controlledvariable: (Batgirl -- minimalist)
(ง︡'-'︠)ง ([personal profile] controlledvariable) wrote in [community profile] exsiliumlogs2013-11-16 11:12 pm

[various] "secretly you love this, do you even wanna go free?"

Date & Time: 16th - 27thth; various
Location: all about the moon base
Characters: Steph, Saul, Jesse, Dick, Max Kearney, YOU
Summary: Steph's working against the mutiny and mostly having her trauma buttons pushed + aftermath
Warnings: Claustrophobia, panic attacks, someone's mind being messed with, discussion of sexual assault, violence, death, references to child abuse. I meant what I said about trauma buttons.
Notes: There's an open section for anyone who wants to run into Steph, whatever side they're on (or if they're neutral)! If you'd like something more specific, hit me up and we can work it out.


→ Saul and Jesse; 16th; 0400 hours

[So far, she's had no problems with the teleportation power that Jesse gave her; it's simple to use, all she has to do is imagine where she wants to be, and there she is. It means that as soon as she thinks transporter room and ends up in pitch black darkness, she knows that something has gone very wrong. Her first instinct is to try teleporting out, but she ignores it for the moment, knowing it's better to take stock of the situation before making any rash moves. She breathes in and focuses for a second, feeling the room around her. The air is cramped, stale, which means it's small and poorly ventilated, and there's no light source anywhere.

And now that she's paying attention, she can pick up the sickly smell of very, very old corpses.

It's all downhill from there.

Her fingers scrambled at her belt as she pulls out a torch, turning it on and shining it around the room; it's as small as she expected, three of the four walls smooth, but the final one has what looks like it might have been a door, once, but the metal is warped and twisted almost beyond recognition, and when she roughly shoves her shoulder against it, the thing doesn't even budge. The fact she's alone is only a small comfort, and she can already feel panic starting to rise in her chest.

Now she tries to teleport out, but nothing happens, as if she doesn't have the power at all.

She's trapped.

For a few long moments, she's frozen in fear, breath coming short and shallow as the light from the torch flickers, and she's terrified it's going to run out and leave her in the dark, before she realizes it's flickering because her hand is shaking so badly.]


C'mon, Brown.

[It's barely a mutter, her grip tightening on the torch and her other hand curling into a fist, gloved fingers digging into her palm.

That was a stupid move, because as soon as she's made a fist, she lashes out at the door, as if it might force it open, but all that happens is pain shoots through her knuckles and jars her arm. But she can't keep it together after that; she drops the torch and shoves both hands against the door. There's no metal, suddenly, no cloying smell of decaying bodies, just wood under her hands and the sound of her father shouting at her mom, or at her, muffled through the closet door as she scrambles at the wood and tries to push it open. It doesn't matter that there was never enough room in the closet to get a run up, to stretch her arms out and push on creaking metal, because the memories are so vivid and the panic so sharp that it's all she can see.

She loses track of time, all she can hear is her ragged, panicked breathing and her heartbeat in her ears and the thunk of metal as she tries to force her way out.

It isn't until she takes as much of a run up as she can and barges her shoulder against the door that she snaps out of the panicked haze, and that's only because the pain cuts through it so sharply, along with the sickening sound of her shoulder dislocating.

Between the fear and the pain, it's enough to make tears prick at her eyes, and she punches the door one last time out of sheer anger at how terrified she is, before leaning back against it and sinking to the floor, arm cradled across her chest. She digs the fingers of her other hand against her closed eyelids, trying to fight back tears and panic; that's not going to get her out of this, but she can't focus past that stupid, ingrained fear.

She tries to teleport again, and lets out a strangled sob when it doesn't work.

But while she hasn't calmed down, not by a long shot, if she focuses on the pain in her shoulder she can actually move past the panic, at least enough to start thinking of solutions.

The network is down, but--

There's a muttered string of curses, mostly self-flagellation for being so stupid. She has her communicator in her cowl, and Babs helped her fix it up so that it'll connect to both Babs' communicators, and to Saul's bluetooth earpiece. She should call Babs, but the communicator is part of her suit, which mean it's part of her weapon, so as soon as she remembers it's possible, it starts trying to reach to Saul.

She doesn't even realize she's murmuring please pick up over and over again.]



→OTA; 16th-18th; from 1200 to 1200 hours

[Once she's calmed down from the teleportation misadventure (and had a quick nap, at both Saul and Babs' request), Steph gets to work on fixing this damn problem. It's a little tricky for those first few hours while the gravity is still all over the place, but she adapts well enough. Her first priority is securing the spaceship, because if the Transporter room is out of reach, there's no way she's losing their other only option of getting the hell off this base, should something go wrong. As soon as she's happy with that, she starts on the long list of other problems that need fixing.

The lights and network are still down and the doors aren't under control; the latter two are the real problems, since it's tricky to communicate and get places with those systems offline. The doors don't bother Steph so much, except she's a little more cautious about teleporting places, mostly going places she's sure of, rather than trying anything too tricky and risking ending up trapped again.

Still, she moves around a lot, dropping into the housing wings occasionally to make sure everyone is doing alright, before heading out to do what she can about the technical problems. She's not, well, Babs, but if there's wiring that can be fixed or systems that can be hacked and taken over, she'll be making an effort to manage it, with varying degrees of success. As she goes (before the lights are back online) she sticks emergency work lights to the walls and over any working doors, to help people move through the base; they're from her belt, and the batteries will only last a few hours, but it's better than nothing.

She very rarely takes breaks, popping into the cafeteria long enough to grab something quick and easy to eat, or finding a spot near where Babs and Saul are set up to catch a few minutes of sleep. She's more likely to stop to talk to people, trying to coordinate efforts to get systems back online, or to figure out more of what, exactly, is going on. But her main priority is action, leaving the organization to people who are better at it. This isn't like the zombies, where she was willing to trust other people to hold down the fort, if she needed a break.

She doesn't know who she can trust or not, but she's moving about the base with purpose, and from the snippets of conversation that can be caught as she speaks into the earpiece in her cowl, it's clear she's trying to fix this. And it's clear she's not impressed with the situation, judging by the angry mutters and tension in her posture that never quite seems to leave.]



→Max Kearny; 19th; 0120 hours

[As soon as they've got the doors back online, she gives a curt goodbye to Jaime and Batwoman, then disappears towards the Transporter room. She knows she could likely take them with her, but once she's scoped out the situation she wants to go and get Jesse so he can disable anyone with powers, and she's not sure if there's a limit on how many she can carry.

Anyway, first things first, and that's reappearing in the housing wing a reasonable distance from the Transporter room, since she isn't entirely sure how far the field of... redirection magic extends, and she really doesn't want to end up trapped again. It's little further than she'd like to be, but it gives her a chance to sneak close and check things out before throwing herself into a fight, and hopefully there'll be less guards down this way.

That doesn't mean it won't be guarded at all, but when the only person she sees down the end of the hall is Max, she figures it's something she can handle herself, if this turns bad. Max is good, Steph's seen her fight, but she's good, too. And she's got anger behind her, which is always an advantage, so long as she channels it right.

Her hand goes to her staff, though she doesn't pull it free from her belt just yet.]


Please tell me you haven't thrown your lot in with these idiots.

[She does, actually, like Max. And anger aside, Steph doesn't want to hurt her friends, even when they're being completely fucking stupid.]


→ Dick Grayson + Saul Goodman; 19th; 0145 hours

[Max told her to find somewhere safe to wait this out, and Steph doesn't see any reason not to do it; she has no interest in this fight, even though she's sure she cared about the outcome a few minutes ago. But it doesn't matter, if she's stopped caring, it can't have been that important, so she tucks her staff back onto her belt and teleports back to the Housing wing. It should be safe there, out of the way, and anyway, she's kind of tired (when was the last time she slept?) so going to her room to take a nap doesn't seem like a bad idea.

She starts peeling off the Batgirl suit as she goes, tucking the gloves into her belt and folding the cape and cowl over an arm. The whole thing's heavy, and all that armor and symbolism seems a bit pointless. It really can't all be that important.]



→ Sonya Karimov; 19th; sometime between 0200 and 0230

[Saul tells her to stay put, but he's busy trying to co-ordinate something - she really wasn't paying attention to the details - and she really is kind of tired (and hungry; seriously, when was the last time she slept or ate?) so she decides to go find somewhere to take a nap. Saul might wonder where she's got to, but that doesn't really matter, it's not her problem, and anyway, she doesn't want to deal with someone being so... weird. About her.

It's easy enough to slip away, especially when so many people are heading in the opposite direction, towards the transporter room, since apparently something important is happening in there. Well, she knows what's happening, they're trying to take back the Transporter from the people who decided to have themselves a little mutiny, but none of it really matters. Who cares who's in control of the Transporter? It's not like it's going to change anything.

Someone runs past her, and she turns to watch them, before shaking her head and heading on her way again. At which point she bumps into someone.]


Sorry.

[It's an automatic response, she doesn't really care enough to be sorry, and she's already moving again without really acknowledging whoever it was.]

→ Saul; sometime fuck if I know

[As soon as she leaves Sonya, Steph reappears in her own, empty room. There's no cursory glance around to see if Ellie or Joel or Tess might have been around recently; they're not here, but it doesn't concern her beyond that. No matter how much she should be worride.

The only thing she really thinks is that she can finally get some rest. There's no relief behind it, but her body is exhausted after the past few days of barely sleeping, and it makes sense to her, that she should rest.

With her shoes kicked off and no worries to occupy her thoughts the way they normally do, she's asleep almost instantly.]



→ Ellie; sometime after the 21st

[The first couple of nights after... everything, she can't go back to her room. She knows she should, but all she does is send Ellie a text to let her know that she's going to be staying somewhere else for a while. She needs the familiar comfort of Babs, or Saul, or the feeling of safety that Jesse offers purely by existing and having the powers he does.

No one can do anything like that her again, so long as she's near him.

But she can't avoid her room forever, and she can't avoid Ellie forever; Steph needs to make sure that she's alright, after everything that happened. When she slinks into the room, she's not Batgirl anymore, dressed in tights, a tank top, and a rumpled, bright blue business shirt that looks at least three sizes too big for her. She feels guilty for having been away for so long, even if it's only been a few days, so her voice is a little hesitant when she speaks up.]


Hey, kiddo.

[Please don't be mad.]

→ Peter Rumancek; 25th ; late

[She tells Peter to come meet her in the VR room, and heads there to wait, wanting a few moments alone before she has to be around another person. It gives her time to set up the simulation, choosing something... completely different from anything she's made before.

The Guban plains are cold at night, but the bite of it is welcome, as is the sheer stretch of emptiness as far as the eye can see, interrupted only by sparse scrub and boulders, the sound of a stream in the distance. Last time she was here there were medical tents set up, vehicles parked and people miling about, but right now it's empty except for her.

She brought two glasses along with the bottle of tequila, and she forced herself to focus long enough to make a few sandwiches for them both, so they're not drinking on an empty stomach, and because she's noticed that Peter's been losing weight while on the moon.

She won't start drinking without him, but she does start on one half of a sandwich, picking at it slowly while she waits, trying to find something comforting in the fake night air.]


pixieboots: (Default)

[personal profile] pixieboots 2013-11-21 01:58 am (UTC)(link)
So she just- [ this. She did this.

When he knows Max too well not to know how much she hadn't needed the cheat. Not even against Steph. His fingers clench reflexively but he makes them relax. ]


-that’s her power? She messes with people’s minds?
pixieboots: (Default)

[personal profile] pixieboots 2013-11-21 04:35 am (UTC)(link)
But it had to be that, right? You didn't see her use any tech?

[ He can hear the desperation edging back into his voice. ]
5055034455: 2x12 (pensive.)

[personal profile] 5055034455 2013-11-21 05:57 am (UTC)(link)
[And lo, a lawyer comes jogging around the corner of the corridor, stopping as soon as he spots Steph.

It's followed by a relieved sigh, a once-over of the situation in front of him, and —

A squint.

Something's up.]


Steph?
pixieboots: (Default)

[personal profile] pixieboots 2013-11-22 02:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ He knows this guy from somewhere, and after a minute it clicks that he's DITR. The DITR guy who's name he'd never really bothered remembering.

The last person in the world he needs interested in him right now. ]
We were just leaving.

[ He tucks Steph's hand under his arm for safe keeping and tugs in the other direction, hoping she'll take the prompt and sidestep behind him. ] Nothing to see here.
5055034455: 3x13 (uhm.)

[personal profile] 5055034455 2013-11-23 02:56 pm (UTC)(link)
[Saul's hands go up immediately, the classic "I'm not here to hurt anyone" pose.

That's all the acknowledgment Dick gets, though; his attention is focused, unsurprisingly, entirely on Stephanie.]


What's going on?
pixieboots: (Default)

[personal profile] pixieboots 2013-11-23 04:56 pm (UTC)(link)
Nothing's going on. [ It's too sharp, too defensive, too anxious. He knows that as soon as the words are out. ]

Batgirl's busy, okay? You can run it by her later.
5055034455: 2x12 (pensive.)

[personal profile] 5055034455 2013-11-27 03:20 am (UTC)(link)
Something?

[He takes a step closer, albeit hesitantly. Just in case. People do dumb shit when they're scared, and he doesn't want to risk some kid trying to kick his ass.

Saul looks at Dick, brows furrowed.]


I need to know what that "something" is. Please.
pixieboots: (Default)

[personal profile] pixieboots 2013-11-28 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
No! I'm just- I'm taking her somewhere safe. [ He's talking fast, feeling the words turning desperate when they shouldn't be. Turning and running won't lead anywhere good, but adults only tend to crowd into his space for one reason when they aren't getting something they want from him. He shrinks back a step, still not relinquishing his hold on Steph.

For her he has to talk his way out. ]


And no offense, but this situation's kinda personal. And we've got someplace to be now, so...
5055034455: 4x03 (up to no good)

[personal profile] 5055034455 2013-11-30 07:25 pm (UTC)(link)
She'll be safe with me.

[Something tells him whatever Steph says might not be convincing enough, though.

Hands still up, Saul pauses where he is, expression softening and voice turning gentle.]


Steph, tell him.
pixieboots: (Default)

[personal profile] pixieboots 2013-12-01 01:40 pm (UTC)(link)
...Him? [ He's startled enough that he halts his slow backwards retreat. He looks at Steph, then at Saul. Then back at Steph again. ] Okay, that's...

[ It can't be.

And jeez, what is he thinking, letting this guy coach her into playing along while he's standing right here in between them, trying to protect her from just this kind of thing? It can't be because he's not dumb, he knows Steph could have any guy she wants in the world. And that's usually how it works, isn't it? No one who looks like Saul ends up with a girl that looks like Steph. ]


The only thing that tells me is that you're a creep, pal. And she'd say anything with her head messed up. [ And his eyes are on Saul again, fixed and dark with a new level of pretty righteously indignant loathing. ] And I bet you knew that too.
5055034455: 2x08 (working with a bunch of amateurs)

[personal profile] 5055034455 2013-12-01 02:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, me.

[Saul's glaring now, which isn't a helpful reaction, but —

He remains in place, volleying looks back and forth between Dick and Stephanie. How the hell is he going to prove this when she's... whatever she is?]


I know how it sounds, okay? That's not news, kid. But my priority right now isn't standing here until I manage to convince you that I love her, so let's just skip that part. Wherever you're thinking of taking her — it might not be safe. Probably isn't, in fact. She either needs to go to the clinic or be taken to someone you and I can both trust. Someone who knows how to take care of her. You know Barbara Gordon, I assume?
pixieboots: (Default)

[personal profile] pixieboots 2013-12-01 04:39 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, she- [ His free hand is in his hair, a tense, overwrought gesture. ] You know Barbara Gordon?

[ And it's a horrible, sinking truth; that he doesn't know Barbara either, not well enough to really know that nothing will happen to Steph as long as she's there. But he'd still trust her now a lot further than this guy.

And he can't stay with Steph. Not forever. He needs to find Max. He can't fix Steph without her. ]


Yeah, well... whatever you're thinking it's not happening, okay? I'm not leaving her alone with you.
5055034455: 5x01 (let me explain you a thing)

[personal profile] 5055034455 2013-12-01 06:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Barbara can vouch for me. We're friends. And she can tell you that Steph's not lying about — about us.

[But again, not the point.

Focus, Saul.]


What I'm thinking is that we — we, you and I, together, which should fix our little problem of not trusting each other — take Steph to Barbara and see what she says.
pixieboots: (Default)

[personal profile] pixieboots 2013-12-08 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
Or I take two steps that way and you gas me and stash her in the basement. [ It's harsh and direct, and maybe... maybe the actual ability of this average pen pusher to pull off a Two-Face is the fear talking more than reality. But he's terrified now, terrified and still stuck here unless he wants to take the risk of hurting Saul and stashing Steph away somewhere himself. Somewhere where he won't have his eye on her and this creep will know she's here alone somewhere.

And then what will he do? ]


If we both want the same thing here then you're the one that has to prove it. [ He's pointing with a free hand, an only halfway accusing gesture. ]

If you're coming with me, you're staying back.
5055034455: 4x03 (welp.)

[personal profile] 5055034455 2013-12-12 07:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[And Saul just points a thumb at Steph, like, Look at her, making logical points.

Because there isn't a basement.

So.]


Staying back?

[He cocks an eyebrow, half-amused.]

Wouldn't you rather make me lead the way by holding me at gunpoint or something? Or maybe you want to let Steph here lead, since she's so keen on getting outta here.
pixieboots: ([robin] side-eyes)

[personal profile] pixieboots 2013-12-26 04:22 am (UTC)(link)
Who said I was packing? [ He doesn't think Saul is, but now that it's on the table a good verbal shakedown isn't really out of place. He grabs onto Steph with both hands; she's a lot stronger than he is on her best day, but this isn't her best day so maybe he has a shot at keeping her still.

He's running out of time. ]


Fine, you lead. [ It's practical, that's all. He knows the way to Babs and Dick doesn't. ] But I'm watching you every step of the way. One wrong move and you'll wish you had a piece.