Tweak

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Tweak says, "Don't steal my eyebrows!"

annie wheaton is trapped inside her own mind (trappedinatower) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2011-07-12 22:57:00

Entry tags:

annie wheaton, nikola tesla

WHO: Annie Wheaton & Nikola Tesla
WHAT: A new arrival.
WHEN: Early evening
WHERE: The Grand Library
RATING: TBD
STATUS: In Progress

There wasn't a sound to be heard when the doors to the Grand Library swung open and revealed a young woman holding a doll in her arms, with a knight standing on either side of her. She solemnly stepped passed the threshold, her gaze flickering upward to the knight at her right as he handed her a PDA.

To Annie, there didn't seem to be a thing amiss about such an encounter. She merely offered him a small, shy little grin then clutched the device to her chest alongside her doll. Her attention fell out to the city, slowly coming to a stop at the top of the stairs. The knights stepped back inside and the doors swung shut once more. Her long, brown locks swayed in the breeze from the shutting doors but Annie gave no acknowledgement to their departure otherwise. Instead she calmly moved down one step then sat, knees tucked together.

She wasn't sure exactly who she was waiting for but she knew that someone would be along soon enough. In the meantime, she turned her attention not to the new PDA she'd been given but rather the doll she'd brought with her. "Shh, baby... don't be s-scared," she assured the doll quietly before rocking it slightly back and forth. Then she let the toy fall to her lap and stared out at the city, mind drifting out toward the others present while still staying just out of reach herself. Someone was coming. She could feel them. Patiently, she waited for them to notice her.

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trappedinatower
2011-07-13 11:36 pm UTC (link)

Annie didn't give any sign that she even noticed Nikola approaching. She simply sat there, absently petting the top of her doll's head. When the man finally spoke she paused, peered up at him through her lashes, then dropped her doll to her lap and covered her face with her hands.

After a heartbeat she peered out at him through her split fingers. Another heartbeat after that and her hands fell away from her face and returned to clutching at her doll as though it was keeping her planted on the ground. She made a grunting sound in the back of her throat before finally, slowly, nodding. Then she abruptly dropped her gaze back to her lap.

"S-Sister angry," she murmured softly. The words seemed to get stuck in her mouth but she forced them out, once more glancing up at him before ducking her gaze and smiling ever so slightly to herself. In the distance a car alarm sounded, then another, and another. Annie didn't seem to notice the ever-growing noise but simply continued rocking her baby doll gently and smoothing down the red colored yarn hair.

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oncemighty
2011-07-14 12:08 am UTC (link)

Yeah, this was definitely more Helen's territory than his own. It took everything he had in him not to heave a sigh at being faced with trying to figure out how to talk to an apparent crazy. This was definitely more Helen's territory. Or perhaps young William, but Zimmerman had managed to avoid falling into this trap yet. But even if he was no good at this, he was the one that was going to have to deal with it. In fact, Nikola had been just about to address the statement that he couldn't help but take to mean that her doll was apparently upset with her when he was distracted by the sudden chorus of alarms. "What in the...?" He trailed off, glancing over his shoulder and down the street in a heavy confusion. "Someone apparently needs to learn how to steal a car correctly," He mumbled, half under his breath, before turning his attention back to the young girl.

Settling down on the steps next to her, Nikola glanced between the young woman and the doll in her lap with a vague curiosity, "She doesn't seem all that upset to me," He said, glancing back up at her with an intent gaze, hoping that he hadn't said something that would make things worse.

He hated thinking that Helen would be glaring at him if he came back to the Sanctuary with a panicked and upset woman who had been perfectly content before he'd stuck his nose into things.

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trappedinatower
2011-07-14 12:17 am UTC (link)

The car alarms continued to sound with the beeping getting louder as a new one joined in every few seconds. When the man sat down on the steps beside her, Annie sucked in a sharp breath and an entire new set of alarms began sounding in the other direction. More and more, with finally a row of nearby parked cars going haywire without benefit of anything anywhere close enough to have set them off.

Annie, meanwhile, smiled shyly and shook her head. "'ot Sister," she corrected as she hugged her doll close. It was difficult to hear her over all of the noise. With a grunt and a frown at the cars, they all immediately grew silent. With a decisive nod, the girl looked to Nikola.

"'aby," she said as she held up her doll a bit. "Sister bye bye."

It was a testament to the school she'd been attending for the past year that Annie was both capable and willing to attempt such clear communication with a complete stranger. She thought her teachers might be proud of her if they knew she was giving it a real effort and smiled privately at the imagined praise.

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oncemighty
2011-07-14 12:51 am UTC (link)

All right, now they were getting somewhere. The effective communication that they were engaging in was encouraging to Nikola that he wasn't completely messing up. And he couldn't help but feel that he really didn't want to mess up. As the observant scientist that he was, he couldn't help but notice that the car alarms seemed to be working together in ways that they couldn't have unless someone was trying to burgle every car in town at the same time, and that they stopped simultaneously, about a second after the young lady he was speaking to seemed to decide that they were a distraction. He really didn't need to mess up in this situation.

"You're here on your own, then?" Nikola asked, actually feeling a concern this time. There were plenty of people here to help, certainly, but he couldn't help but wonder exactly what wisdom the Collector was working on when it came to just dropping someone in who wasn't fully capable of being on their own and hoping that someone would come along to help. Glancing back at the Library, Nikola couldn't help but hope that this Sister would follow her in a second later, but after a heartbeat, he knew that that was likely a vain hope to have. People came in groups, certainly, but sometimes, there were days between arrivals.

"Do you know where you're supposed to go from here?" He asked, glancing briefly at the PDA that she had been handed, wondering if she had had the presence of mind to check it. Part of him doubted it, though. And even if she had, sending her to an apartment on her own, even if she had a roommate, was hardly the best idea that he could think of.

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trappedinatower
2011-07-14 01:02 am UTC (link)

Although Annie wasn't stupid by any stretch of the imagination, she very much could not communicate in the same way as those around her. Her autism - born from the sheer magnitude of an ability her mind could not properly process - prevented easy conversation and made it even more difficult for her to directly answer a question she was asked. There was too much focusing involved, followed by the need to realize what the person was asking, then figuring out how to give her response in a way they could understand. It was a chore, a huge one in fact, and she normally grew frustrated or simply didn't even bother seeing it through to completion.

Nikola wasn't an exception. In fact, Annie gave no sign she realized he'd asked a question at all. She simply hummed softly then dropped a kiss on her doll's forehead, tucking the baby in the crook of her arm and hugging it tightly to her. "B-big house," she said suddenly, her gaze sliding to the skies above. She absently blew a lock of hair out of her face and giggled. "Safe house," she added.

Rolling her head to the side, she peered at the man beside her and blinked slowly. Then she straightened, her attention still on him and a small, knowing smile on her face. Behind her, a few pebbles that had littered the steps began to slowly rise into the air and hovered there, seemingly of their own accord.

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oncemighty
2011-07-14 01:29 am UTC (link)

Nikola hadn't been expecting direct or complicated answers. He had realized a few moments after asking his question that perhaps he should have phrased it a bit simpler, but he was just lucky that he hadn't managed to screw this up badly enough right now. Her response, however, was a bit of a surprise to him as he blinked down at her. The description of a big, safe house immediately brought thoughts of the Sanctuary to his mind, but there couldn't have been any way that she could have known...

Then again, this place was populated by telepaths. Who was he to say that there wasn't any way that she could have known?

His confusion was diverted a second later by the pebbles that began to hover over the steps, a soft laugh leaving his lips at the sight. Well, then. He guess that explained at least part of that. Glancing back at the young woman, Nikola couldn't help but quirk a half smile at her as he lifted an eyebrow. "I'm certain your presence would be more than welcome at the big, safe house if that's where you really want to go."

After all, she'd have the benefit of it not being utterly empty.

"It's not like we're hurting for sleeping space."

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trappedinatower
2011-07-14 01:48 am UTC (link)

Normally whenever Annie did something 'special' when in public, Sister told her to stop. She wasn't sure why, exactly, but she did try her best not to draw too much attention to herself in the hopes of avoiding her sister's upset. However her sister wasn't here right now and, frankly, the lessons she'd been taught by the older girl throughout most of her life were easily forgotten in lieu of someone half-smiling at what she could do rather than fearing or mocking it. So instead of immediately letting the pebbles fall, Annie's lips curved upward ever so slightly in a ghost of a smile as the small stones glided through the air toward Nikola.

They circled his head at a slow, leisurely pace, before hovering directly in front of him for a heartbeat or two. Then a car honked, startling Annie and causing her to jump, which in turn made the pebbles scatter to the ground between them. Eyes still slightly wide from the start she'd been given, the girl quickly looked to the car then back to Nikola, shuffling a bit closer to him on the step and clutching her baby doll tightly once more.

"I m-miss Sissy," she murmured almost mournfully, her lower lip sticking out a bit and a heavy sigh causing her shoulders to tremble. "Lost A-Annie. Lost place."

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oncemighty
2011-07-14 02:40 am UTC (link)

Nikola had been completely comfortable during the moment when she was making a display of herself. Comfortable and absolutely fascinated, but the second that she was startled, the atmosphere broke, and he was once again thrown into a situation that he didn't know how to deal with. An upset child? So not his field. There was a moment of hesitation when she moved closer to him, but after a second, he sucked it up. He was an adult. He could manage. He could.

"We're all lost," Nikola said as he reached out and settled a hand ever so lightly on her shoulder. "But, at least we're all lost together?" He suggested before standing slowly and offering her a hand. "And it doesn't seem so bad once you've been here awhile. Settle in, get to know a few people," He said, not really sure exactly how much was getting through, but seeing no other way to really put all of this.

"And your sister could show up. It's been known to happen."

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trappedinatower
2011-07-14 03:35 am UTC (link)

Most of what he said wasn't really registering but Annie understood the general feel of his words. He was trying to offer her some sort of hope, even if he didn't seem to be the kind she was used to seeing offer such a thing, and for that much she was appreciative. Even if she knew she probably wouldn't see her sister again any time soon.

Taking his hand with a small, shy smile, Annie rose to her feet. Her PDA rose as she did, sailing gently through the air and depositing itself into an available pocket in the light sweater she had draped across her shoulders. It was warm out - well into the throes of early summer - but Annie didn't seem to notice. She had been dressed for springtime and, frankly, wasn't hot enough in what she was wearing to make a fuss about being dressed out of season. Instead she simply glanced toward the sky once more as though it held all of the answers to whatever it was she wanted to know.

"Home," she murmured quietly. "Sister home." And that's all she had to say on the subject, preferring to step closer to Nikola as her attention fell to the city before them. She wasn't afraid, necessarily, but definitely was a bit... overwhelmed at the prospect of maneuvering such a busy place. Yet she followed along beside him without complaint, her fingers digging tightly into her baby doll with just the occasional shaking of a parking meter and random rattling of a nearby window serving as the only warnings that she was nearby.

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oncemighty
2011-07-14 04:46 am UTC (link)

There was an amazing amount of power rolling off of the young woman next to him. Anyone else, Tesla was certain, might have been put off by that fact or, at least, set in a very uneasy state when the vessel carrying such abilities didn't seem very in control of herself. But Nikola Tesla was not anyone else, a fact that he tried to make sure people understood whenever they were around him, and he was more fascinated than anything ever remotely resembling fear or nervousness. He couldn't help the stray thought that monitoring the sort of power that she was putting off and which parts of her brain she was using to do so would have yielded potentially groundbreaking results.

But even as the thought crossed his mind, he would see his inner Helen glaring at him because of it. She might would have wanted to study the girl all the same, but thinking of the scientific achievements over the individual in question was a huge no-no. Even if it was what made him...him.

"There's nothing here to be frightened of," Tesla said in an uncharacteristic show of concern, glancing over at the young woman. At least, there wasn't right now. But that wasn't something to be concerned with. They were all still invisible to each other, so he doubted that the Collector would toss in a threat while that was still going on.

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trappedinatower
2011-07-14 05:01 am UTC (link)

If Annie was a normal girl, she probably would have tacked on a pointed 'yet' to go with Nikola's assurance that there was nothing to be frightened of in the city. Of course, if Annie was a normal girl she probably also could have added when and where the newest threat would arrive, along with who it was and how it would be defeated. However Annie wasn't normal and she therefore had no way whatsoever to explain such things to anyone else. She simply gave Nikola a small smile and followed serenely along as he made his way to the Sanctuary.

He wasn't afraid of her, which made her immediately more at ease around him, however he was also still a stranger in his own right. That kept her from getting too close and also served to cause a few more things to randomly shake or float into the sky as she walked past. It wasn't anything too noticeable to the untrained eye, at least, but that certainly wasn't due to anything intentional on Annie's part. She simply didn't pass anything along the way that she managed to fling far enough into the air to get the attention of any of the locals for more than a few, cursory seconds.

"N-No 'oogeyman," she said after a few moments of silence. "'oogeyman gone." Whether that was a reassurance or a statement of fact was anyone's guess, really. Annie simply said it, glancing sideways at Nikola as she did so.

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oncemighty
2011-07-14 06:16 pm UTC (link)

Sparing a glance over at the young woman, Nikola couldn't help but chuckle at the statement. There were plenty of former boogeymen about this place or individual who could likely qualify, but there wasn't anyone that specifically took that title. Which was a good thing since he wasn't sure they would last long if they did. All the same, he still couldn't resist the opportunity. "None here," He said, shifting his features and glancing back over at her, "unless I count," He said, his voice deepening and echoing on the words.

The features only stayed in place for a heartbeat, though, before they faded away leaving Nikola looking as he had a few moments before. He smiled as if he'd done absolutely nothing or if what he'd done had been absolutely normal.

"Of course, I'm hardly scary. Just a bit unnerving," He said with a chuckle as he turned down the street to take the last few blocks to the Sanctuary.

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trappedinatower
2011-07-14 06:55 pm UTC (link)

While most in the city inevitably found it fairly interesting and weren't outright frightened, they also, when faced with Nikola's vampiric nature firsthand, tended to be a bit taken aback. It was certainly unlike most other forms of vampires present and the casual way he shifted so seamlessly from one form to another tended to make most anyone with common sense take a brief pause. After all, when dealing with Nikola Tesla, you never quite knew what to expect.

Annie, however, lacked the presence of mind to realize such things. Potentially dangerous situations simply wasn't something she was able to recognize and respond to accordingly. Granted the sight of someone becoming what many would call a monster normally would be enough to send anyone with Annie's condition into perpetual fits. Yet Annie didn't even blink in surprise and certainly didn't look afraid at the sudden change. In fact, she actually did something that most others would never even think to do.

She giggled. She simply peered up at him, smiled brightly, then giggled. "Not 'oogeyman," she agreed, still following alongside him. "'ampire." And that was a new one, for her. A word that she didn't really know anything about other than it somehow described the man beside her. She didn't have the presence of mind to question it any further nor did she really wonder what it meant. She just knew that it applied to Nikola and that was that.

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oncemighty
2011-07-14 11:25 pm UTC (link)

Fascinating. That thought was clear in Nikola's mind as she correctly and clearly identified him. Nikola had known people to have a lot of reactions to his other side. Fear, awe, intrigue, but giggling and then managing to point out what he was something else entirely. She was clearly a telekinetic in some way. That much was obvious, but being able to pinpoint his species so seamlessly pointed to a definitely kind of telepathy as well. The combination wasn't unusual, after all. But her unconscious use of the abilities as well as her mental state pointed to something else.

But there was no need to point that out. Not yet. "Yes. Quite. The ideal model, you might say," He said, chuckling quietly to himself. "Not to toot my own horn, but you know, the truth is what it is," He said as they managed to get to the end of the block, the Sanctuary coming into full view in front of them. "A viola," he said with a grand gesture at the building. "The big, safe house."

Slowly and carefully moving away from her, Nikola climbed the front stairs and held open the door for her with a smile and gestured for her to enter, "After you, my dear."

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trappedinatower
2011-07-15 03:21 am UTC (link)

Although Annie didn't realize it, she very much agreed with his sentiment that the truth is what it is. She didn't really understand it when he said it but the way she was, the very thing that made Annie who she was, came from that very same concept. Being autistic, she wasn't able to differentiate between the unpleasant sort of truths in the world and the ones people were fine with admitting. The truth, whether it was good, bad, or otherwise, was just the truth to her.

Peering upward, toward the ceiling as she stepped inside the Sanctuary, Annie's trademark private smile was back. There was a feeling of safety there that she was able to pick up on much as she'd picked up on the darkness that surrounded Rose Red within mere seconds of arriving. This place wasn't always safe, she knew that much, but it wasn't a bad house either. Reaching out with the hand that wasn't holding onto her doll, Annie rested her palm against the wall and paused, brow furrowing slightly as she reached out with her senses to see what she could find.

A few seconds later she sucked in a sharp breath and pulled her hand away, immediately turning to Nikola. "Fishy," she said excitedly. Then she paused, grunted in faint frustration, and scowled for a second before seeming to calm and try again.

"S-Sally. Fishy 'ally!"

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oncemighty
2011-07-15 03:38 am UTC (link)

Nikola knew that the Sanctuary wasn't in any part his to boast about, but he couldn't help but take a small pride in the building, or at least, in the fact that the building was still standing. Introducing someone else to it was a privilege that was almost always reserved for someone else on the crew, so it was nice for him to have a bit of a change of pace in order to do it himself instead of standing by and taunting when someone else tried to.

Blinking in a bit of surprise at the young girl's reaction to touching the walls, Nikola couldn't help but laugh a bit at her delight. It made sense when he thought about it. Sally was telepathic, and if this young girl was as well, she would be able to sense Sally without having to touch her tank like most of them had to. Two telepathic links had the tendency to shorten the distance necessary between the individuals, and this situation certainly wouldn't have been any different.

But even thinking about it in scientific terms, Nikola was still grinning like a fool. It was a good thing that none of the rest of them could see him now. "I could take you to see her, if you'd like?" Nikola asked. "It might be a little easier to talk to her if you were a bit closer."

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trappedinatower
2011-07-19 05:36 am UTC (link)

Honestly, whether Nikola had offered to take her or not, Annie was fully intending to pay Sally a visit. It wasn't very often that she came across someone talking inside her head and had certainly never come across a fish - no, mermaid, a voice whispered in her mind - that could do much the same. So she was definitely heading there right away to investigate. However at Nikola's offer to accompany her, Annie remembered something her sister used to tell her all the time. Whenever you're at someone else's house, Annie, you need to let them show you around. It's not nice to just walk off by yourself to explore.

Although Annie didn't always know what Sister was saying, she always understood the general gist. So rather than simply ignoring the scientist and taking off on her own to let her abilities guide her, she instead reached out and grabbed hold of his hand. "Fishy!" she insisted, tugging at his arm a bit to get him to move faster. "Sally, 'ikola, S-Sally!"

It perhaps wasn't the nicest way to agree to his help but it was, in Annie's own way, an agreement none the less.

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oncemighty
2011-07-19 09:35 am UTC (link)

Nikola had very little experience with children. What he did have was restricted mainly to distant observation or clinical knowledge otherwise obtained, but this was quite different. As much as he found it straining on a specific set of his nerves, he was surprised to find that he could shrug that off rather easily and fall into the flow of the situation. Not something he really would have expected himself to be capable of doing. His inner Helen must have been strong today.

"I'll take that as a yes," was the only response Nikola offered as he gave in to the insistent tugging and picked up his step, walking with Annie down from the foyer of the Sanctuary and into the different habitat areas that had been set up for the resident abnormals. Sally's tank had been one of the longest present, as far as Nikola could recall, and it was also one of the most striking of the glass from contained environments on the level.

Releasing Annie's hand, Nikola smiled over at her before glancing up at the tank, "Go on over. I'm sure she'd love to speak with someone who doesn't have to use as much effort to get through as the rest of us lot do."

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