Day 43: Game Room, Third Shift

[piggy_king]

Peh. "Graduates." Who were they trying to fool? It's not like anyone here believed them, and no one ever visited the institute. What was the point in keeping up this sad little charade? To add to the realism of it? Well, whatever. If they wanted to continue this exercise in futility, that was fine with Porky. All it meant was that they spent more

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[scarletspeedstr]

Wally was a little thrown by the touch, but smiled slightly all the same. He probably could have explained to Grell about how confusing the whole issue was for him - how he felt like he hadn't really known this version of Clark but was still shocked that something, anything, could have killed him - but he would have had to explain way too much and it wouldn't have given not only his secrets, but a bunch of others away too...

Any while he may be a little too trusting sometimes, Wally didn't think he was stupid.

....but maybe he was actually wrong there too, since he'd done the one thing he'd been hoping to avoid and dragged Bruce into the conversation as well. But kicking himself over it would have to come later, right now he had to really hope he could pull off an act well enough to make sure he didn't accidentally get Bruce into trouble. Not that he didn't think Bats could handle it, but this was Wally's mess if Bruce was right, not anyone else's.

"Nah," he said, leaning back in his chair and wincing as his shoulder throbbed particularly viciously. "Kinda more your typical rich idiot, I guess. He didn't know anything about the stuff I was asking about."

[deadlyjuliet]

Was that a wince? Wally West was not only digging into things he shouldn't be, but he was injured as well. Fancy that. It was like the wounded antelope coming to kick dirt on the lioness' face while she was hunting. Not too bright of him, but then, Grell liked it better that way. It made manuevering around him easier, albeit still fun. It wasn't like dancing with Sebastian over Jack the Ripper, but it was still a lovely number.

"He seemed like such a gentleman to me, a bit of a playboy, but that's aristocracy for you." That and bats. He'd handled the bats pretty well. "All fun and brains only when it comes to money." Grell leaned forward again, resting his chin on the back of his hand as he watched Wally carefully. "But what were you asking about? If it had to do with me, you should have just asked me."

[scarletspeedstr]

So far so good, it seemed like Wally had managed to pull the attention from friends who were likely to kill him if they found out he'd nearly given them away and back onto himself. At least then if any psychos did come after him, Bats would be right in that he only had himself to blame. He just hoped he'd actually still be able to hear the 'I told you so's if Bruce was right about this whole mess. Despite the superspeed, he'd never been a fan of 'live fast and die young'.

But he still couldn't afford to relax just yet.

"I guess. I just..." he sighed, dropping his eyes back to the board between them and raking his good hand through his hair. "I was asking if he thought you could... kill someone. If maybe you could do what that Brainiac kid was saying."

[deadlyjuliet]

The noose felt a little tighter after what Wally said, and Grell's shock was genuine - mostly. Outwardly, he appeared surprised and maybe even a little hurt that Wally would go so far in his suspicion. A hand raised to his chest, his eyes widened just a bit, his brows furrowed oh so slightly. Inwardly, he was plotting how best to get back to Bruce. Darling Mr. Wayne had indeed seen him kill that night. He'd crushed those disgusting bats in his hands and then discovered, much to his chagrin, that they didn't bleed right at all.

And now it seemed that his little Bat Killer was talking. As charming as the man was, he hadn't heard from him in a bit, so perhaps... Yes, perhaps it was time for the Reaper to go knocking, just to see what the man had to say.

"You suspected me that much? I thought you would have trusted me a little more than that, Wally." Not that he should or that it wasn't entirely unexpected. Sighing, he lowered his hand and looked away, crossing his arms. Now was the time for the indignant act. "And? Just what did he say to that?"

[scarletspeedstr]

The shocked reaction was expected, but Wally didn't know if it was because he'd gotten too close to the truth, or if Grell was genuinely upset that he suspected him at all. At the moment though, it didn't matter. It wasn't like his answer would change either way. He just wished there was some way to know for sure which it was.

"It's not that I don't trust you," Wally insisted, leaning forward again. "It's just that... I have to be sure. It's my job and those kind of habits don't just go away."

He sighed and scooped up one of the pointy chess pieces to toy with as he continued. "But he didn't have much to say, sorry. I mean, if he'd said anything concrete either way, then I wouldn't have come to talk to you in the first place, would I?" He blinked and added a quick, "no offence."

[deadlyjuliet]

So there was no concrete proof - as expected - which gave Grell very little reason to give up his act. Although, it might be easier to continue just being himself to a certain degree and drop the butler persona altogether. But should be do that, it could have consequences down the line. Weighing his options, Grell hummed once - as if dissatisfied with Wally's answer - and decided to stick to the plan for now. He was, after all, outnumbered and until the other team cornered him in an alleyway with blood and a dead body on his hands? There was no reason to give up the fight.

"Of course - officer of the law and all that," he said, flippantly waving his hand. Grell really needed to learn to stop playing with fire like this. Every time he found a man he liked, something got in the way: heartlessness, the law, allegiance, .....work. Stupid Will. Stupid sexy Will. Why was he still ignoring him?! A death god at full power could lay waste to this place. So why was Will content to leave Grell alone? That rummy bastard.

"---in the first place, would I? No offense."

Oh right, Wally was talking.

Turning his attention back to the conversation, Grell shrugged and flipped his hair over his shoulder, forgetting momentarily that said hair had been hiding the bruises on his neck. "None taken. After all, if I were to be found guilty of murder, I suspect I'd merely be murdered myself. That's how the law goes about here, isn't that so?"

[scarletspeedstr]

More like forensics lab work," Wally muttered. Which was why he really wasn't good at this questioning people thing. Not to mention he'd never really done any of this even when the League was supposed to be questioning people. It'd always been something better left up to people like Bats, GL, Shayera, J'onn... Okay, pretty much anyone but him was better at this.

...why had he thought this was a good idea again?

Wally's eyes widened as Grell's hair flicked back and revealed the bruises on his neck. He hadn't been lying about someone trying to kill him, and that made Wally's stomach churn.

"What?" he said, shocked by the idea that people would be okay with that kind of thing. "No! All because someone commits a crime, even murder, doesn't mean that they deserve to be hurt themselves. Besides, without any proof, how can anyone say what really happened? If we just go off what people say, then it seems like half the people here would be at each other's throats, and no one wants that."

At least, he liked to think no one did, even if some conversations on the bulletin seemed to prove that wrong.

Wally slouched in his chair, feeling even more tired by this whole thing than he had before now. "I'm not trying to find out what happened to punish people," he said softly, rubbing his thumb across the smooth surface of the chess piece. "I just want to know what happened and... why. And to make sure no one else gets hurt like that. I can't protect everyone from the monsters, but if other people are attacking each other, maybe I can do something there."

He looked back up at the red haired man, eyes pleading. "Is that really so wrong?"

[deadlyjuliet]

Right, forensics. The ones who crawled over the crime scenes and picked apart the bloody messes. Grell had seen them doing that in the back alleys of Whitechapel a few times. He'd gone back merely to amuse himself and to ensure that nothing would lead back to, well, him. The looks of horror on the men's faces though? Soooo worth it.

Leaning to the left, Grell rested his chin lightly across the back of his fingers, crossing his legs as he watched Wally flounder a bit at the idea of Landel's Institute-style justice. The poor boy was so...righteous. So very upstanding. He was a hero type, all right. He wanted justice and probably peace and love for the world. Sadly for him, such things simply did not exist. For all the glory that God gave them, the free will and the beauty of the world, Men were brutal creatures. "The what and why? Once you have that, what shall you do? Rehabilitate the criminals? Lock them up at night to keep them from killing again? Darling, you really must think these things through. The people here do not fear the law as men in cities do and they most certainly don't abide by it. There is no law except that which you can take in your own hands. And people-" He paused and pointed to his neck, sliding a few strands of red hair out of the way with his right hand. "-most definitely shall do just that to whatever criminals they find."

He sighed and pulled his hair forward again to cover up the unsightly mess. "Whether they are proven guilty or not."

Oh, but he was being cruel wasn't he? Grell smiled slightly, possibly a little sharper than he should have, fueled by the irony of this situation and the pleading look in Wally's eyes. It was just too cute, really. He was pleading with the very murderer he wished to catch in order to spare the criminal's life. "It isn't wrong, love, it's merely...naive. Can you protect the innocent from the guilty and the guilty from the innocent? You know how loudly the bereaved clamour for revenge. It's like they become monsters themselves."

[scarletspeedstr]

"I know it's not that easy," Wally answered, "but it's just that... innocent people are getting hurt and no one's willing to do anything about it. Do you expect me to just say that because I can't put people in prison or find some way to stop them from hurting others without harming them, that it's okay to just let it go? Look the other way or pretend it isn't happening? What about people who get hurt by this? Don't they have any rights?"

He followed Grell's finger with his eyes, taking in the extensive bruising on the other man's neck with a sick feeling weighing heavy in his stomach. "But don't you wish there was some way you could be sure you weren't going to be attacked again?"

Something about Grell's smile was off, but Wally wasn't paying as much attention to that at the moment. "It just doesn't seem fair to say it has to be one or the other," he said stubbornly. "I don't want revenge, I want to know what really happened, if things are as clear-cut as that or if it's more complicated. I mean, maybe whoever it really was won't go after anyone else. Maybe there was some reason they did this to Clark, and that was it."

He sighed and leaned back in his chair again, still fiddling with the chess piece. "I'm not saying that makes things better, but it does make how people would react different to if they were just some psycho killer."

[deadlyjuliet]

"Oh, people are willing to do things about it, it's merely that such 'things' are rather unsightly in and of themselves," Grell argued, the smile slipping back into something pleasant as he twirled a strand of hair about his finger. Brainy, especially, was being rather adamant about protecting his little Waffle Knight, but it was already too late. A lady kept her word, and a death god never missed his mark. And since it seemed Luxord was willing to play along? Well, there was no harm to anyone but the Waffle Twit if Grell kept his word only so long as it took to kill him. Pulling his finger free, Grell sighed and checked his nails before returning his attention to the conversation.

"Of course they have rights, love, but look at where we are. There's not a good lot we can do, is there? It's difficult enough to keep ourselves alive without having to worry about saving those who cannot look after themselves." Oh, but that was bordering on his real personality, wasn't it? Grell stopped and started fiddling with his hair again, dropping his gaze as if ashamed of what he'd just said. "...I do understand though. It's a terrible thing, all these people getting hurt. I wish I could say there was some way to stop those blood-thirsty vigilantes from coming after me or my companions, but unless I stop them first - and honestly, me? stop them? hardly - I don't believe they'll ever leave me in peace."

Especially not once the truth came out. Sitting forward, Grell reached out and grabbed Wally's hands gently as they fidgeted with the chess piece and he smiled. "Not everyone has a heart like yours, love. It's a sad fact of this place."

And yet...perhaps? Would Wally judge him? Would he understand the reasons why Clark had to die? Not only had it been the boy's time, but...well, to be frank, Brainiac 5 had ticked him off and broken his word. Was Grell not entirely in the right then, when he followed up on his own promise to kill someone close to the little rustbucket should he talk too much? Of course he was. Pulling his hand back, Grell studied the black king for a moment before tilting it to the side with one finger, almost to the point of it toppling over. "And if it isn't a psycho killer? What do you intend to do?"

[scarletspeedstr]

Wally glanced up sharply as Grell took his hands, his green eyes searching the other's intently. What the other man had said just now... It didn't sound exactly right. Why would he talk about not worrying about those who couldn't protect themselves if Grell himself had been attacked and injured while he couldn't defend himself?

"I guess," he said slowly, tugging his hands free from Grell's. "I just wish it didn't feel like I was the only one who felt this way." The last time he'd mentioned it on the bulletin board as well it had been painfully obvious that most people didn't agree with the idea that it was better to at least try to get along.

Wally's brow furrowed a little, drawing a faint line on his forehead as he watched the chess piece and Grell's hand. "I guess it depends on why they did it," he mused quietly. "I mean, if Brainiac's involved..."

He just barely managed to avoid flinching too obviously. He hadn't meant to let slip how much he knew about Clark or the name Brainiac; the whole point was to try and see if Grell had anything to do with what had happened, which was what Bruce suspected. But Wally couldn't forget the other name that kept popping up and... well he just didn't trust anyone who went around calling themselves that. Even if you tacked a number on the end, a world-destroying robot was a world-destroying robot.

[deadlyjuliet]

"It is difficult to be against the majority," Grell said with a sigh, tipping the king back and forth, always just barely keeping it from falling over. Grell knew that well enough. Even for a death god, he was a little odd. And for a woman? Well, he wasn't one. That was the biggest problem of all. Even he recognized that God had created him as a man, but he also knew he'd been given the heart of a lady. And he wished for nothing more than to be one in body and soul, not just by heart and deed alone. It was painful, living one life and looking like another. Especially when people didn't understand or tried to force him into the male pigeonhole.

And there it was. The king froze in place and Grell shot Wally a curious look. Brainiac. Not Brainiac 5. Something about the boy hating that name, insisting upon the 5, insisting he was...different. Yes... That was just what he needed. Push it off on the brat, make it his fault (since it rightfully was) and then? Then he could sit back and enjoy the chaos that would follow. "Brainy?" he asked, forcing a little bit of concern into his voice. "...why should it hinge upon him?"

[scarletspeedstr]

"Uh, well," Wally floundered, trying to think of an explanation as to why that name should mean anything at all to him. Unfortunately being able to think really fast didn't mean he could actually think better, and his mind just kept drawing blanks in this area.

He sighed, wincing and pressing his palm to his forehead. Maybe if he was careful, he wouldn't let on too much about the League or who Clark really was? "I've kinda... heard the name before back home," he said carefully. "Some kind of robot that went around destroying worlds. But if this one's a kid?" He shrugged. "I dunno, that's different from the one I heard about. Maybe it's nothing."

[deadlyjuliet]

Oh, but this was rich! So that was what Brainy had been wailing about when Clark died. A secret he had to tell him, something about how he was sorry - Grell hadn't paid attention at the time, but now? How he regretted missing this tidbit!

A robot that went about destroying worlds. Brainiac. No wonder the boy hated that name so much. No wonder he insisted upon the 5 so much. But Grell knew little on how robots worked and that made connecting little Brainy to his big bad ancestor something of an issue. Putting a hand to his head as well, the fingertips just lightly pressing against his temple, Grell sighed. "And this is the person people are believing over me? A boy who destroys worlds? I'm lucky he didn't go insane and kill me already then."

[scarletspeedstr]

[sorry for the slow, I had an essay due. Dx]

"Well we don't know that they're the same, they could be different. I mean, it's not like I've met the guy. Maybe I'm wrong," Wally said, though even he had to admit it was pretty hard to imagine a Brainiac that wasn't going around trying to digitise everything and kill Superman. It was like trying to imagine a Lex Luthor who wasn't willing to do everything and anything to get at Supes. You'd really like it if they did stop and got a hobby or something, but it just wasn't likely to happen any time soon.

The intercom sounded overhead with another really weird and kind of creepy announcement by the I.R.I.S. thing and Wally shot a look up at the ceiling, a little relieved that the shift was finally over, but also not sure if he would have preferred a little more time. He still hadn't managed to find out anything concrete about what was going on, just that everything was an even bigger mess than he'd imagined.

But on the other hand, he'd nearly given way too much away about himself, Bats, and Clark. So maybe he should just count his blessings that he could get out before he managed to screw up again or something.

Besides, he wasn't really sure how he could find out anything more on his own, other than just coming out with 'hey, did you happen to kill Clark?' and hoping it threw Grell off enough to answer it truthfully.

Somehow he didn't think that would work though.

"Man, is shift over already?" he said, directing a quick smile at the other man. "Seems like you never have enough time to do anything around here, right?"