Night 37: M81-90 Hallway

[rectifies]

A part of Ken couldn’t deny wanting to stay in for the night, as opposed to traversing outside and keeping his obligations. Between the arrival of the seniors and the revelation at lunch, the day had completely overwhelmed and undermined any desire to mobilize. Sleep sounded very good at the moment

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[ol_canucklehead]

[From here]

The hallway was relatively quiet, although the mutant could smell recent scents of patients who had moved through here not too long ago, including the familiar scent of that kid he'd suspected had some kind of owers, but hadn't let on. He was suddenly hesitant, another trait he was not all too familiar with. He'd made no plans, had no idea where to go from here. He only hoped that Cole or Osborn would have the presence of mind to check on him. Logan decided to give them a few minutes; if neither showed, then he resolved to try and track down Steve. He'd not seen him in a while, after all.

[zeus_incarnate]

Thankfully, the hallway was mostly empty. Mostly, but there was one person here, and thankfully, it was the person that Marcus wanted to speak with.

"Logan." It was good that he was alive and still here, though Marcus figured that Logan was the type to go out with a fight rather than just vanish quietly like so many around here.

[ol_canucklehead]

The mutant had smelled his companion long before he heard him. Luckily, his nose hadn't been damaged the night before; ot was proving to be his most valuable asset in this place. "Cole," he responded raspily. He knew that Statesman had low-level vision on par with his own, so doubtless the man would have caught sight of the extent of his injuries. "Where tha hell you been?" His tone wasn't entirely tetchy, but there was an underlying current of frustration; they could have used his help against Venom. Still, that was in the past now, he supposed.

[zeus_incarnate]

"I've been here," Marcus commented. "But I didn't see you all day..." Logan had probably been resting, but Marcus wasn't happy with that tone.

Of course, with as injured as he was and the way things went, Marcus wasn't going to hold him against it. "Brock did this?" They were going to have to do something about that kid, though it wasn't like they could lock him up in a place like this.

True, they could beat him up, but there was no good long term solution except the one Marcus refused to take.

[ol_canucklehead]

Logan coughed, but fortunately there was no blood this time. His stomach still churned after his meal, and he knew it would be pure pain once it went through his still-recovering bowels. But he could deal with it. "Yeah, I was restin' mos' o' tha day..i's...no' been good." He coughed agina. "Bu' where were ya las' nigh'? Ya 'chieve anythin'?" This was more important to Logan than his colleague's apparent absence; if they weren't working directly together, they could always divide their talents to hopefully achieve more.

"Yeah," he continued, without waiting for a further response. "Jus' like me, they took him, n' turned him 'gains' tha patien's. Psycho kid like him, well, 's'lucky tha' me n' Osborn foun' him 'fore he did too much ta anyone else." Once again, he failed to mention his own psychotic tendencies, but the hypocrisy was not lost on him all the same. And it hadn't been so good that Hrry had been there; the kid had been pretty cut up, just as he himself had. However, as usual, he'd much rather take the pain himself than see

[zeus_incarnate]

"No... I wasn't able to get anything done last night. Rest as much as you need to," Marcus said. He wanted Logan to be in good shape as quick as possible, the less time any of them spent injured the better. If he'd been there, though, maybe he could've done something

[ol_canucklehead]

Logan listened to Cole's 'report' with interest. "New recruits, huh?" He coughed again. "Need all we c'n get." After Statesman's advice, he found himself with mixed feelings. "I don' really nee' healin', c'n do't m'self...tho no' as well's I'd like. However...I ha' been meanin' ta check ou' tha clinic. In fac', I go' somethin' they migh' wan'. Gimme a sec." With that, he stepped back into his room as quickly as his injured frame would allow.

[To here]

[ol_canucklehead]

[from here]

He closed the door behind him, having been gone for less than a minute. "Check this ou'." He proffered the box to Cole for inspection. "Been meanin' ta show ya this fer a few days now. Managed ta scare up some medical supplies with an 'associate' o' mine a few days ago. Figured they migh' fin' 'em useful."

[gothamnight]

[From here]

There was a relatively small number of people in the hallway, but otherwise it looked very much the same as it had when the nurse had walked him down here before dinner. Patients milling about, chatting, passing through on their way to other hallways...were circumstances different, this could be mistaken for any other Institution at nighttime.

Were circumstances different.

Bruce kept his expression carefully neutral as he turned his attention to his roommate, deep in conversation with another man--evidently someone he trusted. What startled Bruce was that the man his roommate was talking to was fully costumed--blue and red, with a helmet that seemed to be of some European design. There was a large star across the man's chest, and three smaller stars on each of the man's arms.

I have blue stars drawn on my shirt.Granted, these stars weren't blue. And for all Bruce knew there could be more than one crimefighting-superhero-man-in-starry-tights running around the Institute. Still, there was something about the way the

[zeus_incarnate]

Marcus took the box and examined the contents quickly, it was difficult in the dim light, but he got the idea. He handed the box back to Logan as he spoke.

"It would probably be a good idea to keep some supplies to carry with you for emergencies, but I'm sure the people in the clinic would appreciate it," Marcus said. He wondered if there was anyone there that would have healing abilities like those Numina possessed.

The sound of someone exiting Logan's room and the sound of the door closing drew Marcus' attention away from the other hero.

[ol_canucklehead]

The Canadian took the box back, confident that his companion had discovered all he needed to know about its contents. "I tole ya, Cole, don' nee' no supplies, don' nee' no healin', all I nee' is time. There're others who c'n make much better use o' this stuff than I ever coul'." He shut up pretty quickly, however, as he too noticed the sounds made by Bruce leaving his room. He zoned in on the man's location, eyes easily picking out the dark outline against the door's frame.

"We ain' alone. Frien' o' yers?" Some patients had the right idea, just trying to survive, helping where they could. Others, however, just seemed to want to cause yet more trouble. Logan couldn't tell from the man's scent which motive he might have on his agenda.

[gothamnight]

They'd looked up when he approached, which saved Bruce from having to draw attention to himself. Stepping away from the door, he walked towards the pair and stopped a comfortable distance away; they both seemed cautious people, and he didn't want to alarm them.

"Hi," he said, smiling but keeping his expression neutral. The tone of his voice, though casual, was a far cry from what he'd used earlier with Harley. Bruce didn't trust them, but if he insisted on maintaining the facade, they would never trust him, either.

"Sorry for interrupting your conversation, but I thought I should introduce myself. You're my new roommate, right?"

[zeus_incarnate]

"No... I don't know him," Marcus commented. Though he might be one of the people Marcus was looking to meet tonight. Marcus was listening carefully, and didn't hear anything odd about.

[ol_canucklehead]

"New roommate? His, or mine?" Logan was a little unsure of their new companion. He seemed too glib, too self-assured, especially for a patient in this place. "An' if yer gonna introduce yerself, well, mos' people do tha' by offerin' their name." After the fight he and Osborn had gotten into with a brainwashed Brock, the mutant was swiftly reaching his limit for taking unnecessary chances.

"I'm Logan. This here's Statesman," he had no problem using his own 'name' (although it had been an alias for more than a hundred years), but figured that Cole might prefer his 'codename' when being introduced, especially after admitting he didn't know the other man. "You are?"

[gothamnight]

"Bruce," he said, pausing only briefly before offering his full name. Logan...Bruce had seen that name before; the man had responded to Marcus Cole's post. Now that he thought of it, the man's edginess and caution made sense; a veteran fighter, likely with accelerated healing abilities...seemed like the man had friends he'd like to protect. Statesman appeared to be one of them.

"Bruce Wayne. Your roommate," he added, nodding in Logan's direction before turning to Statesman, the smile by now completely gone from his expression. Voice still neutral and carefully interested, he kept his posture relaxed and (hopefully) nonthreatening.

"So you're Statesman."

[zeus_incarnate]

Logan's room mate? Marcus gave a quick glance to Logan in the darkness before looking back at Bruce.

"Yes, I'm Statesman," Was Bruce a hero who had seen the bulletin board? Marcus looked at him warily. There was also the chance that he was on the wrong side, too. He could very well be one of Recluse's Arbiters and Marcus would have no idea.

Either way, the fact that Bruce was so calm and controlled reeked of intense training. So he was either a cautious, experienced hero, or a cautious, experienced villain.