The Universe's Mixer

A great many things had gone wrong.

It had rescued people, yes. It had saved those who were doomed to die, bringing them here where they could live their lives, be happy, and serve the added purpose of helping it live and fight. But a great many things had gone wrong in the process. With the influx of bodies and the power that had come with them, The City had not been able to sort through the issues immediately. There was too much.

Never before had it attempted to alter time on such a level. Time was always fluid within it, just like the streets were fluid. But to go back as it had? To jump around as it had? It was exhausting. Exhilarating, sure. What creature alive wouldn't be amazed to discover the full breadth of its abilities? It didn't think it would attempt such a thing again anytime soon, which said nothing of other ideas it had brewing. It felt that it might be capable of so much more. So many bigger, more interesting experiences for the people living as its citizens.

Right now, though, it had to correct that which was wrong.

The corrections had begun with the doubles. It had never meant to bring doubles in. They could not sustain. It was too much power all in one place, there being two. This was a thing it had discovered to be the case when it had stolen people from the dying planet as a misguided retaliation when it thought the dying planet had been a living thing just like itself. Having two in one place was like putting a 120 watt bulb into a 40 watt socket, or shoving a D cell battery into a AAA cell space.

Some of the resolutions had not quite gone as anticipated. Were messier than it had wished them to be. But they had begun on their own, with deaths that had not been sanctioned. Panic had set in a bit and ...The thing with the Erics... well that was just gross. The Pams fighting it out? Unplanned. Entirely unplanned! What was done was done, though, it would not undo it. It had tried a cleaner resolution with the Eveys, and it had not quite gone as planned either, so it supposed nothing was perfect in this matter.

All of the doubles were gone now. That problem was in the past. The only big matter left was that of the time. While small time in the City was fluid and ever changing, there was a larger time that was out of whack that it generally liked to keep. Minutes, days, sometimes even weeks were okay to flow as they wished to. But months? Years? That had to be set right. The citizens had been living in a wrong time. All their calendars and watches - even the City News and newspaper - said that it was 2013. December now. November before. It had watched and known and was aware that it was wrong. The time, though, was a smaller issue than the doubles.

The City decided that those within should retain all their memories of all the events that took place. It just needed to correct itself. So overnight, it surged forward. Pushing itself through the time/space continuum until it felt it was in the right place. It would give them a starting moment, a day, an hour, in which to begin again. From there... well. From there time would move as it pleased again. May the First of 2015 seemed like the perfect spot. So The City found it, and once found, The City stayed there. Newspapers would reflect this change, watches, calendars. It decided against any kind of announcement about it.

Everything settled at daybreak. Everything was fixed.

With such an exertion of power, a couple things went a little awry. Nothing too big. Like a baby's spit-up after too much excitement, a small blanket of snow plopped onto the park. And like a sigh after a good nap, the barrier that kept the dinosaurs on the new island flickered out.

"Now, as you all are aware we have no definitive leader of this City and the absence of guidance has been an issue here as of late," Edward stated, standing tall and proud before the series of microphones. He was set up on the steps of the Mayor's office, a building that still sits vacant and waiting for someone to claim it. And why not him? He was as capable as anyone else that might rise up to take the spot, and certainly if anyone else was interested then the position already would have been filled.

"Recently we have had a wave of crime hit this City. It has come and gone, and like the tide it shall come again. What will we do when the streets are full of vigilantes and rogue criminals? Who will we turn to for guidance when nobody is there to assist us? Of course we have heros, those with special powers or abilities but will they stand up and fight against the criminal element here all the time, while trying to maintain the standards of the law? Nobody can be that perfect. No. We need someone in office to guide this City through dark times, allow everyone the chance to have the things they want and offer opportunity for growth and development. I can give you these things." Eddie smiled at all of the flashing cameras, the staring eyes and the hands outstretched with microphones, cellphones and recordin devices.

"I, Edward Nashton am now declaring myself in the running for Mayor. This City deserves someone who has all of your best interests at heart. Who will fight for you when times get rough, who will stand beside you when tragedy strikes and who will uphold the law when times turn violent. You have your heros helping the streets, yes, but I will help the citizens beyond the line where the pavement meets the sidewalk. You need more than men and women in capes and tights to aid you. Vote for me, and you will see a brighter future for this City. That, I can promise you, and Edward Nashton is always a man of his word. Quote me on that."

The cameras and voices erupted into a roar, and Eddie beamed. He shook his hands at the onslaught of questions and shaking of recording devices.

"Mr. Nashton!" One reported piped up, "Weren't you recently in court for a charge of kidnapping and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon?" Eddie nodded and frowned sadly at the woman whom had asked, addressing the crowd, "Yes, Sally. I was. But I was found not-guilty on those charges. How could I be when there was no evidence to prove that I was even there? I do have a link to Arkham, it's where my family lives. We serve our patients there with the utmost care and respect. Arkham is a place of healing. Perhaps if the girl in question had been there to offer her side of the story we would have caught the man responsible."

Sally chirped a reply, "Why did she name you as her attacker? And why did Steve Rogers throw you in jail if the charges were false?"

Eddie smiled, "Great questions, my dear!" He cleared his throat, "Sometimes tragedy had a way of blurring the details. Stress, fear, trauma...all of these things and more can cloud judgement, blur mental images and often the imagination itself runs rampant with details that aren't always exact and correct. It wouldn't suit me to call the girl a liar, something perhaps had happened to her. Whatever it was, I hope she recovers from it quickly and I keep her in my thoughts always. But it had nothing to do with me. The extraction from Arkham and my short encarceration proves that our Hero's are doing their jobs protecting the citizens, but I was falsely accused. As Mr. Murdock stated in court. All of their evidence and testimony was circumstantial at best and none of it proved that I had any ties. Perhaps she had me confused with someone else, I can't quite be sure. I have not had the chance to get close enough to ask her myself."

Sally nodded, and a few other questions came, but Eddie shook his head and held up his hands. "No more questions. Not today. We have campaigning to do. Vote Nashton for Mayor!" He shouted, before turning and leaving the pulpit, a wide grin on his face. He slung an arm around Effie and together they wandered back to Arkham to start work on the signs.

The bloodlust of one City resident had fueled the addiction of another.

Melody had felt the incredible deaths at the hands of another and had followed it closely. It had swelled up inside of her like sweet ecstasy, flowing over her skin and making her slightly delirious. She hadn't realized that it had been Aidan until long after. Days and days after. Not until she'd had time to sit down and mentally sort through what she'd experienced.

Aidan, boyscout as he was, had killed a lot of people. His particular flavor was all over the trail of bodies she'd followed, not that she'd given much of a crap at the time. She'd just absorbed every bit of what he'd let out. Soaking up the energies of the dying. Wrapping herself up in it.

When she'd come out of her fugue, Mel had realized that things had changed. Important things. The castle wasn't as filled with vampires as it had been. They were missing a Pam and an Eric. The taste of those that were left was familiar - and not. She'd gotten used to them all, and now it was... well. It was weird.

Spent from long nights in morbid revel, Melody sought out the bedchamber of her vampire. She figured that eventually Pam - whichever Pam it was, in whatever state - would turn up and let her know what the situation would be from here on out.

Aidan was in bad shape. On edge. Fighting urges. Bagged blood was barely keeping the edge off. He hadn't been doing so hot since Evey left him sitting on the kitchen floor. Though, admittedly, he was doing a hell of a lot better than he would have been if she'd not destroyed all of Leeloo's blood.

How many more days would he have sustained that hard drunk if he'd been left with it? If she hadn't been so insistent about finding it and getting rid of it?

He knew that he had to tell his Evey about what had happened. What he'd done. But he didn't want to see her until he was able to shake off the rest of this problem. Or at the very least, most of it. She could know the horror, she couldn't see it. He would die before she did.

In a way she already had, and he hated himself for it.

Things were always more difficult after live blood, this time though, things were damned near impossible. There had been so much. It didn't help matters that it had been from who it had been from, either. Pure life. Supreme being. Divine. Actually fucking divine. He could taste it, still. Feel it rolling over his tongue, sliding down his throat. Filling him with the sensation of invulnerability.

Residual problems had come with it, too. Aidan was absorbing information - learning things - at a rate that he'd never been able to before. His head hurt with the sheer force of knowledge cramming itself into his skull. It didn't help anything.

He needed air. He needed to get out of his apartment and go somewhere that wasn't the hospital. He had to try to go a few hours without touching any blood at all. So far he'd only managed about an hour and a half before the pain got too severe and his frenzy bubbled to the surface again. Weening himself off was going to take a long time, this time.

For once, Aidan was glad that Dean wasn't here. To see this.

Staying far from people, Aidan made his way to the docks. If he slipped, at least the people there weren't good people, mostly. Seedier types. Nobody would miss them. If he slipped.

He really really didn't want to slip.

Aidan found a nice-ish spot to sit, the bench was weathered by the salt water, grey instead of brown. But the wood was stable.