[ There's some genuine stammering going on over the phone here. Ange genuinely sounds caught off guard by what both of them are telling her. It'd be one thing if just the guy had told her to not come over, but then Ruby is saying the same thing.
And she feels weird about all this. And that's the reason she does want to come over, but she feels kind of silly now when they're both telling her not to. And then Ruby buttering her up with a date promise.
A tone crawls into Ange's voice that's usually very unlike her. It's pouty, almost childish. ]
Okay. [ FINE. She's giving in. Ugh. Stupid. ] But if you're not here within the hour I'm going to somehow track down the person who did this to both of you and give them a piece of mind myself.
[He had been on the verge of starting to relax now that the immediate danger was passing, now that he's almost completely sure that this woman was just as much of a victim of Martin's lies as he was. But then Ange had to say that, and he feels his stomach swoop uncomfortably.
If she takes it into her mind to seek out Martin...
He's not sure if the man will stay dead, he's heard that they don't always here, and he doesn't want to put anyone else in the path of danger.]
No.
[It's immediate, emphatic, and dark.]
You can come here. [It's the lesser of two evils. At least all he's planning to do is talk.] Nowhere else.
[Okay. That was unexpected but honestly. She kind of understood where this guy was coming from.
By his tone her best guess was that he was trying to protect Ange from Martin. ...Who had lied to him about her. And honestly she was a little confused about this. She still needed the full story herself.]
Okay. Okay. I guess you're free to come down here then, Ange. I wont argue with that.
[ The sudden flipping around on 'Daniel's' part is.. weird. For sure. But everything about this whole incident has already been weird enough, so it's easy for her to shove that part under the carpet and not pay too much attention to it.
Especially since she's definitely continuing to head in their direction by now. She had already been on her way, then stopped when told to, but now she's going again, which means-- ]
Alright, I'm almost there. Hang on.
[ And, true to her word, a few moments later Ange is there already. It's only then that she hangs up the call on the Fluid, shoving it into her pocket.
(She may seem kind of out of breath. Did she rush over here? Clearly not.. obviously not.. What would give you that idea! Not like she was worried or anything!) ]
Okay, now I really need to know more about this whole situation.
[Bucky looks much worse than the last time he'd seen Ange. Though his clothes are clean and dry (and not his, slightly too long and slightly too large), he has the look of a hunted man. Dark smudges like bruises under wild eyes, and a tension to his posture that suggests he's ready to fight or flee at a moment's provocation.
His stance does, however, loosen a little when she enters, in a clear indication that he doesn't consider her a threat.]
Martin sent me here to kill you.
[His gaze flicks to Ruby, his voice flat. Since he's decided that she isn't a threat either, or at least not the sort of threat that Martin wanted him to believe, she deserves to know the truth. It's easier to keep his voice and expression neutral as he speaks, hide the fear and turmoil of the situation beneath bland tones. Like giving a mission report.]
He told me that you erased his memories, played with his mind, and sent me after you. I don't know why he wants you dead, but he knew what sending me after you would mean.
[ Geez. Somewhere between the way Bucky looks like he's been to hell and back, and the way Ruby is so flippant about almost being murdered here, Ange kind of wants to hold both of their hands and drag them both to sit down and chill out with a cup of tea.
Not that she will, of course - but she definitely worries. About both of them. It's visible in her eyes too, since her gaze softens with worry. ]
Yeah. Ruby.. she doesn't have any powers like that. [ Ange refuses to believe it's something the other girl could've kept from her. Ruby just isn't like that.
But that leaves the troubling other side to all of this. ]
But Martin isn't like that either. I've known him for so long, and-- [ She shakes her head. ] I can't imagine that he'd try to get someone randomly killed.
[ But she believes the guy standing here too. So if he isn't lying, it only leaves one possibility. ]
I don't think you know him as well as you think you do.
[He appreciates that both of them try to set him at ease by explaining just what Ruby's powers are, and frankly both of them are taking this much more kindly than makes sense to him, but it doesn't change the fact that Martin sent him here to kill one of them.
He knows what they mean, though.
He hasn't known Martin for long, but his impression of the man before today had been one of a kind and well-meaning, if slightly awkward, man. Not now. He had seen the spider under the web, and he wasn't going to forget it in a hurry.]
He's dead. [Probably not the something that Ange means, but he feels they deserve to know at least that much.] I killed him for trying to-- But I still had to know if he was telling the truth.
[Ruby's glad for the back up from Ange there, not that there was any doubt it would have come.
She had been through her fair share of weird situations here. Thankfully she had learned to be a bit more understanding of Sleepers being put scenarios that didn't quite make sense.
This was all a bit beyond her though. Bucky was right she didn't know Martin very well, but she trusted Ange's word and he hadn't seemed harmful. Her blood does go a little cold hearing that he was dead.]
He's dead...?
I-
Okay. I don't really understand why he was doing all of this.
[ All of this sits so uneasy with Ange. First the man's words, about not knowing Martin as well as she thinks she does. She always hates it when people tell her that, though it doesn't make her angry at him - it just makes her worried. What if she did miss something? What if--
No, there's no way Martin has been deceiving her all this time. She's known him for too long, received too much kindness from him. If he truly was playing some sort of long game, what would it even be for? He would've invested way too much in it already.
But before Ange can say anything about it, there's the other declaration. I killed him.
Ange doesn't say anything, instead the girl is just quietly staring at her shoes, trying to somehow process all this, even when it feels like she has no idea how to begin doing just that. ]
[He can't offer them any explanation on why Ruby had been the intended victim, all he knows is the name he was given and the attempted manipulation. The way Ruby repeats that Martin is dead, however, and the way Ange looks at the floor, as if neither of them can quite believe it.]
I beat him to death against a wall.
[It's level and low and entirely too blunt. It's perhaps a slight act of self-sabotage, not that he would be cognisant enough of his own motivations to realise that, but his eyes flick to Ange as he says it, as if to drive home what he had told her before. He's dangerous, too dangerous to just befriend without caution.
And perhaps there's just the tiniest bit of warning in there too directed at Ruby, a glimpse of what may befall her if she's lying about being able to control minds.]
[Oookay. That's more than she really wanted to know. Especially about someone she hardly knew. Someone she hardly knew who had sent someone to kill her. ...Who hadn't done that.]
Uh... I don't know what to say...
He was manipulating you. To hurt people...
[Ruby catches the glimpse in his eyes but she doesn't seem bothered by it honestly. She had stared down death in enough situations that it took more than a look to get her going.
Especially since this situation just seemed endlessly complicated.]
[ The joke may be on Bucky here - because what Ange mostly can't process here is what Martin apparently did, since it doesn't suit him at all. And it makes the fact that he died also sit uneasy with her. Enough to kind of want to reach out to Ruby, but it just doesn't feel like the right time and place for it. She has to look stronger than that right now, no matter how much everything about her is itching to step closer towards the other girl, to hold her hand.
But the violent nature of what happened, or the fact that Bucky did the killing.. that doesn't bother her. Or not as much, anyway. If this is a warning about what could happen to her under the wrong circumstances, she isn't scared. Pain, death - Ange has never been afraid of anything physical like that. ]
It's Deerington. He should be back soon.
[ She'll leave those questions Ruby is asking for the man to answer, but she has to at least say this, making up her mind. ]
I'll find out what was wrong with him. [ Because she certainly isn't afraid enough of Martin to avoid doing that, no matter what may have happened to cause him to act that way. ]
Both of them are a puzzle that he isn't sure how to solve, and it's frustrating. He's used to being reacting with fear, with hatred, with prejudice. Not with questions and cautious understanding. It itches under his skin in ways that he's too afraid to examine closely, making him want to leave just so they'll both stop looking at him.
He glances down at the table when Ruby asks if there was another way, because-- yes, there could have been. He could have run, he could have incapacitated Martin, he has more than enough training that he didn't have to go that far. He doesn't say as much out loud, but the set of his shoulders probably answers the questions well enough. He didn't have to, but nor does he feel guilty for having done so. Not this time.
His eyes snap back up again when Ange speaks, brow furrowed.]
No.
[Damn it.]
You don't go near him, either of you, you understand me? He's dangerous. I told you this so you knew, so you were prepared, so you could avoid him. Not go walking into the trap and spring it.
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no subject
[ There's some genuine stammering going on over the phone here. Ange genuinely sounds caught off guard by what both of them are telling her. It'd be one thing if just the guy had told her to not come over, but then Ruby is saying the same thing.
And she feels weird about all this. And that's the reason she does want to come over, but she feels kind of silly now when they're both telling her not to. And then Ruby buttering her up with a date promise.
A tone crawls into Ange's voice that's usually very unlike her. It's pouty, almost childish. ]
Okay. [ FINE. She's giving in. Ugh. Stupid. ] But if you're not here within the hour I'm going to somehow track down the person who did this to both of you and give them a piece of mind myself.
no subject
If she takes it into her mind to seek out Martin...
He's not sure if the man will stay dead, he's heard that they don't always here, and he doesn't want to put anyone else in the path of danger.]
No.
[It's immediate, emphatic, and dark.]
You can come here. [It's the lesser of two evils. At least all he's planning to do is talk.] Nowhere else.
no subject
By his tone her best guess was that he was trying to protect Ange from Martin. ...Who had lied to him about her. And honestly she was a little confused about this. She still needed the full story herself.]
Okay. Okay. I guess you're free to come down here then, Ange. I wont argue with that.
As long as we're getting the full story now.
no subject
Especially since she's definitely continuing to head in their direction by now. She had already been on her way, then stopped when told to, but now she's going again, which means-- ]
Alright, I'm almost there. Hang on.
[ And, true to her word, a few moments later Ange is there already. It's only then that she hangs up the call on the Fluid, shoving it into her pocket.
(She may seem kind of out of breath. Did she rush over here? Clearly not.. obviously not.. What would give you that idea! Not like she was worried or anything!) ]
Okay, now I really need to know more about this whole situation.
no subject
His stance does, however, loosen a little when she enters, in a clear indication that he doesn't consider her a threat.]
Martin sent me here to kill you.
[His gaze flicks to Ruby, his voice flat. Since he's decided that she isn't a threat either, or at least not the sort of threat that Martin wanted him to believe, she deserves to know the truth. It's easier to keep his voice and expression neutral as he speaks, hide the fear and turmoil of the situation beneath bland tones. Like giving a mission report.]
He told me that you erased his memories, played with his mind, and sent me after you. I don't know why he wants you dead, but he knew what sending me after you would mean.
no subject
Jeez, Ange. It was just someone trying to kill her. That was pretty normal for her.
She keeps her focus on Bucky when he starts to describe just what Martin had done.]
Yeah. I can't do anything like that at all. I swing around a big scythe and move at super speeds. It's cool.
But nothing like mind manipulation-I have enough impulse control as it is. Definitely don't have the patience to mess with anyone else's minds.
[She glances over to Ange and shrugs.]
Right?
And I haven't seen Martin in forever. Can't say I even made him angry the last time that happened.
no subject
Not that she will, of course - but she definitely worries. About both of them. It's visible in her eyes too, since her gaze softens with worry. ]
Yeah. Ruby.. she doesn't have any powers like that. [ Ange refuses to believe it's something the other girl could've kept from her. Ruby just isn't like that.
But that leaves the troubling other side to all of this. ]
But Martin isn't like that either. I've known him for so long, and-- [ She shakes her head. ] I can't imagine that he'd try to get someone randomly killed.
[ But she believes the guy standing here too. So if he isn't lying, it only leaves one possibility. ]
Something must have happened to him.
no subject
[He appreciates that both of them try to set him at ease by explaining just what Ruby's powers are, and frankly both of them are taking this much more kindly than makes sense to him, but it doesn't change the fact that Martin sent him here to kill one of them.
He knows what they mean, though.
He hasn't known Martin for long, but his impression of the man before today had been one of a kind and well-meaning, if slightly awkward, man. Not now. He had seen the spider under the web, and he wasn't going to forget it in a hurry.]
He's dead. [Probably not the something that Ange means, but he feels they deserve to know at least that much.] I killed him for trying to-- But I still had to know if he was telling the truth.
no subject
She had been through her fair share of weird situations here. Thankfully she had learned to be a bit more understanding of Sleepers being put scenarios that didn't quite make sense.
This was all a bit beyond her though. Bucky was right she didn't know Martin very well, but she trusted Ange's word and he hadn't seemed harmful. Her blood does go a little cold hearing that he was dead.]
He's dead...?
I-
Okay. I don't really understand why he was doing all of this.
How either of us really fit into all of this.
no subject
No, there's no way Martin has been deceiving her all this time. She's known him for too long, received too much kindness from him. If he truly was playing some sort of long game, what would it even be for? He would've invested way too much in it already.
But before Ange can say anything about it, there's the other declaration. I killed him.
Ange doesn't say anything, instead the girl is just quietly staring at her shoes, trying to somehow process all this, even when it feels like she has no idea how to begin doing just that. ]
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I beat him to death against a wall.
[It's level and low and entirely too blunt. It's perhaps a slight act of self-sabotage, not that he would be cognisant enough of his own motivations to realise that, but his eyes flick to Ange as he says it, as if to drive home what he had told her before. He's dangerous, too dangerous to just befriend without caution.
And perhaps there's just the tiniest bit of warning in there too directed at Ruby, a glimpse of what may befall her if she's lying about being able to control minds.]
no subject
Uh... I don't know what to say...
He was manipulating you. To hurt people...
[Ruby catches the glimpse in his eyes but she doesn't seem bothered by it honestly. She had stared down death in enough situations that it took more than a look to get her going.
Especially since this situation just seemed endlessly complicated.]
And you're sure- That was the right thing to do?
Can you promise that there was no other way?
no subject
But the violent nature of what happened, or the fact that Bucky did the killing.. that doesn't bother her. Or not as much, anyway. If this is a warning about what could happen to her under the wrong circumstances, she isn't scared. Pain, death - Ange has never been afraid of anything physical like that. ]
It's Deerington. He should be back soon.
[ She'll leave those questions Ruby is asking for the man to answer, but she has to at least say this, making up her mind. ]
I'll find out what was wrong with him. [ Because she certainly isn't afraid enough of Martin to avoid doing that, no matter what may have happened to cause him to act that way. ]
no subject
Both of them are a puzzle that he isn't sure how to solve, and it's frustrating. He's used to being reacting with fear, with hatred, with prejudice. Not with questions and cautious understanding. It itches under his skin in ways that he's too afraid to examine closely, making him want to leave just so they'll both stop looking at him.
He glances down at the table when Ruby asks if there was another way, because-- yes, there could have been. He could have run, he could have incapacitated Martin, he has more than enough training that he didn't have to go that far. He doesn't say as much out loud, but the set of his shoulders probably answers the questions well enough. He didn't have to, but nor does he feel guilty for having done so. Not this time.
His eyes snap back up again when Ange speaks, brow furrowed.]
No.
[Damn it.]
You don't go near him, either of you, you understand me? He's dangerous. I told you this so you knew, so you were prepared, so you could avoid him. Not go walking into the trap and spring it.