dear_mun | (no subject)

[still not gonna give up on you, kid, though I won't ask just yet if you have powers too]

...Thanks.

Aw, c'mon. I'm not gonna do anything you object to. I hate it when others think they know what's best for me. But if someone's after you, or you're in a bad situation, I bet I can help.

[Probably a good idea. He has the kind of powers that make people want to lock him up on general principle.]

If you really know what I'm talking about, then you oughta know you can't help me. There's a lot more of them than there are of us. And you and your friend have enough problems.

... besides, I'll be alright. I can take care of myself.

[I'm 95% sure you have some power yourself, but you're too twitchy for me to probe about that just now. Not gonna forget. But I'm more worried about what people are doing to you because of it, since I -- and Z in particular -- have some firsthand experience with that.]

[shrugs]

I don't know that I do, exactly. But I know what it's like to be facing impossible odds. I know what it's like to be scared as anything.

I also know what it's like to only survive thanks to my friends.

[looks away, to make this a little easier] No one has to be alone, David.

[He's pretty sure you really do just want to help, and who knows, maybe your buddy isn't even half bad either. But just the same, he's still got a bad history with people wanting to help him. It's never ended well.]

Sometimes it's better to be alone.

[closes his eyes] I don't know what it's like to only survive because of friends. But I know what it's like to only survive because of myself.

Listen. I... appreciate you wanting to help. You're a good guy. But not everyone is. That's why it's better this way.

[And by 'not everyone' he means the people after him. Not to mention he himself.]

[Sky's an asshole sometimes, but he's a good asshole. I wouldn't trust him with any potentially embarrassing personal secrets, but I'd trust him with my life, and other people's, over and over.]

[frowns]

[digs in pocket for a scrap of paper and a pen, starts scribbling]

Look, I don't know how this works, but my technical guy says that if you do this kinda thing to a phone? You can contact our morphers, even if you're not in the same time period as us. You run into any situations where it's not better to be alone, where you need friends to survive, you call me. You hear me?

[He's never trusted anyone with his life. And he'd like to, maybe even needs to, but trusting others means changing loyalties and that's hard.]

Yeah... okay. I can do that.

[he gives you a very funny look when you say the word 'morphers', and for a moment looks like he's about to ask something. But he doesn't.]

So, this is like the SPD version of 911? [he forces a chuckle] What're you gonna do if I call this and I'm in a different time? Or do you guys time travel too?

Edited 2012-06-16 13:49 (UTC)

[it took me a while to get used to trusting non-Z people, too, but I had an advantage in that I already knew there was someone outside of me, someone I could rely on.]

[...huh, that was a weird look]

Good. Thank you.

[laughs] Hell if I know how it works, but we do have time travel tech. I'll find a way, David.

You wanna tell me what bothers you about morphers? Is it anything to do with these Yeerks?

[He, on the other hand, has never had that. Growing up a military brat, he never stayed in one place long enough to make any friends. Growing up without anyone to trust, even before your life's torn apart, has done strange things to his attitude.]

Alright. I'll take your word for it. [And, to his surprise, he finds he actually might. Sky told him you're the leader. Maybe you're just talking big.]

Ah...

[You can almost see him choosing each word he's about to say before he opens his mouth. Whatever the reason, it's clearly something he's worried about.]

When you said 'morphers'... what exactly did you mean by that? What's a morpher to you?

[I've seen all kinds on the streets. I hate whatever's made it so hard for you to trust, but I understand, and of course I don't judge you for it.]

[Oh, I talk big. All the time. But when it comes to making promises to help people? I always find a way to follow through.]

Good. It's basically magic to me, but I trust the people who know how these things work.

[eyes narrow in concern, holds up SPD morpher]

Gives me an armored suit, access to weaponry, other things. What's it mean to you?

[Anybody can make a promise. He's learned that from hard experience. But maybe you're not just anybody. He doesn't believe that yet, but he's starting to wonder. It's an idea that's taken root, even if it's slow to bloom.]

You must be from way in my future if you've got time travel technology. There's nothing like that where I'm from, even from the alien races.

[When he sees the morpher, he blinks in confusion... and then it clicks, and he almost laughs in relief.]

Oh... it's a device. I get it now.

Where I'm from, that's a word used for... something else.

[They don't call me boneheaded and stubborn for nothing. I have principles, I won't help anyone with absolutely anything. But someone who's in need? You bet I'll help. I'll make it work.]

Ah, 2025? What year are you from?

...really. What do you mean?

2025?

[If anything, he looks even more relieved to hear a familiar date. He was expecting maybe AW 5000X or something.]

That's not so bad. I'm from 1999. So that's only twenty-six years into my future. I'd still be alive by then.

[Except for the part where he wouldn't be because he was supposed to die a few months ago. And still could. But he's not going to think about that.]

Well... [He bites his lip. Somehow he doesn't think Jack's gonna let this question drop like the others.] .. it's a word for an ability. The power to change shape. To become any living thing you can touch.

Gotcha. You're from not long before I was born, then. Ain't that a trip.

[...don't think I didn't see that look, but I don't know what it means. And this is a shot in the dark, but I think I'm right.]

Wow. Is it good, being able to do that?

[The stricken look that's etched across his face at that probably tells you everything you need to know, even if he's quick to go into damage control.]

To do what? I was talking about other people. Other kids, I mean.

[I'd wrap an arm around you, or squeeze your shoulder, if you trusted me more / we knew each other better, but I'm not stupid enough to offer any kind of physical reassurance just now]

David. The closest I know to that kinda power is my friend Syd, who's also a Ranger, who can transform her fist into various things like brick, steel, and so on. I live with people like her, I have my own ability, and it doesn't freak me out in that way, kid.

Also doesn't freak me out in terms of it being some kinda crime. I've never heard of that particular ability, and I wouldn't know who to turn you into even if I *wanted* to turn you into someone purely for being able to do that.

Long story short, it's okay. Really.

[Very wise move. He's dangerously close to just making a run for it, even if he's pretty sure you could catch him. Because this is dangerous ground he's on right now, and if the wrong people found out, life as he knows it and and wants to keep knowing it would be over.]

You've got an ability too?

[He's met a few people with different abilities before, but they've been rare, and none of them got their powers the way he did.]

You don't understand. I can... [he takes a deep breath and runs a hand over his face.] ... when I said 'any living thing' I meant any living thing.

That includes people.

[I am in good shape, and used to running/fighting every day. I have issues with chasing people who're scared of me, though, so that'd probably give you a couple seconds head start if you did break for it.]

[I'll just walk partway into a nearby wall, and back out again, by way of demonstration]

[eyebrows up] Ah. I see the implications. Still not a crime where I'm from, though. And anyone who went for you purely because you can do that? I'll get in the way.

[You wouldn't do that if you knew how I've used it, he thinks but wisely doesn't say. He does appreciate the sentiment, however true or not it ends up being.

That bit where you walked into a wall, though? That just caught his attention. Hopefully you'll excuse him for the staring. He can't really help it.]

You can phase out? [he grins] That's awesome! No wonder you're a soldier! How could anybody fight a guy they can't shoot?

[I -- reluctantly, at times -- believe in the justice system. If I find out you've done stuff you shouldn't've AND I believe you're genuinely dangerous to others, I still wouldn't stand by and watch you get beaten up or killed. No one deserves that. I might help you get to a decent justice system, if I think you deserve it, somewhere which'll treat you fairly. But if I think you have justification for whatever you've done and you only hurt others when there was no other option, I might well help you stay free entirely.]

[might be just a little smirky at the praise, but then I'll give you a rueful, pained grin] You'd be surprised. I certainly was.

I have to be solid to affect others, you see. So I can't fight without being vulnerable to taking hits myself.

[He's never admitted it before - not even to himself - but he does feel guilty about the things he did. He grasped at rules that would make it okay - telling himself his enemies were fair game as long as they were in morph - but that didn't make it right. The things he did later, they were right even less. But he'd had no other choice. At least, that's what he told himself.

He's not thinking about that just yet, though, because he's too busy being impressed.] Can you phase just parts of yourself in, or is it all one way or all the other?

If you really wanted to, no one could stop you. You could phase your fist into someone's head and that'd be the end of them. Even I couldn't heal from an attack like that.

[And now you just caught a glimpse of the way he thinks. Having seen your power, he's immediately leaped to the most lethal, most effective uses for it. There's a reason why he chooses the forms he does, though you haven't seen them yet.]

Edited 2012-06-22 01:28 (UTC)

[taking in the desperation in you that'd lead you to automatically go to the worst possible usage]

I can do that a bit, yeah. And I'm training, to get better.

[I'm gentle, here, and perhaps these aren't 100% absolutes; perhaps I'm talking about principles I stick to right up to the point where I realise I can't afford to have principles. But it hasn't happened yet. I haven't been pushed that far yet.]

But there are some things I won't do, David.

[He sobers a bit at the gentle but firm rebuke. It's a stark reminder of where he is and what kind of person he's talking to. Jack might be a cool guy, but he's still a lawman. HJack would never be okay with going as far as he's gone.

It'd be better just to agree with him and let that be that. But he's stubborn.]

You'd do it if your life was on the line.

[my reflexive reaction is to deny that, but you've given me thoughtful, respectful answers, and I'm not going to close myself off to you]
[especially as I think you need me to think about this and give you a decent answer]

[nodding slowly]

I've been pushed, a few times. Been damn close to dying. But I haven't needed to do anything like that.

Maybe I would, though. If there was no other option.

A person needs principles, but in the real world? Sometimes the principles don't work. I realise that.

[It's not the response he was expecting. Not from someone like you. Or at least the kind of person he thinks you are. He was expecting a denial. A reaffirmation of principles.]

[He bites his lip. There's something he wants to talk about. But he can't. Not to you, not even to himself. Not yet at least.]

You're lucky, you know. Having people you can count on.

... It's different when you don't.

[I'm not always the smartest when it comes to honesty vs diplomacy, or the best at toeing the SPD line. But I'm going to give you the answers that feel right for me.]

[wondering if there's something more you want to say]

Totally. I've had Z by my side, at my back, for years. And Sky and the others are pretty good, too.

[eyes intent on yours]

David? Tell me what happened to you.