The Consequences of Playing God - Part 2 (Conclusion)

Posted on Sat Mar 4th, 2023 @ 9:01pm by First Lieutenant Bethany Harrison & Private Mattias Tonelly & General Dyami Bentley (Tribal : Bent Leaf)
Edited on on Sat Mar 4th, 2023 @ 9:33pm

Mission: The Mutant Underground
Location: Underground Base
Timeline: Present Day

Dyami reached into his Dream Bag and pulled out two thin leather necklaces each with a small pouch hanging from them. He handed one to Mattias and the other to Beth. “Beth, you know what this is, Mattias, this is to protect your mind and make it difficult for others to find you with psychic, psionic or magical means.”

“Your task for the coming few days is to pick out as many mutants as you see. Beth, you should remember this game. You did rather well.” Turning his attention back to the wheelchair bound young man he continued. “Keep count and the three of us will compare numbers and discuss it tonight.” Dyami quickly added, “Oh and no cheating, you cannot ask anyone if they are. Use your own senses and any trick you feel is necessary to ascertain the truth. However, if anyone notices outside of Beth and myself you lose a point. Got it?” The shaman looked to Mattias for a response.

Mattias slipped the necklace over his head and tucked it under his shirt. It was something for him, not the world. He would respect it and keep it safe. Looking up at Dyami, he nodded slightly, before saying, "As you both know the mutants that are around here, it isn't a true contest. You both already know who is who here. Whereas I do not. My father always taught me, the warrior who knows the ground he is defending, will always win over the stranger who is attacking."

“That’s not the only advantage that the Old Man’s got at that game.” Bethany arched a curious eyebrow at Dyami. “The kid’s right, though. This isn’t the best place for that. Does that mean we’re not going to be here? And if not, where are you dragging us to?”

“Very wise young man. I would have liked to have met your father. It sounds like he and I would have gotten along well. And, no. We are not going to be here, we are going to the Academy. There is a good mix of meta and non-meta there. We are going shopping.” Dyami said with a mischievous smile. “And then we are going camping.”

Mattias smiled softly. "I always loved going camping! And, I could use some new clothes and stuff." They had yet to get any of his things from his home, back on Long Island, and he was starting to want to just start fresh with his new life.

Dyami turned to Beth and asked “Do you need anything from home?”

“Just something not a hospital gown, and my gear, I guess.” The green-eyed brawler’s shoulders slumped and she shook her head, seeming very much like a kid that just found out that she had to clean the toilets with a toothbrush. “I don’t even want to be around people I like right now. What’s the reason for this level of torture on top of everything else? Shopping? Me? Really?”

The shaman just shook his head with a mock look of disappointment on his face. “I swear I am going to record that one day and put it on social media. I think no other woman in the world has such a disdain for shopping.” Dyami smiled and added. “It would go viral and I would get rich.”

“Good luck with that fuzzy image of nothing on that video. Though, some of those...ghost videos of me are pretty popular,” Bethany said, almost daring him to do it.

“And you know me and my love of the corporate world,” she continued sarcastically. “Shopping is a pain, in more ways than one. I’d rather grow what I need, or hunt it, than have to deal with the crowds and the overwhelming smell of plastic and...people. If we’re shopping for guns, well, I have other ways of getting a hold of those that are far less traceable. Besides, when I go places, trouble follows.”

The long haired man laughed “You and me both Beth, you and me both. There is something serious we will need to discuss in detail tonight while camping. And while we are at the Academy we will be meeting with a few people to speak to them before we go.” Dyami stretched. “Speaking of which, we should probably get moving. I would like to be about fifteen miles from another pair of ears by about nine PM tonight.”

Looking at both of them, Mattias said, “I'm ready to go now, if you want to."

“I’m not agreeing to this little field trip until I know what the real reason for it is,” Bethany said, eyeing Dyami dubiously. “It’s not like you to push me out into the field after nearly dying. You glossed over the whole fact that we’re going to be talking to people there. Who are we talking to and why? If it was Miss Syn, you’d probably just say that. You know I don’t like surprises.”

Dyami looked at Beth with a knowing look, “I know you like to have all the answers before going on a mission. We need to go talk to a couple of young girls who got caught up in a cult. The leader was involved in the same thing your late father was involved in. It looks like we may have found a thread to follow back to Hydra and perhaps more of these cults. We need all the intel we can get and then we will go camping and decide what we are going to do.” Dyami waited to see what the young woman's reaction would be.

Bethany actually winced when Dyami spoke of her father. “Don’t call him that,” she muttered, sighing heavily. She hated the fact that the Preacher’s blood ran in her veins, and she had been looking forward to taking Jon’s name to replace the one she was cursed with at birth. She seemed to get lost in thought for a long few moments, then she sighed again.

“Both good reasons to push me out into the field so soon,” the young light-bearer admitted, then looked back up to Dyami. For a moment, she looked like a lost little girl being asked to carry the world. Then she shrugged. “Alright, fine. Just let me grab some clothes so I’m not trying to hide my ass from everyone there, and get my go-bag from the house. It should still be right by the front door. And we can leave Mosi with Nina for now. Don’t need her to scare anyone.”

Dyami nodded. “And we do have one other thing to do before we leave. Your lawyers need to speak with you.” The Indian man smiled ruefully. “They said it would not take long.”

“Now you’re just adding to the list of things I didn’t want to do today,” Bethany said with a dark chuckle. She didn’t really like lawyers, but then, Carson tended to be a good guy, even if he was a little goofy, and the lawyers that worked with him were very skilled at protecting the interests of their metahuman clients. “Fine. I still want clothes before that happens.”

"Are they the same lawyers you want me to see about…." Mattias still had difficulty discussing his parents out loud.

“Carson’s firm handles all of our legal stuff,” Bethany said with a shrug, still not climbing off of the bed in the ill-fitting hospital gown. “So, yeah. They’re probably the ones that will handle all of that for you. I’m still trying to figure out what I did that they need to talk to me about.”

She then looked down at Matty and raised an eyebrow. “You’re not suing me, are you?” she tried to tease, giving him a slight smile, though the mirth didn’t quite seem to reach her eyes.

At first, Mattias nodded as he listened, then a grin crossed his face. "Why do you ask?" His eyes narrowed and the grin became a smirk. "Worried I'd win?"

“I doubt it. There were extenuating circumstances surrounding the incident, and you were warned a few times about the whole no-touchy thing,” Bethany said, laughing softly and shaking her head. “Yes, I’ve had to use that defense before. And yes, it works.”

Mattias chuckled softly. "Then let's just chalk it up to hopefully a lesson learned." He shrugged as he continued. "Though, it might prove to be a difficult lesson. I ask your forgiveness if I end up faltering along the way." There was an earnestness to his voice and demeanor. He did mean what he was saying. He sincerely hoped that he could earn Bethany’s trust one day.

“I never expect perfection. I am kind of hoping that now that you’ve been...lightly fried, as Dyami put it, hopefully you’ll remember to approach with a bit more caution. I hate that I can’t control that sometimes, and I’ve gotten a bit better about not breaking things immediately, if not necessary,” Bethany said with a soft, embarrassed laugh. “Still, I’d rather not damage you any more than I have to.”

His eyes lit up with laughter. “Oh, so you do want to damage me some?"

Bethany shook her head, giving another brief laugh. “I never said I wanted to. In fact, I tried to convince you to go to the academy.” The young woman gave Dyami a knowing glance. “But you woke up and chose violence.”

Mattias shrugged slightly. "I guess I'm a glutton for punishment?"

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FIN
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Dyami Bentley
"Talon"
Mutant Underground

Bethany Davies
"Fractal"
Mutant Underground

Mattias Tonelly
Unknown
Mutant Underground