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Post by Miss Martian on Jan 7, 2015 7:02:57 GMT
[/b] The sound of the popping kernels could be heard as the young Martian popped the popcorn in the microwave, all the while also putting into a sauce pan and mixing in the heat a combination of brown sugar, butter and salt. M'gann loved the smell of popcorn, loved the fluffiness and not to mention the sweet and salty taste of it as she made the caramel topping to drizzel over. She wasn't sure if Seven would like this or not, but thought it worth a try. She also left some in a bowl that would be uncoated so he could taste the difference between plane popcorn, some drizzelled with butter and another with her caramel popcorn concoction. Drizzeling the caramel sauce onto some of the popcorn in a shallow baking pan, M'gann placed it into the oven for a bit stirring it occasionally so that it covered them evenly and then also dried and crisped over the popcorn. Once ready she took it out of the heat and put it into another bowl so that she had three small bowls, each a different flavor for him to try. She returned with the three small bowls, noticing how Seven barely looked like he moved at all. It was strange, Connor was very much the same way in front of the TV and she wondered if it was a Cadmus thing. Greeting her with a smile Seven turned his head to look at her "Welcome back, popcorn did not cause any complications?" "No, no complications." M'gann replied with a smile as she brought the three bowls with her. "I made a few different kinds in case you didn't like caramel popcorn. So there's sea salt and butter as well and just plain popcorn. You can try them and see which you prefer."
Seven then shifted in his seat to get a better view of what she carried, he seemed curious enough as to what it would be and what it might taste like. He seemed to enjoy her cooking so M'gann hoped he liked popcorn too. " I normally eat popcorn when about to watch a movie or tv show so I thought I'd let you experience that too." the young Martian informed. "And while we eat we can watch Hello Megan."
With a thought the DVD was placed into the machine and the remote turned on the TV and set it to play the show. "Well what do you think?" she asked of the popcorn first making him try the plain, salty and sweet one. " Have a preference?"Then the show started and her attention diverted. "This is the pilot episode where Megan moves into her new home, meets the neighborhood kids and goes to her new school for the first time." she explained as she settled into the couch put the caramel popcorn bowl on her lap and started to watch the show a smile creeping into her face as she watched the screen. [/div][/ul][/font][/div] tag VII word count 400ish notes It's short, sorrylyrics Dance with the Devil by Breaking Benjamin credit Rae of Sunshine! of Caution 2.0 made this temp!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2015 21:11:55 GMT
Seven took a good look at the three bowls, popcorn does not look that appealing if you have never had it before. Sort of like messy broken teeth. These particular broken teeth were covered in sauce. As M'gann made more things float Seven took a careful tasting of the crunchy substance, it was rather bland but it certainly was crunchy which made at least an interesting experiance. Next came the salted butter ones. That at least warranted a couple more. He even managed to get a couple of the sweeter ones before M'gann got herself comfy with the entire thing. Suffice to say he could assume that was her favourite.
Seven settled his attention on the show and soon found himself absorbed in it. It wasn't complicated in any way at all, everything was just nice. The way they spoke was simple enough that Seven could connect to the other things that he had heard before, threads of language spinning together to create a much clearer picture. The interactions between the people on the screen were almost ideal for what he wanted to see, they had an almost label like quality. Mother, Father, siblings. Friends and school mates. It became clearer to put similar labels on people he had met.
Even attraction was made a little clearer as Megan got a little gaga over the cute guy she liked, the twenty minute show kept giving him another bit of information that shown a little bit more light on something else to make it a little clearer.
As the closing credits started Seven blinked slowly, again not having moved the entire time. It was almost like the indoctrination techniques that Cadmus used to teach the clones. Force them to sit and watch things to fill their heads with whatever they needed them to pick up. At least this time he didn't feel empty inside when it was done. Instead he felt a bit more aware. Not that he didn't realise it was fiction, that was clear. Normal life was not like that. If Cadmus existed in that world they would have converted everyone and everything as no one would have fought back. Just smiled, giggled and the laughter in the background would have continued.
With it done, Seven began to rip it apart mentally, sticking everything in his mind where it should be, finishing the connections to other things when something began to appear over and over. Megan was M'gann's other name. She had said this was what she had used. It wasn't hard to see the similar body lanuage, even similar looks if Seven regressed her shape by age. Yet if he asked that question or followed his train of thought it would break their earlier agreement. What he decided to do instead was take a little comfort in her being more of herself around him. Using whatever abilities she had was more of who she was than the person he met in the library.
"That was extremely helpful. I can see why you would have used it as learning material. I will have to watch them all to find out the rest of the story." Seven gave her a smile "Makes you wonder what life might be like if it was like that. Simpler, no Cadmus. High school seems a fun place to be. Did you go to a place like that?"
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Post by Miss Martian on Jan 10, 2015 5:23:03 GMT
He didn't move, barely even blinked when he watched the show, M'gann uncertain if he even liked the show or not as there wasn't that normal reaction of laughter or smiles at the cute and funny things. It was like he was studying it, analyzing and taking it all apart; absorbing and assimilating. It was as much creepy as it was fascinating, the way he just sat there straight postured like a statue and watched the pilot episode of Hello Megan. In some ways it reminded her a lot about how Connor used to sit in front of the TV all rigid and ramrod straight until it was M'gann got him to relax a bit, lean back against the couch for a bit more of a looser more natural look. Seven was demonstrating that similar trait, but this time M'gann never bothered to correct the Cadmus clone. He'd learn in time.
When the show finally ended M'gann turned to the clone and asked. "Well?...consensus?"
"That was extremely helpful. I can see why you would have used it as learning material. I will have to watch them all to find out the rest of the story." Seven gave her a smile that M'gann answered with a smile of her own.
"Of course, we can watch as many as you like." she offered helpfully.
"Makes you wonder what life might be like if it was like that. Simpler, no Cadmus. High school seems a fun place to be..."
"It was fun...a lot of fun actually." M'gann replied her voice slightly whistful as she thought on her high school years. "Though I wouldn't call it simple. There were problems and complications as well in high school and it wasn't always as easy as Megan made it look fitting in at school. Some people had a really hard time of it."
"Did you go to a place like that?"
"Yes." M'gann smiled in a fond way as the memories struck her. "I went to Happy Harbor High and it was probably the greatest time of my life." she confessed and then her eyes lit up with an idea. "Wait here."
She disappeared for a moment into her room where she went into her box of keepsakes and pulled out some scrapbooks of hers from High school not to mention her class yearbook. Resurfacing from her room the Martian beamed as she moved to sit next to Seven so that he could look at her old scrapbook of memories from the high school cheer team and the high school and all her friends.
"This is a scrapbook of my time in Happy Harbor High. I was a cheerleader...a Bumblebee." she smiled proudly. "This entire book houses my most fond memories of high school and has my friends all there."
It was then she started to flip the pages and show him pictures of M'gann and her group of friends at various activities. "See, this is me at the quarter finals of a football game...And this is me getting tossed in the air for our first ever elite level stunt...and this is me with all the other Bumble Bees getting ready for the charity car wash....this is me hanging out at the beach with my friends...and then my friends just being their goofy selves." she said as she continued to flip the pages for Seven to see.
"Feel free to tell me when looking at photo albums are getting boring for you." she joked.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 11:32:58 GMT
When she left and brought back the book Seven took a little bit more time to ponder the evening. From breaking into the library, something he would have to make sure if he did it again was planned better. Floor plans, security schedules and extensive research. Making sure that Cadmus couldn't locate him. Considering that fact, Seven had to wonder how they found him at all. Security systems must be the only way, cameras. Seven chastised himself internally at the fact he let that slip by him. Just because it was civilian didn't mean it wasn't watched. An error he wouldn't make again.
When M'gann came back with the books and started showing him pictures, his earlier assumption was proven correct. Megan and M'gann were the same person. Yet, Megan wasn't real. A work of fiction used by M'gann to get used to life. With a brief glance at the Martian Seven figured she wasn't just a mimic like him, she was better at least when it came to appearance. So if she chose to look like that, or perhaps that was her form and someone used it on a show? It was confusing and he couldn't ask. Another thing to be added to the list of things to be brought up when the night was over. "You look very happy in the pictures. "Seven commented finally when she stopped mentioning the various things in them "You don't seem as happy any more. Perhaps that is what happens when size increases?" In his eyes all that had happened to her in terms of time passing was that her dimensions had changed, taller and so on. The growth cycle was not something he understood properly, it seemed people came in all sizes and shapes. Small ones were looked after by bigger ones.
"I have not suffered from boredom at all since we met. Always learning something new, enjoying that I am." Seven gave her a smile "Statistically it was due to happen, just was not expected." Seven knew there were people out there that could help him, Kat had said as much but the clone knew even before that that there would be people out there with knowledge and the ability to help him. He just hadn't expected all of this. A night like this was completely foreign to him, nothing in Cadmus was like this. Even when they trained him in assassination it would have never progressed this far. Engage target, get target vulnerable and exterminate. It caused a slight twist in his stomach to think that she was one of his targets, yet it was a fact none the less. Her, and her friends, were all targets for people like him. Enemies of Cadmus, his creators. Trained to exist solely to extinguish targets. Targets who had made him food, tended his injuries and treated him differently than anyone else had.
"Thank you." Seven added quietly, the world and his place in it had dawned on him in a way it hadn't since he had become free. It didn't really feel the nicest of things.
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Post by Miss Martian on Jan 11, 2015 16:10:18 GMT
"You look very happy in the pictures. "Seven commented finally when she stopped mentioning the various things in them.
"Yeah...we had a lot of fun together back then." M'gann replied almost wistful.
"You don't seem as happy any more. Perhaps that is what happens when size increases?"
The question caught her off guard, once more the young man was proving to be more perceptive than the average. She had been the happiest back then. Maybe it was because they were all together; the Team. Felt more like a family than the fractured pieces they all were now. Everyone had their own lives but it just felt that they were all trying to push themselves away from what they once had. Try as she might as much as she wanted to fix things with everyone it just wasn't working. Her wistful smile wilted then at the thought of what they were and what they are now. In some ways they were better, stronger, wiser but in other ways they were all still broken.
She did manage to eek out a soft chuckle at his choice of words. "You mean growing up? Yeah, it happens sometimes, we grow up and grow apart. Things happen and change...they aren't the same anymore no matter how much you want it to be. You can't ever go back." she gave him a soft consolatory smile. "Sorry, probably not the answer you wanted to hear but yeah. Part of me misses what we all had back then, we were closer, we all had fun together. Now...some of us can barely stand to be in the same room as one another. I guess I just miss the old days. But I can't live in the past anymore, I need to make more memories, happy ones like those so that when I look back at this time, years later I'll say these were the happiest times in my life."
"It's just taking a little longer to get some traction on the happy part that's all." she smiled with hopeful exuberance. "Yeah gonna put a stop on the downers cause it's gonna get old and boring soon."
"I have not suffered from boredom at all since we met. Always learning something new, enjoying that I am." Seven gave her a smile "Statistically it was due to happen, just was not expected."
"I'll take that as a compliment ... I think." M'gann chuckled. He had a funny way of phrasing things sometimes. It was cute but funny all at once but when she looked over at him she saw the shift in his features, and his emotions. She could almost feel it clouding over him; his smile fading. That was concerning to the Martian. Being a telepath didn't help when you were naturally as sensitive as her, she didn't like seeing others in pain or sadness. And feeling theirs just added a sense of urgency to her need to make things better for people.
"Thank you." Seven added quietly the sadness and remorse ? Was that what she sensed? Either way his emotions were almost palpable in those two spoken words.
His voice was so sad compounded with the feelings she sensed in him even without actually creeping into his mind she kind of knew. Slipping down off the couch to kneel before the seated clone so that she was right in his line of sight forcing him to not 'look' or think about whatever past memory was throwing him in this funk.
"Hey..." M'gann said softly placing a hand on his face to make him look at her, to take him away from those thoughts; force him to look and focus on the here and now.
"Earth to Seven?...What happened?...What's wrong?" she asked in soft concern.
Was it something she said? Something she did?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2015 16:56:50 GMT
Seven looked at her for a moment, wanting the sensation to be replaced by something more cheerful. Maybe the little flutter of attraction or even just a clearer more happier something. Instead it just made him feel worse. Yet, Seven didn't want to hide what he was thinking. How else could he get clarification or a shift in thought? "I am aware that my existence is because someone wished to take you and your allies happiness away. Cadmus created my unit for the purpose of killing you and everyone you care about. It does not sit well in my torso. Like before but different. I do not feel the need to leak...cry. More to hide and stay away. I do not wish to cause unhappiness to M'gann. Preference is to see her smile. You smile. Sorry. Still working out word placement. Please do not be unhappy. If I change mission, then I do not seek to remove things that make people happy."
Seven found that speaking as he thought, getting the right path of thoughts out meant that the feeling was shifting. Being partially dealt with so to speak. "I am also aware that my creation will cause issues with others. Acceptance of a thing made to destroy good things seems hindered. First contact said as much. Unit...I mean I didn't realise how or what she meant until the rooftop. Now it seems there is more to it. We should change topic. M'gann seems unhappy with current subject. I am sorry for this." Seven nodded once and gave a smile "Topic is resolved. M'gann can go back to smiling again. I would prefer that to this. Do not like causing M'gann distress or upset. Makes torso sensation worse. Tell me more about things M'gann likes?"
Now he just felt he was making her feel bad, they seemed to do that to each other. When one was happy the other followed suit, when one cried so did the other. Was that how emotions worked? A reflection of other parties state. Didn't seem like that was an efficient way for things to be as a system of cause and effect. With her now right in front of him, his eyes took in the finer details of her face which elicited a slight smile on his lips. "M'gann has appealing eyes. Can not match color to another." It was a thought that he had spoken, as he always did. There was no hidden mess before words were formed. Just thought and speech at the same time. No hidden meanings or agendas. Just a genuine appreciation. Aware that what he had said was an appreciation of how she looked and that they had decided to avoid the subject Seven added "Sorry. Again. I am bad at this it seems. Topic changes do not last as long as they should."
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Post by Miss Martian on Jan 12, 2015 7:12:33 GMT
She listened to him as he talked, explained about his reason for being, what he was created for and M'gann would be lying if she said she didn't feel a bit wary about that nugget of truth. She couldn't help the cold prickles that ran down her spine when Seven confessed at his sole purpose was to kill her and her kind. It brought on some pretty tragic memories but she kept it all in check. He didn't need to know that she knew what it was like to be hunted and exterminated. She was the last of the whites after all or well as far as she knew. He then confessed to not wanting to hunt and kill her and her kind which was quite the relief and then he talked about wanting to hide and stay away.
"... I do not wish to cause unhappiness to M'gann. Preference is to see her smile. You smile. Sorry. Still working out word placement. Please do not be unhappy. If I change mission, then I do not seek to remove things that make people happy."
"That would be preferable if you uhm didn't kill me or my friends yes." M'gann replied. "And Seven, it's ok. I know what it's like to be raised to be one thing but that's not what you want, not who you are...you choose who you want to be, no one else dictates that for you."
White Martians were known for their ferocity and ruthlessness, were trained in their society to be just that; a warrior race that's sole purpose was to efficiently take down their enemies. It was the very stigma M'gann fought against, fought to prove that not all White Martians are ruthless killers; they had compassion, they had the propensity for kindness and loyalty if allowed to be. Much like Seven needed to be; free to choose.
"I am also aware that my creation will cause issues with others. Acceptance of a thing made to destroy good things seems hindered. First contact said as much. Unit...I mean I didn't realise how or what she meant until the rooftop. Now it seems there is more to it. We should change topic. M'gann seems unhappy with current subject. I am sorry for this."
"Don't be, I am only feeling sad for you. It's called compassion and because of what I am, I can't help but feel what you feel and sadness in people is something I don't like to see but it sometimes helps to talk about the sadness or what makes you sad so that we can try to rectify it."
Seven nodded once and gave a smile "Topic is resolved. M'gann can go back to smiling again. I would prefer that to this. Do not like causing M'gann distress or upset. Makes torso sensation worse. Tell me more about things M'gann likes?"
"I don't believe the topic resolved, I think you are just pushing it away and changing focus." M'gann smiled knowingly but also didn't want to press him. If he didn't want to talk about it then she wouldn't push him too. Instead she cast him a wily smile at his question of what she likes and started to sing.
"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things..."
She smiled as she sang her voice soft at first but picked up speed and volume with the lyrics as it went, slowly swaying to music that was clearly simply in her head.
"Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things."
M'gann continued to sing and watch his expression. She knew he liked music or what little she'd shown him and it made him smile genuinely before so she was aiming for something like that again as she sang a familiar song from the Sound of Music.
"Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things..."
Her voice now reaching a cresendo as she sang prepping for the chorus and hoping he wasn't too weirded by it. Then again she was singing and he'd probably never heard anyone sing acapella so it would be weird to him no matter what. Still M'gann continued on.
"When the dog bites, when the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad..."
She smiled ending the song with a hopeful look. As in hopefully he didn't hate it too much. Really she just wanted him to be ok again. So looking back up at him she tried to gage his reaction as she knelt in front of him.
"M'gann has appealing eyes. Can not match color to another."
"No you probably can't, but I can..." she said as she looked into his eyes and cased hers to shift and change from her golden amber hues to a green and then blue like his. It was a small trick for her to do but she wanted to change his frame of mind and she figured showing him something like that would maybe shift his focus and away from his funk. Plus there was no harm in showing him that trick since really she's seen her levitate stuff so changing eye colours wouldn't really be a big thing comparatively.
Aware that what he had said was an appreciation of how she looked and that they had decided to avoid the subject Seven added "Sorry. Again. I am bad at this it seems. Topic changes do not last as long as they should."
A soft chuckle escaped M'gann's lips as she shook her head and for the second time placed her forehead gently on the boy's forehead as a sign of friendship. It was a Martian thing and something she did automatically without thought just like last time, to let him know it was ok.
"It's fine really..." she smiled, her eyes were still closed when she talked, her forehead pressed against his "I'm kinda getting used to you now. It's not so weird...it's fine." she said before she pulled away and sat back to look at him hoping he was ok now.
"So, now what do you want to do?"
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2015 20:15:07 GMT
Seven wasn't really sure what to say or do, this whole evening he had spent most of it keeping his head over the mental water so to speak. Now M'gann was creating music out of nowhere, or perhaps that wasn't right. There was no music, not like before. She was creating the tune with how the words were paced and the tone used. Seven knew that most of the words meant nothing to him, just a list of things he hadn't an image or concept to attach too but he did understand the tune. Then to make it even more mind blowing, first showing that music was something that could be created from nowhere, she changed her eye color, not just one but twice. Seven smiled a little, it was like she was taunting him now with information he couldn't have. The questions he would have the next time they met would be very extensive. As their foreheads touched, Seven relaxed again. The small friendly touch was enough to stop the more darker thoughts as he enjoyed the tingle that the tiny touch caused. As she pulled away and asked what he wanted to do next Seven gave it a little contemplation.
"Green was nicer than Blue." The clone offered as he thought, granted Seven knew his colours from bomb disposal and setting up but it wasn't like he was slow to apply one piece of knowledge to another if the concept fit. "Getting used to you?" Seven said the words in her own voice,something he hadn't done in awhile. Something about the statement bothered him, replaying it out loud was a chance to consider it again.
"I am something that requires being used?" Seven gave it a little more thought before nodding "Agreed. Orders are usually simpler. If M'gann has orders I will do my best to comply." Though he wasn't really sure what she could possible order him to do, perhaps she had targets that required removal. Though that didn't seem likely. Perhaps she would need him to clean like he had before, that didn't seem that bad and would be easily accomplished. Wasn't like she was going to be sending him to murder anyone or anything, so why not just do as she asked. "What does M'gann require from me?" He sat patiently and waited for her reply, this was far more in his comfort zone, at least for now. Waiting for direction, then he didn't need to worry about what things meant just follow the instructions to completion.
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Post by Miss Martian on Jan 18, 2015 20:17:41 GMT
She reverted her eyes back to their amber hues. He had said he liked green better than blue and she smiled at that but she like her amber eyes the best so went back to them after playing around with eye colours. Then Seven said the most curious of things.
"Getting used to you?" Seven said the words in her own voice, something he hadn't done in awhile and still sounded strange coming from him.
"Yeah, I'm getting used to you." M'gann reaffirmed not understanding his confusion. Something about the statement bothered him she could tell as he was considering it.
"I am something that requires being used?" Seven gave it a little more thought before nodding .
"What? No that's not -"
"Agreed. Orders are usually simpler. If M'gann has orders I will do my best to comply...What does M'gann require from me?"
"What? No, you're not ... I am not going to 'use' you and you and I am certainly not going to 'order' you around. No one should 'order' you around or 'use' you for that matter. You're not in Cadmus anymore. You're not a soldier...You're Seven now and that means you do what you want, without anyone telling you or making you do anything you don't want to do." she smiled.
"Now to explain something here. 'Getting used to you' is a phrase that means I am getting accustomed to your ways. It's a colloquialism, not meant to be taken in its literal terms. When I said that I was getting used to you, I was meaning that I am becoming accustomed the way you are." she said.
"Actually you know what? I think I have an English urban dictionary you could borrow. It's fairly up to date." Turning her head to a nearby book shelf M'gann glanced at a book and soon it was sliding out of its position on the shelf and sailed to her hand. "Here, see..." she opened up the book to a random page to show him. "Punchology: An apology stated that is combined with a verbal punch so that the recipient is left unsure about the actual sincerity of the apology." she said pointing to the excerpt that she read. "It has a ton of other ones, almost anything you hear phrased is in that book. I spent the entire night once memorizing them and putting it all into context so the next day when I went to school I knew what the students at Happy Harbor High were talking about." she snickered.
Looking back up at the clone, M'gann asked. "Is there anything else you want to learn or were curious about? Anything you want to do next?"
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2015 20:45:09 GMT
With things moving without help again Seven was finding it harder and harder not to ask about it. He had given his word though and intended to keep it. The word description was strange though, a verbal punch. Seven tried to wrap his head around the concept. Was it possible to harm someone with words? Considering it for another moment Seven realised that it was possible. After all certain words had caused him a reaction that felt horrible. Strange though that something could do that without actual contact.
Flicking a few more pages Seven still couldn't make out most of the words, seemed that it escaped him still. The only things he knew were mission briefings, words that related to hazards or instructions for bombs or other hazards. It meant most of the rest were just scribbles and symbols. While he wanted to understand them all, it seemed better left to another time.
"M'gann has mentioned many times that she had to fit in. Having difficulty and requiring aid to do so. Friends and allies helped with this, tv shows and books all provided knowledge. What was the baseline that M'gann started with? Was it like I am? You said that you were raised to be something you were not. Is this outside information? It seems all the questions I am gathering are to do with you and what you seem able to do. Questions regarding that are able to be answered at later time. I am more interested in understanding how difficult it was for M'gann, I mean you, to acquire the needed knowledge to fit in." Motioning to the scrap book he smiled a little "You managed it well, continue to do so now. Initial contact had similar problems, says that I will never truly fit in because of what I am and how people will see me. I am starting to understand that, M'gann's reactions to actions of mine have helped build that knowledge. If M'gann and Seven are similar then it would make a logical conclusion that it is possible to be accepted completely like M'gann has been."
This was definitely one of those times Seven hoped he was communicating properly, after Kat telling him that they were always on the outside because of what they were Seven had to see and find out why. Sure M'gann had reacted badly to his outburst and then there had been the crying but overall there had been in his eyes at least acceptance and understanding. In fact she was incredibly patient. Much more than he expected anyone to be.
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Post by Miss Martian on Jan 20, 2015 5:40:37 GMT
M'gann watched Seven as he flicked through a few more pages; his face scrunching to a look of concentration as he tried to make out most of the words. But the way he was glancing wasn't the way a person would read, his eyes darted all over the place to various parts of the book, not left to right like most when reading. That bit of insight clued M'gann in, that and the emotions sensed as he tried to 'read' the text. She was about to ask him if he was able to read only Seven beat her to the punch and asked his question instead.
"M'gann has mentioned many times that she had to fit in. Having difficulty and requiring aid to do so. Friends and allies helped with this, tv shows and books all provided knowledge. What was the baseline that M'gann started with? Was it like I am? You said that you were raised to be something you were not. Is this outside information? It seems all the questions I am gathering are to do with you and what you seem able to do. Questions regarding that are able to be answered at later time. I am more interested in understanding how difficult it was for M'gann, I mean you, to acquire the needed knowledge to fit in."
M'gann smiled patiently at the clone and nodded. How does she explain without creeping him out? The man was already through enough she wasn't going to add oh hey guess what I'm a freakish monster alien that looks nothing like what you see and in fact you might scream in terror and run if you see the real me. As best she could, M'gann tried to explain without getting into too much detail and not lie at the same time. Trust was a delicate thing and she didn't want to lie to him either but omission of facts wasn't lying so she was comfortable with the story she was about to tell as it was going to be as honest as she could be without freaking him out.
"My people are well known ...warriors. Bred and raised for one thing...war. Violence and conflict is a general way of life with my people. But that's not who I want to be. That's not who I feel I am inside." she said clasping her hands before her and looking down, her hair draping forward to veil the sides of her face. "I studied shows, read books and watched people interacting just so I could fit in here. It's more peaceful here. Where I was from it was constant war and violence. I didn't fit in at first, but I wanted to. People here are so much happier more peaceful. But I watched and learned. I realized people for the most part reflect what you give or show them. If you are kind most will be kind back, if you are hostile or angry most will reflect that back as well. It was difficult at first because I had a lot or anger and rage and fear."
"But I met a man, a Checkmate scientist Dr. Faraday who was kind and compassionate and I saw what that was like felt it as he treated my like his own daughter. He was the one who helped me first to fit in. Show me how to behave in this society which was so culturally different from mine. He was patient and kind and showed me what I needed to know through books and TV shows along with examples and instructions." M'gann didn't bother to go over his death or any of the horrifics. She simply moved on. "Then I was reunited with my uncle and he has taken me in and taught me even more. He sent me to a public school where I learned about the social structures of school and I found mimicking Megan was the easiest way to get people to like me, like in the show. " She shrugged and offered up a small smile.
Motioning to the scrap book Seven smiled a little "You managed it well, continue to do so now. Initial contact had similar problems, says that I will never truly fit in because of what I am and how people will see me. I am starting to understand that, M'gann's reactions to actions of mine have helped build that knowledge. If M'gann and Seven are similar then it would make a logical conclusion that it is possible to be accepted completely like M'gann has been."
"Completely?..." M'gann thought on that a moment with a look of introspection and a soft delicate smile. "I'm not sure I am accepted completely, but sometimes if we are lucky enough once in awhile we run across a special kind of person that accepts us for who we are unconditionally, without judgement." her fingers brushed lightly against the picture of Connor, the first and only person to have accepted her unconditionally and without fear of what she really was. "People like that are hard to come by, but they are out there." she raised her head again to look up at Seven with a hopeful smile. "So yes, I guess it's possible. I felt that kind unconditional acceptance once and I'm sure you will too."
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2015 6:50:16 GMT
As Seven listened, he absorbed. Checkmate was a word he was familiar with. A rival group as far as his trainers were concerned. For a brief moment his mind flashed with what could be considered a mental file on the organisation, codes, staff and tactics. Pushing it aside though he kept his attention on the girl. Even if she didn't realise how much it sounded similar to his own experiences, created for conflict and war. Not really feeling it inside even if it was a natural state. Even down the nice person who showed them new things and how to adapt to something else. Heck Seven even had found Kat who was family in as much a sense as a Cadmus clone could get.
He didn't miss the motion as her fingers lingered on the picture of one particular male, it took less than half a second for him to connect that to the previous conversation about her Ex. Unsure what to do with that information however was something else entirely. Speaking about it was most likely going to cause issues like last time. Seven was positive that neither of them wanted to leak again. It was extremely unpleasant.
There was something else though that caught his focus. The way she spoke about being accepted. Like it could only be once or if not a unique experience. Seven gave that some thought, his mind churning away at the information he had been acquiring. His mental profile of M'gann while incomplete was still enough for him to acknowledge certain facts.
"M'gann is wrong." Seven stated plainly but with confidence "Tone and words suggest that what you had once you may never have again. While I may not know everything about you. I can accept what you were and what you are. My dealings with M'gann have been nothing but good. Nothing but kindness, patience and understanding. Did not realise that what you had come from was as bad as Cadmus. Unless data that has been acquired tonight is falsified then I can make statement knowing it is true. If I do not want people to see me as a Clone or a weapon then I must also look at the parts in others that are who they are, not what they are." Seven gave a thoughtful look as he searched for the words he needed to express what he was trying to say. "The core of self is more important than shell of self." A weird way to try and say that what was inside counted more than what was outside but since Seven hadn't grasped the concept of there being an inside person and an outside to the world, he went with a more logical ideal. Who you are is more important than what you are. At least as a person, Seven was sure if you were an actual killer then that would be a pretty big deal, no matter how nice a person they were. "M'gann's core is pure." Granted he meant in a clean, untainted way but to his mind that was what good was.
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Post by Miss Martian on Jan 21, 2015 7:13:52 GMT
M'gann is wrong." Seven said stated plainly confidence lining his voice causing the Martian to look up at him curiously. How did he know? He barely knew her.
"Tone and words suggest that what you had once you may never have again. While I may not know everything about you. I can accept what you were and what you are. My dealings with M'gann have been nothing but good. Nothing but kindness, patience and understanding. Did not realise that what you had come from was as bad as Cadmus. Unless data that has been acquired tonight is falsified then I can make statement knowing it is true. If I do not want people to see me as a Clone or a weapon then I must also look at the parts in others that are who they are, not what they are."
She listened as he spoke noticing how his speech was improving in the short time she's been with him and noting the thoughtful look he had as he searched for the words he needed to express what he was trying to say. The way his brows furrowed like it did when he concentrated was so cute she couldn't help but chuckle until he spoke again and stunned her with his idea of her.
"The core of self is more important than shell of self." he had said. It was a strange way to phrase it but she understood what he was trying to say although the last part was what really had her floored. "M'gann's core is pure."
She blinked gauging him and his words, moved by his words even if they were a little clumsily explained, it was cute, it was Seven and she still understood what he meant. So caught up with the appreciation of his kind words M'gann moved forward to give the man a hug fully expecting to thank him for what he said and making her feel better only she totally forgot that the clone, newly released from Cadmus was a trained killing machine that probably had never had encountered a 'hug' before and so her movement of suddenly moving forward with arms about to hug him most likely looked like an attack or ensnare. She didn't think or realize that he could mistake her action for something else and trigger some fighter's instinct.
M'gann probably should have thought her actions through just a little more carefully.
Well this could end violently or awkwardly or maybe a bit of both.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2015 7:38:02 GMT
She seemed to understand at least, even to the point that it appeared to make her happy. Then she moved forward, arms extended and closed in the distance between them. It was like she was trying to grapple him. As his eyes flooded over with the same inky substance as before Seven snapped away, off the chair and into a free space in the room. His entire body ready for combat in the time it took him to land. The logical part of his mind that was usually tasked with learning was turned off and reassigned to reading body language of his opponent. Part of him was wondering why she had suddenly decided to try and attack him. Was it all a ploy from the start? Was she part of Cadmus and was trying to lure him into lowering his defences? That horrible feeling twisted in his gut again, he had trusted her completely and now she had turned on him. He felt stupid for lowering his guard so much. Seven wouldn't make that mistake again. Kat had been right all along.
Aware she could move objects with her mind, Seven kept aware of the other things in the room out the corner of his eye but it seemed more practical to just attack. Seven had no idea of what sort of skills M'gann had, but it was safe to assume she would be trained if she was part of Cadmus. So his attacks were probes of her defenses, he wasn't going to let her take him back. No one was going to take him back. His mind was awash with the same cold rage from before. Instinct had a firm grip but it was directed by Cadmus training. There was no wild lashing out, it was controlled and careful attacks. Intent on learning her ability to defend herself as well as put him into a much better position. There had been a brief thought of escape but now he just wanted to take that horrible feeling in his gut and make someone hurt badly for putting it there.
He wasn't aware he was crying again, his mind was far too focused on the urge to remove her from existence. She was the cause of this, she was the one that led him here, made him feel things and now she had shown she was just like the rest of Cadmus. Was this a ploy for Checkmate, that would make more sense, she had mentioned those. Part of his brain was aware that she was no longer M'gann or Megan. She was a she, an object. A Target.
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Post by Miss Martian on Jan 22, 2015 8:09:39 GMT
Something had gone terribly wrong one moment he was the usual Seven and next moment he was someone else entirely. Someone he didn't know, didn't recognize, no wait he did recognize. M'gann thought with an eerie chill as Seven's eyes flooded over with the same inky substance as before and instantly Seven snapped away, off the chair and into a free space in the room. His entire body ready for combat in the time it took him to land.
"Seven?" M'gann asked uncertainty in her voice. She could feel it, the emotions emanating from him she didn't understand why he felt them. What had happened? What did she say? What did she do? "I don't underst--"
She took a step towards him which was a mistake on her part as the action could have easily been misconstrued as an intent to charge. It wasn't on her part however it could have easily been seen as an aggressive advance. His first attack made contact, the young Martian not expecting the strike, she stagger stepped back before she shifted her footing to a defensive stance.
" Why are ...you ..doing... this?" she asked in between blocks and dodges.
The first few strikes M'gann just kept dancing around his strikes and dodging them not really trying to fight but figure out what was going on. "Seven...stop..." she clenched her jaw as she just barely got her hands up to block a strike, forcing M'gann to stop dancing around his attacks and start deflecting and counter punching.
Naively M'gann thought she could defuse him matching him with hand to hand combat rather than use her abilities. Part of her never gave upon the thought that the clone she was talking to moments ago was there, somewhere behind that glazed look of anger. And as the fight moved on from side steps and dodges to small blocks to counterstrikes and finally leading up to full on strikes.
"Please!" she said dodging another blow and then grunting when he made contact with a counter attack, "Seven...Talk...to me."
Then straight forward more telegraphed strikes started to move to progress into fakes and feigns, with kicks and sweeps now being utilized. She was definitely more of the fleet of foot fighter preferring to dance around an attack and let her flexibility get her out of some more of his more complex manoeuvres. The more his strikes would come close to a strike or when they made contact, was affirmation that he was not holding back.
"Whatever it is, you need to snap out of it."
Furniture and items got up ended as they struck and banged, grappled and threw blows at one another. M'gann trying her best not to succumb to the growing urge with her to cut loose. With the growing urgency of the battle her White Martian side seemed to enjoy the conflict and the violence, feeling like something inside was just waiting to unleaash. But she fought that urge...didn't want to succumb. However He wasn't playing around, he was getting better and better with each mini battle they had. He had told her he was a killer, sent to kill her and her friends, was that what he was trying to do now?
Self preservation was starting to gnaw at her, to fight its way to the surface with M'gann and even as she fought a good portion of her was still holding back despite the screaming instincts she had to really unleash. She was afraid to. She didn't want to be that monster everyone was afraid of.
"Stop please...this isn't you..."
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