Hannibal's house, Sunday

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal set the large glass of home-brewed dark ale on the end table, along with the tiny pork pies and pickle and the remote control for the music system.

And, because he could surf Google and iTunes as well as anyone, and it never paid to be too predictable, he was playing (not too loudly) Opeth.

He was even wearing a comfortable sweater and slacks instead of a suit. He was picking his battles today, and his battle was how greasy not to make fish and potatoes! Since they'd been so rudely interrupted by eels earlier.


[OOC: Waiting on one, but totally open!]

[OOC the second: Specifics of Jono's story NFB, please!]

Comments

[furnaceface]

Jono nodded a little, and then leaned back slightly against Hannibal's hand.

//It's an interesting side-effect of not always being certain just who it is I'm meant to be,// he noted. //Sometimes I do things that surprise me. Things that shouldn't come so bloody easily. I've gotten to a point where I almost find myself wondering if it's worth dwelling on where those urges came from, whether it's a carryover from the war, or from any one of the lifetimes I never actually lived. I've been exercising a level of ruthless pragmatism I never would've dreamed of, back before Weapon X had their way with me.//

There was a brief pause, and then he added, //That said, if Karla ends up pregnant again not a full day after a near-successful attempt on her life, I'm walking out of bloody Glacia and not looking back. I might kick Karla in the shin and burn Warren's balls off before I go.//

HE COULD BE SPITEFUL IF HE WANTED, AT THAT POINT.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Everything we do or experience changes us," Hannibal pointed out. "For all the trauma that your other lives have caused you, I would be surprised if they hadn't."

He rubbed Jono's back and poured the beer into his glass. "The first of that batch in your honor," he explained.

[furnaceface]

Jono watched Hannibal pour the beer, and then nodded his approval.

//Looking forward to it,// he decided. //And... it's not even necessarily a matter of other lives. The memories are, for the most part, all fabricated. But I still did things while believing that those lives were my own. Some of them didn't stick, but not everything got a magical reset button once I came to my senses. In fact, most of it didn't.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Would you like to tell me about it?" Hannibal asked. He took a slow and deliberate sip of the beer, savoring its flavor.

[furnaceface]

Jonothon's reply had to wait a moment. He needed to close his eyes and just appreciate the echo of the taste on Hannibal's tongue.

//I could. It's not exactly pleasant conversation. Definitely not fish and chips, really. There are two big ones to pick from. One left a fairly noticeable mark on my body, the other one's the one that did the worse number on my mind.// He shrugged. //Up to you, Hannibal. It's fairly heavy subject matter for a pleasant evening in, but maybe getting it off my chest would do some good. Most people just excuse it with a, 'but that wasn't you,' as though that makes it better somehow.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal thought about it. "If you think it would do good, I'd like to hear about it." He took another sip. "We can stop whenever you like."

[furnaceface]

Jono nodded a little. The number of people he'd really spoken to about Weapon X, he could count on the fingers of one hand. There were those who knew it had happened, who even knew the name of it, but a precious few could really say what it had been about.

//Well... then I suppose the question is whether I start with the one that came with a convenient reset button, or the one that left me needing to learn how to live with myself again.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Chronologically?" Hannibal suggested. "As best you're able. That will make it easier to put it in perspective."

[furnaceface]

//Ah.// Jono bunched his shoulders up a little, but he didn't protest. It made sense, after all. //Well... then that would start with the time the X-Men - have I told you much about the X-Men? - were getting reports of entire families of mutants being kidnapped right out of their bloody beds, and I, being young and stupid and thinking that apparently I was invincible or something, convinced the rest of the X-Men to let me try to infiltrate the government organization responsible for the disappearances. Alone.//

Anyone with half a brain in their head could probably figure out that this was going to backfire horribly, even with Logan's guidance, right?

[sharp_as_knives]

They could, yes. Then again, this was the X-Men.

"What made you decide to do that?" Hannibal asked. "Did you have a better chance than others?"

[furnaceface]

//I was the only one who stood a chance of getting in. Didn't give much thought to the getting out again bit. The exit strategy sort of began and ended with, 'when we take them down, it won't matter, really.'//

He wrinkled his nose.

//I was not the world's greatest strategist back then, really. I was sort of hoping that the rest of the team had my back. What with... being a team, and all.//

Enter Jonothon's trust issues.

[sharp_as_knives]

"And none of them thought to mention the lack of a plan to extract you from the situation?" Hannibal asked. "You may have been 'young and stupid', but I assume not all of them were."

[furnaceface]

//I was the team's junior member at the time. All of them have been around the block a time or two,// Jono confirmed. //Logan in particular had experience with Weapon X before. He was one of their earliest toys. The American government had been creating super soldiers since the '40s, and then the focus shifted from improving the capabilities of normal humans for use as soldiers to using and improving on mutants in order to exterminate mutants. The Program had been through a few iterations between Logan's time with them and mine, though.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal frowned. "And he didn't expect you'd have a problem leaving them?"

[furnaceface]

//He and I both knew it was a risk going in,// Jono explained. //And we knew I was going to have to do some nasty things in order to earn their trust. I think where it fell apart, in the end, was where we didn't spend enough time planning on me getting myself caught. If I was a part of the program willingly, and they believed I was loyal to it, there was no need for them to resort to their more... forceful methods of control.//

He spread his hands a little, staring down at them.

//Logan knows all about the horrors of the Program. But he's not exactly the X-Men's greatest strategist. And none of the others... really...// His brow furrowed. He didn't want to finish the thought. But. //... cared. I was the means to an end.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal frowned and shifted his grip, encouraging Jono to move closer if he wanted. "And you didn't know that at the time."

[furnaceface]

There was a moment of hesitation, and then Jono took Hannibal up on that silent offer, scooting a little closer so that he could lean up against him.

//I knew they didn't think highly of me,// he replied. //I was there but for the grace of the Professor, my world's Warren would've happily left me stranded in the Alps for life, and Bobby and Kurt convinced me to join the team by... kicking over tables in my hotel room one day and calling me selfish for wanting to lead my own life as something besides a soldier, mostly. But for all that, I still believed in what we were doing. And if there was any chance of stopping what was happening to innocent people, I figured I had to take it. Logan had my back. Logan had faith in me. That seemed like enough, at the time.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal grimaced. "I don't think much of their approach. So, you were left with the support of one person, neither of you the best at strategy at the time, and you hadn't thought of the means to get yourself out of this organization?"

[furnaceface]

//Never claimed we were smart about it,// Jono mumbled, shrugging his shoulders a bit and craning his head back to look at Hannibal for a moment. //It was just the best we had, and there was a limited window available to get somebody in before we'd have no chance at all. They were more than happy to help me get in, mind.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"The limited time can't have helped, either," Hannibal observed. "How did you get in?"

[furnaceface]

//We staged a falling out between myself and the X-Men,// Jono explained. //I went moping in a bar and stirred up trouble, they showed up to rein me in, since I was the bitter young member who never fit in. Punching Warren right in his stupid bloody face actually made being arrested and kept in power dampeners almost worthwhile.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Power dampeners?" For someone who essentially was power? "How long did they keep you?"

[furnaceface]

//Overnight.// Jono was shrugging his shoulders again. //I doubt they would've been able to keep me there for long, even if I hadn't been plucked out by government types looking to make me a valued member of the Weapon X family. That's what I was waiting for, anyway. It isn't every day one of the X-Men ends up behind bars.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal frowned and rubbed his thumb along the edge of Jono's bandages where skin met flame. "You survived, at least. How bad was it?"

[furnaceface]

Jono's eyes closed, and he was silent for a long moment before he had pieced together words again.

//The prison stay itself was nothing,// he replied. //They slapped me in restraints and left me to rot overnight. I don't think the dampeners did half the good they figured they did. And hell, once Jackson 'convinced' me to join the Program, it didn't seem half bad. Restorative surgery and implants to help me keep better control of my powers. Had a hell of a smile for a bit there. Tour of the facility, it was surprisingly clean. Everything seemed... nothing like I'd expected it to. Felt like a bloody stroll through an office building. Got to flirt with one of the secretaries and everything.//

He shook his head.

//My first job with them was a hit, though. I knew it was going to be dirty, but I hadn't been prepared for that. 'Here's your first job, earn our trust, go kill a man, would you? Good show, see you when you've left a corpse behind, mate.' Don't get me wrong... I've killed before. But it was always under dire circumstances, when I was left with little other choice. I'd never set out to do it before.//