|
  |
Sinjin gets out of hospital by the evening. He's a little perturbed at how seriously the doctors took his injuries. He'd been tempted to stitch them up himself except that his left arm was uncooperative. Bandaged and bruised and bloody — still leaking slightly through the stitches and into the bandages — he puts himself in a cab and finds himself, bewildered, staring up at Harry's.
This is the second time he's been in here looking this terrible. This time, he's wearing a scrubs tunic and jeans and his boots. No coat. Paper bag with his belongings and what's left of his jacket. His cigarettes are in the pocket of the tunic, his lighter is tight in the stiff fingers of his left hand.
"You." The hostess looks unhappy with that fact.
"Glen Moray, the bottle." Sinjin goes right past her and into the maze of booths, weaving through guests — all of whom look alarmed — and trying to find a place to crash.
*
A bottle is brought to Sinjin in short order as a brunette in a short skirt slides into the seat next to him. "Bad day?" Kitty asks as her eyebrows lift. She inspects the reporter carefully and drums her fingers on the counter in front of him. "You shouldn't drink alone," she offers matter-of-factly.
Kitty Pryde had managed to work most of her shift without event, which, to her credit, is a feat. Especially around here. Her arms draw over her chest and she eyes him carefully. "You look… awful. What happened?" Her lips twist to the side. Evidently she's not likely to leave him alone. Well, at least no one can complain that she's not engaged with her customers.
*
"Vampires," Sinjin says, as though it should be obvious. "Have a seat. I'm not supposed to be drinking — or I'm supposed to be trying to quit — but I think setting fire to people, even undead people should get me a fucking pass."
Sinjin twists the cap until the cork comes free of the bottle and then he sloshes some into a glass. "It was some kind of hellhound that did the work. But the b-" He stops himself and clears his through. "The woman in charge summoned them up."
*
"Maybe limit yourself to a glass?" Kitty asks with a shrug. "I mean, if you are trying to quit or whatever." She lifts her palm, "Not that… I know nothing. And I definitely can't judge." Her lips hitch up on one side, "I shouldn't offer anyone advice about drinking. Seriously."
She issues him a vague nod of understanding. "Whatever opened up in the Park seems to have really caused trouble. It's weird that a person needs to carry a weapon through Midtown. It's unreal."
*
"Gonna join me?" Sinjin gestures with the bottle. "I can only drink half as much if I'm sharing. I also have valium, which I should be taking instead, because this has not been a good week. On the other hand, I have a story to write about mutants helping people, so there's that. I'm going to get recognized if I keep this up."
*
"Recognized? You mean by the folks weaponizing us?" Because Kitty has already outed herself as a mutant. "That's not good. Uh. Just know that if it happens, you have an ally. And one that," her eyebrows draw together, "well, can do some damage if needed." She plucks herself a glass from another table, and pours herself a drink. "Sure. I'll drink." Her lips press together into a thin line. "Find a pen name?"
*
"I should. Even though it goes against my nature. Fuck these people for making it so hard for…" Sinjin shakes his head. "For us." It's hard for him to say that for reasons he doesn't understand. It's not shame. It's a fear of attachment.
"I can't stay hands-off and yet… you know, I never used to use it." He taps the lighter on the table. "I mean, I went years. I knew I could do it but I didn't, unless I had to. Then, I come here, looking to disappear, and there's a reason to use it on every street corner."
*
Kitty's jaw tightens as she brings the glass to her lips. She slowly sips the fluid and frowns slightly. After a fe moments of silence she asks the obvious question, "… us." She lifts her glass in an idle cheers motion.
"I used to fall through the floor," Kitty's eyebrows raise. "Several floors down. Down. Down. Down"
Her lips purse and she watches the lighter. "It's a weird responsibility, you know." Her cheeks puff out. "Being able to live through everything going on — being strong enough to do something about it — isn't that like a weird responsibility? Weirder when you realize it was born through evolution."
*
"It was just a weird itch for me, a whisper, or a tug." Sinjin flicks the lighter. "Whenever I saw a fire. I didn't want to set them so much as I just wanted to be near them. To feel them. And then, one day, I touched one with my mind, and it touched me back." He shrugs expressively.
"I'd do a lot for a way to help that didn't involve setting people on fire. Let me tell you." He raises his glass to Kitty. "It's one of the reasons I drink. I wouldn't wish that feeling, that knowing, on anyone. If I ever learn to like it, I hope someone puts me down."
*
"I think…" Kitty starts, "there are moments when you have to recognize that the people like that aren't people anymore." Her lips purse and she shakes her head. "That time in the facility, it wasn't… I wasn't…" she frowns. "I'd been through nasty circumstances before." Her teeth toy at her bottom lip and she manages, "I… spent some time in Japan before and was possessed by a madman who trained me in ancient fighting methods. Sometimes people lose any sense of humanity they had. They aren't people anymore. Anything that made them people is gone. So no, I don't think anyone should enjoy putting someone down, but I also think…" she swallows hard "…most people wouldn't want to carry on like that. I wouldn't."
*
"The undead are… they taste different," Sinjin admits, then drains his glass and pours another. "I killed a lot of people once. Once. Including people who didn't deserve it. I was — it was a bad time. I regret it every day, no matter what they did to me, I didn't want to do that to them. I just wanted things to stop. It comes back to me when I take someone out that way." He pauses, then looks Kitty in the eye. "And you're the only other person on Earth who knows that, other than me, right now. But I'm going to have to tell my therapist eventually, so there you go."
*
Kitty takes a long swig of her drink and she nods firmly. "I never did that to — " her cheeks flush. "I didn't hurt anyone on purpose. Not when I was in control. But when someone else was," she frowns. "I know that walking through walls doesn't seem particularly threatening, but," she sighs softly, "if a person can walk through a wall, they can easily do a lot of other things. Like sink a person into the ground and leave them there." She finishes the glass. "Do you know what happens when someone's molecules turn half solid with something else? They die. Their cells can't come back together effectively." Her lips purse. "Do you know what happens when you reach into someone's chest and induce arrhythmia? They often die." Sincerely."
"
*
"I believe you. There's a whole world of things you can do with that power." Sinjin makes a face at that. He refills her glass, then tops his own off. "I wish I weren't so creative sometimes because I'd really rather not have a brain full of this shit. I'm sorry you got made to do those things, Kitty. I don't know what that's like but I do know what it's like not to have control of yourself. You don't get over it easily. Which, ironically, makes me want to set people on fire."
*
Kitty's lips edge upwards grimly. "It's a violation. I know what these hands have done, and why they did it. I know where they've been and who they've hurt. And I know the kind of violence they're capable of." Her eyes tick up to meet Sinjin's, "It's not easy knowing that. It's also a huge responsibility knowing that. I didn't ask to be able to do what I do. But I'm still responsible for it. And taking out the undead? Yeah. That's something I need to do. For a lot of reasons." She finishes off the next glass. "Come on, you should head home. I'll get you a cab."
*
"You're too reasonable." Sinjin fishes around and comes up with a handful of bills that he tosses on the table. "I'm taking the rest of this with me but, if you insist… they'll probably throw me out the minute you leave anyway. This is twice this week I've been bleeding on their seats."