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. ]
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.
[ 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.
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.
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. ]
[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.]
[ 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. ]
[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.]
[She's still hovering, eyeing him like she's expecting another outburst, and she crosses her arms almost protectively.]
We walked right through the front door. Just signed up and went in. Then we split up, and they played distraction while I went hunting for whatever I could find. That's when I found the monsters they were studying. It wasn't even hard. It's like they cleared out the rest of the labs to focus on us.
[ Letting himself get angry is a rare enough thing that it isn't likely to happen twice in one day. She can't know that, but she'll find out through the remainder of this conversation at least.
There's a long pause as he muscles through the fleeting thoughts of scathing commentary, drowns them out, re-centers. ]
I want to know more about the monsters, but I want to hear the rest of the story first.
So while I was doing that—taking pictures, whatever—Ren and Akechi tracked down their head of security. It didn't seem like the scientists knew anything about Riverstone's deal with us, but he looked like he was in charge. Ren used his power on him, and that's how he got him to spill.
[She sighs, rocking back on her heels.]
Finnley said they don't have any scientific interest in us. They don't care about our powers much at all. They want to buy our loyalty and control us, and this was just a way of getting us through the door. Meredith Ling has been watching us for a while, and Rey was an easy target. I guess Finley is real buddy buddy with the Lings.
They asked him some questions about the whole Mariana Trench thing. I guess Ling fucking hates whoever messed that up, but Finnley wouldn't tell us who that was.
[She shrugs.]
And then Ren's powers wore off and we got kicked out. After that we figured we should dip as fast as we could.
[ There are so many factors about this that he hates. Like, an innumerable amount. If they would've just talked about this they could've come up with a better, safter strategy. They could've--
He shakes his head. ]
How did you specifically get caught? You were down with the monsters, did they see you on the security cameras?
[She hesitates for a moment, gaze drifting away. Maybe she got too into her own head and didn't pay enough attention to what he was actually saying. The second he started getting angry, she assumed this was going to be Lance all over again.
So she steps forward and sits beside him, leaving space between them.]
[ He exhales, eyes dropping to the floor for a second to gently regroup before he looks back up at her again. ]
No, it's--
[ A slow shake to his head. ]
I don't-- know. How to—
[ A little frustrated moue to his lips, a vague gesture with one hand. ]
Communicate. About shit like-- this. That. I got pissed off, I just-- You need to be careful with yourself. I lost you for like a week once and it wasn't a great time.
[It makes her heart twist, and for a moment, she isn't sure ow to respond. She touches his arm gently, fingers carefully brushing over the fabric of his sleeve. She doesn't want to force the empathy bond on him right now.]
But if it keeps you more safe... If it gives everyone a better chance, isn't that worth it?
[ There's a gentle furrow in his brow, a divot as he paints over his concern with calm again. ]
Maybe.
[ He agrees, condeding. ]
It's not the concept I have a problem with. It's that the plan itself... the execution. It wasn't good. There were better ways to go about it, ways with less risk. What worries me is you seeing another opportunity like this later on and being cavalier with your own safety rather than slowing down and talking to me. That's the part that isn't worth it.
[She's quiet for a moment, considering that, because she wants to be extra careful with this now. She doesn't want him to feel like she's brushing him off or not considering what he's saying.]
I get it. And we talked about that, too. We never thought it was a genius plan, it was just... We talked about it, and doing nothing seemed more dangerous. We felt like Rey was forcing us into a corner, you know? And we felt like... If we didn't do anything, if we just let a bunch of people go along with it, Riverstone would think we were all naive and controllable.
[She's not sure if that makes sense to him, but it feels important to tell him exactly what they were thinking as much as she can.]
I'll talk to you next time, I promise. But I also... I guess I keep thinking that there's never going to be a safe time to do anything, you know? We might always be picking between two shitty options.
I don't even mean holding off for later, not even for a week. I mean there was an opportunity there to scope the facility during business hours. Take a tour. Be compliant, and bring that intel back. You could get a feel for the security, maybe note the camera locations. Use that to go back in at night when the population was probably less than half. It's not all or nothing, it's just... trusting and using other people who can help minimize risk. I think we could've done it without anyone seeing your face, without them having something to hold over your head and threaten you.
[ He's not saying any of it to rub it in, or to over-kill the point. It's meant to be an example of what he could bring to the table, what insight he might've been able to give them. ]
I'm not gonna try and stop you from doing something, not unless it's... I don't know, suicidal, I just wanna...
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[ 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. ]
no subject
[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.
no subject
[ 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.
no subject
[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.
no subject
[ 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. ]
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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.]
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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.
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What do you mean? Like, from the beginning?
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[ He needs the full context for damage control assessment. See what he can fix or prevent based on where things went wrong. ]
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We walked right through the front door. Just signed up and went in. Then we split up, and they played distraction while I went hunting for whatever I could find. That's when I found the monsters they were studying. It wasn't even hard. It's like they cleared out the rest of the labs to focus on us.
no subject
There's a long pause as he muscles through the fleeting thoughts of scathing commentary, drowns them out, re-centers. ]
I want to know more about the monsters, but I want to hear the rest of the story first.
[ Keep going. ]
no subject
So while I was doing that—taking pictures, whatever—Ren and Akechi tracked down their head of security. It didn't seem like the scientists knew anything about Riverstone's deal with us, but he looked like he was in charge. Ren used his power on him, and that's how he got him to spill.
[She sighs, rocking back on her heels.]
Finnley said they don't have any scientific interest in us. They don't care about our powers much at all. They want to buy our loyalty and control us, and this was just a way of getting us through the door. Meredith Ling has been watching us for a while, and Rey was an easy target. I guess Finley is real buddy buddy with the Lings.
no subject
So they went straight up to the head of security and point blank used their powers on him. That's--
Nope, we're not chasing that thought right now. He lifts his head and scrubs that hand down his face as it passes. ]
How'd you get caught? What happened next?
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[She shrugs.]
And then Ren's powers wore off and we got kicked out. After that we figured we should dip as fast as we could.
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He shakes his head. ]
How did you specifically get caught? You were down with the monsters, did they see you on the security cameras?
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Because I want to know how much trouble you might be in, and what I can do to mitigate it.
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That's what you're so freaked about?
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That's what I've been trying to tell you.
[ Isn't it obvious? ]
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So she steps forward and sits beside him, leaving space between them.]
Sorry.
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No, it's--
[ A slow shake to his head. ]
I don't-- know. How to—
[ A little frustrated moue to his lips, a vague gesture with one hand. ]
Communicate. About shit like-- this. That. I got pissed off, I just-- You need to be careful with yourself. I lost you for like a week once and it wasn't a great time.
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But if it keeps you more safe... If it gives everyone a better chance, isn't that worth it?
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Maybe.
[ He agrees, condeding. ]
It's not the concept I have a problem with. It's that the plan itself... the execution. It wasn't good. There were better ways to go about it, ways with less risk. What worries me is you seeing another opportunity like this later on and being cavalier with your own safety rather than slowing down and talking to me. That's the part that isn't worth it.
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I get it. And we talked about that, too. We never thought it was a genius plan, it was just... We talked about it, and doing nothing seemed more dangerous. We felt like Rey was forcing us into a corner, you know? And we felt like... If we didn't do anything, if we just let a bunch of people go along with it, Riverstone would think we were all naive and controllable.
[She's not sure if that makes sense to him, but it feels important to tell him exactly what they were thinking as much as she can.]
I'll talk to you next time, I promise. But I also... I guess I keep thinking that there's never going to be a safe time to do anything, you know? We might always be picking between two shitty options.
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[ Gentle, but insistent. ]
I don't even mean holding off for later, not even for a week. I mean there was an opportunity there to scope the facility during business hours. Take a tour. Be compliant, and bring that intel back. You could get a feel for the security, maybe note the camera locations. Use that to go back in at night when the population was probably less than half. It's not all or nothing, it's just... trusting and using other people who can help minimize risk. I think we could've done it without anyone seeing your face, without them having something to hold over your head and threaten you.
[ He's not saying any of it to rub it in, or to over-kill the point. It's meant to be an example of what he could bring to the table, what insight he might've been able to give them. ]
I'm not gonna try and stop you from doing something, not unless it's... I don't know, suicidal, I just wanna...
[ You know. Look out for you and shit. ]
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