Tequila Sunrise

[Seeker]

{desc=Seeker & Brotherhood}That… had not been how Seeker had wanted to spend his afternoon. In fact, Seeker couldn’t remember the last time he had had a night like that. Last thing he remembered was getting the stout with Niel… where was he? Had that stout been filled with something else? Had Neil drugged him? Some sort of other person? Had he gotten shitfaced later? What happened? It was all a blur, and as Seeker groaned and moaned, slowly trying to wake up, he squinted and reopened to bright lights. Operating lights. Flashbacks hit him, ones from when he joined the tanks alongside that girl Cheyrl. Annoying bitch he thought, shaking his head as he tried to sit up… only to find he couldn’t.

“The fuck?” He muttered, trying to pull his arms towards him, only to feel them be stuck to the table. Strong leather wraps were around his wrists and ankles, and there he was, laying bare naked on an operating table with but a johnny to cover him. “Where the fuck am I?” He said, rolling around and trying to get a good look. Something was up. Why was he here? Where was here? Was it some sort of medical lab? Well, but the operating table, tools, and various white coats hung up, signs pointed to fuck yeah you retarded drunk dumbass! “Who The FUCK?!” he exclaimed, trying to free himself and shaking. It was bad enough he didn’t know where he was. Worse that his ass was going numb from the frigid ass steel table beneath him! “Let me go you fucking pricks!” he said, not even knowing who these pricks might be.

Flopping for a bit on the table after his rage fit into a raeg quit, Seeker thought for a moment. There were tons of possible avenues, and many were not helpful. With his powers on temporary shutdown, he couldn’t just pinpoint himself or how far away the helicarrier was. Worst possible scenerio… he was captured by Weapon X again. Best case scenerio… he was being used as some insane medical fantasy for Neil and his husband in some weird trippy faggy threesome. Nightmare scenario, Praetorian found him. Did Praetorian know Doctors? Oh who the fuck knew. That bastard could just easily indoctrinate them. That shit was frightening to see… and he didn’t want that. At. ALL.

[Micah]

Micah Kayani leaned against the door frame looking idly at his nails. When he had been approached to 'guard' someone he hadn't expected it to be this boring or to have the person so rudely strapped to a cold metal table, naked, or at least naked for the most part. He had thought that there would be more respect but apparently not and he was rather put off by it. While Micah knew that the Brotherhood wasn't necessarily kosher, he had expected some sort of decorum. At least Micah had respect for the guy.

A sudden curse brought Micah's attention to the 'patient'. He was struggling and turning about on the table, probably trying to figure out what was going on. The red-haired boy didn't blame him. If Micah had woken up mostly naked on a strange, cold, metal table he would be pretty upset and confused and want to find a way out. The man continued to struggle and swear before going strangely silent, no doubt running through a list in his head of what could possibly be happening. Deciding to have mercy on the man's imagination Micah strode up to him.

"You're in the custody of the Brotherhood. I'm Micah and your 'babysitter' if you will. I'm not really sure why you're here or what they are going to do to you 'cause I'm not high enough up to be privy to that kind of info but, I can try to help where I can." He really didn't think that the man would take any of this well and he would probably get yelled at for his trouble; still, this didn't feel right and Micah felt that he should do something.

[Seeker]

The door opening off to one side gave Seeker the signal of someone arriving, and it made him pause and shut up for once in his life. He was strapped to a cold operating table in nothing more than a johnny hospital gown with various medical equipment surrounding him, the bright flourescent bulbs burning into his retinas, and what was the first thing he was actually greeted with when throwing a fit was not some creepy old scientist, his dad, or Neil in some odd all black pleather bondage gear, but some kid, probably mid teens. Okay, Seeker may be into some crazy shit, but that was still illegal.

Closing his mouth so no flies could get in like every mother warns their kid, Seeker arched his eyebrow up a bit and listened. The Brotherhood? This kid was joking, right? The terrorist group that some theorized had ties to Genosha? Impossible. How could he have been captured by such? And who was this kid? If he had his powers, he probably be able to tap into shield database easily and figure it out, but those were probably still locked out. Speaking of which, was Shield then looking for him? He knew how much Fury liked him, and in a sense, Seeker enjoyed Fury as well, but more as a good contact than anything more. Same with Neil. A good contact, but not much else.

Right. Lack of powers, strapped to a table, and only able to mov3e his head and eyes a bit. Doing his best imitation of the Dread Pirate Roberts, Seeker flung his head to the side to completely look at this Micah who would be his “babysitter” and gave him a flat blank stare. “Kid, how old are you?” he said, voice immediately changed from the anger induced rage of earlier into the now complete flat voice of business transaction and information gathering. Just watching the kid got quite a bit off him, and that was that this kid either felt short changed by not knowing all the details, or just didn’t agree with how Seeker was being restrained. Either way, he could use this.

[Micah]

Micah watched with mild interest as the mutant on the metal table in front of him changed demeanor rather quickly. The other man had listened intently to his brief explanation of what was going on. Even to Micah's ears it was vague and full of uncertainty. That shouldn't be the case but it was. The boy didn't like that he wasn't in on what, or who, he was guarding. The man on the table then went from listening to completely blank, including his voice, which was now flat and business-like, almost disinterested in the subject.

It surprised Micah when the man suddenly flipped his head to the side to face Micah fully, though the rest of his body was forced to stay put. The fire-mutant wasn't exactly sure what the man was trying to accomplish with flinging his head so suddenly to the side. It probably would have given Micah a headache or made the room swim in his vision. Not the choice the redhead would have made in this man's position, but maybe there was something to it that the 'prisoner' knew and he didn't.

The question asked seemed harmful enough, though Micah had learned from experience that there were often hidden meanings or something people could deduce from simple information and Micah gave the man a dubious, yet curious, look before answering.

"I'm 18." He stated simply, wondering if he should ask a question in return before realizing that maybe he wasn't supposed to be talking to this man. But he hadn't been given any express instructions against it. No harm done.

[Seeker]

Maybe flicking his head to the side was the wrong choice, but combined with the other drugs that tended to circulate Seeker’s body on a 24/7 basis, what felt like some Strong Narcotics--ooo, was that Etorphine? Nice choice. Wasn’t that normally deadly to most humans?--was swimming in his system and had pretty much numbed every part of his body. Therefore, if any vision swimming would have been caused by the swishing of his head, he didn’t notice it. Or any pain. Or any feeling really. He needed to get more of this shit for his Saturday nights. Either way, he blinked while looking at Micah and waiting for the answer. The kid was eighteen, just legal for most shit. Not legal enough for alcohol, unless this was Brazil or something. But that was besides the point here. Right now the point was for him to figure out where he was, what he was doing here, and why this kid was left in charge, courtesy the brotherhood.

“Eighteen, and your working for these mooks?” he said, raising an eyebrow, or so he thought--not being able to feel anything made things hard to judge for body movements--and watching the kid further. “You’ve got a whole life ahead of yourself and you’re here working for them.” Seeker attempted to shrug but barely got anything with his lack of feeling and bindings, sighing. “Eh, your choice kid, but could be doing so much better. Could find some little chick to get together with and do the one-two tango--or guys if your into that--have some kids, maybe become a corporate millionaire…”

Seeker paused and looked to the ceiling, blinking a few times and then chuckling. “Actually, screw that shit. That sounds boring for a life. But really? Terrorists?”

[Micah]

Micah watched the man with a small, curious smile on his face. He seemed to be regretting the decision to whip his head around and suddenly Micah had the song "Whip My Hair" in his head though he tried to shove it out as soon as it started playing. It was one of the many very annoying and very elementary songs that had come out in the recent years that, even after listening to the song less then a full time through, someone could easily get it stuck in their head. It was rather disappointing and made Micah scoff at what humanity had come to. Honestly, "Whip My Hair" and "Friday"? What the hell was the music industry thinking?

Those thoughts aside, Micah began focusing on what the man on the slab was saying. It seemed that whatever the other Brotherhood members had pumped into this bloke's blood was pretty strong. He was struggling with facial expressions and simple movements. Micah filed that information away for later use as he continued to listen to what the man was saying.

The boy acknowledged that the man had a point. He was young and shouldn't been running around with the Brotherhood, but Micah had already thought about that since finding his sister and Cheryl. He wanted to tell the man that but he looked around first, wondering if there were cameras or microphones. There were no obvious cameras, but if there were cameras, why would the Brotherhood need to have Micah watching the "guest" in person. It made the boy wonder, and take a risk in answering the man.

"They recruited me at a bad time for me. I was angry and wanted revenge so I joined. Since then I've thought about it, and, I found some people that make me want to leave and just be...me." Micah said quietly, looking around. It didn't really matter if the Brotherhood heard what he said. He was planning on leaving the Brotherhood soon so telling this guy anything didn't matter.

[Seeker]

The boy seemed to at least be listening. Good, maybe if he was smart he’d reconsider his options and get Seeker out of these god forsaken bindings and the hell out of dodge. Though it might be a bit to early for that. Seeker did have some training from Sheild, courtesy of being part of the Tanks, and one thing Fury kept saying was when kidnapped, don’t always try to immediately escape. Find a way to get word to the outside, but observe and report. Something like that at least. The old baldie blathered on about a lot of things, him and Cap both. Was a wonder why Seeker and Stark seemed to be growing this long running bromance over alcohol. And women. Mostly women. Mostly Natasha. God what sweet vodka she must keep hidden away in her…

Closing his eyes and focusing not on those things at the moment--last thing he needed was to show this kid he was a bit excited at the moment of being tied down in a hospital gurney--Seeker eventually reopened them as Micah continued speaking. So it seemed the kid had had rough time before. Boo fucking hoo. Everyone does. You don’t hear Seeker complaina bout it. In fact, he does everything to keep his trap shut about his troubled past. And he certainly didn’t decide to follow in big daddy’s footsteps of terrorism after Weapon X or some shit. Hell, that Orphange deserved to burn for all he cared.

“Sounds a heck of a lot more reasonable,” Seeker said, watching Micah and blinking a bit. He sighed, “Hell, even just being able to wander the streets I imagine is probably better. Last thing you need is eighteen and Life at the knowledge you were associating with a terrorist group.” Seeker tried to flex his back, attempting to scratch and itch between his shoulder blades but finding the cold flat metal table less than helpful in this situation. “Though even if someone did find out, I bet the X-Men or some shit might be able to get you out. Hell, the Tanks would wipe your slate clean, though you’d still be taking orders. Xavier’s would at least take you in. Though Cheryl’d love someone more her age I imagine,” Seeker said, rolling his eyes at her name remembering how annoying that twit of a girl was.

[Micah]

Micah paced about the room, looking at random pieces of equipment that most he didn't know the name or function of. Every few steps he would turn to glance at the man on the table. He had no idea what was going on in the man's brain as his eyes closed and silence filled the room. Micah was lost in thought about to how he was going to eventually leave the Brotherhood when the man spoke up again. The boy smiled at the man calling him reasonable. He had always prided himself on that, even if his previous UNreasonable actions had gotten him in this position in the first place.

It was the end part of the man's mini-speech that caught Micah by complete surprise. Sure Micah had expected that someone or some group would be willing to take him in, but how did this guy know Cheryl. And then it hit Micah. This man was a Tank, like Cheryl. It made sense. The fire mutant knew that the Brotherhood wanted all of their members to reach the full potential of their powers, like the Tanks. It all made sense. But that put Micah in a strange position. This man had some sort of relationship with Cheryl and, while it perhaps wasn't a very positive one, Micah guaranteed that Cheryl would be unhappy about this happening to this man. Great. Maybe he could distinguish how important this man was to Cheryl.

"Cheryl?" Micah asked without turning around to fully face the man. He wasn't sure that his face would be impassive enough for the guy to not be able to read anything from his face.

[Jiang Mei]

Ah, Brazil. Lovely country. Rio was like Genosha in many ways; the mountains bordering the sea, with urban sprawl nestled between the two. Tropical climates, lovely women, and a surprising number of people in strange costumes. As far as vacation spots went, it was a lovely one. Jiang would need to explore the city in more depth when his vacation wasn’t spent working. Unfortunately, this trip would be spent probing the brain of a SHIELD agent. Oh, the sacrifices he made in the name of science. He had wanted to go to the beach.

Instead, Jiang had been required to drive several hours outside of the city to the somewhat-remote Brotherhood base. Once there, he’d needed to change into a lab coat, surgical mask, and dark sunglasses. The latter were somewhat ridiculous, but necessary; Jiang had a feeling that their particular…patient…might not be in their custody for long. If he found his way back to SHIELD, Jiang didn’t want to be caught in the fallout. It would be suspicious enough that he vacationed in Rio while stationed here, after all. He didn’t need the patient recognizing him.

Through the doors to the operating room, Jiang could see the patient talking with his current caretaker. Hmm, interesting. Hopefully they weren’t getting too friendly, or he would have to put a stop to it. One of the many issues with having teenagers in charge of actual work. As Jiang heard a name, he decided it was a good point to interrupt their heart-to-heart. “Good morning, gentlemen,” he greeted the pair as he stepped into the room. Just because he was doing experiments on a kidnapped man didn’t mean he had to be impolite. Jiang was hardly that sort of monster. “Mr. Kayani,” he continued, glancing over to the boy, “I’ll take over from here. How long has the patient been awake?”

[Seeker]

Cheryl. The girl was sweet, and genuinely wanting to do good, but that didn't stop her from being annoying as all fuck. Seriously, her bubbly personality and typical hormonal teenage atitude was dangerous enough. Seeker could only wonder how that would add to her danger level if she didn't have full control of her powers. A break up might risk her turning from Cheryl Harrison to Cheryl Noble. Seeker did have to let out a small chuckle at the bad pun worthy of some DC comic, but quickly fell flat.

Cheryl... she was annoying, but she was also good too. And Seeker did enjoy her. In some part, she reminded him of his daughter. Or what his daughter could have been, had her life not ended barely before it began. That night had solidified his desire to find and deal with his father, but through the process, he had met Cheryl... and her personality was almost refreshing at times. While it did seem she almost always wanted to annoy Seeker, deep down he knew she only meant to try and help keep him happy. He had to wonder if Cheryl would treat him any differently if she knew his full story.

Micah's reaction to her name though caused a quick sidelong glance to his direction from Seeker. "Yeah, she-" He had meant to continue, but the door opening and a man in some stereotypical surgeon outfit that made Seeker worried that he got his degree from Surgeon Simulator. Seeker rolled his eyes and opted to turn his head in the opposite direction, but kept his ears attuned. Best to see what he could hear from this conversation.

[Micah]

Micah waited a few moments for the other mutant in the room to respond to his question. This was a disconcerting situation to say the least. If Cheryl found out...he would just make sure she didn't find out. After all, he hadn't had any hand in the actual kidnapping, knocking out, and strapping up of this man. He wouldn't be participating in any sort of torture sessions and if he helped this guy escape...Micah stopped his thoughts right there. Help the prisoner escape? Was he already letting the man talk him into betraying the Brotherhood? What was wrong with him? He couldn't remember being told that this guy's powers involved persuasion or telepathy but he was pretty sure it had nothing that could change his mind.

Micah thought that the man on the slab was about to speak but then the door to the lab opened. In walked Jiang Mei. Micah took a step back almost guiltily. There was nothing that he had said that would suggest he would be changing his allegiance but his thoughts were still fresh. Thank goodness Jiang wasn't a telepath either.

"Hello, Sir. I wasn't aware you would be showing up today." Micah replied, inclining his head in respect to the other man. "He hasn't been up long five, ten minutes maybe." Micah wasn't sure if he should leave or not. Jiang had said he would take over, but did that mean Micah couldn't stay just to watch over Seeker? He looked towards the door but looked back at Seeker. Why did he feel so responsible all of a sudden?

[Jiang Mei]

The teenager’s surprise at Jiang’s interruption was obvious, and Jiang looked him over with interest. Hmm, there was something a little odd about the way Kayani was acting. Granted, he hardly knew the boy well enough to have an established idea of his character, but…it struck him as strange. It was a mystery for another time, however; for now, he had a patient to worry about. Jiang crossed the room over to the table, glancing over the patient quickly before picking up the clipboard hanging nearby. “Hardly surprising. Even I wasn’t aware I would be showing up until late last night,” he replied, tone friendly but slightly distant. He was already reading over the patient’s chart, and exchanging pleasantries was hardly a top priority. He was too engrossed in his reading to catch Micah’s glance towards the door.

Some of the information on the chart was already review. Mutant, scrying, suspected healing abilities. The last person to see him had been one of the other doctors, about an hour ago. He was unconscious then, which matched up with Kayani’s statement. Hmm, the patient had apparently been sedated last night for transport here, but that was the last mention of any chemical immobilization. Jiang paused, glanced back at the patient incredulously, and re-read the sheet. His eyes hadn’t been deceiving him. Half a cc of etorphine. That should have been enough to sedate a horse. It was enough to kill several baseline humans. He looked back to the patient’s listed powers. Suspected healing abilities. Not confirmed. Either this chart was missing some very important information, or everyone else working on this project was incompetent.

Letting out an irritated sigh, Jiang returned the chart. The first priority right now was a toxicity screening. The fact that the patient was alive, much less awake, was a very good indication that enhanced healing was at work, but he wanted to make sure. He began collecting everything he’d need for a blood draw. “How are you feeling, Seeker?” he asked, rummaging for some alcohol swabs. Ah, there. He didn’t care about the patient’s personal feelings—that would be ridiculous—but perhaps the patient would cooperate enough to give him a better idea of the etorphine’s effects.

[Seeker]

Seeker had kept his head turned away from the bad doctor, but his hearing was still pretty darn good. He had wished he had his scrying senses at the moment, as having eyes in the back of his head was always fun, but otherwise he was still able to get the jist of things. Seems this doctor had been contracted to arrive last minute, hmm? Seeker spared a glance in time to see his face as he looked from the chart and Back to Seeker. Oh wouldn’t mind reading abilities be nice right now. “Something odd, Herr Doktor?” The acid-laced joke was purposeful. Though current reports were that the brotherhood was dead, with Mystique in theory being the leader, many still believed Magneto to be pulling the strings in secret. Making a joke at Nazi Germany, even far away from Magneto, would be well worth it.

When the Medic with no Medical License decided to finally look into Seeker’s feelings by asking him, He scoffed. “Well I certainly don’t feel a white pigeon in my chest so I’ll give you that much credit.” He said, making a joke that might or might not have been caught by the doctor. He looked young, so maybe he would. But that mattered little to Seeker. What mattered was getting out of here. “I don’t suppose asking what the fuck your planning on doing will get me any god damned response, will it?” Was Seeker Bitter? Oh yeah. He spared a quick glance to Micah and then focused back on Jiang. Time to remain stone-faced.

[Micah]

Micah stayed where he was in the room, watching Jiang move about, looking at the chart at the end of the bed. The red-head had not noticed the look that Jiang had given him which was probably just as well considering Micah probably would have started sweating nervously. It was irrational to be nervous but the boy wouldn't have been able to help it. Jiang continued about the room, gathering different equipment for...whatever he was going to do. Micah's gaze slid back to the man on the slab.

Jiang finally spoke to Seeker, who was obviously displeased with the current situation. Micah couldn't blame him at all. Seeker's reply was followed by a bitter question about why he was here. The red-headed mutant looked down, wishing he knew what was going on instead of being just the damn babysitter. He looked up in time to see Seeker look at him before turning back to Jiang. That made the decision for Micah; he would help Seeker escape and hopefully escape himself. It would take some planning, but Micah was confident that he could figure something out. He would just have to listen and watch for an opening...and let Seeker know what he was doing, somehow.

The decision made, Micah stood up straighter and moved towards the doors, keeping an eye on Seeker and Jiang as he moved silently, his movement fluid like when he practiced his combat moves.

"If I'm not needed, I'll be going then, Sir." Micah said, not really waiting for an answer before nodding and slipping out the door, letting it 'click' behind him.

[Jiang Mei]

Video game references. Jiang gave an inward sigh. He had never played the game, himself, but he knew more about it than he cared to admit. One of the downsides of his powers. And even if the commentary was annoying, it provided valuable insight. Sarcasm, at least, was a good sign that the patient wasn't completely out of it. The sedatives were wearing off quickly. Keeping him under for any length of time would require a massive dose.

“Of course it will,” he replied calmly, as if oblivious to the subject's tone. Jiang had absolutely no reason to be hostile towards Seeker, and leaving him in the dark now would serve no purpose. The mutant would, eventually figure out what they were doing. If Jiang was polite up front, perhaps he would be more willing to cooperate. That would make this procedure far easier on both of them. “The group I am working for is very interested in the contents of your brain. I intend to find out how the Tanks are given full control over their powers. I am sure you realize how valuable that information could be, in the right hands.” Not, to say, that the Brotherhood's hands were right. Jiang's, however, would be.

Mr. Kayani asked permission to take his leave, and Jiang nodded without turning around. “No, you can le--” Before Jiang managed to finish his sentence, he heard the door to the surgery closing. He frowned briefly at it. Disrespectful little boy, wasn't he? Micah would, undoubtedly, pay for that. In time. Right now, it was of little consequence. He had more important matters.

After pulling on a pair of gloves, Jiang moved over to Seeker with supplies for his blood draw in hand. He tied an elastic cord around one of his arms, found a vein, and inserted his syringe. “The reason why I asked how you were feeling,” he continued as the vial filled, “Is because the amount of sedative you were given should have killed any baseline human. By understanding your current condition, I will have a more accurate idea of what I will need to use on you later. I don't think either of us want you to inadvertently end up with a lethal dose.”

Withdrawing the needle, Jiang glanced back to Seeker's face. “It might help if I mention that my organization is very interested in keeping you alive and well,” he added, almost as an afterthought. Anything to gain some measure of cooperation from the subject.