[Network] username: leonskennedy | ota

[needsabreak]

[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.

Comments

[bossyboiler]

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?

[needsabreak]

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.

[bossyboiler]

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?

[needsabreak]

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.

[bossyboiler]

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.

[needsabreak]

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.]

[bossyboiler]

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.

tw mentions of some emotionally rough zombie violence

[needsabreak]

[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.