Nightshift 43: Main Hallway 2-Center

[constellates]

[from here]

As they approached the top of the stairs, Alkaid took the natural exit, and turned to face the right. She'd already sorta been down what was there in the left corridor, but she wasn't sure where to go from here.

"...Hey, Badou? Speaking of sane... don't pay any attention to me if I talk about items and item screens and equipment. It'

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[its_the_mileage]

Indy, who had regained most of the authority in his stride and was keeping a few steps ahead, had been planning on keeping up the pace until they got where they were going. But Pilgrim sounded serious, so Indy took a couple steps back and leaned out over the railing with the torch. They were looking down into the Sun Room.

It took him a second to notice what Pilgrim was talking about--some kind of weird colorful shape against a wall down there, a ways above the floor. When he looked closer, he saw that it was human-shaped. Pretty small, a kid maybe. A girl? But what the hell was the person wearing? And even more importantly: what the hell was he or she doing on the wall? He couldn't see any obvious supports.

"No idea," Indy replied honestly. "Looks like a person, but it can be hard to tell around here, with the experiments they're running." He was all set to keep going when he heard a familiar voice coming from down there. It sounded like Peter Parker. Indy was still feeling pangs of mild guilt over how broken-up the kid--no, Peter hated that, the guy--had been at breakfast, so he leaned back over with the torch to see if Peter was all right. At first he couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from, but it didn't take him long to realize that there was only one possibility. Oh, for crying out loud...

"Peter!" he called at the red-and-blue guy hanging onto the wall. "What the hell are you doing?"

Bah, some country's good, but not enough for my tastes. :P

[vsyourface]

"I knew it! I so knew it!" said Scott excitedly after hearing the name "Peter" called out and seeing the wallcrawler swing up their way. The other Peter was totally Peter Parker! In your face, Second Peter!

Scott waved up at the Friendly Institute Spider-man, the grin on his face was about as wide as it could be without breaking out of his jaw. He wondered if they could get Peter to join their party. What party could possibly be better than one that had both Indiana Jones and Spider-man in it? Not many, Scott reasoned. "How's it hangin', Spidey?" he started off, hoping that would be the right introduction to make.

[its_the_mileage]

Indy had, by any reasonable standard, seen a lot more than his fair share of bizarre and inexplicable things in life. Stories he didn't bother to tell because no one in his right mind would believe them. Oddities that defied his best efforts to explain them in any rational way.

If this wasn't at the top of the list, it was certainly making a strong case for the top five.

Peter had swung over on some kind of cable--a move Indy was pretty sure he recognized--and was now perching on the railing and leaning down with almost uncanny balance. Almost as unusual was the fact that Pilgrim obviously knew him. Well enough to be excited at the meeting and to use a nickname, even. Had those two actually met somewhere before, or was Pilgrim just a fan of the funnies?

The list of things that were wrong with this scenario was staggeringly large, but Indy tried to hit on the most obvious. "Are you all right?" he asked, feeling even more tongue-tied than he had at breakfast. "What are you doing in here? What are you wearing?"

He'd seemed okay by the end of breakfast, but maybe the return of nighttime had brought on some urge to sit around on the walls wearing a full-body...something as a way of coping with what was happening. Indy just didn't get kids.

[vsyourface]

Scott had no idea why anyone would want to push Spider-man off a balcony if they weren't some kind of supervillain. "Why would I do that? That's lame. Anyone who would want to try is lame. Who's lame enough to hate Spider-man enough to do that?" Scott asked quizzically, honestly looking for an answer.

He didn't get an answer right away, but wasn't too fazed considering the interruption involved Spider-man snatching Indiana Jones's hat and putting it on. Now that was just too cool. Scott gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Lookin' sharp, my good wallcrawler! Though, I wouldn't diss Indy's look if I were you. It's totally classic."

[its_the_mileage]

"Mob hat?" Indy groused, making an instinctive grab for his hat. Granted, his was unusual for its sentimental value, but if he had a nickel for every fellow he saw on the street wearing a fedora, he'd be making a hell of a lot more money than he was. Strange that no one in town had been wearing one the other day, come to think of it. Clearly times had changed.

The grab missed as Peter spun the hat around just out of Indy's reach, then put it on (Indy found himself feeling strangely possessive) and flipped up onto the wall, still wearing it (Indy found himself at a loss for words). He didn't like the way Peter was talking--something strange about it. The sudden lack of recognition. Even if Movie Indiana didn't wear these clothes and thus Peter didn't recognize them, Indy still would've expected some kind of greeting more substantial than hat theft.

It took a second for things to click. The weird attitude, the weirder costume, someone lurking around alone at night--it was just a hunch, but it all pointed to the brainwashing Indy'd read about on the board. If that was what was going on here, there wasn't going to be a lot they could do about except try to get by. Peter would be fine in the morning. Even if his guess was wrong, they'd still better get going. There'd be time to chat when he wasn't holding a sputtering torch.

Leaving without his hat, though, wasn't an option. Indy flicked the whip out, trying to catch the brim of the fedora and flip it back to himself. The wound in his shoulder protested. Indy tried to ignore it.

"It's too big for you, kid," he told Peter, surprising even himself with the lack of sarcasm in his tone. "Look, just try not to hurt anyone, okay? The last thing you need is something else to beat yourself up over tomorrow morning."

[vsyourface]

"Aw, so we don't get him on our team, then," said Scott with a sigh of disappointment as he watched Spider-man leap away from the balcony, though the feeling didn't last long (how could it after having watched Indy pull such a smooth whip trick?).

"So, we gonna get to that closet or what?" he said with a grin just as unfazed as ever, gesturing for Indy to follow him down the hall.

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