damned_institute | Day 23: Lunch

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Day 23: Lunch

The second the intercom sounded, while the man on the intercom was still talking, Ashton pulled himself off the couch in the Music Room and slowly made his way to the door. He walked, glided even, as if he were a ghost in a dream. The nurses had already filed up to escort the patients to the lunchroom, and one bustled over to walk Ashton those few feet from one room to another.

"You're not looking very well, Mr. Pritchett," she said cheerfully. "Didn't you enjoy your shower?"

Ashton replied with a small, forced smile, then shook his head. He didn't feel like talking now. Though the nurses were pushy and downright annoying, he figured he owed this one at least a little explanation. They didn't know - or didn't believe - what went on after dark, but he owed them the benefit of the doubt. "Bad day," he decided on telling her.

Bad day indeed. The showers and the music had done nothing for his nerves. But then again, what could get that graphic image out of his head?

He glided ghostily through the taco line and settled on two chicken and bean tacos, with chips, a scoop of guacamole, two churros on the side, and a glass of apple juice. He wasn't used to this sort of food (save the juice) and he wasn't even sure he'd eat it, but the chances were high that he'd be able to pass it off on someone.

He was on the verge of tears again, too. What he would have given to just sit down next to a barrel and eat a hamburger.

Thank goodness the cafeteria was bare just now, too. It left all the corner tables open, the tables that shouted 'Don't talk to me, I'm brooding over here.' He sat at one, pushed his food a little away from him, and buried his head in his arms.

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Being able to meditate had managed to set her at ease, if only slightly. Now all she needed to do was find a way to block out the Head Doctor's increassingly annoying announcements, and she'd be set.

Though she didn't particularly hate mexican food, Raven's appetite wasn't enough to make her want to take part in "Make-your-own-burrito-or-taco" time. Instead, she ended up taking some chips with sour cream, a churro, and some orange juice. It would be enough to tide her over until dinner, really. With no nurses to pick a table for her, she then made her way to an empty one and sat down.

Sighing a bit, she took a chip, dipped it in the cream and ate half-heartedly ate it.

While Darkwing was eager to have that interview with Eddie Brock, by the time he made it to the cafeteria Stefan had already approached the reporter. He could have joined them, but he doubted the man could interview two people at once.

Another time, then. He wasn't the patient sort, but Stefan had beaten him to it, fair and square. Which meant...

Well, first he was going to get food. Darkwing didn't really have a preference when it came to this sort of cuisine, so he got a little bit of everything. Once that was taken care of, he had to figure out where he wanted to sit.

He had only met a few people so far, and he didn't see any of them around. When his eyes fell on a younger girl sitting on her own, however, he felt compelled to sit with her. It was because he missed Gosalyn, and while there was obviously no resemblance and a good chance this girl would act nothing like his daughter (Gosalyn was not a normal girl by any means), it was as good a place as any to sit.

Setting his tray down, he managed a small smile. "Hey."

She’d eaten a few chips by now, and her juice was half empty.

With nothing to distract her, Raven watched as the ‘patients’ continued arriving in waves, seating themselves after getting their meals. However, she failed to notice that someone had taken an interest in her empty table.

“Hi.”

He was free to sit with her if he really wanted, as long as he wasn’t annoying or hyperactive.

While Darkwing was known for being both annoying and hyperactive at times, he usually only got that way when he was really excited about something - usually the tracking down of some manner of evil-doer. As it stood, the people who would be considered the antagonists in this situation were unobtainable to him. Irritating, but still true.

So for the moment, the duck wasn't too charged up. In fact, he was getting rather sick of this place, even though he hadn't even experienced a whole day here.

Though now that he thought of it, he was soon going to approach going a whole day without sleep. While that was nothing new to him, he noted to himself that he should probably sleep next shift.

Thus far, this girl didn't seem anything like Gosalyn - as he expected. That didn't mean he couldn't chat with her, though. Clinging to that hope that a least one of the other patients had been transformed the same way he had, he came up with a crafty way to pop the question without seeming as insane as he was apparently supposed to be.

"So, what were you doing before you got here?" He picked at his food as he awaited her answer.

“Babysitting, and meditating in the mountains.” It had been her most difficult assignment yet. Take care of three kids and lead them to a monastery where they would be safe. It wouldn’t have been so hard if it wasn’t for Mallah, or, “monkey man”, attacking them at every corner.

Luckily, thanks to the kids developing their powers and an imaginary friend who turned out to be real, they all managed to defeat the “monkey man”.

“You?”

Raven couldn’t help but wonder what Timmy, Teether, and Melvin where doing right now. She was also concerned if the other Titans had learned about her sudden disappearance.

"Babysitting?" But she was still a kid herself. Darkwing knew that she had probably been watching over five-year-olds or something like that, but it still seemed like she was too young for that sort of responsibility. Taking care of children was no easy job!

As for the meditation, he had heard that it was good to center oneself before battle, but he didn't have the patience for it. The fact that this girl did when he didn't was a little embarrassing.

At her returning question, he leaned back in his chair and managed a small smile, shaking his head. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

“Babysitting.”

She couldn’t imagine why some people actually wanted to take care of little kids as a side job. Once was bad enough, there was no way she would do it again.

Not even if they paid her.

“You’d be surprised.”

Though young of age, Raven had seen things that most couldn’t even dream about. Such was the life of a superhero, though she didn’t really care for calling herself one. Aliens, giant ooze monsters, dragons, wizards, shape shifters, cult leaders, being turned into a rabbit, demons, the end of the world…

Just to name a few.

Sure, Darkwing was used to raising one kid (and it was often a pain), but he couldn't imagine watching over a group of children that weren't his. He would probably end up ripping his feathers out. A lot of young girls did that sort of work for a little extra cash, though, right? Not so strange.

Anyway, she was asking for it, saying something like that. Darkwing wasn't the sort to give up the opportunity to show off, either, so it wasn't hard to get him to talk.

"Crime fighting," he stated with a crooked smile, reaching forward for another bite of food and hoping that what he said seemed dramatic and exciting to the girl.

"Really, you don't say."

With her dry, throaty, and unenthusiastic-sounding voice, it was hard for anybody to tell if Raven was being sarcastic when speaking. Anyways, if he was trying to be unbelievable and surprising, then he would have to try much harder than that.

"Are you some kind of hero?"

He sure didn’t look like it, but she also knew that appearances could be deceiving.

What? She wasn't impressed?

She sounded bored, even - and looked skeptical! Maybe Darkwing wasn't the stereotypical crime-fighter with the bulging muscles and spandex (seriously, who actually wore that?), but it didn't mean he wasn't authentic.

"Yes," he responded, obviously quite serious. He wasn't going to let some teenage girl undermine all that he stood for, after all. "It's my job to make sure that the evil-doers of St. Canard are punished!" It was a full-time job, at that.

The Fearsome Five always bounced back. It was a little tiring, really.

St. Canard… No, she wasn’t familiar with a place called that.

Maybe some other questions would help her to learn more about this supposed superhero.

"What name do you use? And what sort of… ‘evil-doers’ have you fought?” She asked, before dipping another chip in the sour cream and eating it. “I might’ve heard about them before."

It didn't seem right to be sharing this sort of information, but if the girl didn't even know what St. Canard was, it probably wouldn't matter. There was the issue of his name giving away his previous form, but maybe she wouldn't assume that.

"Darkwing... Duck," he said awkwardly. It wasn't supposed to be this way! He was supposed to announce it triumphantly, strike a pose! But now he felt a little sheepish, almost.

"And I've fought a lot of people," he quickly added with a sigh. Maybe if he kept talking, she wouldn't have time to question him. "NegaDuck, Bushroot, Quackerjack, The Liquidator, Megavolt..." There were others, but if she was going to recognize any names, she would recognize the Fearsome Five.

Darkwing... Duck? But he was clearly human. Then again, her own name didn’t really reflect her appearance (most of the time). Maybe it was a St. Canard thing. Who could tell? “Sorry, can’t say I’ve ever heard of you or those villains.”

In any case, as peculiar all those names were, (why would any villain want to name themselves ‘Quackerjack’? Or ‘Bushroot’) he did introduce himself.

“I’m Raven.”

No aliases, no secret identities to be worried about.

Just a simple name.

Of course she hadn't heard of him -- if she wasn't originally from St. Canard or Duckberg, there would be no way she could know, right? So then why had she been expecting to recognize him?

Raven... Another animal name? Did that mean, that maybe...

"What were you before you came here?" he asked, sounding almost hopeful. Maybe, just maybe...

The intercom had gone off and the head doctor was saying something, but he needed to confirm this before he went anywhere.

His question wasn’t all that surprising; she was actually already used to it.

“What you’re seeing is what I’ve always been.” Sure, she could do some shape shifting here and there, and she might’ve spent some time as a rabbit, but for the most part, Raven was a perfectly normal human teenager. Kind of.

“Guess our time is up.” Raven commented, knowing full well that a nurse could whisk them away at any moment now.

It was strange enough that she actually had known what he'd meant when he asked that question. He got the feeling that there was much more to this girl, but she was already being led away to take her shower.

Raven, huh? He was going to have to track her down at some point and figure out what else she might be hiding...

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Day 23: Lunch

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