Day 56: Bus 1

[tightsofmight]

Previously, on Peter Parker's Sucky Life:

Pain, pain, fourth wall bulldozing, fire and pain, and teeny useless swords.

Yeah, so Peter wasn't feeling so hot today. It was a marked improvement on waking up after getting shanked by Grell, but this was in no way a good morning. They had all made it through the basement trials and got their dinky rewards, but man did they pay a hefty price for it. All of them. (Scott and the others had to fight robot raptors? What the hell...) Peter rose from his bed oh so delicately and with much wincing, thanking whoever it was that carried them back to bed every night for putting him belly down on his mattress.

His back, oh god. Peter seethed and hissed and grunted in pain. It felt like it was scabbing over, and the bandages yanked at the tender skin with every minute muscle spasm, every move he made. Cripes. Better his back than his arms or legs, but still. It was going to make things so difficult if they got stuck in Doyleton all over again.

Brainy was so thoroughly wrapped in his blankets on the other side of the room that Peter couldn't make heads or tails of his current state. But he'd stayed in the whole night, right? He should be fine.

Sometimes he just needed extra convincing of that. Considering the guy's track record and all.

From the sounds of it, this Aguilar guy wasn't changing too much of the routine. Being field trip day, Peter had wondered how the new man in charge would handle it (or how General Lieutenant Burger would, apparently). If he planned on letting them out at all. The announcement squashed that theory, and so did the orderly tromping in with a second-hand change of clothes. The burly man passed him the goods without so much as a word, stomping right back outside to wait behind the door. Guess they weren't going in military gear.

...Orderly? Peter pushed the door open again after performing the hastiest change of clothes he could manage in his state, peering at the man. That guy was in an army uniform yesterday. He remembered him. His buzz cut was uneven and he had a pointy old mole on the back of his neck.

"Uh. Are you going incognito?"

He was suddenly on the end of such a pointed look Peter could swear he was talking to Nick Fury. If Nick Fury was white and still had both eyes. "...Right. Okay. Lead the way, hombre."

So undercover it was. The people of Doyleton didn't know this was a military operation. Briefly, he wondered what the advantages of revealing that to the townsfolk could be, but then he remembered how they'd all up and morphed into the living dead at sundown. Put to rest any usefulness they might have had. They were just puppets, the same as the rest of the creepy crawlies in this hellhole.

Though that did beg the question as to why you would have to hide your secrets from puppets in the first place.

He was bequeathed with the usual paper bag lunch and packet of coupons, though he was still surprised to find himself a $15 gift card in the mix. Intercom Dude wasn't kidding about that?

He had money?

...What would he even do with money in Doyleton? What was fifteen dollars and worth buying that wasn't a gourmet burger? Peter boggled at the card as he clambered onto the bus. He'd never gone through the town with any inclination to window shop, so he couldn't even say what was available. He might actually have to look around. Even something simple might be a big help.

The orderly-formerly-known-as-Private-Dwight followed him on tucked a pillow into his seat for him. "Sit down. And don't do anything stupid. You'll heal a lot faster if you don't agitate it."

Peter fidgeted, but quietly settled into the pillow. This was kind of awkward. "Um. Thank you. I deeply appreciate your concern." The man nodded, and was gone.

Peter was the only one on the bus so far. The emptiness was kind of creeping him out.

[Reserved for Harvey Dent. WHY AM I TOP POSTING EVERYTHING YOU JERKS.]

Comments

[bitpartgod.livejournal.com]

Right, so it was Chise. Kibitoshin had never been the best with remembering things, but to be honest in this case he was probably going to have more trouble finding her than summoning her name when they met again. She seemed like the sort who'd sooner put her head down and hide than bounce up and reintroduce herself, but that was okay with him. At least it meant she wouldn't snap at him, like certain other people.

"You think?" He tugged at the sweater again, making a face, and the bees stretched to black and yellow caterpillars. "I think a bear would have been better. They're kind of ferocious, right? Bumble bees are nice, but they just aren't that intimidating. N-not that the sealion isn't right for you, of course!" he added hurriedly, waving his hands a little. So much for being the sensible, calm adult...

[lastlovesong]

In Chise's case, whenever a person talked to her at least once, she would make an effort to remember them. Aside from remembering cities, it was something she decided to do after destroying everything from left to right. Proof, that they were alive and that she still was human.

She giggled when the bees suddenly turned into caterpillars. "Bears are ferocious and are scary, but only on the outside! Because deep, down inside, they're really friendly and nice. I know two people who are both like bears. Even though they're sometimes mean to me, they do care a lot." As for sea lions, they were cute.

"Sea lions are cute...but they're not me. I mean, if the sweater had an animal that represents the person wearing it...a hedgehog would be an appropiate choice for me."

[bitpartgod.livejournal.com]

Ferocious and scary on the outside, friendly and nice on the inside. Kibitoshin had met any number of people who fit that description, and it didn't take a genius to work out that he wasn't one of them; he couldn't even be ferocious in his own head, never mind to other people. "I guess there are a lot of people like that, huh?" he said with a little laugh. "A lot of fighters tend to be hard on the outside and soft on the inside."

Like Vegeta, and Piccolo, and maybe Sechs in patches. Maybe even Franziska, if he approached her right- but that seemed so alien now, so impossible, that he didn't let himself linger on it for long. Every time he thought he saw a little softness with her, he just ended up with a big, uncomfortable bruise on his head.

"A hedgehog? You mean... all prickly and shy?" He smiled a little. "You don't seem all that prickly to me. I know we've only been talking a little while, but..."

[lastlovesong]

"Maybe they're like that because they want to be seen as strong and tough. There's only one bear-like person that's a fighter; he's a ninja. The other person, well, isn't a fighter at all. He's my boyfriend," who I miss very, very much.

Not all that prickly? Oh Kibitoshin, you have no idea what she's capable of.

Hearing that comment brought a small smile to her face. "Most of what you said is correct, in regards to my current state. If we were in my world, it would've been entirely true. Let's just say that from the time that we've talked, you wouldn't survive for more than two days. One, if you were on my side. And if you were on the opposing force, I'm sorry to say, but I'll be the last thing you'll see."

"Not that it'll actually happen here, of course!" she quickly added.

The smile that was still there, didn't match the rest of her expression.

[bitpartgod.livejournal.com]

"That makes sense," Kibitoshin agreed, still thinking of Vegeta and Sechs. He couldn't think of two people who wanted more to be seen as powerful- except for maybe... no. Focus. "Ohh, your boyfriend?" He gave a laugh, grinning at her sheepishly. "It must be great to know him inside and out like that. I bet he really trusts you. I've never really had a someone like that before personally, so you'll have to-"

Then he stopped, because Chise was carefully explaining to him that, under any other circumstances, he would already be under a death sentence.

He hesitated, blinking a little in alarm. This wasn't a joke; Chise couldn't have sounded more deadly serious if she'd tried. And it wasn't that she was boasting, either; she was smiling, yes, but he'd heard men boast about their power, their ability to kill and hurt. He'd seen the look on their faces, and sensed their arrogance. The smile here was simple, flat and disturbingly incongruous.

"... I-I'd never have guessed," he said eventually, looking away. The more he tried to sound at ease, the more awkward he sounded. "Though appearances can deceive." A pause. She's just a nice girl is all. Just because she's powerful that doesn't mean she's bad. Right? "I suppose... I suppose I could do a lot of damage in my world, too. Not that I would, unless I had to."

sry for short

[lastlovesong]

"They definitely can, which is why some military forces often use it as a way to catch their enemies off guard. Their expressions' of shock, disbelief, terror, and inbridled hatred; I'm used to having those faces aimed at me." But it still hurt everytime she saw them.

"But that was all part of my 'job', before I ran away with my boyfriend, before I woke up here." Her smile still there, but sad this time.

no problem bb

[bitpartgod.livejournal.com]

She sounded so matter-of-fact as she sat there, in her cute sea lion sweater, telling him about the looks of shock and horror on the faces of those she opposed. It was unnerving in a way he couldn't fathom, so different to the brash, eager glee of Babidi or the Shadow Dragons. It was sad.

But part of that was reassuring; she didn't seen happy about what she did, whatever it was. He wasn't sure he wanted to ask.

Kibitoshin shifted in his seat, fumbling blindly for the right words. This wasn't what he'd expected to be discussing with Chise at all. "I had- I have that kind of job too, in a small way." He hadn't worried especially when he'd killed Bibidi, but thinking about it now was making him uncomfortable. "I'm glad you got away. Your boyfriend sounds like a nice man." There, that was safer ground for both of them.