Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Gage and I will get you!"

Username: 
Password:    
Remember Me
  • Create Account
  • IJ Login
  • OpenID Login
Search by : 
  • View
    • Create Account
    • IJ Login
    • OpenID Login
  • Journal
    • Post
    • Edit Entries
    • Customize Journal
    • Comment Settings
    • Recent Comments
    • Manage Tags
  • Account
    • Manage Account
    • Viewing Options
    • Manage Profile
    • Manage Notifications
    • Manage Pictures
    • Manage Schools
    • Account Status
  • Friends
    • Edit Friends
    • Edit Custom Groups
    • Friends Filter
    • Nudge Friends
    • Invite
    • Create RSS Feed
  • Asylums
    • Post
    • Asylum Invitations
    • Manage Asylums
    • Create Asylum
  • Site
    • Support
    • Upgrade Account
    • FAQs
    • Search By Location
    • Search By Interest
    • Search Randomly

Annie Wagner ([info]i_lovemachines) wrote in [info]we_coexist,
@ 2011-12-22 22:38:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:annie wagner, charlie crews

A new girl, a new place, old machines (Open)
She wasn't sure what happened. One moment she was walking away from Doom, into the heart of Halo City, and the next she was in a place that looked nothing like where she'd been. The tech was all so much older. She'd run back around the corner to find no trace of Doom, the car he'd forced her to steal, or even the spot where the two had been.

Confused, Annie wandered for a while, looking at the cars that were not the same as she was used to, being bombarded by things that wanted to speak to her, not sure what she was doing here, not sure how to get back to where she was - but not sure she really even wanted to go back. It wasn't as if home had been the greatest place to live. She knew it, sure, but could this place be any worse? The only problem with this place was that she didn't know how she'd gotten here.

Hey.

Annie turned. She didn't see anybody nearby. She began to walk again.

Hey. Please. It wasn't precisely words, not like other people might understand them. More like feelings projected. More like ideas. But she'd been at it so long, it was like plain English to her.

This time, she looked down. There, on the ground, was a watch. It's face cracked, it's strap broken. Annie knelt down, the watch looked really old. Though, she supposed it could be somebody's favored antique. Something that their great grandparent had worn, and had been kept in the family. That would be really rare, though. She didn't think a lot of things like that had survived the war. Not a lot of people had survived the war. But, this place didn't look as if there had been a war. Ever.

Don't leave me here.

"What if they come back for you?"

They won't. He won't. He doesn't care about me. He saw me drop and left me. Please. I can be fixed, I'm sure of it.

"Let me see..." Annie didn't touch the watch, not yet. She felt as if she might hurt it more somehow. As if it were a human body and it's neck was broken, if she moved it, she might kill it. She closed her eyes and pushed away all the strangeness that had just happened to her, blocking out all the noise. Then she looked at the watch again. Internally, it appeared to be fine. Annie smiled. "You're right. It's just your face that's broken. And your strap."

She reached down to pick the watch up.

(Post a new comment)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-23 06:45 am UTC (link)
Today was an ice cream day. He didn't do it often, but there were times the fruit was forgotten and ice cream was had. Charlie Crews stepped out of a shop with a small cone topped with a scoop of banana berry crunch. He was quite pleased with the creamy goodness, and would have continued on in the state of lactosed bliss if he hadn't seen something odd.

He'd spoken to his trees before, or more the trees that shared the land Ted owned. They'd never talked back, not even after the speaking fruit incident. So, it was little surprise that he watched as a young woman spoke to something on the ground and seemingly spoke to it.

He took time to consider what might be going on, and with at shrug, he approached, making sure he was just in her peripheral vision. He hoped he wasn't in her blind side. There he stood to let her continue her conversation while he ate more banana berry crunch.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-23 06:50 am UTC (link)
"I'll get you home and fix you ... right..." Annie's fingers curled around the watch as she saw a shadow pass over her. She looked up and saw a man. He seemed to be just a regular kind of guy.

She didn't know quite what to do. She was frozen in place, the watch dangling from her fingers, staring up at the man.

He hadn't said anything yet. Why hadn't he said anything yet? Why was he just standing there and staring at her? Was this also a bad place to be a mutant?

Annie chewed her lip.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-23 07:06 am UTC (link)
Charlie smiled as he licked the ice cream, making sure he didn't let any muss his suit front. The way he watched it was nothing more than a school boy's curiosity, which could be slightly disturbing in a man who was over thirty. His eyes dropped from her face to the watch in her hands then lifted again to look at her eyes. Some might think Charlie a little "special" the way he didn't say anything at first.

"You're going to fix it?" The question could have meant anything, in respect to who he was and who she was and what was going to happen. He could have been just so simple that he had to ask. Or he could have been a jackass questioning her ability - the tone of the question leaned more toward simple than jackass.

"Do you work on watches?" He took another lick of ice cream before taking a very big bite and chewing, or mashing. He continued to chew/mash, not exactly waiting for an answer but he didn't want to talk with his mouth full. "Or are you going to do something else to it? Change it to found object art?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-23 07:10 am UTC (link)
Annie started to answer his question, but he kept talking. He kept asking more questions. She waited until she thought for sure he was done, leaving a few beats of silence between them.

"I'm going to fix it." Apparently he'd heard at least that much. "I don't work on watches per se. I just know how to fix it."

She showed it to him, standing slowly and backing away a little bit, so he wouldn't be so close. She had no idea if he might be a SHIELD agent. He didn't look like one, and they all knew her face, so in theory he should have been on her the second he'd seen her if he was one. Also, they didn't usually work alone.

The watch looked absolutely destroyed on the outside. As if it shouldn't work at all.

"Just the glass on the face and the strap are broken."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-23 07:14 am UTC (link)
Charlie offered her the rest of his ice cream cone so that he could carefully take the watch from her hand. It might have been a tricky thing for him to do, but he didn't seem the tricky type. Not normally. The girl didn't look like the harmful sort; she wanted to fix a watch after all.

"Hold this." He meant the cone. "Banana berry crunch. It's good. You should try it." The way he said it suggested she have a bite of what was right in front of her rather than going to get a whole scoop of her own.

Charlie knew little about mutants, and he didn't seem bothered by the idea of them. They were still a puzzle, yet he had decided long ago that he would find the solution with patience. These mutants did not necessarily mean immediate and possibly painful action.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-23 07:18 am UTC (link)
Annie blinked and took the frozen treat from the guy. She smelled it. It didn't smell like anything that she wanted. It smelled like bananas. He'd said it was banana something. She wasn't particularly fond of bananas.

"Thanks." But she didn't take a bite. Or a lick.

She wanted to know why he'd taken the watch. What he was going to do with it. The watch didn't seem to want to be away from her, but what could she say?

"If you listen to it, you can tell." She said, trying to explain why she knew what she knew. "You can hear it ticking."

Hopefully that would work.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-23 07:24 am UTC (link)
Charlie lifted the watch, giving it a careful look over, before he tilted his head and listened. There was a hint of a smile as he heard the faint ticks of a watch that needed love. He lowered the watch to look at it, turning it over to see if there were an inscription on the back.

"It's like a neglected man; it needs someone who knows how to listen to it, someone willing to help it back to a strong ticking." He didn't look at her quite yet, and he didn't seem to mind that she was holding his ice cream. Not once did he manhandle or toss the watch; he was rather respectful of the abused time piece.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-23 07:28 am UTC (link)
"Uh. Okay?" Annie shook her head. "You are really weird, mister." And that was coming from a girl who had just been talking to a watch.

The watch had settled down with his words, though. It wasn't begging her to take it back, wasn't making her antsy anymore. That she was thankful for. She wasn't feeling so much like grabbing it away from him and making a run for it.

Her first friend in a strange place, and it was a broken watch.

Her second one might be an insane human.

Annie didn't know what to think. She'd had very few human friends previously, very few. She didn't tend to trust them, but for some reason, she felt okay near this one. She thought that if he wanted to hurt her, he would have done it by now, and he wouldn't be treating the watch so nicely. Probably.

"Do you... want this back?" It was kind of melting, the frozen treat.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-23 07:34 am UTC (link)
"I wonder who JLM is and why he no longer wants a watch given to him in love by SBM." Charlie wasn't quite ready to give up the watch. It was a man's watch, so he was guessing at JLM's gender. People and fashion trends were always changing, but he would have gone with a male JLM. SBM could be male or female, and the loving relationship could be anything.

"JLM no longer loves SBM." Again, that could have meant anything. "Or the watch wouldn't be in such a state of disrepair."

As if he were just hearing her, the weird comment ignored apparently, the detective looked at the young woman then at the "this" in question.

"Yes." He held out the watch in his open hand while reaching for the melting ice cream. He didn't grab for one or throw the other. There was no trap in his actions. In fact, with his arms out as they were, it was possible he was making himself a target. Charlie didn't seem to mind that.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-23 07:39 am UTC (link)
Annie was curious, too, now. She hadn't seen an inscription before. She hadn't gotten a chance to look at the rest of the watch before she'd been approached.

She took it carefully, handing over the treat. She looked at the watch and turned it over, reading the inscription. The watch felt sad as she read it. It's previous will to live seemed diminished. As if it had forgotten that it had been inscribed, had been given in love, and now it was just realizing how much it had been left behind.

"I don't know." Annie felt sad, too.

Her thumb moved over the inscription, and then she turned it over to look at it's face again. Badly broken.

"He knew it fell." She said quietly. "And he didn't care. He just left it there. It knew that he wouldn't be back."

Annie clasped her hand over her mouth, realizing what she'd just said.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-23 07:48 am UTC (link)
Charlie watched her, licking at the ice cream, making sure once more it didn't get on his suit. He was making quick work of it, as it wasn't a large scoop of ice cream. Ice cream just wasn't the same as fruit or pastries. A little went a long way, or it just didn't do it for him as the others did.

"It knew he wouldn't be back? He knew it fell and didn't care to pick it up?" Charlie took one last large bite of the scoop top the cone, leaving behind the ice cream filled cone to deal with. He chewed thoughtfully.

"What if he couldn't? Perhaps something happened that made the watch painful. SBM was no longer in love with JLM, or perhaps SBM was no longer in the picture. People come and go; JLM had to leave it behind. The watch was injured," Charlie was treating the watch as a victim because in a way it was. "By neglect, or was it thrown down. The broken crystal could mean that it was thrown rather than fell. Or it fell from a large height. Or dropped. Unless it was broken later from being left on the ground. The band...I don't see blood, so the watch wasn't taken from JLM in some violent way. If it was, it was taken without getting blood on it."

Charlie hadn't really thought about what he was saying, how it might affect the girl. He was curious about this JLM and the watch. Also SBM. The watch had been a good one, and it still could be with the right attention. So, why had it been left?

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-23 07:54 am UTC (link)
Her hand closed over the watch as if she could shield it from what he was saying. Of course she knew that she couldn't block the sound of this guy's voice from the watch, but the things coming out of his mouth were so horrible.

She held her closed hand to her chest, almost hugging the tiny machine. "It broke when it came off his wrist." Her voice was quiet. She was listening to it as she herself spoke. "It hit the cement hard, he was moving quickly. He heard it, he paused, he didn't pick it up. He just left it."

How anybody could treat a machine, or any beloved object like that, Annie had no idea.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-23 07:58 am UTC (link)
Charlie listened. He didn't question how she knew; he could do that later. The watch was more interesting. He looked down at the cone in his hand, and sighed. He'd have to toss it. The watch suggested that something more had happened.

"Perhaps he couldn't. Did the strap break? And did it land here?" Charlie was already looking for any signs of a struggle. "How long ago did it happen?"

Had he stumbled upon a case without even trying? Charlie wasn't one to complain about working when he was off duty. Sometimes it was better for him if he could just keep working. It kept him out of trouble.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-23 08:05 am UTC (link)
She showed him the edge of the strap, where it looked worn through. But she didn't take her hand away from the actual watch part, and she didn't move it from where it was, just flicked the strap with one of her fingers.

"It landed here." There wasn't anything particularly special about the ground here. Not any harder than any other place in the sidewalk. It just landed wrong, she supposed. "He was wearing it less and less. It thinks he only put it on this morning because he wasn't thinking, he was in a rush."

The watch's story was making her sadder and sadder.

"Once upon a time, he loved it. He smiled every time he saw it. He put it on lovingly every day." She shook her head. "It doesn't know what happened. Just that he stopped being like that."

Annie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was never going to let this poor watch go through anything like that again. As long as she had a say in the matter, it would be well cared for. She might even wear it herself.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-23 08:12 am UTC (link)
Charlie nodded slightly. So, it wasn't something dangerous. It was sad, but not dangerous. He looked around a little longer before looking at the young woman. He finally giving into the need more than desire, he tossed the cone and its banana berry crunch goodness. Digging in his inside jacket pockets, which meant his badge showed for a moment at his waist, he soon pulled out a wet wipe and wiped down his hands before offering another to her.

"To clean it?" It wasn't an easy fix, the watch, but this would make the girl feel better perhaps. His own used wipe was tossed in the trash. "For whatever reason, SBM is no longer in the picture. Even if SBM is still around. The love changed, and that is unfortunate. It does happen. Whatever took place JLM...should not have left the watch like that."

Even the detective who wasn't attached to anything material could understand the need for connection and how an object to come to be a symbol of said connection. He could also understand why the young woman would feel protective, somewhat.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-29 06:09 pm UTC (link)
Annie became a little bit nervous when she saw the badge on the guy's belt. She hadn't had the best luck with the police in the past. But he seemed pretty nice so far. If he'd intended to arrest her, she didn't think he'd play around with her for so long. Police might be mean, but they weren't cruel. Most of them.

She took the packaged thing from him and copied his movements. She was surprised at the fruity smell that came at her when she ripped the wrapping. She dipped her nose closer. There was actually a strange mix of smells under the fruity disguise. Interesting. Annie turned the package so she could read the words better. Wet Wipes. Odd.

Lovingly, she used the thing to wipe the grime from the watch. First the face and back, then the straps, though she didn't think she was going to keep them. She just wanted the watch to feel loved again. Cared for.

"I agree." She nodded slightly. "If you don't want something anymore, you should find a new home for it. Not leave it on the ground. People just don't think."

Annie thought that this was a very good example as to why she liked machines much better than humans. Humans and mutants, really. Machines were not thoughtless. Machines did not suddenly stop loving something just because of a third party.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-29 11:32 pm UTC (link)
Charlie's hands went back into his pocket as he watched the young woman. He knew that look, or those looks. He knew how people got around cops; sometimes it was a bit of a test to show the badge, sometimes it just happened. Either way he got an idea of how people reacted to authority when he knew they saw it. Or could guess. She quite possibly didn't like cops.

Then there was the look as she started to clean the watch. She either hadn't had much, or...the look bothered him. No one should care so much about a thing. Not that he liked the idea of just tossing something away, but things were things, weren't they? Things created burdens for the soul. He was not his things. Yet, he didn't think things should be so very mistreated. This watch told a story even in its mistreatment.

"No, they don't. Or when they do, we often times wish they hadn't." Charlie gave her a slight smile. "I'm Charlie."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-30 06:26 pm UTC (link)
She wasn't sure what that look meant, or the one that followed when she started to clean the watch. She wasn't very good at reading people in depth, honestly. She knew when they were out to be mean, she knew when they wanted to capture her. She knew when they were friendly. But that was the extent of her knowledge. She hadn't really needed to know more than that. But she would have given anything to be able to know what this guy was thinking right now.

"Charlie." Annie nodded. "I'm Annie."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-30 06:57 pm UTC (link)
"Annie." Charlie nodded, not offering to shake her hand. It wasn't that he didn't want to touch her, but he had a feeling she wouldn't be fond of physical contact, not of a stranger anyway. His eyes dropped to the watch before he looked at her face again.

"Would you like something to eat?" It seemed out of the blue, but for Charlie, it wasn't so much. The City had shifted slightly to provide a small Italian bistro, and Charlie could definitely go for food almost any time of the day. That was one thing he liked being on the outside of prison. "We can decide what to do about the watch. It could be a sad story, but there might be something more that needs investigation. We can discuss it over...anything that's on the menu."

The detective felt the need to protect the young woman; he knew why without searching too deeply into his psyche. He wouldn't tell her, but he felt the need all the same. Feeding her and getting to know her may help. For all he knew, she was some wayward new child to the City.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-30 07:41 pm UTC (link)
Annie was about to say no to the food, but then she realized she didn't really know when the last time she ate was. Renfield and Doom had both fed her, of course, but Annie didn't think she'd eaten since Doom had killed her friend. She hadn't much felt like it.

"Sure?" Maybe it was a cop thing. Maybe it was just a Charlie thing. She had no idea. But she did suddenly think she might be able to get some answers from this guy. About where she was now. She'd run into the watch so quickly that she hadn't even had time to properly wonder.

And there was so very much to wonder about.

Plus he was nice.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-30 07:50 pm UTC (link)
"Good." Charlie nodded slightly and motioned for her to cross the street with him. He didn't seem to care if there were cars. Something about the way the detective walked suggested he fully expected them to stop for the two of them. He didn't show off the badge and gun.

"What more does the watch tell you, Annie?" There was no condescending tone; he seemed to believe her. And, in a way, he did. She could have meant anything, and he was more than willing to take her word for it. She may have seen something he didn't when she looked at it or held it.

"Do you like pasta?" He hoped she did as they were going to eat Italian food which was heavily pasta, not only pasta but heavily so.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-30 07:57 pm UTC (link)
She was unsure about talking about her ability with somebody who seemed to be a normal human, but the way he asked said that he wasn't doing it maliciously.

"It just didn't want to be left there." She shrugged a bit. "It was excited that somebody could... could understand... it..." She didn't know if this was what he'd meant, or if he'd meant what she could figure out by looking at it. She just realized this. Oh well. Too late now.

"Pasta is good."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-30 08:07 pm UTC (link)
"Good." Charlie was addressing the pasta comment. He nodded to the waiter who told them to sit where they wanted, and he chose an outside table, pulling her chair out for her as she got closer. He would only push her in if she didn't react badly to it. He didn't want to spook her more than she already seemed to be.

"I don't know of many that would like to be left anywhere. Something that is meant to be used, created for a purpose, needs to be used for its built purpose, or repurposed." He smiled slightly, nodding at what he said as if he liked how it sounded. He settled in a seat across from her. The way they sat, he'd made sure she could still see the street and things going on, but he was set to take care of any situation should it arise.

"How does it..speak to you?" He was curious. Not pushy, but curious. He thanked the waiter as he brought over the menus. "Order whatever you like."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-30 08:13 pm UTC (link)
Annie sat. Nobody had ever pulled her chair out for. Not even her boyfriend. It was nice.

She certainly agreed with Charlie's words. Especially when it came to machines. They shouldn't just be left alone. They didn't like it. Even if most of the world didn't know that.

"Um." How to explain? "I'm a mutant." She looked down and played with the silverware a moment, and pretended to read the menu, trying to see how he was going to react to that.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-30 08:18 pm UTC (link)
Charlie looked at her for a moment; he almost corrected her on her explanation, but then he remembered where he was. He hadn't been so detached during his time in prison or even before then to not understand. He had also met some interesting people in the City. A mutant.

"So you really do talk to it." It wasn't a question. "It's not some feeling you get." Who was he to question any of it? His partner lived with a telepathic space cat. He'd met many strange and wonderful types as well as some not so wonderful.

"I like alfredo. Though primavera is good too." As if a subject needed to be changed, though knowing Charlie it probably was not abandoned, just put to the side for now. "They have a pizza flatbread thing." He turned his menu to show here where he saw it rather than point to it on her own menu.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-30 08:25 pm UTC (link)
"All machines." She said, finally looking up. "And it's more than just talking." She was already in it, so why not go for broke? "I can make them work, do what they're meant to do, fix them, figure out what's wrong with them, all of that kind of stuff. They call it cyberpathy, or technopathy. Depending on who you talk to."

She actually did look at the menu now. There were a lot of choices here. "I like pesto the most."

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-30 08:40 pm UTC (link)
"Then order pesto." Charlie smiled at her. What she'd said before would take some time for him to process. He'd simply accept what she said for now, but he would think it all through, giving it time to settle.

"You're a good person to have around." No matter what he thought of the rest of it, he believed that if she were able to do all she said she could, he didn't see why anyone wouldn't want her around. Of course, he could see her being used and abused. Perhaps that was how she got to this state. He motioned for the waiter to return.

"I'll have the alfredo with beef medallions, red wine to drink." Charlie didn't order for Annie; she could do it herself, but it was highly unlikely that he'd let her order alcohol. "Perhaps the artichoke flatbread for appetizer."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-30 08:52 pm UTC (link)
"Pesto penne." Annie said. "And a coke." She didn't know how things worked in this place, but she'd never get away with trying to order alcohol where she came from. Not that she cared.

"Again. Depends on who you ask. There are people who hate us. Mutants. There are people who don't care, but don't want to know what you are. There are people who like us. People who use us."

She tilted her head. "But that kind of brings up another thing. I have no idea where I am. But I know that it's not where I'm from. This place is clean. There's no damaged buildings. The tech is all old. The fashion too, though it took me longer to notice that, I'm not really into clothes and stuff. And I'm pretty sure that the building that is across the street now wasn't there two minutes ago. I'm hoping you can help with that. The clearing it up part. I'm sure you can't do anything about the building. Either it was there and I'm hallucinating, or it wasn't, and that's just ... messed up."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-30 09:00 pm UTC (link)
Charlie nodded slightly. What she said was along the lines of what he was thinking. Annie was unwanted because she was special. She was useful, but she could be abused. She had seen the darker side of what she was, and this angered the detective. His lips thinned slightly, but he soon smiled.

"You are not hallucinating." He had a feeling that she'd be a little easier to inform than the frat boy had been. Charlie needed to check on Logan soon to make sure that he was not getting into more trouble. For now, he'd focus on Annie the displaced mutant.

"They do move. The buildings, streets, and sometimes even rooms inside buildings. You may have a place to stay provided for you. You may have a part time job as well because you should probably be in school." His tone suggested he didn't see any other choice. "You are in what is called the City. That's the only name it has, and it's the only name it needs really. It's the only thing that exists as no one can get on the other side of the wall that surrounds us." Charlie's tone did change; he was still bothered, angered that he was stuck in a prison, even if it was a larger more comfortable one.

"People come from many times and places." He smiled at Annie, trying to dispell any bad feelings, especially his.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-30 09:06 pm UTC (link)
"Everything moves." That was weird, but she supposed that she could live with that, considering that it seemed like a better place so far. "The City. That's boring. That's boring and uncreative. Has anyone tried to rename it?"

Annie thought about the idea of a big wall. That had some strange implications. "I'm eighteen. I'm done with school. I don't have to go back, do I?" She wrinkled her nose. "What do you mean about given a place to live? I don't understand. And what do you mean about other times? I get the other places. I came out of Halo City. This is obviously not Halo City."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-30 09:15 pm UTC (link)
Charlie didn't exactly stare at her, but he did look at her for a long time. It had been a while since he was the one who had to answer all the questions. He smiled at her, leaning back in his chair a little and wishing he had an apple to enjoy while he told her about the City.

"I don't think anyone has. I suppose you could call it anything you wanted, but the City has been its name as long as I've been here." His gaze slid past her to look at those things moving around them, people and cars more than buildings and signs. "It's simple. The name. Sometimes that is all a name needs to be."

"Some people come to the City with homes already prepared for them." The detective's attention returned to his table companion. "Some even have jobs ready for them. I did. I came here with the house I'd had in Los Angeles, and I am a detective with the City Police Department."

"You do not have to go to school, but you have an opportunity to continue your education." He wasn't going to force her to go back to school. He was just a stranger to her after all.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-30 09:25 pm UTC (link)
Annie was not going back to school. They couldn't make her. And if she needed to, she would break into the computer and unenroll herself. Not that she would tell Charlie that. That was a crime, and he was a cop.

"Okay." She felt like she could accept all of this. "But what about the other times? Like. Timetravel? Teleportation?" She knew of mutants who could do this. They were usually considered Omega Level mutants. Annie was not that. She didn't think. She'd never been classed. Though SHIELD probably would have done that for her if they'd caught her. And then they would have used her for things. Like Doom had.

"How do you know if something is already there for you?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-30 09:31 pm UTC (link)
"Time. Some people are from the future. There are spaceships in the park." Charlie said this as if that were proof enough. He didn't consider even the chance that some realities allowed for quicker technological advancement. "Some people are from the past. I understand there is a Robin Hood type fellow in the park too." While he wasn't sure how he felt about Robin Hood or even that he might exist in the park, he did know that seemed to fit into the past.

"There is magic. Or magicians." He'd met at least one. "There are vampires, mutants," His head tilted toward her. "Bad guys, good. I know my partner is from a future world. This is all very different for her too. But, she adjusts. We both had jobs ready for us. We were assigned to each other. People are from all times and spaces." He smiled at this explanation. It made sense to him.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-31 01:18 am UTC (link)
"I think I'm from the future." Annie said a little quietly. She didn't have any idea how far into the future she would be in relation to this place, because she didn't know the when of this place.

"Magic. Vampires?" Okay, this was a really really odd place. Really odd.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-31 01:29 am UTC (link)
"When I left L.A., it was 2008. I've been here for sometime. If you're after 2008, then you're at least my future. But as you are younger than I am, you would be my future anyway. Or you could be my past, a reflection of my sins in what I did not fix as being part of society." Charlie wasn't looking at her again; he was thinking. Something about what he said had struck a nerve inside. He thought a little longer before pulling himself back.

"Yes. Vampires. It can be a very dangerous place, so do be careful." He reached into the front of his jacket, his free hand up to say he wasn't doing anything funny, and pulled a card out. "You may call me. If for whatever reason you don't reach me," He flipped the card. "Call her. Jennifer is my partner. She'll do what she can to help you." He set the card on the table and slid it over to her.

Yes, he was definitely the protective type. Especially young lost girls. They were both saved any awkward moments by the waiter who brought out the flatbread and their drinks. Charlie didn't mind talking while he ate, but he wasn't going to force her to do so.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_lovemachines
2011-12-31 01:36 am UTC (link)
"Oh, wow." Annie looked up at Charlie with wide eyes. "That is definitely my past. The past. I wasn't even alive then. I'm from 2099."

She wondered where in the future his partner was from. If they were from a similar time. Or even a similar place. It might be fun to compare.

Annie took the card and looked at it for a moment before slipping it into a pocket. It was good to have friends, and she wasn't going to ignore Charlie or brush him off because he was a cop. She was learning that he was one of the good ones.

"I don't have a phone, though." Not that she couldn't make any phone in this place do her bidding. But that meant trying to track something down in a time of need potentially.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)


[info]i_zen
2011-12-31 01:43 am UTC (link)
"Here is something I suggest. Check your pockets carefully. Open doors, look through books. Be curious, but be careful. Be ready for consequences, even if you don't know what they are. I'm sure you'll have a phone." Charlie dipped into his pockets again, producing a phone similar to the ones many people had in the City.

"Most people have this. You may have it." He wasn't going to say she definitely had it; the City sometimes liked to make examples of people, or it would take an odd interest in an aspect of someone. Charlie had been lucky in that he got his wealth, even if it was through Ted now.

"Now eat. It's good." He wouldn't stop her from checking her pockets now either, but he did want her to eat. He claimed a piece of bread for himself, rolled it up enough to make it easy to handle, then started eating.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

Home | Site Map | Manage Account | TOS | Privacy | Support | FAQs