Waking William

April 30, 2016:

It's been a few days, but it's time to wake William and get more information on Project Advent

A Jericho Safehouse

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions:

Plot:

Mood Music: None.


Fade In…

'William' had been taken to Jemma's apartment for immediate care, but she couldn't keep him there, for various reasons. Making arrangements with Jericho and Gabby, the biochem had him transferred to one of Jericho's safehouses.

"How is he doing, Gabby?" Jemma asks the other brunette as she enters the safehouse. It's been one of those weeks for the biochem and she's only just now getting chance to follow up in person. "Do you think he's up to having a talk?"


Melinda May has arrived with Jemma, and other than a simple nod in greeting to Gabby, she stays quiet. Though she does step around the two younger women to locate the kitchen-like area and start some tea brewing. Because.


Lunair's going to make good on her promise of bringing tea. And she'll help bring cooked goods, toiletries or whatever. She'd been a friend to poor 'William', even if they pulled each other's hair as kids. Nevertheless, unless they shoo her off, Lunair will be around. And being fussy.


"He's been asleep the entire time, but I can try waking him. There was a lot of fentanyl in his system. Almost enough to be paralytic." The ER nurse has been moonlighting to help people like Jemma and Jericho and it's been… kind of hair raising. "God, does anyone have some caffine?" Tea. Tea is good. Tea is wonderful.

"Did you want me to try waking him?"

Jericho hasn't said much, but he's been outside making sure they weren't followed. The door to the front of the Brooklyn townhouse closes and locks. "We're clear. How is he?"

"We're going to find out…" Gabby pushes a needle into 'William's arm and presses down the plunger. Slowly the young man starts to wake, bleary and groggy.


"Tea would be wonderful, actually." Jemma murmurs giving Gabby a sympathetic look. She can relate, to a degree, how the young woman feels. "I'm very grateful for your help, Gabrielle." Jemmas good, she's learned a lot about field medicing in her time with SHIELD but having an ER nurse she can rely on, has been a blessing for the young biochem.

"Hello Lunair, I'm glad you're here to see your friend wake up."


Melinda May takes one look at fussy Lunair, and rather than give the young woman busywork to keep her out from underfoot, as they wake William the weapons-creator is shooed off to go be there for the waking young man. She can make tea just fine. And to prove it, the first mug gets carried to Gabby.


Lunair watches, concerned. "If I can help, let me know." Otherwise, she's just gonna chill while William wakes up. "Hi!" She greets him. "I think tea is coming. I had my Earl Grey from a trip," She remarks. Lunair nods. "Thanks," She offers. She pauses. "Really?" People aren't often /glad/ to see Lunair but she just manages a faint smile at that. She lets herself be shooed to hang with her friend.


"Ugh…" 'William/Chris' starts to wake. He shakes his head, blinking. Lunair can see the uncertainty cross his face. The unfamilair surroundings are slowly taken in. "What… where…"

The young man starts and sits bolt upright in an eyeblink. Lunair had said he was fast. "No! I'm not going to let you- Muriel?!" Panic turns to confusion.

Jericho's hand goes to the gun at his side and slowly eases off when he doesn't try to bolt or attack. Well that's a promising start at least.


"Yes, really." Jemma answers Lunair "It might help to have a familia—- " she cuts off as William/Chris starts to wake and moves closer, resting a hand on the young mans shoulder. "Steady. You're safe." she murmurs, looking to Gabby to confirm the young mans vitals. "Some water please … Muriel."


Melinda May makes a point of stepping audibly into the young man's line of sight, offering Gabby a cup of tea as she does so. She doesn't crowd the kid or talk at him considering he's just woken up, but announcing her presence is a non-verbal way of showing she's present and not a threat. Once Gabby accepts the tea she'll go make the next cup to give to Jemma.


"Muriel- yes," Her birth name. "I remember you," Lunair promises. "It's okay. These people are nice," She adds. "They helped take you out of that building - well, they DID take you out - of that place they were getting ready to turn you into a jigsaw puzzle. Um." Pause. "Just take a moment, do you want some water?"
Blink. "Okay." Lunair is uneasy at the whole use of her old name. "Sorry, I don't - use that name anymore," She admits. "It's - weird." And wrong, as far as she feels. She'll go get some water for William, putting an ice cube in. She returns easily enough. "But it is me. I'm glad to see you."


"I… wha…" William's eyes narrow past Lunair at Jericho, the only one who is visibly armed. "They're… here to help you say? I…" He turns back to Lunair, eyes suddenly wide.

"Muriel. You're in danger. They're going to cut you open. They want your brain. They think it can power… power…" Suddenly he has a headache and he's rather dizzy. Gabby rushes forward to catch his arm.

"God my head. What did they do to me?"


"We know her as Lunair." Jemma speaks quietly, trying to keep the young man calm. She knows it's a rather large shock for him. Catching his other arm, Jemma looks to Gabby, she's hesitant to give him anything until the rest of the drugs are out of his system.

"They gave you an awful lot of drugs…" she murmurs. "From what I can see, they were testing something." she can't help but wonder if they were after his brain as well. "It's possible they've done some 'programming' to not let him think about what was happening."


Melinda May again stays out of the conversation, moving back to the kitchen area and letting Lunair get the water for William while she soaks and wrings out a towel then offers it to the young woman to take back to William as well. She's going to stay in the periphery where she can rush in and restrain the kid if it turns out to be necessary.


"Thanks," Lunair nods to May. She's well mannered at least. "I've got some water," She comes back to William. "Can you drink?" She asks, uncertain if he'll need help. Lunair pauses. "Yeah. There's been people trying to dissect or catch me for years," She admits. "… my brain? What about the - Nevermind. And I don't know. You should sit, there's water." She adds. She'll sit near him. "I mean. I wish I'd bumped into you again under better circumstances."


William sits up and sips the drink. "Drugs… ugh. Sorry. I…"

There's another long moment as he drinks. "Take your time. Start from the beginning." Jericho murmurs.

"Right… sorry." William looks at Jemma and May briefly. "Who… who are they? Nevermind, you're here to help right? So, I used to work as an anylist for a marketing company. They grabbed me, I dunno, a couple of weeks? Months? I'm not even sure how long it's been. They wanted to know everything about what I'd done since… uh…" He looks over to Lunair now. "Leaving the project. They wanted to know if I still used my powers. If I'd had contact with any of the other people. I told them I didn't know anything. They kept asking. Started drugging me. I'm not sure what I told them. I'd been trying to track down some of the others in my spare time. Found a couple of them too. Kylie and… Richard. I might have told them. God I hope I didn't-"

"William. Easy. Focus." That's Jericho again.

"Sorry… they started asking about Muriel a lot. What I knew about her. What she'd been like when she was younger. I told them I didn't know. They said they were done with me. Then I blacked out. That's the last thing I remember."


"I'm Jemma." the biochem introduces herself, resting a hand on the mans shoulder. "And that's May." she nods to the silent SHIELD Agent. "Take your time." she echoes Jericho. "But perhaps you could tell us a bit about your powers…"

As he's talking, Jemma looks to the hacker "Were you able to get anything from the tech in the room?"


Melinda May nods a greeting to William as she returns with a cup of tea for Jemma. She's also got a broth started because she's almost willing to bet that whomever had the kid didn't bother to feed him much if at all. And he's likely not going to feel up to solid food. Not right away, at least.


Lunair looks thoughtful, listening. She nods at William's words. She looks concerned. "They're the people who created us, strictly speaking," Lunair answers. "And I'm sorry you suffered because of me," Lunair remarks. "I didn't know," She admits. "Don't beat yourself up, though. They're good at what they do," She considers. She frowns a bit at his words. "I do not know how to talk to people well."


Jericho shakes his head. "A bunch of addresses. Not sure if they're potential victims or safe houses or what. Could be worth checking out."

"They… were having trouble bringing one of their subjects in. Somewhere in Metropolis. Said he was getting too close to one of their labs."

"Interesting, you know where?"

"New Troy somewhere."

The hacker frowns and looks at May and Jemma. "I have a New Troy address and phone number. Might be our mark."


"Did they say a name, William?" Jemma speaks gently, accepting the tea from May with a grateful smile. "You've been through a lot, take some time to rest. I'm sure Lunair would like to visit for a bit."

Moving away, to stand between Jericho and May, Jemma nods slowly "New Troy, then. Gabby, do you need anything to help William?" And what are they going to do with him now?


Melinda May nods to Jericho and finally speaks up. "We should check it out. The sooner the better." She can't go through official SHIELD channels to get him withness protection type relocation, but maybe she can check into other contacts. Marketing analysts are useful everywhere, right?


"Sure, visiting is nice," Lunair manages a smile. While she's desperately impaired at showing emotion, she's trying. She does seem to care about her old friend. "I usually kill them off if they bother me until they get the hint, but… I don't really work in metropolis," Lunair remarks. She'll offer Will the water and damp rag.


"No. Called him 'Moccasin'." William says as he sags.

Gabrielle checks his pulse. "He's pretty weak. I'm going to get him hooked up to a dextrose IV and monitor him for a while. Just rest there, okay William?"

Jericho steps away, frowning a bit. "Moccasin. Were there any people in your group Lunair who had Snake based abilities or identified with Native American groups?" Might give them an idea of who to look for.


"Why Snake, Jericho?" Jemma asks, watching Gabby tend to William. Lunairs comments about killing gets a slight wince from the biochem, but it's a harsh reality of life. "I get the Native American, reference, I suppose they are related."

"We should go soon, yes. Will William be able to stay here, a little longer, Jericho?" It's really the only place they have where he may be safe.


Melinda May hearing that Jemma is preparing to leave, she sets the kitchen to rights as much as possible, leaving the tea and soup-in-progress for Gabby at least, then returning to where the others are. "When you're ready."


Lunair thinks a moment. She really turns her memories over from the looks of it, eyebrows furrowing. "Sorta. Something with poison and strength? Could she turn into anything? I remember a guy who turned into a big snake… I got my powers when he startled me, and I pulled a sword out of nowhere. That's most of it. I'm sorry." She looks gloomy. Then a look to William, "I can hang out if you like, or go with them."


"Moccasins are snakes, Jemma." Jericho clarifies. "I've got the address but I might need to see what else is going on. I can try to meet you there or you guys can head out now. I'll give you the address. You be okay here Gabby?"

"Yeah I'll be fine Jer."

"Great. He can stay here for a bit. I'll have to burn the safehouse but that's how these things go."

Gabby looks up at Lunair. "He's going to be pretty weak. I'll look after him. You should go, see if you can help your other friend."

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