thecapitol | A Rokk and a hard place [CLOSED]

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A Rokk and a hard place [CLOSED]

WHO | Legionnaires
WHAT | Bringing a team-mate up to speed
WHEN | Before the end of the 'Thicker Than Blood' plot
WHERE | Starting in the elevators then off to somewhere private
WARNINGS | Probable mentions of violence that's about it

Waking up to find he'd been kidnapped just so he could compete in some death-match for people's entertainment wasn't exactly par-for-the-course in the Legion but it wasn't the worst position Rokk had ever found himself in either.

He'd taken in everything he'd been told about the situation calmly, asking the odd question and trying to get a feel for the position he was in. While he was confident with his powers he could overpower the soldiers who'd collected him he held off on trying anything, needing to know just what sort of forces he'd be facing. There was also the fact that anyone who'd consider making people fight to the death would have no compunctions when it came to harming innocents and he couldn't act until he knew there were no hostages who could suffer as a result. There was no sign of the rest of the Legion so he was holding out hope that they were looking for him even now. After all, capturing him was one thing but the entire team? That was a feat no one had managed yet. But that didn't mean he was going to just sit around and wait for a rescue.

So he'd obediently followed the so-called peacekeepers to the place where they told him he'd be staying and after briefly examining the room had set out to see what he could learn about this place called Panem.

His attention was on the communicator he'd found in the room, searching through the information it provided when the elevator stopped in front of him and the doors slid open. Stepping inside and hitting the button for the ground floor he spared only half-a-glance for the lift's other occupants before going back to what he'd been reading.

For half a second. Then his gaze snapped back up to actually look at his companions as he gaped in surprise.

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Said companions were not in the best of shape. Cham was distinctly tentacled under his sackcloth and seemingly incapable of taking his usual humanoid form and the other two were worse for wear due to the debacle with Brainy's mother.

Brainy had a bandage on the back of his neck and still had a massive welt and bruises on his face. The white of his eyes were splotched with red because of the blood vessels bursting during his torture, due to his blood pressure skyrocketing. Fortunately, subconjunctival hemorrhage looked more serious than it was.

Judging from the way Lyle was holding his arm, he was still a little unsteady on his feet, though, and he was dressed in clothing that wasn't the most typical for him, a t-shirt and sweats that he seemed to be wearing for comfort.

Despite whatever ordeal he'd been through, he seemed in high spirits the moment he saw Cosmic Boy. A ghost of a smile curved at the corners of his lips, one of those subtle Brainy smiles that were almost overpowered by the smugness he was radiating.

"Which floor?" he asked glibly, as if it was just a typical day, reaching his hand towards the elevator buttons.

Edited 2014-05-11 04:57 (UTC)

The hand Lyle wasn't using to support Brainy was bandaged. He was dressed atypically as well, in that he seemed to have color-coordinated his button-up shirt with his healing bruises rather than wearing his uniform.

"Where ever you were planning on going, stranger, better cancel those plans," Lyle drawled with a smile of his own. On one hand, he wouldn't wish this awful sprocking place on his worst enemy, much less a friend.

On the unbroken hand, the Capitol bringing Cosmic Boy here at all was almost as stupid as them bringing in Jan.

"We've got a better one. Please tell us that Boss-Man Gim has realized we're missing and sent you to find us."

The relieved half-smile the trio got in return was tempered with concern, Cos' gaze flicking over Brainy and Kid as he took in their injuries. It was impossible to tell if Cham was likewise hurt or not but the sheer fact he wasn't wearing his normal face was cause for concern on it's own. But they were walking around and seemed more up-beat than might be expected given the circumstances so he didn't think he needed to worry too much.

On the downside, there went any thoughts that the Legion might show up before this arena business came into play. Despite (thankfully) not being dead, it seemed likely they'd been through one of these matches or something similar already. Which was worrying since he didn't remember any Legionnaires having gone missing and they had to have been here for a while already.

And he knew better than to ask about it or say much of anything just yet when Lyle spoke, the established signal for 'we're being monitored, keep quiet and listen' alerting him to the situation. Wonderful. It just kept getting better and better.

Smirking at Lyle he shook his head and replied "No he didn't, but I don't think you can use that as a point against him when you try and steal the job again."

He got the picture, now to find out what they had to share.

"Seems like we're possibly all pulled from a similar point in our timeline. Seeing as you were freshly yanked and we were not and are therefore, very hungry, why don't we relocate to that big kitchen you guys showed me earlier."

Cham tapped a button with a tentacle.

Cos wasn't reacting as if any of them had gone missing. That definitely meant something strange was up with how they were all yanked.

"I don't know what's been told to you by the Jackboot Brigade but the short and skinny is that we've been brought here to this lovely version of Earth where they're forcing people from different dimension to fight in gladiatorial combat to the death, reviving most of them each time afterward. Lyle and Brainy know more than I do, though. They've been stuck here for a while but when I was brought in, they said I was just here as a visitor for some kind of family thing."

He held up a tentacle as if he'd almost forgot to mention something important.

"You can, by the way, join me in slapping Lyle and Brainy upside the head. The jig is up: these two knuckleheads went and broadcasted the fact we're all villains the moment they came in rather than keeping it a secret and trying to exploit what they could out of that."

There you go, Cos. The basics of the ruse.

"Brainy went and exposited his sad backstory all over everything."

Edited 2014-05-11 09:07 (UTC)

"The whole thing is televised and that means you have to maintain a public persona that makes you popular enough to be revived," Brainy said defensively. "Lyle and I already naturally have back-stories that are conducive to creating sympathy with the fans and our status as villains makes us seem 'dangerous' and exciting. It's a powerful combination in terms of creating a narrative."

Hint hint, Cos.

"But not so 'dangerous' that we stop being 'exciting' and start being a problem," Lyle said, shaking his head. "I don't care if he is depowered, bringing a version of the Progenitor here was a really bad idea. Especially when the Arenas have ways of temporarily restoring powers."

That about covered all of the pertinent information. Lyle was pleased with Cham and Brainy's ability to weave the information dump into natural-sounding dialogue.

"Sure, beats catching up in an elevator."

Tilting his head as he listened to Cham's explanation he frowned thoughtfully, trying to sort through everything he was hearing. It was a lot to take in, especially while trying not to react in the wrong way and give something away. Good thing their captors had chosen to bring two of the Espionage Squad's best then and Rokk and Brainy had done their share of deceptions before too.

"Why is it we're good fodder for gladiatorial death matches but you aren't? Is it only fun if they can recognise the limbs being lost?"

He couldn't stop the flicker of surprise when Cham informed him of the Legion's change in status, though Brainy's explanation cleared things up a little. They're selling a story and if he thinks about it 'heroes against the oppressive regime' isn't one likely to prove popular with said regime. It would also work in their favour, preventing them from being seen as an obvious threat to those in power.

To cover his reaction he shakes his head despairingly at Brainy, commenting "Really though? You thought the best thing to do was tell everyone? I thought you were supposed to be smart?"

Of course, this particular cover story does raise one particular glaring issue. But it's one the three of them will have already come up with a work-around for, he just needs to know what it is.

"But if we don't have to hide who we really are it will make these death matches easier." Translation: what's the reasoning for a bunch of self-professed villains not killing people?

But Lyle's words completely over-ride that concern. Rokk stares at him in shock, a chill crawling up his spine. He never saw what Jan Arrah became himself but the stories from the lost Legionnaires, the scars left in the second galaxy and the hatred Garth had faced just for having the wrong face had been enough. Now, if Jan- if the Progenitor is here....

One problem at a time. Focus on what's an immediate concern and sort through the rest later.

Lyle had also said the Progenitor had been depowered and that raises a question he hadn't even considered, one that's easy to answer for himself. It's the first time since waking up that he's tried to generate a mag-field and the absolute nothingness when he does... It's not a feeling he ever wanted to experience and the other's know him well enough they can likely pick up on the subtle signs that something else is amiss - besides, well, everything.

Still, he forces a light tone and shrugs carelessly. "Not what I'd really call a good idea no, but that's not our problem."

The door dinged and let them out. Moving slowly, so Lyle could continue help supporting him, he asked, "Should we bring him in on the bet, Lyle? You know he won't be able to do it. He's almost as bad as you."

He was talking, of course, about he and Lyle's fake wager that they could get through arenas without killing people - just for the challenge. Pretending they were more about "the games" than about survival helped smooth the way a bit in answering the "why are they villains that aren't killing people?" Being cavalier about death enough to just enjoy menacing people while keeping them alive was a believable thing for some.

"And he's hardly creative at finding ways to menace people that don't involve brute force."

What persona Cos adopted was up to whatever he felt was right but this was a little nudge in a direction Brainy thought would most protect him. If he wanted to roll with it, he could, if he didn't, he could protest it and establish what he wanted instead.

As far as Brainy was concerned, though, Rokk needed to look stupid, not even remotely cunning, and barely creative at all. If the Capitol got even a whiff of his intelligence or capacity for strategy - the same strategy that had allowed the Legion to overthrow more than one government regime - he would be gone so fast his ring would be left spinning in the air.

Edited (sorry hit enter too soon last time) 2014-05-13 00:34 (UTC)

"Yeah, Brainy was a jerk and bet me I couldn't get through a game without killing anyone to make my point," Lyle said, turning to Cos. "He knows I can't turn down a challenge. I wouldn't suggest you get involved in it though, because I will totally win and you'll just be embarrassed. It's not like government-sponsored assassin school didn't cover being both creepy and stealthy.

Cos looked...disconcerted. Off-balance. Lyle frowned. They were dumping a lot of information on him at once, sure, but he hadn't expected to genuinely off-set him. Or was he just getting into his role already?

"We bet our rings on it."

And there it was. He knew they'd have something.

It was easy to see where Brainy was leading and Rokk had to agree that it was exactly the right direction to go with the ruse. It would be preferable to be looked down on here and much as he'd always hated the stereotype of 'stupid, lazy Braalians' here was one instance where that kind of perception would work in his favour.

"Hey, anything you geeks can do I can match, easy. Just because I didn't go to some assassin school doesn't mean I can't be subtle. You all just assume I'm only good for breaking things."

Raising his left hand - it almost wasn't worth testing but he did anyway and of course it was a fake flight ring, although he'd dared to hope their captors simply hadn't known what the rings were and left them be - he looked at the ring like he was considering the matter then nodded firmly, prodding Lyle (gently - who knew what bruises he was hiding under his clothes?) in the chest.

"I'm in. We'll see who's 'uncreative' in the next arena."

They reached the kitchen and Cham got to work fixing them some snacks, many tentacles whipping out to do several things at once, pulling out plates and opening the fruit on the hunt for fruit and maybe some tofu to fry up.

"You guys should tell him more about how the whole thing works and how to handle that sponsor thing you were telling me about. I'm curious myself - you never know, they might pull a little surprise on us and keep me around."

"I suppose we should start with the background of this world. Make yourself comfortable," said Brainy, gingerly taking a seat at one of the tables there and giving Rokk one of his 'I'm about to get wordy' looks.

"It seems to be a standard Class 7-BXG34 Earth variant. No historical records before the existence of the ruling government of Panem are openly available, but there is enough that can be gleaned by a minor trawl through the darker public corners of the internet to gain some information on the state of the world. My best hypothesis would be that the current civilization is what was left after some kind of catastrophic societal shift, perhaps nuclear war. Our current location appears to be on the North American landmass, though the coasts seem to be heavily receded possibly via melting of polar ice caps. There is absolutely no sign of any contact or activity in the outside world, indicating that most of the world population is dead or that there has been a total breakdown in society and social structure outside of Panem."

A pause.

"Humans can be so depressing sometimes."

He went on, "Whatever near-mass extinction event is responsible for this may be something similar to the Cataclysm of the Earth that was in our home universe when it still existed. The current ruling government located here in the Capitol - which is often called 'The Capitol' for sake of brevity -" A concept that Brainy had apparently never once grasped in his life "-allows the residents here to reside in luxury while using the outlying districts for slave labor and the production of goods and agricultural products."

Might as well call it what it was. If they were evil, they wouldn't buy propaganda they'd be the types of people to understand its use.

"After a failed insurgency, the Capitol started a yearly event where the two children from each of the twelve district were forced to battle to the death in a televised spectacle that allowed for only one survivor."

He had to keep his face carefully free of his outrage over it.

"After further threats of rebellion, the Capitol found some manner of pulling potential Tributes from various dimensions to fight in their games, reviving most of them each time, as a display of their power that wouldn't cause the same rebellious sentiments."

The next part almost made him throw up to say. Complimenting these imbecilic child murderers that couldn't even a run a proper evil empire with what they had made him sick.

"It's an elegant system. Tasteless in some respects, as they still use a few children as Tributes. Clearly as a force for evil they don't prescribe to the same level of class we do, but Lyle and I have noticed there's quite a bit of artistry to it. Their propaganda, for instance, is impeccable. There's no fighting them, but we might find a means of escaping the Games by offering our services and cooperating with the Capitol government."

"Just let the sound of his voice wash over you, Cos," Lyle said. "You can almost make yourself believe it's soothing."

"Soothing, right."

It's not like he was expecting a government that would force people to murder each other not to be despicable but hearing the full extent of the horror was another matter entirely. Making children kill one another? That's a new low. While at least one of the Legion's detractors had in the past called them child-killers that was the furtherest thing in the galaxy from the truth and being faced with such a thing in reality sends a cold spike of fury through him.

Leaning back against a counter and watching Cham work, Rokk does his best to appear unaffected by what he's hearing. But his knuckles are white where he's gripping the edge of the countertop and if he still had a functioning mag-field - which he doesn't and that sends another lurch through him but it's not important right now, he can deal with it later - the kitchen would be in far worse shape right now.

"Anything else I should know?"

Lyle's comment got a sour little look from Brainy, his typical one when someone poked fun at his longwindedness.

(It was a briefing! Briefings were supposed to be longwinded!)

"Lyle, you should perhaps explain the intricacies of sponsorship since I rarely have anything to do with it."

He left all that to Lyle, given his ability to socialize with people - especially people as vapid as the Capitol citizens - was not exactly stellar.

Edited 2014-05-16 03:23 (UTC)

"So like Brainy said," Lyle continued smoothly, "the whole thing is televised. Naturally, sitting back and watching isn't nearly as fun as being able to interact with the Game, so the sentients watching at home can send things to their favorite Tributes. Food, supplies, weapons, all the things that could help you survive a little longer; maybe make it to the end. Between times in the Arena, while we're here in the Capitol; we get invited to parties so people can meet us and talk with us. It's a good way to drum up good will, or at least some interest. Or so I've been told."

He made a face.

"I showed up a week into the last Arena, so we'll see how we fare this time verses last time."

"And you used to comment when I got too into watching magnoball matches. At least I never got myself involved if I didn't like how my side was faring."

Which was not to say it hadn't crossed his mind on the odd occasion, when the Meteors were having a bad season or similar, prior to Pol starting to play. But he hadn't ever actually done so.

On the plus side, while Brainy would need to be kept away from anyone they wanted to make a positive impression on he and Lyle could handle that business easily enough and he was confident in their ability to win people over, villains or not. It would be just like having to impress politicians again... Of all the things he hadn't missed.

"How did you two fare last time? Or should I see if I can get a recording and see for myself?"

"They bombed. I saw some of the footage."

Some. He couldn't stomach much more than that.

"Since Lyle came in late, they only had the support of the sponsors Brainy had managed to wrangle up, and apparently having hardly any food in them is an ongoing trend."

Without looking up from the pan, a tentacle slipped out from under his sackcloth to root through the fridge for some peppers.

"I'm glad at least one of us is getting to stay to help these two out. They're hopeless."

It was a horrible situation but the alternative was some of their team-mates going through that horrible situation alone. They always had more strength in numbers. He wanted to stay just as much as he didn't want to and any Legionnaire would've felt the same thing.

Brainy let out a little self-accepting sigh.

"As you know, I am not the most adept at ingratiating myself with strangers socially. Because of that - and Lyle not having had the chance to do it himself - we had very few consumable supplies. That, coupled with my faster-than-human metabolism, presented certain challenges that couldn't be overcome."

He leaned against his hand.

"We should be better off this arena because Lyle's managed to engage the support of several sponsors and you might manage a few before the arena starts. We've also made a few alliances with some individuals that might be at least somewhat trustworthy. We need to work on what public face we're all going to present, however. We've gone mostly with the truth, but we've put certain emphasis on parts of our past for the sake of our public personas. We need to ensure the way you present yourself is coherent with how we've marketed ourselves."

Aka he just gave them all an excuse to share fake backstories and make sure they were all on the same page.

If he'd learned anything from the time they'd already spent here, it was that Lyle was hosting the next meeting of the Espionage Squad in Brainy's lab so he could get his input. It wasn't helping Lyle burn off his crush, but Brainy was getting pretty sprocking good at double-speaking.

"I've mostly been going with pre-adolescent government assassin and master poisoner--" He narrowed his eyes at Brainy. "--Which is not "idiot for 'biochemist'", thank you very much. But I have talked about my history with biochem and engineering to the science-types here. I've also mentioned that I still dabble in wet-work and admitted being a bad thing that happens to bad people with an honor code."

Cos had only been semi-serious about finding the footage of Lyle and Brainy's prior arena exploits initially but Cham's response meant he was definitely going to have to watch it. It wouldn't be enjoyable seeing his teammates - his friends - suffer but he needed to know what to expect from the arena, what they'd been through and what their mental states were. And to start working on these sponsors himself so their chances were better next time around.

Pushing that concern aside for the moment, he turned his attention to Lyle as he related his chosen cover story. Which, really-

"Master poisoner? You've honestly been going around telling people that?" Oddly enough, he had no doubts Lyle would be fairly adept at poisoning if he ever chose to try his hand at it - though more likely in the realms of making his target violently ill than actually killing them. If Infectious Lass had survived the loss of their home reality the two of them could've made a truly terrifying combination.

Shaking his head he glanced over at Brainiac 5. "So what does that make you?"

"I've mostly told the truth but with particular emphasis on both the more sympathetic and more sinister aspects of my history."

He shot a sour look at Cham.

"I've exposited some aspects of my backstory to individuals with similar ones. State property of the Coluan government, treated as if I was a freak because of my genetic differences despite lacking the extreme advanced intelligence of my villainous forebears, forcibly recruited into the Legion until we tired of being political tools and constantly having our lives endangered."

He waved his hand vaguely and hoped - rather desperately - that Rokk would accept the story as exaggerated falsehood for the sake of the ruse like Lyle had seemed to rather than asking uncomfortable questions about its veracity later when they had the freedom to speak more freely.

So far, even after years and years of being a Legionnaire, he hadn't disclosed those specific details about his childhood. At most, he'd made veiled insinuations that it had been an unpleasant one - something that was obvious given his people's treatment and often open hatred of him - but he'd never openly admitted the specifics.

But the best lies were ones based in truth and he'd known that he'd need the simplest ones possible, given he wasn't the best actor in the Legion.

"We've put our point of rebellion as being primarily because of what happened to Jan and Monstress, just as it was in reality. I've also made it clear I more often support the Legion's efforts more with mechanics and logistics rather than open villainy, but that I still hold the same villainous ideals and selfish inclinations. It's been successful so far in creating a persona that viewing public can romanticize. Judging from internet postings, some seem to think I can be 'saved' -" He looked amused here, as if he found the idea ludicrous "- others see me as 'bad' enough to be interesting without being so menacing that they're frightened of me. The sympathetic aspects make it so we can use our villainy as a point of interest for the viewers without our fellow Tributes excluding us entirely as prospects for alliance."

He shrugged.

"Sometimes the truth is a stronger narrative than any fiction could possibly be."

Edited 2014-05-23 23:05 (UTC)

"Speaking of the truth..."

Lyle pointed at Cham and Cos, narrowing his eyes. "I'm Chemical King. No more 'let's tell everyone that Lyle's codename is something goofy'. It's bad for business. Chemical. King."

Of the Legionnaires here, Cos was the one most likely to refer to Lyle as 'Kid' in high-stress situations. Might as well make that work for them, and establish Lyle's cover identity at the same time.

"Naturally, I'll still answer to 'Lyle' and 'Norg', but if we're going to be formal..."

He nods at Brainy's supposed backstory like it's all old news though it was considerably harder not to react to Brainiac 5 suggesting he was lacking in intelligence. As for the specifics of said backstory, Rokk didn't question them for the moment, taking them as exaggerations of a presumably neglectful upbringing.

Rolling his eyes at Lyle like this was an old argument he replied, "Whatever you say 'your majesty.'"

He had best consider that himself - Cosmic Boy wasn't an especially villainous name either. Fortunately it would be fairly simple to address. He could even take a page from the Legion of Supervillains they'd encountered when fighting alongside the other Legions if he was feeling particularly uninspired.

And now it was his turn, wasn't it? "I know disgraced magnoball champion might not sound as impressive as teen assassin or descendant of Brainiac but I'm sure I can sell it to people. And it will be good to have some fans again. I've missed the spotlight."

Cham started moving plates filled with cut fruit to the table, though the other tentacles were still working on whatever he was cooking up.

"You talk as if you're not always trying to be the center of attention. You're a worse attention hog than me."

Friends ribbed each other about themselves. A good ribbing about that personality trait would help to make it seem true.

"Now that most of the pertinent details of our captivity have been relayed to you, there's also the matter of Jan to discuss," Brainy said, briefly noting how Cham's tentacles seemed to tighten around the cooking implements he was working with when he said it.

"We have to decide what to do. Sometimes these arenas allow people to regain powers, though often in a limited fashion, but his control over his powers could mean that just a small increment of his powers might allow him to transmute himself in such a way that he removes whatever method of power inhibition they use. He was able to sense and heal a micro-lesion in my brain that was undetectable to all medical scans."

Edited (haha a microlegion in his brain) 2014-06-12 05:22 (UTC)

They can wisecrack their way through the rest of this horrible mess, but the topic of Jan sobers even Lyle.

"I'd say we should try to keep an eye on him to prevent that, but the Arenas seem to be pretty big. Brainy and I found each other through a combination of sheer luck and the fact we think alike; it's possible we won't find him until after he activates his powers. And it's possible that, when that happens, we might be without our own."

He traced his fingertips over the tabletop, mouth set in a grim line.

"What we'll be able to do will be limited to what weaknesses his limited powers leave us."

Jaw tightening Rokk studied the three silently. He'd long given up the notion of a fair universe but it still seemed too much to put Brainy and Cham through this again

"Too much to hope that they'll be smart enough not to let him get any power back. Or that he won't last that long." The latter seemed possible - Jan would be unused to defending himself without his powers. As cold as it was it would be best if he died early on. But they couldn't bank on that happening.

He tried running through their options in his head but there were few enough not to be worth it. Without any idea of the arena's layout beforehand or what resources they'd have and no way to track Jan there was little they could do to plan ahead.

"Seems to me we're just going to have to play this one by ear. If we can find out if he has any associates or allies we can keep a look out for them too. It might give us some leads way to find him." Also not something Rokk had much hope of though. "If any of us run into him alone I think we should avoid a confrontation." He shot Lyle a pointed look as he spoke. Lyle seemed the one most likely to get it into his head to try and take on the Progenitor on his own and also most likely to ignore an order not to.

"That might not matter," Cham said, his voice tense in a way that was completely genuine. He didn't look at his friends because he didn't want them to see the hateful expression on his face.

He had grieved for Jan like the rest of them, even despite his anger, but he and Saturn Girl had been the ones that had been there. That had seen Candi ripped apart with their own eyes. They were the ones that hadn't moved fast enough to save their friend.

"You're talking as if he'll let you avoid one. We were trying to avoid one when we lost -"

He couldn't bring himself to say her name.

"He needs to go down."

And that was not the fake villainy speaking, that was his own anger. But then he'd always been the one that had come the closest to breaking their oath.

Brainy leaned his elbows against the table, steepling his fingers, taking on his sternest expression, the one he always used when explaining how close they all were to certain doom.

"I'm loathe to suggest it - this is one of our own, after all - but in terms of threat assessment and the potential he has to end this world, an action that's even beyond us despite our darker natures..."

He drew in a deep breath and let it out.

"The risk he poses is too great to leave unchallenged, Rokk. If the Capitol underestimates in the slightest - like they underestimated my mother - the results could be beyond disastrous. Especially if he manages to seize whatever means they brought us here. His existence here could lead to multiversal catastrophe. If any of us run into him, unless one of us knows the others are immediately nearby to gather as backup, I -"

He didn't want to say this because then it meant he might have to be the one to do it, and despite his often harsh demeanor, he'd never come close to killing. Out of all of them, he perhaps had the greatest emotional need to never do it, because of who he was and where he'd come from.

Yet he was still advocating it anyway.

"I believe that the best course of action in an encounter, if backup isn't available, is for the person there to make an attempt at...neutralizing the threat he poses." He shut his eyes tight for a moment and then did his friend, and their code of honor, respect by calling it what it was. Blinking them open, he added, "Correction: we should kill him. I won't mince words - the Jan we knew deserves better than that."

He lowered his hands to the table, pressing them against it as if trying to fight the urge to fidget uncomfortably with them.

"In the time it takes to gather the others, he might find some means in an arena to fully overcome his power restraints." He shook his head. "You weren't there, Rokk. You didn't see the Rosette, the fleets larger than any in the United Planets, fleeing from his wrath. You didn't hear the genocidal hymns of the Progeny or see - feel - Candi die. I know that must make it seem that those of us who did couldn't possibly be objective but it's quite the opposite. The rest of the Legion will never be able to understand what a galaxy in the shadow of the Progenitor is like. We'll never be able to describe it in mere words alone."

It had changed them. It had changed the Lost Legionnaires and everyone knew it. They hadn't been broken, certainly, and when they'd first returned they'd seemed like their old selves. But the eventual death of the universe had peeled back the outer layers that made them seem like the Legionnaires they'd been before and revealed something hard as steel underneath.

They now had a quiet sort of solemnity, an inner peace, in the face of tragedy or hopelessness, because they'd done it before. They'd been lost before. It meant it was easier for them to believe they'd get unlost.

It also meant many of them now leaned a bit more in the direction of pragmatism in the face of overwhelming evil.

Edited 2014-07-23 07:58 (UTC)

"Makes sense to me," Lyle said, because it was easier than I'll do it.

Reep likely wasn't even going to be in the Arenas, and having to kill someone -- even someone who would be a clear and present threat to all life in all realities -- well, it would probably break Brainy. It probably wouldn't break Rokk, but Lyle didn't want to see him have to make that choice and deal with the psychological fall-out. Not if he could take that burden instead.

Besides, they'd start arguing with him if he flat-out volunteered; and that might draw more attention to their little complete failure to kill anyone else than they wanted.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A Rokk and a hard place [CLOSED]

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skipping cham this round. I'll just pop him in where appropriate as we go.

Re: skipping cham this round. I'll just pop him in where appropriate as we go.

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Infodump Sorry not sorry, what do you expect from Brainy?

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Brainy really needs to stop expositing over everything it's making a mess :\

NEVER

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