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]

//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.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal thought of his next question and set a few aside for later. "But you did?"

[furnaceface]

//But I did,// Jono confirmed. //I didn't get that far just to back out because of a moral quibble, though I needed I night to drink on it and rant and Logan before I agreed. The man they wanted me to kill was running a mutant parts chop-shop. He'd literally kidnap mutants, carve them up, and then surgically implant those parts into whoever paid him the most for them. He didn't exactly have the moral high ground, himself. Hell, these days, taking out a man like that would be easy for me.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal made a moue of distaste. "If this was the sort of thing these people were doing, did you start to wonder why they were considered so bad?"

[furnaceface]

//A bit,// Jono admitted. //What they asked of me was a bit extreme for a new agent, but putting Sublime down made sense. Everything seemed clean, professional... If I didn't know their history and if it wasn't for the fact that far more mutants were going missing than just that one chop-shop could possibly account for, I might've just taken for granted that maybe they really had cleaned up their act.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"What was their purpose?" Hannibal asked. "Were they supposed to be policing mutants?"

[furnaceface]

//On the surface, that's what they wanted it to look like,// Jono replied, brow furrowing. //But no. That was a convenient cover for an organization that monitored and eliminated us. There was experimentation on living subjects. There were death camps. They didn't like Sublime in the picture because he was competition in the arms race for useful body parts.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded. "So they did their best to convince you of their stated cause. To keep you on their side. What then?"

[furnaceface]

//Then I found the 'Paths.// Jonothon needed to take a moment, to close his eyes and run a hand through his hair, to try and fail to suppress a shudder. //Telepaths. A room full of telepathic mutants with half their bodies carved away, all plugged in like human batteries to be put to whatever use the Program saw fit. Most obviously, keeping the Program's location shielded from anybody who might be looking for it.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Were they being controlled, or deceived as they'd tried with you? Or were some of them willing participants?"

Hannibal couldn't miss that shudder, and kept his hand on Jono's cheek, stroking it as he held him close.

[furnaceface]

Jono curled up a little closer, eyes still closed.

//I can't imagine any of them volunteered to be cut in two and hooked up to a giant machine,// he replied, his voice sounding a little more hollow than usual. //They had no choice, no say in the matter. Their powers were being channeled by something bigger than they were, and all they could do was... exist, dragged along for the ride.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"What did you do?" Hannibal asked. He kept his voice even, his arm wrapped around Jono.

[furnaceface]

//I... made do,// Jono replied. //They showed me a glimpse of what the Program was actually up to, and gave me a tip about a transport that was going to be carrying a load of mutants to the camp. I stowed aboard. Called Logan while I did so, sent him coordinates. It was as close to a break as we were going to get, I had to take it.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Not ideal, but perhaps the best you could have done then," Hannibal said. He could think of several other possibilities himself, but he wasn't a traumatized young Jono being put on the spot, and there were undoubtedly things he didn't know about the situation, either.

[furnaceface]

//I would've done a lot of things differently, if I could go back and do it now,// Jono admitted, shaking his head a little. //I don't know that it would've turned out any better if I had. They found me, not long after we'd landed in Neverland. I'd gotten a good eyeful of what was going on by that point. I'd found what was left of people I knew there. Adults, children, didn't matter.//

He was practically burying his face in Hannibal's shoulder, now. He'd never talked it out like this before. Karla had seen it once, in his head, while he was sitting in a broken heap on his bathroom floor. But just sitting down and speaking about it?

Never.

//They grabbed me and wiped me clean. Easy job for one of the mutants they had recruited to give me a functional set of false memories to tide me over until the 'Paths could be used to make it more permanent. Set me to work clearing out the camp with the others before the X-Men could show up. We were gone by morning. Anyone who couldn't be harvested or put to any decent sort of use for the program was burned or buried.//