capeandcowllogs | WHERE YOU GONNA RUN IF THEY COME FOR YOU

Entry tags:

WHERE YOU GONNA RUN IF THEY COME FOR YOU

WHO: Evan Everyman, Rick Bradbury, Max Gibson, Klarion (bum bum bum) the Witchboy, the HABIT.
WHERE: Superjail.
WHEN: Saturday the 24th.
WARNINGS: Mentions of violence, because we're not done talking about the Thunger Games. Also, the HABIT is going to be around, which is never good.
SUMMARY: Evan is having a really exciting time in jail.
FORMAT: Words, probably.

The visitation room is as sterile as the rest of the facility, cold and white and gleaming. Evan keeps wanting to make a Portal joke at the guards, but the game doesn't exist in this universe anymore. Figures. Of course it doesn't. Is nothing easy?

He manages to keep relatively still in his seat, with a minimum of fussing and fidgeting. The only thing that gives away his nerves is his eyes, which can't seem to focus on one single thing in the room. He's a spring wound too tight. And he knows what happens if the tension releases, now.

The HABIT only drops in to taunt him, or to piss off the guards in his name. They haven't noticed the difference yet, and talking about exactly what body parts he'd like to peel off of them gets Evan docked free time, which it likes to cackle about. Evan is classed a Problem Child. He starts getting meals in his cell the second day they're there.

At least, he says snidely, he gets time to exercise. Exercise is important.

On Thanksgiving, he reminds Evan that it is his HAPPY BIRTHDAY. A man Evan hasn't met and doesn't know brings him two birthday cakes. One of them makes the metal detector the guard sweeps over it sound like a swarm of robot hornets, and turns out to be ten percent cardboard, ten percent frosting, and eighty percent blatant disregard of the Switchblade Knife Act of 1958. HABIT shrugs, and says it was worth a try.

The other cake is just a cake. It's chocolate. HABIT eats it for him, licking the icing off of his fingers messily. Maybe Max will bring him that other one, he says when he pops the last bite in his mouth and rolls them back into the cot.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Bradbury and Max had agreed to come together, eventually. They couldn't talk to him together, most likely, but she hadn't particularly wanted to come back with the risk of HABIT alone, and she wouldn't be entirely surprised if he wasn't thrilled at the idea either.

What she hadn't been particularly expecting was to find a third party ahead of them in the waiting room already. Klarion? She thought that was his name, she remembered him being responsible for the whole kids thing. That really seemed like it had been ages ago.

She blinked, almost missed the guards saying it would be a little while longer before Evan was ready for visitors, and then tilted her head. ]

It is Klarion, right?

[Klarion was here on a mission. In his mind, the solution was simple. He had to kill Evan. That way, it would kill HABIT as well. He was angry at that...thing. It had killed his friends. And Klarion did not react well to people killing his friends. So, he was going to kill Evan. He had a small satchel with all the required ingredients to do a painful and nasty spell...and then he saw Max and Bradbury. And they saw him. Klarion turned pale as a ghost.]

Technically it's Klarion...bum bum bum...the Witch-Boy, but I shall forgive you for the error this time. What are you doing here?

[This would not end well.]

[ Bradbury had his own misgivings about being here, but most of them revolved around not knowing exactly what he hoped to accomplish. The network only afforded so much privacy - and he knew any conversations they had with HABIT or his meatsuit was likely to be monitored some way as well. Still, at least they wouldn't have the whole imPort community listening in.

He recognized Klarion as Zatanna's ward (among other things). What surprised him was Klarion's reaction to their presence. He glanced at Max, hoping the look was enough to tell her the one thing he had on his mind the minute he saw the kid: trouble. ]

We're here to visit Evan. [ No sense hiding it, with the guards announcing it anyway. ] You a friend of his, or something?

[ Well, neither Klarion's reaction to them or Bradbury's look to her upon seeing it was a sign that seemed particularly great to her. She couldn't think of all that many reasons for him to be uneasy at their presence, and she was more than a little confused as to why he was here to visit Evan. ]

I didn't know you guys knew each other. Unless it's just curiosity? [ There's a slight edge to that last sentence, because she considers Evan a friend and she doesn't like that idea. ]

I don't know him. [Still nervous and fidgety, Klarion looked at the two of them. Well, Zatanna had told him to be honest...this wasn't going to end up well, he knew that much.]

You should do whatever business you have with Evan first. I will kill him after you're done.

[ Wait, what? ]

What the f-- [ He bit down on the curse just in time, but the shock was still there on his face, plain as day. Bradbury glanced sharply at the guards, though they hadn't appeared to have overheard. He lowered his voice anyway. ]

You can't just walk up to someone in prison and kill them. [ Klarion, he remembered too late, wasn't a fan of being told what to do, but someone had to say it. ]

[ You know how a spit take works? That's what Max just did, without water, and her gaze fixes on Klarion. ]

We're not killing anyone here, okay, and definitely not Evan. [ She's trying to keep her voice relatively even, but a certain slight panic creeps into it. She refuses to watch Evan die too. ]

That wasn't his fault. We need to help him, not kill him.

He hosted that thing. [Klarion calmly says, with a glare on his face.] If I kill Evan with that thing inside of him, then it dies also.

[Besides, he wanted to do something. He wanted to get rid of HABIT in some way...he just wasn't sure entirely how he would so it.]

We don't know that's going to work, either.

[ Bradbury kept his tone of voice reasonable as he could, though his eyes flicked over to Max. She'd experienced what it was like to lose control of herself first-hand. ]

You saw what happened, right? [ His voice was low. ] It doesn't seem to care about killing people while it's in them.

I don't think it will.

[ Quiet, a little muted, but it's lost none of the urgency she was speaking with before. This is one argument she really doesn't want to lose. ]

It doesn't care. And it's not in him anymore. Or it wasn't, not long ago. Killing Evan won't do anything.

Yes it will. [Klarion muttered, scowling at Max. Grown-ups just didn't understand. He had experience with demons! He knew what he was talking about!]

This thing has to have a host. If I get rid of Evan, then it's one less person for this thing to use.

[ Max was a lot younger than Bradbury was, so you'd think she'd have a better chance at convincing Klarion of anything, but apparently not. He sighed, dragging a hand over his face rubbing at his chin. If appeals to morals won't work, maybe an appeal to practicality would. ]

You're not seriously expecting to get away with announcing a plan to kill someone, are you? Besides, he's an imPort like the rest of us. Even if you did kill him, he'd just come back.

[ He gestured at Max, then himself. ] We did, didn't we?

So if you're serious about wanting to do something about this, there's gotta be something more permanent than killing someone.

If it can use anyone - and it can - one less host doesn't mean anything to it.

[ And right, the coming back thing. That's still true, nothing that happens here is permanent (though there is the 1% true death chance, isn't there?) but that doesn't change the fact that dying is still highly unpleasant. ]

Bradbury's right. Killing him isn't anywhere near a permanent solution. The only thing that will work is finding a way to keep that thing out of him.

Like an exorcism? [Klarion remarked, furrowing his brow slightly as he thought. He had dealt with demons before-he was certain he could do an exorcism. Or, at least, he was certain he could attempt an exorcism. It couldn't be that hard, could it?]

If he is demonic, then perhaps an exorcism would be our best bet.

We're not sure what he is. [ The admission's a sour one. ] We know what he claims to be, but...

[ But, Bradbury's tone of voice implied, he wasn't inclined to believe anything that came from HABIT himself. ]

Even if he was, could you do something like that? [ He didn't say it, but frankly, Klarion wasn't far from looking like someone's idea of a demon himself. ]

An exorcism could at least be tried. If nothing else, it would be a starting point, right?

[ Because that's really what they needed. Any starting point against him, any starting point that would keep Klarion from trying to kill Evan. ]

Seconding that question.

[Klarion idly shrugged. He had dalliances with demons before. He could summon them-exorcising one should be simple!]

I can try. I have experiences with demons, back home.

[ It's a promising start, but Bradbury shook his head. Klarion's confidence was more a cause for concern than reassurance, at least if past experience was something to go by. ]

We're gonna need something surer than that. This place has a way of screwing around with magic, remember?

I'd really rather not have to explain to a guard how a guy ended up with his head on backwards, so... no trying exorcisms or killing anyone til' we got as much information as we can, all right?

A real, solid plan is what we need, or we're just going to waste a lot of time over things we're not sure about at all.

[ Bradbury's the one with the levellest head here, she's pretty sure. Less clouded by both anger and concern than she is, less - whatever it is Klarion is. ]

And we need his permission before anybody does anything to him.

[Klarion sighed dramatically, pouting slightly. Needing permission, not doing things...these adults were no fun!]

I won't mess it up. I've figured out how magic works in this place now. Just let me try!

[ Bradbury groaned, rubbing a hand along his temples. ]

At least let us talk to the guy first, all right? Zee's gonna kill me if something happens to you.

[ Well, he didn't know that latter bit for a fact, but he figured it couldn't hurt to throw it in. ]

Nothing happens without Evan's say-so. [ Lips thin and flat, because that's the thing she won't compromise on. ]

And either way, you should wait, maybe practice it as much as you can first.

[Klarion sighed dramatically and started to pout.]

All right. I'll wait and practice.

[ Bradbury managed not to sigh in relief, but it was a close call, for a moment. Instead, he mustered up a smile, awkward though it felt to be giving it to the boy. ]

Thanks, Klarion.

[ --and the timing couldn't be better, because it seemed like the guards were back and ready for them. ]

[ She nods, short and sharp. Okay. That was settled for now. ]

Thank you, really. It helps.

[ And she looks over at the guard, steps forward. ] I'm going to go talk to Evan.

[ So that had all gone... strangely. She felt a little rattled as she was let into the meeting room, sat down and folded her hands on the table to keep herself from starting up any nervous gestures. Third time in this place already this month, that was a little bit weird. She didn't like the sterility of it all.

She'd told Evan she'd be coming back to visit him soon, but she hadn't given a specific day at the time, not sure of her schedule yet. Still, he should know it was her, she'd given her name to the guard. ]

'Sup. [evan always sounds casual: if tone of voice had clothes, his would always be in sweatpants and a wifebeater. his drawl now is almost aggressively at ease, like he's trying to give off an aura of nothing is wrong, nothing is wrong, this is normal. it's not working very well, mostly because he sticks his tongue out when a guard glares at him.]

So, uh. How's shakes?

[ she glances up at the guard, face setting just a little bit in frustration at the visible reminder of exactly why she's here and why he's here and the whole deal with these past few weeks, one finger tapping against the back of her hand for a moment before she stills it. ]

Not bad. How about you, everything going okay?

As okay as it can be going, I guess. Mostly boring. [he settles in across from her, laying his palms flat on the table between them. best way to keep them still, best way to look nonthreatening.] What about you? Everything... Back to normal?

It does seem like it would be pretty boring, yeah. [ Small talk, still fairly casual, like this is all just a completely normal conversation. She thinks Bradbury would probably have gotten to the point by now, but she'd really rather not. ] I don't know if the City has a normal really.

But, uh. I guess. [ A beat, and she leans forward a little, earnest. ] Bradbury and I want to find a way to get it out of you for good.

[there's a slight pressure between his eyes, more like a weight than an itch, spreading through his skull.] For reals? [he says, like he can't quite believe it. his fingers start tapping on the table, just a rhythmless drumming with his fingernails.]

[ The drumming feels restless, for a moment echoed by her own finger tapping again in slight nervousness. ] If we can. Do you know anything that could help?

Not really. I dunno if I said this-- [he screws up his face because yes, he does, he said it a million times, he just can't remember if he's ever directed the sentiment at her] but there's not exactly a precedent for this.

[evan bares his teeth and laughs, drily and without much humour.] Well, not that I can remember, at least. I'm figuring that's the key point, here.

Then there'll be some trial and error. I mean, if you're okay with it. [ Sighing a little bit as she runs a hand over her face. ] There's a kid - Klarion - he knows magic.

[ You know, for the moment she's going to leave out the part where he'd initially wanted to kill Evan because she feels like that would only make this whole situation worse. Though she suspects he probably knows at least some of the import population wants to kill him. Hard to miss. ] It's up to you, though, we're not going to do anything you're not okay with.

[he blinks a few times, rapidfire, and continues to drum his fingernails on the table. what had been rhythmless before, picks up a definite tune. it's still chaotic and almost random, but it has a melody.] See, I dunno about that. I've already got something fucking around in my head, should I really let some kid poke around in there with his wand?

I mean, how do I know the little shit won't just give me a Harry Potter style lobotomy?

You don't. [ It's quiet, a little unhappy, but she still meets his eyes. ]

I can't guarantee anything. I don't think any of us can. [ Her eyes fall down to his fingers, watch the tapping. ] You've got time to think about things. It's not now-or-never.

Hmmmm. [he lets out a long sigh, exhaling through his nose. the grin on his face looks like it should be faked, by all rights, given his situation. it's far too wide and white and immobile. but for what it's worth, at least he's sincere.]

Now, I didn't ask for a guarantee, did I, chica? [the heat behind his eyeballs has mounted into a full-on ache, and he can feel his pulse pick up just a fraction. he blinks again, notices her watching him, and grins just a bit wider.] Just said I didn't wanna go inviting any more interlopers to take a guided fucking tour through my skull.

[ She shrugs, not helplessly but with a certain unsurety and resignation to it. ] It would be less tour and more a try at exorcism.

[ But really she's not entirely convinced of Klarion's trustworthiness. Just that at so far it's the only possibility they've got. ] Unless you don't think he can still come back.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

WHERE YOU GONNA RUN IF THEY COME FOR YOU

run ins in the waiting room

Re: run ins in the waiting room

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

breaking it down with jevkyll and hydebit

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject