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[Network] username: leonskennedy | ota

[The camera angle isn't the most flattering, hinting that the tired looking young man isn't too used to camera phones.]

Hi. My name's Leon Kennedy. I'm new. I know a handful of people here are new too but some have been here before. I guess, I'm hoping to talk to a few people who are returning about the things you know about this place. Talking over this thing is fine but I'd prefer to meet in person.

Anyone who's returning who'd be alright meeting in person, I'll throw a drink on me into the deal. Your choice, beer or coffee.

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Is her name Lorna? We might be. There are different universes you know.

[ Kate knows who immediately Leon is speaking of. (But she doesn't know that it's a different version of her friend. She'll have to find that out on her own. Shh! It's a secret.) ]

No. I have a healing factor and I can let people borrow it.

That sounds right. I think so.

[He nods, finally setting the chair down. He pauses before moving to the next one, hands on the backrest of the chair, he leans against it as he tilts his head a little, obviously not quite following.]

What's that mean? What's a 'healing factor'? Does that mean you can heal people?

A healing factor means I heal more quickly than others and that's right. I can heal people.

Like... how much more quickly? And what do you have to do to heal other people? Both of those sound like they'd be really helpful after the prominences or... -Someone told me about some shadow creature thing. You know anything about those?

Like a lot more quickly. Look. I'm not going to give you a demonstration. I still feel pain. [ She puts a chair down. ] I can heal people by laying hands on them.

You mean the shadow demons¹? I know a little bit about them. I'd be wary around the shadows. They can cause hallucinations to say the least. I had a brief run in once. It wasn't pleasant.

No, that's fine. [He's quick to chime in when she mentions a demonstration. Even if she didn't feel pain, he wouldn't want her to go through an injury, even a minor one, just to sate his curiosity.]

Yeah, shadow demons sound about right. The guy I was talking to mentioned the hallucinations. Was the one you ran into hard to kill?

Thank you. [ She really doesn't want to give a demonstration and she hopes that she'll never have to use her powers on Leon. ]

I... um... Didn't kill it. I ran away.

That was probably a good idea. If what I heard is true, the thing didn't care at all when it was shot at.

[Only a handgun had been used though, so Leon hadn't completely given up on firepower. It's all he really has after all.]

I'm hoping it didn't hurt you and you got away. Or did you experience the temporary death thing that happens?

I don't know how to kill them really. I don't have that ability. Running was my best option.

[ She shakes her head. ]

No. I haven't died here yet but some others have.

You never know, maybe they'd react adversely to your healing thing. But better safe than sorry. Maybe we'll end up being able to trap one and actually dig into things.

[He glances around the room as he sets the chair down, not seeing any others still on the tables.]

Good.

Do you want me to do anything else? I don't mind wiping these tables down if you'd like.

Huh. I've never considered that before. Maybe but you have all the fun you want trying to trap one. They aren't solid. I don't think a simple net will work.

[ But let him try. Maybe it'll give him purpose and something to do. ]

No. You've done enough for me already. Besides, you brought me coffee too. I can't ask for more than that.

They're not solid? Ever? [Well, that didn't seem fair.

Of course, he's still going to try. He's met a few people claiming they can do magic. he doesn't really believe them, but maybe between them, they'll sort something out.]

You sure? I really don't mind. Gives me something to do.

Not the shadow ones, no. But I may be wrong and maybe they've evolved. Like I said, the last time I encountered one I ran away.

[ She's not proud of having run away but it is what it is. She had survived. ]

Are you sure?

Am I sure I want to help you out around here?

[He smirks a little, not sure what kind of question that is.]

I wouldn't be offering if I didn't want to. [And what's his alternative? Leave to spend the rest of the evening alone in his apartment or wander around the city? Neither sounds too fulfilling.]

Yeah. I'm curious about your commitment levels. Oh. Don't worry. I'll more than make it up to you when I get this place open and running but for right now I have a lot of work to do.

Good. You can start by wiping down the tables and then the chairs.

[He smiles softly and shakes his head.] You don't have to "pay me back". I really don't mind helping you out.

[Once she gets him set with a cloth and soapy water, he gets to work.] Is this what you do back in your own world? Run a bakery?

If you insist. [ She'll let him insist but she's going to pay him back anyway. Kate knows that cleaning is boring work for most others. Tedious, in fact. ]

Oh, no. Not at all. I mean I baked a lot but it was more of a hobby. I used to help mutants. You could say that I'm like a glorified social worker. I'd help them get jobs. Figure out beneficial ways to use their powers. Help them get aid if they needed it. That sort of thing.

What about you?

Really? Very impressive. It sounds like really important and rewarding work. [He looks up from the table he's wiping down to give her a smile.

He hesitates a little when she throws the question back at him. Honestly, he should've learned by now not to ask people about what they did because it inevitably meant they'd ask about him.]

Uh. I guess you could say I clean up messes. [Just a little bit vague. He's scrubbing again when he realizes what he said could be misinterpreted, so he quickly adds an addendum.] I'm not a criminal.

It is. I'm very happy at what I did. I was good at it too.

Well then, what kind of messes do you clean up? Are you with one of those companies that goes in after a disaster and tries to rebuild?

You mean you are good at it. [His voice quiet and reassuring as he corrects her.] We won't be stuck here forever.

[He swishes his lips at her guess.] No. [He's already told one person here what he does and he can't think of any harm in people from completely different worlds knowing what he does, so he just stops beating around the bush.]

I work for the US government. I'm a special agent and deal primarily with bioterrorism.

I am good at it. [ She shares carefully. ] There is no way of knowing how long we will be stuck here. [ Hence her use of the past tense. ] One thing is for certain, when I do leave here, I won't remember any of my time here.

Oh. You're a cop. I see.

Yeah, I know. But it's good to stay positive when it comes to things like that.

[He slows a little at what she says before continuing to scrub at one particularly stubborn spot.] Not really. [His throat feels too dry all of a sudden.] Why do you say it like that? What's wrong with cops?

[It's what he'd wanted to be, it's what he would have been if his life and the world hadn't gone sideways, and he still held an idealistic and boyishly naive idea of cops as people who helped others.]

It's just that I'm a mutant and my species doesn't always have the best relationship with law enforcement. And when you throw in bioterrorism which a lot of people want to classify mutants as terrorists well... It's not that there's anything wrong with you. It's the system.

[He sighs and stops scrubbing for a moment so he can face her while he speaks.]

There aren't mutants where I'm from.

There are... people who've been turned into monsters, biological weapons that kill indiscriminately. Innocent people. Both the dead and the living. They don't think or feel anymore. There's nothing left of the person they were. [He hates that his voice trembles ever so slightly at that last part, remembering watching Marvin succumb to the infection and being forced to kill him or be killed. Or having to shoot what once was a child after it killed and ate its own parents. He swallows thickly.]

I don't think the 'systems' are the same for us.

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[Network] username: leonskennedy | ota

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tw mentions of some emotionally rough zombie violence