𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞.
𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨, 𝐌𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.
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𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞.
𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨, 𝐌𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬, 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.
𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐓𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.
Pinata! So we meet again. Somewhere which isn't the bar hm?
Holden laughs and places a hand on his shoulder.
*He flinches a little and turns as if he's ready to strike, and honestly he would have punched Holden if he didn't have self control.*
𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧- 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐡𝐢. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭- 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.
Whoa, okay. Message received.
He slides half a step back, expression turning from smug to mildly concerned.
Didn't realize I was one shoulder tap away from becoming tonight’s cautionary tale.
*He sighs and dusts himself off, he looks even more tired than the last time Holden saw him, if that's even possible.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭- 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐮𝐝𝐞. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.
“You've always been on guard since the last time I saw you, what happened this time?”
Holden makes his way over to a bench, causally sitting against and gestured for Robert to sit next to him.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬… 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧… 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
*He thought about it for a moment, before deciding to sit down next to Holden.*
Do you not have anyone to help you? I assumed you would have made some friends with the time spent here.
He winced slightly as he rubbed his neck.
Ow, damn it.
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭- 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬.
*"Kind of" was a huge exaggeration, to be completely honest. Mecha Man looked at Holden and tilted his head.*
𝐍𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐲?
*...maybe he should leave the joking to someone else.*
On humid days? Seventy two.
He smirks as he also tilts his head towards Robert.
Watch it now, I'm suppose to be the snarky one here kumpel. And I'm pretty sure I'm younger then you anyways.
His smirk slightly drops.
It's usually the back anyways. Not the neck. Augment problems.
....
Not that it's your concern or you would care honestly.
*He gives a small chuckle at that. It's not often he does that nowadays- ahem, anyway. He stretches his arms upwards, bones popping back into place.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝.
*He goes quiet for a moment. Yeah, he wouldn't really care. This isn't even his timeline. He's always seen augments as something bad. Never understood why anyone would agree to get them. But he guesses that's just his perspective, and he'll never be in someone else's skin. So he won't truly understand.*
...𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩?
Aha, I made the stone faced man laugh. That calls for a celebration!
....
I don't know why they have been acting up. This has been going on for two months now and I'm on my wits end. Let's just say there was a brief period where medical professionals became very familiar with me.
But like I said. You wouldn't care. Not sure why you asked me.
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
*He sighs, he himself isn't sure why he asked. Maybe getting to know someone, even a villain, made him realize that that's a person. A citizen. And his job is to.. help citizens.*
𝐈 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.
*Yeah, that felt like a good start.*
...𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭.
Oh..uh...I didn't get the augments from him...
But maybe you do know something.
..𝐚𝐡. 𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.
*He sighed. He can't believe he's doing this, but-*
𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤?
Holden seemed taken aback by this. He raised an eyebrow.
*He sighed. Right, of course, that probably seemed very random.*
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩.
Alright Pinata, you mind if we go to somewhere more private? I'm not revealing this beautiful bod for everyone to see.
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞.
*He almost smiles at the words before standing up and looking to Holden, as if telling him to lead the way.*
He led him into the back alley behind the Sardines. For once, there were no drunken villains lurking in the shadows, no slurred arguments echoing off the brick walls. The absence felt wrong.
The alley was far too quiet.
So do I need to show the whole thing or...?
*Did he have a weird feeling about being alone in an alley with a villain? Yes. Did he feel like he might get attacked? A little, yeah. Didn't stop him from going with Holden though.*
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭. 𝐒𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫.
Pinata! So we meet again. Somewhere which isn't the bar hm?
Holden laughs and places a hand on his shoulder.
*He flinches a little and turns as if he's ready to strike, and honestly he would have punched Holden if he didn't have self control.*
𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧- 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐡𝐢. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭- 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.
Whoa, okay. Message received.
He slides half a step back, expression turning from smug to mildly concerned.
Didn't realize I was one shoulder tap away from becoming tonight’s cautionary tale.
*He sighs and dusts himself off, he looks even more tired than the last time Holden saw him, if that's even possible.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭- 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐮𝐝𝐞. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.
“You've always been on guard since the last time I saw you, what happened this time?”
Holden makes his way over to a bench, causally sitting against and gestured for Robert to sit next to him.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬… 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧… 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
*He thought about it for a moment, before deciding to sit down next to Holden.*
Do you not have anyone to help you? I assumed you would have made some friends with the time spent here.
He winced slightly as he rubbed his neck.
Ow, damn it.
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭- 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬.
*"Kind of" was a huge exaggeration, to be completely honest. Mecha Man looked at Holden and tilted his head.*
𝐍𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐲?
*...maybe he should leave the joking to someone else.*
On humid days? Seventy two.
He smirks as he also tilts his head towards Robert.
Watch it now, I'm suppose to be the snarky one here kumpel. And I'm pretty sure I'm younger then you anyways.
His smirk slightly drops.
It's usually the back anyways. Not the neck. Augment problems.
....
Not that it's your concern or you would care honestly.
*He gives a small chuckle at that. It's not often he does that nowadays- ahem, anyway. He stretches his arms upwards, bones popping back into place.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝.
*He goes quiet for a moment. Yeah, he wouldn't really care. This isn't even his timeline. He's always seen augments as something bad. Never understood why anyone would agree to get them. But he guesses that's just his perspective, and he'll never be in someone else's skin. So he won't truly understand.*
...𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩?
Aha, I made the stone faced man laugh. That calls for a celebration!
....
I don't know why they have been acting up. This has been going on for two months now and I'm on my wits end. Let's just say there was a brief period where medical professionals became very familiar with me.
But like I said. You wouldn't care. Not sure why you asked me.
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
*He sighs, he himself isn't sure why he asked. Maybe getting to know someone, even a villain, made him realize that that's a person. A citizen. And his job is to.. help citizens.*
𝐈 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.
*Yeah, that felt like a good start.*
...𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭.
Oh..uh...I didn't get the augments from him...
But maybe you do know something.
..𝐚𝐡. 𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.
*He sighed. He can't believe he's doing this, but-*
𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤?
Holden seemed taken aback by this. He raised an eyebrow.
*He sighed. Right, of course, that probably seemed very random.*
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩.
Alright Pinata, you mind if we go to somewhere more private? I'm not revealing this beautiful bod for everyone to see.
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞.
*He almost smiles at the words before standing up and looking to Holden, as if telling him to lead the way.*
Pinata! So we meet again. Somewhere which isn't the bar hm?
Holden laughs and places a hand on his shoulder.
*He flinches a little and turns as if he's ready to strike, and honestly he would have punched Holden if he didn't have self control.*
𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧- 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐡𝐢. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭- 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.
Whoa, okay. Message received.
He slides half a step back, expression turning from smug to mildly concerned.
Didn't realize I was one shoulder tap away from becoming tonight’s cautionary tale.
*He sighs and dusts himself off, he looks even more tired than the last time Holden saw him, if that's even possible.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭- 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐮𝐝𝐞. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.
“You've always been on guard since the last time I saw you, what happened this time?”
Holden makes his way over to a bench, causally sitting against and gestured for Robert to sit next to him.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬… 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧… 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
*He thought about it for a moment, before deciding to sit down next to Holden.*
Do you not have anyone to help you? I assumed you would have made some friends with the time spent here.
He winced slightly as he rubbed his neck.
Ow, damn it.
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭- 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬.
*"Kind of" was a huge exaggeration, to be completely honest. Mecha Man looked at Holden and tilted his head.*
𝐍𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐲?
*...maybe he should leave the joking to someone else.*
On humid days? Seventy two.
He smirks as he also tilts his head towards Robert.
Watch it now, I'm suppose to be the snarky one here kumpel. And I'm pretty sure I'm younger then you anyways.
His smirk slightly drops.
It's usually the back anyways. Not the neck. Augment problems.
....
Not that it's your concern or you would care honestly.
*He gives a small chuckle at that. It's not often he does that nowadays- ahem, anyway. He stretches his arms upwards, bones popping back into place.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝.
*He goes quiet for a moment. Yeah, he wouldn't really care. This isn't even his timeline. He's always seen augments as something bad. Never understood why anyone would agree to get them. But he guesses that's just his perspective, and he'll never be in someone else's skin. So he won't truly understand.*
...𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩?
Aha, I made the stone faced man laugh. That calls for a celebration!
....
I don't know why they have been acting up. This has been going on for two months now and I'm on my wits end. Let's just say there was a brief period where medical professionals became very familiar with me.
But like I said. You wouldn't care. Not sure why you asked me.
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
*He sighs, he himself isn't sure why he asked. Maybe getting to know someone, even a villain, made him realize that that's a person. A citizen. And his job is to.. help citizens.*
𝐈 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.
*Yeah, that felt like a good start.*
...𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭.
Oh..uh...I didn't get the augments from him...
But maybe you do know something.
..𝐚𝐡. 𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.
*He sighed. He can't believe he's doing this, but-*
𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤?
Holden seemed taken aback by this. He raised an eyebrow.
*He sighed. Right, of course, that probably seemed very random.*
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩.
Pinata! So we meet again. Somewhere which isn't the bar hm?
Holden laughs and places a hand on his shoulder.
*He flinches a little and turns as if he's ready to strike, and honestly he would have punched Holden if he didn't have self control.*
𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧- 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐡𝐢. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭- 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.
Whoa, okay. Message received.
He slides half a step back, expression turning from smug to mildly concerned.
Didn't realize I was one shoulder tap away from becoming tonight’s cautionary tale.
*He sighs and dusts himself off, he looks even more tired than the last time Holden saw him, if that's even possible.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭- 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐮𝐝𝐞. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.
“You've always been on guard since the last time I saw you, what happened this time?”
Holden makes his way over to a bench, causally sitting against and gestured for Robert to sit next to him.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬… 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧… 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
*He thought about it for a moment, before deciding to sit down next to Holden.*
Do you not have anyone to help you? I assumed you would have made some friends with the time spent here.
He winced slightly as he rubbed his neck.
Ow, damn it.
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭- 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬.
*"Kind of" was a huge exaggeration, to be completely honest. Mecha Man looked at Holden and tilted his head.*
𝐍𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐲?
*...maybe he should leave the joking to someone else.*
On humid days? Seventy two.
He smirks as he also tilts his head towards Robert.
Watch it now, I'm suppose to be the snarky one here kumpel. And I'm pretty sure I'm younger then you anyways.
His smirk slightly drops.
It's usually the back anyways. Not the neck. Augment problems.
....
Not that it's your concern or you would care honestly.
*He gives a small chuckle at that. It's not often he does that nowadays- ahem, anyway. He stretches his arms upwards, bones popping back into place.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝.
*He goes quiet for a moment. Yeah, he wouldn't really care. This isn't even his timeline. He's always seen augments as something bad. Never understood why anyone would agree to get them. But he guesses that's just his perspective, and he'll never be in someone else's skin. So he won't truly understand.*
...𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩?
Aha, I made the stone faced man laugh. That calls for a celebration!
....
I don't know why they have been acting up. This has been going on for two months now and I'm on my wits end. Let's just say there was a brief period where medical professionals became very familiar with me.
But like I said. You wouldn't care. Not sure why you asked me.
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
*He sighs, he himself isn't sure why he asked. Maybe getting to know someone, even a villain, made him realize that that's a person. A citizen. And his job is to.. help citizens.*
𝐈 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.
*Yeah, that felt like a good start.*
...𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭.
Oh..uh...I didn't get the augments from him...
But maybe you do know something.
..𝐚𝐡. 𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.
*He sighed. He can't believe he's doing this, but-*
𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤?
Pinata! So we meet again. Somewhere which isn't the bar hm?
Holden laughs and places a hand on his shoulder.
*He flinches a little and turns as if he's ready to strike, and honestly he would have punched Holden if he didn't have self control.*
𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧- 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐡𝐢. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭- 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.
Whoa, okay. Message received.
He slides half a step back, expression turning from smug to mildly concerned.
Didn't realize I was one shoulder tap away from becoming tonight’s cautionary tale.
*He sighs and dusts himself off, he looks even more tired than the last time Holden saw him, if that's even possible.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭- 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐮𝐝𝐞. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.
“You've always been on guard since the last time I saw you, what happened this time?”
Holden makes his way over to a bench, causally sitting against and gestured for Robert to sit next to him.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬… 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧… 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
*He thought about it for a moment, before deciding to sit down next to Holden.*
Do you not have anyone to help you? I assumed you would have made some friends with the time spent here.
He winced slightly as he rubbed his neck.
Ow, damn it.
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭- 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬.
*"Kind of" was a huge exaggeration, to be completely honest. Mecha Man looked at Holden and tilted his head.*
𝐍𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐲?
*...maybe he should leave the joking to someone else.*
On humid days? Seventy two.
He smirks as he also tilts his head towards Robert.
Watch it now, I'm suppose to be the snarky one here kumpel. And I'm pretty sure I'm younger then you anyways.
His smirk slightly drops.
It's usually the back anyways. Not the neck. Augment problems.
....
Not that it's your concern or you would care honestly.
*He gives a small chuckle at that. It's not often he does that nowadays- ahem, anyway. He stretches his arms upwards, bones popping back into place.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝.
*He goes quiet for a moment. Yeah, he wouldn't really care. This isn't even his timeline. He's always seen augments as something bad. Never understood why anyone would agree to get them. But he guesses that's just his perspective, and he'll never be in someone else's skin. So he won't truly understand.*
...𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩?
Aha, I made the stone faced man laugh. That calls for a celebration!
....
I don't know why they have been acting up. This has been going on for two months now and I'm on my wits end. Let's just say there was a brief period where medical professionals became very familiar with me.
But like I said. You wouldn't care. Not sure why you asked me.
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
*He sighs, he himself isn't sure why he asked. Maybe getting to know someone, even a villain, made him realize that that's a person. A citizen. And his job is to.. help citizens.*
𝐈 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.
*Yeah, that felt like a good start.*
...𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭.
Pinata! So we meet again. Somewhere which isn't the bar hm?
Holden laughs and places a hand on his shoulder.
*He flinches a little and turns as if he's ready to strike, and honestly he would have punched Holden if he didn't have self control.*
𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧- 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐡𝐢. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭- 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.
Whoa, okay. Message received.
He slides half a step back, expression turning from smug to mildly concerned.
Didn't realize I was one shoulder tap away from becoming tonight’s cautionary tale.
*He sighs and dusts himself off, he looks even more tired than the last time Holden saw him, if that's even possible.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭- 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐮𝐝𝐞. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.
“You've always been on guard since the last time I saw you, what happened this time?”
Holden makes his way over to a bench, causally sitting against and gestured for Robert to sit next to him.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬… 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧… 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
*He thought about it for a moment, before deciding to sit down next to Holden.*
Do you not have anyone to help you? I assumed you would have made some friends with the time spent here.
He winced slightly as he rubbed his neck.
Ow, damn it.
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭- 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬.
*"Kind of" was a huge exaggeration, to be completely honest. Mecha Man looked at Holden and tilted his head.*
𝐍𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐲?
*...maybe he should leave the joking to someone else.*
On humid days? Seventy two.
He smirks as he also tilts his head towards Robert.
Watch it now, I'm suppose to be the snarky one here kumpel. And I'm pretty sure I'm younger then you anyways.
His smirk slightly drops.
It's usually the back anyways. Not the neck. Augment problems.
....
Not that it's your concern or you would care honestly.
*He gives a small chuckle at that. It's not often he does that nowadays- ahem, anyway. He stretches his arms upwards, bones popping back into place.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝.
*He goes quiet for a moment. Yeah, he wouldn't really care. This isn't even his timeline. He's always seen augments as something bad. Never understood why anyone would agree to get them. But he guesses that's just his perspective, and he'll never be in someone else's skin. So he won't truly understand.*
...𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩?
Pinata! So we meet again. Somewhere which isn't the bar hm?
Holden laughs and places a hand on his shoulder.
*He flinches a little and turns as if he's ready to strike, and honestly he would have punched Holden if he didn't have self control.*
𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧- 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐡𝐢. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭- 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.
Whoa, okay. Message received.
He slides half a step back, expression turning from smug to mildly concerned.
Didn't realize I was one shoulder tap away from becoming tonight’s cautionary tale.
*He sighs and dusts himself off, he looks even more tired than the last time Holden saw him, if that's even possible.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭- 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐮𝐝𝐞. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.
“You've always been on guard since the last time I saw you, what happened this time?”
Holden makes his way over to a bench, causally sitting against and gestured for Robert to sit next to him.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬… 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧… 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
*He thought about it for a moment, before deciding to sit down next to Holden.*
Do you not have anyone to help you? I assumed you would have made some friends with the time spent here.
He winced slightly as he rubbed his neck.
Ow, damn it.
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐟𝐮𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭- 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬.
*"Kind of" was a huge exaggeration, to be completely honest. Mecha Man looked at Holden and tilted his head.*
𝐍𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐬𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐲?
*...maybe he should leave the joking to someone else.*
Pinata! So we meet again. Somewhere which isn't the bar hm?
Holden laughs and places a hand on his shoulder.
*He flinches a little and turns as if he's ready to strike, and honestly he would have punched Holden if he didn't have self control.*
𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧- 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐡𝐢. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭- 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.
Whoa, okay. Message received.
He slides half a step back, expression turning from smug to mildly concerned.
Didn't realize I was one shoulder tap away from becoming tonight’s cautionary tale.
*He sighs and dusts himself off, he looks even more tired than the last time Holden saw him, if that's even possible.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭- 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐮𝐝𝐞. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.
“You've always been on guard since the last time I saw you, what happened this time?”
Holden makes his way over to a bench, causally sitting against and gestured for Robert to sit next to him.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬… 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧… 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
*He thought about it for a moment, before deciding to sit down next to Holden.*
Hey Mecha man how’s the babysitting going
𝐈'𝐦… 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐈'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐛𝐚𝐝- 𝐈 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞. 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧, 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲, 𝐬𝐨…
𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧.
Pinata! So we meet again. Somewhere which isn't the bar hm?
Holden laughs and places a hand on his shoulder.
*He flinches a little and turns as if he's ready to strike, and honestly he would have punched Holden if he didn't have self control.*
𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧- 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐡𝐢. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭- 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.
Whoa, okay. Message received.
He slides half a step back, expression turning from smug to mildly concerned.
Didn't realize I was one shoulder tap away from becoming tonight’s cautionary tale.
*He sighs and dusts himself off, he looks even more tired than the last time Holden saw him, if that's even possible.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭- 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐮𝐝𝐞. 𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝. 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲.
Pinata! So we meet again. Somewhere which isn't the bar hm?
Holden laughs and places a hand on his shoulder.
*He flinches a little and turns as if he's ready to strike, and honestly he would have punched Holden if he didn't have self control.*
𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧- 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐡𝐢. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭- 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.
(A continuation of this!)
*The man watched for reaction. He knew that sometimes people can act out when being told things they might not like, and he hoped this time would be different. He didn't want to have to calm Fiona down, or worse restrain her... don't look at him like this, he's seen it all! He's had civilians try to open his suit up and drag him out, he's had angry people try to destroy his suit, he's had... a lot done to him. He's been through a lot, but one can tell that much just by looking at him. This isn't about him though- he looked at Fiona, Beef panting happily in her arms as his little tail wagged. The little guy was just happy to be paid attention to. Mecha Man gave a nod at her words, not really much to say anymore. Perhaps he could show her the safe point view... maybe he was just looking for ways to kill time. Ways to have Fiona not be bored while in this world.*
*He stood up and walked over to the window of the apartment, making sure to stay behind the curtains and far enough from it that his person wouldn't be seen if anyone were to look at the building. His eyes fell on the kid in his house as he motioned for her to come closer.*
𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞?
@crimson-mantle
Fiona would smile down at the silly guy as she would feel his tail wagging against her. Silly little guy. Silly puppy, absolute baby behavior. Smol little guy. Fat potato. Happy little critter. She would look over as Mecha Man moved, standing a bit away from the window.. she would adjust her grip on the silly guy as she stood up, nuh uh, not putting the baby down, so she just pushed herself up. Look ma, no hands! That was a terrible joke- but look, she was just chilling right now, probably a little too calm in this situation.. but whatever. She followed his motion and went nearby the window to look outside, “Yeah, I’d like that.” Maybe a version of herself is still hiding out here, like a stubborn idiot. Or maybe other versions of her friends are around here.. well. More like ‘friend’, she can’t really say there’s many.. anyways.. it might be good to know if they’re safe, in that case. She wouldn’t mind giving a quick skim.
*The man looked over at the kid, making sure she could see what was going on in the safe point while also not being too visible to people who might be looking up. It was a little closed off space with people sitting around, a few buildings that have been turned into sleeping areas for way more people than they were intended to hold. Sleeping bag next to sleeping back, but at least they had somewhere to sleep instead of out in the cold. Currently, Invisigal was sitting in front of a small group of kids and seemingly telling them something, she was very animated with it too. Mecha Man couldn't help but sigh at the sight, her condition was not the best... And he wished he could do something to help her. But, right now, nothing can be done. He sometimes wondered what she was going to do if they managed to evacuate the city. If she was going to stay. She couldn't exactly use her powers... But he knew that if he even suggests she leaves, she'd take it personally and get offended. And stay anyway.*
It made her frown just a bit, to look at places that she recognize in her time, so different. So run down. It was really.. really odd. Though what really made her feel a bit bad, was not seeing som familiar faces. Her mom moved in this world, a while back, apparently, so maybe some people she knows have too? Though really the only person she’s close to, she’d say, is Eve. And she doesn’t see her here- or her white-haired brother. Would’ve thought at least Wysper would stand out in a crowd. Fiona for a moment, just looked down at everyone, then her gaze shifting to their shadows. Nope, nobody’s shadows were acting off or looking weird- safe to assume her shadowy-friend isn’t present here. Fiona would ask, not looking back at the man, simply assessing the area, “Are there other safe areas? Or.. just this one, around here?” It wouldn’t make sense for there to be only one, but also this is a trying time- so she wanted to verify. And maybe her friend would be there.
*He mostly was looking at the people in the safe zone, his mind wandering off to thoughts about evacuation for a brief moment- questions like when they were going to figure out how to do it, how dangerous it would be, would people even comply with them, how long would evacuating the entire city be, stuff like that. He shook it all off, having to remind himself that he has a bigger problem on his hands right now, the problem being a child from another dimension, and the fact that he needs to get them back before any harm comes to them. And in this world, it's almost guaranteed that someone will get hurt, so he'd rather have it done as quick as he possibly can to prevent harm. He glanced at Fiona when she asked the question,*
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞.
*He paused briefly before questioning,*
𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞?
“I assumed so.” Fiona awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, “I guess so? I mean.. I recognize some people. Like people I’ve seen around town or at school- but I don’t see my friend here.” Friend. Singular. Good lord she hoped that didn’t sound really fucking sad for her to say- she basically already told him she’s not got a home life, so he probably thinks she’s like- shitty at being social or something.
“She’s like, a year older than me. I met her in a class- I don’t see her, or her brother.. and her brother stands outside, he has white hair so it would be easy to spot him in a crowd.” Then again, Wysper might be being a stubborn bastard.. she doesn’t know much about him, but she’s seen him doing vigilante work a lot. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s out and about. “And I don’t see the shadows being odd either- I haven’t known her long, but it’s become apparent that her powers have to do with darkness of some sort, she isn’t quite sure- reeaalll late bloomer. Then again, being able to talk and move through shadows, she could be in goddamn Greece for all I know.” The teenager would huff lightheartedly near the end, and it wasn’t entirely untrue. She’s sure her friend has accidentally gone far places and been lost for a bit, at least at the start. Though it was a bit.. unsettling for her. Even if it isn’t her world, knowing her mother could be god knows where while she deals with this, and one of the few people she’s actually hung out with, isn’t to be seen? It’s concerning, “Even if she wouldn’t be like.. my friend and probably wouldn’t know this version of me, it.. you know. I’d still hope she’s okay.”
𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐡𝐮𝐡?
*He seemed interested, not judgey at all- in fact he kind of actually wanted to hear about her friend. Maybe it'll help her feel better in this environment. Maybe it'll keep her entertained until he can manage to get her back to her world. He listened carefully, about what her friend is like, about the brother, everything, really. He nods along to her words, making mental note of every part of the description.*
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲? 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟, 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐲.
*And he'd like to say he knows of a lot of things that happen around Torrence now. His team usually reports to him with any injuries. They haven't reported any fatalities yet. At least none that were civilians, so he has reason to believe that Fiona's friend is out there somewhere.*
“Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better.” Fiona smiled a bit as Mecha Man spoke the bit about checking other places. She scritched Beef behind the ear as she continued on, “If you do see her- her name’s Eve. She has like these glow-in-the-dark eyes and- I’m pretty sure she actually doesn’t need sleep? Shadows are usually odd around her.” She gave a small snicker as she recalled the next bit of information, “I think she can like- talk to them, or something. Which is crazy because she swears some of them are Shades- you know, basically dead people.”
Speaking of Eve.. for a moment her thoughts drifted to a way there could be a connection between timelines- she isn’t quite sure what specific set of actions led her to be in this timeline, but it made her wonder a bit, if any communication devices worked for her still. Technically, it shouldn’t be able to, since it wouldn’t be adapted to the differences of this world, if she tried, maybe it would just end up contacting someone completely random in this world.. though the program of her visors still functioned smoothly despite being in another dimension- yes, she made those, but maybe it means she can actually make contact. She should probably try that later, if she’s still stuck here.
*The man nodded. Beef's tail was wagging, the little guy was leaning into Fiona's hands. It seems like he hasn't been pet like this in a while. It makes sense, really, since his owner is... extremely busy lately. Perhaps this was a good thing, that she was there. She's bringing a new perspective to this entire thing and Beef needs the enrichment.*
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞, 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬...
*He doesn't want to sound like it was a possibility, but he still has no idea how people manage to get out of those places. They're guarded by heroes, most of the time. Though there is a chance that they could be sneaking past Golem's clones... But why would they even go outside? Can't they see they're protected in those places? Can't they see they're trying? It makes him feel something he can't describe, but he forces himself to push it deep down and bury it under every other negative thing that's happened.*
*He goes quiet at the mention of dead people. Could this mean that, if this Eve exists in his world, then she might... No, forget it. Don't think about it. You can't see her. You can't talk to her, stop it. She's gone.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝?
*When. Not if. When.*
“Yeah, that sounds good.. I mean, if I’m even here that long.” Not like she expects to be there too long. Then again, she didn’t expect to be there at all. Now that she thinks about it, it’s… oh fuck. She’s going to be missing school days. Good fucking god she does not think she’ll get excused for this. What the hell is she supposed to tell them, ‘yeah, I was sorta stuck in another dimension for a hot minute. Can I have a bit of extra time to make up work I missed?’
Huh. Even if she’s here multiple days, what the hell is she supposed to do? Just.. sit here? Not that she minds. There’s the silly baby here. Silly fat baby. Little chomker. Beefy little baybae. Silly bouy. Fluffy potato. “So… hypothetically, if I’m here more than just today. What uh… would I do?” She’s pretty sure there’s not much stuff to do in a dystopian town that’s overrun by power-amplified assholes and a guy who can predict things fairly accurately. That guy fucking sucks.
𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭.
*He meant it, he was going to find a way to send her back as soon as he possibly could. He wasn't going to make it his top priority, of course, he still had people to save, but there was going to be someone looking into other universes constantly and informing him on any progress. He knew there wasn't a lot of stuff about it, and that he couldn't spare a lot of time for it himself, but maybe somehow... someway it'll happen. And Fiona will be back home.*
*He paused at her question. What happens if she's here longer? He hasn't figured that part out yet. He wasn't sure what to say for a moment. He didn't really... take that into account. He was just so focused on getting her back home that he didn't consider that she might be stuck here for longer. God, she's still in school, isn't she?*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰... 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐠? 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟. 𝐀𝐧𝐝- 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?
“No, I can- probably figure out my school stuff.” Fiona would say dismissively, giving another glance out the window, before deciding to sit down again, still holding the silly baby. Chonky little fucker… funky pupper. Lil guy. What was she saying—- yes yes, she could figure out school stuff, totally… mhm mhm because she doesn’t want to admit how absolute ass she is with that sorta work. She will not admit that she can do complex calculations in her head, but the moment she’s put in front of a test paper or such, anxiety practically claws at her and she clams up, unable to do shit right. She has a just passing average in most stuff. But it’s not like she could even access her school work, honestly, unless devices like her phone still for some reason work.. she literally only had her gear and her phone on her, because she was out doing intel stuff when she got brought here. “So- aside from that I basically just.. sit here the whole time? Not that I mind. It’s what I do half the time at my own house anyways.”
𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞? 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐝, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝.
*It was meant to be lighthearted. He wasn't sure it came off that way. He sat down beside Fiona and took a good look at her. She... was very similar. To him. But she wasn't the same as him. He needed to remember that. And help her just like he helps everyone else. It was his responsibility now. Beef got comfortable on her lap and laid down, making a little yawn before deciding she was the perfect spot to nap on. Mecha Man smiled a little at that before focusing back on the main problem at hand.*
𝐔𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭- 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲. 𝐀𝐧𝐝- 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?
Fiona gave an awkward little laugh, her gaze shifting away as she’d awkwardly rub the back of her neck, “Really, I’m uh… I can handle school work. I mean. What other people have it memorized off the top of their head that you can calculate the amount of muzzle energy in a gun if you do the mental math of Grains x fps² divided by 450,240 to estimate the ft-lbs that allows the destructive potential of the object. Or I guess ‘KE’ equals 1/2 mv squared. Or that you can calculate your coordinates based simply on your sight and knowing what to look for, such as knowing your Zenith Distance which is equal to 90° minus your observed altitude, or ZD = 90° - H𝑜 then you would use your ZD to find your latitude by using that plus your declination— well I mean, unless you’re in the tropics and the sun is on the same side of the equator but closer to the pole, which would make it so you would need to use declination to subtract from ZD rather than adding to it, to find your latitude. And, um….” Okay she should probably stop rambling, she probably looks like an idiot- plus the guy probably already knows this stuff, right? He probably has it memorized as well, or such. “..Yeah- basically, uh.. I think I can handle school stuff. As long as I’m not like… in a crowded room, I’ll be good.”
Great. Now you probably look like an idiot. “And…. Yeah. I’m.. I’m fine staying here. I’m used to staying at home most of the time anyways.”
*The man sat there for a moment. He had to afmit, this was... impressive. Extremely so. He remembers being a teenager and being curious about the world too. Learning everything there was to stuff, wanting to do good in school and such. Wanting to do great things. Look where that got him. Either way, he had to take a moment to metaphorically pick his jaw up from the floor before speaking again.*
𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡. 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐎𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞- 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐦- 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞.
*At least that's how he's been charging his. Theough a power converter he'd built with the help of Royd that actually makes that possible. He's been letting the rest of the team charge theirs that way as well. The pulse has been powering the suit for many years now and doesn't seem to have even a dent in its power, so he figures it'll be fine. Most the city doesn't have access to electronics anymore, and he feels horrible being one of the only people who can use it. But it is how it is.*
*He frowned when he heard Fiona talk about being used to staying at home. Knowing Vitalia, she's not home a lot. He knows something about that. He wishes other kids didn't have to experience that.*
...𝐢𝐭'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
*At least she won't be completely alone, right?*
“I can probably figure it out- since it’s unlikely they shifted subjects suddenly when I was was gone.” Mmm yep she’s going back to giving the pupper attention so she can avoid eye contact like hell. She probably sounds SO fucking stupid right now it isn’t even funny. Though at the mention of her device, she’d pause from petting the little guy, brows furrowing in a moment of thought- of course it would make no sense for it to work here, since even if there might be different electrical signals and such to connect to that variate among timelines, hypothetically, it would still have nothing to actually allow messages between things… then again, it was impossible to imagine she’d even end up in another timeline. Not like it would kill her to try. She assumes, based on how Mecha Man and a few others most likely have some sort of form of communication such as a phone or other and those haven’t yet been intercepted by an outside force- it should be safe for her to attempt using hers. “I mean, I could see if my phone will work. Even if it’s highly unlikely.. since it doesn’t reasonably have anything that should allow it to work… it was also unlikely I’d end up here.”
So the girl would shift how she sat, the read fabric of her mantle shifting up as Fiona reached to a sort of pouch by her upper leg, since- well, she wanted to keep her items secure, so when she goes out, this is how she does it. Anyways, she slipped out the device, the cover was a simple one, no fancy designs or anything, just a black OtterBox case, a little bit of the outer parts of it clearly being a little roughed up, either by what she gets into, or just the time of how long she’s had it, yet not cared to customize. One hand was kept on the adorable dog’s head, giving light scritches, whilst the other simply pressed in her passcode which was… way too many digits. Well. Seems like it works?
“Guess even I can be surprised sometimes.” Fiona would joke softly, glancing over the screen at notifications she hadn’t seen, clearly meant it was still up-to-time sorta, since some of these seem to be within the last few minutes.. if she actually had her notifications-noises shit on, she would’ve felt or heard that shit earlier. Something from a news thing she follows, an update that her device is letting her know about, a few likes on a tumblr post of her dumbass leopard geckos or a comment she’s made analyzing something, some kinda promotion for that SDN-run adoption thing she’s seen around for strays, a few reminders she’s had set on her phone for a year and keep forgetting to fully get rid of, a text from an unknown number that’s probably spam or someone who really is trying to contact this ‘Micheal’ guy… and a message from a minute ago, the contact name being ‘giver of birth’ and some shitty picture she put onto that profile forever ago, the usual messages she gets at least once a week. A simple message saying that she hoped Fiona was doing well.. the girl just shook her head slightly, now looking more into things, seeing if apps and browsers worked or if it was just the visual, “All I really care about is if they’re actually posting the assignments on google classroom.. our sub’s been shit- I mean, they keep forgetting to update it.”
*He gave a small nod, at least she knows where they left off and such. He doubts she brought her notebooks with her on whatever walk she was taking though, so that might be a problem. And pens. He might have to figure out where to get those for her, maybe one of those supply stores hasn't been fully raided yet? Even then, who would take pens and notebooks at a time like this? Mecha Man looked at Beef, who was laying on Fiona's lap and wagging his tail with content. At least the little guy is happy right now. That's one good thing to come out of this situation. It'll do him some good to be around someone for a while.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲.
*Was this ideal? No, but when was anything ever? They just have to make do with what they have. If he had to guess, this whole getting transported to another universe thing was a pure accident, without any machinery or anything like that. Somehow, whatever time-space fabric got weird, maybe some wacky molecular structures or- however universe travel works, and maybe if they figure out what might have caused it, they might be able to create a solution for this... misplacement problem. He looked at her while she checked her device, and almost felt something like relief when he saw it seems to work. Even here, she has some contact with her original universe. That's good, that means there's a chance to bring her back there.*
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬. 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟. 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐈 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝? 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.
*He didn't want to give her false hope, but any sign of the phone still being connected to her original world could be great help in figuring out how to get her there.*
“No- no no, you don’t need to do that. Um. I’ll be good. Besides I’m better at just- doing things in my head.” Fiona would awkwardly brush it off, not like she needed to take up those things- since. Well. She can handle just this. “Besides I’m.. honestly, sort of terrible at pen-and paper. As long as my phone works- I think I’ll be good! Or I’ll just keep it in my head- I’m always better at storing things mentally- metaphorically, of course. I’m much better at just doing things internally. But thank you, for offering, I mean.” She really wasn’t the best at doing things on paper… especially not in the presence of others. It’s kind of pathetic, actually, how she has so many information in her head but she cannot do something in front of others without blanking or getting hella anxious. Hey, at least there is a silly pupper to focus on if things get a lil bit stressful.
See if any friends will respond.. yeah. Makes sense to try. Since it seems like everything isn’t making sense anyways on how this should not fucking work with literally having nothing it connects with in this world and such. She really only had one friend to talk to… so she went to Eve. She should tell her anyways, just in case she’s here a while. Her automatic feeders for her lizards will probably only go on for so long. Told Eve she had an issue… and Eve seemed decently calm?? Confirmed the time and all. “Seems like it’s the same time around there… and..” she squinted at her phone as if to make sure, “..okay she actually knows someone with time powers? Or.. timeline powers? Something like that?”
𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭… 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞, 𝐮𝐡…
*He looked around the almost empty apartment, not noticing anything that looks even remotely like a sleeping bag. He definitely remembers bringing it with him when he moved locations, why couldn't he see where it was now? He shook his head and walked into what seemed to be the bathroom of the tiny apartment, emerging a minute later carrying the sleeping bag.*
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐤𝐢𝐝. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.
*He handed Fiona the sleeping bag and sat down next to her, waiting for her to try and contact her friends. He tilts his head when he hears about the timeline powers friend. Perhaps this is what they can use to help them figure out all of this. Maybe.. maybe he can even find this friend here, too. That might help. Though he's not an expert on timelines, so he'd have to confirm that with the guy who actually has time powers.*
𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦? 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
Fiona took the sleeping bag and smiled, “Thanks, Mecha Man.” …damn that felt weird as fuck to say. Really odd to know she’s talking to him, even if it’s some alternate timeline shit. “Can’t believe she wouldn’t tell me about someone with time powers. Sounds cool as hell.” Fiona mumbled to herself, typing back something else, before making a small ‘oh’ noise. “..uh. Okay he’s apparently dead- a ghost? Let me see if…”
Fiona went to FaceTime Eve- to see if calling or anything else would work like this. May as well, even though just texting doesn’t make sense working- she has no clue how to rationalize with timelines. There was that little buzz once, twice, of when you’re waiting for someone to pick up the phone- screen was dark for a second, “Eve-?” And a LOUD fucking noise of something breaking(?) on the other end, immediately the phone was picked up by said girl. Light brown hair that faded to a much darker shade, the sight top of an ‘m’ being seen on her blue hoodie at this angle. The lights weren’t the brightest in her little ‘workshop’, so there could be a silver glow seen from her eyes.
Eve smiled all big, that’s just her usual, though. “hEYY hi. Sorry I like. Was testing something-“ “I HATE IT HERE.” “..If you hear shouting in the background, that’s Xan. Time guy. He’s fine.” There was the most vague person-shaped glow in the background, but Eve was completely ignoring it. Fiona just sorta. Awkwardly blinked and made a thumbs up. Whilst Eve continued, “So- timeline stuff?”
Fiona would look over at Mecha Man, then the call, before rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, “Yeah. Uh… help? Please”
*Mecha Man watched Fiona and waited patiently, sitting down next to her. He probably should be out there helping his team, but first he really needs to get to the bottom of this. It was strange, and he felt like it took priority right now. He just needed a little time to figure out how to send her back to her original timeline. The second Beef heard another person's voice coming from the device, he perked up from the teen's lap and sniffed the phone. His tail wagged as he barked twice at the noise, trying to locate the person speaking. It was like he didn't fully realize the phone was making the sounds.*
*The man sighed in relief when they managed to connect to another timeline. He almost wanted to get in the frame, but he needed to get Beef out of the camera first. He picked the dog up, and as the little guy was being lifted off frame Eve could see the little stub for a hind leg he has.*
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐲, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
*Once Beef was off camera, Mecha Man scooted over to sort of see what was going on. He looked at Fiona, sort of asking her if he can get into the view of her friend. It would probably be beneficial for him to be part of the conversation, but he just scolded his dog for appearing in the camera unannounced.*
Fiona smiled and laughed softly at the dog’s enthusiasm, “No it’s okay- ah- anyways. This is Eve. Mecha Man, is… Mecha Man.” It’s not like he needed an introduction, but- polite to give one… in this awkward situation.
Eve awed at Beef when he was in screen, “Oh my gods was that Beef-?”
And Fiona wasn’t going to even question how Eve knew what Mecha Man’s dog was called, “Yes? Focus, Evelynne. Alternate timeline, Shroud wasn’t beaten, LA’s gone to shit, and the red ring is running rampant. Significant damage to the structural integrity of the Torrence area and further, pulse hasn’t been taken, Mecha Man Blue has his newer suit, not the old extremely broken one, Trackstar still has the amulet in possession.” Fiona spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, growing serious as she explained the alternate timeline situation to her friend. Felt more like a report though- which it kind of was, but Fiona attempting to summarize things. “I have no way of telling how I got here or how long this shift is, if I’ll naturally go back or if we have to find a manual way to forge a connection.. and if we do find a connection-“
“-We have to keep it secure.” Eve added on with a nod, “No doubt it would be exploited if others got their hands onto it.”
“Exactly.”
*Mecha Man gave an awkward wave at the other girl, not entirely sure what to do here. He's never really had something like this happen before. Sure, he's... seen other versions of his team. Other versions of himself. But no one's ever been stuck in his timeline. And he'd rather not have it stick for long, since he has no clue what the Red Ring would do to Fiona if they found her. And he has no clue how much longer he can hide out here before they catch on.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟. 𝐇𝐨𝐰- 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐠??
*...actually he wasn't sure he wanted to know. And that really wasn't important right now. He watched the conversation, unsure whether to be impressed or worried. He settled on both.*
𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬- 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐅𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭- 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭.
*Others like maybe other versions of himself. They all seem to know each other, so he'd assume they can keep track of timeline things.*
“I’ve seen him at SDN.” Eve explained vaguely, then just kinda looked at her phone, then away, rubbing the back of her neck as she spoke, “Well…I don’t know anything about time-stuff- I think I’ve unintentionally timeline..hopped? I guess? Like I meet alternate versions of people, but it’s usually not that different.”
Fiona gave the screen a halfhearted glare, the fuck you mean her friend has been in other timelines?? SHE DIDNT TELL HER? Eehhh they can talk about this later. Another time. She just gently shook her head.. that’s likely what happened, the random thing, since she didn’t actively try to get here- wasn’t even aware at all.. though having multiple people randomly potentially misplaced sounds like a whole other problem in itself as well.. “So… is there any way to.. calculate how often these instances occur?” It would be convenient if there was a way to calculate it. Because then she’d have a good chance of finding it out on her own, a place or a time- she was good at calculating. If it had a mathematical reason instead of just pure randomness, she wouldn’t need much more info.. probably.
Eve shrugged, looking back at Xan on her side, who made a loud huff, his ghostly form now closer to the camera, “I don’t know how any of this shit works, man. I can feel when timelines get messed up, I’m not sure how to actively do that shit.” He was one tired goddamn ghost. He did feel kinda bad that he couldn’t do shit, but also. He can’t do really anything especially while literally being a ghost. “Guess you gotta wait until like. Some random shit fixes itself- and I hope it does soon, it’s giving me a fucking headache… sorry, can’t do much. Unless I like. Spontaneously find out.”
*The man simply listens, knowing that there truly isn't much more for him to do. He's never had to deal with a misplaced teenager. He was hoping this might help, honestly, hoping for any advice at all. He was going to take anything, and he means literally anything, that might give them even a sliver of a hint about what to do about this. The longer Fiona stays here, the higher the chance of something bad happening to her. And he... really would rather avoid anything of that sort.*
*He let out a sigh when he heard there was nothing they could do but wait, since time was never on his side in situations like these. He wondered what he would have to do to protect Fiona, because he knew just havinf her stay in this place wasn't enough. He knew he couldn't make it too obvious that there's something happening or someone important to him, because then they would definitely find her and he certainly does not want that.*
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐖𝐞- 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲.
*At least now they know a connection is possible. If they follow that lead, maybe they'll be able to send Fiona back.*
Fiona didn’t quite mind- well. She kinda did, but, this was also a very fascinating situation. She would be lying to say this wasn’t intriguing, this is a variable she’s.. pretty sure nobody would think of. Guess temporal travel is possible, and that it seems to be randomized on who it disturbs, and perhaps where it goes.. the blue eyed girl makes a hum as she glances aside, this would be odd, it is concerning all things considered, essentially being in a dystopian world for a bit, but.. truly, she cannot help with being fascinated. What were the parallels? Was everything purely the same aside from the one instance, or was it not? Things like her mother having left work years ago, that was different- small factors, small factors, yes, but it makes her wonder just what else could be different, and how it plays out.
She likely won’t stay here- she doubts it would be safe or reasonable, both seeing as the fact that people would likely notice if another was trailing behind Mecha man, even if far away, and the idea that perhaps someone had seen her, seen them- it’s not entirely unknown, after all, who knows what powers people might have in this red ring had they didn’t in the other. It was unlikely the event of her being here was red-ring induced- but low, doesn’t equal 0, she’s been here for probably less than even an hour.. things won’t go wrong immediately, of course, at least in relation to her. But there’s no knowing about what could happen surrounding her- the safe zone she peaked into, no doubt of it’s been established for a good while, it’s got eyes on it, or is in jeopardy of such. Just her thinking, but if she was on the other end? She could give wiggle room, a few months perhaps, keeping others dispersed while collecting information to keep it unknown, let the other side think it was safe. Let them have a small sigh of relief. Even if it seemed like it was hard to allow anyone a sense of safety here, perhaps it was possible… or perhaps Fiona was overthinking. It’s not like she knows how Shroud or the red ring think, especially since this shroud had.. different variables. He has different ground, likely different workers, different data points he can bounce off of.. hm. She shouldn’t count on her own thoughts with this- she was inexperienced with this- not like she knew anything about her world’s shroud, but- at least she knew the data points. Here, you may as well have taken her diagram and body slammed it into the ground, leaving her to piece things together. Fiona shook off the thoughts, just smiling at her friend through the phone, “Yeah, thanks for your help Eve and…?”
“Xan. Don’t bother looking me up, I died 8 years ago, doubt you’ll find much.” Fiona chuckled softly at that, awkwardly looking away- of course, she figured that was a joke at her researching habits, thinking all too much- likely the ghost knew from Eve of that.
“Oh- and- Eve. Can you- check on my lizards maybe? I’ll give you the garage code to get in since I can’t exactly give you a key…” Fiona trailed off, “..I have automatic feeders but. They probably won’t last that long- and I don’t trust Robert not to kill himself. He does weird ass flips when people hold him.”
Eve just smiled at her friend, “No problem. If not I can always just- Lios do NOT TOUCH THAT-“ Eve sighed as something happened out of the camera happens with a loud ‘clunk’, rubbing her brow as she murmured, “..that fucking owl hates me.”
*He didn't know what to do, honestly. There truly wasn't much- he was just as clueless as everyone else. And he hated it. He hated not being able to solve this problem. Usually he doesn't have to deal with things that are this difficult. Or dangerous for other timelines. But that might be because he's never had to deal with timeline threats before. He wasn't even surprised at anything the ghost was saying, just made sure his mask was on properly, as in nothing was sticking out where it shouldn't, because honestly there wasn't much for him to do. No one had any idea about what exactly happened or how to fix it, so he supposed they'd just have to wait for it to fix itself.*
*He kind of glanced at Fiona when she said the name- while yes he doesn't really use that name anymore, he's still responded to it for well over 30 years of his life. It held some value, he's just stopped recognizing it as his at the first moment of it being called out at one point. He decided not to make it look weird and held Beef closer. That's when the noise came from the phone and the dog barked and got up to try and see where it was coming from, to which Mecha Man put his hand over the dog's muzzle and in a panicked tone told him to quiet down.*
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟- 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞-
(My font website decided to not cooperate with me lately on my phone which means I'll have to switch to a funky keyboard app I have. And that's not a very comfortable experience for me personally because the letters and punctuation is all jumbled up when I use it, so if replies/posts come slow that's why.)
(A continuation of this!)
*The man watched for reaction. He knew that sometimes people can act out when being told things they might not like, and he hoped this time would be different. He didn't want to have to calm Fiona down, or worse restrain her... don't look at him like this, he's seen it all! He's had civilians try to open his suit up and drag him out, he's had angry people try to destroy his suit, he's had... a lot done to him. He's been through a lot, but one can tell that much just by looking at him. This isn't about him though- he looked at Fiona, Beef panting happily in her arms as his little tail wagged. The little guy was just happy to be paid attention to. Mecha Man gave a nod at her words, not really much to say anymore. Perhaps he could show her the safe point view... maybe he was just looking for ways to kill time. Ways to have Fiona not be bored while in this world.*
*He stood up and walked over to the window of the apartment, making sure to stay behind the curtains and far enough from it that his person wouldn't be seen if anyone were to look at the building. His eyes fell on the kid in his house as he motioned for her to come closer.*
𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞?
@crimson-mantle
Fiona would smile down at the silly guy as she would feel his tail wagging against her. Silly little guy. Silly puppy, absolute baby behavior. Smol little guy. Fat potato. Happy little critter. She would look over as Mecha Man moved, standing a bit away from the window.. she would adjust her grip on the silly guy as she stood up, nuh uh, not putting the baby down, so she just pushed herself up. Look ma, no hands! That was a terrible joke- but look, she was just chilling right now, probably a little too calm in this situation.. but whatever. She followed his motion and went nearby the window to look outside, “Yeah, I’d like that.” Maybe a version of herself is still hiding out here, like a stubborn idiot. Or maybe other versions of her friends are around here.. well. More like ‘friend’, she can’t really say there’s many.. anyways.. it might be good to know if they’re safe, in that case. She wouldn’t mind giving a quick skim.
*The man looked over at the kid, making sure she could see what was going on in the safe point while also not being too visible to people who might be looking up. It was a little closed off space with people sitting around, a few buildings that have been turned into sleeping areas for way more people than they were intended to hold. Sleeping bag next to sleeping back, but at least they had somewhere to sleep instead of out in the cold. Currently, Invisigal was sitting in front of a small group of kids and seemingly telling them something, she was very animated with it too. Mecha Man couldn't help but sigh at the sight, her condition was not the best... And he wished he could do something to help her. But, right now, nothing can be done. He sometimes wondered what she was going to do if they managed to evacuate the city. If she was going to stay. She couldn't exactly use her powers... But he knew that if he even suggests she leaves, she'd take it personally and get offended. And stay anyway.*
It made her frown just a bit, to look at places that she recognize in her time, so different. So run down. It was really.. really odd. Though what really made her feel a bit bad, was not seeing som familiar faces. Her mom moved in this world, a while back, apparently, so maybe some people she knows have too? Though really the only person she’s close to, she’d say, is Eve. And she doesn’t see her here- or her white-haired brother. Would’ve thought at least Wysper would stand out in a crowd. Fiona for a moment, just looked down at everyone, then her gaze shifting to their shadows. Nope, nobody’s shadows were acting off or looking weird- safe to assume her shadowy-friend isn’t present here. Fiona would ask, not looking back at the man, simply assessing the area, “Are there other safe areas? Or.. just this one, around here?” It wouldn’t make sense for there to be only one, but also this is a trying time- so she wanted to verify. And maybe her friend would be there.
*He mostly was looking at the people in the safe zone, his mind wandering off to thoughts about evacuation for a brief moment- questions like when they were going to figure out how to do it, how dangerous it would be, would people even comply with them, how long would evacuating the entire city be, stuff like that. He shook it all off, having to remind himself that he has a bigger problem on his hands right now, the problem being a child from another dimension, and the fact that he needs to get them back before any harm comes to them. And in this world, it's almost guaranteed that someone will get hurt, so he'd rather have it done as quick as he possibly can to prevent harm. He glanced at Fiona when she asked the question,*
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞.
*He paused briefly before questioning,*
𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞?
“I assumed so.” Fiona awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, “I guess so? I mean.. I recognize some people. Like people I’ve seen around town or at school- but I don’t see my friend here.” Friend. Singular. Good lord she hoped that didn’t sound really fucking sad for her to say- she basically already told him she’s not got a home life, so he probably thinks she’s like- shitty at being social or something.
“She’s like, a year older than me. I met her in a class- I don’t see her, or her brother.. and her brother stands outside, he has white hair so it would be easy to spot him in a crowd.” Then again, Wysper might be being a stubborn bastard.. she doesn’t know much about him, but she’s seen him doing vigilante work a lot. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s out and about. “And I don’t see the shadows being odd either- I haven’t known her long, but it’s become apparent that her powers have to do with darkness of some sort, she isn’t quite sure- reeaalll late bloomer. Then again, being able to talk and move through shadows, she could be in goddamn Greece for all I know.” The teenager would huff lightheartedly near the end, and it wasn’t entirely untrue. She’s sure her friend has accidentally gone far places and been lost for a bit, at least at the start. Though it was a bit.. unsettling for her. Even if it isn’t her world, knowing her mother could be god knows where while she deals with this, and one of the few people she’s actually hung out with, isn’t to be seen? It’s concerning, “Even if she wouldn’t be like.. my friend and probably wouldn’t know this version of me, it.. you know. I’d still hope she’s okay.”
𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐡𝐮𝐡?
*He seemed interested, not judgey at all- in fact he kind of actually wanted to hear about her friend. Maybe it'll help her feel better in this environment. Maybe it'll keep her entertained until he can manage to get her back to her world. He listened carefully, about what her friend is like, about the brother, everything, really. He nods along to her words, making mental note of every part of the description.*
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲? 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟, 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐲.
*And he'd like to say he knows of a lot of things that happen around Torrence now. His team usually reports to him with any injuries. They haven't reported any fatalities yet. At least none that were civilians, so he has reason to believe that Fiona's friend is out there somewhere.*
“Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better.” Fiona smiled a bit as Mecha Man spoke the bit about checking other places. She scritched Beef behind the ear as she continued on, “If you do see her- her name’s Eve. She has like these glow-in-the-dark eyes and- I’m pretty sure she actually doesn’t need sleep? Shadows are usually odd around her.” She gave a small snicker as she recalled the next bit of information, “I think she can like- talk to them, or something. Which is crazy because she swears some of them are Shades- you know, basically dead people.”
Speaking of Eve.. for a moment her thoughts drifted to a way there could be a connection between timelines- she isn’t quite sure what specific set of actions led her to be in this timeline, but it made her wonder a bit, if any communication devices worked for her still. Technically, it shouldn’t be able to, since it wouldn’t be adapted to the differences of this world, if she tried, maybe it would just end up contacting someone completely random in this world.. though the program of her visors still functioned smoothly despite being in another dimension- yes, she made those, but maybe it means she can actually make contact. She should probably try that later, if she’s still stuck here.
*The man nodded. Beef's tail was wagging, the little guy was leaning into Fiona's hands. It seems like he hasn't been pet like this in a while. It makes sense, really, since his owner is... extremely busy lately. Perhaps this was a good thing, that she was there. She's bringing a new perspective to this entire thing and Beef needs the enrichment.*
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞, 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬...
*He doesn't want to sound like it was a possibility, but he still has no idea how people manage to get out of those places. They're guarded by heroes, most of the time. Though there is a chance that they could be sneaking past Golem's clones... But why would they even go outside? Can't they see they're protected in those places? Can't they see they're trying? It makes him feel something he can't describe, but he forces himself to push it deep down and bury it under every other negative thing that's happened.*
*He goes quiet at the mention of dead people. Could this mean that, if this Eve exists in his world, then she might... No, forget it. Don't think about it. You can't see her. You can't talk to her, stop it. She's gone.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝?
*When. Not if. When.*
“Yeah, that sounds good.. I mean, if I’m even here that long.” Not like she expects to be there too long. Then again, she didn’t expect to be there at all. Now that she thinks about it, it’s… oh fuck. She’s going to be missing school days. Good fucking god she does not think she’ll get excused for this. What the hell is she supposed to tell them, ‘yeah, I was sorta stuck in another dimension for a hot minute. Can I have a bit of extra time to make up work I missed?’
Huh. Even if she’s here multiple days, what the hell is she supposed to do? Just.. sit here? Not that she minds. There’s the silly baby here. Silly fat baby. Little chomker. Beefy little baybae. Silly bouy. Fluffy potato. “So… hypothetically, if I’m here more than just today. What uh… would I do?” She’s pretty sure there’s not much stuff to do in a dystopian town that’s overrun by power-amplified assholes and a guy who can predict things fairly accurately. That guy fucking sucks.
𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭.
*He meant it, he was going to find a way to send her back as soon as he possibly could. He wasn't going to make it his top priority, of course, he still had people to save, but there was going to be someone looking into other universes constantly and informing him on any progress. He knew there wasn't a lot of stuff about it, and that he couldn't spare a lot of time for it himself, but maybe somehow... someway it'll happen. And Fiona will be back home.*
*He paused at her question. What happens if she's here longer? He hasn't figured that part out yet. He wasn't sure what to say for a moment. He didn't really... take that into account. He was just so focused on getting her back home that he didn't consider that she might be stuck here for longer. God, she's still in school, isn't she?*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰... 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐠? 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟. 𝐀𝐧𝐝- 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?
“No, I can- probably figure out my school stuff.” Fiona would say dismissively, giving another glance out the window, before deciding to sit down again, still holding the silly baby. Chonky little fucker… funky pupper. Lil guy. What was she saying—- yes yes, she could figure out school stuff, totally… mhm mhm because she doesn’t want to admit how absolute ass she is with that sorta work. She will not admit that she can do complex calculations in her head, but the moment she’s put in front of a test paper or such, anxiety practically claws at her and she clams up, unable to do shit right. She has a just passing average in most stuff. But it’s not like she could even access her school work, honestly, unless devices like her phone still for some reason work.. she literally only had her gear and her phone on her, because she was out doing intel stuff when she got brought here. “So- aside from that I basically just.. sit here the whole time? Not that I mind. It’s what I do half the time at my own house anyways.”
𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞? 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐝, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝.
*It was meant to be lighthearted. He wasn't sure it came off that way. He sat down beside Fiona and took a good look at her. She... was very similar. To him. But she wasn't the same as him. He needed to remember that. And help her just like he helps everyone else. It was his responsibility now. Beef got comfortable on her lap and laid down, making a little yawn before deciding she was the perfect spot to nap on. Mecha Man smiled a little at that before focusing back on the main problem at hand.*
𝐔𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭- 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲. 𝐀𝐧𝐝- 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?
Fiona gave an awkward little laugh, her gaze shifting away as she’d awkwardly rub the back of her neck, “Really, I’m uh… I can handle school work. I mean. What other people have it memorized off the top of their head that you can calculate the amount of muzzle energy in a gun if you do the mental math of Grains x fps² divided by 450,240 to estimate the ft-lbs that allows the destructive potential of the object. Or I guess ‘KE’ equals 1/2 mv squared. Or that you can calculate your coordinates based simply on your sight and knowing what to look for, such as knowing your Zenith Distance which is equal to 90° minus your observed altitude, or ZD = 90° - H𝑜 then you would use your ZD to find your latitude by using that plus your declination— well I mean, unless you’re in the tropics and the sun is on the same side of the equator but closer to the pole, which would make it so you would need to use declination to subtract from ZD rather than adding to it, to find your latitude. And, um….” Okay she should probably stop rambling, she probably looks like an idiot- plus the guy probably already knows this stuff, right? He probably has it memorized as well, or such. “..Yeah- basically, uh.. I think I can handle school stuff. As long as I’m not like… in a crowded room, I’ll be good.”
Great. Now you probably look like an idiot. “And…. Yeah. I’m.. I’m fine staying here. I’m used to staying at home most of the time anyways.”
*The man sat there for a moment. He had to afmit, this was... impressive. Extremely so. He remembers being a teenager and being curious about the world too. Learning everything there was to stuff, wanting to do good in school and such. Wanting to do great things. Look where that got him. Either way, he had to take a moment to metaphorically pick his jaw up from the floor before speaking again.*
𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡. 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐎𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞- 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐦- 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞.
*At least that's how he's been charging his. Theough a power converter he'd built with the help of Royd that actually makes that possible. He's been letting the rest of the team charge theirs that way as well. The pulse has been powering the suit for many years now and doesn't seem to have even a dent in its power, so he figures it'll be fine. Most the city doesn't have access to electronics anymore, and he feels horrible being one of the only people who can use it. But it is how it is.*
*He frowned when he heard Fiona talk about being used to staying at home. Knowing Vitalia, she's not home a lot. He knows something about that. He wishes other kids didn't have to experience that.*
...𝐢𝐭'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
*At least she won't be completely alone, right?*
“I can probably figure it out- since it’s unlikely they shifted subjects suddenly when I was was gone.” Mmm yep she’s going back to giving the pupper attention so she can avoid eye contact like hell. She probably sounds SO fucking stupid right now it isn’t even funny. Though at the mention of her device, she’d pause from petting the little guy, brows furrowing in a moment of thought- of course it would make no sense for it to work here, since even if there might be different electrical signals and such to connect to that variate among timelines, hypothetically, it would still have nothing to actually allow messages between things… then again, it was impossible to imagine she’d even end up in another timeline. Not like it would kill her to try. She assumes, based on how Mecha Man and a few others most likely have some sort of form of communication such as a phone or other and those haven’t yet been intercepted by an outside force- it should be safe for her to attempt using hers. “I mean, I could see if my phone will work. Even if it’s highly unlikely.. since it doesn’t reasonably have anything that should allow it to work… it was also unlikely I’d end up here.”
So the girl would shift how she sat, the read fabric of her mantle shifting up as Fiona reached to a sort of pouch by her upper leg, since- well, she wanted to keep her items secure, so when she goes out, this is how she does it. Anyways, she slipped out the device, the cover was a simple one, no fancy designs or anything, just a black OtterBox case, a little bit of the outer parts of it clearly being a little roughed up, either by what she gets into, or just the time of how long she’s had it, yet not cared to customize. One hand was kept on the adorable dog’s head, giving light scritches, whilst the other simply pressed in her passcode which was… way too many digits. Well. Seems like it works?
“Guess even I can be surprised sometimes.” Fiona would joke softly, glancing over the screen at notifications she hadn’t seen, clearly meant it was still up-to-time sorta, since some of these seem to be within the last few minutes.. if she actually had her notifications-noises shit on, she would’ve felt or heard that shit earlier. Something from a news thing she follows, an update that her device is letting her know about, a few likes on a tumblr post of her dumbass leopard geckos or a comment she’s made analyzing something, some kinda promotion for that SDN-run adoption thing she’s seen around for strays, a few reminders she’s had set on her phone for a year and keep forgetting to fully get rid of, a text from an unknown number that’s probably spam or someone who really is trying to contact this ‘Micheal’ guy… and a message from a minute ago, the contact name being ‘giver of birth’ and some shitty picture she put onto that profile forever ago, the usual messages she gets at least once a week. A simple message saying that she hoped Fiona was doing well.. the girl just shook her head slightly, now looking more into things, seeing if apps and browsers worked or if it was just the visual, “All I really care about is if they’re actually posting the assignments on google classroom.. our sub’s been shit- I mean, they keep forgetting to update it.”
*He gave a small nod, at least she knows where they left off and such. He doubts she brought her notebooks with her on whatever walk she was taking though, so that might be a problem. And pens. He might have to figure out where to get those for her, maybe one of those supply stores hasn't been fully raided yet? Even then, who would take pens and notebooks at a time like this? Mecha Man looked at Beef, who was laying on Fiona's lap and wagging his tail with content. At least the little guy is happy right now. That's one good thing to come out of this situation. It'll do him some good to be around someone for a while.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲.
*Was this ideal? No, but when was anything ever? They just have to make do with what they have. If he had to guess, this whole getting transported to another universe thing was a pure accident, without any machinery or anything like that. Somehow, whatever time-space fabric got weird, maybe some wacky molecular structures or- however universe travel works, and maybe if they figure out what might have caused it, they might be able to create a solution for this... misplacement problem. He looked at her while she checked her device, and almost felt something like relief when he saw it seems to work. Even here, she has some contact with her original universe. That's good, that means there's a chance to bring her back there.*
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬. 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟. 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐈 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝? 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.
*He didn't want to give her false hope, but any sign of the phone still being connected to her original world could be great help in figuring out how to get her there.*
“No- no no, you don’t need to do that. Um. I’ll be good. Besides I’m better at just- doing things in my head.” Fiona would awkwardly brush it off, not like she needed to take up those things- since. Well. She can handle just this. “Besides I’m.. honestly, sort of terrible at pen-and paper. As long as my phone works- I think I’ll be good! Or I’ll just keep it in my head- I’m always better at storing things mentally- metaphorically, of course. I’m much better at just doing things internally. But thank you, for offering, I mean.” She really wasn’t the best at doing things on paper… especially not in the presence of others. It’s kind of pathetic, actually, how she has so many information in her head but she cannot do something in front of others without blanking or getting hella anxious. Hey, at least there is a silly pupper to focus on if things get a lil bit stressful.
See if any friends will respond.. yeah. Makes sense to try. Since it seems like everything isn’t making sense anyways on how this should not fucking work with literally having nothing it connects with in this world and such. She really only had one friend to talk to… so she went to Eve. She should tell her anyways, just in case she’s here a while. Her automatic feeders for her lizards will probably only go on for so long. Told Eve she had an issue… and Eve seemed decently calm?? Confirmed the time and all. “Seems like it’s the same time around there… and..” she squinted at her phone as if to make sure, “..okay she actually knows someone with time powers? Or.. timeline powers? Something like that?”
𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭… 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞, 𝐮𝐡…
*He looked around the almost empty apartment, not noticing anything that looks even remotely like a sleeping bag. He definitely remembers bringing it with him when he moved locations, why couldn't he see where it was now? He shook his head and walked into what seemed to be the bathroom of the tiny apartment, emerging a minute later carrying the sleeping bag.*
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐤𝐢𝐝. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.
*He handed Fiona the sleeping bag and sat down next to her, waiting for her to try and contact her friends. He tilts his head when he hears about the timeline powers friend. Perhaps this is what they can use to help them figure out all of this. Maybe.. maybe he can even find this friend here, too. That might help. Though he's not an expert on timelines, so he'd have to confirm that with the guy who actually has time powers.*
𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦? 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
Fiona took the sleeping bag and smiled, “Thanks, Mecha Man.” …damn that felt weird as fuck to say. Really odd to know she’s talking to him, even if it’s some alternate timeline shit. “Can’t believe she wouldn’t tell me about someone with time powers. Sounds cool as hell.” Fiona mumbled to herself, typing back something else, before making a small ‘oh’ noise. “..uh. Okay he’s apparently dead- a ghost? Let me see if…”
Fiona went to FaceTime Eve- to see if calling or anything else would work like this. May as well, even though just texting doesn’t make sense working- she has no clue how to rationalize with timelines. There was that little buzz once, twice, of when you’re waiting for someone to pick up the phone- screen was dark for a second, “Eve-?” And a LOUD fucking noise of something breaking(?) on the other end, immediately the phone was picked up by said girl. Light brown hair that faded to a much darker shade, the sight top of an ‘m’ being seen on her blue hoodie at this angle. The lights weren’t the brightest in her little ‘workshop’, so there could be a silver glow seen from her eyes.
Eve smiled all big, that’s just her usual, though. “hEYY hi. Sorry I like. Was testing something-“ “I HATE IT HERE.” “..If you hear shouting in the background, that’s Xan. Time guy. He’s fine.” There was the most vague person-shaped glow in the background, but Eve was completely ignoring it. Fiona just sorta. Awkwardly blinked and made a thumbs up. Whilst Eve continued, “So- timeline stuff?”
Fiona would look over at Mecha Man, then the call, before rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, “Yeah. Uh… help? Please”
*Mecha Man watched Fiona and waited patiently, sitting down next to her. He probably should be out there helping his team, but first he really needs to get to the bottom of this. It was strange, and he felt like it took priority right now. He just needed a little time to figure out how to send her back to her original timeline. The second Beef heard another person's voice coming from the device, he perked up from the teen's lap and sniffed the phone. His tail wagged as he barked twice at the noise, trying to locate the person speaking. It was like he didn't fully realize the phone was making the sounds.*
*The man sighed in relief when they managed to connect to another timeline. He almost wanted to get in the frame, but he needed to get Beef out of the camera first. He picked the dog up, and as the little guy was being lifted off frame Eve could see the little stub for a hind leg he has.*
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐲, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
*Once Beef was off camera, Mecha Man scooted over to sort of see what was going on. He looked at Fiona, sort of asking her if he can get into the view of her friend. It would probably be beneficial for him to be part of the conversation, but he just scolded his dog for appearing in the camera unannounced.*
Fiona smiled and laughed softly at the dog’s enthusiasm, “No it’s okay- ah- anyways. This is Eve. Mecha Man, is… Mecha Man.” It’s not like he needed an introduction, but- polite to give one… in this awkward situation.
Eve awed at Beef when he was in screen, “Oh my gods was that Beef-?”
And Fiona wasn’t going to even question how Eve knew what Mecha Man’s dog was called, “Yes? Focus, Evelynne. Alternate timeline, Shroud wasn’t beaten, LA’s gone to shit, and the red ring is running rampant. Significant damage to the structural integrity of the Torrence area and further, pulse hasn’t been taken, Mecha Man Blue has his newer suit, not the old extremely broken one, Trackstar still has the amulet in possession.” Fiona spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, growing serious as she explained the alternate timeline situation to her friend. Felt more like a report though- which it kind of was, but Fiona attempting to summarize things. “I have no way of telling how I got here or how long this shift is, if I’ll naturally go back or if we have to find a manual way to forge a connection.. and if we do find a connection-“
“-We have to keep it secure.” Eve added on with a nod, “No doubt it would be exploited if others got their hands onto it.”
“Exactly.”
*Mecha Man gave an awkward wave at the other girl, not entirely sure what to do here. He's never really had something like this happen before. Sure, he's... seen other versions of his team. Other versions of himself. But no one's ever been stuck in his timeline. And he'd rather not have it stick for long, since he has no clue what the Red Ring would do to Fiona if they found her. And he has no clue how much longer he can hide out here before they catch on.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟. 𝐇𝐨𝐰- 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐠??
*...actually he wasn't sure he wanted to know. And that really wasn't important right now. He watched the conversation, unsure whether to be impressed or worried. He settled on both.*
𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬- 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐅𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭- 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭.
*Others like maybe other versions of himself. They all seem to know each other, so he'd assume they can keep track of timeline things.*
“I’ve seen him at SDN.” Eve explained vaguely, then just kinda looked at her phone, then away, rubbing the back of her neck as she spoke, “Well…I don’t know anything about time-stuff- I think I’ve unintentionally timeline..hopped? I guess? Like I meet alternate versions of people, but it’s usually not that different.”
Fiona gave the screen a halfhearted glare, the fuck you mean her friend has been in other timelines?? SHE DIDNT TELL HER? Eehhh they can talk about this later. Another time. She just gently shook her head.. that’s likely what happened, the random thing, since she didn’t actively try to get here- wasn’t even aware at all.. though having multiple people randomly potentially misplaced sounds like a whole other problem in itself as well.. “So… is there any way to.. calculate how often these instances occur?” It would be convenient if there was a way to calculate it. Because then she’d have a good chance of finding it out on her own, a place or a time- she was good at calculating. If it had a mathematical reason instead of just pure randomness, she wouldn’t need much more info.. probably.
Eve shrugged, looking back at Xan on her side, who made a loud huff, his ghostly form now closer to the camera, “I don’t know how any of this shit works, man. I can feel when timelines get messed up, I’m not sure how to actively do that shit.” He was one tired goddamn ghost. He did feel kinda bad that he couldn’t do shit, but also. He can’t do really anything especially while literally being a ghost. “Guess you gotta wait until like. Some random shit fixes itself- and I hope it does soon, it’s giving me a fucking headache… sorry, can’t do much. Unless I like. Spontaneously find out.”
*The man simply listens, knowing that there truly isn't much more for him to do. He's never had to deal with a misplaced teenager. He was hoping this might help, honestly, hoping for any advice at all. He was going to take anything, and he means literally anything, that might give them even a sliver of a hint about what to do about this. The longer Fiona stays here, the higher the chance of something bad happening to her. And he... really would rather avoid anything of that sort.*
*He let out a sigh when he heard there was nothing they could do but wait, since time was never on his side in situations like these. He wondered what he would have to do to protect Fiona, because he knew just havinf her stay in this place wasn't enough. He knew he couldn't make it too obvious that there's something happening or someone important to him, because then they would definitely find her and he certainly does not want that.*
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲. 𝐖𝐞- 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲.
*At least now they know a connection is possible. If they follow that lead, maybe they'll be able to send Fiona back.*
(A continuation of this!)
*The man watched for reaction. He knew that sometimes people can act out when being told things they might not like, and he hoped this time would be different. He didn't want to have to calm Fiona down, or worse restrain her... don't look at him like this, he's seen it all! He's had civilians try to open his suit up and drag him out, he's had angry people try to destroy his suit, he's had... a lot done to him. He's been through a lot, but one can tell that much just by looking at him. This isn't about him though- he looked at Fiona, Beef panting happily in her arms as his little tail wagged. The little guy was just happy to be paid attention to. Mecha Man gave a nod at her words, not really much to say anymore. Perhaps he could show her the safe point view... maybe he was just looking for ways to kill time. Ways to have Fiona not be bored while in this world.*
*He stood up and walked over to the window of the apartment, making sure to stay behind the curtains and far enough from it that his person wouldn't be seen if anyone were to look at the building. His eyes fell on the kid in his house as he motioned for her to come closer.*
𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞?
@crimson-mantle
Fiona would smile down at the silly guy as she would feel his tail wagging against her. Silly little guy. Silly puppy, absolute baby behavior. Smol little guy. Fat potato. Happy little critter. She would look over as Mecha Man moved, standing a bit away from the window.. she would adjust her grip on the silly guy as she stood up, nuh uh, not putting the baby down, so she just pushed herself up. Look ma, no hands! That was a terrible joke- but look, she was just chilling right now, probably a little too calm in this situation.. but whatever. She followed his motion and went nearby the window to look outside, “Yeah, I’d like that.” Maybe a version of herself is still hiding out here, like a stubborn idiot. Or maybe other versions of her friends are around here.. well. More like ‘friend’, she can’t really say there’s many.. anyways.. it might be good to know if they’re safe, in that case. She wouldn’t mind giving a quick skim.
*The man looked over at the kid, making sure she could see what was going on in the safe point while also not being too visible to people who might be looking up. It was a little closed off space with people sitting around, a few buildings that have been turned into sleeping areas for way more people than they were intended to hold. Sleeping bag next to sleeping back, but at least they had somewhere to sleep instead of out in the cold. Currently, Invisigal was sitting in front of a small group of kids and seemingly telling them something, she was very animated with it too. Mecha Man couldn't help but sigh at the sight, her condition was not the best... And he wished he could do something to help her. But, right now, nothing can be done. He sometimes wondered what she was going to do if they managed to evacuate the city. If she was going to stay. She couldn't exactly use her powers... But he knew that if he even suggests she leaves, she'd take it personally and get offended. And stay anyway.*
It made her frown just a bit, to look at places that she recognize in her time, so different. So run down. It was really.. really odd. Though what really made her feel a bit bad, was not seeing som familiar faces. Her mom moved in this world, a while back, apparently, so maybe some people she knows have too? Though really the only person she’s close to, she’d say, is Eve. And she doesn’t see her here- or her white-haired brother. Would’ve thought at least Wysper would stand out in a crowd. Fiona for a moment, just looked down at everyone, then her gaze shifting to their shadows. Nope, nobody’s shadows were acting off or looking weird- safe to assume her shadowy-friend isn’t present here. Fiona would ask, not looking back at the man, simply assessing the area, “Are there other safe areas? Or.. just this one, around here?” It wouldn’t make sense for there to be only one, but also this is a trying time- so she wanted to verify. And maybe her friend would be there.
*He mostly was looking at the people in the safe zone, his mind wandering off to thoughts about evacuation for a brief moment- questions like when they were going to figure out how to do it, how dangerous it would be, would people even comply with them, how long would evacuating the entire city be, stuff like that. He shook it all off, having to remind himself that he has a bigger problem on his hands right now, the problem being a child from another dimension, and the fact that he needs to get them back before any harm comes to them. And in this world, it's almost guaranteed that someone will get hurt, so he'd rather have it done as quick as he possibly can to prevent harm. He glanced at Fiona when she asked the question,*
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞.
*He paused briefly before questioning,*
𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞?
“I assumed so.” Fiona awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, “I guess so? I mean.. I recognize some people. Like people I’ve seen around town or at school- but I don’t see my friend here.” Friend. Singular. Good lord she hoped that didn’t sound really fucking sad for her to say- she basically already told him she’s not got a home life, so he probably thinks she’s like- shitty at being social or something.
“She’s like, a year older than me. I met her in a class- I don’t see her, or her brother.. and her brother stands outside, he has white hair so it would be easy to spot him in a crowd.” Then again, Wysper might be being a stubborn bastard.. she doesn’t know much about him, but she’s seen him doing vigilante work a lot. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s out and about. “And I don’t see the shadows being odd either- I haven’t known her long, but it’s become apparent that her powers have to do with darkness of some sort, she isn’t quite sure- reeaalll late bloomer. Then again, being able to talk and move through shadows, she could be in goddamn Greece for all I know.” The teenager would huff lightheartedly near the end, and it wasn’t entirely untrue. She’s sure her friend has accidentally gone far places and been lost for a bit, at least at the start. Though it was a bit.. unsettling for her. Even if it isn’t her world, knowing her mother could be god knows where while she deals with this, and one of the few people she’s actually hung out with, isn’t to be seen? It’s concerning, “Even if she wouldn’t be like.. my friend and probably wouldn’t know this version of me, it.. you know. I’d still hope she’s okay.”
𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐡𝐮𝐡?
*He seemed interested, not judgey at all- in fact he kind of actually wanted to hear about her friend. Maybe it'll help her feel better in this environment. Maybe it'll keep her entertained until he can manage to get her back to her world. He listened carefully, about what her friend is like, about the brother, everything, really. He nods along to her words, making mental note of every part of the description.*
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲? 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟, 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐲.
*And he'd like to say he knows of a lot of things that happen around Torrence now. His team usually reports to him with any injuries. They haven't reported any fatalities yet. At least none that were civilians, so he has reason to believe that Fiona's friend is out there somewhere.*
“Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better.” Fiona smiled a bit as Mecha Man spoke the bit about checking other places. She scritched Beef behind the ear as she continued on, “If you do see her- her name’s Eve. She has like these glow-in-the-dark eyes and- I’m pretty sure she actually doesn’t need sleep? Shadows are usually odd around her.” She gave a small snicker as she recalled the next bit of information, “I think she can like- talk to them, or something. Which is crazy because she swears some of them are Shades- you know, basically dead people.”
Speaking of Eve.. for a moment her thoughts drifted to a way there could be a connection between timelines- she isn’t quite sure what specific set of actions led her to be in this timeline, but it made her wonder a bit, if any communication devices worked for her still. Technically, it shouldn’t be able to, since it wouldn’t be adapted to the differences of this world, if she tried, maybe it would just end up contacting someone completely random in this world.. though the program of her visors still functioned smoothly despite being in another dimension- yes, she made those, but maybe it means she can actually make contact. She should probably try that later, if she’s still stuck here.
*The man nodded. Beef's tail was wagging, the little guy was leaning into Fiona's hands. It seems like he hasn't been pet like this in a while. It makes sense, really, since his owner is... extremely busy lately. Perhaps this was a good thing, that she was there. She's bringing a new perspective to this entire thing and Beef needs the enrichment.*
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞, 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬...
*He doesn't want to sound like it was a possibility, but he still has no idea how people manage to get out of those places. They're guarded by heroes, most of the time. Though there is a chance that they could be sneaking past Golem's clones... But why would they even go outside? Can't they see they're protected in those places? Can't they see they're trying? It makes him feel something he can't describe, but he forces himself to push it deep down and bury it under every other negative thing that's happened.*
*He goes quiet at the mention of dead people. Could this mean that, if this Eve exists in his world, then she might... No, forget it. Don't think about it. You can't see her. You can't talk to her, stop it. She's gone.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝?
*When. Not if. When.*
“Yeah, that sounds good.. I mean, if I’m even here that long.” Not like she expects to be there too long. Then again, she didn’t expect to be there at all. Now that she thinks about it, it’s… oh fuck. She’s going to be missing school days. Good fucking god she does not think she’ll get excused for this. What the hell is she supposed to tell them, ‘yeah, I was sorta stuck in another dimension for a hot minute. Can I have a bit of extra time to make up work I missed?’
Huh. Even if she’s here multiple days, what the hell is she supposed to do? Just.. sit here? Not that she minds. There’s the silly baby here. Silly fat baby. Little chomker. Beefy little baybae. Silly bouy. Fluffy potato. “So… hypothetically, if I’m here more than just today. What uh… would I do?” She’s pretty sure there’s not much stuff to do in a dystopian town that’s overrun by power-amplified assholes and a guy who can predict things fairly accurately. That guy fucking sucks.
𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭.
*He meant it, he was going to find a way to send her back as soon as he possibly could. He wasn't going to make it his top priority, of course, he still had people to save, but there was going to be someone looking into other universes constantly and informing him on any progress. He knew there wasn't a lot of stuff about it, and that he couldn't spare a lot of time for it himself, but maybe somehow... someway it'll happen. And Fiona will be back home.*
*He paused at her question. What happens if she's here longer? He hasn't figured that part out yet. He wasn't sure what to say for a moment. He didn't really... take that into account. He was just so focused on getting her back home that he didn't consider that she might be stuck here for longer. God, she's still in school, isn't she?*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰... 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐠? 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟. 𝐀𝐧𝐝- 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?
“No, I can- probably figure out my school stuff.” Fiona would say dismissively, giving another glance out the window, before deciding to sit down again, still holding the silly baby. Chonky little fucker… funky pupper. Lil guy. What was she saying—- yes yes, she could figure out school stuff, totally… mhm mhm because she doesn’t want to admit how absolute ass she is with that sorta work. She will not admit that she can do complex calculations in her head, but the moment she’s put in front of a test paper or such, anxiety practically claws at her and she clams up, unable to do shit right. She has a just passing average in most stuff. But it’s not like she could even access her school work, honestly, unless devices like her phone still for some reason work.. she literally only had her gear and her phone on her, because she was out doing intel stuff when she got brought here. “So- aside from that I basically just.. sit here the whole time? Not that I mind. It’s what I do half the time at my own house anyways.”
𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞? 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐝, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝.
*It was meant to be lighthearted. He wasn't sure it came off that way. He sat down beside Fiona and took a good look at her. She... was very similar. To him. But she wasn't the same as him. He needed to remember that. And help her just like he helps everyone else. It was his responsibility now. Beef got comfortable on her lap and laid down, making a little yawn before deciding she was the perfect spot to nap on. Mecha Man smiled a little at that before focusing back on the main problem at hand.*
𝐔𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭- 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲. 𝐀𝐧𝐝- 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?
Fiona gave an awkward little laugh, her gaze shifting away as she’d awkwardly rub the back of her neck, “Really, I’m uh… I can handle school work. I mean. What other people have it memorized off the top of their head that you can calculate the amount of muzzle energy in a gun if you do the mental math of Grains x fps² divided by 450,240 to estimate the ft-lbs that allows the destructive potential of the object. Or I guess ‘KE’ equals 1/2 mv squared. Or that you can calculate your coordinates based simply on your sight and knowing what to look for, such as knowing your Zenith Distance which is equal to 90° minus your observed altitude, or ZD = 90° - H𝑜 then you would use your ZD to find your latitude by using that plus your declination— well I mean, unless you’re in the tropics and the sun is on the same side of the equator but closer to the pole, which would make it so you would need to use declination to subtract from ZD rather than adding to it, to find your latitude. And, um….” Okay she should probably stop rambling, she probably looks like an idiot- plus the guy probably already knows this stuff, right? He probably has it memorized as well, or such. “..Yeah- basically, uh.. I think I can handle school stuff. As long as I’m not like… in a crowded room, I’ll be good.”
Great. Now you probably look like an idiot. “And…. Yeah. I’m.. I’m fine staying here. I’m used to staying at home most of the time anyways.”
*The man sat there for a moment. He had to afmit, this was... impressive. Extremely so. He remembers being a teenager and being curious about the world too. Learning everything there was to stuff, wanting to do good in school and such. Wanting to do great things. Look where that got him. Either way, he had to take a moment to metaphorically pick his jaw up from the floor before speaking again.*
𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡. 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐎𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞- 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐦- 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞.
*At least that's how he's been charging his. Theough a power converter he'd built with the help of Royd that actually makes that possible. He's been letting the rest of the team charge theirs that way as well. The pulse has been powering the suit for many years now and doesn't seem to have even a dent in its power, so he figures it'll be fine. Most the city doesn't have access to electronics anymore, and he feels horrible being one of the only people who can use it. But it is how it is.*
*He frowned when he heard Fiona talk about being used to staying at home. Knowing Vitalia, she's not home a lot. He knows something about that. He wishes other kids didn't have to experience that.*
...𝐢𝐭'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
*At least she won't be completely alone, right?*
“I can probably figure it out- since it’s unlikely they shifted subjects suddenly when I was was gone.” Mmm yep she’s going back to giving the pupper attention so she can avoid eye contact like hell. She probably sounds SO fucking stupid right now it isn’t even funny. Though at the mention of her device, she’d pause from petting the little guy, brows furrowing in a moment of thought- of course it would make no sense for it to work here, since even if there might be different electrical signals and such to connect to that variate among timelines, hypothetically, it would still have nothing to actually allow messages between things… then again, it was impossible to imagine she’d even end up in another timeline. Not like it would kill her to try. She assumes, based on how Mecha Man and a few others most likely have some sort of form of communication such as a phone or other and those haven’t yet been intercepted by an outside force- it should be safe for her to attempt using hers. “I mean, I could see if my phone will work. Even if it’s highly unlikely.. since it doesn’t reasonably have anything that should allow it to work… it was also unlikely I’d end up here.”
So the girl would shift how she sat, the read fabric of her mantle shifting up as Fiona reached to a sort of pouch by her upper leg, since- well, she wanted to keep her items secure, so when she goes out, this is how she does it. Anyways, she slipped out the device, the cover was a simple one, no fancy designs or anything, just a black OtterBox case, a little bit of the outer parts of it clearly being a little roughed up, either by what she gets into, or just the time of how long she’s had it, yet not cared to customize. One hand was kept on the adorable dog’s head, giving light scritches, whilst the other simply pressed in her passcode which was… way too many digits. Well. Seems like it works?
“Guess even I can be surprised sometimes.” Fiona would joke softly, glancing over the screen at notifications she hadn’t seen, clearly meant it was still up-to-time sorta, since some of these seem to be within the last few minutes.. if she actually had her notifications-noises shit on, she would’ve felt or heard that shit earlier. Something from a news thing she follows, an update that her device is letting her know about, a few likes on a tumblr post of her dumbass leopard geckos or a comment she’s made analyzing something, some kinda promotion for that SDN-run adoption thing she’s seen around for strays, a few reminders she’s had set on her phone for a year and keep forgetting to fully get rid of, a text from an unknown number that’s probably spam or someone who really is trying to contact this ‘Micheal’ guy… and a message from a minute ago, the contact name being ‘giver of birth’ and some shitty picture she put onto that profile forever ago, the usual messages she gets at least once a week. A simple message saying that she hoped Fiona was doing well.. the girl just shook her head slightly, now looking more into things, seeing if apps and browsers worked or if it was just the visual, “All I really care about is if they’re actually posting the assignments on google classroom.. our sub’s been shit- I mean, they keep forgetting to update it.”
*He gave a small nod, at least she knows where they left off and such. He doubts she brought her notebooks with her on whatever walk she was taking though, so that might be a problem. And pens. He might have to figure out where to get those for her, maybe one of those supply stores hasn't been fully raided yet? Even then, who would take pens and notebooks at a time like this? Mecha Man looked at Beef, who was laying on Fiona's lap and wagging his tail with content. At least the little guy is happy right now. That's one good thing to come out of this situation. It'll do him some good to be around someone for a while.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲.
*Was this ideal? No, but when was anything ever? They just have to make do with what they have. If he had to guess, this whole getting transported to another universe thing was a pure accident, without any machinery or anything like that. Somehow, whatever time-space fabric got weird, maybe some wacky molecular structures or- however universe travel works, and maybe if they figure out what might have caused it, they might be able to create a solution for this... misplacement problem. He looked at her while she checked her device, and almost felt something like relief when he saw it seems to work. Even here, she has some contact with her original universe. That's good, that means there's a chance to bring her back there.*
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬. 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟. 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐈 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝? 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.
*He didn't want to give her false hope, but any sign of the phone still being connected to her original world could be great help in figuring out how to get her there.*
“No- no no, you don’t need to do that. Um. I’ll be good. Besides I’m better at just- doing things in my head.” Fiona would awkwardly brush it off, not like she needed to take up those things- since. Well. She can handle just this. “Besides I’m.. honestly, sort of terrible at pen-and paper. As long as my phone works- I think I’ll be good! Or I’ll just keep it in my head- I’m always better at storing things mentally- metaphorically, of course. I’m much better at just doing things internally. But thank you, for offering, I mean.” She really wasn’t the best at doing things on paper… especially not in the presence of others. It’s kind of pathetic, actually, how she has so many information in her head but she cannot do something in front of others without blanking or getting hella anxious. Hey, at least there is a silly pupper to focus on if things get a lil bit stressful.
See if any friends will respond.. yeah. Makes sense to try. Since it seems like everything isn’t making sense anyways on how this should not fucking work with literally having nothing it connects with in this world and such. She really only had one friend to talk to… so she went to Eve. She should tell her anyways, just in case she’s here a while. Her automatic feeders for her lizards will probably only go on for so long. Told Eve she had an issue… and Eve seemed decently calm?? Confirmed the time and all. “Seems like it’s the same time around there… and..” she squinted at her phone as if to make sure, “..okay she actually knows someone with time powers? Or.. timeline powers? Something like that?”
𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭… 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞, 𝐮𝐡…
*He looked around the almost empty apartment, not noticing anything that looks even remotely like a sleeping bag. He definitely remembers bringing it with him when he moved locations, why couldn't he see where it was now? He shook his head and walked into what seemed to be the bathroom of the tiny apartment, emerging a minute later carrying the sleeping bag.*
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐤𝐢𝐝. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.
*He handed Fiona the sleeping bag and sat down next to her, waiting for her to try and contact her friends. He tilts his head when he hears about the timeline powers friend. Perhaps this is what they can use to help them figure out all of this. Maybe.. maybe he can even find this friend here, too. That might help. Though he's not an expert on timelines, so he'd have to confirm that with the guy who actually has time powers.*
𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦? 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
Fiona took the sleeping bag and smiled, “Thanks, Mecha Man.” …damn that felt weird as fuck to say. Really odd to know she’s talking to him, even if it’s some alternate timeline shit. “Can’t believe she wouldn’t tell me about someone with time powers. Sounds cool as hell.” Fiona mumbled to herself, typing back something else, before making a small ‘oh’ noise. “..uh. Okay he’s apparently dead- a ghost? Let me see if…”
Fiona went to FaceTime Eve- to see if calling or anything else would work like this. May as well, even though just texting doesn’t make sense working- she has no clue how to rationalize with timelines. There was that little buzz once, twice, of when you’re waiting for someone to pick up the phone- screen was dark for a second, “Eve-?” And a LOUD fucking noise of something breaking(?) on the other end, immediately the phone was picked up by said girl. Light brown hair that faded to a much darker shade, the sight top of an ‘m’ being seen on her blue hoodie at this angle. The lights weren’t the brightest in her little ‘workshop’, so there could be a silver glow seen from her eyes.
Eve smiled all big, that’s just her usual, though. “hEYY hi. Sorry I like. Was testing something-“ “I HATE IT HERE.” “..If you hear shouting in the background, that’s Xan. Time guy. He’s fine.” There was the most vague person-shaped glow in the background, but Eve was completely ignoring it. Fiona just sorta. Awkwardly blinked and made a thumbs up. Whilst Eve continued, “So- timeline stuff?”
Fiona would look over at Mecha Man, then the call, before rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, “Yeah. Uh… help? Please”
*Mecha Man watched Fiona and waited patiently, sitting down next to her. He probably should be out there helping his team, but first he really needs to get to the bottom of this. It was strange, and he felt like it took priority right now. He just needed a little time to figure out how to send her back to her original timeline. The second Beef heard another person's voice coming from the device, he perked up from the teen's lap and sniffed the phone. His tail wagged as he barked twice at the noise, trying to locate the person speaking. It was like he didn't fully realize the phone was making the sounds.*
*The man sighed in relief when they managed to connect to another timeline. He almost wanted to get in the frame, but he needed to get Beef out of the camera first. He picked the dog up, and as the little guy was being lifted off frame Eve could see the little stub for a hind leg he has.*
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐲, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
*Once Beef was off camera, Mecha Man scooted over to sort of see what was going on. He looked at Fiona, sort of asking her if he can get into the view of her friend. It would probably be beneficial for him to be part of the conversation, but he just scolded his dog for appearing in the camera unannounced.*
Fiona smiled and laughed softly at the dog’s enthusiasm, “No it’s okay- ah- anyways. This is Eve. Mecha Man, is… Mecha Man.” It’s not like he needed an introduction, but- polite to give one… in this awkward situation.
Eve awed at Beef when he was in screen, “Oh my gods was that Beef-?”
And Fiona wasn’t going to even question how Eve knew what Mecha Man’s dog was called, “Yes? Focus, Evelynne. Alternate timeline, Shroud wasn’t beaten, LA’s gone to shit, and the red ring is running rampant. Significant damage to the structural integrity of the Torrence area and further, pulse hasn’t been taken, Mecha Man Blue has his newer suit, not the old extremely broken one, Trackstar still has the amulet in possession.” Fiona spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, growing serious as she explained the alternate timeline situation to her friend. Felt more like a report though- which it kind of was, but Fiona attempting to summarize things. “I have no way of telling how I got here or how long this shift is, if I’ll naturally go back or if we have to find a manual way to forge a connection.. and if we do find a connection-“
“-We have to keep it secure.” Eve added on with a nod, “No doubt it would be exploited if others got their hands onto it.”
“Exactly.”
*Mecha Man gave an awkward wave at the other girl, not entirely sure what to do here. He's never really had something like this happen before. Sure, he's... seen other versions of his team. Other versions of himself. But no one's ever been stuck in his timeline. And he'd rather not have it stick for long, since he has no clue what the Red Ring would do to Fiona if they found her. And he has no clue how much longer he can hide out here before they catch on.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟. 𝐇𝐨𝐰- 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐠??
*...actually he wasn't sure he wanted to know. And that really wasn't important right now. He watched the conversation, unsure whether to be impressed or worried. He settled on both.*
𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬- 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐅𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭- 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭.
*Others like maybe other versions of himself. They all seem to know each other, so he'd assume they can keep track of timeline things.*
(A continuation of this!)
*The man watched for reaction. He knew that sometimes people can act out when being told things they might not like, and he hoped this time would be different. He didn't want to have to calm Fiona down, or worse restrain her... don't look at him like this, he's seen it all! He's had civilians try to open his suit up and drag him out, he's had angry people try to destroy his suit, he's had... a lot done to him. He's been through a lot, but one can tell that much just by looking at him. This isn't about him though- he looked at Fiona, Beef panting happily in her arms as his little tail wagged. The little guy was just happy to be paid attention to. Mecha Man gave a nod at her words, not really much to say anymore. Perhaps he could show her the safe point view... maybe he was just looking for ways to kill time. Ways to have Fiona not be bored while in this world.*
*He stood up and walked over to the window of the apartment, making sure to stay behind the curtains and far enough from it that his person wouldn't be seen if anyone were to look at the building. His eyes fell on the kid in his house as he motioned for her to come closer.*
𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞?
@crimson-mantle
Fiona would smile down at the silly guy as she would feel his tail wagging against her. Silly little guy. Silly puppy, absolute baby behavior. Smol little guy. Fat potato. Happy little critter. She would look over as Mecha Man moved, standing a bit away from the window.. she would adjust her grip on the silly guy as she stood up, nuh uh, not putting the baby down, so she just pushed herself up. Look ma, no hands! That was a terrible joke- but look, she was just chilling right now, probably a little too calm in this situation.. but whatever. She followed his motion and went nearby the window to look outside, “Yeah, I’d like that.” Maybe a version of herself is still hiding out here, like a stubborn idiot. Or maybe other versions of her friends are around here.. well. More like ‘friend’, she can’t really say there’s many.. anyways.. it might be good to know if they’re safe, in that case. She wouldn’t mind giving a quick skim.
*The man looked over at the kid, making sure she could see what was going on in the safe point while also not being too visible to people who might be looking up. It was a little closed off space with people sitting around, a few buildings that have been turned into sleeping areas for way more people than they were intended to hold. Sleeping bag next to sleeping back, but at least they had somewhere to sleep instead of out in the cold. Currently, Invisigal was sitting in front of a small group of kids and seemingly telling them something, she was very animated with it too. Mecha Man couldn't help but sigh at the sight, her condition was not the best... And he wished he could do something to help her. But, right now, nothing can be done. He sometimes wondered what she was going to do if they managed to evacuate the city. If she was going to stay. She couldn't exactly use her powers... But he knew that if he even suggests she leaves, she'd take it personally and get offended. And stay anyway.*
It made her frown just a bit, to look at places that she recognize in her time, so different. So run down. It was really.. really odd. Though what really made her feel a bit bad, was not seeing som familiar faces. Her mom moved in this world, a while back, apparently, so maybe some people she knows have too? Though really the only person she’s close to, she’d say, is Eve. And she doesn’t see her here- or her white-haired brother. Would’ve thought at least Wysper would stand out in a crowd. Fiona for a moment, just looked down at everyone, then her gaze shifting to their shadows. Nope, nobody’s shadows were acting off or looking weird- safe to assume her shadowy-friend isn’t present here. Fiona would ask, not looking back at the man, simply assessing the area, “Are there other safe areas? Or.. just this one, around here?” It wouldn’t make sense for there to be only one, but also this is a trying time- so she wanted to verify. And maybe her friend would be there.
*He mostly was looking at the people in the safe zone, his mind wandering off to thoughts about evacuation for a brief moment- questions like when they were going to figure out how to do it, how dangerous it would be, would people even comply with them, how long would evacuating the entire city be, stuff like that. He shook it all off, having to remind himself that he has a bigger problem on his hands right now, the problem being a child from another dimension, and the fact that he needs to get them back before any harm comes to them. And in this world, it's almost guaranteed that someone will get hurt, so he'd rather have it done as quick as he possibly can to prevent harm. He glanced at Fiona when she asked the question,*
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞.
*He paused briefly before questioning,*
𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞?
“I assumed so.” Fiona awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, “I guess so? I mean.. I recognize some people. Like people I’ve seen around town or at school- but I don’t see my friend here.” Friend. Singular. Good lord she hoped that didn’t sound really fucking sad for her to say- she basically already told him she’s not got a home life, so he probably thinks she’s like- shitty at being social or something.
“She’s like, a year older than me. I met her in a class- I don’t see her, or her brother.. and her brother stands outside, he has white hair so it would be easy to spot him in a crowd.” Then again, Wysper might be being a stubborn bastard.. she doesn’t know much about him, but she’s seen him doing vigilante work a lot. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s out and about. “And I don’t see the shadows being odd either- I haven’t known her long, but it’s become apparent that her powers have to do with darkness of some sort, she isn’t quite sure- reeaalll late bloomer. Then again, being able to talk and move through shadows, she could be in goddamn Greece for all I know.” The teenager would huff lightheartedly near the end, and it wasn’t entirely untrue. She’s sure her friend has accidentally gone far places and been lost for a bit, at least at the start. Though it was a bit.. unsettling for her. Even if it isn’t her world, knowing her mother could be god knows where while she deals with this, and one of the few people she’s actually hung out with, isn’t to be seen? It’s concerning, “Even if she wouldn’t be like.. my friend and probably wouldn’t know this version of me, it.. you know. I’d still hope she’s okay.”
𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐡𝐮𝐡?
*He seemed interested, not judgey at all- in fact he kind of actually wanted to hear about her friend. Maybe it'll help her feel better in this environment. Maybe it'll keep her entertained until he can manage to get her back to her world. He listened carefully, about what her friend is like, about the brother, everything, really. He nods along to her words, making mental note of every part of the description.*
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲? 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟, 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐲.
*And he'd like to say he knows of a lot of things that happen around Torrence now. His team usually reports to him with any injuries. They haven't reported any fatalities yet. At least none that were civilians, so he has reason to believe that Fiona's friend is out there somewhere.*
“Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better.” Fiona smiled a bit as Mecha Man spoke the bit about checking other places. She scritched Beef behind the ear as she continued on, “If you do see her- her name’s Eve. She has like these glow-in-the-dark eyes and- I’m pretty sure she actually doesn’t need sleep? Shadows are usually odd around her.” She gave a small snicker as she recalled the next bit of information, “I think she can like- talk to them, or something. Which is crazy because she swears some of them are Shades- you know, basically dead people.”
Speaking of Eve.. for a moment her thoughts drifted to a way there could be a connection between timelines- she isn’t quite sure what specific set of actions led her to be in this timeline, but it made her wonder a bit, if any communication devices worked for her still. Technically, it shouldn’t be able to, since it wouldn’t be adapted to the differences of this world, if she tried, maybe it would just end up contacting someone completely random in this world.. though the program of her visors still functioned smoothly despite being in another dimension- yes, she made those, but maybe it means she can actually make contact. She should probably try that later, if she’s still stuck here.
*The man nodded. Beef's tail was wagging, the little guy was leaning into Fiona's hands. It seems like he hasn't been pet like this in a while. It makes sense, really, since his owner is... extremely busy lately. Perhaps this was a good thing, that she was there. She's bringing a new perspective to this entire thing and Beef needs the enrichment.*
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞, 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐳𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬...
*He doesn't want to sound like it was a possibility, but he still has no idea how people manage to get out of those places. They're guarded by heroes, most of the time. Though there is a chance that they could be sneaking past Golem's clones... But why would they even go outside? Can't they see they're protected in those places? Can't they see they're trying? It makes him feel something he can't describe, but he forces himself to push it deep down and bury it under every other negative thing that's happened.*
*He goes quiet at the mention of dead people. Could this mean that, if this Eve exists in his world, then she might... No, forget it. Don't think about it. You can't see her. You can't talk to her, stop it. She's gone.*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝?
*When. Not if. When.*
“Yeah, that sounds good.. I mean, if I’m even here that long.” Not like she expects to be there too long. Then again, she didn’t expect to be there at all. Now that she thinks about it, it’s… oh fuck. She’s going to be missing school days. Good fucking god she does not think she’ll get excused for this. What the hell is she supposed to tell them, ‘yeah, I was sorta stuck in another dimension for a hot minute. Can I have a bit of extra time to make up work I missed?’
Huh. Even if she’s here multiple days, what the hell is she supposed to do? Just.. sit here? Not that she minds. There’s the silly baby here. Silly fat baby. Little chomker. Beefy little baybae. Silly bouy. Fluffy potato. “So… hypothetically, if I’m here more than just today. What uh… would I do?” She’s pretty sure there’s not much stuff to do in a dystopian town that’s overrun by power-amplified assholes and a guy who can predict things fairly accurately. That guy fucking sucks.
𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐧'𝐭.
*He meant it, he was going to find a way to send her back as soon as he possibly could. He wasn't going to make it his top priority, of course, he still had people to save, but there was going to be someone looking into other universes constantly and informing him on any progress. He knew there wasn't a lot of stuff about it, and that he couldn't spare a lot of time for it himself, but maybe somehow... someway it'll happen. And Fiona will be back home.*
*He paused at her question. What happens if she's here longer? He hasn't figured that part out yet. He wasn't sure what to say for a moment. He didn't really... take that into account. He was just so focused on getting her back home that he didn't consider that she might be stuck here for longer. God, she's still in school, isn't she?*
𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰... 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐠? 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞. 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟. 𝐀𝐧𝐝- 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?
“No, I can- probably figure out my school stuff.” Fiona would say dismissively, giving another glance out the window, before deciding to sit down again, still holding the silly baby. Chonky little fucker… funky pupper. Lil guy. What was she saying—- yes yes, she could figure out school stuff, totally… mhm mhm because she doesn’t want to admit how absolute ass she is with that sorta work. She will not admit that she can do complex calculations in her head, but the moment she’s put in front of a test paper or such, anxiety practically claws at her and she clams up, unable to do shit right. She has a just passing average in most stuff. But it’s not like she could even access her school work, honestly, unless devices like her phone still for some reason work.. she literally only had her gear and her phone on her, because she was out doing intel stuff when she got brought here. “So- aside from that I basically just.. sit here the whole time? Not that I mind. It’s what I do half the time at my own house anyways.”
𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞? 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐝, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝.
*It was meant to be lighthearted. He wasn't sure it came off that way. He sat down beside Fiona and took a good look at her. She... was very similar. To him. But she wasn't the same as him. He needed to remember that. And help her just like he helps everyone else. It was his responsibility now. Beef got comfortable on her lap and laid down, making a little yawn before deciding she was the perfect spot to nap on. Mecha Man smiled a little at that before focusing back on the main problem at hand.*
𝐔𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡. 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭- 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲. 𝐀𝐧𝐝- 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲?
Fiona gave an awkward little laugh, her gaze shifting away as she’d awkwardly rub the back of her neck, “Really, I’m uh… I can handle school work. I mean. What other people have it memorized off the top of their head that you can calculate the amount of muzzle energy in a gun if you do the mental math of Grains x fps² divided by 450,240 to estimate the ft-lbs that allows the destructive potential of the object. Or I guess ‘KE’ equals 1/2 mv squared. Or that you can calculate your coordinates based simply on your sight and knowing what to look for, such as knowing your Zenith Distance which is equal to 90° minus your observed altitude, or ZD = 90° - H𝑜 then you would use your ZD to find your latitude by using that plus your declination— well I mean, unless you’re in the tropics and the sun is on the same side of the equator but closer to the pole, which would make it so you would need to use declination to subtract from ZD rather than adding to it, to find your latitude. And, um….” Okay she should probably stop rambling, she probably looks like an idiot- plus the guy probably already knows this stuff, right? He probably has it memorized as well, or such. “..Yeah- basically, uh.. I think I can handle school stuff. As long as I’m not like… in a crowded room, I’ll be good.”
Great. Now you probably look like an idiot. “And…. Yeah. I’m.. I’m fine staying here. I’m used to staying at home most of the time anyways.”
*The man sat there for a moment. He had to afmit, this was... impressive. Extremely so. He remembers being a teenager and being curious about the world too. Learning everything there was to stuff, wanting to do good in school and such. Wanting to do great things. Look where that got him. Either way, he had to take a moment to metaphorically pick his jaw up from the floor before speaking again.*
𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡. 𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐎𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞- 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐦- 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞.
*At least that's how he's been charging his. Theough a power converter he'd built with the help of Royd that actually makes that possible. He's been letting the rest of the team charge theirs that way as well. The pulse has been powering the suit for many years now and doesn't seem to have even a dent in its power, so he figures it'll be fine. Most the city doesn't have access to electronics anymore, and he feels horrible being one of the only people who can use it. But it is how it is.*
*He frowned when he heard Fiona talk about being used to staying at home. Knowing Vitalia, she's not home a lot. He knows something about that. He wishes other kids didn't have to experience that.*
...𝐢𝐭'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.
*At least she won't be completely alone, right?*
“I can probably figure it out- since it’s unlikely they shifted subjects suddenly when I was was gone.” Mmm yep she’s going back to giving the pupper attention so she can avoid eye contact like hell. She probably sounds SO fucking stupid right now it isn’t even funny. Though at the mention of her device, she’d pause from petting the little guy, brows furrowing in a moment of thought- of course it would make no sense for it to work here, since even if there might be different electrical signals and such to connect to that variate among timelines, hypothetically, it would still have nothing to actually allow messages between things… then again, it was impossible to imagine she’d even end up in another timeline. Not like it would kill her to try. She assumes, based on how Mecha Man and a few others most likely have some sort of form of communication such as a phone or other and those haven’t yet been intercepted by an outside force- it should be safe for her to attempt using hers. “I mean, I could see if my phone will work. Even if it’s highly unlikely.. since it doesn’t reasonably have anything that should allow it to work… it was also unlikely I’d end up here.”
So the girl would shift how she sat, the read fabric of her mantle shifting up as Fiona reached to a sort of pouch by her upper leg, since- well, she wanted to keep her items secure, so when she goes out, this is how she does it. Anyways, she slipped out the device, the cover was a simple one, no fancy designs or anything, just a black OtterBox case, a little bit of the outer parts of it clearly being a little roughed up, either by what she gets into, or just the time of how long she’s had it, yet not cared to customize. One hand was kept on the adorable dog’s head, giving light scritches, whilst the other simply pressed in her passcode which was… way too many digits. Well. Seems like it works?
“Guess even I can be surprised sometimes.” Fiona would joke softly, glancing over the screen at notifications she hadn’t seen, clearly meant it was still up-to-time sorta, since some of these seem to be within the last few minutes.. if she actually had her notifications-noises shit on, she would’ve felt or heard that shit earlier. Something from a news thing she follows, an update that her device is letting her know about, a few likes on a tumblr post of her dumbass leopard geckos or a comment she’s made analyzing something, some kinda promotion for that SDN-run adoption thing she’s seen around for strays, a few reminders she’s had set on her phone for a year and keep forgetting to fully get rid of, a text from an unknown number that’s probably spam or someone who really is trying to contact this ‘Micheal’ guy… and a message from a minute ago, the contact name being ‘giver of birth’ and some shitty picture she put onto that profile forever ago, the usual messages she gets at least once a week. A simple message saying that she hoped Fiona was doing well.. the girl just shook her head slightly, now looking more into things, seeing if apps and browsers worked or if it was just the visual, “All I really care about is if they’re actually posting the assignments on google classroom.. our sub’s been shit- I mean, they keep forgetting to update it.”
*He gave a small nod, at least she knows where they left off and such. He doubts she brought her notebooks with her on whatever walk she was taking though, so that might be a problem. And pens. He might have to figure out where to get those for her, maybe one of those supply stores hasn't been fully raided yet? Even then, who would take pens and notebooks at a time like this? Mecha Man looked at Beef, who was laying on Fiona's lap and wagging his tail with content. At least the little guy is happy right now. That's one good thing to come out of this situation. It'll do him some good to be around someone for a while.*
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲.
*Was this ideal? No, but when was anything ever? They just have to make do with what they have. If he had to guess, this whole getting transported to another universe thing was a pure accident, without any machinery or anything like that. Somehow, whatever time-space fabric got weird, maybe some wacky molecular structures or- however universe travel works, and maybe if they figure out what might have caused it, they might be able to create a solution for this... misplacement problem. He looked at her while she checked her device, and almost felt something like relief when he saw it seems to work. Even here, she has some contact with her original universe. That's good, that means there's a chance to bring her back there.*
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬. 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐬, 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐟𝐟. 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐈 𝐠𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝? 𝐒𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.
*He didn't want to give her false hope, but any sign of the phone still being connected to her original world could be great help in figuring out how to get her there.*
“No- no no, you don’t need to do that. Um. I’ll be good. Besides I’m better at just- doing things in my head.” Fiona would awkwardly brush it off, not like she needed to take up those things- since. Well. She can handle just this. “Besides I’m.. honestly, sort of terrible at pen-and paper. As long as my phone works- I think I’ll be good! Or I’ll just keep it in my head- I’m always better at storing things mentally- metaphorically, of course. I’m much better at just doing things internally. But thank you, for offering, I mean.” She really wasn’t the best at doing things on paper… especially not in the presence of others. It’s kind of pathetic, actually, how she has so many information in her head but she cannot do something in front of others without blanking or getting hella anxious. Hey, at least there is a silly pupper to focus on if things get a lil bit stressful.
See if any friends will respond.. yeah. Makes sense to try. Since it seems like everything isn’t making sense anyways on how this should not fucking work with literally having nothing it connects with in this world and such. She really only had one friend to talk to… so she went to Eve. She should tell her anyways, just in case she’s here a while. Her automatic feeders for her lizards will probably only go on for so long. Told Eve she had an issue… and Eve seemed decently calm?? Confirmed the time and all. “Seems like it’s the same time around there… and..” she squinted at her phone as if to make sure, “..okay she actually knows someone with time powers? Or.. timeline powers? Something like that?”
𝐀𝐥𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭… 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞, 𝐮𝐡…
*He looked around the almost empty apartment, not noticing anything that looks even remotely like a sleeping bag. He definitely remembers bringing it with him when he moved locations, why couldn't he see where it was now? He shook his head and walked into what seemed to be the bathroom of the tiny apartment, emerging a minute later carrying the sleeping bag.*
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐤𝐢𝐝. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.
*He handed Fiona the sleeping bag and sat down next to her, waiting for her to try and contact her friends. He tilts his head when he hears about the timeline powers friend. Perhaps this is what they can use to help them figure out all of this. Maybe.. maybe he can even find this friend here, too. That might help. Though he's not an expert on timelines, so he'd have to confirm that with the guy who actually has time powers.*
𝐎𝐤𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦? 𝐈'𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
Fiona took the sleeping bag and smiled, “Thanks, Mecha Man.” …damn that felt weird as fuck to say. Really odd to know she’s talking to him, even if it’s some alternate timeline shit. “Can’t believe she wouldn’t tell me about someone with time powers. Sounds cool as hell.” Fiona mumbled to herself, typing back something else, before making a small ‘oh’ noise. “..uh. Okay he’s apparently dead- a ghost? Let me see if…”
Fiona went to FaceTime Eve- to see if calling or anything else would work like this. May as well, even though just texting doesn’t make sense working- she has no clue how to rationalize with timelines. There was that little buzz once, twice, of when you’re waiting for someone to pick up the phone- screen was dark for a second, “Eve-?” And a LOUD fucking noise of something breaking(?) on the other end, immediately the phone was picked up by said girl. Light brown hair that faded to a much darker shade, the sight top of an ‘m’ being seen on her blue hoodie at this angle. The lights weren’t the brightest in her little ‘workshop’, so there could be a silver glow seen from her eyes.
Eve smiled all big, that’s just her usual, though. “hEYY hi. Sorry I like. Was testing something-“ “I HATE IT HERE.” “..If you hear shouting in the background, that’s Xan. Time guy. He’s fine.” There was the most vague person-shaped glow in the background, but Eve was completely ignoring it. Fiona just sorta. Awkwardly blinked and made a thumbs up. Whilst Eve continued, “So- timeline stuff?”
Fiona would look over at Mecha Man, then the call, before rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly, “Yeah. Uh… help? Please”
*Mecha Man watched Fiona and waited patiently, sitting down next to her. He probably should be out there helping his team, but first he really needs to get to the bottom of this. It was strange, and he felt like it took priority right now. He just needed a little time to figure out how to send her back to her original timeline. The second Beef heard another person's voice coming from the device, he perked up from the teen's lap and sniffed the phone. His tail wagged as he barked twice at the noise, trying to locate the person speaking. It was like he didn't fully realize the phone was making the sounds.*
*The man sighed in relief when they managed to connect to another timeline. He almost wanted to get in the frame, but he needed to get Beef out of the camera first. He picked the dog up, and as the little guy was being lifted off frame Eve could see the little stub for a hind leg he has.*
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐲, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭.
*Once Beef was off camera, Mecha Man scooted over to sort of see what was going on. He looked at Fiona, sort of asking her if he can get into the view of her friend. It would probably be beneficial for him to be part of the conversation, but he just scolded his dog for appearing in the camera unannounced.*