For Rachel

[verynaughtymutant]

There was something deeply depressing about Rapture. Not just in the sense of it being a city filled with corpses and lunatics, Cable was used to both, but because it represented the death of a dream. A stupid, short sighted dream, but a dream nonetheless and that still meant something to Cable. He'd long lived a life where dreams were more precious than lives.

Still that didn't stop him from spending a lot of time down there, with the ITF and with Rachel, experimenting with Plasmids and hunting for technology and searching, in vain, for someone sane enough to talk to.

The Medical Pavilion had been the area he and Natalya had discovered on their first trip down here and where he'd found the telekinetic plasmid that allowed him to mimic his powers so it was where he and Rachel visited most often.

He shot his sister a quick silent look to make sure she was keeping up and then strode off up some stairs, into the heart of the area, looking for movement.

Comments

[mutant-gi-jesus.livejournal.com]

The telekinetic plasmid he was using was a crude thing and not capable of the subtlety needed to pluck bullets out of the air, so he picked up some rubble with it instead and launched it at the robot.

And then he dived behind another piece of rubble, both to avoid the immediate retaliation and to give him a shield while he returned fire with a quick blast of bullets just to make sure he had the robot's full attention.

[starchilde_lost]

And that's all the opening Rachel needed, standing and firing a bolt of energy. The robot shuddered, and with a squeal of circuitry, it fell to the ground lifeless.

"Got it!" She re-shouldered her pack and nodded to the hallway.

"After you this time."

[mutant-gi-jesus.livejournal.com]

Cable nodded his agreement and strode forward, finding his target behind a window, talking to a statue of Aphrodite and paying no attention to the intruders he'd been fighting only moments ago.

He checked that Rachel was ready and then spoke.

"Hello, Dr. Steinman," he said pleasantly as he raised his gun. "I've been looking forward to this."

And then he fired, breaking the glass between them.

[picasso-surgeon.livejournal.com]

Steinman took a bullet, before taking cover behind a table and firing back with his own gun.

"Too large," he screamed them at between volleys of bullets. "Too thin. Too scarred."

[starchilde_lost]

"Too noisy." Rachel muttered to herself as she tried to flank the nutjob while he was focused on Nathan.

Finding what she hoped was a clear shot, she fired a blast at Steinman, not sure if it would land with him under cover like that.

[mutant-gi-jesus.livejournal.com]

The blast hit home and while Steinman writhed momentarily in the electricity, Nathan pushed forward at the table with his teke, sending it, and Steinman, flying into the wall.

And that looked like it was it, the two of them had finished the doctor with the same ruthless efficiency they'd defeated all the other splicers they'd met.

Only he wasn't dead just yet.

Cable advanced slowly upon the man, still keeping him crushed against the wall with his teke, with his gun raised.

"This place," he said slowly, "was built by geniuses. I had hoped to find great men here, flawed men maybe, men who had made mistakes but great men, who could be reasoned with, who could be given new projects, better projects, to turn their minds to. Who could work for me."

"It saddens me, Doctor, that all I've found is mad dogs. A beautiful body is one that is useful, that's all."

And with that he blew Steinman's brains out.

[starchilde_lost]

Rachel knew that the idea of this place, the promise of it, was something that affected her brother deeply. How could it not? Every time Nathan, or anyone else in their world tried something like this, it fell apart, usually violently. But seeing him, gun drawn, that expression on his face.

It chilled her. But she didn't argue with it. And when the gun went off, she barely flinched.

Her voice was soft, part of her knew that it might be wrong, hunting them down, but here in Rapture, what the hell was right? These people, these monsters, how much was too much?

"One down, how- how many to go?"

[mutant-gi-jesus.livejournal.com]

There was more than one down, Cable thought as he holstered his gun, they had been picking off splicers for some time, bleeding their numbers with quick raids and retreats. But he knew what she meant, Steinman had been a big fish and they'd both become used to counting victories by the numbers of defeated leaders rather than foot-soldiers.

"Too many," he replied slowly, as he reached down to pick up Steinman's gun and slipped into his belt alongside his own weapon. "Maybe the next one won't be this far gone."

[starchilde_lost]

"Maybe." But she hoped he would be. It was easier to kill them when they were mad beyond reason.

Just... easier.