Day 52: Intercom, Evening

[damned_intercom]

The intercom jingle was slightly different for this shift, almost as if it had gone up in quality. The Head Doctor gave a sigh of relief, his own voice clear as a bell despite the usual electronic buzz

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M42

[scalyfishman]

So why the Pit hadn't Hime gotten back to him yet? Even with a little chat with S.T. under his belt, Depth Charge still found himself skulking back to his room under cover of his own personal LBC: Little Black Cloud. And this wasn't even your regular cumulonimbus, either, this was the fine, irritated, pollutant stuff. He couldn't work out why it was bothering him- it wasn't like she was difficult to miss, there were enough blonde women in the Institute that she'd probably just flown under his radar- but it was.

And so, the Maximal descended on his room with the silent heaviness of a stealth bomber, albeit one that made a beeline for its set of drawers and dragged out its two-way radio. Even so, he hesitated as his fingers played over the buttons; should he wait until after dinner? Like it or not, there was a slim chance that someone's favourite Nurse Busybody would come knocking just as he buzzed her up, and that situation could only end in both of them getting their slag confiscated. He had to wait.

So patience was a virtue after all. Depth Charge tossed the radio back into the drawer with a loud, aggravated sigh and dropped back in his chair, head back, feet swept up onto the desktop, rubbing both hands across his eyes. Primus. His nerves were getting shot to pieces, and all over one stupid girl. Hadn't heard that song in a while. Still, maybe it wasn't just Hime. There was the fact that he hadn't seen Lugnut around, too, or Forte... tch. So much for not turning into a babysitter.

[scarefaux]

His conversations with Mele, Scar, and the kitten aside, the Scarecrow felt he hadn't accomplished much during the day. He had done an awful lot of thinking, more about the Special Counseling and the Sleep Studies than a man without a brain should have. He'd already resolved he wasn't going to find his body- not anytime soon, at least. Nobody even knew where the entrance to the third floor was, and he couldn't figure it out without his brain.

To get anywhere, he needed to find his diploma, but he wasn't sure he could without a brain to begin with- his human one didn't work as well as he'd hoped, and the Wizard Landel's tampering only made it worse. The more he thought about it, the more he considered that Dr. Venkman's diploma might not even help him, given that it wasn't his doctorate in Thinkology. He'd have to try again another night- there was no use in giving up yet.

His mind still working overtime, the Scarecrow gave his nurse a goodnight nod as he stepped into the room, just in time to see Depth Charge toss his radio into his chair and take a seat- he looked even more worn than Scar. Hopefully, he wasn't rubbing his eyes because he'd been stricken blind. "You don't look at all well, Depth Charge," he remarked, setting his tray on his desk and heading to his roommate's side. "Are you all right?"

[scalyfishman]

Heels of his palms skill across his eyes, Depth Charge heard the Scarecrow come in before he saw him, and he immediately moved to make himself seem a little less... well. Moody. There was no need to worry the guy when he had enough on his plate as it was. It was kind of a surprise to see him standing next to his desk when he lowered his hands, but frankly he was too beat to be spooked by the Scarecrow of all people. All the motion sensors in the world couldn't make him jump for him.

"I'm fine," he answered, a little tersely at first, but then he let out another one of those long sighs he'd been holing up in his chest for a while. It helped his tone, at least: when he spoke again he sounded more resigned than irritated, preferable since he didn't especially want to take it out on his roommate. "A friend of mine didn't check in is all.."

The crazy part was, for a klik there he'd pretty much decided that Hime could safely be called a friend. You didn't spend all night long jumping out of windows and knocking the skulls off of zombies with someone and still call yourself an acquaintance or bodyguard, after all.

[scarefaux]

And there Depth Charge went, predictably saying he was fine when he didn't look at all well. It seemed to be a running theme with a lot of the people the Scarecrow had met. While he couldn't speak for other people, he was sure Depth Charge just didn't want him to worry. It was understandable- he'd felt sheepish himself over causing a fuss on more than one occasion. Then again, that was when he could fall apart and put himself back together again with no trouble; things were different now.

"Didn't check in?" he asked, heading back to his desk for a bite to eat. He'd be sorry later if he didn't at least try the food. While he was at it, he fished his flashlight from his desk drawer. "Maybe they just didn't know to do so? You don't suppose something could have happened to 'em, do you?"

Oh, the possibilities! The Scarecrow didn't like to think of all the things that could have happened to someone who'd gone missing: Sleep Studies, Special Counseling, witch attack, or worse. His only hope was that there'd be something that could be done.

[scalyfishman]

"Maybe," Depth Charge answered, sounding completely unconvinced as he raked a hand through his hair for the ten thousandth time that night. There was the slightest chance that Hime had just missed his note, admittedly, but he was sure as slag wasn't counting on it. She was a girl with an eye for- well, forget details, just about everything, and he doubted she'd just walk past a note with her name on it without stopping for a better look. Too sharp for that. Never mind that he'd offered her a chance to rip into something new- and if Hime wasn't jumping at the chance for violence, something was definitely wrong.

Which meant that he was left with the Scarecrow's second suggestion: that something had happened. Something curdled unpleasantly in the pit of his stomach at the thought, all sour milk and oil- he'd been thinking it all along, yes, but there was something about the Scarecrow of all people suggesting it that didn't sit well with him. If even Mr. Eternal Optimist was looking that way...

Reluctantly, he nodded. "That's what I'm thinking." A pause, then he looked away, eyes steely. "We've got a couple of two-way radios; if she doesn't buzz me back when night falls, I'm going after her."

[scarefaux]

Having finally dug into his meal after fiddling with his utensils, the Scarecrow could only nod in response. Questions involving the radios- the Scarecrow couldn't think of a time he'd ever carried his, given he never could figure out what it was supposed to do in the first place- would have to wait. There were far, far more important matters at the moment: a friend of Depth Charge's was possibly missing, and that was never a good thing. At least she had someone willing to go after her- chances were there were a lot of patients like Scar, unlucky enough to have a roommate who simply didn't care or wouldn't try to find them.

"Would you mind if I came with you?" he asked after a moment, spinning around in his chair, feeling bold for even bringing up such a suggestion. "I promise I won't get in the way, and I won't try to manage things because I can't think, but if something did happen to her and you need to find her, I'm sure I could find a way to help."

[scalyfishman]

Now that he hadn't been expecting. Depth Charge had just opened his drawer to fish out the radios and demonstrate them to the Scarecrow- odds were he probably wouldn't know what he was talking about unless there was some sort of magical equivalent wherever he came from- when the guy came out with his offer. He stopped, blinked, then gave the man a slightly wondering look.

"You're a pretty strange guy, Scarecrow," he said, shaking his head slightly. But only part of that wonderment was aimed at his roommate, because Depth Charge suddenly knew what he was about to say and it felt pretty fragging weird. "Sure. Why not? Means I can keep an eye on you."

It wasn't just that, though. There was more to it, he was sure. Maybe it was that curdled milk feeling in his gut telling him he wasn't about to find good news in Hime's room, or maybe he was just going soft- either way, and as much as he hated to admit it, he wanted someone else to be there, because somewhere in the back of his processor he was still playing that breakdown from his second night over and over, and he couldn't let it happen again. Not when he had people to look out for.