tushanshu | voice post; anon location

Entry tags:

voice post; anon location

These

things are

still glitching, yeah? I

should repeat ever

ything four times

make sure

it gets

out, but that'd make

it take

four times longer

than

normal.

Voice post

cause somebody

thought it was a

good idea to

make me sit

through The Ring.

The static

creeps me out.

Everybo

dy see

how

Dumbass went and Mal

icent'ed up the joint?

Is there

something that

I never

got taught? Some rule

about

how when you

take

over you

have to

make the HQ

look

like an

evil

HQ? Interior Design

for Superv

illains 301. I mean. Seriously. Wi

th the black

and the spikes.

It's

like a vid

eo game.

Check

that.

It IS

a video

game. And I've played

about

17,000

versions

of it.

That's the

giant ass

dungeon

that you can't get into

until

you're leveled

. It's Bo

wser's Ca

stle.

It's

Ganon's Tower. It's

Ice

crown Citadel, and

I'm in

full 245s.

I know

where this is

gonna go. Can't miss

it, because

Dumbass made

it look

like Evil Vegas.

So we

walk

waltz or

storm or

sneak

into the

castle and

avoid

the lava

and the

fire and the falling

shit that's

always there. Always. Falling. Shit. Note to

self:

helmet. Get to the

throne room

and duke it

out,

only they take a

helicopter

or trap

door or

leap off the

balcony

because the

game's not

over yet.

Anybo

want to

catch

a cultist and fi

nd out where

the escape route

goes so

we can

cut

that one off?

Or they

tell us where

he really

is. Cause it ain't

under the

neon arrow

sign saying

"Evil Overlord Lives

Here." Don't

tell me

that

video games

aren't

educa

tio

nal.

Look. I

know you're

pissed. Maybe I deserve

it. That's

not even a real

maybe

. I already told you before

that I'm a

moron. So could you

at least spell

out what I did

wrong?

I kissed you. You

freaked.

You

kissed me,

and I

was still

stuck on the freaking?

But then you

act like it's fine and you

came back to

sleep over. I dunno what

I coulda

done different, but I

obviously did

something wrong so. I'm s

orry.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Hayley heads immediately for Bart's place. Although the post was from a cafe, she knows he might be home already. If not, she'll wait. Maybe Kon was right and they she shouldn't have been avoiding him, but she never thought he would do this.

Her entire body is tense with anger, hands balled in fists at her sides as she knocks. Talking about things is bad enough, but publicly broadcasting it goes too far and she's not okay with that at all.]

[Bart is returning from the cafe when he sees Hayley knocking on the door, and he comes to a full stop about 10 feet behind her. She does not, in fact, look happy. Not even mollified.

Well, he's ripping off the band-aide anyway. He might as well go through with it.]

I'm here.

[Hayley rounds on him as soon as she hears his voice, storming the few steps to close most of the distance between them. She keeps her volume low, but is doing her best to yell at him as much as the quiet will allow.]

What the fuck are you doing? Telling the whole turtle about our problems instead of just showing up and demanding I stop avoiding you like a normal person? What exactly were you hoping to accomplish?

[Of all the times to nail the reaction. Bart blinks at her fury for a second and then shakes his head.]

I was going for 'non-confrontational'. Turning up and demanding is usually how I get into arguments. And I know that you don't think metahumans should tell anybody how to be, so that's already two strikes on that idea. Third's that I'd kinda... rather not have the conversation in person. Maybe you were too busy avoiding me to notice I was avoiding you.

[He shrugs slightly and finds it's easier to look at her forehead than her eyes.]

Besides. I encrypted it. I didn't know it wasn't working.

Edited 2014-05-03 19:56 (UTC)

[Uncharacteristic of her normal control, Hayley wants to scream. Instead, she just holds up her hands in a gesture as if to stop him right there, dropping her eyes to allow herself a moment to breathe. When she looks up again, her outright anger has been reigned in, pulling at the edges of her expression but not overcoming it.]

I don't care about the glitching, [She replies as calmly as she can manage, misunderstanding his comment on the encryption for a comment on the consoles' recent quality or lack thereof.] I care about you not, in fact, encrypting it.

[Hayley becomes suddenly self-aware, glancing at the empty streets around them.] Can we go inside and talk about this please?

[His mouth opens to start refuting that, but the request to go inside is a good one, given that he was very recently publicly calling Malicant a dumbass.]

Sure. [Bart heads past her and unlocks the door, stepping inside and holding it open. That's about as long as he can hold his tongue though.]

I did encrypt it. I used Rob's encryptions. I haven't used Jor-El's since the whole... thing.

[She immediately follows him, stepping past him and inside once the door is open. Then she turns to look at him again, giving him the chance to speak before she freaks out some more. There are really just too many things to yell at him for that she has to focus on one at a time. First the lack of encryption, then his avoiding her, then the kiss, then his calling Malicant out - or maybe that one could go above the whole relationship drama.

His words only serve to confuse her and it shows on her features.] What do you mean you encrypted it? It was the same as the rest of your message.

No, it wasn't. Or. It wasn't supposed to be. I know how to encrypt things, y'know. I do it all the time. Maybe not as often as I should, but I know better than to tell the whole city everybody's secret identities. Or who I've been kissing.

[Bart flinches a little as he speaks.] Especially when it's part of the same rant 'bout Malitron.

[She grimaces at his remark. Hayley considers. Although the end result is the same, it's not exactly like she can blame him for doing what he could within the confines of his knowledge. She sighs and lifts a hand, running her thumb along the crease between her brows while simultaneously hiding her expression for a second and the fear that accompanies it.

When she drops her hand, Hayley appears to be tapering off in her anger, exasperated but less inclined to yell. Her gaze doesn't meet his, fixed on an irrelevant point on the wall behind him.] Okay. I'm going to assume you didn't mean to call me a moron and that that was just a trick of the system, like the whole you broadcasting our issues to the entire city thing was.

So, fine. Do you have something to say or should I go?

I didn't say you're a moron. I said I'm a moron. [Even the glitching was against him, and Bart had no way of proving it to her. Like everything he said, it had all been unscripted and off-the-cuff. There were no cue cards to produce that would prove that he'd said anything but what she'd heard. He was screwed, but maybe not badly. She wasn't storming off.]

Yeah. I'm sorry. For - whatever I did. Just let me know what I'm apologizing for so I don't go doing it again.

[He knows that it's a terrible apology, but he has to try, anyway. Avoiding her takes a tremendous amount of effort. He'd like it to stop. He doesn't have enough close friends that he can afford to waste them.]

[She believed him. It would be unlike him to call her a moron and him calling himself one, while not entirely normal, seemed to fit with the kind of things he would say. Hayley was about to wave it off when he continued and she tensed slightly. Her arms crossed without conscious thought, still staring at that blank spot on the wall.

She was silent for a time that stretched between them. While she tried to hurry her thoughts, knowing each moment for her was an eternity for him, it was difficult.]

I know I freaked out, but.. you basically said you kissed me for no reason and then promised me you never wanted to do it again. I thought I was doing the right thing kissing you back, but whatever, I figured it out. I was way off base and that's not what you wanted and you were just trying to let me down easy.

[She frowned at the wall.] So now we get to pretend nothing happened and try to be whatever we were before. Friends, I guess? You don't have to apologize, but don't expect me to be all overjoyed about me being an idiot and making another huge mistake.

[Admittedly, not quite attacking Superman huge, but still pretty terrible. Especially now that it was broadcast to anyone willing to listen.]

[Oh look. They hadn't run over this topic from every horrifically awkward angle yet.]

No specific reason. Not one with thought behind it. You haven't known me long enough, but I'm not exactly overloaded with foresight here, OK? My codename used to be Impulse. It fit really well.

[He sighs a little. This is getting off track, and there's so many topics as it is.] So it wasn't exactly no reason. And - I'm pretty sure I promised never to do it again or something like that. [It wasn't the same thing. Close, but you could fit worlds into the gap.]

You didn't make a mistake, and I didn't stop being your friend. Wouldn't, even if you had. It takes a lot. I've been slammed into a dump truck by Kon. Uh. Well, I have. He hasn't done it yet. I hate time travel. Anyway... I'm not sure where the breaking point is, but it's high, OK? So always assume friends.

[Hayley sighed with renewed exasperation, dropping her hands down to her sides again. Her fists uncurled, her posture remained stiff. She finally looked over to him, her frown never lessening. His clarifications weren't helping anything. In fact, they were making the whole thing worse.]

Bart, do you want to be friends or.. not-friends? [She asked awkwardly, trying to take Kon's advice and talk it out.

Hayley wasn't sure that she could play friends with the ambiguity sticking around and she would be disappointed in herself if she let the opportunity pass without even giving it a shot. Dating was a thing normal teenagers did, after all. Besides, she didn't want to lose him, for a lot of reasons, most of which she knew were kind of selfish.]

I mean, well, you keep explaining all these things and I can't tell if that means you really do want to just pretend it never happened or if you actually want to maybe try and see how it goes but you're just saying you don't because.. I don't actually know why you would, but..

[She lifted both hands to wrap around her neck, elbows pulling together awkwardly in front of her chest.] Please just tell me so I can stop talking.

[Bart starts at the question, genuinely concerned that it's whether or not they even want to be friends anymore. They might not have been as communicative lately, but he'd never considered saying 'forget this, it's too complicated'.

The rest of what she says relaxes him somewhat, but he's not sure if they're playing on the same field.]

Don't call it not-friends unless that's literally what you're asking, do I wanna not be friends? It's confusing. The answer is no if that is what you're asking. Friends is a minimum, OK? For me, that's like the least I wanna be.

I keep screwing this up. I want you to be the one picking, not me. I'm not saying I don't. I'm saying... I don't know how to say what I'm saying. [He knew what he was trying not to say. There'd been this... vibe to something she'd said about her dad, and Bart didn't want to touch it with a 10-foot-pole. He didn't want to be the one to define things because it didn't feel right, but they couldn't both default to the other's decision. That she was almost choking herself to get through the conversation was a bad sign. Wasn't it?]

Because I dunno if I'm right, and I'd rather be wrong, and I'm no good at not saying things. And who says I want you to stop talking? I missed talking to you.

Sorry, words are.. hard. [She offered with a light smile, trying to hide how deeply uncomfortable she was with a facade of lighthearted fun instead.

If Bart was paying close attention, he might notice the shift, that her actions suddenly seemed more deliberate and that her expression was painted on. Hayley was now playing the role of normal teenage girl because it was easier than trying to be herself. She was suddenly much more at ease.]

I meant to be like, so articulate. [She chuckled slightly, dropping her gaze and then looking up to him again.] It's.. not really something either of us can choose, unless the other agrees.

[Slowly, hesitantly, she stepped forward to close most of the space between them, coming to stand only a foot or so away. She looked up at him, a confidence in her expression that wasn't there a moment before.]

I don't understand.. What do you hope you're wrong about?

But I'm gonna agree. So... what's so hard about telling me what you want? I thought you were bossy. Full control of the situation. It's yours. I'm like gift-wrapping a chance to tell me what to do, and you're not doing it. So. I guess that means you want friends? I can do that. I swear.

[It would be better that way, he told himself. Losing a friend wouldn't hurt so much.

When she came closer, she didn't look nervous or scared. Certainly not like anyone who'd been through that, not anywhere in the same zone as traumatized. He was way off the mark with that assumption.]

Nothing. It doesn't matter. [He wanted to cringe at the terrible word choice when it hit his own ears and had to remind himself that the only reason why it didn't matter was because it didn't happen. If it had, it'd matter, but it didn't so it doesn't. Everything's fine, and he needs to stop pretending to have any great insight.] Just me being dumb. I used to think baby powder was made out of babies. This is nothing.

[Well, if there were any doubts in her mind before, they were gone now. There was no more chance for confusion or misunderstanding, for subconsciously choosing to interpret things in the worst way possible. There was only a question of if she wanted it or not. And she did.

Hayley lifted her hands to rest on his chest, lowering her eyes to watch the way her fingers created soft dents in his shirt, pressing against him. It was something she had done once before with him, something that still felt as simultaneously comfortable and foreign as it had before.]

I want you to be my boyfriend. [She told his chest. Even playing a role, it was hard to get out the words. One of the last things Hayley expected to happen in this place was finding a relationship - or, more specifically, agreeing to one.

Her lips curved into a smile and she looked up at him again.]

[His eyes followed her hands to his chest, unsure if she was going to physically push him away as part of the rejection. It didn't make sense - why reach for him to shove him away - but neither did lipstick and girls used that all the time. Bart doesn't expect sense.

But no, there was no force behind it. She was just. Touching him. It was nice, really, and nicer still was what she said. Bart couldn't help tucking his chin and smiling the sort of smile that someone gets when they don't care who sees how happy they are. Warm and open, without any lopsided smirking, eyes almost drifting shut.

Hearing someone say they like you too, in whatever words, is always bolstering. It's not that he was looking for an ego boost, but he'll still take it.]

OK. So you're my girlfriend then.

[Bart's smile was contagious. Hayley wasn't sure she was making the right decision. That smile was all the evidence she needed that she already wasn't as invested in this thing as he was and that meant she was using him in some way. But she also wasn't ready to get rid of him and this seemed as good a time as any to try to work her way up to whatever it was he was feeling. Or, at the very least, to keep him around for the comfort and protection he provided.]

Good. [She rose up on the balls of her feet to kiss him lightly, something casual. It was easier to let the facade fade away now that that was settled.]

Now we can talk about why you're provoking the Big Bad Wolf and how Kon was talking about starting a team, which I'm totally going to be on because I have weapons and can do magic, which I definitely would have told you about sooner if we weren't both, you know, avoiding each other and everything.

[Bart didn't want to move on from this. He doesn't get to relax and enjoy life so much nowadays, and this is as good a reason as he's going to get to do so. The cute friend that he likes likes him. Shouldn't they get to enjoy that for a few minutes before dredging up Malicant?

No, because half the reason why he likes her is that she keeps him guessing. Keeps him on his toes with abrupt subject changes. Bart feels like she keeps up with him, the way she can slam into another conversation with no warning.

But he really wants another kiss.]

Because it's what I do. What, you want me to ignore him? Not gonna happen. Ever. I know I'm making myself a target. I'm cool with that. That's... kinda what vigilantes do, y'know. That's what'll happen if you're on a team with me and Kon.

[He is visibly upset by the very idea. It's not that Bart has a problem with human heroes, female heroes, or young heroes, but every one he's ever known has joined the team as a valid, capable hero. He and Kon have never trained anyone, and Hayley's reasoning for the K affair made it very clear that she was a normal girl. No. He doesn't want her on the team.]

Having weapons doesn't mean you know what to do with them. And since when can you do magic? You don't just suddenly turn into a wizard.

I don't want you to ignore him, but do you really have to do the whole 'look at me I'm right here' thing? [She sighs a little.] At least stay at my place tonight, okay?

[She frowns up at him, not entirely sure why he looks so displeased. Her instant concern is that he'll tell her she can't be on the team, the exact reaction she expected, the one Kon told her he'd deal with. Maybe she should have waited for him to be around before telling Bart about it.

The whole romance thing made her slip again, get sloppy in what she's telling him and how. Hayley silently curses herself for screwing up again.]

I do though. [Her hands fall away from his chest and she takes the half step backward to create distance between them again, the physical reflecting the emotional.] And since Sabriel started teaching me months ago. After Hannibal murdered me.

Yeah. I do. I don't run around in bright primary colors because I think red and yellow look awesome together. But that sounds good, OK? I'll stay with you for now.

[It wasn't a bad idea. It wasn't a great idea; Bart was convinced her place would be one of the first that someone checked for him, if he wasn't at home. Maybe they'd his place getting blown to smithereens from her house. It wasn't that far away.]

OK. Let me get this straight. You - the girl who loves giving all of us crap about secret identities, costumes, powers, everything. You've been learning magic all this time, and you didn't even say anything? I've honest with you. 80% honest. But about me, I haven't been hiding stuff. I could've. [He rubbed at his cheek as he floundered for words.] Helped, or something.

[Her mind was already working on a brilliant retort when he agreed to stay at her place. Just like that. She let the subject go, first surprised at how easily he agreed and then surprised to find she actually cared a great deal about it - about him, and his safety. Obviously that meant time for a change of subject.]

Okay, there's a gargantuan, monumental difference between that and this. You're talking about lying to everyone you care about about what you do. Which isn't even that terrible aside from the whole lying about who you are as a general thing? Except that you completely take their choice away from them. They can't choose whether or not they want the life or to help or whatever. You make the choice for them, you take away their power to choose and say it's for their own good. Just like villains do.

[A beat.] I really don't think I've ever criticized anyone for having secret powers. Like, I don't know where you keep your costume? And I didn't learn about that whole phase-through-walls thing until way later and I didn't freak out about that. Everyone has exit strategies and secret weapons and aces up their sleeves. And, okay, I probably have more than most but that's part of why you like me, right?

[She flashed him an intentionally flirtatious smile, tilting her head as she looked up at him. Then she offered a remark meant to be offhand, but one she realized the truth of as soon as it left her lips:]

You help me by being here and trusting me, even when I don't always give you reason to.

Edited (added dialogue, then html issues) 2014-05-06 05:09 (UTC)

[Whereas Bart hadn't really thought twice about agreeing. She was his friend - girlfriend - and he would take whatever time offered.]

Woah. Let's get one thing straight. I don't hide it from the people I love. And most of the people I care about - almost all of them've known for a long time. If the few that didn't - two? Maybe three - I'm pretty sure they figure it out when I disappear and there's a public funeral for a superhero and everyone's like 'by the way, his name was Bart Allen.' It's their choice to stick around. It's not my fault that almost everybody I know is completely badass. I'd take odds on my Grandma against just about everyone. It's not like I'm keeping it from my family and not telling the girl I'm dating until after we're married - has happened, actually. So don't put me on par with the villains because I'm not introducing myself as Bart Allen, speedster, Teen Titan, superhero.

[Bart just. Stared at her when she says that she's never criticized anyone for secrets and powers. He wasn't religious, but this was only serving to underline that, if there was a smiting sort of god, he or she no longer existed because Hayley should be smote for a whopper that big.

But she was right about her secretiveness being part of her appeal. What she didn't seem to get was that it annoyed him almost as much as it interested him because, at some point, he'd like to see what she's hiding. No matter how much he showed her, he thought as he released the catch on his ring without bothering to catch his uniform as it sprang out, she never bothered to return the favor.]

I don't hide things. Vibrating through solids was an oversight. I don't run down the entire checklist of ways I can use my powers, geez.

Edited (Html fail. Twice.) 2014-05-07 01:11 (UTC)

Wait, you were married?

[Because that's clearly the most important part of what he said. Hayley didn't know what to say to his response. Bart was right that he didn't exactly hide it. He had told her way before they know each other well at all and she realized that her argument was actually meant for someone else.

She jumped back a step, out of instinct, when the costume sprung from his ring, not quite realizing what it was. Then she reached down to pick it up, turning it over for just a second before she recognized it. Hayley rolled it loosely around her crossed arms to avoid it dragging on the floor and then hugged it against herself as she looked up at him again. Her eyes scanned to find its source, noticing the open ring on his finger.]

Fancy trick. [She smiled up at him, almost adoringly, because it really was such a cool thing to see. It also served as a reminder of what had drawn her to him in the first place, that simultaneous simplicity and complexity. Then her smile waned.]

It's not like I'm trying to hide what I can do. You never asked. You always just assumed I couldn't do anything.

[It wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't a lie either. Hayley really didn't have interest in hiding her abilities from Bart, just some of her history and some of her resources. Oh and maybe some of the dark places she was willing to go.]

So, okay. Let's play checklist. After I was murdered, I started learning magic from Sabriel, I found the Kryptonite at an auction, I asked Tony for a weapon, I sort of made a deal with the Batman to start training, and I talked to Jason about different ideas for revenge over a shared.. whatever alcohol that was.

Then Jason left, the Batman's ignoring me, it's technically a plasma rifle not an anti-speed gun, you know how the whole Kryptonite thing went, and now I can do magic. Pushing, pulling, fire, immobilizing, and healing, in case you're wondering. So stop treating me like a helpless kid and if you want to know something, just ask.

[Hayley knew she had denied him answers to questions before, or lied about them, but it was different now. She was in too deep in this place not to have good allies - and friends. Bart was a protection and a valuable resource, but he was also someone she had begrudgingly come to actually care about. As long as he didn't learn the things she didn't want him to, she trusted him with everything else.]

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