damned_institute | Dayshift 42: Wicker Street [Afternoon]

(Guessing they've eaten? If not, let me know!)

Matt hadn't really been able to get much out of Peter over lunch, but he was hopeful for the rest of the afternoon. He hadn't finished everything and asked about taking the rest back with him and now held a small paper bag with half of a club sandwich in it.

Years of living on too little didn't let him waste food. Besides, someone might want it.

White cane snapping out in front of him, he caught a familiar smell and turned towards it. "Kurt?"

[Let's just pretend they did? NO FAIL HERE. << >>]

Well, he was full now. That was a plus.

Lunch had been quiet. Matt had made a valiant effort to coax him into conversation, and Peter tried his best to keep up but ultimately fell silent in the end. The morning had taken the steam out of him. Now he was back in his little limbo, staring at the ground as he walked and getting swallowed up by his ridiculously enormous hoodie.

Maybe he should check through some of the shops, keep himself busy. They had to have something useful around. The photography supplies were a bit much to hope for, but that didn't mean he couldn't check.

"Kurt?"

"Uh-huh," Peter said automatically.

There was the grocer's down there, that was probably his best-

...Where did Matt go?

Peter turned back to see the older man firmly planted in front of the Twin Pines. Kurt was with him.

"Oh. When did you...Uh, hey Kurt." He quickly rejoined the pair, eyes flicking over what he could see of the bandages. Weird. Kurt should have been in a wheelchair or under nurse supervision with burns like that, but he was standing here, obviously wandering around alone. Did he have accelerated healing too? He could have sworn Kurt only teleported. And occasionally stuck to the ceiling, but that was only the second-hand report from Kitty.

He was getting better, though. Faster than he should have, but that was a good thing, right? That was one thing they could be grateful for.

Edited 2009-07-09 12:49 (UTC)

Kurt stopped staring at his coupons when he heard his name called. Looking up, he smiled brightly at his older friend.

"Hi Matt! I was just looking around a bit, I didn't know-- oh hey Peter!" Kurt waved his unbandaged hand. He was still a little crispy, but Frey's healing had apparently done wonders, because he was at least able to stand and walk without being in excruciating pain, and he didn't have an IV in. 'Just in time for the trip!' his nurse had said.

He eyed the bag Matt was carrying. "Did you guys eat already? I don't even know what time it is, I must've missed lunch or something." Peter still looked a little worse for wear, though. Hopefully Matt had been trying to cheer him up, but it didn't look like it was working.

"Hey, maybe I could hang with you guys for a while?" he asked, smiling mostly at Peter.

Matt smiled at the cheerful tone and then turned towards Peter as he came back over. "We did eat," he said, then held out the bag. "There's still half of an untouched club sandwich in here if you'd like."

He didn't know if Kurt would accept or not, but he wouldn't be upset either way.

"Well, I don't mind..." He tilted his head. "Parker?" Matt thought that perhaps someone Peter's own age would have better luck drawing the young man (how strange to think that) out of his personal hell.

Kurt was a hard guy to say no to. The guy hadn't eaten yet and looked like he'd been alone the whole day. He had the puppy eyes down pat.

He wasn't sure if he could keep up with the chipper boy, but Matt was here, wasn't he? He didn't have to say much, just so long as he kept close to the pair and listened he wouldn't feel like...that weight in his stomach didn't feel so heavy around other people. He didn't want to talk, but he didn't want to be alone, either. Not yet. The stores could wait, the day wasn't over yet.

Peter returned the smile, even if it was a lower wattage than Kurt's.

"Sure. We could go back in or head over to the Tasty Burger, too. Up to you," he said.

"Awesome, thanks!" Kurt said, taking the sandwich from Matt. Oh sweet, glorious sandwich, his stomach would rejoice.

"Mm, might be good," the mutant said, pulling out his coupons again and maintaining the sandwich in his other hand with relative ease. He took a rather large bite and flipped through them. "There's also, euh... a spa treatment, manicure..." He raised his eyebrow. "Wonder if they forgot that we're mostly guys here."

Tapping his cane handle thoughtfully,Matt shrugged. "I would imagine it's a nice change of pace for the ladies here," he pointed out. "And there are probably a few guys doing the same." He didn't judge... well, not when it came to something like that anyway.

"I didn't have any plans, so as long as you both don't mind an old man walking around with you, whatever you want to do is fine by me."

Peter had been wondering about the girly coupons too. But seriously, what kind of coupon would you give a man (besides free food)? There wasn't really a male equivalent of a manicure. Unless you're just a man getting a manicure. No problem with that, but most of the stereotypical guy stuff like cars, computers, powertools - that all fell under the 'useful' category, and was therefore completely out of the question. He could see them giving some of the younger kids here tickets to an arcade, but he doubted a town this size had anything more advanced than a one screen movie theater, if even that.

"You're not old," he protested softly, turning to Matt. He was only what, in his 30's? "Older, but not old."

Kurt was really into that sandwich. It looked about two more giant bites away from disappearing altogether. "I'm cool with anything, too, so...whatever you wanna do, Kurt."

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Lunch had been a waste of his damn time, but at least he'd gotten something to eat, even if he had been forced to deal with Crazy Bitch while doing so. And hey, it meant he didn't have as much to distract him from what he was working on now.

It wasn't easy finding a way to avoid the areas with lots of nurses and other people around without looking too suspicious, but in the end Raph was able to make his way into one of the quieter streets which also had a few cars parked along it.

Perfect.

Picking a likely looking target - something that wouldn't be likely to have too high-tech security or get too much attention - he glanced around once, nonchalantly checking that the street was still pretty much bare (and like a blind guy and a kid would offer much of a fight anyway), before ducking down to start to work on the door.

[for Jamie]

His conversation with that girl in the park had been...frustrating. Informative, he guessed, but frustrating. Even out of that kid Jamie's head and in control of their shared body, Wild Eagle was a prisoner in this town - and apparently, later on he'd be shuttled off to be locked up in some hospital. The same hospital where that damn doctor had run his damn simulation. It all infuriated him. He wasn't supposed to be trapped anywhere - he was the Wild Eagle. He'd rather die than accept confinement.

He'd spent a while wandering the streets of the town, trying to see if there were any obvious exits, but of course they all seemed blocked off by people in uniforms that Eagle assumed were employees of the hospital that'd brought them here - in other words, his captors. The enemy. Damnit, this wasn't fair. If he had his Zoid he'd blast them all to hell for doing this to him; as it was he couldn't do jack in this weak, pathetic kid's body.

Eventually he found himself on some street off the main drag; it was mostly empty, save for a handful of cars - and a figure hunched down beside one of the vehicles, focusing on it far too intently to be up to any good.

Eagle paused a discreet distance away and observed him for a few moments. Possible the guy was a town native looking to screw over one of his fellow residents, but maybe he was a prisoner, too, trying to make an escape. If so, Eagle thought he had the right idea; Jamie could plot and plan and take the cautious route all he wanted, but sometimes things just never got done if you didn't take a few risks the way this guy was doing.

Shooting surreptitious glances up and down the street, Eagle ventured a little nearer until he was close enough to address the other. "You aimin' to get outta here too?" he murmured, feigning interest in the scenery further down the street.

The important thing when you were surprised in a situation like this was not to act surprised. Jerking back from the car and yelling like ~~Mikey~~ an idiot was just going to draw attention Raph didn't need right now. Instead he glanced away from what he was doing long enough to direct a hard look at the kid standing nearby - who had to be one of the only humans he'd seen so far that wasn't so freakin' tall - before going back to what he was doing.

"Well it ain't like I'm doin' this 'cause I'm bored," he answered, voice low but still laden with sarcasm. "Why, you offerin' to help?"

"Maybe I am," Eagle replied, still trying to appear outwardly disinterested. "I sure 's hell ain't gonna dawdle around waitin' for 'em to take us back to that hospital. Whaddya want me to do?"

Yeah, now that his suspicions had been confirmed, being kept out of this deal wasn't even an option. Wild Eagle had spotted an opportunity and grabbed it; like hell he was going to play coy and let it get away.

That got a chuckle. It sounded like the kind of answer he'd have given in the kid's place.

"Gotta say I like your style," Raph said, directing an amused smirk up at the kid. "Keep an eye out while I get this door open, will ya?"

Picking locks was something he'd had a decent amount of practice with, but that had been before he'd been turned human and suddenly found himself with too many fingers that were too damn small, and without his preferred set of tools. He'd managed to scrounge up some wire that might do the trick, but it was harder than he was used to and Raph was beginning to wonder if it might just be easier to break the freakin' window and get into the car that way.

Wild Eagle grinned back. "Already on it."

He meandered up and down the sidewalk a bit, watching for anyone who looked as though they might pose a threat to his chances of escape. The street remained largely deserted, though; those nurses or whatever they were seemed to be ignoring this part of town for the time being.

After a little while he glanced back at the other guy, who was (in Eagle's opinion) taking awfully damn long to get the lock jimmied. "You do know what you're doin', right?" he asked him in an undertone.

"Hey, you think you can do better, you're welcome to-"

snick

"Heh, still got it." Glancing around once more just to reassure himself that there wasn't a barrage of nurses bearing down on them, Raphael popped open the door and slid into the car. So far so good. Now came the fun part of getting the damn thing actually started and making a quick getaway. Fortunately he had a fair share of experience there too.

"Hey, kid. You comin' or what?" Raph said, opening the other door and busying himself with getting to work.

"I ain't a kid," Eagle returned, moving around to the passenger's side and slipping in. Pulling the door shut, he realized that he felt marginally more comfortable here than he had been wandering around outside; the dingy interior of a car was considerably different from the Zoid cockpit where he felt most at home, but something about it - the contoured seat, the enclosure of metal and glass, the instrument panels with their paltry assortment of lights and gauges - struck a chord.

"'f only this piece'a junk had some laser cannons 'r something," he muttered, craning his neck to peer guardedly out the windows while his companion fiddled with the wiring. He raked a hand through his hair, on edge and wishing they were moving already. "Then again, 's long as it gets us the hell outta here I ain't gonna be complainin'."

[From here]

After a brief walk, von Karma arrived at a street called Wicker Street. As she was a very brisk walker, he didn't have to wait very long for her to catch up to him. Once she arrived, he answered her, his eyebrow again raised. "Assuming that your question is genuine," his deep voice held a slight edge, "I must conclude that you are not from any of the countries in which I have resided nor visited. Where are you from, miss?"

"I don't suppose you've heard of Jackson's Whole?" Where the only thing colder than the weather are people's hearts? Today would be a nice day on Jackson's Whole, with the sun out and the wind bracing rather than dangersous, but she didn't like the cold any more than she had as a kid.

"Or House Bharaputra?" Her voice was soft, her posture going a little slack. If he had heard of either, he probably hadn't heard anything good. Though she didn't expect him to, since he'd said countries and not planets.

"But that's not why I don't know these things. We weren't normal children. We only had each other, and the scientists. I guess it's no wonder we turned out a little different." She sighed, more amused than rueful. "And we were punished if we disobeyed." She'd had a few years with a foster family, but acting out there had been even more forbidden, and she'd been so grateful for every scrap of approval that she hadn't tried.

They had reached the restaurant. Taura's long legs had pulled her into the lead, and she entered first, holding the door behind her.

[to here]

Well, that had been pleasant, if not exactly productive. Jade hadn't really learned much from Guy or Anise aside from their current nightly activities - which was something, but they seemed to be operating separately and without coordination, and presumably Jade was meant to do the same, so the information was purely academic.

Oddly, Jade actually felt a bit dismayed by the idea. He supposed that he'd gotten used to fighting alongside Luke and the others during their journey; working alone the night before had felt rather quiet and boring, all by himself. And not a single teenager to harass or order around, to say nothing of watching his back in battle. He wasn't sure what points in time Anise and Guy had come from - perhaps earlier on, before working as a group had become as natural to them as it had become to him - but even taking that possibility into account, it still felt strange. Perhaps Luke had held them together more than even Jade had ~~eventually~~ given him credit for.

Was the Necromancer really feeling nostalgic? He truly was getting old, it seemed.

Asch walked out of the restaurant, figuring he'd walk around town and see what he could find out. It probably wouldn't be much, and he was still off in his head - at least partially.

Today was a waste of time, energy, and whatever else. He wanted to get the fuck out of here, just run until he couldn't run anymore, past the nurses. Who cared about the cold, or the direction he was heading, or...

Okay, so that was entirely irrational and he knew it. If he had an actual destination in mind, if he could find a map, that would be one thing. But the town seemed to be strangely devoid of maps. That was even more suspicious, wasn't it? The whole town, it was like it was part of this.

It made him shudder to think about it. He was so busy thinking, in fact, that he didn't even notice the familiar face standing outside as he walked past.

Perhaps Jade was easy to miss in a crowd - it probably helped that he wasn't wearing his uniform; anything Peony designed tended to stand out - but not noticing Asch was next to impossible. Even if there were anyone else alive with such long, dark red hair(even Luke's hair had been lighter, which Jade had occasionally wondered about; differences in lifestyle, perhaps? Diet? He'd never really had the chance to delve into the mystery deeply), it was hard not to recognize a face that was identical to one he'd been traveling with for so long.

And, of course, the expression that was reminiscent of someone who had just finished sucking on a raw lemon.

"Hello, Asch," he said pleasantly. In his own way, Asch was far more fun to tease than Luke, and Jade was looking forward to his reaction.

Asch turned toward the voice on instinct, though once he recognized its owner, he wished he'd just kept walking. The Malkuth Colonel was hardly one of Asch's favorite people, for more reasons than one. He'd never gotten so irrational as to blame Jade for anything, but he had noted on more than one occasion that if Jade hadn't invented fomicry, nothing would have happened like it had.

And he'd have died in Akzeriuth and been a martyr, and wouldn't that have been lovely?

So he hadn't blamed Jade, but not all resentment made sense.

On the other hand, he had never been impressed with the Colonel's attitude, either. Jade seemed to enjoy teasing, and generally Asch thought he was kind of an ass - which made him more or less intolerable.

"Colonel," he said, sounding both irritated and cordial at the same time. Hopefully he could just get the hell out of here and that would be that.

"I don't really believe that formality is necessary here, Asch," Jade replied easily. "After all, I'm not even in uniform." Which was, despite the amused tone of his voice, not funny at all; despite the fact that it had been designed by Peony, Jade had grown used to wearing it. Anything else - particularly drab grey jumpsuits - made him feel strangely under-dressed.

Then, because he considered it prudent before conversing with Asch at any length, he inquired, "Tell me, at what point in time were you taken from Auldrant and brought here?" He wasn't naive enough to believe the future could be changed, but neither was he naive enough to think it couldn't be complicated by distressing and impossible foreknowledge. Clearly Asch was from a time before Jade was, but just how much he recalled was what Jade wanted to know.

Asch rolled his eyes. Wasn't in uniform? Honestly. That was exactly the send of humor he'd been wishing to avoid. Naturally, it was one of the first things out of Jade's mouth! Imagine that.

The redhead crossed his arms. "That's not really any of your business," he said, not wanting to talk about it. This wasn't a subject he really enjoyed talking about at all, and it was hard for him to come out and say that he had died. Besides, who cared about that now? They were all in the same predicament, regardless of what had happened before.

"Perhaps it isn't, but it's still important information," Jade said with a slight shake of his head. "As I understand it, we could be from vastly different points of time. I have reason to believe that I am either from the same time you are, or afterward - therefore, I'd like to not complicate matters by accidentally revealing anything to you that you haven't experienced yet. I'm not sure what the repercussions would be, but I can't imagine it would turn out well."