2.14 - Voice

[breakingmyheart]

[Posted about two hours after Megamind's post.]

[Seconds before transmission, almost everything is reset. The lost areas and items reappear, the above-decks areas are restored in their entirety, and the 'space' and sunlight around the ship come back. Zero is returned to normal and anyone teleported down there is automatically released. Anyone who has had their powers or weapons temporarily removed will get them back. Auto-demoted Wardens regain their previous status and everything associated with it.

The loose panels are still around. For some reason, it's raining lightly on deck. A few random bits of furniture in the common rooms have changed colour.

The voice of the 'Admiral' comes from Toshiko's network signature, quiet and tired.]

I don't stand by everything I said, but I don't hold myself above any of it. Anyone who wants to call me a hypocrite, a coward, a sadist, a weakling…

[The feed shifts. Tosh's voice. Hi, Barge.]

I know. I just - I know.

I need…time. To end this without doing any more damage. Tomorrow I'm going to come out. I'm not - I'm not going to fight. I'm not going to defend myself in any way.

[There is a background interjection from Megamind: But I will!

Tosh is quiet for a moment, probably pulling a face at him.]

...Whatever's decided, I'll....go along with it.

Comments

[ Private + Megamind ]

[surfaceshine]

[Dean's pissed. He's beyond pissed. And he's absolutely a proponent of an eye for an eye, and there's a lot of weight on Tosh's side of the scale.

However.]

I know you don't agree - [Okay, yeah, he's still pissed.] - but I'm still here to do a job and I still don't want people just randomly murdering other people or being murdered because they made stupid, shitty decisions. You get into a tight spot, I'm not on the lynch side.

[Private]

[breakingmyheart]

[Fuck.]

Kay, I don't know how the loose panels even happened. A lot of things that happened weren't my decision, exactly, I - I don't know if I have the control for 'almost'.

[As much as she knows he has a point and that it's a good idea, if she accidentally does let them into the engine room? That's worse than Kay's current worst-case scenario.]

[ Private to Dean ]

[megamind]

...thanks.

Soon as we can get her unhooked I'll explain everything I can-- including why she wasn't in control for... a great deal of this nonsense.

Later.

[ After the mob's passed. ]

[Private, text -- to the Admiral]

[omaera]

[Since Anya shoved her out a window, Junko has been profoundly deaf. Which is a shame, because she would have loved to hear the words the bear was right. That also means that she doesn't quite have the gist of what's going on here now. She sees the ship goes back to normal and sighs, shooting a line to what she's still thinking of as the Admiral.]

Oh My God! Giving up so soon???

voice;

[supersonic]

[ Pietro was, quite honestly, ready to bestow a swift knife in the back upon whoever was responsible for locking his sister in a cell and subjecting her to twelve hours of torture. But something about the way she says that — I'm not going to fight — cuts right through him. (Hasn't he been there, in Megamind's shoes, defending someone who had decided not to defend herself, because her life mattered more to him that all the people she could possibly harm?) Even that thought doesn't negate his anger entirely — she isn't Wanda, and she hurt Anya — but the rage in his voice is cold, restrained for once. ]

Why did you do it?

[Public;]

[likeamonster]

Certainly wouldn't be opposed to it. But it'd take the wardens a damn week to figure out who could be the judge, let alone all the rest.

[ Private to Dean ]

[surfaceshine]

I won't understand it. [This is just straight up fact; Dean expects there's some technobabble involved, and a lot of things he can't forgive because he's just not built that way. He remembers twelve hours of hearing Sam scream for him and having to convince himself over and over that it isn't real, and he remembers the faces of his friends, of people he's supposed to be protecting, and there are some things he just can't forgive.

But luckily, he understands something else.] Lucky for you and her, I don't have to. I have a job.

[Private]

[most_feared]

There are a lot of people out for blood, they'll try to fight through guards and more people will end up tortured, and after what happened with Sveta they'll know Narvin will act. He can lead them- in the wrong direction. I can use some of the other tunnels that exist, we got a map of 'em, but if you can start some winding shit around level 8 at least that would make this a lot easier.

I also gotta worry about how tangled you are up in there now and if you can straighten yourself out enough to get out. The infirmary has a guard and people ready there.

[Public;]

[mistconduct]

Yeah, maybe you're right. Shit's fucked either way.

Hey, do you know if there's a policy in place for switching rooms or whatever?

[mightymorbid]

Private conversation, Riddick.

[Public;]

[likeamonster]

I've no idea. I'm sure your warden could arrange that. Why, are you next to her ?

[Public;]

[mistconduct]

Nope. Next to him.

[Public;]

[likeamonster]

Oh. Well, if your warden wouldn't be opposed [he knows Drac wouldn't.] there's room to spare here until something gets sorted out.

[with_my_teacup]

Then work your filters better, but you do not do this.

[Public;]

[mistconduct]

Yeah?

All right, cool.

[Private]

[breakingmyheart]

I'll try. I'll try, I just - I can't put Megamind in any more danger than I already have.

And for God's sake, just put me in Zero, it's safer for everyone.

[Except her, but really, who gives a shit.]

[Public;]

[likeamonster]

Door's open. So come on by whenever.

[Private]

[most_feared]

You need to get checked out in the infirmary first. They need to make sure the ship didn't stick anything in you, too.

[Added Private to Megamind]

Get her that holographic thing and make her look like Stephanie Brown. Let Steph know what you're doin'. Get her to the infirmary.

[Public;]

[mistconduct]

Sure. Just give me two seconds to get my shit together.

[Private]

[breakingmyheart]

[There's still a part of her that just wants to scream 'no telepathy' but really, she has absolutely no right to object to anything.]

...Okay.

[can_has_vodka]

[Arkady is sitting in the dark, barely her outline visible. Her voice when she speaks is shaky, full of tears, and absolutely livid-sounding.]

You...deliberately tormented, hurt, and imprisoned everyone here. You mocked us all while you did it. You demoted or caused the demotion of a lot of good people out of your own sick, skewed judgment of them. You blinded people. You caused people to be cast into the space between worlds, maybe forever, including two who went willingly just to get away from you. We may never get them back, Sato.

[She labors to catch her breath for several seconds.]

You took away almost everything we had to stave off despair, everything we and the Admiral had built to make this place more livable. Because you were in despair, and you wanted everyone to be as miserable as you have made yourself..

This whole time, if you were so unhappy, you could have just left. But I suppose that wasn't dramatic and attention-getting enough for you. Instead, you chose to punish every one of us because the Barge is so imperfect, including those of us who work our arses off to make it better!

You took away the pub I worked so hard on with Faith and the others, and when a great lot of us got together to rebuild it, you took it away again. Out of spite. And then you want to go on and claim that we deserve it. You couldn't be any more full of shite if you were an elephant in need of an enema.

And now you're putting on a show of being contrite. Except that it's a bloody sham, especially compared to the month you just put us all through! I know you enjoyed it. You were gloating while you hurt us. I don't care how you or your paramour try to justify it, you're poison. I never want to see you or your defenders around me, my Inmate or especially my Pub, again.

[impure_tale]

[sardonic in tone] Well, so long as you don't "stand by everything you said."

[Private]

[megamind]

I'll have to make a model of Stephanie from memory. I've never scanned anyone on the ship.

[ ...because it's rude, and invasive, and would be used for deception and would be contrary to attempting to graduate. Aren't you proud of his self control? ]

[ Except where it's caused a problem now. ]

[ Private to Dean ]

[megamind]

I'm a genius and I don't understand it entirely. [ Stupid barge. ] But-- thank you.

[Private]

[most_feared]

The infirmary takes base scans of everyone when they're on the ship. If she agrees to it, the infirmary can send you her bioscan and you can build off that. You won't have to invade her privacy right now. And she might be pissed off, but ultimately I trust her to do the right thing.