Did You Get What You Wanted?

"Yes. Just leave it alone." Ness had a strong impact on people, you either hated or loved them and sometimes he rubbed people the wrong way depending on his mood but he was a good person. In this case it was more the later with how Buddy was currently acting.

It didn't take him too long to find Ness, "I didn't think I would see you again. It's nice to see a familiar face."

When Emanulle comes in, Ness was on the phone "Okay. Something's come up. I'll see ya in a few days." he says, then hangs up "Manny, as I live and breath. How the hell are ya you old so-and-so?" he asks, getting up to shake the man's hand. Though, it was a good bet that Ness was older then Emanulle.

"I gotta admit, it was a surprise to find out that you joined a team of super heroes." he says "I figured you would have moved into the country, built a house to raise Michru away from all this crazy that the city life brings." he says.

"I'm only twenty five and my kind live just shy of two hundred so not that old yet. You Might be older then me." Which was true, since in his experience how old someone looked wasn't always an indication of how old they Actually were. He was happy to see them though as he shook his hand.

"You'd think so, or at least living quite I'm a bit surprised too. Its a better harder as a single parent too keeping a eye on them since I don't have a partner, but I'm not going to rush that part. I would have to make sure me and Michru both get along with them, they aren't a head case and have some maternal instincs. Harder then it sounds, my current job doesn't help either."

"That aside, life been all right. I hope yours been going well, you seem to be in good spirits."

Ness smacks Emanulle on shoulder, like he does with Calvine all the time "I'm Always in good spirits. I just need to hang around while boss finishes his mission, which will go well I believe, and then I'm back to my people. I got something big cooking and it's Just about done." he says ominously.

Emanulle was curious but held his tongue about it. "Whatever it is, I hope it works out. Not sure if its anything I can spefically help with but if it is at all let me know. Helping my daughter aside you are a friend." He was eternally grateful to Ness and Alia for that.

Ness chuckles "Thanks man, but wait until you get to know me better. I'm the kinda guy you either love or hate. There's no middle ground" he says, the looks back over his shoulder out the door "Say, what's with that gothy girl with pink hair? Why is she so glum all the time? Did her pet get run over or something?" he asks, referring to Alice.

"Some of yor teammates wanted me to do a reading on her past to find out the origins of her powers and while I agree that's something that needs to be looked into, I can't, in good conscious, violate her privacy by peeking into it without her consent, which she's unlikely to give." he explains. He didn't mention who it was that asked him, not wanting to cause too many ripples.

Emanulle shook his head. "I don't know. All I know it has something to do with her past but she doesn't trust anyone to say." It wasn't Entirely true. Jason had apparently told them, however he felt wasn't the whole story and there were things that came after before she joined this group. So in that sense they didn't.

Ness shrugs "Well, if I felt s inclined to do so, I could earn her trust no problem...But  don't feel like it right now." he says, simply "What ever problems she has, she'll have to take care of them on her own, because it doesn't seem like she wants any help." he points out.

"Just to let you know, Jack's son has returned and he's looking for our 'guest'." Buddy says in a curt tone.

"Probably so, its her own personal demons. But what makes you so sure if you don't know them and you said yourself people either strongly like you or dislike you?" Though if Ness accomplished when he was trying to do in a few days he had been for months, it was time to revalute his day job.

Emanulle was going to say more when Buddy came in, stiff irked. "Looks like that's your cue."

* *

Natomi came to find Sam, she was really worried about him. She didn't want him to die but he might be stubborn about it unless he changed his mind. On the off chance he didn't, she wanted to spend as much time with them as she could.

Ness nods slowly. He was tempted to try and see what this fellow wanted, but decided not to. Besides, it seems the man in question already knew where Ness was. Probably Buddy told him. Jason comes walking in "Mister Ness Burger. You're a Very hard man to find." Jason says as he extends his hand "I'm Jason Winters, I don't believe we've ever formally met." he says.

Ness shakes the man's hand, but keeps a poker face when he got Nothing from him. Normally when Ness makes contact with someone he gets a psychic echo of their life. Mainly a jumble of images and sensations. It takes a little effort to bock normally, but it's nothing he hasn't learned to do automatically. But with Jason, he gets Nothing. Like he's not even there *Must be one of those Mystics that are everywhere.* he tinks, having gotten the same thing from Jennifer "Likewise. he says.

"I have something I would like to talk to you about, if you'll hear me out,that is." Jason says.

Ness nods as he sits back down "Let me take a stab in the dark, you want my help with something and I wasn't yours first choice, but I Was the most logical one and since you know Of me and where to Find me, you also must know what I can do and that's what drew you to seek me out. Because clearly you have connections with some pretty powerful people." he says "Is that about right?"

Jason nods slightly "Somewhat. It's true that I Do need your help with something important and that you Weren't my first choice, but rather my Only choice and while I Had options, you, being the best at what you do, made you the natural And most logical choice." he explains.

Ness liked his ego stroked as much as the next guy and he leans forward "Okay, you got my attention. I'm listening." he says.

* *

Samuel was, of course, in the kitchen cooking many different things. He liked to cook and he always figured if he wasn't so darn good at killing people, he would have become a chef. He always liked the look on people's faces when they ate the food he cooked and he was exactly what they were hoping for. He often cooked for the orphans that the Brotherhood took care of.

He thinks on with Some regrets about leaving the Brotherhood and unlike his current teammates, he knew that the Brotherhood weren't the bad guys. n fact, they were the ones who Stopped the bad guys. The Real bad guys. Sure his super hero friends fought some evil and powerful foes, but they weren't the ones pulling the strings from the shadows. They weren't the ones making all the decisions that effected global change. It was Those people the Brotherhood went after.

Still, Sam had fought the good fight and when his time was up, it would be up. He figured he would simply close his eyes and not open them again and you know what? He was okay with that. Because, as he figured, his time had come and gone and now he was on borrowed time and sulking around about it won't change a thing. So he did what he would normally do, cook.

Emanulle was silent as the two men talked, though it had been a short minute since he had seen Jason. "I can leave if you want?" He offered to Jason, if the two wanted to finish in private.

* *

Natomi found the ex assassin before too long, regardless she was determined to do what she could. She didn't think she'd be able to convince him not to just let himself just die, not unless he had something in this world he couldn't just leave behind. She wasn't going to stress about it, for now.

"Hey." She greeted the young man pleasantly. "Whatcha making?"

Best not to think about it. For now.

Jason shrugs "It's really up to Ness if he wants to talk about this in private or not." he says.

Ness, for his part, just shrugs as well "It doesn't matter to me. he says off handedly "So what's on your mind?" he asks.

Jason nods "Okay then. Well, there's this young woman who was born with a genetic disorder that's causing her cells to break down..." he starts.

Ness holds up his hand "Let me stop you there. I already kno what you're going to ask. You want me to use my mastery over the psychic arts to change this young woman's genetic structure so that it's stable and she won't die from it, am I right?" he asks.

Jason nods, frowning slightly from being interrupted "Pretty much, yeah." he says.

Ness nods "I figured as much. Listen, you obviously know about me and my abilities and how to find me, so you probably also know that my PK abilities aren't exactly one-hundred precent at the moment and any, and I do mean any, attempt to alter your young friend in my current condition could very well lead to her death, but only Much faster." he says.

Ness lets hi words sink in as he puts three fingers to his forehead "Besides, I have a feeling your problem will solve it's self just fine without me." he says.

* *

Samuel looks over to Natomi "Ah, greetings my dear. I am just cooking to clear my mind of the days stresses." he says, a smile on his face, like he Didn't have a little over four years left to live "I found out early on in my life with the Brotherhood that cooking helped me relieve stress." he says.

"And while it s not the only thing that helps me relieve stress, it is one of the few I can do by myself." he says with a wink and a smile, as if to say 'f you catch my drift.'.

"If I may ask, what has brought you to the kitchen this fine, close to evening?" he asks.

Emanulle had no clue what was going on, so he was lost to the conversation but he could understand the gist of what was going on.

"Would anyone in Jack's dimension be able to help? He apparently has a lot of friends." It might not be viable depending but it could be worth a shot. One of his friends had came to visit before.

* *

Natomi gave a slow smile. "I just wanted to see and spend time with you. And I had other things on my mind so I couldn't exactly go to sleep."

Jason nods "Jack's friends could undoubtedly help, but I think Ness is right. This problem will settle it's self." he says to Manny, then nods to Ness "Thanks for your help. Enjoy the rest of your night." he says, then nods to Manny as he heads on out.

* *

Samuel chuckles lightly "Ah, am I to believe that it is, among other things, my impending en that has occupied your thoughts as of late and you wis to spend as much time with me, as to either change my mind or if yu can't to get as many memories as you can, that has brought you here tonight?" he asks "Or am I presuming too much?"

Emanulle watched them leave, thinking about something before turning to Ness. "Could we go in a room or something to talk in private?"

* *

Natomi paused at that, then nodded slowly. "..Yeah, you're right. It was one of those. Am I that easy to read?"

Ness looks around. It was only them two in the common room, then he looks back over to Manny "It's just us and the computer. What's on your mind?" he asks.

* *

Samuel chuckles "No, no, my dear. But I have been extensively trained in the fine art of reading peoples expressions, both on their faces, to their eye movements and their micro expressions as well." he explains "It's harder with people like Marcen and yourself, having been trained to suppress your emotions when needed, but the signs are still there." he says, never losing his smile.

Even so someone could literally walk in whenever but since Ness seemed to know when people were coming or not.

"It's just I've been thinking about my place here, and more importantly about Michru. I'm realizing how fast time is going by and how due to this I'm not spending as much time with her. She spends a lot of that time at that school, and I'm grateful for it..but its no way for a father to live. On top of that, this is a dangerous job if something happens to me, who is going to take care of them?"

"Not everyone can fight the good fight the same way, it usually needs a three prong approach since life is so nusance. People like Jack and his are important, so are those like Samuel and Natomi to do things that need to be done so no one else has to get their hands dirty. Then there's people in the legal, political and social sphere..out of all them I probably fit into that. I was a former prince even its a glorified figure head these days, I may as well put that political knowledge to some use."

Emanulle was silent a bit longer and sighed. "The problem is, I don't want to just..abadon my friends, I'm not but it feels like it. The other is I don't have any support system outside. My family is gone to another dimension, I no longer have an apartment and while I have funds stashed away, they are limited."

* *

Natomi paused a bit longer, then sighed. "..Yeah you're completely right. I do want to spend as much time with you as I can if you're adamant about this. Maybe..we could just get something to eat, I don't want to think about it too much."

Ness was wondering why Manny was telling Him, of all people, this. Sure he known for helping people, but this kind of helping was a bit out of his comfort zone "This sounds like something you need to bring up with Jack. If noting else, leave the team and take care of your daughter." he says "If it's abandoning your team you're worried about, these things tend to work themselves out and someone will come to replace your absents." he explains.

He puts three fingers to his forehead and concentrates for a bit "You're in luck. Jack will be coming back here tomorrow afternoon and since his questions are basically what your ninja asked and my answer will be the same, I have no real reason to remain here. Especially if your assassin doesn't want my help to no die." he says as he gets up.

* *

Samuel nods "tall about paying close attention to the little details. The same principle applies for cooking as well." he says "Just keep a close eye on what you are doing and you will never mess up am meal" he says as he holds up a plate scrambled eggs and toast to Natomi.

Emanulle was a bit disappointed he was leaving so soon, but it was understandable, he had things to do. "All right then I'll let you go, not sure if we'll see each other again so it was nice seeing you."

* *

Natomi thanked him, though it was a bit more subdued then normal if only slight. "Who taught you how to cook or are you self taught?"

Ness didn't think they would ever cross paths again, at least not anytime soon. Still, one never really knew, thanks to the random and very unpredictable nature of his PK abilities and the inclusions of the power of the Eye of Magnus didn't help things either. Still, one never knew.

* *

Samuel chuckles "I was taught how to cook by the Brotherhood. It is very essential that we know how to take care of ourselves and anyone in our care." he explains "I just liked cooking, better than assassination an the look on the orphans faces when I ever brought over some cheese bread or sweets." he says with a fond smile as he recalled the memory.

"They has lost so much already and some of them had even started to lose hope. That I could bring a smile to their faces, is the best feeling I had ever know." he says "I often wonder how they are getting along without me being there to lift their spirits."

((Ness is out))

Emanulle decided to retire for the night and get some rest, there was a lot on his mind. Maybe he should of asked Jason if he was willing to talk some sense into Sam before he just let himself kick the bucket. These things tended to work themselves out..or ended badly. He wasn't sure which it would be.

While he was still a bit conflicted, he had to do what was best for Michru before anything else. He would make sure he would still visit and check in on the others when he could though.

*  *

Natomi could understand a bit. "If you have friends that are like you there, then I'm sure they'll hopefully manage. You're very good at cooking, you have a gift for it. I'm not sure what I'd want to do, I like children a lot but who knows."

She wished there was a way to amend things with the Brotherhood but she doubted it. It sounded like things had unfortunately gotten out of hand which had dire consequences. Life was rarely fair,y she knew that already.

Samuel nods "There are many good people within the Brotherhood. Remember, despite how things ended wth me and them, they are still one of the good guys. They protect the world from the shadows and even though am no longer with them, I still believe in their cause." he says.

It was clear that Sam harbored no ill will against them. That just seemed how Sam was; Good natured "Maybe one things settle down with Lexica and her merry band of mischief makers, I might go traveling. You know, see the world and visit all the places I was always too busy to see when I was wt the Brotherhood." he says.

Natomi would have to ask Sam why exactly he had been killed in the first place. She didn't entirely buy it, if only because things didn't add up with Marcen. It was possible they had some skeletons in their closet which is why the Brotherhood was after them, but he didn't seem like a bad person at all.

Call it the conspiracy theorist or 'looking underneath' too much but some things just didn't add up or make sense to her. Maybe there was a few moles inside a otherwise good organization messing with things from the inside.

Marcen was no leader so why would such a group target a random ninja with a hit? Why send a father figure after Sam? Marcen was in the Elemental Nations and knew how to keep a low profile so how did he get attention in the first place? She really needed to talk to Marcen later to compare notes, because all her training was telling her a lot of things weren't making sense.

But it didn't matter right now, so she put it in the back of her mind.

"If you decide to go traveling, can I come with you?" She asked, looking over at him. She was adamant about spending as much time with them as possible, and she hadn't Entirely given up on saving his life in some way. Nothing worth doing was usually easy.

Samuel nods wth a smile "Of course I wouldn't say 'No' to the offer of a lovely young lady such as yourself joining me on, what is to be, my grand and final journey. In fact, I would welcome the company." he says as he starts cleaning up.

"You know, I was thinking, there must be something that we could do to help Alice with her personal demons..." he says, changing the subject "After all, she had helped me at the cost of herself. I wouldn't feel right leaving a debt such as that unsettled. I don't think I would be able to rest peacefully knowing that she had lost five years of her life, however long it may be, because of me." he says.

It was a quick change of subject, maybe he didn't want to dwell on something he was insisted on following through with. "She's my friend but I don't think we can. I don't know the story behind it, but from recent stuff I gathered, it was romantic in nature. And as you probably know from experience, those are things people need to work out on their own when it goes bad, it leaves a scar." She was of course referring to Alice getting defensive earlier just at the suggestion maybe Manny liked her. She said 'maybe' because while she was good at reading people, she was also wrong at times too.