Day 40: Lunch

[whiny-egomaniac.livejournal.com]

*hobble wobble*

"Damn that SCOURGE!" Starscream cried out, the slowly-filling cafeteria producing a jarring echo of his raspy voice. His limping, already bad enough from not knowing how to properly use his crutches, was now exacerbated from the injuries he'd received the shift prior. Despite the gauges in his non-casted leg so lovingly provided by the aforementioned 'patient', Starscream could still put some weight on it, but not so much that he could really stop and rest; relieving the soreness under his arms was out of the question. The nurse that walked behind him with his tray, already upset at having to deal with yet another troublesome inmate, was growing rather impatient as his charge slowly made his way down the food line.

"Just...give me a standard serving of the aquatic creature's flesh, some of those fried potato slices, two bananas, and three bottles of juice," Starscream sighed, his anger from just a moment ago assuaged by the physical exertion needed to move the way he did. "I'm going to sit down here...bring it to me when you're done."

He was hardly surprised to find that one of the bananas was completely bruised along its inner curve, or that the handful of 'chips' on his plate were all on the small side. Tired and frustrated as he was, however, he could barely muster a 'damned flesh-creature' before moving his fingers to the plate, picking one of the longer 'chips' and shoving it into his mouth listlessly.

There was an unusually high concentration of sodium chloride crystals on it. Of COURSE.

[For Tony Stark]

Comments

[madeinthehrl]

"Yes." Soma's eyebrows furrowed together in slight confusion - did most people not live in houses with lawns where he was from? - until Tony explained himself.

Then she leaned forward slightly, faint but unmistakable interest at last registering on her face. Did he have enhanced quantum brain waves, too? She'd never heard of an ability like that occurring with the treatment, but one never knew...

"Could you keep describing it, please?" she asked. "Just to be sure."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

Faintly embarrassed now--he seldom talked about his odd gifts--Tony looked down at his hands on the table. But he continued to describe the little he could see. It was still, like a photograph, but he could see more than just the outside. It was a very odd feeling. He was used to seeing places alive and moving, as they were from moment to moment.

"I can see a wall of pictures over a mantle. Are they your family? The lawn is so green, like summer." He didn't want to get too personal, but he burned with curiosity to know if he was right. "The furniture gleams so brightly I can almost smell the polish." But of course, he couldn't really smell it. "A very nice house."

[madeinthehrl]

The description was good enough for Soma, even if a quick mental check confirmed that his quantum brainwaves were as normal as those of (almost) everyone else here. Besides, all of the things Tony had described were precisely what she had been thinking of before he spoke.

"They're not my family - they're the colonel's," she said, her voice matter-of-fact. Then her expression softened slightly; his curiosity was clearly readable, and it was just as interesting to learn about abilities other people here might have. "But I think you really are seeing it. Have you always had that ability?"

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"Umm... yeah, I have, as long as I can remember. It's usually much better." It was hard talking about this, but Tony had come to understand that more people here were odd than not. He wasn't going to face automatic rejection, though he was wary of being taken advantage of.

"My sister and me were unusual. We didn't fit in anywhere, so we were running away. She can open locks. We can both move things without touching them. Music makes it easier. I can see places, but... since waking up here, I can't even tell the time. The clock's broken." He shivered.

[madeinthehrl]

"I've never heard of abilities being influenced by music. Does that work here, too?"

It sounded as if Tony was born with his ability, though it was difficult to tell. Perhaps he didn't remember obtaining his powers...although Soma was beginning to reject that idea. Except for E-0057, nobody else seemed to have enhanced quantum brainwaves, and she was slowly starting to grasp the idea that not all of the patients' abilities were like hers.

"I don't think time works the same here," she said after a moment, looking faintly frustrated at the thought of it. "At least, not at night. The hours are all wrong. And they dulled my abilities, too."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

Tony swallowed and licked his lips. Nothing salacious--he wouldn't even know how to do that--just that they got dry when he got nervous. "Yeah, it does. Some. Not as good as it used to. I don't have my harmonica, and I'm not as good with a recorder. So just small things, so far anyway."

"I was hearing a little about the time issue. I wonder if they're related. Because I could see places, I could always tell what time it was by looking at a nearby clock in my head." He shook his head. "Now, it's... always the same." He shuddered.

[madeinthehrl]

"I'd like to see those powers some time," said Soma seriously as the intercom crackled to life. "It sounds like they could come in handy.

"The doctors here probably removed your clock, just like they dulled everyone else's powers." Her face hardened slightly at the thought. "It's completely unfair. The proper thing to do is to let us fight them on even terms. I'd like to see them keep me here if I had my GN-X with me."

"What a thing to say, Maria!" chirped a voice behind her, and she whirled. Why hadn't she heard the nurse coming?

"My name is Soma Peries!"

"None of that, now," said her nurse in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Come along, it's time to go outside! Say goodbye to Frederick."

"Goodbye, Tony," said Soma pointedly, standing up, and offered a very slight smile. Names were names, whatever the woman said. "I hope we can talk again sometime."

[tony-castaway.livejournal.com]

"Good-bye, Soma," Tony murmured. At least she wasn't so upset and turned inward like that Skuld lady. His nurse didn't even bother with polite talk. She took him by the arm and led him out of the cafeteria. Because of where they were going, Tony didn't dream of protesting.