I10DT, Detention Cells - I Expected Better

[Rick Ferguson]

Rick walked into the detention cell area, taking purposeful strides and looking for someone in particular.

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan was still in his cell, on psychic quarantine, power dampeners in place. He lay on the cot in the cell on his back, eyes closed, not exactly looking peaceful, but looking... resigned.

[Rick Ferguson]

"I guess even Death has to take a day off now and then."

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan didn't open his eyes yet, but he did seem to slump a little more into the bed. "How much of a start would an 'I'm sorry' be?" he asked.

[Rick Ferguson]

"Kind of a lame one. You know, I wouldn't take it personally, except I'm pretty sure you almost reaped me."

[Ryan Gabriel]

He shook his head. "All kind of a blur, to be honest. I don't... I don't think so. Death was... twisting the ideology to be able to... I don't know, stick it to Apocalypse wherever he could?" He sighed, pushing himself up until he was sitting on the edge of the bed.

[Rick Ferguson]

"And sticking it to Apocalypse meant shooting death rays at us. Okay."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Meant not killing you, at any rate. I don't know... I'm not pretending it makes any real sense."

[Rick Ferguson]

"So, did he just walk up to you to offer the job, and you said 'sure thing!'?"

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan shook his head. "Nah. He came up and offered me the job and I turned him down. And he gave me the usual 'you'll change your mind' speech, you know the deal." He shook his head. "Then I had a meeting with Nick Fury that I managed to get to try to beg him into helping find out what happened to everyone who's lost i-... who's gone," he said, visibly slumping as this last concession that their friends, that Rachel, were all really gone, seemed to take a lot out of him. "And he told me he'd give their eyes in space a good kick, but that I had to take Apocalypse's offer for them."

[Rick Ferguson]

"...why does making a deal with SHIELD somehow sound worse than making a deal with Apocalypse? Holy shit."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Because at least you already know not to trust anything that comes out of Apocalypse's mouth?" Ryan suggested.

[Rick Ferguson]

Rick sighed, rubbing his forehead and eyes with the palms of his hands.

"I figured some of this had to do with Rachel..."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Well... yeah," Ryan sighed. "I don't know if it makes it any better that part of why I agreed was because I was desperate for SHIELD to help find out what happened to her."

[Rick Ferguson]

"I can't really answer that. I do know that other X-Men have been Horsemen before and they fully integrated back into our group at some point, so, there's that."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"It's... weird," he admitted. "It's like... I remember what happened. But... I don't know, it's like watching a video game cutscene, and you don't have any control over it until the intro's over and then..." He sighed, shaking his head. "Are you all right? I've never used my power like that before, I don't know how long it takes to bounce back from it."

[Rick Ferguson]

"I'm fine now. It wasn't like I was wounded, as much as just, well...drained. It knocked me out, but they pumped me full of nutrients for a few hours in the infirmary back home." He smirked. "Funny that that feels like home now. Anyway, I think I'm pretty well over it. Getting splattered by...whatever that stuff Lora uses is hurting worse." He pointed at the bandages on his face and neck.

"I take it you didn't get beat up too badly?"

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Oh, you guys were beating the hell out of me," he said. "I just... hm. How to explain it. I found out a few months ago that I could kind of... 'recharge' people who were hurt? I just never tried to do it in reverse. I don't really want to, either, it feels... wrong. But it could keep me going even with all the beatings you guys were giving me."

[Rick Ferguson]

His smirk remained. "Well, that's one beating I'm not sure I can give an apology for. No offense."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Please, you think I'm asking you to?" Ryan scoffed. "I could be laying in the infirmary half dead right now and I'd tell you 'good job' for it."

[Rick Ferguson]

"Heh, well, glad you understand. So um, I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to Bear much, but I;m not sure if you have either...," he trailed off.

[Ryan Gabriel]

He sighed. "Not yet," he admitted. "Would've loved to, but there was sort of a 'lock up the brainwashed people' protocol to follow before we had the chance."

[Rick Ferguson]

"Well yeah, for good reason. I'm sure she'll be down to see you before long. If anyone can forgive, I imagine it's her. She loves you. Hell...I love both of you," he said, looking away. "All of you that I met here were the closest thing I had to a family there for a while. You're all still my brothers and sisters, as far as I'm concerned."

[Ryan Gabriel]

Ryan stood on the other side of the forcefield, leaning against it. "Whatever I can do to make this right between us, Rick... just tell me. Whenever you know, at least."

[Rick Ferguson]

"We'll find a bar sometime and you can open a tab. That'll help," he said, grinning. "But really, I just want to see the two of you patch things things up somehow. I can't really hold a grudge, unless I want to be the biggest hypocrite to ever walk. Wanna know why? Because up until very recently, I would've thought myself much more likely to accept an offer like that than you. You know how much I've hated fla-...baseline types, before."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"I think that if any of us say they haven't been there at one point in time, they're lying through their teeth. Well, except Bear," Ryan allowed.

[Rick Ferguson]

Rick chuckled. "Not all of us can be that noble. Or whatever virtue it is."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"No, I'm pretty sure that it's only her," Ryan chuckled.

[Rick Ferguson]

"But if I have hope of changing, I think everyone does. Even Gideon. Even Lora," he added, unconsciously rubbing over one of the bandages where he was burned