(no subject)

[sociallychallenged]

WHO: Hank Anderson | Magneto | OTA
WHAT: Finding out people are gone in the worst way. | Telling Erik what's going on. | TBA
WHERE: Dorm Complex | Rick's Bar | Misc
WHEN: Various
WARNINGS: Probably some discussion of creepyness. Found out something from the mods before posting this because I was asking for details about what happened when people disappeared.

1.) I Can't Believe it's Not Butter - OTA

David hasn't spoken to him in a while. Neither has Heather. Both good people that he wanted on his side. Yeah, sure, they're kids that have seen too damn much. But they're all kids here, and yeah, he's accepted that they all have to fight. It's all they can do.

He goes to check on them, knocking on Heather's door with Maggie fresh on his heels the whole way. He'd intended on taking her out.

When the door opens, Heather's room is half packed, in that particular way like she's going to be moving out into more permanent quarters. Something Hank hadn't expected her to do, ever, considering the situation with her father. In fact, that seems fucking impossible. Maggie growls in the back of her throat. The same sort of growl she'd used at the fake Hank, at the fake Thane. She's at attention, eyes fixed on Heather.

Hank just reminds her of the box he put downstairs, recommends she donate any excess stuff before the holidays, and fucking gets out of there. When Hank passes in front of David's door, Maggie reacts the same way. A thunderous growl, artificial fur bristling, her face twisting into a jagged snarl.

He leaves quickly. He's got some notes to write. Anyone who runs into him will find him rushing through the hall, his canindroid Doberman at his heels.

2.) Drink Responsibly - Closed to Erik

Hank makes his way to Rick's. Supposedly it takes a year. It's been less than a year, and the clones are pretty much getting done. Heather and David both have been here as long as he has. And, well, if Erik's still around and still himself, he's fuckin' bringing Maggie.

She doesn't growl at everyone, obviously, but now he's starting to notice it when she's out with Hank and Connor, she's reluctant to leave their sides. She's friendlier with newer people. Maybe she's always known, and he just thought she was especially picky about who she'd pay attention to. Maybe the reason she came to him quickly when he sought out a dog to adopt was that he smelled better that anyone else to her.

Fuck if he knows. But he takes in his realistic robo-dog whether she's allowed or Rick is around or not. He picks an hour midday that he hopes is dead, full of lunch lag and before dinner rush in the middle of the week, and goes up to the bar, waiting for Erik's attention.

His gut is roiling up at this point. He's gotta keep working on it, though. He can't give up on it as hopeless.

3.) Wildcard - OTA

Any other threads this month? Just jam those bastards in here.

Comments

1

[blitzcheer]

Really, it’s not the best scene to walk in on.

Tidus was interested in David as well. He wasn’t in too close or often contact with the guy, but the doctor was one of the few Tidus knew he could speak to, and that meant a lot in a city that left him feeling lost. Personal losses had distracted him from speaking to him for a while, and he wanted to do it in person if he could.

So he climbs the floors that lead to his room and doesn’t even think about the other figure ahead of him, until Tidus realises where he and the machine-animal are, and he stops in his tracks. Hears the growling, the way it isn’t right.

It wouldn’t be normal on any other day, but after losing someone already, Tidus takes a step towards the man and his animal, his right hand flexing out. He has no weapons, but he still has some magic if he needs it.

“What are you doing? Who are you after?”

It's accusatory, suspicious, the same way he looks at Hank over rings formed from restless nights. The man looks human, but so had Yuna.

going to edit 'cause he wouldn't phrase it this way

[sociallychallenged]

Hank's expression isn't angry or ominous or over-friendly. It's a little haunted as he looks over at Tidus. "Oh, right. I was looking for David. But I don't think he's living here anymore."

And he's nervous about that. Maggie doesn't like whatever's past that door.

"...You might uh... if you see him around, it uh... you might just wanna be careful." He's quieter about that bit.

He's really got to figure out how to reprogram those doubles because the more people that know what they know and get turned, the more they're pretty much fucked. Hell, they might already be. He'd trusted David with a lot. Heather, too. More than that, if they didn't run or by some miracle ended up somewhere else, then that means they died potentially horrible deaths. These clones aren't just tools and killers, they're victims and memories of those passed.

[blitzcheer]

Tidus’s expression drops, the guarded suspicion, the small raise of his hand falling back to his side and the tension in his shoulders. His head then soon follows, shaking in a slow, dumbfounded manner, and he doesn't know what to say. David too?

Now what?

“Do people always move out this quickly?” he decides, once he can think of a way of speaking without being so direct. Lifting his head again, regarding the man not so aggressively this second time.

“My girl—” he catches himself on the word, wincing, “—my friend...we were just here for a month."

[sociallychallenged]

"No. I've been here the same amount of time as David."

He thumbs towards the door. A year his fuckin' ass. Maybe it's just after a year that the Head decides that he's done. Some people take longer than others, he guesses.

But Jesus, he lost his girlfriend. It makes Hank immediately worried for Connor, especially since he so recently had his ass royally handed to him. "Sorry to hear that." And he actually looks sorry.

There's more that he wants to say. Can't say it here.

"Hey, look. I think I'm gonna go get something from a food cart. You want anything? Sounds like you could use it." Only so much they can say here.

[blitzcheer]

Does he? Not really, but Tidus knows an ulterior offer when he hears one, or he’s rapidly starting to get used to it. So he nods, “Sure,” and steps towards the man, whether or not they end up taking the way he came. Just a show that he’ll follow, but he does pause to look at the door. One last look.

“I’m Tidus,” he’ll offer, some way into them leaving the dormitory complex. There’s things he wants to say or know, but he doesn’t trust himself to pick the right time.

Leave that to the guy who’s been here longer.

[metamorphotic]

It's her night off, but Nick spends most of those at Rick's anyway, either playing music for patrons or just people-watching. Observing. That started with being tasked to search out potential new Heart recruits. Funny how she's become a workaholic over the past few years; at some point it just became routine, impossible to shake. Back in Chicago, she worked two jobs to pay rent and fund her expensive cigarette habit. In Hadriel, she worked because it was either that or obsess over the utter shitshow in which she'd found herself, worry about all the horrible ways she could die or kill someone. And now, even when she isn't on the clock for Rick, she's working for this group of revolutionaries with which she's become more and more disillusioned.

So here she is, sat on a stool at the bar with a glass of whiskey, a lit cigarette with an ashtray nearby, and a nondescript package to deliver. There's nothing outwardly suspicious about any of this, but her nerves have been on high alert for years, so she's not at all relaxed as she waits for Hank to join her, attention darting toward the door every time it opens.

[sociallychallenged]

When Hank comes in he's still pretty frazzled, that hopeless air still lingering. And whether or not she's welcome, he brings Maggie. What the hell ever. She's clean, she won't hurt anything, and Rick's a dog too so maybe he won't be biased.

It's Nick that he ends up sitting by.

"Connor got his ass beat." Is the first thing out of his mouth. "Nearly killed. Case work." Going to clarify that right there, even if that's not entirely true. He was lured out and attacked using Hank's case as an excuse. "A few people turned up missing. A couple that I trusted. So. Not great... Pretty young ones, too."

That could be read as his case, too. But Hank knows that Nick is aware. She'll catch what he means.

"And your damn other bartender needs to be more fuckin' careful. I came in to warn him." Still possibly talking about the case, but he gestures. "Mind if we uh... go somewhere? I don't wanna deal with people right now."

Maggie is sticking close to his stool, too.

[metamorphotic]

Dogs are welcome at Rick’s, and out of habit, Nick stretches out an open hand for Maggie to sniff and give her approval. Her eyes widen in alarm and flick up to focus on Hank as he begins his string of bad news, starting with Connor. Mention of people going missing has her cursing under her breath, and she’s already finished the last of her drink and crushed out her cigarette by the time Hank asks to relocate, nodding in agreement.

“Yeah - sure,” she says, sliding off the stool and collecting the package of items she’d brought for Hank. Handing it over can wait. “My place is upstairs. It’ll be quiet, just the three of us.” So yes, Maggie is invited. “Just, um - lemme grab something real quick.”

Nick slips behind the bar and procures a fresh bottle of whiskey, calling out to the bartender on duty tonight: “Hey, put this on my tab, yeah?” She has a feeling she and Hank are both probably gonna need a stiff drink or two before the night’s over.

[sociallychallenged]

"Yeah, thanks." Hank gets up and moves out of her way. He'll still have to come back to find Erik, but for now he's ready to follow her.

Maggie sniffs Nick's fingers and she gives a single little nub wag. Like she's still getting used to showing joy on a regular basis (she does it much more often with Connor around). He thinks now, knowing what he knows, he probably should have left her at home. Paranoia urged him to take her along this time.

He is sure that Connor has a gun, not that it'd do much against a lot of people though.

He hates these fucking thoughts. It's the most vulnerable he's been, having let himself care again, and now his best thing is threatened. And that poor girl, god. She was just a teenager, she spent her whole life running, she had maybe five minutes of real freedom. She had a father to get home to. Christ, her father isn't going to know he's missing a little girl.

When they get upstairs he barely even pays attention to the state of her place before he sits down. Maggie finds the nearest source of soft thing to climb up on and curl into a surprisingly small ball for such a large dog.

"She knows, by the way." He indicates Maggie. "I didn't realize it until today. She growled at their doors. When she's around strangers, she sticks close to us. She only likes to meet new people."

[blitzcheer]

[ continuing from this ]

“I don’t know if you actually care about sports, but you can pretend to today with this.”

It’s said quickly following the usual standard greeting, with Tidus waiting a short walk inside the park than by any of the entrances, a rolled up magazine held out for Hank to take. If he looks, the cover is decorated with eye-catching text over the top of an intense photograph of a variety of worldly races all in decked out wheelchairs separated by colours.

The offering might be pointless fluff, but it made Tidus feel better about standing around--and it allows him to add in the potential exchange, knowing there’s no one else immediately nearby to hear: “I wanted to tell you, when my friend went missing, I--went and asked about it. They showed me a recording.”

He’s quick to say that too, rushed and low. Whatever Hank would think of him (because he knows, and he knew back then, you can't trust them), he wanted to share it.

[sociallychallenged]

"Oh I love sports. I used to catch every baseball and basketball game I could. I used to place bets, too." Which is a little bit illegal where he was from, but also often he didn't care that much about 'crimes' that were more there to make politicians look good. He'd not protest someone smoking fucking pot in the comfort of their own home or betting twenty bucks on a winning team. It's a waste of goddamn time.

But what the fuck is this even?

He flips through pages of the book offered to him. Well, he guesses that it's good for the people that need wheelchairs. But uh... wouldn't there be some fuckin' drama if some of these people can walk? Are they supposed to be able to use their legs and it's a flinstones feet run situation?

Tidus's words draw him back out of it and looks down the length of track.

"What was on it?"

[blitzcheer]

Well, that’s good to know. Would be even better if Tidus's heart hadn’t been set on what he continued with, but it can be something to easily talk about with the guy, if sports can be used as a good distraction. For now, Tidus looks the same way Hank does instinctively, then looks away again.

“Home. Spira. It was from her perspective.” But he heard her voice, heard and saw people he would know. “Everything was...different. But I recognised it. I haven’t seen it in two years.”

Different, strange, but believable. Tidus shakes his head slowly. “They said it was a mistake, bringing her here. That she was here before.”

Was it a lie entirely? There isn’t much that feels real even away from the Head, and Tidus turns on his foot, picking up at least of a habit of, don’t easily be seen talking about anything. Whether or not it was too cautious for where they were. He scuffs the heel of his shoe against the asphalt.

“I didn’t know if… you know. You’re trying to keep a low profile. I went and did that…”

Did Hank want to be seen around him? Did Tidus somehow call more attention to himself? Laughter bubbles somewhere behind their backs, two people walking their way, but minding their own business.

[sociallychallenged]

On one hand, it's worrisome. On the other, Hank doesn't think it was a bad idea. Not that he thinks they could ever teach the Head compassion, but he did think the same about androids back home. And eventually they did start to feel things. Hell, here he is head over heels for one; a year ago, he wouldn't have considered that possible not just from him, but from a machine as a companion.

Asking it real questions would help.

"Nah, it's okay." He pats Tidus's shoulder firmly. "You needed to know. And hell, it might be true."

She was here before, huh? "It could be good news for you and her. At the very least, it means he makes mistakes."

Hank lets his hand drop away. "How are you holding up?"

Thread for Arkady

[sociallychallenged]

David? Heather? Both huge losses. Heather might not have been trained in anything in particular, just a high school student, but what she lacked in formal education she had in evasion in spades. Lost, now, despite her whole childhood of fucking horrific experience. And David? Brilliant beyond his years. Borrowed knowledge, but he was a good man who used it well. He hoped to fucking god their doubles got to do more with their lives than they had a chance to, born in worlds where they had to be afraid of what they were.

As far as he knows, Arkady is another person he needs to verify is okay, so he goes to her room first. Can't find her there. Then he realizes like a foolish fool that he doesn't know where she works. Probably should figure that out.

So he just sends her a message.

Meet me down by the boardwalk. Connor got hurt at work. Need to pick him up a gift. 6:00pm

That much is true, and a suitable excuse for luring her down without having to talk to say too much on the network.

He takes Maggie with him so he can be sure she's really her, waiting near the main entrance of the boardwalk. He paces as he waits, with Maggie sitting on the lakeside sand doing her best impression of a flesh and blood dog basking in the late evening sun before it's gone.

[hellofishies]

Arkady doesn't respond to the text with confirmation she'll show. Lately she's been even more spacey than before, possibly a result of her spending a bit too much time messing around in her own head with her powers. That doesn't mean she doesn't actually show though. She does. A few minutes later than 6 but it's close enough. For once she doesn't just teleport next to him. Instead she walks up with her baggy jacket actually pulled tightly around herself for once. Usually it rests on her elbows but today she wants the extra comfort of a jacket tightly wrapped around.

Immediately she perks up at the sight of the dog. "Doggy!" She rushes forward to greet the dog, mostly ignoring Hank at that point. Sorry Hank, doggy is much more interesting. After a few seconds of paying attention to the doggy she does finally look up at Hank with a small smile.

"Hello." Her voice is definitely distinctly less cheery than usual. "I'm sorry to hear about Connor. What hurt him?"

[sociallychallenged]

Maggie doesn't know how to react at first, because usually she's not the first thing people notice. She remains mostly ignored, having once been a protection machine and then as she remains standoffish from doubles. But it doesn't take her long to start wiggling her nub tail her whole back end goes.

Hank watches, relatively pleased she's being herself. That Arkady is still a person, so Maggie's not acting like she's being offered broccoli.

"Case work. Something happened. But uh... he had to go to a clinic and get patched up. It was a fuckin' mess."

Mostly a mess in that Connor had to deal with just being nothing to someone. Not even an android, just thirium blood that could be used for drugs. He stoops beside her to pet Maggie as well.

"And David and Heather got taken already. I guess it doesn't always take a full year."

[hellofishies]

She pets Maggie some and giggles very quietly at the wagging butt. It's nice to laugh, even if it's short lived.

"I guess it makes sense there's more threats than just the Head. There's always more." The more he says the more her expression darkens.

"Do they have others?" Replacements she means. She scrunches her eyebrows up and looks over at him. "Do you think they got sent home like the Head said?" Once she asks the question she immediately feels a bit stupid for it. Of course they probably haven't been sent home. It's probably naive to even consider it.

Better late than never??

[magneticfields]

Erik already has battled his own roboclone. Well, one of them anyway. And one of Charles', which was even less pleasant. Neither has been here a year. Erik has also noticed his own ability to detect the clones has been... not as reliable. (Whatever, it happens to lots of guys.)

It's enough to put him on-edge. The gala didn't help. And the Heart is full of idiots. When Hank arrives as-promised, Erik doesn't react any differently than he does to anybody else. He nods and gestures to an empty seat at the bar. "We don't have much in the way of food, if you're looking for lunch," he warns.

Tis the season!

[sociallychallenged]

Hank shakes his head. "Nah, I didn't come for the food. I come in to see Nick quite a bit."

He looks around, judging to see if anyone's close enough to hear them over the bar's other noises. Yeah, not many people are there, and there's some music in the background.

"You said at the ball you could tell, right?" He tips his head towards a window, at a person passing by, looking at their phone and engrossed in some DM conversation. She actually stumbles in her intense distraction. "What about her."

Then across the street, an old man examining the sun-washed menu in a window. "Or him?"

He taps his head and mouths, You have a chip.

[magneticfields]

"I can sense metal, it's part of my mutation." He taps his head in the same spot. "If something isn't made of metal, say it's some sort of ceramic or silicon or graphene in a saline solution," things he's theorized the chip is made of, "I can't sense it. But if, for example, somebody has a prosthetic leg that has a titanium alloy to form the bone structure, that I can sense."

He shrugs. "It's not precise, but most people aren't quadruple amputees." He looks at the people Hank indicates. "Phone, yes. Menu, no." He shakes his head. "Poor bastard. The food is terrible there."

[sociallychallenged]

"Your mutation means absolutely fuck all if the Head decides it means fuck all. That's the problem. It can leave that little bit on, get you comfortable in using your power, learn from it. And then that fucker can turn it off. Hell, can turn you off. Could be a bio material. Could be metal.

"Most of the people that are clones are pretty exact replicas once they're done. Ours were nowhere near it. He's been makin' it so you can't sense 'em. But hell, you pretty much gotta treat anyone whose been here over a year like they're someone that piece of shit is using."

After the call, at the Cat Cafe

[morethanatrickster]

Loki decided very quickly he liked this place, and not only because some of the feline creatures were capable of sensing lies. The coffee was splendid and he'd meant in when he'd told Hank he was headed to grab some. He was closer than Hank had been, and he has a seat near the door once he's placed his order.

He was looking forward to moving forward with their plan. Waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak, was some sort of torture. He'd brought a book, this one on astrophysics, to pass the time while he waited for Hank to arrive, sipping his coffee was it's delivered.

[sociallychallenged]

Hank's glad that they'll make it that special state of "I hate myself" strong that he wants. So when he arrives, that's what he immediately orders up front, then carries his cup over to settle at the desk by Loki.

He passes him a picture.

"This is our guy. Surprisingly not the stolen property guy. But someone who works with him. Someone he trusts. The guy's name is Felix Collins. Real good at pulling off that 'fine upstanding citizen' bullshit act."

He's still furious, but he has it together. Now they're really getting somewhere, even if now he also wants to beat the hell out of some random assholes. And Hank's not moral enough to save them if he were to encounter them, even though he is generally good-hearted.

[morethanatrickster]

One thing Loki prides himself upon is remembering faces, mannerisms, voices. It was necessary if one were to, say, replace someone for a few hours or years. Felix Collin's face was immediately recognizable. He remembers watching a broadcast recently in regards to a hero in uniform single-handedly bringing down a group of men responsible for a rash of jewelry store heists. Miraculous, really, and Loki had even then though the tale inflated.

"I know his name. A hero, from all accounts. I take it there's a bit of exaggeration to his heroism?"

[sociallychallenged]

"I'm guessing. He ratted Connor out for having blue blood. It's uh... a chemical, that drug makers use to put in something called 'red ice'. So he had him attacked, hoping they could bust him up without spilling it everywhere. The stuff is valuable.

"Connor's is tainted though. He got a mod here that lets him heal- more or less to the same degree a human is. So even if they'd gotten him, his blood wouldn't have worked for what they wanted. It's got other shit in it. As of right now, though, Collins shouldn't know that. And the guys that ambushed him probably aren't going to be going to this dealer to mention they fucked up an attack on a legit cop."

He pokes at the picture with an aggressively stereotypical hard grizzled cop expression.

"He's probably been on the take the whole time to get that rep. I just need the proof to out him and any clues about the dealer's location or a name drop, and I can layer on all the charges that would come with that and hand him over."