damned_institute | Day 37: Breakfast

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Day 37: Breakfast

[for Sylar, I believe]

At the sound of the intercom, Wally jerked awake and blinked around at the room. He’d fallen asleep. He should have been up and keeping an eye open for ZEX, but he’d fallen asleep waiting on his bed.

“Idiot,” he groaned, ruffling his hair and sighing in annoyance. “Way to help a guy out, hotshot.” Hopefully ZEX hadn’t dropped by and thought he’d left or something, or wouldn’t be too mad at him for just forgetting about it like that. If he was lucky, he’d be able to catch up with the other patient at some point and explain what had happened.

Rolling himself a little awkwardly out of the bed, Wally took the opportunity to stretch his injured leg and test how well it was holding up. It was feeling a bit better, not so much that he could abandon his crutch or that it didn’t pull painfully if he wasn’t careful, but better. Tony had apparently made it through the night in one piece as well, which was a relief. He really didn’t feel comfortable about the thought of his roommate wandering about on his own with an injured arm. Not when Wally himself could relax and fall asleep in the apparent safety of their room.

Yeah, he wasn’t going to let himself forget that one in a hurry.

It was at that moment that the door swung open to admit one of the nurses. She seemed surprised to find him awake and ready to go already, but smiled warmly. “Hungry, are we Mr. West? Well in that case, let’s get you to the cafeteria. The staff have provided some delicious French Toast as well as a range of other foods I’m sure you’ll like. Now will you be needing a hand with your leg, dear?”

“No thanks, I can handle it,” Wally replied, smiling back. After all, it probably wasn’t the nurses’ fault that this place was so messed up, so it wasn’t like picking fights with them would do anything. With a cheery wave goodbye, Wally slowly made his way to the cafeteria, keeping a tight grip on his crutch all the while. Obtaining a plate of food was only slightly less difficult than it had been yesterday – he didn’t have the painkillers to work around this time – but he managed well enough, coming away from the buffet with a tray containing a plate piled high with slices of French Toast and slathered in maple syrup, butter, and sugar, as well as a glass of juice. Not quite as good as some coffee would be right now, but the sugar would hopefully make up for it. And, with how few people were here at the moment, he could afford to take more food than might have been considered ‘normal’ – he’d have most of it gone by the time anyone came to keep him company, then he could just worry about how many extra serves would be allowed before he aroused suspicion.

Feeling pretty happy with how things were looking so far, Wally hummed faintly to himself as he dug in to his breakfast.

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"That's right, I have absolutely no idea what their significance is!" Xelloss nodded again, still amused. There were a few markings he'd seen around that were familiar, such as Seishirou's magic efforts before the dragon's untimely disappearance. But for everything he recognized, there tended to be something new--and he doubted many people here would understand the three circles on the forehead symbol. "It does have a nice shape to it! It's very simple." It would be easy for a sorcerer to imagine or draw quickly in an emergency; too bad it was, of course, not magical. Putting something in those spheres, on the other hand... he wondered what would happen, and how hard it would be to convince Brainiac 5 to let him doodle a few black magic ritual symbols on his forehead.

"Doesn't it make sense, considering your own transformation, that individuals who don't appear human are a threat? After all, prisoners here all take on a human form, whether they had one before or not!" Xelloss gestured around. "Something that is not human is either a prisoner under the Institute's control and returned to true form so they can attack more easily, or a monster already working for the Institute's needs. But I don't intend for you to be afraid, by any means." If he'd intended that, he'd have to find a better setting than the cafeteria, but disorientation and mistaken thinking was good enough. Instead, he took on a thoughtful look. "You might be eaten whether you're afraid or not, I don't think it really makes a difference to most of the creatures here."

All of that was fine, but when it came to the discussion of ancestors, Xelloss found himself doing something he rarely did in front of other people, and didn't believe he'd done at all since he'd arrived. Hiding for a moment behind a hand, he let out a few coughing, snorting noises, and turned away from Brainiac 5 for the moment, trying to regain his composure.

"I... is that what my ancestors believed?" he finally asked, cracking an eye open towards the side facing Brainiac 5. "That's really not the sort of priest I am at all. But I do think you'll have a wonderful stay here, Brainiac 5."

"That may be the case," Brainiac 5 countered, "but to attack others on the assumption that they are dangerous simply because they are not the same species as you is based on flawed logic. If, for example, a group of my teammates were to arrive and attempt to stage a rescue, you would be jeopardizing your chances of escape by doing so and possibly creating the appearance of being a danger yourself."

He didn't bother responding to the likelihood of him being eaten by anything here. He was growing tired of explaining his own opinions on the matter and nothing Xelloss had said so far had convinced him to believe the man. As far as he was concerned the topic was now null and void and he would be better to talk of other things on the chance of learning more about his situation.

However Xelloss's next actions temporarily diverted his attention from what he had been intending to ask and his meal. "Are you... alright?" Brainiac 5 asked somewhat reluctantly. He wasn't particularly concerned about the other man's health beyond what was strictly practical, and if Xelloss continued to cough then he would of course signal a nurse for assistance, but he'd learned that humans seemed to prefer these questions be asked, regardless of the practicality of the situation.

Fortunately it seemed as if any assistance would be unnecessary, as Xelloss turned back to him and continued the conversation. He also opened one eye further, allowing Brainiac 5 a clearer look at its unusual colouration and showing that he was apparently not, as the Coluan had initially assumed, visually impaired after all.

"It hardly matters what sort of priest you are," he answered. "Religion has no place among my people."

"You know, that's an interesting point! I think someone breaking into this place will be extremely noticable, but it could be quieter, and it would be sad if someone was killed because of a mistake!" Xelloss didn't sound very sad, but he added, "I'll be sure to ask first before I assume anything, then. But really, after that, they are probably going to eat you."

That settled, he took a long drink of juice, then a few more bites of his meal, to demonstrate that he was all right. "I'm fine! More than fine, in fact." His eyes had narrowed to their usual expression again, and he'd relaxed, but he did have to try hard not to think about it. His ancestor's beliefs...

Well, he did believe that the Lord of Nightmares drew the four orbs (and apparently other things, judging from this place) out of the Sea of Chaos, but having personally seen the Lord of Nightmares, Xelloss couldn't really consider that superstition so much as a fact of life.

He did give Brainiac 5 a slightly pouting look for a moment. "My people don't have Brainiacs, but I wouldn't disrespect your position! I'm sure it's very impressive. After all, there's only five!"

"Very well then." If Xelloss insisted that he was perfectly fine, then there was little point in arguing the matter, and if he turned out to be wrong, then all Brainiac 5 would have to do would be to summon one of the nearby nurses for assistance. It was as simple as that.

He continued eating the cereal as Xelloss spoke, pausing in his actions to drink some of the juice before responding. "Technically you are correct; there have only been five of the Brainiac line in existence, but at this present point in time, I am the only one. As for the significance, it is... was... of great importance to my people. The descendants of the Brainiac line have always had a 12th level, genius intellect and been instrumental in the development of our advanced technology. Without my ancestors, Colu would be a very different place."

He paused again, sipping at the juice as he watched Xelloss. Something about the way the older man had reacted to the thought of people accidentally getting killed bothered him. It might be worth trying to learn more about, he decided.

"While I am admittedly unfamiliar with human religions, I've noticed that you don't seem particularly... priestly."

"I'm glad that you're part of a family of geniuses. It would be too bad if you had a title like 'Brain'iac and weren't very intelligent after all." Xelloss answered with a fairly straight face. "If you have experience in advanced technology, then maybe you'll have an advantage in getting control of the advanced technology the Head Doctor here must have used to bring us to this place! That'll be convenient, too. I'll be sure to keep your name in mind the next time I come across something that seems like technology."

The few things that were more advanced than home were just technological substitutes for tasks that would be done normally with magic by humans, so far as he'd seen. That was for inside the barrier, of course; the outer world lagged behind a bit on both magic and technology. Still, there was always the off chance that Xelloss really would be faced with something more complex than the flashlights or the radio, and as much as he tended to lean towards the belief that this place had a magical foundation, it would be nice to be sure of someone to contact about advanced non-magical machines.

"I'm not priestly?" He feigned disappointment for a moment. "But, you don't know what sort of priest I am, so how could you know what's normal for priests like me? I might be a little strange compared to some priests. I think if someone had asked me what a Brainiac should be like before I met you, I might not have predicted someone like yourself."

Brainiac 5 scowled at the flippant reaction to his ancestors and the importance of the Brainiac line, but reasoned with himself that the human opposite him could hardly know any better. After all, he still believed in archaic systems like magic, of all things.

"You do that," he told Xelloss. "Though without my natural enhancements, I'm at a disadvantage. Finding out how I came to be altered to human form and reversing it is my top priority." He tilted his head, considering the situation further as he finished the cereal and set to work on a piece of fruit.

"Tell me," he said finally, "is there any method of getting into contact with others in a similar situation? Finding out further information and pooling our resources would be the most logical thing to do at the moment."

At Xelloss's question regarding his overall 'priestliness', Brainiac 5 merely stared at him blankly. He'd already established his lack of knowledge on human religions, but obviously the other man required some further clarification.

"You are correct, I don't know what is considered 'normal' behaviour for your religion, but in my understanding, most humans of any persuasion - religious or otherwise - display rather more remorse at the idea of others being killed than you do."

"Natural enhancements? Well, lots of people complain about the way their body was changed on the bulletin board. That's a board that's in the Sun Room, the room that we pass through to get into the cafeteria. The board is on the wall, and all sorts of communication is posted on it." Xelloss answered completely helpfully, before adding, "I don't think anyone's really found a way to reverse the changes! Non-human living beings and robots and gods and others have all complained, but all of them seem to still be human, at least on the surface."

The fact that Xelloss was really in the same boat didn't change his humor about the subject. After all, he wasn't the first Mazoku to be cursed by being placed in a human body, although the method here was rather unusual. Curses like that were hard to create and also hard to break, but considering the variety of people here, he was confident that it could be done. The idea that it was obviously magic was as driven into his head as Brainiac 5's own conviction that it had to be science.

"I don't think it's really necessary to have remorse just about an idea, do you? Besides, if something can't be helped, becoming upset about it won't make the situation better. Instead, we should consider who we are and what we can personally do, and then do our best! That way, there's no need for regret or remorse, even if things don't turn out well." Which all sounded very nice, apart from the fact that Xelloss was a being dedicated to the end of all life and a return to the Sea of Chaos. But he was quite sincere about doing his best. "And I did agree to ask at night in case something isn't human but is friendly. So really, we're talking about fewer potential deaths, aren't we?"

The information on the board sounded worthwhile, so Brainiac 5 made a note to check it later.

"That information is... interesting. And helpful," he said, slightly reluctant to give much by way of thanks to Xelloss, but realising that humans preferred some sort of expression of gratitude. "And yes, in my natural body I am largely cybernetic, which allows me many advantages over normal organic forms. Primary are a range of tools and weapons which would assist me in finding a way to leave this place. Without them and being in this new body, I find everything to be rather... confusing. Emotions in particular are more difficult to master than I initially predicted. Suffice to say that the sooner I can find a way to undo this change, the better I will feel."

Even just having his sensors back would have been a good start; he was tired with having to rely on basic human senses to examine everything around him. They hardly saw much of anything and missed the minuscule details that were often crucial to solving puzzles such as the situation he was currently in. It really just provided further evidence of how necessary his presence and guidance was to the Legion. He didn't want to think about what kind of mess the team would be in by the time he returned.

Brainiac 5 blinked in surprise as Xelloss continued speaking. He hadn't expected such a level of reasoning from the human, perhaps his time spent with the Legion was affecting him in more ways than he'd anticipated. It was something to look into further once he had returned.

"No, you are correct. Such reactions to ideas are often distracting from the goal of preventing the circumstances involved. Though that doesn't seem to prevent others from doing so." But then again, Superman had insisted that feeling remorse or other emotions even in relation to purely theoretical scenarios was a part of being human, and that to treat everything in a purely logical fashion was to become more like his ancestor.

And he'd had more than enough of being like Brainiac 1.0 recently.

"Yes, it is," Xelloss agreed about the helpfulness of his information, upbeat and graceless in response to Brainiac 5's semi-thanks. The comments about being cybernetic made no sense to Xelloss, but being non-organic in origin and being a construct weren't beyond his experience. True, constructs like that were always magical in origin at home, and very rarely so complex or so intelligent. Xelloss himself wasn't a construct in that sort of sense, but he was a being created entirely by and of magical forces, so it was no wonder that he saw the world in terms of such; for a moment, he was considerate enough to suppose for a creature built and sustained entirely by technology, assuming the world centered around technology would make sense.

It didn't mean Xelloss would believe he was wrong about Landel's Institute, and Xelloss knew he was correct about the existence of magic, but it did add a more complex dimension to his new acquaintance's stubbornness. It didn't make the stubbornness less entertaining, of course.

"There are all sorts of beings that live in this place, and all sorts of people who have very different beliefs. You're going to find it very difficult to get along if you argue too strenuously about things they know to be true. But, that's also your decision! I hope you aren't eaten or killed by another patient, since you're my useful technological contact now," Xelloss added generously.

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Day 37: Breakfast

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