[THIS ENTRY IS BACKDATED TO AROUND 7 AM MONDAY (01/09) MORNING because I was working on the picture that goes with this entry all day. Basically
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[It's good to hear a familiar voice, to know part of his team is still here. Without them... well, without them Wally's pretty much alone. He's never been good at making friends. Even here, he's been so occupied with team business or Midori that he hasn't really found time to make new friends. Now Steph, Zatanna, Midori, Artemis... they're all gone. It doesn't help that Junior's still in the hands of Team Rocket, either. That only makes it feel even more like everything around him is being taken away. For what reason, he can't be sure. Maybe there isn't a reason at all. Maybe it was always going to happen and there was nothing Wally or anyone else could do to stop it. He'll probably never know.
So simply hearing Conner's voice puts him in a completely different mood. Not sad or indifferent or angry-no, this is something more serious. It's time for Leader Mode. Because if he can keep this team together and on track even through all of this, he'll have proven that he's capable of leading this team to himself, if not everyone else-and, right now, that's as good a distraction as anything.]
Conner. Have you found anything? [Referring to Robin's disappearance. Wally is determined to find out what happened, who did this, etc. I assume he asked Conner to look into it while Wally is looking after Robin.]
[Conner clears his throat some as he waits for the others to continue on their way down the hall. Once he knows they're out of ear shot (though, still conscious of what the higher ups might hear) he shakes his head. NOT THAT YOU CAN SEE THIS, but woteve]
No, I haven't. But now.... doesn't seem like it's the right time to be talking about this.
[No, this is clearly the perfect time to be talking about it. Mostly because otherwise he might start crying again, and crying is unmanly and leaders don't cry.]
Now's as good a time as any.
[He sighs, running a hand through his hair. Not that you can see that.]
Look, you're all we have left, Conner. If this is going to work, I need you to find out what happened. Robin's in a coma for who knows how long because of what they did, so I can't exactly ask him right now. But whatever he found out, it must be big. There's no way he would've gotten caught if it wasn't.
[he coughs a little in hopes it would sort of cover up whatever Wally was saying. He wasn't exactly sure how smart these Rockets were, and if they were able to capture Robin... well then he definitely didn't want to press his chances any further and slip up due to something as simple as a conversation.
Which, this could be taken any way all things considering, but still. This was something he did not want to press his luck with. This was something he needed to talk to Wally about in person, sans his gear (which he could just leave in his room.) And so after a few moments of silence he speaks up again.] I know that. I'm heading off to lunch I'll meet up with you soon.
[He'll be waiting on the bed holding Kimiko, Jack floating next to him, while he's trying to hold back tears and failing a little. He's just... thinking. About everything. About Midori, about Robin, about the team... He even thinks about home briefly, how much he misses it, how much he really needs it right now. Then he could finally get back to being a hero instead of the useless emotional mess he is right now. But he wouldn't remember Midori, he wouldn't remember their first date, their first kiss... He wouldn't remember any of this. He almost doesn't want to, not if it makes him feel like this: useless, powerless, alone...
But he's not alone, he knows that. There's all the people he's met here-Heather, Lacus, Daisuke, Katara... and he still has Conner and Megan. He can only pray he still has Robin, because it hardly feels like really having him when he's stuck in a coma he may or may not ever wake from. But he isn't alone. He just needs to keep telling himself that, and maybe he'll start to really believe he's okay instead of just pretending.]
Got it. [and with that he quietly ducks out of the headquarters and makes his way on over to the hotel. A couple of minutes later there is a knock on the door.]
[The knock on the door startles Wally out of his thoughts, and he sniffs, quickly rubs his face with his sleeve. His eyes are still a little red and puffy, though, so it's kind of obvious he's been doing some crying recently. He will deny this fact wholeheartedly.]
It's open. [He is clearly too emotionally overwhelmed to go open the door himself.]
[that in itself signaled that something was wrong with Wally. Usually he was chipper then that. It also didn't take him much to realize that this fully wasn't about Robin. Quietly he crossed the room and sat down on the bed. A look of concern etched on his face.]
[Wally looks over slowly, eying Conner suspiciously. He's still holding onto Kimiko, who seems very content snuggled up to his stomach.]
What? Why are you looking at me like that? [It's weird seeing... emotion on Conner's face other than the ones between rage and indifference. Wally's not sure what's going on, or why Conner seems so concerned by it.]
[he eyes Wally as he shakes his head and frowns. Time for some tough love, Wally.] This isn't just about Robin is it. Something else is upsetting you, what is it.
[bullshit. Conner stands up and moves in front of him.] I might not be an expert when it comes to these kinds of things, but I can tell when something's wrong. Something's bothering you Wally, and I know it isn't your concern over Robin.
[if it were that then he would have cried the moment Robin came back. Or something, but no-- that red puffiness looked fresh. He crosses his arms as he shifts his weight to the other side.] I don't know what happened, but I'm not letting you go out there looking like that. The only way out of here is through me.
[Fine. Conner wants to know what's wrong? Wally will tell him. In a very loud voice. Because Wally knows he can't get past Conner physically, so he'll have to let it all out or he'll never get out.]
Looking like what? Absolute crap because I just found out half an hour ago that my girlfriend is gone and she won't even remember I exist? Because Steph disappeared on Saturday and I come back the next morning to find my best friend beaten and unconscious outside of the Pokémon Center after being missing for two weeks and having God knows what done to him?
Yeah, something's wrong, Conner. Everyone around me is disappearing and I can't do a damn thing to stop it. But I don't have time to sit here and cry about it anymore. I need to get back to my best friend.
[the urge to punch the ever living shit out of Wally is slowly rising... he's really trying his hardest not to snap his neck-- which... is a lot coming from him. But fine, you want a screaming match? he can do that, he can tooootally do that.]
At least you got to spend a decent amount of time with her before she left. I haven't seen Megan in weeks. I've been too busy with all the things they're giving me while going around looking for clues as to what tipped them off about Robin that I haven't had the time to pay attention to who comes and who goes. I'm sorry I wasn't able to realize sooner that Robin was missing, but I'm not going to stand here and listen to you go off on me for not finding out new information so don't take this out on me Wally. If I didn't care then I wouldn't be asking.
And no. I thought we covered this before back in Cadmus, Wally. But no one tells me what to do.
[Wally can sense the "I WANT TO PUNCH THINGS" vibe radiating from Conner, but he doesn't even care right now. But, honestly, after this I'd want to punch him too.]
"At least I got to spend a decent amount of time with her?" At least Megan is still here, Conner. At least you're from the same universe, where she knows you exist. At least you're supposed to be part of her life. I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning twice than ever seeing Midori again. So don't tell me six months was enough. Because it wasn't.
If you really cared, you'd stop making excuses and let me leave so we can both get back to more important things.
[Conner's eyes widen.] I'd rather have six months of good memories than nothing Wally. The last time me and Megan got to actually be together was at Robin's party and that was back in November.
EXCUSES!? YOU THINK THAT THOSE ARE EXCUSES?! IF YOU THINK YOU CAN DO A BETTER JOB THEN ME THEN HAVE AT IT WALLY. ME AND ROBIN BOTH KNEW WHAT WE WERE GETTING INTO, THIS WAS ONE OF THE PRICES WE KNEW WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY IF WE GOT CAUGHT AND WE--
[he stops mid-sentence and blinks. All the blood rushes to his head as he balls his fists. He knew he really shouldn't, but he couldn't stop himself. The tiny voice in his head went unheard by the angry little rage monster inside of him. And before he knew it, he was throwing himself at Wally with full force. It wasn't even until his knuckles connected to Wally's cheek that he knew what he was doing.]
Funny thing, I never asked for yours either. But here I am.
So simply hearing Conner's voice puts him in a completely different mood. Not sad or indifferent or angry-no, this is something more serious. It's time for Leader Mode. Because if he can keep this team together and on track even through all of this, he'll have proven that he's capable of leading this team to himself, if not everyone else-and, right now, that's as good a distraction as anything.]
Conner. Have you found anything? [Referring to Robin's disappearance. Wally is determined to find out what happened, who did this, etc. I assume he asked Conner to look into it while Wally is looking after Robin.]
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No, I haven't. But now.... doesn't seem like it's the right time to be talking about this.
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Now's as good a time as any.
[He sighs, running a hand through his hair. Not that you can see that.]
Look, you're all we have left, Conner. If this is going to work, I need you to find out what happened. Robin's in a coma for who knows how long because of what they did, so I can't exactly ask him right now. But whatever he found out, it must be big. There's no way he would've gotten caught if it wasn't.
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Which, this could be taken any way all things considering, but still. This was something he did not want to press his luck with. This was something he needed to talk to Wally about in person, sans his gear (which he could just leave in his room.) And so after a few moments of silence he speaks up again.] I know that. I'm heading off to lunch I'll meet up with you soon.
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[He'll be waiting on the bed holding Kimiko, Jack floating next to him, while he's trying to hold back tears and failing a little. He's just... thinking. About everything. About Midori, about Robin, about the team... He even thinks about home briefly, how much he misses it, how much he really needs it right now. Then he could finally get back to being a hero instead of the useless emotional mess he is right now. But he wouldn't remember Midori, he wouldn't remember their first date, their first kiss... He wouldn't remember any of this. He almost doesn't want to, not if it makes him feel like this: useless, powerless, alone...
But he's not alone, he knows that. There's all the people he's met here-Heather, Lacus, Daisuke, Katara... and he still has Conner and Megan. He can only pray he still has Robin, because it hardly feels like really having him when he's stuck in a coma he may or may not ever wake from. But he isn't alone. He just needs to keep telling himself that, and maybe he'll start to really believe he's okay instead of just pretending.]
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It's open. [He is clearly too emotionally overwhelmed to go open the door himself.]
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What? Why are you looking at me like that? [It's weird seeing... emotion on Conner's face other than the ones between rage and indifference. Wally's not sure what's going on, or why Conner seems so concerned by it.]
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It's nothing.
[He stands suddenly, and Kimiko falls out of his lap. She looks up at him with a surprised, concerned look on her face. Jack hovers over to her.]
I shouldn't even be here. I need to get back to the Pokémon Center. I need to be there in case Robin wakes up.
[He starts moving toward his backpack that he set down by the door-]
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[if it were that then he would have cried the moment Robin came back. Or something, but no-- that red puffiness looked fresh. He crosses his arms as he shifts his weight to the other side.] I don't know what happened, but I'm not letting you go out there looking like that. The only way out of here is through me.
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Looking like what? Absolute crap because I just found out half an hour ago that my girlfriend is gone and she won't even remember I exist? Because Steph disappeared on Saturday and I come back the next morning to find my best friend beaten and unconscious outside of the Pokémon Center after being missing for two weeks and having God knows what done to him?
Yeah, something's wrong, Conner. Everyone around me is disappearing and I can't do a damn thing to stop it. But I don't have time to sit here and cry about it anymore. I need to get back to my best friend.
So, please, get out of my way.
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At least you got to spend a decent amount of time with her before she left. I haven't seen Megan in weeks. I've been too busy with all the things they're giving me while going around looking for clues as to what tipped them off about Robin that I haven't had the time to pay attention to who comes and who goes. I'm sorry I wasn't able to realize sooner that Robin was missing, but I'm not going to stand here and listen to you go off on me for not finding out new information so don't take this out on me Wally. If I didn't care then I wouldn't be asking.
And no. I thought we covered this before back in Cadmus, Wally. But no one tells me what to do.
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"At least I got to spend a decent amount of time with her?" At least Megan is still here, Conner. At least you're from the same universe, where she knows you exist. At least you're supposed to be part of her life. I have a better chance of getting struck by lightning twice than ever seeing Midori again. So don't tell me six months was enough. Because it wasn't.
If you really cared, you'd stop making excuses and let me leave so we can both get back to more important things.
[He looks away for a moment.]
I never wanted your sympathy in the first place.
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EXCUSES!? YOU THINK THAT THOSE ARE EXCUSES?! IF YOU THINK YOU CAN DO A BETTER JOB THEN ME THEN HAVE AT IT WALLY. ME AND ROBIN BOTH KNEW WHAT WE WERE GETTING INTO, THIS WAS ONE OF THE PRICES WE KNEW WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY IF WE GOT CAUGHT AND WE--
[he stops mid-sentence and blinks. All the blood rushes to his head as he balls his fists. He knew he really shouldn't, but he couldn't stop himself. The tiny voice in his head went unheard by the angry little rage monster inside of him. And before he knew it, he was throwing himself at Wally with full force. It wasn't even until his knuckles connected to Wally's cheek that he knew what he was doing.]
Funny thing, I never asked for yours either. But here I am.
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