[log] Screw up to the beat of my own drum [closed]

[spoileralert]

Characters: Stephanie Brown, Stephen Strange, Alphonse Elric, Hugo Vasquez
Location: AAB8 - 271
Date: Day 229
Summary: Event Shenanigans and a Reunion
Warnings: In comment subjects, please!

271: A small, enclosed bus stop that probably serviced the building inside the fence back when things weren't abandoned. The bus stop is enclosed completely in glass, making it possible to spend the night here, though the benches are a little uncomfortable to sleep on. Interestingly, the lights here still work, on and off--at night, the lights flicker on and off at random, which may also make it difficult to sleep. The vending machines here are smashed open, but food and drinks are still placed inside them. They do not restock when people are staying here, so make sure you don't run yourself out of food! "ALPHONSE ELRIC, DAY TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY SEVEN, FOR ANY ASSISTANCE PLEASE CONTACT @LELRIC." is written on a wall.

Comments

Morning- cw: eye and mouth horror, gen body horror

[spoileralert]

The creature that actually stares at Steph through the glass walls as she comes awake in the morning is recognizable as human, but only just. It has leg but no arms, and a gaping hole through the middle of its chest. One might be able to see straight through it if not for the letterman jacket draped over the thing's shoulders. The head is made up entirely of a gaping mouth, filled with broken, jagged teeth. The back of the head is a giant bloodshot eye.

What Steph sees is the very much whole body of the boy always on her mind, a gloved hand pressed to the glass in a way that somehow portrays longing. The only thing wrong with Zach is his face... namely that it isn't there.

She jumps, falls off the bench and gets tangled in her blankets the moment she wakes up. She'd known anomalies were a possibility when she went to sleep in this uncomfortably open place, but it doesn't make it any easier to wake up to.

She turns to wake up Vasquez, if he isn't already awake.

"We've got a problem!"

[24karat]

To put it mildly, Vasquez is not a morning person. Were it not for Steph's tone, he probably would've simply rolled over and gone back to sleep-- as it was, he was still severely tempted, but he figured he could just do that after seeing what was up. It couldn't have been that bad, right? Considering the fact that it was only 'a problem' and not screaming, that had to count for something.
And thus, with plenty of grumbling followed by a solid ten seconds of stretching and joint-popping, he gets up. It's far from the quick response the situation likely needed, although he doesn't entirely seem to notice where the threat is, exactly. Whatever's going on is an issue outside of his periphery, and he's far from prepared to address it.

"Well, good morning to you too, sunshine." He sounds pretty groggy, which isn't terribly surprising. A sudden wakeup with no coffee to smooth the transition? Cruelty at its finest. "Where's the fiiiiii-- what the fuck." It was at that moment that Vasquez decides to glance over at the window, and the sight of what lies beyond is more than enough to jolt him to relative wakefulness. Nothing like a good old-fashioned faceless monstrosity to get you going in the morning!
"Yeah, that's-- That's kind of a problem, I'll give you that." Should he move back a little further, or would that be a bad idea? He isn't sure he wants to risk the movement catching the thing's attention. "Do we just...wait for it to leave, or is it gonna be doing that shit until we go outside? 'Cause-- I could live here. Might need a little renovations, but I could make it work."

[spoileralert]

"They know how to open doors. What time is it?" She scrabbles for her tablet. They have until lockdown ends, then they're screwed.

Finding the tablet, she stares at the time. Lockdown has been over for almost half an hour. She looks up at Zach again.

"He's not trying to get in," she muses aloud, the question clear in her tone. Why isn't he trying to get in?

She untangles herself from the blankets and gets to her feet, still frowning. A step towards the anomaly makes her head spin, but she does it anyway. Does she dare to hope?

"Zach?"

The creature presses another gloved hand to the glass, seemingly in confirmation. Steph reaches out to press her own hand to the glass. He shifts so that their fingers line up. Her heart twists as painfully as her head. Is he back? Is this his death price, the loss of his face?

[24karat]

"Wait, wait-- they can do what?" How was he supposed to take that? Why could they open doors? Oh, wait, no-- he knew why. Because nothing in Snowhell understood the concept of mercy, and everything was awful.

"Steph, what are you DOING--" Nope, too late-- she was already at the window. Dammit. What was she seeing? It was just a mess of teeth and holy shit he couldn't look at the window for more than a few seconds. There was no way this was 'Zach'. If it was? Nah, that-- that was too much, even for Norfinbury. At least, he'd like to think so; that was likely affording this place too much credit, though.
"You should probably not be there. What if it breaks the window? Do you wanna find out if it's Zach that way? I really would rather not, but that's just me!"

[spoileralert]

"The windows don't break," she answers absently. That's been one constant - the buildings that close up at night don't seem capable of being breached. Opening windows and doors, on the other hand, was a distinct possibility.

"He's not attacking," she points out again, a rising note of hope in her voice. "He's not doing anything. Just watching... somehow." He doesn't have any eyes, but he seems to be able to see anyway.

"Zach? Is that you, babe?"

He nods, and the motion is so familiar and right that she can't take it anymore.

"It's him. Oh my god, it's Zach."

Without waiting for Vasquez to protest Steph races out the door and into the snow. Her body protests the motion in the direction of the thing making her so dizzy, but she ignores it. Tears in her eyes, she throws her arms around the creature...

and promptly slumps against the thing, unconscious. It turns to watch her with that gaping maw rather than its single eye, but makes no other move. Of course, it can't hold her up. Her arms around its shoulders slow her descent, but she finally slides down its chest into a heap on the snow-covered ground.

[24karat]

"Windows don't, but I'm pretty sure you will. And why are we not talking about all the teeth that thing has? That's kind of a huge problem!" He's half-yelling by this point, an obvious edge of panic settling into his tone-- this was the first time he'd even seen an anomaly, and of course it had to be when the only other person in the room wanted to throw herself at it. When Steph asks not-Zach that last question, Vasquez is half a second from continuing his argument-- he's left standing there with his mouth open as she rushes out the door, but he manages a loud curse when she falls into the snow.

After a moment of complete indecision, Vasquez realizes two things. The first was that the door was still open, which certainly didn't bode well for him-- that, and if he just left Steph out there, the anomaly would likely eat her or something, and that would be the end of that. There wasn't really much of a choice here, was there?
Dammit, he really hated mornings.
Maybe if he moved slowly, he wouldn't catch the anomaly's attention. It was far from a foolproof plan, but he didn't have much of one to start with-- sneak outside, grab Steph, and then barricade the door with...something if he managed to get that far. He stood in the doorway now, gritting his teeth-- this was probably going to get him killed, but what the hell. He'd rather not be stuck traveling solo for another month or so.

Getting close to the creature was more difficult than he'd been anticipating-- the feeling was wrong, and in the back of his mind, he's a little impressed Steph managed to run up and hug the fucking thing. When he's almost within reach of getting a hold of her, Vasquez hesitates, glancing up at the anomaly even though it makes his stomach turn. Is it going to attack, or what? He has absolutely no idea, and he's not sure how fast he can run while simultaneously dragging Steph along.

[spoileralert]

The Zach thing looks up at Vasquez when he steps outside, but then turns its attention back on Steph. It doesn't seem the least bit interested in Vasquez, though it doesn't move to give him room either. Even when he begins moving her, the thing just watches.

Steph is lighter than she should be, making her easier to drag than he probably expects. The whole incident goes pretty smoothly, all things considered.

Evening - ota

[armoured]

[As if they haven't had enough of anomalies in the past few days, they've already lost Sylar and now they're being followed around. This one isn't like the one that followed him before, but he knows exactly who it's meant to be. It's Martel, even if her face is completely blank.

She doesn't come any closer, doesn't attack, just follows when he and Stephen finally make a break for one of the nearby houses. He's not expecting that there are already people there when he charges in, but he calls out anyway on reflex.]

Hello? Anyone here?

[spoileralert]

Al?

[ Steph has been miserable all day, since her reunion with Zach ended with her unconscious in the snow. She doesn't recognize the woman following Al around, but she suspects it's someone Al knows. ]

[armoured]

S-Steph?!

[He almost can't believe it's her for a second, before all of a sudden he's just charging forwards to pick her bodily off the ground and crush her into the tightest hug he can manage.]

[spoileralert]

[ Her lip trembles as she takes in the group, relief overwhelming her. It's so good to see him again, especially after the day she's had.

Then she's being swept up in a crushing hug that makes her squeak, and she hugs him back as tears escape her. ]

I missed you so much.

[armoured]

I missed you too.

[His voice is tight and small, holding her as if scared that she might disappear if he lets go.]

I-- Mr. Gray died, Steph, I failed again.

[spoileralert]

Oh, Al... I'm so sorry.

[ She liked Gabriel. Just as importantly, she knows how Al torments himself over every death, whether he could have done anything about it or not. ]

[armoured]

It was an anomaly, it just came out of nowhere and took him. I promised him that I'd help him, Steph.

[So many broken promises, it feels like that's all he does sometimes.]

Evening - ota

[thewarningafter]

[Stephen's anomaly is a woman in surgical scrubs...or what's left of her. In Stephen's eyes her clothes are stained with blood and ichor, and her arms end in ragged, bloody tendons that reach like long, twisting fingers. She stares with pitch black eyes around which the skin is cracked and purple.

To someone who lost their light, though, there is only the muted teal of her clothing and a missing face. Stephen's face has been drawn since he laid eyes on her, but not once has he spoken her name. It's not her. It can't be her. The anomalies aren't people.

Except they were a few days ago.

Now, glass safely (safely?) between them, he paces the length of the bus station, watching her pace along the other side.]

[armoured]

You have to stop, Dr. Strange.

[Al has been watching him pace for almost a half hour, heart aching for him. He's careful not to look at his own anomaly, the blank face of Martel as she watches him in what seems to be judgement.]

You can't do this to yourself. Please, sit down.

[thewarningafter]

[Stephen glances at Al but doesn't move to step away from the glass or to sit down. He does stop where he is, but his eyes keep going back to what he can't accept is Christine. He sounds distant when he responds.]

It's alright. I'm not tired.

[Al's traveled with him long enough now to probably have caught on that Stephen doesn't sleep much. He's always tired, but right now he shows no inclination of settling down.]

[armoured]

[Al sighs but he's not about to give up.]

It's not whoever you think it is. It's not, and letting it get to you like this isn't fair. Please, Dr. Strange, sit down with me for a while.

[thewarningafter]

I know that.

[If it comes out sharper than he meant it to, it's because Al's only voicing what Stephen's been trying to convince himself must be true. Whatever he's seeing out there isn't Christine, because it can't be. He can't conscion the possibility. It wouldn't be fair.

And because Stephen Strange knows better than to think the world is fair, he can't stop worrying at the painful thought that maybe he and Al are wrong.]

Sitting isn't going to make her go away.

[armoured]

Maybe not, but it'll stop you exhausting yourself worrying over something you can't change.

[He's not going to back down, though he makes sure his tone is compassionate as well as firm.]

We don't know what's going to happen in the next few days, they might become aggressive and we'll need to be on top form to run if that happens. Which means you need to rest and eat. Now.

[spoileralert]

[ Steph is worn out from emotion today, and she watches Stephen pace so, so tiredly. The doctor - or nurse, maybe? Hard to say - paces the same way. Finally she has to speak up. ]

You're both making me dizzy. And kinda nauseous.

[thewarningafter]

Sorry.

[He doesn't sound sorry. He doesn't sound anything, his voice coming out all flat.]

I can't exactly stop her.

[spoileralert]

She's following you.

[ And for some reason Steph is drawn to the movement. It's something to look at, anyway. ]

[thewarningafter]

I noticed.

[He stops, finally, still standing next to the glass. On the other side of it Christine the anomaly comes to a halt as well, that same blank stare still trained on him.]

[spoileralert]

[ She rubs at her eyes, then reaches into her bag for her water bottle. ]

You might feel better if you stopped staring at her, too.