I13DT: Home Improvement

[Will Stanton]

In his office, Will was finishing nailing a shelf into the wall. Atop the shelf sat the Morrigan action figure (w/o kung fu grip), flanked by two candles.

He stood back, admired his handiwork, and nodded.

((open))

[Ryan Gabriel]

There was a knock on the door from Ryan. He was feeling... more than a little shaky after the whole 'punch reality and make it your bitch' session with Aria, but was managing. The big-ass chocolate milkshake he was making his way through seemed to be helping with this.

[Will Stanton]

"Entre Vu!" Will called. "Oh, Ryan--send our...guest off?"

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Well, it sure looked like a different future version of the campus, so... Yeah, I'd say so. Side note: I'll be glad to never do that again."

[Will Stanton]

"I'll be sure to take a note of that. What brings you down here?"

[Ryan Gabriel]

He shrugged, leaning against the doorway. "Wanted to see how you were doing, really. Given... well, every single bit of the past day." His eyes swept the room on reflex, lingering a second on the makeshift shrine without showing any reaction on his face. Wait, really?

[Will Stanton]

It may be noted that said shrine was next an old tattered circus poster advertising the Amazing Nightcrawler, and smaller portraits of former X-Leads--including Ryan, actually.

"I've been better, but I'm coping. I"m actually a lot better than I thought I would be."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Kinda lampshades our lifestyle when we can look at something like this and say 'I've had worse,' doesn't it?" he asked with a wry smile.

[Will Stanton]

Will gave a wry chuckle back. "You're right about that. I'm just glad you guys got to me before any permanent damage could be done."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Hell, I'm just glad that they kinda suck at using your power. That wasn't half as bad as it could have been if they'd had anyone with any sort of imagination in charge."

[Will Stanton]

"I dunno. I was reading some of the initial reports, and I'm trying to wrap my head around those arm-gun-things..."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Eh. That was all right, but it was just more 'use solid tactics.' I've seen you cut loose and it's a lot scarier than the stuff they were having you do."

[Will Stanton]

"Well, it's a stodgy old guy in charge there. I don't know how much creativity is his strong suit."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"I'm going to go with 'not at all.' His traps even seemed to be pretty textbook. Granted, that sonic thingy is pretty awesome, if it wasn't an indiscriminate area effect."

[Will Stanton]

"I get the feeling this was a rush job--some deadline they had to hit, or something."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Well, there's another possibility, but it's more disturbing."

[Will Stanton]

"Shoot."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"They set up a relatively easy rescue to get us off their back while their plans go on somehow anyway."

[Will Stanton]

"Oof. Always have to be the downer, don't we?"

[Ryan Gabriel]

"That's my job."

"I mean, totally hypothetical. We could have just been doing too good a job taking their bases out so they had to hurry and cut their losses and book it out of here. Buuutttt..."

He frowned, mulling it over. "They've got a lot invested in a possible precog psychic, and we don't know what their endgame plan there is. But where would she learn to use what she has better, in their 'testing' facilities, or from her 'mothers' who are acknowledged experts in the field?"

[Will Stanton]

"...that IS a valid point..."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"So they set it up, we get her back, we blow their immediate plans that we can see, don't get the guy in charge, and probably go back to our lives thinking it's all over. Don't you love black ops?"

[Will Stanton]

"No, actually. I really don't. All that cloak and dagger stuff..."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"Paranoia as a lifestyle is as tiring as it is useful."

[Will Stanton]

"I'll leave that to the experts, I think. It is not for me."