bittybat | W2, Wednesday

W2, Wednesday

Ok, but don't mind random injuries being added in narration throughout this depending on how... their stupid... breaking into the doctor's office goes...

[Wednesday afternoon, Damian reels Percy in for a little private chat. Manboy to manboy.] Has the Sheriff talked to you at all privately?

Has anyone said anything to you about the Sheriff talking to them in private? [Straight to the point.]

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Yes.

[...ah.]

Can I ask what he said to you?

[No, peRCY.]

I have to find someone. He wouldn't tell me who or what they are. If I find them, the game will be over.

[Oh fuck.]

Really. [That's a pretty heavy thing to handle.] And you thought that person might have been me. [And now he just feels bad that it's not, but on the other hand:] It's one person? Out of the forty of us?

Possibly. I thought you may have also known who it could have been. [Like... Annabeth, etc.]

It's just one person, as far as I know. Unless there's a catch I haven't considered. A pet, perhaps. I doubt it. That would make the game impossible, and that isn't the point.

They want a show.

Yeah, I don't think a pet is going to be what ends the game. [But he takes a deep breath to consider it.] We'll play the part for now. But let me help you somehow. I'll start looking around, feel people out, see who else might have talked to him. Can we agree on that?

[He looks a tad skeptically surprised.] I thought you wanted to stay alive for your girlfriend?

I do. But that doesn't mean I can't talk to people and keep an eye out that way. What's wrong with that?

Asking questions might make you suspicious to some people. They could target you, thinking you have a role. Be careful who you talk to at all.

They can threaten your girlfriend to get you to talk.

[Instead of being worried...he smiles.]

You haven't really talked to Annabeth, have you? I've seen her bring down monsters twelve times her size without breaking a swear. [He's very pleased with his intense barbarian-princess-esque girlfriend, apparently. But he gets the point.] I know it'll make me suspicious, to some people, but not to the ones I'm planning on building an alliance with. Besides, I'm used to people being suspicious of me. It'll feel just like home.

Are you suspicious of me?

I'm suspicious of everyone. [But he doesn't look at Percy when he says it.] Any one of you could be the person I'm looking for, even Todd.

Somehow I'm not surprised. [He continues to watch him, mostly curious about his responses.] Have you bothered asking Jason yet?

Not yet. I didn't want to risk telling anyone at all until I was certain. Especially Todd. We are from similar worlds despite our timelines, and I'm sure it could have been "fun" for the Sheriff's employers to make him my target.

You're worried about his safety. [Please deny that, Damian, he'll think it's hilarious.]

Here's what I don't understand. Say you find this person. They can end the game, sure, but what does that exactly mean? End it how? I'm guessing he didn't tell you that part either.

[Quickly:] I'm worried about my safety. [PERCY, STOP. HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT STUPID TODD. OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER.

A few moments pass before he answers, and he's peering uncertainly at Percy:] I have to kill them.

[Calm down, Satan. But in all seriousness he doesn't say anything to that other than another raised eyebrow. The statement is only met with a disconcerted look. He's a little angry, but it's not at Damian.]

...pretty rotten move sticking you with that job. And what happens if you don't kill them, did he tell you that part?

He'll kill me, is what he claims. Or, worse, and more preferable: send me to a timeline where everyone I know is dead. [The Sheriff said "love," but Damian will die before he admits anything like that, okay.] My biggest concern is he'll just pick someone else, and the game will continue.

[What if Percy just punches the Sheriff in the face? What if he does that? He looks really frustrated suddenly, eyes narrowed and jaw clenched even as his hands ball into fists at his side.]

I'm not going to talk about how that's "more preferable", but I want to talk about the part where timelines exist. Multiple timelines. How could he actually do that?

[...so gods and all sorts of other bullshit makes sense, but timetravel and alternate universes still trip him up.] You're sticking with it to make sure nobody else has to make that decision.

[Damian doesn't answer the last part on purpose. It's a little bit of empathy: no one else should have to do it. And it's also a little bit of pride: he can change it.]

There's different ways. Metahuman or alien powers, technologically advanced gates that open a hole in space-time. Todd is from my universe, but technically from a different timeline. Not in the sense of things are different, but in the sense he is from my universe's past.

Anyone can be pulled through, even multiple people from the same universe.

So let's say you find this person you need to kill. Sheriff's going to give you the chance to control the timeline and ending we get, but if they kill you first we're stuck in some kind of weird loop? [This is so stupid, alien bullshit is outside of his realm.]

Annabeth and I are definitely from the same timeline. She was with me right before we got here, too.

We exist, currently, outside of any of our universes. [At least Damian agrees with alien bullshit being stupid. LOOKING AT YOU, SUPERS.] I assume we're in a pocket of time decorated specifically for this game's purpose since when I questioned him about morality, he claimed morality didn't exist in a place with no morality at all.

We could be on a ship, but it's unlikely. If we are, we're here through virtual reality modifications. We won't know unless we test the boundaries of the setting.

But there could be fatal ramifications for that kind of experimentation. I planned to start small: the mines. I don't think the warnings of solely for just our health.

Could explain exactly why our powers aren't working either. If we're outside of our own territory it's entirely possible. [It's the reverse at home for some people, but he's familiar enough with the concept.]

I really don't think we're on a ship. Virtual reality? It's possible since our Sheriff's a robot. But if we're in a place morality doesn't exist maybe mortality doesn't either. [He folds his arms over his chest.] I still don't know if I like the idea of you doing this by yourself, but like I said, I know I can't stop you. If the warnings aren't for health...what, you think that's the exit of this time pocket, maybe?

[Damian opens his mouth, but surprisingly shuts it to let Percy finish.]

Not necessarily. It's possible, but it could just be a control hub. [Frowning, he's quiet for a minute or so.] Mortality doesn't exist. The dead aren't permanently dead. [He thinks about Jason, about himself. He doesn't like it.] But I can't know if it's a ploy. And that doesn't make murdering others the right way.

[Huh. He's learning. What a good Robin.]

It doesn't. So what are you going to do when it comes down to finding that person and choosing what you need to do to them? [He can only assume this is all why Damian asked him.]

[Damian's lips twist sourly. That's the entire damn problem.]

I'm going to stop this idiotic game before it gets to that point.

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