[incomplete]

[reactionary]

WHO: Rorschach (reactionism), Laurie Juspeczyk (jupitermade), Dr. Manhattan (wtftachyons), Daniel Dreiberg (underthehoodpt2) [posting order]
WHEN: Monday, Nov. 17, late afternoon
WHERE: around the city
WARNINGS: DR. MANHATTAN BEING NAKED

Comments

ME 2

[wtftachyons]

Their expressions… they were so perplexed, so oblivious. Jon hovered a good two-hundred feet above the road. By this point, cars were cramming together, some people even being so foolish as to step out of their vehicle. Naturally, given the traffic jam, it was unlikely they would suffer an accident. Still, he found himself wondering if this society was any different than the one which he, both Jonathan Osterman and Dr. Manhattan, was born into. As he observed the situation from above, he came to a conclusion: no. It wasn’t. This society mirrored his own, equally as primitive.

His attention suddenly shifted to the “new arrivals” in the crowd. Walter was there and following him was… his typically vacant expression twitched momentarily into one of surprise? Or more suitably, intrigue and interest. Laurie. Immediately, his concentration on the crowd lost its novelty. He was now focusing his two, more familiar, acquaintances. Jon abruptly vanished, reappearing in front of them. Perhaps the crowd was following him, perhaps now. They no longer interested him.

“Rorschach,” he addressed his deceased “coworker” with a nod. Ah yes, he wasn’t going to use first names. Not with this one. Then, his empty pale gaze shifted to his prior partner. “Laurie,” he stated, more softly. Well, this was most likely awkward for the two of them. Hm. He would do his best to make them comfortable. “How are the two of you?”

[reactionary]

At least he'd dropped addressing him as "Walter". That man was dead. Rorschach stood, very aware of the many pairs of eyes locked onto the three of them - and it made him uncomfortable. Not that he wasn't used to stares back home, but this was kind of different. He cleared his throat.

"Should get out of here," he muttered, beginning to walk toward the MAC, shoving past anyone in his way. Despite his hatred of the complex, he didn't know any other free, vacant areas they could group in safely. And his own rooftop was a bit of a walk. Would ignore Ms. Juspeczyk and the doctor until they got inside, figuring they'd be discussing something of slightly less importance.

[jupitermade]

She gave Jon a small smile, her eyes scanning his face. She couldn't help herself. One of her hands lifted to touch his cheek, but she pulled it down before making contact.

Embarassed, turning away, Laurie blushed. "Fine. As fine as can be, at the moment," she replied. Rorschach was leading the way, and she guessed they'd wind up in her room again. Tank had mentioned something about the junk yard, so they'd probably have some privacy.

"And you? Jon," she asked, walking swiftly (she was cold), not making eye contact.

[wtftachyons]

Walter apparently did not wish to discuss his current feelings on the situation. It was not surprising, given that his prior comrade lacked any relevant social skills. It was something the two of them had in common, somewhat. The masked vigilante wasn’t very forgiving, and the two of them were sure to have a few qualms regarding the events prior to their arrival.

A lingering feeling of delight washed over him in response to Laurie’s initial reaction. Jon had an vast lack in emotional competency, but things were different with Laurie. And immensely different than they were from Janey, for that matter. His former partner lacked a certain understanding that Laurie was able to provide him. Still, he noted that there was still some rather unfortunate tension between the two of them.

Ignoring the dozens of watchful eyes behind them, he followed his two allies. He would further observe this place later on.

[reactionary]

Upon reaching the lobby of the MAC Rorschach strode over to the stairs, inexplicably preferring to take them instead of the elevator. Nine floors. Walking up the steps he only barely paid attention to any conversation the other two might be having, until a thought appeared.

"Said Daniel was going to arrive here," he aimed at Dr. Manhattan. The thought was both troublesome and slightly welcome. He wanted a straight answer about what was going on back in their world, and nobody was better at that than his old partner. Not to mention he knew how capable Daniel was, how much of an actual help he could be in this place.

They were getting close to Laurie's room now.

[jupitermade]

Walking in awkward silence wasn't exactly Laurie's idea of a good time. Yet still... she felt instantly safer in Dr. Manhattan's presence. It was hard not to, if you were on his good side. She bit her tongue at the thought of walking up night flights of stairs in heels. Note to self: invest in boots.

She let out a soft sigh at Dan's mention. As much as she missed him, the thought of him arriving pained her. He didn't deserve this. Laurie wanted to go back to him; and, no matter how lonely she was, she wasn't completely heartless. He'd undeniably hate it here.

They got to her room and she unlocked the door. "Home sweet home."

[wtftachyons]

Something was indeed different about Laurie. It was difficult, even for him to explain. It was as if she'd reached a higher intelligence and the two of them had an even stronger connection than before. In the end, she'd chosen Daniel, correct? That was how he'd interpreted things. So perhaps this was not an emotional connection.

He then shifted his attention to Rorschach. "Yes. Daniel will be arriving. I cannot tell you when, other than in the near future." Jon frowned a little, seemingly troubled that he couldn't pinpoint the exact time and date of future events. Everything in the past, yes, he could still provide accurate statistics but... that was it.

The tall blue man continued to follow the other two, still lacking any clothing. It would seem that others here were having difficulty with his choice to ommit the use of attire. He refused to succumb to ridiculous costuming again.

Upon stepping into Laurie's new apartment, the irksome feeling didn't tire. "Something is different, Laurie. Something about you... it isn't right. You've gained an attribute that you did not have before." His soulless gaze shifted to Rorschach, "And you as well. Why did you decide to walk up the stairs? Would your new method of transportation not have been less time consuming?"

[reactionary]

The vigilante made a beeline for the coffee cabinet, grabbing another handful of sugarcubes and stashing it in one of his pockets. Looked like Laurie needed to buy another container. Turned around slowly and stared at Jonathan, as if seeing him for the first time in a long time.

"... Enk." Teleportation. Rorschach still hadn't gotten the hang of how to properly use it, and didn't really care to. The few times it'd happened outside of random fights, it had not been a pleasant experience at all. Was just fine without any "superpowers" anyway, saw no need to seek out how to control this one.

"See no way out of this? Or explanation for how this is an alternate dimension?" he nearly growled, lifting the mask and popping an unwrapped cube in. How paradoxical.

[jupitermade]

Laurie walked in and threw her jacket on the couch. Unwrapped her scarf, kicked off her heels; then, pausing, she turned to face the two men.
She opened her mouth to answer Jon, but changed her mind quickly and glanced at Rorschach.

"Wait. What new method of transportation?" She had no recollection of him mentioning anything about it before, and if it were anyone else she would have blamed her memory. Rorschach, however, wasn't one to share his day-to-day experiences over lunch.

Laurie lit a cigarette and this time addressed her glowing ex-lover. "I can feel people's thoughts. That's how I knew you were coming." Inhale. "I can also, uh, reach people. Kind of. If I concentrate hard enough, I can tell you things without opening my mouth." Exhale. She shrugged.

ilu guys

[wtftachyons]

Jon paused, his tireless gaze shifting to Rorschach. It was best he didn't announce this seemingly embarrassing change himself. Clearly, it was Walter's duty. Not his own.

The melancholy expression seemed to twitch, his eyes actually widening. Despite the fact he knew Laurie was different, hearing her speak the actual words was somewhat troublesome. He wasn't sure why, it just felt unsettling. At the same time, his contorted way of "caring" about Laurie seemed to bump up a notch.

"I see. Fascinating. My arrival here has given me new means to research. Something I can't explain, can't find a reason for." Naturally, he ignored the more emotional reactions and inner feelings of his comrades.

The three of them shared something now. He knew exactly what Laurie was talking about, and was well-familiar with Walter's, er... Rorschach's ability as well.

"As for your question, Rorschach. The only way to transport ourselves back would be to subvert the portal. A bothersome cluster of tachyons are blockading my way of teleporting both back and forward in time. Anthony Edward Stark has an overwhelming knowledge of technological intelligence. This intelligence will continue to deter us from reaching any meaningful goal."

He paused.

"Also, thirty-one seconds ago Daniel arrived."

NO U

[reactionary]

He suddenly looked over at Laurie, breaking the gaze toward his glowing ally. "Uhm. Teleportation," he replied, feeling slightly ridiculous. After all, he still didn't exactly believe in it. Hadn't been exposed to dangerous matter nor disintegrated and put back together like Doctor Manhattan. So there was no logical explanation for his newfound 'powers'. "Can teleport. Sometimes. Don't know how to control it."

Jonathan's answer was troubling. How convenient that, again, the tachyons were screwed up and destroying any chance of something useful. And then there was his abrupt statement.

"... Daniel?" Rorschach quickly felt for his communicator, looking for anything on the electronic-board-thing that would indicate his old partner's arrival.

<3 <3 <3

[jupitermade]

Laurie's eyes narrowed in ... curiousity. "You didn't mention this earlier," was all she said however.

So they were right back where they started. Jon's coming really hadn't been helpful; and, if the civilians weren't in enough terror already, they'd probably quickly be reaching that point.

Still. Still.
Laurie couldn't deny the fact that seeing another familiar face was some sort of relief.

Until Jon's next comment, and her heart dropped. "Shit," she said, a confused feeling of love and hope and concern and longing arising.

[wtftachyons]

It wasn’t as if Jon had no smidgen of humanity left in him. Merely, that throughout the years he’d grown more and more tired of restraining himself from living up to his full potential. He no longer needed to be human and there was no reason to continuously put up the façade. Still, this didn’t prevent him from feeling lingering emotions of occasional guilt and sadness. As was the case here.

Mostly, he was troubled that he didn’t have all of his abilities, and then there was Laurie, and even Walter, who were depending on him. For once he didn’t feel overwhelmed by the expectations and demand of other people, but at the same time, it was rather irksome.

“Yes.” That was his initial, nonchalant reply. His gaze shifted to Laurie once more. He knew what she was feeling and he knew why she was feeling it. There was no changing her perspective on the matter, and thus, he let it pass over him. Why should he dwell on such burdening thoughts?

“He will be here soon. Two minutes and fourteen seconds.”

[underthehoodpt2]

Daniel Dreiberg had lived in metropolitan areas his entire life, but there was something weird about this city. The streets reminded him of Brooklyn, the buildings reminded him of Chicago, and the shops on every corner seemed more and more like places you'd find in San Francisco. Plus, what major metropolitan areas had a junkyard within city limits? Not any that he knew of. Unfortunately for Dan, the peculiarities of the city were the least of his concern.

Just earlier, Daniel was told by two of his former friends that he hadn't seen in years that another one of his old friends murdered half of New York City and that the girl of his dreams fell for him of all people. On top of that, he went from a world where the only person with powers was Doctor Manhattan to a world where there are dozens of people... some who may even be more powerful than Jon. As you would imagine, this was a lot for a guy, whose highlight of the week is spent chatting with an old man for a few hours, to digest.

As strange as it sounded, Daniel almost knew where he was going as he exited his room and moved through the hallways as if something was pulling him there. Soon, Daniel found himself standing in front of a door, overhearing the conversation going on inside. He recognized the voices and they sent a cold chill down his spine.

How should he react? He hadn't seen Rorschach or Manhattan in years. Apparently, he was in a relationship with Laurie, but the last time he remembered seeing her, she was madly in love with Jon. Should he hug her? Kiss her? Was she expecting a different Daniel... a more "manly" Daniel? Dan looked down at his dress shoes and sighed. Here he was in a hotel full of superheroes without a costume...

Daniel reached up and knocked on the door, preparing himself for the unknown like he had done dozens of times before he had retired.

[reactionary]

Miss Juspeczyk seemed to show interest in his "ability", but now was not the time to discuss it. Especially when there was a knock at the door, signalling what he believed to be exactly what Doctor Manhattan had predicted. An old friend.

And Daniel really was the only person he could refer to as a friend. Although the concept was almost alien to him. What worried him was how Daniel had responded on the communicator, completely oblivious to the recent, devastating events that had occured in New York. Had to be some strange case of amnesia, something temporary that occured while he was being transported here. Daniel couldn't simply forget.

... But what if he had?

Rorschach started for the door, but stopped himself. This was Laurie's apartment after all. He wasn't sure how he was going to react to Daniel anyway.

[jupitermade]

Laurie was completely overwhelmed. She didn't know how to stand or what to do with her hands and, for someone who normally exuded so much confidence and sex appeal around a group of men, she was totally jittery. It was uncomfortable.

She nearly jumped at the knock on the door, and was almost relieved when she saw Rorschach shift to answer it. But he didn't, and she stood there for a minute without moving.

Get it together, Laurie, she thought.

She unlocked the door and there he was. The man she loved? The man who had no recollection whatsoever of being with her. The man who, unknowingly and through some silly goddamn communicator device, had broken her heart. Unsure of whether she should touch him or not, Laurie stood there awkwardly. "Hey."