damned_institute | Day 43: Intercom, Evening

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Day 43: Intercom, Evening

Hello! I.R.I.S. here once more to announce to you, our honored guests, that you have officially made it through a day of our typical Landel's treatment. Of course, it isn't quite over: we will now have you retire to our designated patient quarters with one of your agency partners to inspect their sleeping area and the tools that we provide them with for the true bulk of our behavioral testing. On an added note, we would like you to notice once again that the meals we provide to our subjects are of the highest quality.

For those of you feeling apprehensive about taking part in our more intensive methods, please be aware that we would never imagine putting all of you in any danger whatsoever. This last shift will be your last at our Institute; afterward, we will escort you to our Head Doctor's personal observation station to survey some of our test Next-Wave participants in the rigorous trials we put them through – all for their betterment, of course.

Once again, we hope that you are satisfied with what you find, and as always, direct any questions you may have to your console.

The nurses began to escort the patients to their rooms. They didn't even seem to be brought to awareness by words such as "testing" and "subjects."

[ All room threads go in response to this post; please post your character's room number as the subject line of the initial post. (Find all of the newly changed room assignments and shift introductions here.) If you are introducing your character during this shift, you may either choose for them character to wake up before their roommate gets back, or after. ]

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[AAAAAAAAAAAH fail fail fail ;___; IHU real life.]

The hesitant smile withered. Peter moved one hand to Brainy's good shoulder, knowing that anything more than an awkward pat would have the boy freezing up for the rest of the evening.

"Hey - hey, it's okay," he assured, "Don't cry." That was the lamest thing you could say to someone when they were crying, but he was at a total loss. What could he say that hadn't already been said? More importantly, what could he say that would actually convince Brainy things would be okay? Short of coming clean about the fiction thing, which was out of the question. He barely understood it himself, and it just made thinking about things ten times harder and made you angry when stuff like this happened. Torture. Murder.

He banished that train of thought - he was not going to start crying again. He wasn't. He had to focus on keeping Brainy alive and keeping Grell away from pretty much the entire patient population. Luxord, too.

As for Clark...huh. That explained a lot. Brainy's muted reaction to him and Kurt, for one. And how he was convinced that no one stood a chance against Grell. What sort of power would you have to have to be considered the greatest hero of all time? The closest Peter could come up with was Cap, but even his powers were a little generic. Enhancements on what people could already do. Logan might qualify. He looked thirty at a hundred years old and could heal from six bullets to the head in even fewer seconds. Not to mention his death claws.

Maybe Clark had more than one power. An amalgamation, then. Wouldn't it make sense to have his powers limited even further than the rest of the patients then? Or to lose some altogether? Peter couldn't crawl walls any more, but he got to keep his strength and some of his speed. So if he had a lot of powers he would have to lose more. They seemed to want to keep most everyone on par here. It was tempting to come out and ask Brainy instead of sitting there pulling theories out of nowhere, but he had more tact than that. The goal was to make Brainy feel better, not get him to pitch a fit.

"Listen. Nothing's gonna get solved if we just sit around and let him do what he wants. Maybe what I did wasn't the way to do it, but seriously? We have to think of something. And I'm not gonna sit this one out. I can't." He shook his head and drew away, but the arm on his knees remained. "I couldn't live with myself if I did. And I'm...I'm sorry. For Clark. I told you that already but -"

He broke off, drawing a blank. Where was he going with this? He didn't even know the guy.

"- it's rough. And I know things aren't going to feel right for a long time. A really long time. But it does get better eventually, you have to trust me on that. I've, um...I've lost people before. Before Harry even. And it sucks, it does, but things...even out in the end." Peter stopped when his throat began to thicken. Nip that one in the bud right there.

[WELL. THE AWESOME MORE THAN MADE UP FOR IT. *___*]

If you cannot endure the loss of a single 'friend', how can you hope to survive, let alone succeed, in the real world?

His ancestor was right; the time for purely emotional indulgences had passed and he needed to focus on ways to solve his problems. To make sure that what had happened with Clark didn't repeat itself with someone else. And he couldn't do that if he allowed his emotions to control him like this. It took a moment and more effort than he would have liked, but Brainiac 5 was able to regain control over himself and brush aside the specks of dampness caught in his lashes before addressing Peter again.

"No, you're- You're right," he said shakily. "I need to find a way to deal with the- my problem. I owe him that much. And I won't be able to do that if I'm constantly..."

His throat constricted and Brainiac 5 forced himself to swallow, his mouth twisting sourly. "Losing control of myself. I need to be able to focus, to think..." His eyes flicked to his notes again and a determined look settled over his face.

"But I will come up with something." Despite being in a completely different time and body, he was still a twelfth-level intellect and a Legionnaire. And it was past time he found a way to prove that Brainiac 5 was not someone to be trifled with by any means.

[WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU USED UP ALL THE AWESOME IN YOUR POSTS.]

It wasn't a complete one eighty, but it was better than two minutes ago. Peter's smile returned, a little more assertive than before, and he gave Brainy's shoulder a friendly pat. "I'm glad to hear it. I mean, it's okay to miss him, you shouldn't ever feel bad for that, but you have to take care of yourself too, right?"

He rose, feeling for the first time in days that he'd actually made a difference. It wasn't enough to get him all chipper again, but now there was a happy little bubble amongst all the queasiness and aches inside. Not like earlier, when he was messing around with Badou or tossing paint at that crazy lady. Those times, the feeling was fleeting. Bursting two seconds after the last chuckle. But knowing that he could still help people, even if it was just getting his roommate to snap out of his funk for a few minutes? It felt good. Like he'd finally done something right at Landel's.

His steak was not so hot out of the oven by now, but Peter wasn't going to be picky. He needed to eat. And nothing on his plate resembled...pieces, so he could dig in without fear of it coming back up again.

He settled into his desk and began to saw the meat, casting a narrow glance at Brainy's own plate. It was practically untouched. When was the last time he'd seen the other boy eat something? "You have a lot at brunch, or...?"

[CLEARLY THAT WAS A LIE, OTHERWISE I WOULDN'T HAVE FAILED SO HARD AT GETTING TO THIS. Dx]

Brainiac 5 relaxed as Peter rose and moved away. The contact hadn't been bad per se, but it was still something he wasn't used to just yet. Though Peter also seemed to feel better for it, which was something he supposed. He couldn't really muster up a return smile, however. It was still too sore a memory, losing Clark, and worse because of how easily he could have prevented it all if he'd only tried a little harder...

All the more reason to make sure it didn't happen again, he told himself firmly. There was nothing else he could do now.

Peter's question drew him out of half-formed thoughts and plans on how best to follow through with his conviction, and he blinked owlishly at the other boy before realising what he meant.

"Oh," he said, glancing at the plate and then carefully avoiding his roommate's eyes. "I ate, yes." It hadn't been much and had been some time ago, but he had eaten.

[UH HUH. :| I'M PRETTY SURE YOUR AWESOME WAS JUST NEEDED ELSEWHERE FOR A BIT. ~~SHUT UP AND TAKE THE DAMN COMPLIMENT~~]

Peter leveled his roommate with a flat stare. It was so tempting to up and lecture him on the importance of a balanced diet, but then he hadn't been doing so well with that lately either, had he? But at least I'm making an effort.

He toyed with the idea for a few moments, but ultimately dropped it. Things had finally calmed down, and this was not worth spending another dinner shift in (more) tears over. Call it a hunch, but Brainy didn't seem too keen on getting into another snit either. Honestly, he didn't know if there was anything to worry about: Brainy could have stuffed himself at brunch. It wasn't like he saw him at every breakfast and lunch. If he was still treating his plate like it was covered in Ebola tomorrow, then Peter would intervene. For now, he just wanted to finish his steak with a little dignity.

Except - right. Awkward ahoy. (They should write that on the door. No number, just M-Awkward. They hardly ever talked about anything nice in here.)

"You, um. You had some questions, right? About me and Kurt? You already know about mutants and stuff, obviously, so...is there really anything else I need to say?" God, were his palms going sweaty already?

[/PUPPY EYES AT]

Thankfully Peter didn't pursue the issue of exactly how much and how often he'd been eating. Brainiac 5 was well aware that he needed to eat far more regularly than he had in his normal form, but it was... difficult. More so than he cared to admit. He simply hadn't felt up to it after Clark had been-- had gone, and while it had been a couple of days, the hurt didn't feel any less, and he'd found himself with more problems to deal with...

Food hardly seemed appealing or as important in comparison.

Still, in the interests of appealing his roommate and to stave off any further questions, he picked up one of the slivers of fried potato and took a bite. Of course that would be the moment Peter decided to ask him something else.

Him and Kurt... Mutants and stuff...Brainiac 5 fixed Peter with a scrutinising look as he took his time finishing the piece of his largely ignored dinner, then took a sip of water before finally speaking.

"You mean people who gain metahuman abilities via some sort of unusual genetic mutation?" he asked. He wasn't used to people being called 'mutants' in that situation, though it was obvious enough what Peter meant with the term. "Yes, I'm familiar with such occurrences, but I would like to know more about your own abilities, not to mention why your alien friend was able to retain his normal form. He's the first I've seen who hasn't been forced into a human body after all."

[*PUPPY EYES BACK*]

Meta?

The term wasn't totally unfamiliar to Peter, but to describe mutants? That was new. Almost put a positive spin on it, which meant it definitely wasn't from his world. Or maybe just his time, seeing as how Brainy was from a thousand years into the future. They had to come to terms with mutants eventually, and using the word 'mutant' was pretty derogatory itself. It meant they were abnormal. Unwanted.

He could almost hear the beer bottles flying his way. Yeah, unwanted sounded about right.

Peter almost missed the slip, but drew his brows together after a moment. Where did...what? "Kurt's not an alien. He's a mutant. Human. Just with a few different genes." Sure, Kurt was all too easy to pick out from a line-up, but to call him an alien? That was a big stretch. Insulting, too, but maybe it was common where Brainy came from. Better to let it slide for now.

"I don't know why he changes. Back home he was blue all the time. But he's a different version of the Kurt I know, so maybe this one can change how he looks? It's really weird." Kurt with plain skin and dark eyes looked unnatural. He still had to take a moment and blink whenever he saw him, dumbfounded by the change. "I'll ask him, but he's really nervous about it. People aren't such big fans of mutants in my world, and when you can't hide it things get...things get rough."

"He's human?" Brainiac 5 repeated in surprise. "Oh, my mistake. I had just assumed that he must not have been, considering his appearance and how many of us come from other worlds. But I suppose some sort of genetic mutation or metagene could account for it as well." Stranger things had happened, from his experiences anyway.

Hearing that in Peter and Kurt's worlds people were less accepting of metahumans was unfortunately familiar. The Coluan boy's eyes dropped to his hands, quietly folded in his lap, and his voice took on a more pensive quality. "Unfortunately people aren't often willing to accept what's wildly different from what they consider 'normal'," he said. That hadn't changed, even across hundreds of years and different species.

Brainy had a point. "It's okay," he assured, "just sounds kind of weird to me because there aren't any aliens where I come from. Not many that I know of, anyway." He'd have to ask Johnny or Sue when they let him go back. If anyone had encountered aliens, it would be the Fantastic Four. And there were a couple of times where the news was pretty fuzzy on the details concerning them, so yeah. The possibility was there.

That was a look he recognized. Peter's heart sank a little, because really? A thousand years into the future and things still hadn't changed? Or was his story just written that way for the tension? Either way, he could relate all too well to the feeling. Bad enough when it was just humans and mutants, but aliens too?

He shrugged at the other boy, replying, "Fear of the unknown, I guess. But not everyone's like that, so it's not always...you know. Grab your torch and pitchforks."

"Not surprising," he answered with a slight smile. "Unless your world is similar to the ancient Earth I am familiar with, then there'd likely be few alien species around in your time period." And even though the twenty-first century Earth he was familiar with had experienced many alien visitations and the occasional invasion, it was still something that most normal people were unprepared to deal with.

Of course, he wasn't sure exactly what 'grab your torch and pitchforks' referred to, but from the context he could figure it out well enough. "Yes," he agreed. "People, even self-proclaimed 'evolved beings', might fear and ostracise that which is different but there's always those that are willing to accept you regardless."

Brainiac 5 paused for a moment, then added, "I suppose in that respect I can understand why Kurt was so cautious. But you don't have to worry, I won't draw too much attention to him. Though, if possible, I would like to speak with him at some point about why he is able to look so different at night. It might reveal something about this place."

He turned back towards the desk (again with some minor difficulty) and decided that maybe he would try and ingest a little more of his meal despite how much it had cooled during the conversation, when something in his pocket made a faint crinkling noise.

Brainiac 5 frowned and after a moment found the source of the noise: the lollipop Kio had given him earlier. He held it up critically, debating what to do with it, then glanced back over at Peter.

"How difficult is it to find things like this?" he asked curiously. Kio had mentioned getting more, but if that was going to prove too difficult, then he'd try returning the gift to the man. He no doubt would enjoy it more, after all.

"Yeah, sounds about right," Peter agreed quietly.

Oh man, Kurt was so jumpy already. Not to mention that if he had the choice last night, he would probably have been fighting zombies in that sheet. And there was that message on the board to Indiana Jones, too, asking him not to say anything. Was sending Brainy in after him such a good idea? He could be pretty...blunt. As far as inquiries went, anyway. Peter was just glad they'd cleared up the 'alien' thing right now, because that was a disaster waiting to happen.

"Um, maybe I can do it for you? Or be there when you ask him or something. I mean, he's been wearing a sheet every night because he's terrified someone is going to try to kill him. Or mistake him for a monster. I'll just be like, support?" He shrugged. "I know he's not that great with talking about it, so it might help if I'm there. Sort of."

The crinkle didn't escape his attention. The one word to describe Peter's face when Brainy pulled out a sucker was 'What.' It couldn't have been more blatant if it was stamped across his forehead.

For some reason the concept of Brainy with candy just wasn't clicking. Being a sugar fiend was a little below his brain bracket, right? Too smart for indulgence or however that worked.

"Where did you get that?"

That actually reminded him of the conversation he'd had his first day here with another patient, not to mention the argument he'd had with Elle on his first night. "I can see your point, Peter," he answered. "If someone did spot him looking like that, attack would be the likely outcome. And I've seen a surprising number of other patients who seem to prefer an 'attack first' strategy."

Brainiac 5 sighed, toying with the lollipop wrapper absently. "But, I suppose if you think it would help for him to have someone else there as well, then I can't see why not."

He glanced up at Peter's other question, fingers pausing in their tugging and twisting movements as he took in the other boy's confused expression. "Oh, another patient insisted I take it," he explained. He frowned slightly. "He said it was to make me happy..."

Peter watched as he fiddled absently with the wrapper. Granted, creepy men offering suckers to passerby was something you had to worry about more in the park than in evil insane asylums (and for kids much, much younger than they were), but considering Brainy's track record? This was ringing all the wrong alarm bells.

"Do you...know this guy?" he asked skeptically. It was probably nothing, but he doubted Brainy even thought to be suspicious of people like that. Complete lack of social skills. The thirty first century, Peter decided, was weird.

[asdflkjh I didn't realise I was up to tag here, sorry bbcakes. We can probably wrap it up in a round?]

Brainiac 5 shot Peter a surprised look. "No, of course not. I barely know anyone here, Peter." If he had, it would have solved a substantial number of his problems, after all. He would have had others to talk to and work out a strategy to deal with Grell and Luxord. People he could trust like the Legion. And the closest person he'd know like that here..

"Other than--" his voice wavered a little, and he suddenly found a patch of the wall vastly interesting. "--Clark, that is..."

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Day 43: Intercom, Evening

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