001 | ( VIDEO. ) | JULY 30th

[pubertytwice]

_{[ The feed clicks on and shows a kid appearing no older than 13 seated back in a chair, curled knuckles against his face. His eyes look tired and expression rather thin. He's wearing a uniform of some sort, though pieces of it look tattered or stained. One of his legs bounces in his seat (aren't his shorts cute?) but after a moment of mulling over what to say, he leans forward, hands folding together neatly. ]}

I already lack faith in gathering information from anyone here, and yet, here I am with inquiries. Serious responses only.

_{[ What could this boy possibly be asking for?? Where is the best place to get ice cream? Hardly so. ]}

Has anyone has ever even attempted hacking into any confidential files that could be in the government's system that operates here? Alternatively, if anyone has ever attempted to assassinate the Queen?

_{[ Oh.. what.. ]}

If not, is there any place on this goddamn planet that serves coffee? Decent coffee. Every place here is a shit hole.

_{[ That's it. No thanks for your time or anything. ]}

Comments

[biotictouch]

A...detailed theory, I'll give you that.

[ She turns the possibility over in her mind, and starts to pick out flaws.


Wait a second back the fuck up ]

I'm sorry, you said people who manage timelines?

[pubertytwice]

Oh, right. You said time wasn't exactly your thing.

_{[ Five sets his drink down and looks back up at his company. ]}

Let's just say I ended up.. stuck in a certain time period. A less than pleasant one. I was sought after by other time travelers, mostly because of my gift. They use aids to skip across time, but they understand the bigger picture. Their job is to cause certain events to occur so they can keep timelines as they were.. according to plan.

I actually worked for them and did things to keep my timeline in order. They were my only way out, so I signed a contract, which I eventually broke.

Bet they're wondering where I'm at now since from what I can tell, we're not on the same plane of existence from where we came from.. some sort of plane that allows other universes to coexist together without causing disruption or imbalance. Sometimes certain people or things don't mesh well when they're placed in an alternate dimension.

[biotictouch]

[ She's taking this all with a grain of salt; taking apart all of it piece by piece. It's a lot, even just digesting the idea of people controlling your fate, or at least influencing it....she despises the possibility. ]

Like the middle cog of a clock fixture. Both spin.

She agrees silently, but continues to take apart his assessment.

Though one part of your theory stumps me; I have....several colleagues here, including myself, who are all---how to put this.

Our work is our spouse. Our lover, what have you.

[ This was weird talking about with a literal child, but she marches through it. ]

If they can pick us out of our respective timelines, dimensions, what have you, why chose some of the least physically intimate to take?

[ read as: we all have commitment issues in our little group, dont read too far into it. She quickly amends her statement. ]

Like you, for example. You're not likely to be physically intimate beyond perhaps hugging, handholding, at least not the way you are. Why choose you in the first place? It seems like a waste of resources.

[pubertytwice]

<sub>[ This is something that has puzzled him as well, and his lips spread apart in amusement and he scoffs before she even finishes her sentence.. because he doesn't have an answer for her.

Still, his gaze lifts. ]</sub>

Maybe somebody in the pick-and-choose department has a sick sense of humor. I'd like to know how they brought my deceased brother back here and why he was worth their time and effort.

The guy is a stuffy bookworm.

_{[ He loves you, Ben, but the joke is not why would they bother with someone who has passed away, but rather, Ben is a nerd. ]}

[biotictouch]

[ Dead brother, huh? She can't say she finds that particularly odd; after all, Gabriel was here, relatively untouched. In her timeline? He was falling apart at the seams, body and mind. Still alive, though. ]

I've quite a few colleagues---close colleagues, actually. They've very little by way of personal lives themselves, if they're anything like how they were a decade ago.

[ Moira returns to her drink. ]

Mm, not only that, but why go through the trouble of potentially starting conflict with several dimensions worth of people? The gamble seems far too great as well.

[pubertytwice]

Guess we'll never know until we figure it out. Though, I could be completely off the mark and perhaps all of this is completely coincidental, though.. something just seems like it isn't that way.

_{[ He's just going to finish off his drink with a pop of his lips. ]}

Sounds like you have quite the group of people with you. I think I'd be miserable if any of my colleagues were here.. on account of a handful of them tried to kill me.

_{[ That does dampen things. ]}

What kind of skills do these colleagues of yours possess?

[biotictouch]

We were all in special operations together.

[ Blackwatch. Under the radar. Well, save for Widowmaker. ]

And should I tell you any more, then I can't say that you won't simply pop off and find them yourself.

[ While she'd been mostly...cordial, up to this point, Moira's tone is serious with a slight smirk behind the rim of her glass. ]

I'm willing to tell you absolutely everything I know about them for a small price.

Menial, to you. Everything to me.

[pubertytwice]

Okay, then.

_{[ His eyebrows lift, hearing the tone in her voice, but he doesn't seem too intimidated at what her request could possibly be. ]}

Try me.

[biotictouch]

Samples.

[ There she is, the psychotic geneticist underneath. Her tone is still level, but it's something you can tell she's truly passionate about. ]

Hair, spit, blood. Doesn't matter. From you is one thing, but if your siblings are as gifted as you are, then I don't think it's too far a stretch. If that's impossible, then just yours will do.

And your word that you won't out me to them.

We're not all on the best terms, lately.

[pubertytwice]

_{[ She mentioned being a geneticist, but he's not really sure what she's capable of. Maybe it would be a bad idea to give her samples, but.. she said he couldn't inquire why. ]}

Depends on what you plan on using all of that for.

_{[ He knows she could very well lie, but also.. surely whatever she wants it for can't be too bad, right? ]}

[biotictouch]

Research.

[ Not entirely a lie! ]

I've spent my life trying to manufacture such traits, much less unlock the secret to humankind's next steps in evolution. Comparing what you have to what I've made would help me fill in the blanks.

[ She muses over the rim of her now empty glass, the fingertip she played over it with glowing faintly with a welcoming, warm light. ]

As you can imagine, hearing that people are simply born with such traits is...

Well. It's nothing short of a dream come true.

[pubertytwice]

Huh. Yeah. I mean.. that's probably why Reginald paid a pretty penny to own each of us. Knowledge is power, after all.

<sub>[ Five doesn't consider himself a good guy or Moira a bad person. They're both just people, doing what they want to do, so that also helps with any apprehension he has. It's not like he doesn't already have blood on his hands if Moira decides to use the samples for something considered bad.

With a rather chipper grin, he extends his hand to her. ]</sub>

Works for me. But I'll warn you, if I give you any samples from Klaus, you might find them to be pretty polluted with.. a lot of shit. I'd also appreciate being kept if the know of what you come up with if you're feeling that generous.