you are not wearing that around… oh MY GOD… this is so embarrassing.”

“SARAH check the rest of the Institute I want to make sure no other students were misplace,” Jun Min asks.

Kelly

Statesman nods, “Well you seem to be doing alright,” he lays her on gurney for the emergency medical technicians to start providing assistance. He looks up to the sky, “If what that madman said is true then I fear that we will be seeing a rise in elite violence. Coupled with your incident, I can see that the Spirit of New York will be busy.”

“You will be fine though Miss Mitchell. Kid Liberty assist the civilian,” Statesman orders and a young woman rolls her eyes and gets into the ambulance with Kelly. She is also wearing semi-ridiculous outfit in patriotic colors.

Kid Liberty takes Kelly’s hands, “Everything will be okay.”

 

[Shalimar]

"I think the whole world is going to be very busy for the forseeable future." Kelly tells statesman with a sigh. "Thanks for catching me, my weatherfield gets wonky if I can't concentrate, and seeing stars on my way to a 400 foot drop isn't really good for concentrating. Might have been street pizza...hmm, thats actually one of the ways I haven't already almost died. Get to add it to the list." the blonde girl says depreciatingly.

Kelly manages to stifle a giggle at Statesman's command and Kid Liberty's eye roll. "Did you get to pick your own uniform or...?" Kelly asks looking up at the young super woman. "I'm used to it by now, the getting hurt part, its not much fun, but it doesn't really scare me either. It'll heal, it always does. Did he call me a civilian for any particular reason? I mean, you don't like need a super hero license to help people here, do you?"

 

[Tokiwong]

Kelly manages to stifle a giggle at Statesman's command and Kid Liberty's eye roll. "Did you get to pick your own uniform or...?" Kelly asks looking up at the young super woman. "I'm used to it by now, the getting hurt part, its not much fun, but it doesn't really scare me either. It'll heal, it always does. Did he call me a civilian for any particular reason? I mean, you don't like need a super hero license to help people here, do you?"

Kid Liberty responds, “Statesman believes that a distinctive look helps us in the field so that civilians can quickly recognize us and see that we mean business. Not my first choice in colors but I guess it is impressive.”

“Super Hero license? You are kidding right? Maybe you should be in this uniform if you think we are super heroes; I like the pay personally and there are a lot of perks to being on the city’s payroll. Does not pay as well as like Justice Elite, but I am not hurting for money either. Statesman would like to believe we are super heroes, I guess, whatever; this is just a job. A frustrating job, but a job nonetheless. So when are you putting out another album, or are you getting into the super hero business full time?” the young woman asks.

 

[Shalimar]

Kid Liberty responds, “Statesman believes that a distinctive look helps us in the field so that civilians can quickly recognize us and see that we mean business. Not my first choice in colors but I guess it is impressive.”

"Oh, they are certainly very distinctive. People can see right away that you guys are seriously something. I guess the idea is to show that you guys are super-heros and patriots or whatever, and that does come across." Kelly doesn't add that that isn't the only thing they come across as. "Did you at least get to choose your name? I know I didn't, but at least it sounds kinda cool, not that anyone ever uses it."

“Super Hero license? You are kidding right? Maybe you should be in this uniform if you think we are super heroes; I like the pay personally and there are a lot of perks to being on the city’s payroll. Does not pay as well as like Justice Elite, but I am not hurting for money either. Statesman would like to believe we are super heroes, I guess, whatever; this is just a job. A frustrating job, but a job nonetheless. So when are you putting out another album, or are you getting into the super hero business full time?” the young woman asks.

"There isn't much future in music, or really anything else at the moment, I have a bunch of stuff recorded, but it seems kind of pointless to put effort into that when it could be spent in helping to get people organized to fight against Overseer. Or helping to protect people in general. I love music, but I don't value it more then the people I could be helping." Kelly answers honestly. "The UNJE contracts were like 2 million dollars a year or something, I'm not sure, I never actually was around long enough to get paid. I am, or well, was a reservist. It means I do stuff without getting paid because its the right thing to do. It must sound a little silly I guess."

 

[Aenion]

"You're not the girl outside, you place yourself outside. It's like you're constantly measuring yourself with what others think about you. I think you're hiding behind your ... 'age'," Karen sighs, "You're smart, you're pretty, you used to be nice... Stop trying to change because Ryan doesn't like you, he's just saying those things to make himself feel big," she smiles encouragingly, "Start being yourself... once you get your body back that is..." she adds awkwardly.

"You mean that training exercise for Legacy?" she asks, surprised that she'd interpret not being allowed in, as being shunned, "Kal and I weren't allowed in either, I don't think you were excluded for any other reason than you weren't on the team... she sighs, "But after yesterday I won't blame them for excluding you from this mission. If you're gonna keep running off like that..." It's clear she doesn't want to finish her sentence.

She frowns at, apparently, Aya, "At least you didn't have to run into yourself lying halfnaked on the floor, having a panic attack with all your friends around you..."

 

[Hammerhead]

Blah blah blah...damn this is good bacon. Huh...Cassie thinks she's a reincarnation of Hope? Sounds like an Eternal. Let's see how this egg tastes. Wow, some people have a sense of entitlement...I guess being an Elite can do that to you. Ryan/Anika pretty much zones out most of the conversation, thoroughly captivated by the joy of eating a great breakfast again.

"Wow Karen, I tear down others to make myself feel better? I'm not the one who tries to deal with my guilt issues by constantly assuming the worst out of someone else. But this isn't important," Ryan/Anika says, shoving the last of breakfast into his mouth, then standing up.

"We're all dealing with some problems here. We're stuck in someone else's body. This is Fight Club: we don't talk about it. I know that most of us are going to have to shower, to change clothes, to go to the bathroom. This won't be pleasant for any of us, but we'll have to deal with it."

"The second problem is that even if we each can use whatever powers the other has, we're going to be clumsy. Later today, we're going to be in big trouble. We're going to probably need whatever help you can give. At the very least, you have a definite stake in keeping your own body alive during this fight. The bad part is that we're probably going to need to leave Tim/Aya and Tina/Tim behind."

 

[KaintheSeeker]

"You're not the girl outside, you place yourself outside. It's like you're constantly measuring yourself with what others think about you. I think you're hiding behind your ... 'age'," Karen sighs, "You're smart, you're pretty, you used to be nice... Stop trying to change because Ryan doesn't like you, he's just saying those things to make himself feel big," she smiles encouragingly, "Start being yourself... once you get your body back that is..." she adds awkwardly.

"You mean that training exercise for Legacy?" she asks, surprised that she'd interpret not being allowed in, as being shunned, "Kal and I weren't allowed in either, I don't think you were excluded for any other reason than you weren't on the team... she sighs, "But after yesterday I won't blame them for excluding you from this mission. If you're gonna keep running off like that..." It's clear she doesn't want to finish her sentence.

She frowns at, apparently, Aya, "At least you didn't have to run into yourself lying halfnaked on the floor, having a panic attack with all your friends around you..."

Cassie/Ryan sighs. "I tried. I saw Ryan's pain. Offered friendship. He threw it in my face. I was the 'creepy gir' or the 'pacifist' no matter what I did. Why shouldn't I feel frustrated. I stand to lose my very existance if I stand up to face Overseer in the final confrontation, that might be the truth or not. I spoke out when I thought things were wrong. I mean.. everyone tells me I'm suppose to use my judgement about right and wrong. And everytime I do, I get told I don't understnad everything."

She looks over at Jun Min. "I got confused Jun Min, I'm sorry if I let it get to me. I don't see how doing some of the things we do can be for the greater good. Like lying about Mexico City."

 

[Aenion]

"So you just tear down others for no reason..." Karen just shakes head. Cassie's stomach notifies her that while she might have slowly forgotten, a normal body still needs to eat, "But yeah we got bigger problems... Is there any breakfast left? I haven't eaten in more than a year," she takes a seat at the table as Anika ehr Ryan continues, taking a large helping of eggs and bacon and nice hot cup of coffee. Though she does look up when he mentions showering, shaking her head at herself as if telling Mark, Oh no you don't.

"Maybe that's what Chaos, or whoever did this, intended, force us to work together and learn from each other?" she says between bites, "Mmm this tastes really great, Star."