Characters (In Order of Appearance):
Valari
Phobia
-----==[ Abandoned Tenement Bldg - Metropolis ]==----
It is immediately apparent upon entry as to why this building remains abandoned. The walls - painted long ago - are badly cracked and peeling, as is the ceiling, and the wooden floorboards seem half rotten. They creak badly underfoot, seemingly about to give way at any moment. There is little lighting, save for what makes its way in through the gaps in the boarded up windows that line the left side of the large room. To the right, a stairway is visible in the gloom, but it looks unsafe to venture up.
The room recedes back into the darkness and a few small piles of rubble are scattered about the place. All in all it is a very dank, quiet, cold and musty place to be.
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Okay... there CAN'T be two of them. VW Buses painted yellow with a green roof on them, the windows tinted and sporting a bumper sticker that says "Jesus Saves. All the rest of you take damage. Even between two cities as different as Gothem and metropolis. The van is parked behind an old tenament whose boarded windoes seem to have been reinforced slightly and the broken door replace with a slab of metal. Inside the tenement, far below the skylight in the cleaned out center of the room, sits a dark-silver skinned man working over a fold out table strewn with tools and gadgets.. Opened boxes of.. well.. technistuff liter the area.
Outside, Phobia walks the streets slowly. Back in her all black and cape villianese looking attire, the recovering phobialholic's mind is moving as slowly as her feet, feeling out but learning not to feed. The van draws her attention, as out of place and familiar as it seems. She tilts her head. The metal slab of a door, barely catching her eye, has her moving in that direction. Stealth is NOT Phobia's strong suit. Her high heels boots click audibly on the sidewalk.
Whiiiiiiir. Is that a webcam mated in a menage et troi with a cellphone and a lazy suzan mounted along wall. The camera traverses the alleyway and locks onto the villianess, following her slowly. Inside, on a desk set up with a dozen prepaid cellphones wired to a number of gameboy dsi's, one of the units beeps. The silverish man looks up and at one of the small displays, using the touchpad to make the camera outside move and zoom in.. refocus... He looks at a laptop, half strewn across a desk but working.. The image appears there as well.. little crosshairs apear, traking the face.. snap... facial recognition software scanning and comparing against at least a dozen law enforcement databases.. The answer coming up. The man frowns and walks to the door which he unlocks and then puts his head outside.
Phobia starts, hopping back a half step, as the door opens without warning. A strangled little squeak escapes her parted lips, and her mind reflexively lashes out to lock onto another person's fear to stamp out the sickening spike that is her own fear. Heart racing, mind finding nothing but silence in the silver humanoid before her. Her green eyes stare at Valari, open frozen open in a little 'o' of shock.
Valari stares at the familiar face, his gold irieses set within silver eyes rotating as if focusing on her.. Which he might very well be. He is silent for a long moment, as if deciding something, then speaks. "We find it highly improbably, considering the percentage of metahuman criminals when compared to the populace as a whole, spread out by geopolitical factors, that you would cross our path in a random back alley some 500 miles from our last meeting.. Yet we do not know why you would be following us so we must allow for some randomness into our equations."
Phobia's expression turns from shock to utter confusion as Valari speaks. Her altogether human eyes blink several times as her brain tries to make sense of the lack of a mind and the technobabble that just assaulted her. Finally, all that she manages is a confused and awkward sounding, "What?"
Valari lets out a sound that is remarkably similar to a human sigh and he steps back, holding the door open. "Your confusion is easily discerned by analysis of your body language. Something which you, the female criminal designated as "Phobia" by law enforcement files, must realize is hard to camoflage when wearing a wardobe as tight and revealing as your own. Thus This Unit deduces that Super-Villianess: Phobia is not following us and this meeting is happenstance. Since we have revealed our current location, This Unit invites you to enter."
Again, the complete and utter bafflement is more than apparent: it's like a neon sign in the middle of a Gotham alley. A full second after Valari steps back and bids her enter, Phobia moves. With the unconscious nobility of her upbringing, Phobia steps into Valari's technological abode. She pauses then, just inside the doorway, and looks around.
Valari has actually turned his back to her and is heading deeper into the large open space, weaving around more makeshift tables and benches and desks full of.. junk. Technojunk that has been opened and stripped down and then rebuilt in arcane ways, wired together in web like patterns of wire.. Dozens of monitors, old and new, tower computers and laptops and game systems with their cases cracked open and wired together in ways they probably shouldn't be. Electronic toyws in various states of dissection. It is like Mister Wizard and some post modern frankenstein lab has had a baby with a Radio Shack as the midwife. ONe small corner seems to have been set aide with a fouton and a small fridge and microwave.. though both the appliances have been modifed, it looks like. "Shut the door behind you. WOuld you care for some refreshment?" he asks.
The normal sounding statement followed by the mundane question surprise Phobia out of her open-mouthed awe at her surroundings. She closes the door as bid, and steps toward Valari, eyeing the electronics in confusion and repulsion. "Yes, please," she replies, voice smoothly trying to cover the nervousness she feels, the tremor of fear that tugs on her mind and begs for release.
Valari squats down by the little fridge, opening it. There is a strange blue light emenating from the inside from which he withdraws a large can of energy drink which he offers to her as he stands once more. he pulls back the hoody revealing a head that is human... ish. Hairless and smooth, like his hands, with that dark hematite like skin. "We detect that your heartrate has quickened by 15 percent and your perspiration increased twofold and possibly rising. This is a limbic response of fear. We do not wish to cause you any harm. We only wish to understand why you are here since the chances are too great against it."
"I was," Phobia stammers faintly as she reaches for the energy drink. Her fingers close around the can, her eyes closes slightly as she tries to steady herself, mind falling into a mantra of 'I don't need to feed. I don't need to feed.' before she finishes her answer. "...out for a walk. And saw your van." The mantra is helping, ever so slightly. Her pulse is just now beginning to slow.
Valari seems.. less then convinced but not in such a manner that he comes off as angry or terse and seems wiling to give her the benefit of the doubt. "We see. perhaps our transport is too distinctive yet we find its uniquness.. comforting in some way." he admits. He motions to few peices of furniture, either the futon in it's couch configuration or the massive blue beanbag chair. "You seem distressed. We cannot determine why. Whould you like to sit?" he asks.
Phobia debates the offer, that bit of fear in her again tugging at her mind like a child tugs at her mother's sleeve. Finally, she moves to sit, dropping into the futon with a delicate flomp. "You don't have a mind," she blurts out, all the uncertainity and confusion held fast in her tone.
Valari is very still for a moment.. His head canting slightly as he regards her and the comment she blurts out. It may be hard to see, but there is the faintest quirk to his lips.. upwards.. maybe. "The reports we are analysing at this moment have deduced that your abilities are psionic in nature. THus we could understand the confusion. Except for some theoretical models, most theories on psionic abilities state that many of teh abilities, except a few, require both sides have biological components. We are not biological. We have a mind, but it is not..." he takes a moment to find an analogy. "You are analog.. We are digital. You do not have the proper tuner."
Once again Phobia looks completely and undeniable confused. At least the confusion overwhelms the fear and the sensation disappates without her needing to burying her fear in another's mind. "Can you say that in English," she asks, a touch haughtily.
Valari sighs and sits in the bean bag chair. "We apologize. We have not truly interfaced with organics in a long time. What we are saying is.. Our mind is, most likely, of a different structure then you are capable of detecting. We have conciousness, therefore we must have a mind. And since you cannot detect it, that means my mind must differ too much for yours to either detect or comprehende."
Phobia regards Valari in confusion for long long moments. Her eyes drift toward all the electronics in the room. She regards the roomful for several more seconds, before she turns her green-eyed gaze back to Valari. "You're... a machine," she asks finally, head nodding slightly as she speaks.
Valari nods once at this... the dim lights of the place reflecting darkly in his polished hemeatite like skin. "Affirmative. As you are. You are a machine made of biological processes. We.. were like you once. We are now a machine comprised of systems designed to emulate biological processes."
Phobia brings a hand up, eyes closing and head shaking as the big words make it hard to understand. "You're not... a man? I mean, you're not... alive... I can't feel your mind," she blurts out again, rising to her feet. There's a heartbeat of fear. "Without a mind," she continues, half to herself, as she turns to regard Valari, "I can't hurt you." And now the fear subsides; a faint smile daring to peek onto her face.
Valari raises a hairless brow. "We will concede we are no longer a.. man. We have male form, yes, but man denotes human and we are no longer human. Maybe we never were." he states matter of factly.. though somehow there seems to be a noticable tinge of.. remorse in that. "But we do not know if we are truly alive or not. We think, therefore we are.. we recognize ourselves, if not the same way we did before we.. died? changed? we do not know. As for hrting us.. We find it agreeable that you seem to calm when you note that your abilities can't hurt us yet from media and law enforcementt records it would seem as if you enjoy hurting people. So why does that make you happy that you cannot do so now?"
A light blush darkens alabaster cheeks. Phobia darts her green gaze from Valari. Fear uses the distraction to try to get her mind's attention again. At her side, a hand tightens into a fist as she battles it down. "I am, attempting to change."
Valari watches this little struggle with some intrest for a long moment. Then straightens a bit. "We.. understand. We think. And we realize that we have been somewhat rude. Human niceties were somwhat foreign to us when we were human, and more so now. We are.. Technocracy. At least that is the name we use when outside. Here.. You may call us Val."
Phobia's eyes open finally, and she turns to look at Valari again. She smiles lightly again and dips her head is a slight nod. "My thanks," she replies with a touch of formalty, before she looks about again. Seeming a touch confused again, Phobia settles back down on the futton and peers at the energy drink. She can't mask the faint sneer of disguist, as she peers at it, but she can change the subject. But to WHAT? "So, Val. You're good with electronics?" Like DUH!
Valari doesn't seem to mind the change in subject at all. He looks at where she does and nods. "We have always been.. technically and scientifically adept. We didn't have many human aquaintences as a child for.. reasons." The mechaincal man seems oddly vague about that, considering the detail he usually speaks with. "And since our.. death.. rebirth.. change.. we find it hard to relate with organics. or maybe they find it hard to relate to us."
Phobia grimaces a smirk, eyes peering down to her neatly manicured fingernails. "I can relate to that," she looks up at Valari, "entirely. I never had friends. I have few now, however reluctant I may have been at first in having them, but I'm .... I'm learning."
Valari cants his head slightly. "Was it your.. abilities.. that made it hard? Were you born with them?" he asks. "We do not wish to be rude by asking you this. It is just that.. we had much experience with people with abilities from a young age, because of the environment in which we were raised."
Phobia actually chuckles faintly, rolling the can about in her hands. "I appreciate you asking," she begins. "I wasn't born with them, no, but they developed early." she grows silent for a time, peering at her distorted, ghostly reflection in the can. "It was.... lots of things... that made it hard. What I could do.... to people.... myself... added to it."
Valari nods ever so slowly at that. "We.. see. So now you are trying to change yourself. Because you feel remorse of what you have done?" he asks.
"Because I feel like a parasite," Phobia replies. She stops rolling the can, eyes looking up at Valari. "Any time I start to feel nervous, anxious, afraid, I can't handle it. I have to force another to live their worst, so I can reveal in it." She turns her gaze away, eyes unfocusing slightly, smile returning as a dark and sinister version of itself. "So I can feel how powerless it makes them, knowing that I'm the one to make them so, that they are powerless because of, in front of me. I am the source of the nightmare. I am the controller, not the controlled." There is a hungry glint to her eyes as she speaks, her pulse quickening with excitement.
Valari can note the quickening of her pulse.. the flushing of her skin... flaring of nostrils. He doesn't seem bothered by it in the slightest. He remains as.. well.. restful or detached as he ever seems. "You are fighting a war, both physical and psychological, within yourself. Bad coding which you wush to try and repair yourself." he states, matter of factly. "We can deduce that you both love and hate what you are at the same time. "We understand." he finally says. "Maybe not for the same reasons, but we understand. We can remember what it was like to be.. powerless. scared. Sick. And then we died. And Then were weren't dead. And we were strong. Are strong. But different. And we do not see things as others see them. And we think we are both superior and inferior at the same time. A paradox."
Phobia turns to gaze at Valari. For the first time talking about this, she feels a sense of relief. Someone... something, that understands, feels the same, and isn't judging, feeling pity, or trying to do a good deed. No one trying to play Supergirl with her psyche. Rather, just someone like herself. And Phobia does something she probably hasn't done.... ever: Phobia giggles, bringing a shoulder up to her chin, the opposite hand up to her lips, closes her eyes, and blushing.
Valari seems confused by her.. reaction. He isn't a mind reader, only able to deduce things by actual visual and auditory queues though with much more analytical ability then most people. When she giggles and blushes her blinks. "Did we say something humoress?" he asks, unsure of what just happened.
His question only makes Phobia giggle more. One hand reaches out to set the can on the arm of hte futton. She shakes her head, trying to get words out back the school-girl giggles.
Valari frowns now. "We are sorry. We just.. do not understand." he says.. and seems a little embarrased now, looking away.
"Neither do I," Phobia manages to get out as she scoots over to sit close enough to Valari to set a hand on his. "But thank you," she adds now that the giggles stop, leaving her eyes glittering brightly, her cheeks flushed, and herself mildly breathless. "You're the first... real... I don't konw what you are, but it's like... it's like I can just... not.." Her words halt, mind fumbling for the right words to say all the conflicting and tumbling and happy and shocked and everything in her mind. "I'm not afraid of you," she blurts out. "I'm not afraid around you. You're... just..." She stops, once more unable to find words. She shakes her head, a bright and relaxed smile on her face.
Valari blinks yet again.. twice, in only a few minutes. It might just be a record for him. He is also quite still as she scoots closer and sets a hand on his. He doesn't seem to quite know how to respond that that. he doesn't tense up, though considering his firmness it would be hard to tell. The skin of his hand is surprising pliable. Smooth and metallic in texture but pliable like very firm flesh. "We.. are pleased.. that you are not afraid of This Unit." he states, his digital borg like voice muffled slightly. "We are not, ourself, unknown of fear. We just don't know how to cope with it except by trying to supress it."
"And I by funneling it into another, and thereby suppressing it within myself," Phobia adds, almost joyously. She reaches out with her other hand, to collect Valari's metal grip with her own glove covered hands. "As different as we are, I've never met anyone that I feel so similar to." She continues to smile, the harsh cold lines of her usual demeanor softened, made more elegant and gentle, by the expression.
Valari looks way from her, suddenly, and down at his hand in hers, staring at it as if it is the strangest and most unfamiliar thing in the world. He blinks again... and starts to say something.. then doesn't.. and then tryies again.. still sort of catching on something. Finally he closes his eyes. "We.. do not.. know how to respond." he forces out, softly. "We are not similar yet we are. We do not truly understany why it is but we should. We are not used to this level of.. interaction...."
Phobia withdraws her hands, blushing suddenly without knowing why. "I'm... My apologies," she squeezes out from an unsettles throat. Stadning, she moves away, putting physical distance between them. She wrings her hands in front of her and she moves away, unsettled and starting to feel fear knotting up again.
Valari is silent a moment but quickly stands. "Wait.. please wait." he says.. his voice somehow less mechanical at least for a moment. "This.. is not your fault. We.. Please do not go." he says finally, looking down at the floor.. at the computers.. anywhere but here. "We just have never sat down and spoke to someone... and we did not realize that was what we were doing.. and it.. it was different and we didn't..."
Phobia brings her hands to her head. Her heart rate spikes as fear shoots through her. Her chest tightens. That less mechanical, almost human near-plea for her to stay paralyzing her. As the sound of it struck her ears, her mind laced it with the sound of terror, of fear of rejection, of loneliness, of being unwanted. Her mind lashes out, desperate for a victim, but none can be found, and Phobia crumples to her knees, shoulders shaking, head shaking. "No... No... No...," she whimpers, body curling into a ball.
Valari .. doesn't know what to do... He has never seen anyone DO that before. For the first second he stands as still as a statue, just STARING at her as she crumbles.. staring analytically at her curled up form.. Then Sudddenly he is kneeling beside her, unconciously hoisting her up with a strength much greater then a humans and sitting her on the couch.. holding her up with his arms around her shoulder. "Phobia.. /PHOBIA/... please it is okay. Everything is nominal. Please.. everything is NOMINAL.. Is okay.. Please be okay." he says, sounding a little like a scared kid suddenly.
The sound of fear in Valari's voice makes it worse, and Phobia thrashes, much weaker form suddenly trying to get away. Her eyes are wide and sightless, pupils contracted to the tiniest of pin pricks. A cold sweat breaks out over her whole body, her breath coming in short gasps too fast to be healthy for a human body. Her mind, the strongest thing to her, slams and claws and lashes out at the form she can barely make out before her: the inhuman face of Valari. Her mouth opens in a soundless scream, too terrified to make a sound. In her mind, all the nightmares and horrors from her childhood marry the terrors she has caused to manifest in others, and the images all dance before her own eyes. Her powers, seeking a victim anyway it can, sinks its claws into the only mind it can find: itself.
Valari looks very worried.. very scared... The way she claws at him, tearing his hoody up.. hitting him with little effect to his body since he is what he is. His hands shift, one on each shoulder, and he turns her to face him. His face, humanesque though in a sculpted way, slowly calming now as he tries to assess... assess... assess.. his other side taking over. "Phobia. Let go of your fear. Please do not damage yourself. If you damage yourself We will not have anyone to be like us. We.. need.. you."
It takes time, more time than he does, for Phobia to calm. For her mind to wear itself out. For that fatigue to translate into her body. Her motions grow weaker, more random and less frantic, until the metahuman grows slack, droops into Valari's arms. Her cheek resting on his chest, as the terror gives way to sobs of fatigue, of emotion being released. It's said that in order to over come fear, one must face it. This is the aftermath of Phobia facing her fears. Her whole form quivers as she reclines against Valari, sweating, tearing, panting.
There is no heartbeat in his chest, but there is a very unmechanical warmth or presence there, Not psionic, just.. that presence on living being can feel in another. At least the spark of one. He rocks her slowly throughout her episode, not really understanding why or noticing he is doing it.. sayng calming things that seem to just come from his mouth without thought. Shhhhs and it's okays and I'm here... as if he is saying something from some long ago memory. When she finally becomes calm he smooths her hair, again unconciously it seems.
There's finally a sigh from Phobia's form, curled up and cradled in Valari's arms, almost held in his lap like a child would be. There are still a few heaving half-sobs, a few sniffles and murmurs, but the storm has passed. Phobia's arm moves from the deathgrip it had around his body, reaching up to wipe the tears on her face. Lulled by the lack of a 'mind' and the gentle warmth, Phobia doesn't tense up right away. Instead, she mmmms softly, languidly, eyes drifting shut as her head is smoothed.
Valari is at a los of what to do... IN a way that could be considered as nervous he shifts a bit, pulling her into his lap so he can hold her, again as someone once did for him.. he only has memories of such things.. and from teh other point of view, not actually doing it. But he does try since it is all he can think of. stillsmoothig her hair with one hand, he back with the other, lettng her rest against him as he rocks her.
Phobia's eyes flutter open as she's shifted. Now calm, her mind moves in a slow emotion-numb pace. So, it's not until after she's settled into his lap, and is being rocked that she reacts. And the reaction is a giggle.
Valari frowns a bit, more out of confusion then anything since this has ALL be confusing to him.. very... "Are you feeling better?" he asks, carefully.
Phobia rubs at her face with a hand, and nods, giggles subsiding. She looks up, her smiles fading the instant she sees the frown. still emotionally drained, all Phobia can do is to straighten and start to withdraw physically, shifting to get out of his lap. "Ah, yes. Yes, thank you," she stammers, eyes averted ad a blush on her cheeks.
Valari doesn't seem to be holding her to trap her but there also seems to be an unconcious reluctance to letting her go. "Do not thank us.. We... did we cause this? If so we did not mean to. We... are confused. We do not know why. We didn't want you to be hurt. We were scared for you. We.. have never talked to anyone before like this and we didn't.. want to lose the chance.. to lose the possibility.. of losing someone to talk to." he looks embarrased now.. "We didn't know how to help.. but.. we remembered something.. We hoped.."
Phobia pulls away fully, but just until she's sitting on her own. She remains within easy reach on the futton. The blush doesn't fade, and she reaches up to tuck a lock of hair behind an ear; a nervous sort of motion. Hearing him stammer about, Phobia's mind picks up on his admission of being scared. Her gaze lifts at that, eyes widening faintly. "As was I," she repliesin a whisper. "I was afraid it was, disturbing you. I had to get some distance, to try to... figure out what was going on... in my mind... I have never.. spoken so... openly, with anyone. I was afraid. When I'm afriad, my mind tries to find someone else to feel the fear for me. I couldn't find anyone. And then, and then I hear you." She starts to reach out with a hand, to put it on his chest, but her hand hesitates, though her gaze never leaves his. "Your voice, you sounded scared and, it made it worse. It wasn't your fault," she adds quickly hand completely the motion to Valari's chest. "It was my fault. I can't control myself yet. I'm so good at lashing out, but I can't control my own fears. And when I heard yours I just.. I just couldn't... I couldn't..." Tears rethreaten and her voice cracks.
Valari only nods now... understanding in one way but unable to understand in other.. but he listens. And TRIES. "It iss a reflex reaction.. that had no place to go... like electricty, unable to find the path of least resistance.. and it grounded back in you..." he places his hand on hers that is on his chest. "You have a lifetime of dealing with fear, yet not your own. We have a lifetime that was once full of fear and now we don't understand it and it makes us afraid in different ways. We are both damaged."
Phobia nods, eyes dropping to the hand covering hers. Fear feebly lifts its head, but so spent, that all that comes of it is a flicker which makes Phobia advance rather than shrink back. "Reflex, one that I've got to master," she replies, voice raspy. "I'm... I'm... sorry.... I scared you," she offered, voice full of uncertainy and question.
Valari shakes his head. "Neither of us should be sorry.. not when we can't be heldd accountable for what we did.. because of HOW we are. You do not blame a computer with a bad hard drive for having a bad hard drive. I isn't the computers fault. "
Phobia blinks twice at the analogy, then laughs. Shaking her head, she leans forward to rest her cheek against the hand ocvering hers on his chest. Her frame shudders with the soft amusement, at the light-headness of emotional release and the fatigue of adernaline spent one facing one's own fears.
Valari eyes her as she laughs.. and then smiles faintly.. though in a way that says he doesn't fully understand why. Still, it's a start. He rests his chin on the top of her head as she rests her cheek on his and her hands. "THis is strange... but.. not." he tells her.
Phobia nods under his chin, laughter softing to a soft murmur as she replies. "Otherworldly," is her reply, a soft breath of amusement, wonder, calm, and awe. That these two would find so much to help each other so quickly.
