paranoia ( nc17)

Chris had sat at Mel's keeping his head down to lay low in order to eat a burger and some fries. He wasn't defenseless and MRD didn't intimidate him in the least, but he didn't need a fight in a public place. Too many people could get hurt should that have taken place and Chris finished up his coffee, tipped his waitress and paid for his meal before stepping outside. He stopped to button his coat and took notice of a man that had been in the diner not taking his eyes off a waitress.

The mutant would have normally not seen anything strange with it given that she was attractive, but the way the man looked at her was disturbing. Chris ducked into the shadows near the dumpster when Loika left followed by the mysterious man who stopped just outside the diner and spoke to another person via an earpiece. All doubt was removed; he was MRD and after the waitress. Chris felt it wise to follow for a while, keeping hidden until they were in a less public place. Once entering the alley and Loika spoke up, the man went for his gun, but Chris sneaked behind him and gripped his head, sending electricity into his brain causing unconsciousness.

"Neither do you," he retorted stepping into the light of the alleyway looking at Loika for a moment. "He's been following you since you left the diner. I figured if an MRD agent was following a waitress halfway across the city, it wasn't because he wanted her phone number." He knelt down and searched the agent's pockets, taking a locker key and also his radio which Chris believed could prove useful in keeping a step ahead so long as the frequency was correct.

He laughed a bit at her remark of how common it was to discover a mutant in New York. He looked at the radio for a moment then shoved it into his pocket. "Guess that's true. If these guys have their way, we'll be extinct." When she asked about Arabella, Chris took a deep breath. He'd not seen her since their night together when he set off and found out she has been taken by his father.

According to the time traveler, she would be fine and was at Thana's apartment; added to the fact that his father was dead, he suspected she was safe for the time being. "She's doing better. She's at a friend's place until this MRD nonsense dies down. I'm out here trying to track down one of them, but I've not had any luck yet."

Chris noted her name then waved off her apology with a shake of his head and assured eyes. "You don't have to apologize for the actions of someone else. If you'd been involved, this would be a very different conversation." He harbored no ill will against Loika about what Lakai had done. Her sister had gotten help for whatever had caused her to attack Arabella and Alec, but forgiveness in regards to the younger mutant was a very far off thing. Chris still wanted to send thousands of volts into Lakai to cause her pain like she has Ari, though Scarlett was a more pressing matter.

The male looked at her hand for a moment then shook it with a nod at her words. "Oh, I know where she is - she's in the past. Don't know if she'll be back, but she'd be smart not to. Still... I appreciate the offer." He pondered the offer of a drink. God knew he needed it. Chris had been going hard for days and couldn't remember the last time he'd slept; vengeance was the only thing on his mind and he'd not rest until Scarlett Hawthorne and the other two members of her team were burning in hell with his father and Agent Jenkins.

"Sure. I'd like a drink," he agreed and looked down the alley, "this guy will have friends looking for him soon anyway, so we should probably get moving. Enough blood has been shed tonight. I don't want any more."

Chris noted the coloration of her eyes, but wasn't as alarmed as a normal human would be. It was her mutation and every genetic mutation was different which was what made them so amazing. He nodded at her words and followed, but looked behind them from time to time to make sure no cars or people were tailing them. He knew the man in the alleyway would live, but never be the same making him a useless agent. Chris considered it a win either way; a fellow mutant was okay and an enemy was incapacitated.

When they came to the bar, it reminded him of the places he used to frequent before Violet had found him in St. Louis years before. Those memories felt like they were from a totally different lifetime with what had happened since, but it made Chris the man he was and he'd not change a thing. After sitting down and ordering a Scotch, he looked over at Loika. "Thanks for this. It's good to have a moment to clear my head with all that's been happening in this city."

Chris sipped his drink and nodded affirmatively at Loika's words about hers and Lakai's childhood. Lakai had attacked Alec and Ari, but had also been the one to save Arabella's life in the hospital so all hope for her might not be lost. Either way, it was a long road ahead before he'd not be tempted to shock her on sight. "The growl and eyes gave me an indication. You carry yourself better, though. You're more in control of your gift rather than it controlling you."

He took another sip of the Scotch before continuing. "There's a mutant that's like me - no relation, but she can control electricity. She just doesn't have the control I have with hers. Anyone who touches her is electrocuted and she looks like a walking Christmas tree... but, best of my knowledge she's not a killer." He wanted to add that he was the killer, but didn't see the need in alarming Loika about it at the moment. "Still, your sister's got help and that's what matters, right?"

"I assume you're asking because you really want my opinion," he replied with a shrug glancing down at his glass, turning it slowly in place, "and you may not like it, but you should have already done that. People have to make their own choices and suffer consequences of those choices. No matter how hard you try, they have to learn those lessons on their own." He took another soothing sip of Scotch and sat back on the barstool a bit looking back over to her. "It's just one man's opinion, though. You can do whatever you feel is right."

He laughed a bit at his being a good man and ordered another drink as well. With all he'd done in the past week, most people wouldn't see him as good. He was far from an angel, but hadn't quite developed horns. Chris just thought of himself as protecting innocent mutants and righting wrongs caused by his father; then it dawned on him that Loika may be right and that he was a good man given his motivations were honorable. He then nodded. "You know... I never thought about myself as a good man until now. Maybe I am. But that doesn't change the fact what I'm doing is dangerous and borderline insane - still, I'm the lucky one."

To her words about what was coming, he took a sip of his renewed glass of Scotch and nodded affirmatively. "We're already in the middle of it, most people and mutants, for that matter, don't know it yet. They're hearing about it. They're talking about it, but they still don't believe that MRD has declared war on our kind and we can either sit by and let it happen or fight back. Believe me, they don't negotiate."

Chris thought on Loika's words for a moment. If anything in his life had been important enough to try to be a good person and not a drunk, an asshole, killer, or complete psychopath with everything rolled into one that reason would be Arabella. He said nothing but nodded intent on giving the matter further, more in-depth thought. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I've been a soldier. I know war when I see it and this is one we can't afford to lose. Trust me, there are plenty of mutants willing to stand up and fight back these MRD nutjobs. No one's alone in this fight." Giving a look to the photograph of her daughter only strengthened Chris' resolve.

Fighting for his own survival and the survival of Ari was one thing, but knowing children were in the crossfire made it all the more important for him to finish his goals as quickly as he could. "They're not gonna win the city. Your little girl will have a future. I'll keep hitting them until they figure out a way to keep me from knowing they are coming - the fight is easy, but there are so many scattered around the city, even I can't track them all down with electrical signals."

"I'm not opposed to that. I'm not signing up any time soon, but we've all got a stake in this," he replied taking a mouthful of Scotch swallowing it slowly allowing it to linger all the way down when he heard talk of time travel. There was so much he would like to change in his past, but wouldn't dare do so. He was all too familiar with the theory of the butterfly effect to want to do that. While he might save his friend's life in Germany, thousands of others could die or worse. He looked over at Loika with an arched brow. "Oh, he and I met briefly. He's got a stick up his ass. It's surprising he'd risk the butterfly effect for anything. You and your family must be important to him."

Chris chuckled at her next words and shook his head. "Yeah and then the world will be a lot cooler with Hell frozen over." He took another mouthful of Scotch and added. "It's politics. Human. Mutant. It's all the same back and forth that's never going to really stop, but I think that with the MRD attacking us openly, cooperation isn't off the table."

Perhaps Chris shouldn't have made her delve deeper into an already sensitive topic, but he needed to know who was behind it all and, upon hearing the name, he nodded. "Well, you won't have to worry about Scarlett anymore - if she finds a way back to the present, which is unlikely. Still, I'll know when she gets here and I'm gonna put her in a grave."

He couldn't blame Loika for being upset; it was her child and love who had been murdered but she still had them contrary to what Jason believed and, Chris as well, for that matter. He'd seen first-hand what changing the past could do to the future if not done carefully and was grateful he'd not have to ever live with that burden. He noted the bartender and held his hand up just above the bar, palm toward the phone, drawing the electrical charge out of the battery so the call would be useless. "I bought us time." He stood and winked at the confused bartender slyly while walking out of the bar.

Chris waved his hand with a soft smile. "No problem." He listened to her suggestion and cast a sideways glance initially. He wanted to protest the idea of it all knowing how Arabella felt about going to the Institute, or anywhere else for that matter, that separated her from Chris. Still, despite knowing her feelings on the matter, the electric mutant felt it was the safest option. With him attacking MRD openly and having killed his father and one of Scarlett's agents already, they would be looking for any way to get to him and Ari was his biggest weakness.

"Secluded and relaxing are good, but not as important to me as safety," he explained, "she's hurt - I already know my father turned her over to Scarlett and they tortured her. She won't want to go, but tell her I'll be coming and she'll probably agree to go with you. Then again, she can surprise from time to time." He had a lot on his to-do list in terms of vengeance against the MRD, but he wouldn't make Loika or any of the other X-Men liars; he'd be at the Institute as soon as he could ensure no one would follow him there.