damned_institute | Day 30: Cafeteria, Breakfast

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Day 30: Cafeteria, Breakfast

Hitsugaya woke with a start.

His entire body ached, but the pain was nowhere near as bad as it had been the night before. His injuries had been tended two with clean gauze and bandages, and he found every movement wasn't agony. He wasn't in the best of shape, but thanks to the miracle of landel's strange time distortion, he had mostly recovered from the vile poison without having to waste anyone else's talents.

And in his hand, still...there was the key.

He dressed quickly, sliding the key onto the key ring from his desk drawer and stuck it into his pocket. Whether the key stood to gain them anything or not, it stood as a vital reminder that they could succeed in this place. There was hope, as insignificant as it often seemed. They could beat this place.

That small shred of hope made getting up worth it.

The nurse who escorted him to breakfast was cheerful, and commented idly about how wonderful it was to see young Tommy Winters up and about again after his unfortunate run-in with a bad case of food poisoning. He smirked slightly, knowing that any lies the institute forced into their heads were only that: lies. He wouldn't buy it for a second. And on top of that, the concept of muffins sounded almost appetizing. While he still preferred his authentic Japanese cuisine, the food here was slowly becoming more and more bearable. He would have preferred a warm bowl of sweet nattou over rice over the mufffins, but they would do. The plain yogurt and fruit, on the other hand, was excellent. He piled his plate high with fruit as usual, and got several small bowls of yogurt as well.

Finding the most convenient table to the end of the food line, he took a seat and scanned for the new arrivals. New arrivals meant people who would be lost and confused. Renji did a good job of making a bulliten post last time...he should recommend abarai-fukutaicho do the same again this time.

[Waiting for Angel]

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"Yes, what a funny coincidence, I was just wondering the same thing." Since it applied equally to himself and to Daniel, he let the ambiguity stand, and instead sipped his milk.

Daniel being here changed things. For one, someone abducting him simply as Vlad Masters (despite the odd sensation of weakness he'd felt last night) wasn't out of the question, but the only two half-ghosts in existence taken to the same place rather pushed the boundaries of coincidence. For another, Daniel had been on the top of his list of persons possibly responsible for this. After all, the boy was always accusing him of being ~~a fruit loop~~ mentally unstable. It would be the sort of prank he'd expect from him... but now Daniel was here as well.

So some other group. An unknown. "At least the muffins are warm," he muttered as he took a taste of one.

Well, this ruled out his entire theory. The theory itself was half-baked, but it had been in the process of development. Now, before he could even find a way to blame everything on Vlad, it had been snatched away. Unless, of course, Vlad was pretending to be in the same situation to throw him off. Yeah, that was probably it.

Danny hadn't even started to take into account the other one hundred or so people in the same predicament as him, people who he had never met and people who, chances were, Vlad had never met either.

"How did you get here?!" he asked, his voice rising by the second, inching away slightly with his tray of food in tow. He was trying to be logical, but it wasn't that easy.

Vlad sighed, a noise like Sisyphus at the bottom of the hill bracing himself to start pushing the boulder again. Honestly, how could Maddie's own child be so, so...?

"I do not know, Daniel. How did you get here? I awoke and found myself in this place. Stop edging away from me like that." He glanced at Daniel's tray with annoyance. "I'm hardly going to steal your food, and neither of us are going to attack the other in the middle of a crowded cafeteria."

Turning his gaze away from Daniel for the moment, he glared around suspiciously at the rest of the room. Who were all these people? Genuinely patients? That absurd story from last night about the moon came to mind to bolster that theory... but then, those dogs attacking people, or the odd way he'd awoken only to pass out again as though nothing had happened, not to mention the lingering sense of weakness, couldn't be dismissed. Even the more baroque-minded ghosts he'd met weren't quite this obscure in their plots.

"Besides, whatever's going on, it seems to have especially targeted both of us, which seems to imply some awareness of that secret we share--arguing would only put us at a disadvantage if we have a common enemy." No one else here he recognized, at least, and if Daniel knew them then Vlad was fairly sure he'd know them as well by now. Vlad had kept his tone down, although if Daniel stood up on his chair to start shouting in response it wouldn't have surprised Vlad a bit.

Danny sighed. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Vlad was right--they couldn't start fighting here. And he didn't think they'd get a chance at each other until nighttime. And even then, he didn't have his ghost powers. Was Vlad lacking them too? He didn't want to ask, at the risk of Vlad finding out that Danny didn't have his.

"I don't care if you want my food or not," he said, gritting his teeth slightly. "When did you get here?" Danny just wanted to know when he got here. He didn't quite know why, but he knew that he was curious. It was just the type of information he wanted to know. Although Vlad still hadn't answered his first question regarding his purpose here. Maybe that was part of his plan. Ding! Another point for the half-baked theory.

He shook his head. "No one knows about it." Unless he hadn't wiped everyone's memories after the summer. "And it's targeting everyone, it's not like they're picky!" He threw his arms up in the air as a gesture to all the people in the cafeteria, although it seemed pretty empty for the moment.

He sighed and looked back to his tray, scowling. First, Vlad came, probably to spite him or bother him. And now? He was talking to Vlad. Talking! Not fighting, not shouting, but talking. But it wasn't as though there was much else to do with the nurses here, even if Danny wasn't one to think first and fight later.

When did he get here? If he thought about it, Daniel's reaction to his arrival seemed a bit out of proportion, even given the circumstances. True, he'd kept an eye on Daniel, but a few days had passed since he'd last checked in (a bit busy rebuilding after the mess from that ectoskeleton's explosion) and it was possible...

"Not long," he hedged. "And how long have you been here?" Daniel's gesture around at the room wasn't quite convincing to Vlad. "This hardly looks like everyone, unless you've been spreading your social circles without my knowledge; I recognize no one here but you. The odds of the two of us both being taken, with none of our relatives or acquaintances being taken as well, rather points to one conclusion. It's hardly as though we're random samples of the population." His gaze narrowed. "And when I last checked, your sister does not count as 'no one,' nor do your little sidekicks. Even if the information hasn't entered public awareness yet, you are not the best keeper of secrets, dear boy." His tone was chilly.

Though that still didn't explain the other people, he had to admit. Some of them looked... unique in their own ways, he supposed. And there was the possibility--but no, he'd hardly have failed to notice if the moon were falling down. Kittan had claimed some mass hysteria, it was not a secret Vlad hadn't been privy to. Patients, then.

"Less than a week," he said simply. He wasn't planning on indulging too much information to the billionaire--he was just too much of a creep and a fruit loop. And it didn't help that he said 'without my knowledge'. Without his knowledge? Why the hell would it be without his knowledge?! What was within his knowledge? Danny didn't even want to consider it--the implications were far too creepy. Instead, he just shuddered.

"I met some people here," he said defensively, crossing his arms. He'd spent two nights with Xelloss so far, but there was also Jean and Bridget, and those Hitsugaya and Artemis people. And he hadn't even gotten the names of half the people he was with on his first day here. "And I wasn't counting the obvious!" he said through gritted teeth. At this point, his eyes would've been glowing green, but since his powers had been toned down, they remained their regular blue.

Instead, he banged a fist on the table. Nurses or no nurses, if Vlad continued like this, Danny would go over the top.

"Really, calm down." Vlad frowned at Daniel's childish display of anger. "You're only going to draw attention, acting like that." The last thing they needed was for this conversation to get louder.

But a week...? So Daniel had arrived earlier than Vlad. Long enough to have made some local acquaintances, even. He leaned back a little, to give the boy some space and hopefully let him calm down a bit. 'Obvious,' really. If anyone here should be outraged, it was Vlad, considering how Daniel and his sister had conspired against him--but no, Vlad was calm and collected, while Daniel acted as though Vlad were here just to spite him.

Perhaps he was under that impression. "However we came to be here, at least I'm sure we can agree that staying is not to either of our interests, yes? So let's focus on finding a way to leave." Daniel had been trapped here a week? That made little sense, except... well, the little badger was quite a bit weaker than Vlad. If Vlad felt weakened, perhaps Daniel was powerless altogether here. That might explain his little temper tantrums as well. Vlad gave his best reasonable smile.

Ugh. Vlad was such a pain sometimes! No, not even sometimes. He was a pain all the time, and a fruit loop just as often. He didn't know how he was going to be able to stay in this place with Vlad in the vicinity.

But, he did cool down a bit. He unclenched his fists and relaxed a bit, instead taking a vicious bite out of a blueberry muffin. He wasn't going to let his guard down around the man who tried to clone him (four times!) and made a hologram of his mother. He could've just gotten a cat and avoided all this, but nooooo, he had to do the fruit loop thing and clone him!

"I guess," he grumbled. Even if Vlad was trying to throw him off, he would know their location anyway. So mentioning a speculated guess wouldn't hurt, right? After a few moment's hesitation, he said, "Unless you know of a place called Doyleton in New Jersey, we're gonna have a hard time." Then again, this was Vlad. He could probably easily call a few of his ghost minions to come down here and help them--or, at the very least, him--home. But why hadn't he done it yet, then?

"New Jersey?" Vlad frowned and drew his eyebrows together. "I've never heard of any Doyleton. Why would... whoever is responsible for this drag us to New Jersey?" New Jersey didn't even have a pro football team.

Daniel was sulking, but it was an improvement over having a fit. Vlad took a dignified taste of his yogurt before answering. "I realize we are not precisely on the best of terms, but it seems to me that calling at least a temporary truce would be more useful for both of us than arguing. You have some information I do not, and I have resources you do not." Nevermind for now how accessible those resources were in these circumstances. "Pooling these together may make this quicker and more painless for both of us, and once we have dealt with the individual responsible and left this place, you're welcome to go back to your usual..." Now, now... "daily life, and we can address any future disagreements in a less stifling environment. And better clothing." He frowned down at the smiley on his shirt yet again.

He shrugged simply. "You think I'd know? It might not even be New Jersey. But I was in Doyleton a few days ago," he said. He was starting to relax a bit more now, but he wasn't going to let his guard down entirely. They allied once to save Amity Park from the Ghost Zone, true, but that had been before he made clones. Speaking of which...Danny couldn't help but raise his eyebrows worriedly at Vlad's words, unsure whether to laugh or actually wonder what he meant. 'Resources'? What sorts of resources were those? It wasn't as if Vlad had his entire stash of ghost weapons with him, was it?

"You have resources here?" he asked incredulously. "It's not like you can make any more clones here," he said, eyeing the older man cautiously.

After a moment, he sighed. "Fine, temporary truce. But!" He stared Vlad in the eye directly. "Once we get out of here, it's off."

Daniel's agreement went right in one ear and out the other, as Vlad stared back at the younger man with unquestionable shock.

How did he... the clones...! "Pardon me." His voice practically grated out of his throat, not angrily, only forced. He shouldn't know of that yet. He must not know of that yet! Not until... "What do you mean, clones?"

A last resort, an ace in the hole. Vlad always had a spare plan, a back-up, in case of unexpected trouble. Such as finding it at last assured that the boy truly, genuinely never would come to appreciate what Vlad offered him, that there would never be anything but hostility between them. Finding that the boy was a lost cause. The clones should all be sealed up for now, safe and waiting in stasis, each stage in the testing process slightly more like Daniel until the near-perfect clone needing just some more time and a few more DNA samples had been created. How could Daniel possibly..?

"You've been spying on me." It was more in surprise than an accusation and lacked any heat, but it was the only explanation he could think of. True, it would be hypocritical of him to blame the boy, but he didn't blame him; it was an intelligence that Daniel had never shown before, to look ahead and peer into Vlad's labs uninvited. Frankly, it would be a bonding moment, if he didn't have the sudden dreadful feeling that this would be the turning point from 'possibility' to 'impossibility' in young Daniel's heart for a half-ghost father.

At least that explained the boy's violent hostility.

Danny stared at the billionaire, his eyes wide and curious. Vlad shouldn't have been acting this way...he seemed to be pretty mean (or meaner than usual) when it came to the clones. Not...shocked. There was no other way to describe it.

"Uh...I mean clones. You know, genetic copies? Corny sci-fi movies?" He tried mustering up more terms to give Vlad a better insight on what 'clones' were, since it seemed that he'd forgotten, but his mind was drawing a blank. He wasn't sure about a sci-fi movie that had clones in it...but he knew they existed.

It was in the middle of this musing that he was accused of spying Vlad. He stared a few moments, unsure of how to react. Danny, spying on Vlad? What kind of kid did Vlad think he was?! Well, obviously not a very good one, he knew that much, but he wouldn't spy on anyone. That was waaaay too creepy for him.

"Excuse me?" he said. "I've been spying on you? I'm not the fruit loop here!" he replied, throwing his arms up in the air again. "And what even makes you think I've been spying on you?" He folded his arms defensively.

Breathing. That was the ticket. Nice, steady breathing. Let the boy rattle on about science fiction movies as though Vlad somehow didn't know the meaning of the word clone and this was the problem here.

"Yes." He answered, still taking even breaths. "Your sister distracted me before, as you attempted to pry into my business and were stopped by Skulker. I shouldn't have assumed you'd pause there, having learned a lesson... but checking under the Colorado villa was very good, Daniel." More deep breaths. The last thing they needed was more shouting and arm waving. Daniel was doing enough of that as it was. But something about Daniel's denials was odd, and not just because Vlad was feeling the tiniest bit dizzy with shock. He grit his teeth for a moment. I am not a fruit loop. "How else do you explain your knowledge of them, then? I've checked on their status more recently than I've checked on yours, and all were accounted for. Even Skulker hasn't got advanced knowledge of this project. The only way you could know of it is if you'd been in the lab yourself."

All perfectly reasonable and even tones. No use in getting excited over this, no, it was merely a setback...

What...what was Vlad doing? Was he talking to himself? It sounded that way...It was definitely a first, and it was really starting to creep him out. Or, creep him out more than Vlad usually did. He mostly hated the man, but every once in a while, he did something that just made him question his sanity a bit more.

"What are you even talking about?" he said warily. "You sent the clones to get me! All four of them, including Dani!" It still weirded him out that the Hulk-like ghost, skeleton-ghost, and little pea-sized thing had all been failed projects to try and recreate him. Dani was, at least, visibly similar. Which was both relieving and a problem in many cases. "How can I not know about them? You made it pretty obvious when you shoved me in one of your torture-pods!" Or so he'd come to call them. "You're even crazier than normal."

What was wrong with Vlad today? Did he just happen to have some sort of amnesia or something? Or was he just playing dumb? Danny couldn't see why he'd do something like that, but he never did catch onto plans too quickly. Something had to have happened, because Vlad wouldn't have forgotten about something like that.

Vlad stared at him a moment longer.

Yes. If all were considered a loss, the other clones would be useful in gathering Daniel to get any last bits of data needed to stabilize the perfect clone. It made sense, aside from the 'torture pod' part; well, doubtlessly something had hurt and Daniel had decided to take it personally when it was strictly science.

All of it made sense now apart from the fact that none of it had happened. "I have no idea what you are talking about," he finally answered verbally, still staring at Daniel's face. The boy wasn't clever enough to lie about something like this. And if Daniel knew about the clones, it wouldn't be like him to simply leave things be--if he didn't just blindly destroy the clones in their pods without considering their relationship to him, he'd at least have come after Vlad for revenge.

"The last time I saw you, you were with your sister Jasmine destroying the perfected ectoskeleton." That was the honest truth, and could not be blunter, simply because he did not want the situation to become any more complicated than it was. Twists on what had or hadn't happened could be added later.

Jazz...? Ectoskeleton...? Danny racked his mind to find the particular incident and found it. It was that one time that Danny had been kidnapped and Jazz came to rescue him...it was a stupid move, but it ended well enough. Was that the last thing Vlad remembered? Did that mean Danny knew more about his plans than Vlad did himself?

...Sweet.

He shrugged, grinning at the other man, for once. He had a reason to smile at him--he knew more than Vlad did, for once!! This was great, he could mess with Vlad as much as he wanted. He could easily say that Vlad ended up on a random meteor in space with no way to get back to Earth! Or...maybe not. That sounded a bit too far-fetched, even for the Ghost Zone. He'd have to come up with a good lie to tell Vlad, then...but for now, he could easily tell the truth.

"Really? Last time I saw you, you were stuck in the ruins of your lab while we flew off with the clones. By the way, they hate you now," he said, with a smirk. So it was a little lie when he said the "clones." But hey, it was close enough to the truth for him.

Vlad blinked at the smirking, then scowled at Danny's statement. His memory might be faulty--or Daniel might be somehow remembering things that hadn't happened yet; was Clockwork involved in this? Heaven forbid--but he wasn't stupid.

"The clones aren't stable enough to be a threat, Daniel. If you encountered them, you must have realized their average lifespan outside a pod could be measured in days at best. And few of them have the mental capacity to hate anything."

Admittedly, that was saying a lot about the clone's construction, but Daniel knowing of them at all was a disaster; knowing the details would at best be an inconvenience by comparison.

"Whatever you believe happened, it has not occurred to me. The clones are unstable; freeing them from their pods now would make no sense." Apart from sending them to attack Daniel. "Have you dealt with Clockwork recently?"

Danny blinked for a few moments, clueless. He knew that most of the clones were unstable (or had reverted to some really, really weird form to stay stable, or something), but if Vlad had only been from when he and Jazz had escaped, did he already have the clones in the making? He thought he hadn't even started on the clones yet! When did Vlad get the chance to grab his DNA?

No--he wasn't going to think about that. That was way beyond creepy, and he didn't want to venture there at all.

"Well, they were stable by the time I met them," he said, nodding to make it seem more realistic. Somewhat. Danny just couldn't help that he was a bad liar. "And they were doing just fine." Except for the obvious facts, like how one of them was a girl.

"You're not making any sense either. It's been months since Jazz and I fought you. As for Clockwork..." He paused and thought for a moment. He hadn't spoken to Clockwork about anything pertaining to the clones. "No, nothing to do with Clockwork."

"Come now, dear boy, I wasn't born yesterday. They cannot be 'doing just fine' because most of them barely keep their shape even while contained within the pods. Or would you like to elucidate on how this fact was changed?" But the boy wouldn't be able to, he was bluffing, enjoying having some imaginary upper hand over Vlad. Insufferable...

"And why the pause, Daniel? Either Clockwork is involved or he is not, it shouldn't take any thought. Considering how unwilling I am to accept the premise that your sieve-like mind has miraculously retained memories of events I do not recall, the answer is either Clockwork or that you are lying about something else. Aside from the outcome of the clone incident, which I know you are lying about."

What did this mean? In that timeline, assuming they were dealing with alternate timelines which was more acceptable than believing he'd forgotten the last few months, he'd decided to give up on Daniel altogether. Death for the boy and a new life that hopefully would not be so overcome with these smug self-righteous superhero fantasies, a life he'd mold personally... But the boy was still alive. Fudge buckets.

He knew that Dani was pretty much a test-tube baby and had been made from his own DNA and everything. That was old news--but now, he was imagining her actual creation, as a little blob of ectoplasmic goo that was supposed to somehow become a half-ghost teenaged boy. At least, that was how he'd imagined it. The image wasn't particularly pleasing. Shaking his head to get rid of the image, he stopped zoning out and focused on the conversation again.

"He wasn't, alright? He had nothing to do with it! You sent the clones after me, I woke up and you were trying to get more DNA from me, and then I beat you! Plain and simple! And I'm not lying either, the clones did end up escaping!" Not like he expected Vlad to believe him. Vlad never believed him, and Danny couldn't exactly say he cared most of the time. It did come in handy every once in a while when he was stuck in a rut with the older hybrid, but for the most part he couldn't care less.

In a quieter tone, he admitted, "Some of them, at least..." He was too stubborn to say it outright, but his lie had already been exposed anyway.

"... I suppose..." ... you think you've done something good. That you saved them. But they're going to melt away. It's only a matter of time. 'Escaping' indeed. The pods were the only place they could be safe. He sighed and shook his head. "I suppose that saying I don't remember it, yet again, will do neither of us any good. Fine. I concede that I was working on such a project... and you have told me it will fail."

He leaned back, sighing again, a great deep grieving sigh. "Then perhaps at least I have avoided a mistake, thanks to your accidental forewarning. In which case I owe you a measure of gratitude, Daniel."

This had Danny reeling. His first stage was confusion. Vlad was giving up on a project? Vlad was thanking him? It seemed too weird for Vlad to be nice, even in the least bit--and no, the alternate future didn't count. That had been an entirely different set of circumstances. Danny thought this could be a victory unless Vlad was pulling his leg right now. He'd have to find out--this was pretty suspicious.

Too bad rationale wasn't working yet. "Um...okay?" he said, unsure of how else to respond. How was one supposed to respond to something like that when the person saying it was a mad scientist-type going after his mom and out to kill his dad?

"There. That wasn't so terrible, was it? I think our new alliance is off to an acceptable start, Daniel... despite confusions." True, calling it an alliance was rather pushing his earlier suggestion of truce, but he had Daniel off-balance for the moment and might as well take advantage of opportunities.

"Now, why don't you tell me what you've learned thus far? Doyleton, New Jersey as a location is a helpful start. You said you've met some people here... have you noticed anything similar about them, that might have caused them to be picked up in the same unusual manner we were?" Solicitous and friendly, as though nothing unseemly had happened at all.

Danny didn't respond about their 'alliance.' He was still weirded out by the fact that Vlad had just thanked him. That was probably the first time he'd ever done that, ever. He'd never heard the words "thank you" or anything similar come out of the man's mouth unless he was talking to his mother, and that didn't count.

"Oh, right..." he muttered. "Well, none of them are normal," he said idly as he chewed on what seemed to be his third muffin, the previous two still unfinished.

Well, Daniel was following right along, wasn't he? Considering that he must have tried to kill the boy (sincerely that time, no silly games with underlings and traps and no parents to hide behind) that was rather forgiving, but perhaps Daniel simply hadn't noticed a difference. Or perhaps he was willing to accept that he had met some sort of 'other' Vlad who had not performed those acts. That seemed the best way to continue this dialogue, at any rate.

And how had Daniel managed to survive a sincere attack, anyhow? Doubtlessly by playing some trick or another, as usual. Time to think about that later.

"Not normal, you say." Vlad glanced around the room. "Now when you say 'not normal,' could you... give me a few specific examples? Some detail?"

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