Following Up Following Down [closed]

[superposition]

Who: Qubit, assorted
What: Qubit needs to contact a few people about the whole Longinmouth situation.
When: i don't even know. time isn't real
Where: Anchor
Warnings: N/A

1. for Ben & Pratt, separately

[ Both of them will get the same text, but at slightly different times. ]

I need to speak with you. In person, if possible.

It's about the incident with Carlisle.


2. for Kieran

[ There's no point trying to contact Kieran over the network. He couldn't read to begin with, and now he's blind as well. So Qubit tracks him down in person, checking in first at the Medbay, only to find out he's been released and relocated into the dormitories.

He finds the appropriate door and knocks. ]

Kieran? It's Qubit. Are you in?


3. for Onni

[ Carlisle is Qubit's friend. He'll stop at nothing to help him. But there's only so much he can actually do - he may be able to help Carlisle suppress the psionic side of his abilities, but that was never going to be anything but a stopgap, a treatment of the symptoms rather than the underlying cause.

The cause is magic. And magic is far outside his wheelhouse.

He does know a handful of magic-users in Anchor. Initially, he thought about asking Loki, but the man's trustworthiness aside, he's been Ported out. Reynir's wards might be useful for containment, but that's not his objective right this second. There's still one avenue he needs to explore, one that's a total unknown. Onni Hotakainen, the Finnish mage.

So one day, Onni will be getting an audio call from him: ]

Onni Hotakainen? This is Qubit. I'll get right to the point - there's an urgent matter that I believe only a mage may be able to resolve, and I need to know if you can help. The safety of everyone in Anchor is at stake.

Comments

[sleepyhollowed]

[Kieran had done his best to avoid staying in the dorms for as long as he could, much rather preferring the openness offered by his--yes, his--barn in the agricultural area to the cold confines of the available dormitory rooms. But now the barn that felt like home poses a threat to life and limb and there are other practical reasons for him to stay close to his friends. The new room doesn't feel like it's pressing in on him, at least, even if the 'solution' to that particular problem is pretty terrible in its own right.]

[When Qubit knocks on the door and announces himself, Kieran's head perks up. He hadn't spoken to Qubit in quite a while even before the whole incident a few weeks ago, so to hear his voice is a pleasant surprise.]

Yeah, I'm here! J-Just hold on a second.

[It's slow going, but Kieran manages to find his way to the other side of the room, arm outstretched as he feels along the path. Another moment passes as he finds the panel in charge of unlocking his door and presses it. His eyes are covered with a strip of cloth, but that doesn't stop his smile from almost reaching them. He's in better spirits now that he's no longer trapped in the hospital, even if he's not entirely back to his goofy self.]

Hey!

[superposition]

[ Qubit waits patiently outside the door - well, not quite patiently, but a passable imitation - until it slides open, and there's Kieran. Maybe it's for the best that he can't see the look of pity that crosses Qubit's face. Poor man. He didn't deserve any of this. ]

Afternoon.

[ He pauses briefly, but ... no, he doesn't like to beat around the bush. ]

I heard about what happened. Are you doing all right?

[sleepyhollowed]

[Kieran adjusts his attention when he hears Qubit speak, nodding his head down to address the height difference between the two.]

[His smile wanes into something a little softer. It isn't any less warm, but it's definitely not as enthusiastic as before.]

Yeah, I'm managin'. Everyone's been real helpful.

Wanna come inside?

[He steps away from the door to allow Qubit space, placing a palm against its edge so he can stay oriented.]

[superposition]

Sure. [ Qubit enters the room and has a look around. Whatever it looks like, it's pretty clear Kieran hasn't been living here long. ]

I'm glad the others have been accommodating about it. Are you living down here full-time, then?

[sleepyhollowed]

[Kieran didn't come into Anchor with much, and what little he had is left back at the ranch. It's not like any of it would do him well here. After all, what use are his tools now? He hasn't gotten used to feeling his way around enough to work on building things, and a revolver has no meaning outside of exponential danger to everyone if he can't see who he's aiming it at.]

Yeah! It ain't so bad. Miss Cho lives next door. She keeps on tryin' to feed me and give me all sorts of things, and everyone else comes by to visit pretty much every day. If it ain't one person, it's another.

[Just that love and care by itself has been enough to pull Kieran out of that post-trauma funk. He'll always be grateful for it.]

[He presses the panel again to shut the door, and once he's satisfied that he's heard that now-familiar woosh and click, he navigates over to one of the chairs and parks himself in its seat.]

[superposition]

That's good to hear.

[ It probably is the best option, for the time being. The Agricultural Zone is still largely untamed; it's far too dangerous while Kieran's still adjusting. Cho's ensuring his basic needs are met, and he has friends dropping by to visit regularly. Physically, he should be all right.

But he's been living out of that barn for a reason. Kieran's an outdoorsman. The dorms are comfortable, but sterile. And without sight, the lack of familiar sounds and smells must feel even starker.

Qubit heads for a chair, too, and habitually goes to move it - but catches himself and puts it back before taking a seat. ]

I hope you haven't been cooped up in here the whole time, though.

[sleepyhollowed]

Naw. I make sure to go out every chance I get.

[Qubit’s hit the nail on the head when it comes to Kieran’s need to catch the sounds and smells and the sensation of that distinctly-manufactured-but-still-better-than-nothing hint of a breeze granted by the Agricultural Zone.]

Usually someone will take me to the park or just walkin’ around the halls. I really wanna go back out to the ranch, though. Branwen and Eavan ain’t seen me fer a while now. I bet they’re gettin’ nervous.

[Thankfully, they have Pratt out there taking care of them, but Kieran is their leader.]

And, y’know, I miss ‘em somethin’ fierce, too.

1

[benhargreeves]

You heard about that?

[ Ben isn't exactly sure what Qubit means by the 'incident' with Carlisle. Is he talking about when Ben wore himself to the point of collapse fighting off monsters the guy had created by accident, or the time Carlisle had gotten into a snit at him for daring to suggest he should maybe try not doing that in the future? ]

We can meet. I'm down in the library at the moment but I can come to you if that's better.

→ action

[superposition]

Library's fine. I'll be there in 10.

[ And he is. With the epidemic clearing up and the maintenance bots returned to duty, he looks and feels a bit more put together now than he has for the past few weeks - probably a good thing, since he's pretty sure this is the first time he and Ben have properly spoken face to face. Qubit greets him with a nod as he approaches, hands in his pockets. ]

Ben. How are you doing?

[benhargreeves]

[ Ben is glad that this meeting is taking place somewhere so familiar to him and where he feels so comfortable, because he has had some... awkward talks with Qubit in the past, and he's more than a little concerned what all this is about, particularly if it needs discussed in person. He's in his favorite chair, tucked away in a corner, a book open in his lap. But he tucks a bookmark in it when Qubit wanders in, and shuts it. He doesn't put it away, though, keeps it clutched in both hands. Ben looks the same as he did in all those video chats - the only difference being that it's clearer in person how still he is.

Privately, Ben thinks Qubit's hair is a lot More in person than he's realized, but he's obviously not going to say that. ]

Fine. You said you needed to speak to me, about Carlisle?

[ Oops, he accidentally forgot how to small talk. But he's also got a feeling Qubit won't mind getting right down to business. ]

[superposition]

[ That feeling is correct! He did want to make sure Ben wasn't injured, but he doesn't appear to be. A bit nervy, perhaps, but that's not unusual. They can get right down to brass tacks. ]

That's right. I'm trying to put together a timeline of events, for starters.

[ He pulls a chair over and takes a seat, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, hands low and fingers loosely interlaced. ]

Can you tell me what happened that day?

[benhargreeves]

[ Ben doesn't answer Qubit right away. He returns his gaze, steady and honestly maybe a little bit unnerving, his face neutral. Internally, he's debating whether he should find out what Qubit is after, first. He's obviously after something. Are there any circumstances where telling him could lead to people being in danger, or more trouble for his friends? None of it is a secret, exactly. But even so, Ben takes his time, deciding.

And what he decides, eventually, is that it's better to share his version of events than any distorted ones that might have come across Qubit's ears, and that he will just ask afterwards why he wanted to know. ]

I can't tell you how, for all of it, but I can tell you what happened.

[ He rubs at his chin, another long silence settling between them as Ben goes through it in his mind, deciding what to say, where to begin. Swallowing, he starts, with the kind of steady caution that gives away how much emotion is being kept in check underneath it. ]

I was walking, and I heard screaming. I ran towards it and I found a bunch of men torturing Kieran. They had- beaten him badly, and gouged out his eyes. Pratt was already there. We showed up almost at the same time, and he was - trying to get them off him. But the men had guns and knives... he and Kieran were in danger. So... I used my powers, and I killed them all.

[ In the rush of all of it, Ben doesn't really remember if Pratt had managed to kill any of them, before he ran up. It's all a horrbile blur. But if Qubit is asking these questions in order to accuse anyone of anything, Ben's not going let Pratt be one of those people. He'll take responsibility for all the killing, and face whatever consequences come with. ]

We tried to calm Kieran down, but he was bleeding so much. We weren't sure he would make it to the medbay, and Pratt said he knew a healer. He texted him while I-

[ Ben breaks off there, shifting uncomfortably; his knuckles, where he's holding the book in lap, have gone white. He drops his gaze and rides it out, the awful memory of holding Kieran against him, telling him he had to stop the bleeding and how badly it would hurt, to just yell at him and hit him as much as he needed. As awful as everything that day had been, none of it had been worse than that moment, for Ben. Listening to Kieran screaming, because of what he was doing, holding him still and hurting him, even if it was saving his life...

He exhales a slow breath, pulling his composure back together. When he does, he lifts his eyes to Qubit once again. ]

While I tried to slow the bleeding. Carlisle showed up and told us to keep Kieran still. So we did. I told Kieran it was all gonna be okay. But... it wasn't. Carlisle said to be prepared for anything, but I didn't think-

[ Ben breaks off, shaking his head. He had let a little anger creep into his voice, there, and he is still trying to keep this objective. ]

He was healing Kieran, the bleeding stopped and his eyes reformed, but. It was like these sort of... lines of death were spreading across the ground. All these trees near us just... started withering away, like he was sucking the life out of them. He was bleeding from his face, but it was black. He pulled away and I - got Kieran away from him, because the ground all around him was rotting.

[ He stops, there, eyes narrowing slightly as he watches Qubit. Once more, his doubts are back. Is he here to make excuses for Carlisle? On his behalf? How much does he know already.

All Ben says, though, is: ]

You with me so far? Any questions? It's about to get weird.

[superposition]

[ Qubit does have questions. He has several questions. There's a lot to unpack in there.

Most of the story is consistent with what Carlisle told him, although obviously it adds some context before his arrival. He'd known Kieran's injuries were severe, but he hadn't realized they were life-threatening. And who were his attackers? Where did they come from? Why would they do this? It doesn't make sense.

A second possibility occurs to him. Were there other attackers? He doesn't think Ben would intentionally harm Kieran, but if "I might accidentally kill you" was a legitimate worry of his... Until he has more evidence, he shouldn't rule it out.

Another detail stands out, though, drawing his eyebrows downward and his hands up to rest on his mouth. "Carlisle said to be prepared for anything." That means he knew something could go terribly wrong, yet he went ahead anyway. Understandable, perhaps, if the alternative was to let Kieran die, but ... it means some of this may have been preventable. If he'd only saved Kieran's life, and not tried to reconstruct his eyes, would that have been something he could handle?

As it was, he couldn't. The rest sounds about right. Sucking the life out of his surroundings, spewing black bile... and at that point Carlisle felt himself slipping and aborted the heal.

Qubit nods. ] Go on. I'll hold my questions till the end.

1.

[theweakhavepurpose]

Sure.

How'd you find out about that?

I'm up by the ranch but I can come to your lab.

→ action

[superposition]

No, the ranch is fine. Need to pay it a visit anyway. I'll meet you there in about 15 minutes.

[ He didn't miss the question, but he's not going to answer it until he gets there. He doesn't know what Pratt and Carlisle's relationship is like, beyond that Pratt's the one who called him to help Kieran - so he knew Carlisle was a healer, which I'm pretty sure even Qubit didn't know until after the incident. But with said incident in mind, he's not sure whether saying "Carlisle told me what happened" will help or hurt his efforts. ]

[ As promised, in about fifteen minutes, he's walking up the dirt path to the ranch. ]

Re: → action

[theweakhavepurpose]

[He has definitely noticed that his question went unanswered. But fine, he needs a break anyway, his current plan to pretend nothing is wrong with his hand is likely not the smartest. He has it bandaged up and he'd kept it clean, but he really needs to be resting it. Instead he's been trying to get the sprinklers to work. ]

Morning.

[Time is meaningless.]

[superposition]

Afternoon. [ Yeah, he's just a pedant. ]

[ Since he's looking out for Pratt's hands, he can't fail to notice the bandaged-up state of the right one. Should you really be out doing farm labor with that injury, sir? Signs point to no. Qubit nods and gestures toward it. ]

How's your hand?

[theweakhavepurpose]

It hurts.

[No use saying it's fine because there's clearly a bandage on it that he's not wearing for fashionable reasons.]

But it'll heal up. No permanent damage.

[superposition]

[ Qubit remains skeptical. Are you sure, dude? Would the Medbots even be able to detect if it left you with some kind of necro-curse? - But he's not Pratt's nurse, the man can take care of himself. He'll just... make a mental note to check back later. ]

Good. That's good to hear.

[ ... Well. Let's get to the actual point of his visit, then. ]

One of the others told me about the incident, to answer your question. So I'm trying to get everyone's take on what happened that day.

shortly after all this ; audio

[superposition]

[ After he's spoken with the others, Qubit's going to give Carlisle a call. Once the standard pleasantries are out of the way - ]

I spoke with Ben earlier. I think you ought to take him up on his offer.

[audio]

[abheirrant]

[Oh boy.]

And what offer would that be? To talk? He knows me no better than I know him.

[superposition]

Yes, well, talking's been known to fix that.

[ Seriously, though - ] Ben has a lifetime's experience coping with a power that's dangerous and difficult to control. You might find his insight useful.

[abheirrant]

I have found useful insight without him, but I appreciate your concern.

[That was a rather flat delivery, like someone who, while he may appreciate the concern, doesn't seem to appreciate the suggestion.]

[superposition]

[ Qubit pauses a second, then sighs. Come on, Carlisle. He knows you're stubborn, he knows you've got your pride... but you know you can't do this alone. When he tries again, it's a bit more gently. ]

... Any particular reason?

[abheirrant]

[He's quiet for a moment on his end, doing his best to remain impassive.]

I don't need another lecture on what a danger I am to everyone around me, particularly from someone who does not know me. I have had enough of those in my lifetime.