JP - Abraham gets Backup

Abraham sent Mark a message, hoping he’d be able to give him suggestions on how to deal with this. “There’s plenty of food in the fridge and cabinets. I’m going to shower…” He said, getting up and going to one of the rooms to grab clothes. Going to the bathroom, he closed and locked the door.

“Do you believe he is a threat?” Mark asked over text.

Caneclone found some ham steaks and frozen peas. He set to heating up the ham and overcooking the peas so they would be nice and mushy.

“I’m not sure,” Abraham said as he started the shower and let it run while he sat on the toilet lid to talk to Mark. “He seems harmless, but the same could be said about the original when he went hunting for victims…I just don’t know. Something about him is just…off.”

“He obviously can’t come to the underground we’re full of people who were either his victims, want to kill him, or both” Mark replied “What do you think we should do?”

“Keep him here for now…” Abraham said. “He seems content with a roof over his head and food on the table, but he’s being persistent in thanking Gelf.”

“I highly doubt that will go down well” Mark sighed “I’m worried about your safety as well, not that you can’t handle yourself we’re already down Riley.”

“I just don’t want to risk him being around River…or any of the children.” Abraham sighed. “I’ll see if Riven or someone can come watch him while I come back. Have a few of them here…I just don’t know if it’s a good idea to let him thank Gelf. She already freaked out the first time they ran into him.”

“We’ll get some people over there” Mark replied “maybe it be wise to take care of him before he become a future problem.”

“Okay, thanks,” Abraham said. “Talk to you later.” After hanging up, he took a very quick shower, got dressed, and left the bathroom to return to the kitchen for a meal of his own.

“Hello.” Caneclone greeted, happily eating ham and mushy peas, looking as happy as a child on a snow day with the best cartoons on TV.

“That an interesting combination of food.” Abraham said as he grabbed some eggs to make an omelet.

"It like it. I think it's my favorite." Caneclone smiled.

“You think?” Abraham was getting the omelet made. “You’re not sure?”

“I didn’t get as much variety as I would like on the menu at MegaCorp.” Caneclone said, enjoying his meal.

“Well, there are plenty of choices here in the real world.” Abraham told him and put the omelet on a plate, turning the stove off.

“I look forward to trying all of them!” Caneclone laughed.

“Just don’t eat too much or you’ll make yourself sick.” Abe warned as he sat down and ate his omelet. He hoped Mark’s people would show up soon…

Caneclone nodded. “A little bit at a time.”

Nodding, Abe silently finished his omelet and went to clean the dishes. A knock at the door got his attention, so he went to answer it and was met by Fang and Lola.

“We were sent here to help out or…whatever.” Fang said with a shrug.

Lola was silent as ever as she looked into the house, frowning when she saw Caneclone.

“Hi.” Caneclone waved with a friendly smile.

Lola, confused, waved back as Abraham let her and Fang inside.

“Hello.” Caneclone greeted them again. “I’m Nature.”

Fang and Lola looked confused. “Nature?” Fang asked. “What’s that stand for?”

Abraham slipped his hands into his pockets after closing the door.

“I don’t know.” Canclone admitted. “They also called me 001 and Caneclone.”

“Nature is easier…” Fang muttered, narrowing his eyes.

Lola just quietly passed Caneclone and went to the fridge in order to get something to drink.

“Yeah… I think I prefer Nature over the other names.” Caneclone said cheerfully.

“We can call you that if you want.” Abe said. “I’ll be back in a bit. You two good staying with him?”

Fang and Lola nodded before Abraham left.

With a sigh, Fang looked at Caneclone - or, Nature, as he preferred now. “So, you liking being free from MegaCorp?” He asked.

“Yes! It’s great.” Caneclone said. “I was homeless for a while and it was rough, but freedom is worth it.”

“Freedom is always worth it.” Fang commented as he went to the living room and hunted down the TV remote. Lola stayed in the kitchen for a bit, glancing at Caneclone cautiously as she poured herself a cup of milk.

Caneclone finished his ham and peas so he started washing his dishes in the sink. He gave Lola a friendly wink.

Lola blinked, not understanding the wink as she stood and drank her cup of milk. As a mute, she kept silent and just prayed this would go well.

“Milk is supposed to be good for your teeth and bones.” Caneclone told Lola. He opened the fridge and took out almond milk. “They’re making milk out of almonds these days…”

Lola nodded and went to sit at the table, still watching him. She was as cautious as Abe, but without a voice. Her hands stay wrapped around the glass, watching and waiting to see what this man would do. He seemed nice enough, but a part of her felt nervous - uncomfortable - around him. Both she and Fang had tranquilizer guns, but they were only useful if they actually got to grab them.