008 SPAM LIST TWO/VIDEO

[deadliestviper]

[Spam – Backdated to 8/29-9/5]

[The cell was spartan in its trappings, the whole room nothing but cold metal and hard surfaces. It was small, too, hardly large enough to pace from one end to the other, and offered a distinct lack of privacy due to the row of bars separating Beatrix from the rest of the cellblock. It was tedious, cramped, awkward, but on the whole, tolerable. Worse things could have happened, she knew that well. In terms of punishment, a week of solitude below decks was a remarkably light one for a murder.

Murder. When Sarah had described the killing that way Beatrix had bristled a little at the use of the word (as she saw it, killing Cato had been the natural reaction to his attack) but didn't protest it. Slight inaccuracy aside, murder was what she did.

She supposed she should feel some guilt for that.

The guilt didn't come, however. Instead, B only felt a mixture of mundane emotions: exhaustion from the flood, annoyance at her captivity, and a quiet, hidden satisfaction at a job well done.

Zero, she thought, was not having quite the intended effect on her.]

[Video – current]

Guess who's a free woman.

[At this point, there's little else to say. A fairly empty smile crosses B's face before she turns the feed off.]

[OOC: Joint post for Zero and for the Pants on Fire flood!]

Comments

Spam

[deadliestviper]

That, I don't know.

Spam

[an_abomination]

You're not telling me everything. Other than using excessive force, nothing you have told me explains you getting the max sentence here. Usually people who get the full sentence are not remorseful or attacked someone for no reason.

Spam

[deadliestviper]

I assume it's meant to discourage me from falling back into my more violent habits.

Spam

[an_abomination]

Still seems harsh. If that's what it's meant for then your Warden is being unfair.

Spam

[deadliestviper]

Here I thought she was going easy on me.

Spam

[an_abomination]

I don't think Inmates can be kept locked in zero for more than a week. [If they could be, he suspects Ladd would spend most of his time in there. Then again, he can't say with completely certainty that Ladd has never spent more than a week in zero.]

Spam

[deadliestviper]

...doesn't quite fit the crime, does it. [If she went before a court of law she'd be given a multitude of life sentences. One week was nothing.]

Spam

[an_abomination]

No, but this place is meant to be a chance at redemption and second chances. Even if it doesn't always feel that way. [The floods and ports can be worse than any prison.]

Spam

[deadliestviper]

Of course. [That sounds almost petulant. Even though it's the only way off the Barge Beatrix doesn't want to change. Assassination is who she is.]

Spam

[an_abomination]

My life here is like night and day compared to my life back home, so it's easier for me to put an optimistic spin on it. [Realizes he is the exception to the rule.]

You've helped me so much here, I want to help you too. [Not sure how to at the moment, but the desire is there.]

Spam

[deadliestviper]

I'm not sure if you can, Kon. But it means a lot that you'd try.

Spam

[an_abomination]

If I can change here, there's hope for anyone. People are turned into weapons but I was built to be one.

[Reaches for one of her hands and squeezes it.]

I'll keep trying until something works.

Spam

[deadliestviper]

But you want to change.

[B stiffens when he takes her hand, but relaxes into it and squeezes his back.]

Kon, sometime – and it might not be now – I'm going to have to tell you a little about myself.

Spam

[an_abomination]

Not all of me, but parts of me. [Doesn't want to change some parts of himself even if others might disagree.]

Whenever you want to tell me, I'll be ready to listen. [Smiles at her encouragingly.]

Spam

[deadliestviper]

Even if you're not going to like what you hear?

Spam

[an_abomination]

My history is hardly pristine. I don't want people to judge me for my past or my genetics, so it would hardly be fair of me to pass judgment on someone who has been so accepting towards me.

Spam

[deadliestviper]

...thank you. [Fair or not, she doubts he'll refrain, but goddammit at least he's trying. It's been a long time since B's had a friend quite that accepting.]

Beth's not my real name, for a start. And killing that boy isn't the worst thing I've done. Not by a long shot.

Spam

[an_abomination]

Welcome. [Closes his eyes over, thinking about the mistakes he's made in his past.]

What is it? And did I ever tell you what caused me to escape from my incubation tube and the aftermath?

Spam

[deadliestviper]

Beatrix. B for short.

No, you didn't, only that the facility was destroyed.

Spam

[an_abomination]

That was another time. [Opens his eyes up and sighs.]

The first month of my life outside of the incubation tube was filled with so many poor choices and mistakes. I spent three and a half months inside of the incubation tube. The scientists at the time thought I was brain dead because my mind is spread through my t.k, so they didn't pick up on any of it.

[His mouth suddenly feels dry and he wishes he had something to drink.]

They injected a lethal serum into my incubation tube, planning on killing me. It triggered my self-defense mechanisms and my powers spiked. I didn't just kill everyone in the room, I completely decimated them. All that was left of them was literally a bloody paste.

At the time, I barely felt any remorse or guilt. I don't know if I was even capable of it and if my creator had had his way, I'd still be like that.

Spam

[deadliestviper]

[This takes a few moments to process, and B tightens her hand in his.] It was reflexive, and defensive at that. I wouldn't... I wouldn't say a lack of guilt denotes a lack of empathy, in that case.

In fact, I know it didn't. You've got a good heart, Kon, you really care. Your creator really bit that one. [She gives a weak smile.]

...I never told you my mantra, did I.

Spam

[an_abomination]

After wards, some guards came in and I held them up in the air with my t.k., I was playing with them like they were toys. Toys I was planning on disposing of shortly.

[Shakes his head.] That was then and this is now, I've come along way since then and I want to keep it that way. I just hope having a good heart is enough.

[Free will isn't universal. Humans and other alien races but not every race does. What if that third genetic component inside of him one day robs him of his free will?]

No, you haven't. What is it?

Spam

[deadliestviper]

Did you? [Toys he was planning on disposing of. But like he said, that was then and this is now.] You don't have to answer that. It doesn't really matter. People change. [What was it that Vernita had said when she'd shown up on her doorstep to kill her? "All I can tell you is that I'm a different person now."

Her own words echo back in her head: "I don't care."] Well, sometimes they do.

[She recites the mantra with the solemnity and ceremony of a prayer, first in Japanese and then in English.] "When engaged in combat, the vanquishing of thine enemy can be the warrior's only concern. This is the first and cardinal rule of combat; suppress all human emotion and compassion. Kill whoever stands in thy way, even if that be Lord God, or Buddha himself. This truth lies at the heart of the art of combat. Once it is mastered thou shalt fear no one, though the devil himself may bar thy way." The mantra of the Yagu ninja.

spam

[an_abomination]

[Doesn't respond to her question, instead he listens to her mantra. It's a lot to take in and the surprise he's experiencing is visible on his face. He knew that she was a highly skilled fighter and enjoyed violence, which meant it played a significant role in her light, he just didn't know it was that significant.]

Can you really suppress your compassion and not show any mercy, no matter the target?

spam

[deadliestviper]

Yes. [Her answer is immediate. It has to be true, it's always been in the past and it will be no matter who she kills. She smiles ruefully, trying to dismiss the gravity of that admission.]

I'm not a very nice person, Kon.