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apocalypsehowcomm2023-05-16 08:27 am
- !event,
- !finale,
- !npc,
- bucky barnes (mcu),
- cortana (halo),
- delloso de la rue (d20 fey and flowers),
- edalyn clawthorne (owl house),
- elias bouchard (tma),
- john sheppard (stargate: atlantis),
- martin blackwood (tma),
- raine whispers (owl house),
- steve rogers (mcu),
- yelena belova (mcu),
- zz_caitlyn kiramman (arcane),
- zz_malcolm bright (prodigal son),
- zz_nina zenik (shadow and bone),
- zz_stephanie brown (dc comics),
- zz_tim drake (dc comics)
Event - Dogged
The message goes out to everyone on ADI's network. It seems to be something captured live. It's Pam Ruan, head of HR who holds a prosthetic finger up to her lips before whispering, "Everyone's pushing for transparency right now, right? Figuring out where threats are coming from and sharing. I think that should come at all levels. Let's see what Nia's talking about with Mr. Zyrian Steel, hmm?"
The camera flips around as Pam clearly creeps closer to an office door. There are muffled voices, and Pam sets the phone face up before using one hand to shove the thing under the door. The video shows a sliding picture of the office's bland ceiling for a moment before coming to a stop. The voices become much clearer.
"-down in Wolf Trap," a masculine voice is saying. Presumably, Zyrian Steel. "There's just no need for that."
"Zyrian, this ain't a negotiation." Nia Lehrer's voice is familiar to most people working at ADI at this point. They've likely heard her speak in some pre-recorded training videos at the bare minimum. Nia's tone is no nonsense and clearly on the edge of snapping in frustration. "You're not hiring us. I'm sending my people down to Wolf Trap next month. We've got evidence of those signalhead things being on the march, one down that way, your kick off for New Horizons in the park, and evidence out of there about the Lullaby Girl from some of my people."
There is silence.
"You remember her? Ava? Or Amber, it seems like. She's the one you gave us those Lucidio masks to help train our people against. Frankly, I'd be surprised if you don't remember her, Mr. S." Another drawn out pause. "You ain't been straight with me for a long time. You ain't been straight with ADI since Tawnya was Warden. You tell me you need us in Buffalo, payback for helping in Wolf Pen and Cortana and the mobile med units, and not only do half the staff come back with crab claws and whiskers, but I find out you're using us for business politics." There's venom in her tone. "Or were you just going to stay quiet about Etcher's enterprises competing with your own software companies? ADI is not your personal attack dog. You are our client. And I thought my friend. But I'm about 30 seconds away from firing you from both."
Further silence, then a heavy sigh. "And I was going to offer to send you and your staff on such a nice retreat." There's the sound of a chair being pushed back. "Warden, I think you misunderstand the nature of our relationship. You are the dogs. I am the master. I hold your leash. Or have you forgotten just how much technology I've donated to ADI over the years, how many of your systems run on things I built? We've had a mutually beneficial relationship up until now- Well… you and I have. Tawnya got to be a problem before the end, too. But I made sure that was taken care of."
"You self-aggrandizing son of a-"
"You're a much more practical woman than she ever was, even with those shiny ideals you hold so dear. You'll compromise for the greater good, to protect what's yours. Such a good Warden, looking out for her charges."
"What are you talking about? And get your hands the hell off my desk."
"Haven't you ever wondered about the title? Warden. Odd name for a leader of any organization, even one like yours. But maybe not so odd when you consider your more eldritch masters." A scoff. "The Hunt always does pick out the most oblivious avatars, doesn't it? What does a Warden do?" A beat. "She controls the monsters, Nia. Sniffs them out and contains them. And she goes after the poachers coming after her prey. Tell me, have you ever noticed how you're always picking up on threats far afield with uncanny precision. It's been getting stronger, hasn't it? Tawnya was the same way. As was her predecessor, I imagine."
"That's not- I wouldn't ever…"
"Wouldn't you, though? Every time you sent your own dogs after a threat, reveled in it, you were being such a good Warden, instilling terror in the hearts of your enemies, ADI's enemies. So many cults know who and what you are and they fear it. Fear the Warden of ADI, famed avatar of the Hunt. Even now, I know you've compromised yourself. Have you considered what that's done to you? You let that Visionary kid stay alive. I rather think that might have been the start of your slide, hmm? Making exceptions, just this once.
"Now," he continues, voice growing louder and footsteps starting toward the phone, "I realize this is a lot to take in, to think about. Why don't you do that self-reflection while I attend to other matters? You are doing good work, puppy. I need a dependable pet to take care of all those nasty pests who keep trying rituals. But no need to worry about the New Horizons launch, really. I'll just-" Zyrian pauses and everyone will have a view of a middle-aged caucasian man with dark, slightly graying hair and a beard. He's wearing khakis and a Hawaiian shirt, and he's looking down at Pam's phone.
"Well… fuck." He stomps a heeled shoe on it and the transmission ends abruptly.
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"Don't think I could've made the choice if Reyes hadn't stepped up to speak for the others, though. They've got a way with words."
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The first bit gets a little snort, the rest not so much.
“Well, I guess I owe ‘em one–I’m not about to agree you shouldn’t have done that stuff,” Eda says with a shrug. “And I doubt letting some of us go is what got the Hunt’s attention,” she points out.
“But it would have made thing simpler, yeah. Given me an excuse to just burn this place down.” There’s another pause, while she debates whether to say more, and maybe while she realises that what she said really is what’s been bothering her about all this.
“At home… it really was black and white at the end of the day.” It sounds almost silly to say, but it’s true.
“That tyrant I mentioned–he said using our magic freely was bad. Dangerous. That it would corrupt us. That we had to be watched and controlled because witches and demons were violent on their own.” Her lip curls a little; there’s a reason the ADI sounded uncomfortably familiar at first.
“It never sounded right to me growing up and I was damn right. Wild magic wasn’t… like that. It just came down to a human hating things that weren't him. That he didn't understand. Wanting to control how they used their powers to keep them–us–weak. To get rid of us, in the end.
And that's easy. I mean, it's horrible but it's easy.
I thought… I hoped that was all the ADI was. Your people fearing everything different. Because that would have made things simple. But… some of it's real. Maybe all of it’s real. And if that’s true there’s… no good answers.” Eda really, really doesn’t like that.
“If you really are trying… then you need to get your act together. But I think we’ve got a lot worse options than you.”
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"Working on getting my act together, and you won't have to suffer me forever. That's a promise. I've got three goals, and then I stop. Permanently. If I gotta assign someone to take me out, then that's fine. But I mean to stop. We need to fuck Zyrian over like he did to us, though. Help the people he's messed up in Wolf Pen and all over Appalachia... and then get all of you home. Or at least stop you from turning up. No one who's from a place like you are deserves to be in a place like this one, Eda. Ain't fair."
cw: suicidal ideation
"But you don't need to--don't promise that," Eda says, her tone a little softer. She'd started this conversation a lot more intent on chewing Nia out, but... she doesn't actually dislike her, and she doesn't want her to die or anything.
"Listen. I've... been there," she adds, glancing away. "Thinking you're too dangerous or--or thinking the most useful thing you can do is take the bad guys out with you." As much as she's sharing this, her tone sort of brushes past just how serious it is. She'll probably feel weird about admitting it later, but at least Nia isn't someone she's personally concerned will worry about her. It's the sort of thing that's a lot easier to mention to someone she isn't close with.
"And maybe it will come down to that. But don't plan for it. There's... other ways. Maybe if we solve all this there's a way for you to be human again."
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"If you say so," Eda says with a snort. She's pretty sure it's more a matter of if she didn't try to be optimistic she'd have a breakdown about all this, but hey, maybe everyone else is taking it, too.
"Yeah... you, too. On both counts." By which she probably means staying safe and being needed.
"I should get back to dealing with this mess, too." And as Eda turns to go, she gives Nia, well—it's a lot closer to a very half-hearted boyscout salute than anything else.