The Devil's Playground

[Vigilante]

Ginny took as long a shower as she could, reluctantly turning off the hot water and stepping out onto the bathmat. Wrapping a towel around her, she wiped away the steam that had collected on the mirror and sighed. She was getting old. Maybe not physically, but mentally, and she was starting to feel the strain on her body.

Perhaps it had something to do with her mutant abillity... when she used it a lot it made her tired, but this seemed like something else. Like she was about to fly into a million pieces.

Ginny dried off and dressed quickly, flipping on the vent to clear the steamy air as she left the bathroom. Creep was sitting at the kitchen table with two plates. One held crumbs, the other a ham sandwich. She grinned when Ginny came down the hall, her white teeth shining in her dark face. "I was jus' about to eat yours."

The younger mutant slid the sandwich across the table, and Ginny took a seat. "Thanks, Jaime."

"No problem." Creep leaned back in her chair and pulled her long black hair up into a ponytail. "Look, I know you don't want to talk about it but..." She pulled the day's newspaper up from the chair beside her and turned it to face the redhead. VIGILANTE STRIKES AGAIN? The headline screamed uncertanties as the article below went on to explain about a group of men found dead in New Jersey's warehouse district. The unknown mutant known as Vigilante (some called her Ace because of the card she left behind at every scene) was the main suspect, but the police were open to the possibility of this being the work of a copycat due to the circumstances of some of the dead.

Ginny didn't even raise an eyebrow as she glanced at the paper. "Look, you hear about a redheaded mutant mob-killer and I know you want it to be me, but it just isn't, ok?" She glanced at the clock on the microwave and choked on the bite of sandwich in her mouth. "Crap!"

She was going to be late for her appointment. Ginny grabbed her leather jacket and ran for the door. "Sorry, got to go!"

[Twitch]

“Uncle Steve?” Joe asked.

“Yes?”

“Can we get some breakfast? I haven’t had a real meal in a while.”

Steven Ironwood chuckled and patted Joe on the shoulder. “Whatever you want, we’ll get it delivered.”

“Pecan waffles, sausage and grits and a banana. Fresh OJ, too.”

“Right away.” He dialed his front desk.

“Mr. Ironwood?” It was the green haired woman at the front desk.

“Darcy, please order three pecan waffle meals from The Mississippi, with grits and OJ.”

“Uhhuh. Right away.”

“Thank you Darcy.” Steve pressed disconnect and started to dial another number.

“Hello big sister, I have someone who wants to talk to you.” Joe gulped, but took the phone when his uncle handed him the receiver.

“Hi Mom.”

“Joseph Benjamin Teel, do you have any idea what you have put us through?” Joe’s jaw dropped, and Uncle Steve winced sympathetically.

“But Mom, the mob…”

“The mob nothing, I thought you were dead and the least you…”

“Listen Mom, I have been on the run from the mob for a month, who has been trying to kill me after I saw them shoot Dad and I have been living in his car.” Joe hung up, too angry and tired to deal with the nonsense.

“She loves you, you know.” Steve said.

“I can’t talk to her when she gets like that.” Joe shook his head.

“I have some phone calls to make, but the conference room is empty.” Joe was handed a leather laptop bag with a newer 15” model inside.“Now go use Myspace or whatever it is you kids do on the internet.” He said with a wink.

[Vigilante]

She left later than she wanted to, but her motorcycle was fast and Ginny ended up at Smith, Klien, Sax and Ironwood early. After she was suspected by the Army for being responsible for the deaths of her unit in Iraq over a year previously, life had gotten much more complicated.

There had been a roadside bomb. She'd managed to teleport herself to saftey, but when you're the one driving and everyone else dies... it looks suspicious. After a court martial trial she'd been cleared of any criminal charges, and sent to spend the rest of her time with the Army babysitting the North/South Korean border. The DMZ was delightful.

Somehow the family of Lt. Samuel Gomez, one of the victims of the tragedy, had decided to sue her for pain and suffering with a wrongful death civil suit before the statute of limitations ran out. Newly reintergrated into civillian society, Ginny had been caught flatfooted by the suit, and though she maintained that she was only a carrier of the recessive mutant gene (a lie that she found herself telling over and over again) she had turned to the one law firm that was known to take on pro bono cases for mutants.

Should the case become newsworthy, it would be a disaster. A redheaded mutant woman in the New York area on trial for wrongful death, while a redheaded mutant woman was being sought as a person of interest in the deaths of over twenty known Russian mafia bosses and agents? The questions would be close and uncomfortable.

Ginny rubbed her forehead between her eyes. She would have to get their DNA evidence away from them, and soon. And she'd have to stop being so uncautious and start wrapping her hair up when she went out to do jobs. Couldn't just leave that DNA crap around wherever she went.

[Twitch]

It loaded Windows faster that anything he had ever seen. In a way, Joe was surprised his Uncle had not put a different OS on it. Linux, his friend Tom said. Tom had also shown Joe where to get MAME and MAME ROMs from his FTP. He had even given Joe his own login, from a Kool Keith song - Halfsharkalligatorhalfman. “Because your mad skills are freakish. You first turned rainbow, closed your eyes, watch your brain glow.” Joe laughed at that, but it helped him remember how to set MAME up. It downloaded fast, and soon Joe had everything set up.
<o></o>
Even on the hardest difficulty, the computer was a victim of his superior knowledge and “mad skills”. The keyboard proved to be not an obstacle, but a friend in a new experiment. Joe found if he set up the keys a certain way he could play against himself. It was amusing, if somewhat pointless because he always knew what he was going to do. Then he went online to find a 2v2 match, deciding he was comfortable enough playing as 2 people. He was so absorbed in what he was doing that Joe did not hear the door open behind him.<o></o>

[Vigilante]

Someday she'd have to learn how to teleport farther than the approximately thirty feet she could at the moment. It would come in handy when she was running late.

Arriving finally at the law offices of Mr. Ironwood, Ginny left her Harley in half a parking spot and ran up the steps into the building. Up the elevator and to the left, she approached the receptionist, who smiled in recognition. "Ginny! How are you?"

"Oh, you know. Same old, same old." She drummed her fingers on the counter and leaned over towards him, trying to get a peek at the paperwork he was filing with his webbed hands. He tsked, and pointed up at his head.

"Like the hair?"

She examined his new haircut, and shook her head. "Too short. I always picture you with that surfer guy shag look. I think it'll do wonders for your dating life." Ginny leaned on the counter with one elbow. "I'm a little late, but..."

"Don't worry about it. Mr. Ironwood is making some phonecalls in his office, but you can wait for him in the conference room. It'll just be a few minutes."

"Great, thanks." Ginny straightened up and headed for the conference room. She didn't like sitting for any period of time in the waiting area - staying out of the public eye was more her style. Plus, you never could tell who was watching or taking notes out there. More than once they had discovered undercover reporters trying to get an inside scoop on mutant lawsuits, and Ginny had no desire to be seen more than necessary.

She opened the conference room door, and turned to close it quietly behind her. There was a strange clicking noise, and as she faced the rest of the room her jaw dropped and she grabbed for the door handle again.

[Twitch]

She made more noise than expected when she grabbed the handle, and Joe turned around. His jaw dropped, but his fingers continued to mash keys for the combo he was currently delivering to his remote adversaries. The archer was the last person he ever expected to see. Was she going to kill him? A moment after his brain unfogged enough, her dress and lack of bow told him know, not to mention her shock. He closed the laptop and stood.
<o></o>
“Hello.” He said, and offered his hand.
<o></o>
“I’m Joe, I don’t believe we’ve met.”<o></o><o></o>

[Vigilante]

She could almost feel her eyes twitching in panic. As he extended his hand to her a part of her automatically responded to the customs of human greetings, and she shook his hand.

"Ginny," she stammered. "I - I'm sorry, I was told the conference room was unoccupied." If she killed him, he couldn't tell on her, but then she'd have a body to dispose of in the conference room of her lawyer, and it would take at least ten minutes to teleport him from the sixth floor to a hiding place and -

Ginny took a deep breath, but didn't smile, instead watching for his reaction.

[Twitch]

Joe wasn’t surprised that Ginny wasn’t smiling. It probably was her actual name, considering she was at a law firm, and finding out if she were lying would be easy.
<o></o>
“I guess you’re here to see my uncle.”<o></o>

[Vigilante]

She was getting a very good look at his facial features, and could see the familial similarities. "I have a meeting with Mr. Ironwood. I guess you're the reason I have to wait."

Ginny didn't move from where she was standing, keeping her body between Joe and the door. It wasn't in her nature to be trusting, and her muscles were tightening as her brain screamed at her to fight or flee.

[Twitch]

“He’s probably calling the DA and FBI right now.” Joe sighed. A knock on the door made Ginny step aside
<o></o>
“Joseph, waffles.” The secretary said. He eagerly took the bag, which had more than enough food.
<o></o>
“Hello again Ginny.” Ginny managed a smile.
<o></o>
“You want some?” He asked as he broke open the Styrofoam carton. “Oh man, real syrup.” He swirled the packet across the top of his large pecan waffle. He took a bite and leaned back, overwhelmed. Joe started to cry.<o></o>

[Vigilante]

Oh Jesus. Now he was crying. The secretary was gone, and she still didn't sit down, standing stiffly by the wall instead. She hadn't even told Mr. Ironside the truth about her mutation. He thought she was just a carrier of the recessive gene. And now his nephew was sitting at a conference table, crying, eating waffles, and armed with knowledge that would not only land her in jail for murder, but could also find her liable in her current civil suit.

"Did you tell your uncle about last night...?" Ginny's hands tightened into fists by her side, her knuckles whitening.

[Twitch]

"No." He said between sobs, and slowly pulled himself back together.

"No, you saved my life. You made it clear that it's a secret. Look, I'm not cryin' cos you make me nervous. Pop used to take me out for waffles on Saturdays. I saw the mob shoot him almost month ago and I've been runnin' till today." He tossed her the copy of the newspaper his uncle had handed him, and went back to his waffles. Ginny was a cold hearted woman, as far as he could tell.

[Vigilante]

"The Russians." Her voice was flat, and she sat down, flipping past the front page to check out what had been pushed to page 2. She still thought he was a baby, and a liability, but she could certainly relate to his story. "Those bastards."

Ginny paused, and looked up. "I didn't know they were so active in the South."

[Twitch]

Joe shrugged and sniffled, but was putting himself back together.

"I wouldn't know. I haven't had a chance to read it yet." He took a bite of the waffle, and concentrated on not falling appart again.

[Vigilante]

She paused, and slowly looked at him. "Your accent. I assumed the incident with your father happened in the South."

[Twitch]

Joe nodded slowly.
"Atlanta."

[Vigilante]

ooc: sorry for the confusion I thought he handed her today's newspaper. /ic:

She sighed heavily, and tossed the paper away as he was obviously too worked up to hold a conversation. She didn't even want to hold a conversation with him. Ginny got up and paced to the far side of the room while he finished off his waffles.

You'll have to tell him. Mr. Ironwood. The redhead frowned to the wall and ran her hand through her hair. Surely for what she was paying him he could help her out of this situation. She couldn't trust Joe to keep his waffle-devouring mouth shut, and if his uncle heard about her all sorts of crap would go into motion.

The door to the conference room opened once more, and Mr. Ironwood entered.

[Twitch]

Joe felt relieved as soon as his Uncle stepped in. Ginny had been eying him as if he was going to be a corpse very soon.

He managed a smile.

"Thanks for the waffles, Uncle Steve." Steve patted Joe on the back.

"Sorry for the wait, Ms. Hayes. I had a family emergency, but it's taken care of now."

[Vigilante]

She offered the lawyer a half smile, and added, "I can see how having a mutant nephew drop in on you might be a bit of an emergency. If you like, I can always come back later, if you have more to deal with."

[Twitch]

Both uncle and nephew blinked.

"What?" Joe's jaw dropped, and Steve smiled at him.
"It's ok Joe. You can tell me about it."

"I'm a mutant?" Joe was confused, and his question was mostly pointed at Ginny. Steven Ironwood looked at his nephew, and then looked at Ginny.

"Ms. Hayes, please explain yourself?" He asked.