damned_institute | Dayshift 49: Bus 2

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Dayshift 49: Bus 2

Morning hit without warning, with the sheer knowledge hitting the Digimon before anything else that today they were going back to Doyletown. Her feet hit the floor and she rotated her right shoulder experimentally. The skin stretched tight, soreness persevering, but it moved fine. She stretched her fingers then curled them into a fist, staring at the tanned skin that was her right arm. If something happened this time... She would be more useful. Her mind replayed the events of last week, and Renamon stilled, considering.

There wasn't much time left to her as the nurse bustled in with an armful of clothes, the same shade as the weeks before. The woman murmured a cheery complaint that it was too cold for skirts and left Renamon to change. The pants were preferable to the past two weeks, though the other item she was left with gave too much to irony. She frowned at it for a minute, then slid it over her head, reflecting that this motion in days or weeks past would have left her shuddering. It meant she was becoming used to this human body, and that was nothing that boded well. She grabbed her notebook before being led to a bus, and slid into a seat halfway down the aisle, pressing against the window. Again, the previous night had been more than short. Was it just her, or was there something more to it?

[for Haseo!]

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No, Terry didn't know anything about Five, which was why he was asking. Of course, it took a lot of effort not to say that as he thought it. Instead Terry tried to remember that if this guy really was telling the truth, he had a pretty good reason to be ticked. After all, Terry didn't just like bragging about his less-than-perfect past, right? And those were things Terry himself had done; this kid was just born to a bad line.

So he focused on the minor details, at least for now.

"Thirty-first century? Seriously?" Terry suddenly understood how others must have felt talking to him, at least a bit. "You're from even farther in the future than me, then." So, what did that mean in terms of making his reasons even clearer to Five? Terry knew that a lot of insane technology had been developed, even before his time. It wouldn't exactly be far fetched to think that Five could jump into a time machine and deliver a juicy tidbit or two to a past version, if he wanted. "Here I thought I was the only one from our world not from the classic days of the Justice League."

Terry thought it over for a minute, then shrugged. If Five really was from the future, then he might already know all about Terry McGinnis and his role as the second Batman. Considering all the data the old man had managed to gather, it didn't seem too out of the question; when it came down to it, Bruce Wayne was just a human. Who knew what Five would be capable of? "I'm from Gotham, about a thousand years before you. And it sounds like we're in the same line of work."

Except Terry had only been at it for a matter of months, and he still had a secret identity to think about. Five probably had to be quite a bit more open about things, kind of like Kurt. The line about being in a human body now pretty much pointed to that, anyway. And on top of that, there was the fact that Terry had turned down the JLU's invitation when it came. Not a pretty situation overall, given how it started. Being greeted with suspicion and a lack of trust; now just who had been acting like that just a few minutes ago?

"Look, I'm sorry about giving you a hard time." Terry let out a sigh, and leaned his head against the back of the seat. He really was letting Wayne get to him a little too much. Suspicion had its place, but Terry didn't like how this whole thing had started off. "It's a bad habit I need to reign in."

Brainiac 5 had guessed the other boy was from sometime in the past - that much was obvious - but also some time after his ancestor had been most... active. Of course, that meant there was still a good several hundred years that he could have come from, even cutting out the times he couldn't be from since there hadn't been any superheroes on Earth for a few hundred years before the Legion was formed. So that much wasn't really surprising, though it was interesting that he still said he was from approximately a thousand years before. So he obviously was far enough in Superman's future to know certain key details, but not a huge amount of time.

"I'm used to being from the future in comparison to most people," he said absently, thinking. Gotham... There was really only one hugely significant heroic (the term used more loosely in this instance) figure from that city, and unfortunately it was also one of the ones that was least known about. Not to mention that, while Batman had been the most notable figure and therefore the one mentioned most in what little history there was from that time, it didn't mean he was the only hero from Gotham then.

So either the other patient assumed he was going to be extremely well-known after even a thousand years (and Brainiac 5 knew what Booster Gold looked like, so that ruled that out), or he hadn't really told him much of anything.

"Why exactly should I trust you?" he wondered aloud. "You haven't even told me a name yet, and you likely know as well as I do that saying you're from Gotham in the past doesn't mean much of anything. What's to say that you haven't decided to try and end the 'Brainiac threat' personally, now that you know I'm-" Vulnerable. "-human."

Edited 2010-05-05 01:37 (UTC)

"Either that, or it might have told you everything. I was seeing what I could get away with not saying." Especially since Terry had to be especially cautious now. He still couldn't trust Five completely, but at the same time, he didn't want to alienate the guy any more than he already had. If they really were on the same side, Terry couldn't help but think that intellect would come in handy.

"For now, just call me Alex." Good old fake name. It wasn't like Five couldn't figure out that it was an alias, or that he couldn't find out Terry's real name from any of the nurses. Of course, that'd only do him any good if McGinnis was in the history discs; from what Five was saying, he might not be. Somehow Terry thought that might be for the best.

But now it was Terry's turn to frown at the question that had been posed. Okay, maybe he deserved it on some level, but seriously? Just what did his history say about Batman if Five even thought that was a possibility? "You mean what's to say I won't kill you, right?" Terry knew well enough just the sort of reputation Batman had, but he also knew that was one line that Bruce had never crossed--and neither would he. "Sorry. Don't know how heroes handle it in the future, but that's something I don't do."

"Not really," Brainiac 5 pointed out, tone matter-of-fact and direct. "Since I'd already told you I was from the thirty-first century, you're either assuming that there's only a handful of notable figures from Gotham even after a thousand years, or you're working under the assumption that I know every single figure in 'my line of work' from a thousand years of history on a planet that isn't my own."

Half-turning in the seat to lean against the side of the bus as well as watch Alex - there was a high probability it wasn't the other patient's real name, considering the time period he was from and the circumstances of their meeting - Brainiac 5 studied him a moment before answering.

"It's against Legion code to take the life of another sentient," he said calmly, though not without the faintest twinge of shame that he was fairly sure didn't reach his voice, though he glanced away briefly.

"However history files are a lot less complete about the beliefs of some ancient heroes..." He trailed off, his pointed look hopefully conveying the rest.

"Or that I'm at least connected to someone who would stand out." Which might be giving away more than Terry would like, but it still was worth saying. "And I really wouldn't be surprised if you did know every one of them, all things considered." Given how much Five had seemed to like that computer comment earlier, Terry figured it might be best to just leave it at the implication that Five was probably pretty damn smart.

The wording was interesting, when Five talked about the code. "Against Legion code, but what about yours personally?" Terry knew pretty well how the morality of a person could differ from even another person, much less a group. "And what qualifies as taking another life anyway? Sure, you might not actually kill them, but what if you don't save them either?" Like Terry hadn't saved Fixx, or Big Time--like Bruce had stopped him from saving al Ghul. Even Freeze or Kairi, both of whom Terry had tried to save, but failed to.

"You were born into your legacy, right?" Well, in a manner of speaking. Terry didn't exactly want to think just how Brainiac reproduction worked. "I chose mine. And the guy who first wore the mask never killed. It'd be spitting in his face if I did now. I've got too much respect for him and all the work he's done for that."

It was very likely that Alex was connected in some way to Batman, then. Though he doubted the other patient knew exactly how little was known about that twenty-first century hero. Large parts of Superman's legacy recorded in the museums was pure myth and legend, and he'd been well-known in the past. Batman... most of it was rumour, superstition, and stories told to scare children. Brainiac 5 knew more than most, enough to know the man had existed and a bit about what he'd achieved despite how he'd avoided being documented, but information was still extremely scarce.

Still, it would be better to let Alex wonder how much he knew about him and Batman, at least for the time being. He could learn more that way, if he was careful.

His eyes narrowed at Alex's implications. "I don't kill," he said sharply, and perhaps a tiny bit too quickly. "The idea... I agree with the Legion's code. It's wrong, and I would never willingly do such a thing. And choosing not to save someone when you had the ability and opportunity to is the same as if you killed them yourself. I would never do that. No one in the Legion would."

The glare softened as Alex spoke again and he sighed, some of the tension draining from his shoulders. "...I suppose I can understand that feeling. Part of the reason I left Colu and joined the Legion was because of Superman's influence. Reading about how he faced my ancestor and everything he stood for...."

He turned to look out the window at the drab, almost washed-out scenery. "...I wanted to be like that. I wanted to atone for what my ancestors had done and make the name Brainiac mean something different. Better."

Five wasn't saying anything in regards to Terry's latest comment about old heroes, which left him to wonder just what he'd gleamed from it. Well, it was pretty obvious, given what information had already come out. But since Five wasn't pushing anymore, Terry stopped offering. He was more comfortable dealing with general ideas anyway.

And Five went back on the defensive, so Terry held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Easy. That wasn't a shot at you, promise. I just know that a lot of heroes have crossed the line, or at least wanted to. Even Superman went rogue one time--though that probably doesn't count since he wasn't in control at the time. But you get the picture, right?"

Then what came next was a little unexpected, if only because Terry knew exactly what Five was talking about. The circumstances weren't the same, but that feeling of guilt, that need to atone? That was Terry's motivation too. And while his suspicious spirit warned that maybe Five really did know more about the past than he let on, this time Terry ignored it. Something in his gut was telling him that the kid was being genuine, and Terry didn't want to turn his back on that. "You've probably done a lot more toward that goal than you think. Unless you're going to give up because a punk kid started giving you a hard time."

It probably wouldn't be welcome, but Terry put a hand on Five's shoulder anyway. Nothing harsh or firm, but just a gesture of acceptance and support. "I do get it, though. So thanks for telling me. I won't give you a hard time about it again."

"If it wasn't a shot at me, why bring it up in the first place?" he pointed out, though all the same, Brainiac 5 relaxed a little at Alex's words. But at the mention of Superman, he vehemently shook his head. "Superman would never do something like that unless he was mind controlled or worse. Of course it doesn't count."

He sighed, and went back to gazing out the window at the scenery. "It doesn't feel like I have sometimes. My ancestor..." He snorted and glanced sidelong at Alex. "Well, you seem to know a fair bit about him already. It's a lot to try and counteract. Especially since now I'm here... It doesn't feel like I've made much progress."

He jumped at the hand on his shoulder, and there was a moment of genuine surprise in his expression before he smiled slightly. "Thank you, Alex."

Then the smile became more of a smirk. "But don't think I've forgotten that you started this conversation as a... 'punk kid giving me a hard time'."

Edited 2010-05-06 12:38 (UTC)

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Dayshift 49: Bus 2

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