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[wittingly]

@ian.fowler | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

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[evocation]

like ten guys
i need you to help me hide the bodies

[wittingly]

well you're in luck because i can move like a shitload of earth at one time, we could literally stick them underneath a skyscraper or something

[evocation]

sweet
okay, it's not actually that
you might be mad

[wittingly]

oh shit

[ his parting text before he does not knock on her door but instead just kindly bend it out of the way and then back again.

matter bending.

fuck yeah. remember when he could only do, like, screwdrivers? ]

[evocation]

[Kyna should get used to that, but she's not. She jumps, spinning as the door shifts back into place.]

Jesus, Ian.

[wittingly]

[ He doesn't look particularly apologetic — if anything, he's faintly amused when he answers. ]

How's that for walking through walls?

[ Right back at you sister.

But anyway: ]

Why am I mad?

[evocation]

[Kyna reaches for his hand to tug him into the kitchen, not even bothering to hide her anxiety. She's just going to do it. Blurt it all out.]

Okay, so, uh... I may have... Signed up for the Riverstone tests and then snuck through their building dug through their shit. But it wasn't technically breaking and entering because they invited me in and then I just walked through a couple walls.

[Great defense.]

[wittingly]

[ He's not sure what he was expecting here. Something small, silly, stupid. Something broken, maybe signing him up for some other volunteer thing without asking, maybe getting into an argument with someone.

Not this.

Snuck through their building and dug through there shit.

Before he releases her hand, she'll feel something akin to curiosity closing off and a placid, strangely strained calm being forced over it.

Okay. Assess the damage. Keep it level. ]

Did you get caught?

[evocation]

[She tenses visibly, bracing herself for... something. As bad as with Lance, certainly. Kyna doesn't try to downplay it or sugarcoat it, though. Though her answer is quiet, it's honest.]

Yeah. They kicked us out. And, um... We probably shouldn't go back to New Beijing. We were getting a lot of... you know. Scrutiny.

[Which is fine. Totally fine. It could be so much worse.]

[wittingly]

[ OH GOOD THE WORST CASE SCENARIO

Chill breaks pretty abruptly with an incredulous: ]

Kyna what the fuck?

[ Holy shit, that's-- the potential consequences start spiraling out in his head like the fucking milky way. ]

What were you thinking? Were you thinking?

[evocation]

[God. Okay.

Kyna's mouth twists, but this is easier to deal with than Lance's condescension and disappointment.]

I was thinking. We were thinking we had to do something instead of just... waiting and reacting like we always do.

[wittingly]

Right.

[ About that condescension thing... ]

So you guys thought the best time to stage a break-in was when they were expecting a dozen guests with insane powers who don't trust them? Like, you thought the day they'd have the most security on staff at their peak vigilance would be the opportunity we've all been waiting for? You all agreed with your peak strategical thinking that was the perfect time for this?

[evocation]

[It's so much easier to feel defensive than to feel guilty, and so she scoffs.]

We didn't break in. We signed up, they invited us, and I went somewhere I wasn't supposed to.

[wittingly]

[ He is not even going to dignify that bullshit technicality with a response. She gets one hard look.

Same fucking question, no amendments, still expectant. ]

[evocation]

Don't look at me like that. We found shit out. Don't you even care what that is?

[wittingly]

No.

[ To the tune of of fucking course not.

Which... is true right now, actually because the fate or details of the displaced is like his third priority and her wellbeing is above it. ]

I care that you just pissed off the biggest corporation on the planet, and they know enough about you to track you down.

[evocation]

[That throws her enough to shut her up for a second. Lance had been all about how this would affect the group, how she had no right to make that decision, how everyone is treating this like a vacation. She was expecting Ian to have similar arguments. The intensity drains from her voice.]

I had to do something.

[wittingly]

Something doesn't mean the first dumb idea somebody pitches!

[ W hat

The frustration and panic in his throat bundles in on itself, manifests in the form of mounting frustration over the fact that he can't — actually fix this because it's already done. ]

Jesus Christ, I can't-- you couldn't have maybe told me about the plan before you went? Did you talk to anybody before deciding it was a great idea? Kyna, they know your face now. I can't believe--

[ Dial it in, Fowler.

He paces a few steps away from her, spends a few seconds with his back to her scrubbing a hand over his mouth to get a grip on it. ]

[evocation]

It was Ren and Sam and Akechi. And Ren didn't— He's had issues with people... you know, finding shit out and then sabotaging it. And they probably knew our faces before. They probably knew half our faces. It's not like most of us are hiding what we are anymore. It's not like we were all safe and now we're not. I didn't flip a switch by doing this.

[Which is what Lance seemed to think, and what's been bothering her so badly.]

They don't give a shit about the experiments or our powers. They just want to control us.

[But she does feel guilty about not cluing him in.]

I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I would have if I could.

[wittingly]

Ren and Ak-

[ He stops, cuts himself off to let her finish but it's obvious by the way he's chewing his cheek that it's taking some pretty deliberate control on his part.

Not quite angry enough to snap and lose it.

Totally unprepared for the feeling of absolute concern over a loved one being reckless because he hasn't had it since his mom turned down chemo and wouldn't listen.

He tips his chin down, presses his fingers to the corners of his eyes. Speaks with too much control over the syllables. ]

You got talked into this plan by a couple of teenagers. They probably have video evidence of you illegally trespassing, breaking and entering, whatever you call it when someone walks through walls. I don't give a shit whether or not everyone is safe anymore, I care that they could probably have you arrested. They could make your life so fucking hard if they wanted, now. You specifically, they don't even have to demonize the entire displaced, they could just fuck you over.

[evocation]

I didn't get talked into it by them. They laid out the idea, we deliberated, I agreed. We knew it was dangerous and probably not ideal, but Rey was the one who dragged us all into this.

[Akechi was complaining the entire time, anyway, but they'd all agreed the potential rewards outweighed the risks.]

I'd rather put myself in danger to give us a shot than sit around arguing for fucking weeks about whether or not we can trust Riverstone and what they might do to us. Now we know. The powers bullshit was just a front, and they're doing something with the monsters we fought, too. I found a bunch of parts in a lab.

[wittingly]

That's not- I'm not disagreeing with the idea I'm disagreeing with the stupid fucking plan.

[ That one comes out kind of sharp, and with a louder pitch to his voice. He recognizes it, an ounce of his frustration becomes self-directed, and it escapes with a frustrated: ]

Fuck.

[ Hands up. ]

I need a minute. I'll be right back.

[ When he stalks toward the door, he actually opens it rather than bending. He'll care about what they found out, just. He's stubbornly digging his heels with the assessment that whatever they found wasn't worth the risk she took, to the extent that it almost pisses him off to hear it.

But if he doesn't chill for a little bit he's gonna actually lose it. ]

[evocation]

[She's getting so desperately frustrated over this focus on the plan rather than the information. They're all in danger from Riverstone, and she wishes the scolding could wait for a bit.

Truth be told, she wasn't expecting him to be this angry. She's never seen him this angry, and she doesn't really know how to deal with it. So, when he leaves she just paces, unable to sit still or relax.]

[wittingly]

[ He's absolutely more focused on the plan than the information. To him, there is no reward worth the risk she took, the danger she put herself in, the potential consequences that'll come of it for her. His mind's stuck in a stubborn place that tells him moving past that part means accepting it or encouraging it. He's instinctively got the notion that she's just as likely to do something unsafe in the future, and it's fucking him entirely up.

He takes a walk around her building. Spends fifteen or twenty minutes letting things level out, pushing it down under the restrained calm he normally carries. It's thickly layered over him when he comes back, passive and reserved.

He walks steadily across her floor to sit, fingers clasped. Teacher mode. ]

Tell me what happened.

[evocation]

[His sudden calm—or sudden to her—throws her. She's still keyed up, all pent up energy. Where usually that steadiness of his would bring her down, too, here it just makes her more anxious.]

What do you mean? Like, from the beginning?