damned_institute | Day 38: Patients' Library

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Day 38: Patients' Library

The intercom rang out, disrupting what had turned out to be a rather pointless breakfast conversation, at least in Brainiac 5's eyes. He couldn't wait to put more distance between himself and Scar's blather of how logic, of all things, might not work the same way in this dimension. It was almost enough to make him believe that the man may very well have been a lion originally after all, as he'd never heard anything so very... ignorant and uneducated.

He quickly finished up the fruit he'd been nibbling on - he was no longer as hungry as he had been - and looked around automatically to see where Clark was. Unfortunately with the press of people around, some being led off to the library and others to the mentioned 'therapy sessions' - if that was what they really were - he had lost sight of the Kryptonian. Still there wasn't many places he could go, so Brainiac 5 would be able to catch up with him eventually to check on his condition and try and learn more about what had happened last night. That the Chapel had healed him - admittedly by passing his injuries to another - was interesting, but far more important in his eyes was what had happened to Clark and his powers. They hadn't been working correctly and that worried the Coluan boy more than he would normally have admitted. Without Clark's abilities... he wasn't sure what they would have to rely on in order to escape.

Another problem he would have to deal with was Grell... or, if he was to believe the notes on the bulletin board, the person pretending to be Grell. But that was going to require more careful planning before he made a move. Come to think of it, he had agreed to meet another in the library today on that same post that had sparked this whole mess. At least then he would have something of interest to look forward to, as he doubted any of the 21st century books were likely to be worthwhile to someone of his advanced intellect.

Following the nurses led him to what must have been the library; a reasonably large room filled with a range of archaic books on tall shelves, a few tables and chairs interspersed around the room. The Coluan boy couldn't refrain from wrinkling his nose in distaste as he entered the room, not liking the cumbersome books and the dust that he knew would have gathered on them; he much preferred the clean arrangement of his C.O.M.P.U.T.O. systems back in the Legion headquarters. It was much more practical then shelves and shelves of books on fictional worlds and dated information.

Trying to avoid as much of the room as possible, Brainiac 5 settled himself down on a chair to wait, keeping an eye out for a tall, dark-haired man with a red... something on his forehead.

[for Homura]

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Near sighed slightly, moving to sit on the floor. The position would look awkward to most, with his left knee tucked close to his chest, while the inside of his right calf lay flat on the floor, twisted in a manner many might not be able to accomplish. But for Near, this position was perfectly natural, and allowed him to think most clearly.

"Such as the idea of monsters coming out at night?" It seemed the most likely. Near reached into his pocket, pulling out a small police car and setting it on the floor before pushing it around. "It would seem farfetched to the average person. But they are there, and they won't stop their attempts to eat you just because you'd like to think they aren't real."

Of course, proving time discrepancies was a bit more difficult. In Near's case, it had never been something he couldn't believe in. The presence of assorted others from his world, even those who were still alive in Near's time but significantly younger here, made the reality of the situation both obvious and unquestionable. For this person, who likely hadn't had the same luxury, it would of course be much more difficult to grasp.

"Unfortunately, there is no way to truly prove it." At least none that Near was willing to share. The situation of his own world was delicate enough without carelessly revealing details to strangers. Especially now, with Matsuda, Mello, and Mikami Teru all in the room. He heard their conversations of course, including Matsuda's questioning L's presence. That was interesting, especially given the recent condition of the man. Mello must have been considering it a possibility, given the bulletin he had put up asking about the behavior of later-vanished patients. "So you can accept it, or you can not accept it. But if you are from a time before the publication of those books, certain pieces of technology must be confusing to you as well, along with the medications available. Perhaps even the nurse's uniforms are strange. And my little car."

Near pressed down on the machine, making it's lights flash for the man's benefit.

The library couldn't really win with Evangeline. Classical literature she'd read before, and modern literature she generally didn't bother with until it was considered classical, as a time-saving measure to keep up with the expansion of the publishing industry and resultant increase in the chaff-to-wheat ratio over the centuries. Either way, her first interest wasn't going to be in the books but in bothering some luckless fellow internee.

She was carrying a copy of Anna Karenina- and carrying was all it was really there for, she knew the book practically by heart- on an aimless circuit of the room when she spotted Sai and, somehow offended by the utterly studious expression on his face, walked over and started making a nuisance of herself.

"Hey there," she called sarcastically, "Careful you don't enjoy that or anything."

Edited 2009-01-12 09:27 (UTC)

It took Sai a moment to realize the girl was speaking to him and not any of the other patients. He didn't recognize the voice, so he wasn't sure why she would. Blinking, her statement registered and he smiled. "That shouldn't be a problem," he said.

Truthfully, he'd thought fiction was meant for enjoyment. Then again, this Institute was a strange place. It was also possible she was making fun of him, but he was rarely able to tell. He didn't have much interest in conversation with her at the moment, in either case, and he returned his attention to the book without another word.

Okay that sealed it. Everyone here was dumb. Everyone here really was from different universes and she'd come from the one that had gotten all the brains. Which, considering how stupid some of her classmates were, was absolutely terrifying.

Wait, no, Asuna and Alberio still averaged things out pretty well. Maybe her universe had just had most of its stupid concentrated in a few people. Still, she was getting tired of having conversations like this.

So she opted for the direct route. "...You know I'm making fun of you, right?"

"Hee! Hee! Hee! No, we don't." Who would have hands, other than those silly humans? And their humanoid sister races, anyway. "Our limbs are much less... rigid than yours." ZEX's grin grew wider. "Although they're also much more flexible."

A moment to enjoy the memory of his original arms, and then he was back on track. As unfamiliar as he was with human emotions or how they were expressed, it was difficult for ZEX to try and muffle any kind of physical reaction he had to certain things. Therefore, when Teisel mentioned blindness, ZEX's surprise and horror was very clear on his face. "Blind? How terrible for you!" ZEX couldn't even imagine not having his eye. The primal and instinctual phobia all VUX had about eye damage and blindness made even the thought of it deeply distressing. "It must be a relief to have them back now." ZEX took a breath. "Most of us that go blind don't live very long..." And those that could afford treatments for it were few and far between.

ZEX tried to move head feelers he no longer had, and as a result his face twitched a bit oddly. It was a shame humans didn't have a gesture that indicated bemusement clearly. "I have no idea why we were brought here, or what purpose torturing us would serve. If they have interest in my military ability, they haven't made that clear to me. I don't think those in charge of this experiment feel at all inclined to tell us what they're doing and why. It's frustrating." To say the least.

Mmm, the human was changing color. Practically begging him to take him! It was a shame that they couldn't get better acquainted now during the day... for a moment, ZEX wondered if perhaps he should change his plans and spend the night seducing him after all, but reminded himself that that could wait until later. ZEX was smiling at him in that particular way at the thought, although he did sound genuinely interested in what he was saying. "So this isn't so unfamiliar to you! That's reassuring." Earth must have been a very strange place. ZEX paused for a moment in thought. "As for traps... I believe I've read some things on the message board about traps in the basement, but we won't be going there." At least, as far as ZEX was aware. "I would definitely be cautious of being injured here, though. Human bodies may heal quickly, but it can really impede one's progress."

Oh, brother. This was almost getting to the point where it was becoming embarrassing to be talking to him. How well known was he, anyway? Yukari didn't know what to think if she was caught talking to some guy who was made infamous for being as much as slightly cracked... She wouldn't be able to live it down, she just knew.

As discreetly as she could, Yukari glanced around the room, quickly trying to spot if anyone happened to be watching them. Next time? She didn't care how lame any of these books were, she was simply going to grab one and at least pretend she was occupied.

She was about to toss in her input, too, until Xibar decided to make that claim; couldn't hold up, he said? Sure, she couldn't say she was liking his attitude, but couldn't hold up regardless? Hah! As if he could make such a claim in the short amount of time they've talked. Finally uncrossing her arms, Yukari placed a dissatisfied hand on her hip, raising an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? How 'bout you try me first before saying that?"

Kio blinked in surprise, some of his prickles falling out. He seemed helpful enough, but then again so was his nurse, who insisted that he was Akatsuki. This boy didn't seem like anyone on the staff, though, so Kio could cut him some slack. He took the book back, hoping to be able to check it out later and finish it. "Don't worry, I shouldn't have jumped like that."

Allen Walker, huh? Now that was a weird name. Maybe this is what they called him by here? So then he was convinced his old life was a sham? Why was he here? Wasn't the entire point of the place to brainwash them into thinking he was Akatsuki? "I'm Kaido Kio. Well, I remember myself as Kio. They seem to think I'm some other guy here." If nothing else, he was the new guy. How frustrating. "You have a very unusual name. Where do you come from?" Perhaps a better question was when he came from, but that sounded crazy even to Kio.

Edited 2009-01-12 10:36 (UTC)

Yukito sounded like a sincere person. He didn't even know Soubi or why he and Ritsuka were fighting or anything and yet he really did sound like he felt sorry that they were fighting. Usually Ritsuka hated it when people said things like 'I'm sorry' without knowing anything about the situation, but then he'd been growing used to Soubi's meaningless apologies lately, so hearing a real one was something of a pleasant surprise. "Yeah," Ritsuka mumbled, looking at his book. "Me, too."

He wished that moron would just trust him, but now that Kio was back, it seemed Soubi was more willing to turn to an adult than to his Sacrifice. Or maybe Soubi had never wanted Ritsuka as his Sacrifice. Maybe Soubi could do better without Ritsuka tagging along.

But now Yukito was trying to insist he was 'fine' and Ritsuka just gave him a look. "I understand if you don't want people to worry, but you won't be able to convince people if you don't actually look fine. Besides, people come in here to read and you haven't cracked open a single book. What's wrong?"

"Very well-said," Kenshin agreed, still teasing. "Lame-brained idiots, indeed." It was crass and inelegant (much more so than the way he would have phrased it himself), but it got the message across quite well.

The rurouni accepted the book and added it to the weakest-looking part of the wall, still laughing. This was fun. Just about as much fun as he'd had since getting here, really. He missed being able to let loose and play. Even in the dojo, there were always chores to be done (not to mention making sure that his friends didn't kill each other). It was fun and often anything but peaceful, but it wasn't quite like it had been in the village so many years ago, with the children.

He was drawn back into the present when Yuffie faltered slightly. She was pretending like nothing was wrong, but there was no mistaking that look.

"Are you all right?" he asked gently.

"Not everything I do has an ulterior motive, you know." Sync had been expected Guy to be of some use to him, but the latter proved to be just as clueless as he was. Either that or he refused to help him, which the God-General thought was rather funny considering that it was just over a book. Nonetheless, he decided to take the blond's word for it, idly flipping to the first page and read a few sentences.

"Which reminds me..." He began, keeping his eyes focused on the print. "I haven't seen much of the others in a while."

That may have been because he'd barely been out save for those last few nights, but what Guy didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

"Aww, you keep that up you're gonna hurt my feelings," Kon said, pouting as he watched Sakura scrub at her arm like he'd slobbered all over it instead of kissing her. That was a first for him. Undeterred he quickly claimed the seat closest to her when she sat down.

It was a good thing the staff didn't seem too fixed on the idea that you had to be silent in a library on pain of death. Kon remembered getting in a lot of trouble during his brief stint at school on every single one of the few occasions he'd had no choice but to go to the library. This naturally didn't make him lower his voice from its normal volume as he asked, "So Sakura, what's a girl like you do when she's not breaking guys hearts? They can't have locked you up just for being beautiful can they?"

He totally needed to figure out who here had powers. He could make a team - Superboy's Angels or something like that - with the babes who were also heroes like him. He also wanted to find out just how many different realities people had been taken from. Sure he knew Hypertime was made up of infinite different worlds but could one person really pick and choose which one they went to? It would be seriously cool to be able to travel between worlds as easily as it seemed like the guy running this place could. He'd use that skill way better than it was being used at the moment.

When the older man responded, he seemed to have no concern for having been observed. Well, maybe it wasn't rude where he came from--there were so many cultures and worlds represented here that Frey had little hope of learning the etiquette of each. It made his diplomat side quite unhappy to realise that, but at the same time all he could do was move on past the faux-pas and try to reclaim some sort of dignity. "Ah, no. Nothing of concern. I apologise for disturbing you. I was not intending to go anywhere in particular--I've no familiarity with anything in this library, so no real goal, either."

If it was anybody else but Kenshin, she might have called that sarcasm. As it was, it was just Kenshin being an intelligent, prude-ish old man who had way too much teasing her. Rolling her eyes, Yuffie nudged him with her elbow. “Well, what would you call it?”

Speaking of intelligent, Yuffie figured that the red-head would be able to take the initiative from there. She snagged a few more books for herself, adding some where they were needed, and others where she felt like, just to see if they’d stay or fall. A little precarious balancing and a few well-aimed glares, and the books held… just. The activity itself wasn’t all that exciting, but it was fun in a peaceful kind of way - not usually her style, not by far. It was a nice way to unwind, though.

At his question, Yuffie blinked. “’Course I am!" She laughed. "This is fun, isn't it?"

Homura was moving stiffly, obviously careful not jostle some injury he had. It appeared that obtaining injuries of a night wasn't exactly unusual after all, though whether that had to do with the supposed monsters Elle and Xelloss had warned him of - and as of yet, he had seen little actual evidence of those claims. A strange bird-like creature that Elle attacked on sight and the corpse of another strange being hardly counted - or if it was because of people like Grell attacking others he wasn't sure.

He followed the older man back to the chairs and sat, unconsciously wrinkling his nose at the dusty books around them. "If you can call being threatened several times and having someone try and kill me a 'negative response'," he said dryly. "Then yes. However it is gratifying to see at least one person doesn't seem as quick to attack me simply for pointing out errors in their reasoning.

"But this wasn't what we were here for. What specific differences would you like to discuss?"

He couldn't help it, Wally tensed up automatically and stared in surprise at the word 'superhero'. While he knew that Bats, Clark, and himself weren't the only heroes in the institute, he hadn't met anyone who was just so... laid back about admitting it. It was kinda off-putting. At least Statesman and Tony had been more, well, serious about it all.

"You're a superhero?" he asked, and he didn't have to fake the doubt in his tone. "Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't exactly seem the superhero type..." Not strictly true; the League had a few different members who at first glance looked like they wouldn't last a second in a fight, but not everyone knew that and he was trying to act more 'average' to keep everything secret. Specially now that Bats was here too.

"So if you're a superhero, then what're your powers? And what's a V-watch and how's it gonna help you get out of here?" He still had his powers - well sort of anyway - and he was still here. But then again, when he'd first gotten here Wally had thought that he could just leave too, so maybe it was just that the guy was new.

"How long have you been trying to get out anyway?"

"Monsters? I don't know what all is out there, but all I've seen so far is a swarm of killer bugs. Nothing you couldn't pick up on a quick trip to the tropics, if you were sadistic enough. And from what I've heard, I'm willing to bet the rest are nothing more than exotic animals that have been experimented on. Anything more dramatic than that is fear talking." Indy slammed the book shut and wedged it back onto the shelf. He kept standing.

Of course, his tirade hadn't explained away that strange woman with the red beaked mask. But Pierson was probably right about that one being some kind of projection anyway.

But the kid's next words sounded all too familiar. The technology was definitely strange. He hadn't really thought about the nurse's uniforms, but there was something off about them. Some of the stuff in the storage room last night had been a little unusual too. And Indy had to admit that he'd never seen a toy car that lit up before.

"All right, fine," he said. "Let's assume for now that I'm actually giving any credence to this screwball time-travel business of yours. What year is it now?"

"There've been two sizable groups admitted within the last five days," Tony replied. So the man was new, then, or at least had not likely been there any longer than Tony himself. "And no indication that this is anything out of the ordinary. They don't seem to be running out of room in a hurry, either."

Considering the number of death notices he'd seen go up on the bulletin board, the faint inkling that the rate of admission was dangerously close to the replacement rate had been a hard one to banish.

"He's also a frequent coward." Lugnut would agree with pretty much any negative thing Forte wanted to say about Starscream.

Lugnut tensed and shifted unhappily, his steady stare breaking away from Forte from the first time. "Attacked," he corrected, grudgingly, and he didn't look very happy about it. "By oversized organic vermin."

[Pretty visible ^^; His left arm is actually wrapped in bandages, but the pentacle is there and his eye is probably reacting to some of the "akuma" in the area. So it would look kind of funky.]

The man seemed to relax a little when he retrieved the book, but when he explained further it became more and more apparent that he was new. "Ah... yes, well, they'll do that. They told me my name was Jamie something or other, but I'm really very sure it's Allen. They do that to everyone here. I um... I'm from England originally, but I've traveled a lot. It's nice to meet you Mr. Kio."

Allen finally took a seat, glancing down at his books for a moment before he looked back up at Kio. "Have you been here very long? I can try to er... explain things a little bit if you like sir?"

By the time a nurse led another patient over, the Doctor had finished only a few pages, preferring a leisurely read over finishing the novel quickly. The nurse hurried off a moment later, ostensibly to find a book for the gentleman.

The Doctor turned to look at the redhead when he spoke, giving him a friendly smile. "No, not at all!" he said. The man looked as if he were feeling a little ill, or perhaps just uneasy... He'd said he was flustered, and maybe that was the best word. "I'd certainly enjoy the company."

He closed the book in his lap, turning in the chair in order to face the man a little better. "I'm—" he said, pausing suddenly. He'd been about to say 'the Doctor' out of habit, but the reaction the name had gotten from a few of the patients he'd spoken with on the bulletin board had confirmed that Edward had been right. Maybe it was best not to give his name. "Smith," he finished after the second of silence. "John Smith. And you?"

This guy was definitely weird, she decided, but even if he was a perv, at least he seemed to have good intentions. And while it was pretty embarrassing to have someone giving her so much attention and flirting like that, maybe she could get used to it. Maybe. Believing he was actually genuine about his affection was difficult, but after that display, she had to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"You don't let up, do you?" Sakura said, though it was more in joking than actually berating him. She did smile a little easier though, despite how close the boy was sitting.

"I..." she didn't have to say much more than the basics, she reminded herself. That would be alright. Name, rank, that sort of thing. "I'm a kunoichi, that's a female ninja. I specialize in medical jutsu and taijutsu. So before I came here I usually took a support role in our missions."

That about covered it. "What about you? What do you do when you're not sexually harassing patients?"

(Hope you don't mind?)

Takaya was pointedly ignoring his nurse, not wanting to get yelled at for cursing or making rude gestures again as she hustled him off to the library. LIBRARY of all the fucking places he could have gone....

Over to a chair and, knowing Takaya better than he would ever want to realize, she thrust a book into his hands. "Now you sit here, read, and for heavens sake young man, behave." He glared at the book, still trying to ignore her, and after a moment of eyeing him, the nurse gave a tired sigh and walked away.

He glanced at the cover of the book without any real interest, but started to read it anyway. The guy beside him seemed absorbed, so maybe he'd get lucky and would be left alone?

Clark looked again at Sora, eyes wide in surprise. He really didn't look like someone who could last for that long, which had to be several weeks now...but Clark looked again and he knew there had to be something in Sora; persistence, being a survivor, something he couldn't tell just by looking at him. Color him impressed.

"Wow," Clark said, as he followed Sora. "How long have you been here exactly, do you think?"

He knew he'd been here for a least a week, but he hadn't met anyone who'd been here for months on end. Whether that was because they got killed or "got better", remained to be seen though.

Now that he'd met Ritsuka much of the conversation he remembered from the bulletin board made sense. The boy really did seem to care quite a bit about people, even if some of the comments on the board had been grumpy enough to have come from his other self.

Yue, however, refused to react to that gently teasing comment, even though Yukito could tell he was aware of it.

At Ritsuka's question, though, he only shook his head slightly, still smiling. "Oh, I got hurt a little last night, that's all," he replied, giving a mildly embarrassed chuckle as he lifted a hand to his bandaged chest. "Maybe I'm just having a hard time concentrating because I hit my head, too."

There wasn't really anything that Ritsuka could do for either of them, really, so there was no need to burden him with any of their own problems. He'd already been upset enough about the other night without knowing exactly what had happened.

Bridget clung to Roger, the first time since he'd gotten hurt that he wa able to bring the bear out of his room, and already felt better for it. He still had minimal feeling in his left hand and arm (which was still in it's sling), but it was coming back. His nurse had scolded him and had told him he'd been lucky not to lose it.

He hadn't seen Kagura yet today, but then, he'd been sleeping so... Oh! There she was. Talking to a taller young man. She was always making friends, she was so nice! Smiling, he turned back to the books.

Turning a corner, he wasn't able to stop quickly enough to keep from bumping into the man leaning on the shelves. He wasn't heavy and the bump wasn't hard, but it was enough to make him stumble back a bit.

"I'm so sorry!" He kept his voice low.

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Day 38: Patients' Library

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