With Raven coming back, Ronnie knew that the tiny chance she had with Travis was gone. Who wanted a fragment of a woman? Even his words only provided a bit of help; they gave her the courage to think that she had a tiny chance, her last one.

Smiling despite her overwhelming sorrow and anger, she moved to kneel in front of him. "Thanks," she said softly. "That means a lot, at this moment."

She could tell Raven was upset and confused, and in this moment, Ronnie had the power to hurt her. But what she did next she would have done even if Raven hadn't been paying attention; she planted a hand on the wall on either side of Travis' head and kissed him.

If this was her last chance, she was giving it her all.

Ronnie's kiss was forceful, there was plenty of lust but the emotion that drove it, the physicality behind it spoke a physical desire and not an emotional one. At first he returned the kiss, it was second nature to him, a reflex action. Then, in his head, he heard Raven's voice, "Goodness, but she's a childish bitch ... I gave her passion, and then failed to give her the tools to pursue all passions she felt." He knew Raven wasn't entirely right, nor was she entirely wrong however. Her kiss in the hospital had been far more vulnerable, sensitive, and caring than this. Now it felt like she was acting out of jealousy and spite as much as, if not more than, anything else.

Gently he cupped her face and pulled away from her, "This isn't what you want Ronnie. Its want I want, but not from you, not when I know this isn't you. You're letting her get to you, and whether you realize or not she's letting you get to her." I've got one woman fighting herself over me, this has to be a first. "God I can't believe I'm even saying this."

He'll fuck anything, but he can't even kiss me. The thought was painful and Ronnie dropped back on her heels, stung. "Fine, then. Let's get out of here, deal with this later," she said, turning toward a wall. She had no way of getting out, but she'd find one, damn it, if only so she could flee this truly uncomfortable situation.

She began to run her hands over the panels, feeling for a switch or lever. "Say," she added, "I got some information from her, so if you wanna know something, ask. I might have grabbed it."

Ronnie focused on the wall with the single-minded determination of the hurt. If she worked on finding a way out, she wouldn't start crying and embarrass herself.

Travis could see the hurt on her face plain as day. He slapped his head to his forehead, "Ronnie!" He grabbed her arm and spun her toward him, "You want this? You really want this? You want to fuck right here right now? Cause if I screw your brains out right her, right now the only thing that proves is that I'm exactly as she said and that SO. ARE. YOU!" Travis was surprised that he was saying this, surprised that he felt this strongly. "You don't want me to fuck you, that much is clear, has been for as long as I've known you. I may be a lot of things but clueless and blind isn't one of them. Don't you think for a moment I haven't seen the way you act, seen the way that you reacted toward Raven." He looked away, "That I didn't notice the difference between the way you kissed me just now and the way you did at the hospital."

He stalked away, "You're confusing the hell out of me woman, but I get it now. I get that Raven created you for a task and that you've changed and grown beyond that task." He leaned down an put his hands on the desk, bracing himself on it as though for strength. "I think I see now that you've had feelings for me and no idea how to deal with them or with me. I'm sorry for that. I wish I were a better man ... then maybe I could help you."

Ronnie sighed and sat down. "I'm not good at this emotional shit. So let me lay it out - I love the man you are - good, bad and everything," she said, turning bright red. Her eyes had trouble meeting his, but she kept trying to look at him. "It's never been a matter of helping me, Trav. I accept who you are, but I won't be a fun fling for you. It'd suck to be that... close to you and then watch you skip off to the next pretty thing."

She sighed. "I don't need help, Travis. I need to be my own person, so that I can finish growing beyond what Raven meant me to be." She laughed harshly, dropping her head into her hands. "I'm fuckin' Pinocchio - I just want to be a real girl.

"I'm sorry about just now, but your dead ex, who's a real person, has showed back up in your life," Ronnie said, talking through her hands. "I figured I needed to make a move now, or... forever hold my peace."

Travis slumped against the desk, "Trying to get into my pants was the wrong move at the wrong time, Violet. Why haven't you said something sooner? Or why didn't you just say that? You're right you know. I don't care about those women. I'm a misogynistic pig, I go out there an I find something pretty to fuck for a night and move on. I don't know if it's a hold over from before or encoded in my damned DNA. I know you are my friend. And I know, I can feel it, I know I loved Raven." He shook his head, he couldn't look at Ronnie cause he was afraid that he would only become more confused. "I don't know her now. This Travis ... I'm ... shit I guess this is what Alzheimers must feel like. She still loves me, and you love me, and I don't even know myself. I don't even know if I can feel love. I'm a mess ... a devil who tried to become an angel again." He was silent, the quiet hung thick like a pall over the room.

"I wasn't trying to get in your pants, not... directly," Ronnie sighed, lifting her head and glancing around the room. "When I imagined sex with you, this wasn't the location. I was more... marking my territory... trying to tell you how I felt in my own special way."

Ronnie was quiet, then said, "She doesn't believe that you can love. I don't know about Thomas, but the man you are, the one I've known, can. When he told me to pull a piece of metal out of his chest so there'd be more oxygen for me, that was love. I don't know that it was romantic love, but that's caring for someone more than yourself. That's love.

"I know you may never feel the same about me that I feel for you, but that's fuckin' life - you always want the one you can't have," Ronnie sighed. "The fact that you were in a years-long relationship with what is essentially my mother only complicates this issue beyond belief." She laughed. "I should just take Hicks up on his offer."

His voiced was hushed, barely more than a whisper, "I see." He finally stood up and looked around the room. "If you want to get out of here why don't you just ask your mother?" He looked at her, his expression unreadable, "Or should I type it into the computer?"

"She's not talking," Ronnie sighed, aware that she'd just said something wrong. Was it the Hicks thing? "What I now know about you I got when she let her guard down. And it was more than I wanted to know, frankly. The man she is remembering is not the one I know. I don't think the computer will do anything."

You're a fucking moron, Ron, Celeste sighed. Why did you bring up Hicks?

I dunno, I just thought that it'd be easier than sorting out this mess, Ronnie said, uncomfortably. Should I have not said it?

Well, fuckin' duh! Lena growled. Travis is practically wearing a sign that says, 'I just shut down so I didn't have a reaction.' Fix it.

How?

Say something about not meaning that, Celeste said. Unless you did, in which case, keep pushing and I'm sure you'll get Travis to leave you alone. Is that what you want?

He can't love, Raven said morosely. You're all wasting your time.

Ronnie blocked the rest of the conversation at that point. It was hard; Raven was like a lead weight in the back of her mind. In some ways, it was harder to just be herself under that pressure.

"Look... about the Hicks thing... I was just shooting my mouth off," Ronnie sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. "I'm not even sure I'll exist tomorrow, so I shouldn't be trying to do anything with anyone." She pushed back the loneliness as she looked at him and met those eyes that had made her heart race for so long. "But I needed to tell you how I felt about you. Romance aside, you matter more to me than anyone else in the world."

Travis didn't reply, instead he focused on getting out, a tangible goal that he could actually accomplish. The went around to the computer and typed "Exit" into the computer and then hit enter. Worth a shot, he thought as he waited. He tried a few other words or phrases. "Fuck you," he said to the computer not realizing that he hadn't replied to Ronnie. He heard her stifle a gasp and his shoulders slumped, "Not you dammit. Maybe Raven ..." He was irritated now and in a moment of frustration he unleashed his power. Every book on every wall suddenly flew off the walls and to the center of the room. They quickly stacked themselves neatly. Travis slumped, even that small exertion made him feel like a pile of warm shit, worse still there was nothing to be seen behind the books.

"Right," Ronnie muttered, wondering if it was a good or bad sign that Travis was mono-focusing on this. Sighing, he drew back a fist and tried to punch her way out. Unfortunately, under the wooden veneer was some kind of metal, and Ronnie quickly stumbled back, holding her hand and cursing.

Alright, you fuckin' hag, how the fuck do we get out of here?

I'm not telling you.

Ronnie growled aloud. Why the fuck not? Oh, fine, forget you, I haven't needed you for years. She closed her eyes and focused, and after a moment, she opened them, looking irritated. "Ok, you're right," she said. "The computer controls an elevator... so that's the key."

"Swell." Defeatist. Shit I'm a real piece of work, I don't even know what I want. Too busy trying to resurrect some part of me that is long gone so I can make him decide. "I don't suppose you can figure out how to work it?" I don't suppose you could force Raven to restore my memory? He waited, feeling sick and twitchy at the same time. Suddenly he looked confused, "Why is she hiding out in your head? She got out, why didn't she stay on her own? I mean why torment you if she wants me wouldn't it be easier if she didn't have to fight you to be her? Or ... you know, however that shit works for you?"

"She's there... I think she's hiding from you," Ronnie said, pausing to wipe her forehead against her sleeve. She still felt awful, above and beyond the emotional crap she was going through. "She's not really keen on restoring your memory. She's pretty firm on not doing that. I'll lean on her... but I don't know that it's going to work."

She turned her full attention to the computer and began to pressure answers out of Raven. The only reason it worked was because the other woman was sick from the virus, too. Slowly, she opened a program, typed a few things in, then said, "I think this will work." Prepared for the worst, she hit the enter button and waited for the room's reaction.

As soon as she hit enter there was a hydraulic sound and the chimney 'disappeared' into the wall getting replaced by a pair of doors which looked very familiar. It was the same type of elevator they entered earlier.

The doors opened and the mutants entered. The elevator set in motion and after a short while they got back to the main hall. The place looked just like they left it, too many people obviously doing there job and not noticing the two 'guests'.

"My hero," Travis drawled putting the back of his hand to his forehead in a gesture of mock swooning. "What do you suppose the chances are the we'll get anything useful out of Nash before he anal probes me?"

"I don't know," Ronnie said, her voice lowering as she concentrated, pushing past the virus. Instead of claws on each finger, she had a single horn that extended from the back of her hand like a thick, round rapier. "But I'll anal probe him right back for you." Keeping the 'sword' down by her hand, she started to leave.

"Better him than me I guess." He looked down and saw the bone sword grow from her arm, "Are we expecting trouble, causing trouble, or just sporting the latest in fashion accessories?" Still she could see him lace his fingers and then reverse them, there was a rapid series of pops as his knuckles all popped. She knew from experience that even though it was unnecessary he used his hands to gesture when using his powers. Keeping them limber helped his control, or some he claimed. Then again at one point year before he had said that he needed his fingers ready to pleasure any woman that crossed his path at a moment's notice.

"Let's get the fuck out of here," Ronnie said and started for the door, looking for the trouble she was sure was about to come raining down on their heads.

"Seems completely reasonable, also completely insane," he shook his head, "You and I both feel like death warmed over and you want to fight your way out? Oh and I would remind you of the nifty fuck you field that they have. You remember that one? The one that takes your short and curlies and pulls on 'em 'till you wanna cry?"

"Ok, fine." Ronnie turned back to face him, smelling blood. The source became apparent when she felt a trickle of moisture in her nose. Scowling, she rubbed it away and asked, "What's your idea?"

Travis smiles, "Plan? What plan?" His smile disappeared, "We see what they can do for me. And if they cannot then we can file my resignation."

"Sure, I'll try anything once," Ronnie said, having little to no expectation that they'd have any success doing this. She changed her focus to finding Nash.

Both mutants scanned their surroundings taking in as much details as possible. There were roughly 50 employees working here, most of them sitting and working on huge flatscreens which had all kinds of data.

Close to the holographic map of the world which showed the globe in its entirety seemed to be the centre of the section. Mr. Nash was standing there talking to one of the experts and examining one of the screens.

It seemed to be an ordinary day at the Mutant Division HQ...

"Hey Nash, I don't have all day, when are we going to get started?" Travis strode across the room purposefully, eddies of power leaking out behind him sent papers to the floor and tipped coffee cups of stale Joe over. "I want my memory back and you want your ... What the hell did you want back? You said I had something of yours but you failed to mention what? Care to give me the four-one-one?"

Ronnie didn't say anything; this was Travis' show. She just followed him like a surly, sick, purple storm cloud. Her 'sword' was currently pointed at the ground, but her expression said she'd love a reason to point it elsewhere. Prudence suggested it was best to leave her - and the man she was clearly defending - alone.

"Oh, there you are!", Mr. Nash smiled and waved them over, "And I was thinking you've got lost on your way to the toilet there.", he chuckled.

"Well... yes, you've got some valuable knowledge for us. Especially about the terrorist duo Wraith and Ghost you've been tracking ever since you got employed here. We were really close to catching them when you suddenly disappeared."

Travis blinked several times as the names "Wraith and Ghost" echoed through his mind.



Ronnie was getting good at telling when Travis was having one of his episodes. She watched Nash carefully and kept an eye on Travis. Hopefully he'd snap out of it any second.

Travis zoned out for just a second, long enough to realize that life was going to get a lot more complicated before it ever got simpler. "Those names sound familiar, but then again I may have just seen something on TV or in the paper about them. What about this thing you wanted? You said I stole something. Well, what the hell was it? For all I know It was staring me in the face in my apartment for the past three ... err six, months." Travis kept pressing Nash, he wanted to know what was so damned important, wanted to know what leverage he had over his former employer, and potentially, over Raven.

"Your last assignment was in Berlin, Germany. You've been investigating the recent developments in the country - why there's been that extreme political pull to the right wing. You've found something important but you didn't have the time to relay that information to us. And we didn't know how far we could trust your partner.", Mr. Nash looked at Ronnie with a raised eyebrow.

"Mr. Du... Mr. Kincaid, I can't tell you what you stole. And if I did I wouldn't disclose that just yet. As far as I am concerned this could be a ruse of some kind. So we make one step by step and then we'll see how much we can help you get what you want. Quid pro quo."

Travis rolled his eyes, "So basically you don't know anything ... swell. So happy to see that you guys will be useful." Travis reached for his belt and started to unfasten it, "You want to start with the anal probe now? Or maybe the full body MRI?"

Nash raised his arms defensively. "This... is not what we're going to do. What are you expecting from me, Mr. Kincaid? That I push a button or a wave a magic wand and that's it? Memory restored? 3 months ago we assumed you to be dead and then you come out of nowhere and save the country with a ragtag bunch of mutants. Right now.", he looked at both of them, "You are the most valuable assets we have. Whoever took your memory, it wasn't us. All I can give you is your old office and access to all files that you have clearing for. I suggest that you first catch up with the current situation global wide before you start digging in the dirt."

He smirked and redid his belt, "What you fail to comprehend Mr. Nash is that I do not want my old job back. I don't even remember having this job. You see all I am interested in here is getting my brain to look less like soft Swiss cheese and more like a normal collection of sequential memories." He waved a hand around the room, "Look at all of this. You guys didn't have a fuckin' clue what was going on did you? I get nabbed by aliens and disappear for a couple years and when I get back, lucky me!, time to fix the problem." Travis adjusted his coat, "No thanks. I don't want your job, your health benefits suck."

Nash tried to answer but lacked the words to describe the situation. Lowering his arms he admitted, "There must be a mole in this Department. Someone who knows how to manipulate our systems and keep you off our radar. That person may aswell be yourself but that theory just went down the sink the moment you entered this facility. I'm not trying to be a pain in the ass, can I expect at least as much from you?", it was hard to read Nash but he sounded genuine so far. Well, as genuine as someone in his position could be.

Travis snorted derisively, "If you know me at all you know I'm a pain in the ass by nature. Memory problems or not I'm still me ... I think. I don't actually remember so many I'm not...." Travis smirked again, "You said you wanted to examine me, I'm here now, let's get the show on the road. We can talk about employment options once I know there isn't a chip in my head making me horny all the time."

"I take that as a 'yes'.", Mr. Nash replied and nodded to one of his experts.

They were taken across the huge hall to a corridor that lead them away and a bit deeper down. Mr. Nash was explaining what they were going to do as they walked.

"It is close to an MRI but we don't need you to get undressed. It'll be just your head that we need to scan. Most important thing at this moment is to determine if your memory loss is induced or because of damage to your brain. For your sake I hope it is the latter because inducement suggests that you've been manipulated and that'd make things... complicated."

Looking at Ronnie and her obvious protective behaviour towards Travis he added, "If you want you can check the whole procedure yourself and make sure we're not messing with your friend. It is in our fullest interest to cooperate here to get the best result out of this. Maybe we'll find a way to undo this but I can't promise. A mutant with mental powers would be extremely valuable but the last one capable of that died because of the Virus. May she rest in peace."

Mr. Nash was most likely referring to 'Probe', one of the most powerful mutants that worked part time for the government and who was known for her telepathic and psychic abilities.

The lab looked extremely futuristic with all kinds of large flatscreens and holographic displays.

Several men in lab coats asked Travis to remain still while the scanning process was executed. In the meantime Nash asked Ronnie to watch the procedure behind one of the huge screens explaining what the results meant.

"Hmm... looks like your partner suffered some damage to... What on earth is that?!", Mr Nash stared at the screen.

Ronnie could see that there was something attached to Travis' central cortex of his brain... it looked like a squid that was framing his entire skull. The thing was larger than his skull. That was physically impossible. Ronnie instinctively looked at Travis trying to match what she saw on the screen with Travis' head. He could tell the flight of fear that briefly crossed her face.

"You can't tell him," Ronnie said, the sight of that thing jarring her memory. Bitch wasn't lying. Raven had said that there was something in his head, something that left him alone so long as he remained unaware of it. "If it knows he knows, it'll kill him.

"Now, pretend I'm freaking out over nothing," she said, thinking fast.

"Uh," the technician said, but Nash quickly said, "I see. For now, let me reassure you that we won't say anything."

Ronnie forced herself to look calm and even rolled her eyes. "I hope so," she said, giving him a smile and a thumbs up through the glass. "Otherwise, I'm going to get angry, and you wouldn't like that, Mr. Nash."

Travis waved and smiled. He didn't miss the concerned look and it didn't take him long to figure out what that look meant. So either my brain really does look like Swiss cheese or some little alien smiled for the camera and mugged for a photo. Great. He waited for the tech to give him the all clear and then walked out of the scanning room to meet Nash and Ronnie. "So how's my brain doing? Nice and healthy?"

"It looks... ok. But I fear your memory loss is induced and unless we find a powerful telepath I fear we won't be able to undo that. At least we now know that there is at least one more person involved in this thing. I will contact our research team and let them check our databases to find out who'd be able to do this and if you had any contact with said mutants."

Mr. Nash nodded at Ronnie and smiled nervously.

"Maybe we could discuss this matter in private while we're having lunch? Be my guests.", he raised an eyebrow expecting a positive answer to his invitation.

"Free lunch? I'm there," Ronnie said, trying to keep the mood - her mood, specifically - light. "Lead on, Mr. Nash."

"Powerful telepath huh? I don't suppose you have one in a closest somewhere that you forgot about?" Nash shook his head, "Well I MAY get lucky and find somebody Sly who's been hiding out from you guys. As for lunch I think I'd rather pass. I had hoped to not leave the others we were found with without word from us for too long."

"Ahm...", Mr. Nash really didn't expect that answer. "I can't give you more details if you walk out now."

After a short moment of consideration and a deep sigh he handed Travis a card. "Make sure to contact me as soon as you've made progress. We keep an eye on you - both of you."

Mr. Nash guided them to yet another elevator after walking through several long corridors and shook hands as they left. The elevator brought them directly to ground floor of a building not far away from the capitol. No one seemed to notice how they left the building.

(ooc: it looks like a normal day in Washington DC. There is normal traffic and people are going about their business.)

Travis looked around outside before turning to Ronnie, "Honestly didn't expect them to kick us to the curb so quickly. Might have been nice for them to give us a ride back to the hospital." He straightened his coat and picked a piece of imaginary lint off the white fabric.

"Yeah," Ronnie sighed, "but you didn't want to play ball, so they didn't want to play nice either." After a few moments of effort, they managed to hail a taxi and directed it to the hospital - with a detour through a drive-through.

Ronnie was quiet, but as they were waiting for their food, she reached out and took Travis' hand, holding it firmly.

"You know we coulda just flown, I feel well enough to make it a few miles." Travis looked down as Ronnie wove her fingers through his. "Who's doing that? You or her?" This day had brought more questions than answers and worst had made things between he and Ronnie about as complicated as it could get.

Truly stung, Ronnie snatched her hand away. "Fuck you," she snapped reflexively, twisting away from him so that she could stare out the window. She almost opened the door and rolled out, it had hurt so much. Instead, she turned back and snapped, "Are you going to do this all the time now? If you see me, it's fucking me. If you won't trust that, then... this is going to suck."

Travis heaved a sigh and said something Ronnie didn't expect, "Hey, I'm sorry. This whole thing isn't easy for me to understand and it's ... Ah, fuck me, I don't know what is what anymore. Hell. Ronnie ..." He turned her to facing him and leaned forward until his forehead met hers, looking into her eyes, "I don't know what we have, you and me. I'm trying but ... I'm kinda very confused. Especially since not a day ago ... or three months or whatever, you and I we weren't ... I mean ..." He sighed and kissed her lightly on the lips, "You, me, Raven, Thomas ... good god I hope that this isn't going to get any more complicated."

"It'd better not," she murmured, savoring the after-tingle of his lips on hers. It'd better not, she said fiercely to the Others inside. "I think it's complicated enough, thanks."

Tentatively, she took his hand again, feeling better just holding it. She had never been in this position before, and the gentleness of it was disarming completely. She offered him a soft smile, and wished that the cab ride wouldn't end.

Shortly the cab stopped at the hospital and the two of them managed to avoid the mob of press that thought that they were still inside. They found that the others had been taken to see the president and Travis groaned. "OK, fuck it. Let's go." Travis grabbed Ronnie's hand and dragged her along in his wake as he located the roof. "OK. I've no clue how this is gonna work ... but that's what makes it exciting." Without warning Travis scooped her into his arms. "Hold on!" he told her as they shot off like a missile into the bright blue sky. Travis' trajectory was ballistic and once they had attained a mile in altitude he located the White House and they began their descent.

Ronnie had never flown before, and had never been flown like this. She had been carried before, but not often, so it was still unusual. Smiling slightly, she slipped her arms around his shoulders and tried to wrap her head around what had happened today. Everything had been turned on its head, from her relationship with Travis to her understanding of his nature.

Idly, she caressed the back of his head, wondering if the alien inside could feel her touching him. The thought grossed her out, but she didn't pull away. This was Travis, damn it! That alien was coming out - somehow.

She just had no idea how to make that happen.

(continued here: Chapter 4: Silent Lucidity )