Picking through rotting bones (Open)

[Marcus Prasad]

There was something that kept drawing him here. A Memory of a curiosity that laid buried in the back of his mind. An emotion he couldn't quite name like a picture he only saw once for a split second. On the tip of his tongue but the more he tried to grab hold, the faster it slipped through his fingers.

Sometimes he wondered who really was in control of his actions. Sometimes. Was he forever to be a tool for some force of fate? Would these flights of fancy, these whimsical impulses continue to dictate his behavior?

"Why the fuck am I even here? At Two in the morning? Picking through the carcass of a dead animal?"
Marcus asked aloud. His words coated in bitterness as he continued to walk the shattered school grounds, every so often overturning rubble with a good kick. Revealing nothing more than bits and pieces of a life that was not his, nor cared to be.
PHS #259 continued to give him nothing. Keeping it's secrets close to its chest even in death.

Marcus felt a shiver run down his spine, from the cold as much as from the spooky vibe he was getting from the ruins. For some reason the wind was alittle more biting than usual. Even able to cut through his leather jacket and the patterned sweater he wore underneath. His Softail Custom was safely parked at the school perimeter and well within eyesight.

"Mabey cause I wished I had the means to do 552 like you were done."
Marcus spoke quietly to the stones before him.
"So where does this leave all the bad little boys and girls?"

[Sean Barker]

"Either hiding or working for me."

Came the probably unexpected reply. A man appeared from a shadow. Brown hair, a vest covering his otherwise bare torso, and camo cargo pants tucked into combat boots. The tribal tattoos covering his body seemed like they where mostly just there for intimidation.

"But then again, everyone is either hiding or working for me. Hahahaha!"

Little inside joke maybe.

[Marcus Prasad]

"Either hiding or working for me."

Marcus jumped as an involentary shudder ran right through him. This one was definatly NOT from the cold. The man Snuck up on him. NOBODY had ever snuck up on Marcus before. At least not that he could remember.
When he turned to face the voice, Marcus found he could NOT look the man in the eyes. That was something else entirely. Marcus always took a dominant stance with people. Keeping eye contact, Body posture. A game of insticts that the human race will never stop playing no matter how 'Civilized' they tried to make themselves.

This man had FORCE. A will that demanded obediance.
And it definatly put Marcus on the wrong foot.

As the man approached, Marcus involentarily took a step or two back. When he laughed, it made him feel like ants were crawling under his skin. He began to take deep breaths to calm his beating heart.

"If that's the case, Hope you don't mind if I continue to take a third option Mr.......?"

[Zack Asiv]

Oh yes Sean liked hearing himself talk, which is why when the guy spoke seemingly trying to get a name from him, Sean decided to take the long way.

"I seem to be called alot now a days. Destroyer, Freedom Fighter, Extremist, Overlord, Devil.... God."

Sean paused on the last word, quite liking its taste on his tongue as he finally got down to the nitty, stepping once more towards the boy.

"My name however is Sean Barker. If memory serves your... Marcus Prasad. Gotten bigger since the last time my files where watching you."

[Marcus Prasad]

Sean Barker.

'This.......would explain why I suddenly want to shit myself.'
An understandable reaction when facing down the one man who bears the responsibility of utterly destroying your home, as well as a man who was hitting every warning bell and fear response you had all the way down to the primal level. Due to the actions of one man, this one man.......

New York City was nothing but ruins and refugee's.
No wonder he had an apparent god complex.

'And a file on me. Wonderful. Well, he knows my name. My Full name, So I guess it's pretty unlikely he's bluffing. Better safer to assume he's not.'

"Time makes fools of us all."
Marcus manages to say without stuttering. Normally this comment would be accompanied by a wry grin. Unfortunatly Marcus just wasen't feeling up to it.
"So what exactly makes little ol' me so special that I have a file may I ask?"
'Keep him talking. When he's talking, he's NOT breaking your neck. Talking is VERY good right now.'

[Zack Asiv]

Barker chuckled at the question a bit as he walked a bit off to the side. Kicking over a little rubble with a nudge. Finally making a small comment.

"Its even better when they dont know."

He decided to turn to the boy and play a small game of guess.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but your from public high school number five five two."

He would wait for an answer, then continue.

"There where certain very strong individuals there. You where affiliated with one yes?"

Once again waiting for an answer.

"Ever wonder where he would go when he vanished from New York? What he was doing?"

Pausing this time more for dramatic flare, he really liked his dramatics.

"He was interfering with my work. Trying to keep me from doing what I did."

[Marcus Prasad]

Marcus simply nodded slowly when Barker asked about #552. No point in denying it.
'This guy obviously loves playing to the crowd just as much as I do.....'

"There where certain very strong individuals there. You where affiliated with one yes?"

Marcus tried to hide his confusion but couldnt stop an eyebrow from arching as he tilted his head.
Many faces flashed behind his eyes. Faces of people, students from 552 that he had allied himself with in the past.

He stayed silent, but soon understood when Barker spoke of the trips away from New York City.
"Leon sensei? What about him?"
Marcus spoke aloud before silently cursing himself. He was worried to be honest. When he had first step foot in Long Beach, he had fully expected to have been ambushed by his long time Master. That feeling only intensified after he reunited with Silk, His best friend.

The fact that he had not seen hide nor hair of the blond man who had sharpened Marcus into the instrument the world now faced was more than alittle disconcerting.

Barker had paused again. Dramatics. Theatrics. the man knew how to talk alright.

And what he said next hit Marcus like a bare electric wire to the brain. His eyes went wide as every puzzle piece fit into place.
He had ALWAYS wondered where Leon had Run off to After the failure of the gang that brought him and Leon together.

Katana.

Ever since they disbanded, Leon would dissapeare for months at a time and always returned Exhausted, Sometimes wounded.

And Always ever more grim.

Marcus had sorely felt Leons absence during the School civil war, At a time where he needed guidance the most. Leon had reappeared in the middle of a battle that Marcus was leading, only to beat the young man to within an inch of his life before reminding him what he was really fighting for and that he did NOT have to rely on Leon to guide his fate for him.

The effects were positive. Well, after the fracture in his skull had healed anyway.

"Obviously he wasen't too succesfull."
Marcus didn't like the taste of those words in his mouth. He didn't like speaking ill of his Master. His Brother. His friend.
"But what does all this have to do with me?"

Marcus fidgeted in place and felt the crunch of glass under his heel. He made a mental note of that. As well as a mental note of anything and everything in a 5 foot radius of himself that could be used as a weapon if the need arised. Marcus had a feeling that he would need more than his fists if Barker decided he had heard enough.

[Zack Asiv]

"You... It has alot to do with you actually. Your the one of the Legacies he left behind. Can you imagine the amount of trouble he gave me, and then split it up into multiple people... It becomes less than ideal. Yet at the same time its too soon to dispose of you."

Barker would turn around and take a few steps away from Marcus at this point in thought.

"So we seem at an impass, and I dont like playing with my food, so for now, I want you to live with the fact, Leon Sudeki died slowly and painfully alone."

And with that Barker would vanish literally as if teleported to some far off location.

[Marcus Prasad]

"Bullshit!"
Marcus spat at Barkers retreating back. There was no way in hell he was going to just take the man himself at his word. It would be too easy to lie just to demoralize and put Marcus right off his game. Unfortunatly at the same time, It didnt sit right that Leon was a no show for so long.
'NO! Stop that right the fuck now! You watched, WATCHED Leon take on ARK for gods sakes and walk away. It would take more than some trumped up terrorist to kill Your Master.'

But what if?

Barker had already pulled his dissapearing act by the time Marcus shook his head and began the long walk back to his bike. This was going to take a few days to digest.

Your the one of the Legacies he left behind. Can you imagine the amount of trouble he gave me, and then split it up into multiple people... It becomes less than ideal

"You have NO fucking clue what I'm capable of."
He muttered to himself as he put away his flatcap and pulled out his skullcap and goggles.
'But what did he mean by me being only ONE of the legacies? Are there others like me? Other Pupils? Or did he mean something more.........Material?'

Kicking his Bike into drive, the softail customs engine ignited with a throaty roar that echoed in the night. One would think that being deep in the middle of Barker territory, one would try to stay hidden and silent.
'Equipment? An Organization? A Plan?'

Pulling away from the school, Marcus made his slow meandering way towards friendlier territory. He decided NOT to head back to Silks house, just in case Barker had somebody tailing him.
Last thing he needed was to make her a target.

'In the meantime. If there ARE others like me. People Leon had trained.....Then I need to find them. Ally with them. Show that bastard the true meaning of a less than ideal situation.'