InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Schfifty Schvive."

Ray Palmer (pocket_sized) wrote in marinanova,
@ 2017-04-17 06:42:00

Entry tags:

felicity smoak, jack harkness, ray palmer

Day 424 | Video | Action
[Video]

[He didn't think that breaking time was in the penal code, but then considering what the Dominator's had come to earth for he's not exactly surprised to find himself here. The more pressing question was the absence of the rest of the legends. If he was going to make contact with the other inmates, he might as well get that out of the way.]

Hello, people of Marina. I hope this finds you well, assuming this is a recording and not a live communication channel. I guess I'll find out in a second or two if anyone is watching.

[He's defaulting to a slightly more professional way of composing his speech, trying to be as clear as possible as he would in any board meaning or in front of his students back in the 50s. Just going for efficiency. Plus it helps mask his panic.]

I'm Ray. Ray Palmer. And I'm looking for my friends. Sara, Nate, Mick, Amaya, Martin and Jackson. Has anyone seen them? Heard those names? I mean of course I am leaving out specific details such as appearance, surnames, distinguishing characteristics, I'm assuming if they're here they'd receive this message and find me.

Otherwise I think I'm going to need more information about this place. Hopefully I can assist with an escape plan? There's one of those, right?

[His lips turn up into a genuine smile, but it fades almost immediately, seeming crestfallen. He turns the feed off with that.]

____________________________________

[Action]

Ray stays in Sector one for a while, processing everything that had happened. He'd been here almost immediately after he and the Legends crash landed in L.A. due to a time storm. Sure enough that was listed as one of his crimes. Others remarked on his using underhanded tactics to acquire Queen Consolidated, and his being regarded as a criminal by the Time Masters. Even the time he nearly blew up the chem lab in his undergrad, it was all stacked against him as supposed crimes. Alien law, he supposed, was maybe a little less nuanced than even the flawed justice system of western society. At east there you were innocent until proven guilty.

Here he didn't even get a trial.

He moved on to sector two, finding a clothing store and opting to change before continuing on to explore the city.

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pocket_sized
2017-04-20 11:06 pm UTC (link)

I think we discussed the fact that I can't divulge that sort of information. [He pauses, because now there's a little pain there. He wants to tell her everything. He would too.]

Maybe I need to figure out how to do this. I mean I haven't actually been in a situation where that sort of information needed to be kept secret.

[With a few exceptions. It wasn't like this with Amaya. Why isn't this as easy? It's probably because it's Felicity.]

Listen. You trust me enough to know I wouldn't hold anything back from you maliciously, right? Well. Even if you don't, that's the fact of the matter.

I can't tell you what happened in Star City. Everything we do here is probably going to change things anyway. [Have you ever seen Ray so serious?]

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justanitgirl
2017-04-20 11:37 pm UTC (link)

[Yeah, this is ... difficult. She can almost feel a wall go up between them and it doesn't feel right at all. Her eyes cast downward as she listens to his explanation.

Honestly, she doesn't trust him. Not yet at least. From the way he talks to her and what he's saying now it seems like somewhere in the years between them he becomes someone she cares for deeply - she just doesn't know how deep that goes or any of the math in between and it suddenly makes all of this so much harder then it was a few minutes ago.

And there's that paper again, twisting and turning in her hands where it was just a stagnant ball moments before.]

I don't ... know you Ray.

[She frowns even more as the words come out. They don't seem right, but they're true. She doesn't know him and no amount of talking about geeky stuff is going to change that. Sure, now she knows he likes Settlers and Pathfinder and basically everyone in her life; but that doesn't mean she knows him. She just knows stuff about him.]

I've already got enough people in my life deciding things for me. I don't want you to be one of them.

[Twisting, twisting before she finally looks at him.]

And if we're gonna be friends; real friends. There can't be secrets. I know from experience that they only make things worse ...

[She looks away, staring at the simulated tree a few feet away.]

And hurt people.

[The last words are quiet. Almost like she isn't even aware she's saying them. In the past three years she's learned a lot from Oliver and Diggle; the most important thing is that there's no real trust with secrets involved.]

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pocket_sized
2017-04-20 11:57 pm UTC (link)

[That is a little... Ow. He's twisted up inside, at least that's how it feels. He turns his eyes down because from his perspective they are friends. Maybe more than just friends but just short of being together. And after the Dominators his feelings for her were... Conflicted. So conflicted.]

I'm not actually deciding anything. I mean, aside from asking for leniency, time and patience. I just arrived, just found out about you being here. It's not easy.

The last thing I want to do is hurt you.

[A pause, frowning a bit.]

I don't know how to tell you about what happens and even if, when I tell you I'd like to do it in a way that won't hurt as badly.

[Maybe if he gives her an allowance of some kind. A place to start.]

Maybe that's where we need to start. Getting to know each other. For now, I'll tell you anything you want to know about the time travel. Fair?

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	justanitgirl 2017-04-21 12:20 am UTC (link)
	[She's quiet for a long moment. That feels honest. At least it doesn't feel like a wall slamming her in the face. It's a start. She turns again to look him in the eyes. Fidgeting stopping.] But you'll tell me; eventually? [It's important that she knows he will. She's been kept in the dark too much by people she cares about. She won't let it happen again.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

pocket_sized
2017-04-21 12:34 am UTC (link)

As soon as I feel more reassured that things that I say wont damage the timeline. [But about Roy. Would telling her really change anything?]

Or I could try.

[Well... Maybe. Its a battle between the greater good and his own needs.]

Roy is, as far as I know, alive. He just had to leave. If I tell you that much, will you understand that I prefer not to go into detail?

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justanitgirl
2017-04-21 12:42 am UTC (link)

[Her eyes flick over his face. Searching for more without trying to search for it. After everything that they've been through there's only one reason Roy would have for leaving. It's either Thea or Oliver. With the way things have been going; probably Oliver.]

Yeah, I, I think I get it.

[She offers a small, weak smile to him for telling her. Sure it's not the worst news in the world, but it's not the best either. It's just, news. Roy had to leave Starling City and wasn't going to be back. It sounded like he'd had to cut ties with everyone to do it too. That, sucked. Especially with everything he'd been through. If he were here now she would be hugging him.]

And you, know this, because you were there?

[She has to know.]

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	pocket_sized 2017-04-21 01:02 am UTC (link)
	[His eyes are focused on hers. His mind back in the simulation where the two of them were engaged. A scenario realistic enough to fool but not the mind. Part of him wishes he wasn't that smart.] I was. I wasn't privy to every moment or nuance in regards to Oliver's team but I saw him off with everyone else. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

justanitgirl
2017-04-21 01:15 am UTC (link)

[She holds his eyes a moment longer before looking down again.]

Thanks, for telling me.

[There's more uncharacteristic quiet from her before she looks back up at him.]

And for being honest.

[There's a small, hollow laugh that isn't really a laugh. It's an expression of exasperation really.]

I'm sure you know there's a lot of ... The opposite of that in my life right now. The last person was Barry, then he got struck by lightning and was in a coma and then 'Bam' superspeed and ... yeah.

[She pushes her hair back, that sad smile coming back over her face. The truth is that she's a lot more upset about Roy then she's trying to lead on. She's just ... not hiding it well enough.]

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pocket_sized
2017-04-21 01:27 am UTC (link)

[He nods to that, because of course. The only reason he isnt outright tellong her everything is because he doesn't know if its the right thing to do.]

I had that impression at some point. There's a surprising amount of that going around in our line of work.

[He puts a hand on her shoulder. She made it clear that they didn't have a relationship so he is making sure to respect those boundries. Holding so much back feels like lying in of itself.]

I think it may be best if we treated this like a new relationship. I mean, that is, platonically. Because as you've said, you don't know me.

We'll take it one step at a time. If nothing else, you have someone to count on.

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	1/2 justanitgirl 2017-04-21 01:45 am UTC (link)
	[The hand on her should makes her really want to hug him. To bury her face in something familiar and maybe cry for about 3.14 days. Except she can't. That's not an actual option. So instead she just reaches up, resting a hand on his.] Yeah. (Reply to this) (Parent)

2/2

justanitgirl
2017-04-21 01:48 am UTC (link)

And just that quickly the hand is removed and she's pointing at him.]

Though as your friend, I can tell you that we're probably not getting out of here. I mean, logistically speaking we're literally broken down to data and numbers. That doesn't correlate into getting back home.

[It's actually pretty impressive as prison's go. She just wished it wasn't run by some megalomaniac AI who apparently put people in here for the smallest thing.]

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	pocket_sized 2017-04-21 01:53 am UTC (link)
	What do you think the odds are that we'd even remember what happened in here if we did get out? Whose to say that we can't escape, or be rescued? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

justanitgirl
2017-04-21 02:00 am UTC (link)

Honestly? Probably about a bajillion to one. Or, .00001 to be exact.

And I mean there are variables, but the best case scenario for us is that someone manages to rescue our fleshy bodies. That's best case. At which point we wake up and go about our lives without even remembering any of this - or having it buries super deep in our subconscious.

In that case we, the little numbers and data us that are here. Yeah, we stay here for the rest of time and just ... live here. I mean who's to say it hasn't already happened and we're just stuck here now? Totally plausible.

This is quite literally the perfect prison. Not that I admire it or anything, but I kinda do.

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	pocket_sized 2017-04-21 02:07 am UTC (link)
	[Perfect prison. Not exactly perfect. There wasn't anything to keep them wanting to stay, but that doesn't mean there's an exit like there was in the last time he was in this exact scenario. His brows knit and he looks at her incredulously.] We are going to try, though, aren't we? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

justanitgirl
2017-04-21 05:02 pm UTC (link)

[Not all prisons have to make you want to stay in them. The tone and face he's giving her gains an incredulous look of her onw.

Sereiously Ray, do you really know her?]

Duh; but first I have to make a computer that doesn't hurt my soul like these pieces of junk do. For a technologically advanced race or whatever that can throw people in a virtual prison their computers here make me want to cry.

Then I'll hack the system and figure out exactly what's going on.

[And yet she also knows the likelihood of her getting caught - especially her who was an inmate with a rap sheet sixty miles long for, you guessed it, mostly hacking. She was pretty sure she was going to end up in prison's prison or whatever they did for continual offendors here. Deep prison man, deep prison.]

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	pocket_sized 2017-04-21 06:01 pm UTC (link)
	That I think I can help you with. Between the two of us we can figure out something. It's sorta why I hired you. [Because she's a tallented super genius who doesn't give up.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	justanitgirl 2017-04-21 08:09 pm UTC (link)
	Which I never thanked you for by the way. Oliver forced me to be his secretary; which, aside from being insanely sexist on his part, was a gross insult to the fact that I'm the best hacker alive. Or, well, inside the machine now, which, incidentally is one of the reasons why I'm in here. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	pocket_sized 2017-04-21 09:14 pm UTC (link)
	Well, I. Hmm. I guess you did sorta say thank you but indirectly. That said, you're welcome. Why are you in here? I mean I can think of a few things off the top of my head. Aiding a criminal for starters. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	justanitgirl 2017-04-21 09:36 pm UTC (link)
	That, a couple counts of larceny, bombing a building which arguably I did, but it was empty and it was one of Oliver's holdings. A ton of hacking ... Like, I mean over half the list was different types of hacking. The last one I don't really get. It says I bombed a city. [That is literally something she would never do.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	pocket_sized 2017-04-21 11:11 pm UTC (link)
	Wait. The Queen Consolidated Applied Sciences? That was you? [Somehow he should have known that.] That was because of Slade Wilson wasn't it? [He shrugs and exhales. Oh well.] Bombed a what? How? Why? At least you didn't get something about breaking time. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	justanitgirl 2017-04-21 11:35 pm UTC (link)
	[Part of her doesn't really wanna talk about Slade Wilson. Or, honestly, the whole bombing of Havenrock thing. She can't even conceptualize any situation where she would willingly drop a bomb on anything. Which means it's a good thing that he decided to tell her why he was in here.] How do you break time? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	pocket_sized 2017-04-21 11:37 pm UTC (link)
	We sort of went back in time and interacted with our past selves. Let's just say it had results we didn't foresee. And ended up crashing the Waverider, that's our time ship, in LA. With Dinosaurs. And I'm pretty sure I saw the Big Ben somewhere too. So both space and time. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	justanitgirl 2017-04-21 11:42 pm UTC (link)
	That's ... wow. [Her eyes widen at that. That's a huge thing. Also, pretty damn cool too. There's a huge part of her that really wants to see that and interact in a place like that. The advanced tech and computing capacity had to be amazing.] You totally win. Like, coolest reason to be in prison ever ... and worst. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	pocket_sized 2017-04-21 11:48 pm UTC (link)
	Worst? I wouldn't say worst. I can think of worse. Off the top of my head about ten different people who could be worse to be stuck here than me. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	justanitgirl 2017-04-22 12:14 am UTC (link)
	Seriously? You know ten different people who've done something to be in here? [She wasn't exactly expecting that. After all, Ray was probably the most wholesome person she knows.] I wouldn't actually have guessed that about you. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)