Comments | beyondtherift: But you're bound to stay, for you've lost your way in the twists of Babylon Wood...

best_is_past in beyondtherift

But you're bound to stay, for you've lost your way in the twists of Babylon Wood...

Dec 14, 2009 03:22

There is an angry woman stalking through the Organization headquarters, looking for a certain sociopath in a sweatervest. She just woke up. Or... woke up isn't exactly the right term. She was already awake, standing and fully dressed and all, she just suddenly had no idea what just happened or how she got there. And after a little investigation, ( Read more... )

claire saunders/whiskey, andy mackenzie, captain jack harkness, sam tyler, phoebe donovan, gale kendricks, arlin keysa, topher brink

Comments 55

hey_capn_jack December 14 2009, 08:33:21 UTC

J is, for once in his stay in Chicago, not an angst-ridden pile of emotional suffering. He's a bit bewildered by the universe, sure, but not in the way that it feels like there's something gnawing its way up from his intestines.

So of course that would have transferred to someone else.

He's wandering the halls in dog form - it makes him feel a little less awkward about, oh, everything - thinking to himself, when he turns a corner and Of course, Torchwood isn't exactly a state secret here, and if Luka's command authority managed to track me down to archangel custody, playing my hand by revealing that they're the ones keeping me might not be playing my hand at all, so I'm not sure arguments of that nature really app- ...shiiiiiiiiiiiit.There is a Sam in this hallway ( ... )

definitivestep December 14 2009, 09:16:23 UTC

Sam blinks at the dog for a moment - he'd been willing to ignore it, until it started to wander off and then stopped. He's not very good at interpreting shapeshifters' attempts to communicate. He got used to Gene, but chipmunks allow for a slightly greater range of expression, and... well. The lion smacked him in the head a lot.

He decides to go with the most likely intended meaning, given that look, and says simply, "I'm fine." It is a blatant lie, but Sam can get away with that. ...except where that comment doesn't even begin to sound believable.

hey_capn_jack December 14 2009, 09:23:32 UTC

J may be a dog at the moment, but that doesn't mean he's stupid. His eyes narrow at Sam for a moment - he's not trying to be threatening; it's just a natural Does anyone actually BELIEVE you when you say that? reaction - and after a moment's debate over how best to communicate, he settles for giving his best impression of Sam himself when struck with a lie.

...a second later it occurs to him that this was probably in poor taste, and his ears droop. Feeling empathy, especially when someone is sad, seems to be something the dog form excels in. Ordinarily, he'd be kinda annoyed by this, but here, in dog form, that keeps getting pushed out by an overwhelming tide of needing to make things better.

So, with his head and tail low, now perhaps is the time to approach. For LOVE ...tactical reconnaissance.

definitivestep December 15 2009, 07:03:52 UTC

Sam narrows his own eyes a little. That bit of communication, at least, was not exactly hard to parse. He's not amused.

"I meant-" he starts to say, and then shakes his head. "Never mind." Which... does not seem to be actually convincing J not to worry about it. Of course.

Thread 7

invitedthemin December 14 2009, 08:40:50 UTC

Topher is in what is trying to pretend to be his imprint room. It's pretending, because he hasn't really had the chance to do anything with it other than get the chair and the computer systems set up. Eventually, he is getting his office fixed up the way he likes it, but when you've had the week from hell, all you really want to do is nest in brain scans.

Right now, there's a scan of an archangel's brain up on his screen and he's been staring at it for a little over an hour, comparing it side-by-side to another archangel's brain scan, noting all the weird differentiations and... Trying to piece together some sort of logic to it. He's dealing in a world that has way more complicated science than he's used to and he is determined to figure out how everything ticks.

...And he has no idea that his week is about to get worse. Better in some ways, since he's been... Deeply concerned in his own way about the Whiskey situation, but... mostly worse.

best_is_past December 14 2009, 08:59:55 UTC

Claire picks up a book off a table as she passes it - large, fairly thick, but luckily for Topher, not a hardback - stalks up behind him, and whacks him over the head with the book. It's not gentle, but it won't knock him out or anything.

If she knocks him out, she'll have to wait to get explanations.

"What the hell did you do to me?"

Hi, Topher. This is definitely not a Whiskey, unless Whiskey has the weirdest composite events ever.

invitedthemin December 14 2009, 09:04:58 UTC

To hear Topher carry on though, you'd think it gave him brain damage. He lets out a rather pathetic whine of pain and turns slowly, holding his head like he's expecting whoever did that to DO IT AGAIN.

....

And now he's just going to stare.

"....Dr. Saunders?" Duh, idiot. Who else would beat him and unleash the fires of judgment upon him? He doesn't wait for her to affirm that before he forgets the savage (not really) throbbing in his head to flail. "That... That's not even possible. I didn't... You... What?"

She is so going to hit him again. IT'S NOT HIS FAULT COHERENCY IS FOR OTHER PEOPLE WHEN HE'S SHOCKED.

best_is_past December 14 2009, 09:21:23 UTC

"Why isn't it possible, Topher? What. Did you do. To my brain? Why can't I remember the last week?"

Claire raises the book again, mostly just to watch him flinch. It's satisfying, somehow, and fear is a pretty good motivator with Topher. You would have thought Topher would have programmed her to not be a bit of a sadist, but apparently he overlooked that.

Thread 16

riversodeep December 14 2009, 08:41:05 UTC

Andy is coming to terms with the fact that her ward is single-handedly trying to prove the British "stiff upper lip" stereotype correct. Yes, it kinda sucks from the perspective that her ward is in pain and not letting her do anything about it, but she just has to keep reminding herself that things could be worse. She could be her sister.

Still, she's also coming to the realization that the best way to take care of her ward is to not give him a choice in the matter. To that end, as soon as he steps off the street and into the Kashtta itself, she attaches herself to him with a hug. Which he will accept, God damn it, because she is pretty sure she can beat him up.

definitivestep December 14 2009, 22:53:56 UTC

Sam was not expecting that. He stops and just stands there for a moment before he registers that it's Andy - not exactly a surprise - and hugs her awkwardly back. It seems the only appropriate things to do. After all, telling her he's fine isn't going to do him any good.

"You haven't been just... waiting here, have you?" He'd feel bad about that. He feels bad about the whole situation, but there's... not a lot he can do about most of it.

riversodeep December 15 2009, 01:34:43 UTC

Andy exhales, letting go of him to better look up at his face with an expression of fond exasperation. "No, Sam, I haven't," she says. She can sense where he happens to be. Staking out the lobby isn't necessary. "I was up in my room, watching Star Trek, until I knew you were nearby and I headed down."

To be similarly useless. She'd almost wish he'd get attacked by something just so she'd have something to address which she knew how to deal with, but she's not about to make that sort of wish in Chicago.

"I take it you haven't had much to occupy your attention recently," she says. "Aside from the glaringly obvious."

definitivestep December 15 2009, 09:02:03 UTC

Sam sighs, shaking his head a little and rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "I... Not exactly. It's alright. I don't need... I really can-"

He cuts himself off with a grimace. Anything he was going to say is pretty much disproved by the fact that he needs a guardian angel. A second time. And it's not like arguing ever gets him anywhere with Andy.

Thread 7

kineticmachine December 15 2009, 19:00:28 UTC

Arlin's on an errand. What kind of errand is not important, and what's in his briefcase is also not important. What is important is that he's walking down the street toward Gale, looking just like any other businessman might, when he notices the look on the guy's face. He slows down, falling into step with Gale.

"If you want to make it any easier to recognize you for what you are, you could start ranting and raving about it as well," he remarks, gesturing with said briefcase up to the sun. "As it is, though, I'd suggest looking a little bit less like you think it's going to eat you."

fiaintaibhse December 18 2009, 08:06:47 UTC

Gale's attention swings to Arlin, and he narrows his eyes a little, expression much more uncertain than it is dangerous. "What I am?" he asks softly. Some people can tell, but most of them are as dead as he is and Gale can tell too. This man doesn't feel like anything special to him. "And that would be...?"

kineticmachine December 20 2009, 00:44:30 UTC

"Suddenly find yourself in an unfamiliar place? Here, we call them wanderers," Arlin replies. He's never been terribly concerned with mistaking someone who isn't for one, so he simply says it. "People from other worlds that have, by chance or misfortune, been pulled into this one by the Rift."

He glances around at the city. "Though it's rare that someone's spit out in such an innocuous place, if you're recently through."

fiaintaibhse December 20 2009, 13:27:51 UTC

Sounds like a door to Gale, though they usually only open when he wants them to. And this is not a place any door should have opened to, certainly not in the daylight...

"For a different universe, this looks very much like the one I left behind," Gale remarks dryly. It looks like one of them, anyway.

thehighestwing December 16 2009, 06:41:46 UTC

The narration is not entirely certain what Phoebe Donovan is doing near the Sears Tower. The good thing about Phoebe is she rarely needs reason for anything that she does.

And so! She is on her merry way when her spidey senses start tingling. Wanderer!

The confusion isn't hard to read, and she always likes helping wanderers whenever she can! "Hi there! You look a little lost. Need some help?"

fiaintaibhse December 18 2009, 05:17:43 UTC

Gale raises his eyebrows, turning toward her as she speaks with a faint smile - friendly but confused. "...yes, actually." His voice is a bit too clipped for standard American, suggesting an accent, though it's too faint to pick up what the accent actually is. "I think I've gotten a bit turned around."

Incredibly turned around in a way that shouldn't be possible. That much is obvious.

thehighestwing December 18 2009, 08:48:49 UTC

Oh, Gale. If she had a penny for every time someone gave her a confused look...

Phoebe winces a little at his answer. "I think that turnaround was more than a bit." Phoebe bites her lip as she steps forward with a smile of her own, tentative but genuine. She has done this before with other wanderers but it never does get easier. She always feels for them. She wants to hug them and give them a fuckton of candy.

...Not that she gives into the impulse all the time.

"You're in Chicago. It's December 14th. 2009."

fiaintaibhse December 19 2009, 10:05:27 UTC

He doesn't seem as surprised as you'd expect. Still confused, but he already knew he was far from home. She's only confirmed his suspicions.

"Chicago," he repeats slowly. "Definitely more than a bit. ...I take it this happens often?" It must, or she wouldn't be so quick to explain where and when they are. That's not something you normally announce to someone on the street, unless things are more different than he thought between the day and night.

Thread 21