Side Stories

Side Stories is for RP sessions that occur outside main sessions. Aside from a title, each heading lists the characters in the scene, and when the scene takes place. For example, (1) means the scene takes place during the events of session 1, while (1-2) means it takes place between sessions 1 and 2.

TOC

## The Guitar Hero Affair (Marlowe & David) (0)

Before they worked together on the same team, Marlowe and David had run into each other once or twice. First, when Marlowe was just starting out as Vexing Taunt and David was unknowingly living out his last days as Kid Quick, and then at one fateful house party. This was after Marlowe had killed someone but before their split, and during David's three years or running from the past.

They both happened to crash the same house party. David being entirely in his element, was decimating everyone at beer pong, with his Quickshot skills and speedster metabolism. Marlowe had already had a couple of drinks and wanted to have a couple more. Beer pong seemed the way to do it. Once faced with the reality of who they were facing off with, they liked the idea even more. David won, preforming increasingly elaborate trick shots and Marlowe got gayer and gayer, but held their own for a while. Eventually, both of them were banned from beer pong to prevent them from drinking the party out of the house.

The two, absolutely shitfaced, stumbled over to the Guitar Hero set upon Marlowe's suggestion. Both having some guitar experience and being metahumans, ended up both getting perfect scores. David, being better at sick Guitar Hero tricks, ended up winning. In a tense moment, breathing heavily and staring at the two 100% scores, they ended up dropping the controllers and going for a kiss at the same time, which turned into something akin to a make out.

The situation was brought to an end when the cops crashed the party and Marlowe and David booked it in different directions. David didn't recognize Marlowe at the time and has no memory of the incident. While Alex Marlowe (Vexing Taunt at the time) remembered everything, they lost the memory during their split into Vex and Taunt. Taunt remembers it very clearly, but Vex has no recollection of it.

## Choosing Rooms (Team) (1)

David, Marlowe, Sarah and Clarke had to choose rooms for themselves in the New Guardians penthouse. Sarah and David chose larger rooms, while Marlowe chose a smaller one. Clarke chose the closet in Sarah's room, much to her surprise. Sarah was upset at first, but eventually relented and allowed Clarke to stay, on the caveat that she always knock. Clarke did not understand knocking and punched a hole through the door. Also, Sarah and Clarke talked about their different lives (sarah was an only child, clarke has 53 siblings)

Meanwhile, David made several quick trips to his old abode to get his furniture and supplies, while Marlowe secretly disposed of their bedframe. Sarah came to David with the problem of the broken door while Clarke tried to fix it. David eventually took the door completely off and asked Sarah and Marlowe to join him outside, where he threw the door at Sarah, encouraging them to "smash shit together." The three of them had fun showing off and breaking the door into pieces. Meanwhile, a small shuttle from Clarke's life ship arrived with supplies for her room.

Room Descriptions:

David: spartan existance, simple bedframe, several pairs of shoes, and a desk with nothing on it.

Marlowe: bed frame machine broke. Just a mattress on the floor, not much else except a giant poster of Modern Talking.

Clarke: Sci-fi door (inside Sarah's room), non-workng doorbell, walls covered in technorganic material that can change colors, a bed and table and bench that can fold into the wall.

Sarah: bed, dresser, bookshelf, blinds ALWAYS closed, bunch of "stress relief" toys scattered about like they were thrown in frustration, several stuffed animals.

## Technorganic Material (Sarah & Clarke) (1-2)

Sarah walks into her room one day (after the team first comes together, before the museum incident) to find that Clarke has once again left a bunch of "toys" on the floor: this time, fidget spinners. Sarah collects them and knocks on Clarke's closet door, which opens with a star wipe. Sarah tells Clarke to pick up her fidget spinners next time, and asks about the door, saying it creeps her out.

Clarke explains that the door, her clothes, and the rest of her room are made of "technorganic material." (see: Osci) She has a bit of this material on her desk, and she introduces Sarah to it. She manipulates it, causing the material to attach to her fingers like a puppet's string. SHe explains that since the Osci project an energy field, they can manipulate technorganic material, but humans cannot since they project no such field. Sarah touches the material, and much to both of their surprise, Sarah is able to manipulate it as well (albeit very slightly, nowhere near as well as Clarke).

Clarke is overjoyed that she has this in common with Sarah, but Sarah feels insecure, knowing this is one more inhuman thing about her. Clarke suggests she and Sarah could project the "same frequency," but Sarah rebuffs her, saying she doesn't want to be like Clarke. Sarah leaves the room, yelling once again that Clarke pick up the fidget spinners in the future.

## Secret Box (Sarah & Marlowe) (1-2)

Shortly after moving in, Marlowe shows up at Sarah's door and asks her to keep a box for them, for when they die, saying that there's some car papers in it and another chore wheel for the apartment. Sarah says that they won't need it and that Marlowe can come and collect it sometime in the future. Marlowe, though skeptical, agrees. Sarah invites them to watch Star Wars, which it turns out that Marlowe has never seen.

## The Science of Called Shots (Dave & Marlowe) (2)

Following the second episode and an intense emotional day for everyone, both Marlowe and Dave couldn't sleep. Dave had been up on the roof since that evening. Marlowe had briefly gone to sleep, but was haunted by nightmares of Taunt, and was forced awake.
Marlowe wandered out onto the balcony to smoke and panic, and heard odd sounds from the roof. They went up to investigate and found Dave golfing on the roof. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything. Marlowe stood there, watching, as Dave continued taking swings and destroying miscellaneous objects. Finally, Dave asks Marlowe to "call the shots." After some confusion from Marlowe as to the concept and a brief explanation from Dave, Marlowe picked a bright blue light in the distance that reminded them both of the day's trials and of Taunt. David hit it and mentioned how good you get at something if you do it over and over again. Marlowe replied that you can get tired of the things you're good at. Dave responded with a cheesy quote from Macolm Gladwell about "a thousand hours" and Marlowe says that they don't have that much. Dave asks Marlowe if they want to be a hero and Marlowe says yes.

So Dave decides to fast track their hero route by jumping off of the roof, having no plan B. Marlowe immediately jumped to it and ran forward, sending out a myriad of psychically constructed tentacles to catch Dave and bring him back to the roof. Dave insisted once again that anything can be learned. Marlowe, still in shock, asked if he thought they could learn golf. The night ended with David trying to teach Marlowe golf.

## The Ship (Team) (2)

After a fairly stressful day, Clarke waited until everyone else was asleep, and then (with the aid of her mentor, Marvel) dragged her atmospheric entry shuttle back to the penthouse. She worked on it all night, and in the morning nervously showed her friends the project. She did it as a way to feel closer to them - she was frustrated by how different Earth was to the Osci, and how different the people were. David immediately took the craft supersonic, zipping around the city, and then flying straight into the air, nearly into space. Clarke stopped the ship for a moment to show everyone the view, the view she fell in love with, and then let the ship fall back down to Earth. Clarke named the ship "CS Hope Finds Us All In The Light" but the team just calls the ship "Hope."

## Eye for an Eye (Marlowe & Duncan) (2)

Marlowe accosts Duncan when he's alone on the couch soon after the latter moves in. They express that while they appreciate Duncan as an addition to the team and admire his abilities, they're not a fan of being controlled and neither is anyone else on the team. They also made it clear that if Duncan uses his ability, Marlowe won't hesitate to use their's, either. But they should totally talk about "this psychic thing" sometime.

## Touch and Go (Marlowe & Duncan) (2-3)

Marlowe and Duncan, being the two psychics on the team, decided to have a practice session. It was Marlowe's idea, but Duncan went along with it. They decided on the gym as the safest place for the exchange. After a short discussion of their powers, the two put them on display. Duncan created an illusion of a cherry tree filled park Marlowe put on "Brother Louie" by Modern Talking and the fight set off.

The events of "The Science of Called Shots" still sitting heavy in Marlowe's mind, their main goal for the practice session was to stretch the limitations of their psychic constructs. Duncan, on the other hand, was more focused on assessing Marlowe's power level.

Marlowe simply took a stance. Duncan spent a short time showboating his skills and then took the first go, hitting Marlowe with a wave of disgust. Marlowe, though shortly incapacitated, recovered and lunged at Duncan, stealing his memory of the taste of pineapples. This had very little effect, and the two exchanged blows again. After a Marlowe then went for Duncan again, returned the pineapple memory, drained some of his energy, then quickly jumped back. Duncan started circling Marlowe, who kept still. Duncan, in a cunning ploy, created an illusion of Dave and told Marlowe that Dave had walked in. Marlowe, already unbalanced, turned to look, and Duncan kicked Marlowe in the knees, forcing them down. Marlowe fell, and created two vaguely humanoid psychic constructs that went for Duncan, who managed to dive out of reach. Duncan then hit Marlowe with pure joy. The constructs shattered and once Marlowe got over the laughter and giddiness, they decided to make a sword for the fun of it and took a couple of swings at Duncan with it. Duncan dodged and stumbled backwards, then hit Marlowe with a wave of depression. Marlowe's face went blank and tears started rolling down their cheeks. They turned away to gather their composure, and Duncan took the opportunity to strike, jumping on Marlowe's back to grapple them. Marlowe managed to grab Duncan's hands with theirs and encased their clasped hands in psychic glass and tried to flip Duncan over to the front. They succeeded and Duncan, trapped under Marlowe, started panicking and threw every emotion in the book at them. This hit Marlowe hard and they lost control and briefly entered Duncan's surface thoughts, though they gleaned nothing. The psychic glass started creeping up both Marlowe and Duncan, encasing them. Duncan, panicking, threw calm at Marlowe, which worked. Marlowe came to, broke their own hold, shattered the glass, and quickly rolled off of Duncan.

Both of them sat on the floor, breathing heavily, then tentatively congratulated each other on their moves, but decided to call it a say. Duncan called the match a tie. Marlowe agreed, though they privately thought that Duncan had won, since he'd caused them to lose their composure and control.

After the fight, they both went back to the base, sat on the couch, ate fruit, and watched American Gods. Duncan convinced Marlowe that none of it was CGI (without the use of mental influence) and Marlowe believed him.

## Cats and Mouse: Misadventures With Granny (Clarke & Marlowe) (2-3)

Sometime after the second mission, Marlowe found Clarke in the living room, streaming Youtube on the TV. Seeing that Clarke knew what a Youtube was, Marlowe asked her for a favor. Clarke agreed, and the two flew off to, well, somewhere. Which turned out to be Marlowe's grandmother's apartment.

Granny addressed Marlowe as Alex and immediately assumed that Clarke was one of Marlowe's "animay convention friends." Marlowe stumbled over the concept, but decided to roll with it and agreed. Clarke asked what anime was, to which Granny responded "You tell me!" and which Marlowe tried to play off as a joke, saying "Who really knows what anime is?" (They don't. Clarke doesn't. Granny super doesn't. No one in the interaction knows. No one.) Marlowe then explained that they brought Clarke over to help Granny with her computer. Granny invited the two of them in and they were immediately accosted by a swarm of cats, who loved Clarke and were generally used to Marlowe. Clarke immediately started petting the cats. Granny came back in with tea and cookies and candy and asked what Clarke's name was; Clarke responded with her real name, which Granny couldn't pronounce. They had a twenty minute who's-on-first-off that ended with Clarke finally saying to just call her Clarke, after which Granny pronounced her name right, and then went off to her room to find the computer in question.

While Granny was gone, Clarke pounded her tea while petting the cats, and then asked Marlowe who that was. Marlowe tried to explain it was her grandmother, and Clarke was confused by the concept of parents, eventually drawing the comparison to Osci progenitors and caretakers, although that wasn't entirely correct - in Osci society, the progenitor and caretakers are considered separate concepts. Marlowe, wanting to make it as simple as possible said that, in this case, their Granny is their progenitor's progenitor and their caretaker, but that they had no siblings and it was just them and Granny when they were growing up. Clarke said that must have been incredibly lonely and Marlowe replied that it might have been. Clarke hugged Marlowe, which they were very awkward about.

At that point, Granny came back out holding the computer, monitor, and keyboard with ease. She tossed them on the couch and the real fun began. First, there was the complication of figuring out how to turn it on. Clarke wasn't sure how plugging things in worked, and Marlowe was left to figure it out, which they did once they realized that it was just like plugging a phone it to charge. Then, seeing as none of them really knew how to turn it on, Clarke whipped out her alien technology. She got her phone and a USB cord and hooked her phone into the computer, and immediately started controlling it with her AI uplink. Granny asked her to find her son, which Clarke misunderstood as meaning "sun" and pulled up google results for "sun." Granny, upon realizing what Clarke had done, found that hilarious and decided that she liked Clarke. Marlowe asked Clarke to pull up "the facebook" which Clarke did, and they all just stared at it, unsure of what to do.

Clarke was forced to explain that she connects to the internet using an AI uplink and offered, jokingly, to install one in Granny. Marlowe and Granny took the concept seriously and started discussing the option while Clarke quickly googled "how to use human technological interfaces". Nothing came of it. Marlowe, separately, also decided to look up how to use computers and painstakingly typed in "computer how ?" which similarly provided nothing useful. However, Granny picked up that typing things into the search bar got you places and asked them to look up sodoku for her. That worked out pretty well, and Granny started complaining about how her son never visits and never calls, just sends her some expensive computer and then forgets about her. Marlowe asked Clarke if there was anything else she could show Granny, and Clarke immediately pulled up cat videos on youtube. Marlowe wrote down the sodoku and youtube URLs on a paper for Granny. Granny offered Clarke a cat and Clarke chose a mostly black tortoiseshell cat. Upon request, Marlowe went to the kitchen to get more tea and snacks.

Granny immediately turned to Clarke and started oversharing, telling her how glad she was that "Alex" finally had a friend. Clarke responded that Marlowe has many friends and counted off "Dave, Sarah, and Duncan, I think." Granny, realizing that "Alex" had four whole friends was absolutely ecstatic, dunking on Marlowe, surprised that they have "four whole friends". And started bribing Clarke to be Marlowe's friend. Clarke responded that she didn't need to be bribed, but Granny insisted.

After Marlowe came back in with more tea and snacks, they ate and said good bye to Granny, who forced a giant bag of human food and another one of cat food onto Clarke. Clarke also let it drop that she and Marlowe live together in an apartment with more people, and pointed in the exact direction of the apartment. Granny said that she had to come visit sometime and let them leave.

On the flight back, Clarke asked Marlowe who "Alex" was. Marlowe hesitantly explained that they used to be Alex Marlowe but got split in two, with one half called Alex and the other Marlowe. And that Marlowe lost the name in the split. Clarke asked if humans can just split in two. Marlowe said that they were a special case. Clarke stated that humans are weird, to Marlowe's agreement.

They got back to the apartment, which the cat briefly terrorized before wandering off outside.

## How Did It Feel? (Sarah and Marlowe) (2-3)

Sarah, who couldn't sleep, grumpily went into couch to watch some late night television. There she found Marlowe, who had fallen asleep on the couch. Marlowe seemed to be struggling, having a nightmare, so Sarah decided to rouse them. Marlowe was having their recurring nightmare about being drained by Taunt. Sarah shook Marlowe awake, but when they awoke, they grabbed Sarah's face with both hands and attempted to drain her while searching her memories.

Marlowe found themself in a dark place. They kept seeing creatures out of the corner of their eye, and they could hear overlapping voices, which spoke of Marlowe as "it" and "the human." Marlowe did not know what was going on, and the voices started talking about "the host." Specifically that "the host" was fond of Marlowe, and that "the host" must be protected. Marlowe eventually came to understand they were in Sarah's mind, especially when the creatures they were seeing began to linger, and they realized the

creatures looked like Sarah, although with less human shape and more "feral." The voices kept talking to themselves, and eventually asked Marlowe who they were, and telling them to leave. However, Marlowe could not seem to get them to understand. Eventually, Marlowe went looking for Sarah, and they saw a young human with blond hair: Sarah before her change, facing away from them. Marlowe tried to get closer, but as they did, the creatures started advancing on the human Sarah, swarming over her. As Marlowe drew close enough to touch Sarah, she turned around and looked at Marlowe for a moment before the creatures finished swarming over both of them.

Then, Marlowe awoke to find that they were being held by Sarah at arms length, with Sarah's claws dug into Marlowe's arms, and with Sarah's wings dug into their back. Marlowe asked Sarah to let them go, and Sarah did, suddenly realizing what she was doing. She scrambled away from Marlowe and into her room, saying how sorry she was for hurting Marlowe. Marlowe tried to get Sarah to talk to them, saying it was ok, that they weren't hurt that bad, and Sarah broke down, saying she could have killed Marlowe. Marlowe suggests they they would have deserved that, and begged Sarah to forgive them for invading their mind. The two of them sat back to back, with Sarah's door between them. Sarah sobbed, and Marlowe confessed that they've killed someone before, sucking the life out of them.

The two of them sat back to back for about an hour, before Sarah asked Marlowe how it felt to kill that person. Marlowe admitted that it felt great to feel the rush of energy, but awful when they thought about the act in hindsight. Sarah said that her experience was similar: even though she was being controlled, it felt great to have the power to choose if someone lives or dies.

## Here and Gone (Clarke & Marlowe) (3)

The night after their third group mission, Clarke was working on her tech at the table in the living room. Marlowe came out and sat next to her and started some awkward small talk. Pretty quickly, Marlowe asked Clarke what it was that she called them when she was just waking up. Clarke explained that it was the name of her sister from the ship, the one that she was the closest to, and that she'd never see her family again, because even if she went back, she'd be put in quarantine. Marlowe, in turn, said that even though they won't ever measure up to real family or to home, that they'd like to do anything possible to help Clarke. The two hugged and then Marlowe asked Clarke to explain conflict resolution to them.

Clarke held out her hand and said that it started with holding out a hand and another person taking it, and then saying anything at all, which was meant to foster a conversation. The next step after, if that didn't work, was going to a professional conflict resolution person among the ocsi. Marlowe took Clarke's hand and said that they weren't going to be here much longer, and explained that they were going to die soon, and that they don't want to spend the little time they had alive being in conflict and angry. Clarke responded that if they died, she'd drag them out of death and into life again, to which Marlowe said that they'd rather stay dead, but if Clarke could, they'd like her to make sure that the team was ok and that Taunt didn't get any of their stuff. They promised to do anything in return for that. Clarke said that, in return, Marlowe should hold on to their life as hard as possible. Marlowe promises to try.

## Making the Most of Bad Decisions (Duncan & Marlowe) (3)

After the talk with Clarke, Marlowe goes to the gym and finds Duncan there, working out. Clarke's words and their impending doom still sitting heavy in their mind, they try talking to Duncan about the events of the day. They tell Duncan more about their time as a villain and that it's just a lot of messing up until you get something right, and that the hero thing is pretty similar, but that Duncan should try better in the future. Duncan says that he's not used to people not liking him, to which Marlowe replies that they're not used to people liking them. They also say that Duncan should apologize to Clarke, and that all it would really take is just holding out his hand. They share a couple of more details. Duncan says that he's been arrested before. Marlowe says that they got arrested multiple times, but never charged with anything due to their ability to rearrange memories. They also say that they made someone think they were their cousin and let them live in their house for a month, just because. Marlowe also says that they're not going to be with the New Guardians for very long, and that they'd like Duncan and the rest of the team to get along and have a good time together.

Afterwards, Duncan suggests that they get back to "making the most of the situation." Marlowe asks what he means and Duncan kisses them. This turns to making out on gym equipment which turns into something else. Thankfully, that something else happens in Duncan's room. The something else is that Duncan and Marlowe hook up. Duncan assumes that Marlowe doesn't really want to be a hero and is going to ditch the New Guardians and really does decide to make the most of it. Marlowe thought they were making it pretty clear that they were going to die and thinks this is pity sex, but figures that this is the only time someone who knows about their powers is going to willingly touch them, so they also make the most of it.

Marlowe leaves as soon as Duncan falls asleep and goes to their room. The feeling of doom and impending death still sitting heavy with them, they spend the rest of the night pacing, brooding, and panicking in their own room.

## Dressed to the Nines (Sarah, Duncan, Marlowe, Clarke) (3.5)

The operations of a normal day are interrupted by the appearance of Marvel, who flies to the tower with her chair. Clarke goes to hug her, and Marvel reveals to the team that the museum they fought in during session 2 is re-opening, and that the new guardians need some good press. Their missions have, so far, been a mixed bag, and there is a lot of negative propaganda out there, especially after Clarke bad-mouthed humanity on camera. Marvel tells the new guardians that they will be attending the "grand re-opening" party, and that they would need to dress properly for the affair. Duncan decides they want to dress in a romper, and Sarah tries to get out of it by saying that people will be afraid of her, but Marvel rebuffs these claims.

As soon as Marvel suggests that they will need nice dress, both Marlowe and Clarke dash about. Clarke comes back with a bunch of alien technology, and Marlowe with a sketchbook, a sewing kit, and a bunch of tailoring materials. Sarah and Duncan, terrified, know where this is going and try to escape, but Clarke and Marlowe trap them and take measurements. Clarke used a scanner and Marlowe a magical construct tape measurer. Then the two of them got to work designing outfits.

After about a half hour, Clarke and Marlowe emerged, with a small amount of technorganic material in a box. Clarke explained to Sarah that this was made for her, and could be "controlled" using an osci "application" on her smart phone. Sarah put on the technorganic material, reluctantly, and pressed the button to reveal a very beautiful golden dress. Sarah looked at herself in it and smiled, saying it looked quite beautiful and for once she felt pretty.

Meanwhile, Clarke and Marlowe turned their sights on Duncan, who said he had a personal tailor and promised not to be too garish in appearance. Marlowe and Duncan (and Clarke?) Decided to go to the tailor to get their outfits set. *But i wasn't there so i don't know what happened.*

## Websurfing (Sarah) (3.5)

Sarah, alone in her room, decided to do some investigating into Out There! Online. She looked up the incident at the convention center and saw that it, of course, had been widely reported. She looked up Out There! Online and much to her dismay, she found articles about Clarke's "hate for humanity" and about her and Marlowe's "secret identity" posted several days prior (this was just a clickbait article, but it did reveal her first name as Sarah). Nervous, Sarah went on facebook and looked up her old friends Aiden and Christina. Aiden's wall was normal, with videos about dabbing and other teen things, but Christina had not posted in several days, which was unusual for her. Sarah then checked her sister Erika's facebook and found that she too had not posted since the article about her identity. Worried, Sarah took her Guard-issued cell phone and called Erika, who picked and, instead of her usual bubbly self, tersely asked "who is this?" Sarah did not respond, being afraid of revealing herself and not knowing what to say, and after a few seconds of silence, Erika said "whoever this is, i don't have time for you." and hung up.

## Text Me Back (Marlowe & Erika) (4.5)

After the museum incident, Marlowe goes out for a smoke, still a little bit drunk. They decide to call Erika, whose number is still on their phone. Erika, still in the car on the way home from New unity, answers sleepily. Marlowe introduces themself, and lets Erika know that they're gladd she and Sarah talked, but that Erika needs to be prepared and understand the situation she's in, that a lot of people might want to come after her to get at Sarah. Erika asks what happened to Sarah, and Marlowe explains to the best of their ability, and mentions that Dactyla is also inhabiting Sarah. Erika asks why Marlowe would tell her this, and Marlowe says she just wants Erika to be prepared and that she can call them any time she has a question.

Erika then asks Marlowe about them and the rest of the team, seeming a bit starstruck to be talking to a super hero. Erika asks about Balefire, revealing that she thinks he is the coolest member of thee guard, and asks if the new guardians will get their own comic book. Marlowe says maybe, and Erika says she could draw comics of them. Marlowe mentions that they are just glad Erika picked up and found Sarah, and said they would always be honest with her.

Cristina steals the phone from Erika, and begins badgering Marlowe, saying that they better make sure Sarah calls them every week and checks in so they know she's ok, and that if she doesn't, marlowe will be held responsible. Marlowe agrees, and Erika takes the phone back. Erika and Marlowe say their goodbyes, and Erika hangs up, leaving Marlowe alone on the balcony.

a full log can be found here

## Drained (Marlowe, Duncan, Clarke, Sarah) (4.5)

Just after texting Erika, Duncan comes out to comfort Marlowe. Marlowe says they are drained, and Duncan tries to cheer them up with a kiss, but Marlowe reacts and their powers kick in, taking memories from Duncan's life.

Specifically: a memory of one of Duncan's friends egging him on to steal from a homeless man; a memory of Duncan, having hooked up with someone, being told 'there's no way i'd be seen in public with you.' And finally, Duncan as a little boy, with his mother. He asks his mother if she is happy all the time, and when she says she is not, Duncan says he 'knows how to fix that' and reaches for her face.

Duncan feels a bit weak, and Marlowe is surprised he is alive. Duncan suggests the two of them continue and hook up again, but Marlowe brings him inside, where Clarke is eating whole hot dogs without chewing. Duncan is dropped onto the couch, before he suddenly bolts up, upset. He asks marlowe what he means by "memories" and Marlowe says they grab and steal memories when they aren't in control. They apologize.

Duncan asks if the memories can be put back, and then asks Marlowe if he is better off without them. Marlowe says that they should be put back either way, and Duncan asks what they are, but Marlowe won't answer. Duncan also badgers Marlowe about dying, asking what that is about. Marlowe, as usual, gives a brief and vague answer.

Sarah, agitated by the noise, opens her door and yells at the party for being loud. Duncan angrily says that he won't calm down about the "person he likes" dying. Marlowe counters that everyone dies, they're just dying sooner. Duncan confesses his "like" of Marlowe, and says that Marlowe's dying thing is "bullshit." Clarke asks about Duncan's attraction, saying that he didn't know humans had "connections" explaining osci relationships a bit. Marlowe is shocked Duncan cares about them, and says he should care about the teammates that are going to be here longer more.

Sarah, frustrated, tells Marlowe not to say things like that, and Marlowe snarls back that it's the truth. Sarah, upset with Marlowe, says that they all care about them, but Marlowe doesn't seem convinced. Duncan mentions that it was Marlowe who told him people could change, to which Marlowe replies that they aren't a person. Sarah reacts strongly, saying she knows how Marlowe feels but he's dead wrong. Clarke asks if she is a person, and Marlowe says she is.

After a little more arguing, CDuncan asks Clarke to take him to his room. She does so, and he falls asleep for the night.

A full log can be found here.

## Relationships (Sarah, Duncan) (4.5)

It's late afternoon in New Unity. Duncan is standing out on the balcony of their penthouse, looking over the city The sun has set enough that its rays flow through the city. Sarah walks outside, seemingly without purpose. "Hey." She says, and walks over, leaning on the balcony and looking out at the city. She doesn't look at Duncan.

Duncan turns his head to look at her. "...Hey." He says after a while. His skin looks grayish and his whole demeanor looks exhausted.

Sarah looks Duncan up and down, then smirks. "You look like shit."

He snorts and looks back out at the view. "Guess it's a pretty good descriptor of how I feel." He sighs and leans forwards onto his arms on the railing. "...Marlowe bugged out, apparently. You think they'll come back?"

Sarah sighs. "Yeah, they'll come back. This happened before, when it was just me and them, at Bastions. They just.. wouldn't be there sometimes. Bastion said they always came back." Sarah leans further over the railing, leaning on her own arm. She turns her eyes to you, but not her head. "So... you and marlowe, huh?"

Duncan glances back at Sarah and then shrugs. "Yeah. It's not... well. I don't think they think of it as anything serious. Which is fine, some people are like that." He says flatly. "...I mean, I used to be like that." He admits, after a moment.

"Yeah, Marlowe... they told me a bit. It was all vague. They lost... they lost a lot. A lot of time, memories, pretty much everything. They don't even remember star wars, if you can believe it." Sarah chuckles just a bit. "It's like, they don't know a lot of things about... how people are?"

Sarah looks back over the balcony, away from Duncan again. "But uhm, you think it's serious, right?"

Now he looks at Sarah with a frown. "I... didn't know. Is- did this happen because of their powers? I mean, since it's memory based, *apparently*." He looks away, letting out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know what I feel. I don't know if I want it to be... serious. Ugh. I don't like it." He shakes his head and his tail is lashing with annoyance.

"When Marlowe and Taunt... uh... 'got a divorce,' Marlowe got some things and Taunt got others. Marlowe told me a lot about it while we were both at Bastions. We, uh. We shared a lot. You know, it's like, we were the only people around that 'got' each other. I guess that's why i thought..." Sarah trails off, then she looks away. "nevermind. It's stupid. I don't know why i'm telling you this anyway.(edited)

"I... I appreciate it. That you'd tell me. Thanks." He says quietly, not able to meet her eyes. "I don't understand all of it, but it helps clear up some things."
Then he looks at her with a sudden realization. "Shit, you're into them too, aren't you." He say and lets out a short incredulous laugh.

Sarah looks over with a big grumpy frown. "S-shut up. It's not funny." She squeezes the railing hard, and you can see it bend ever so slightly in her grip. "It's stupid, like i said. It makes no sense. I-I just felt that because we both.. becausde i was there when they were.. were learning again, that we would..." Sarah takes a deep breath, and then another, then calms down. "Whatever. It's not even fair of me to think that." She looks down, opening her hands and loosening her grip, seeing the damage she caused. "I mean, who could love a monster like me, anyway." she mutters.

Duncan raises his eyebrows at her. "If you're basing that assumption on just how you look, then you're in for a hard lesson. You can't tell monsters just from looking at them." He says in a serious tone. He looks at the damage she's done to the railing. "...And even if you've hurt people, it doesn't make you a monster either."
He approaches Sarah and pokes his finger sharply into her sternum. "What's it with you and Marlboro that makes you think you're not real people? Don't you go out there just like any other superhero and protect other people from the actual monsters??"

Sarah groans a bit, and snarls at Duncan. "How many times do I have to tell all of you not to *touch* me?" She tries to keep her cool, but it isn't looking good. "You don't get it. None of you really *get* it. Right now, there are a thousand voices in my head, and they're all screaming at me. Do you know what they're saying?" Sarah takes a step forward, a dead serious look on her face. With one swift motion, one of the blades of her wings is right in front of your face. "They're telling me how easy it would be to cut you in two." She pulls the wing back, slowly, carefully as not to hurt you. "I'm trying, Duncan. I really am, but... it doesn't come easy. And if i fuck up once... well, that's it."

Duncan takes a step back but his face still looks determined. "I'm not trying to minimize how awful that sounds, but everyone's got a voice telling them to do awful shit. You think I don't get the itch to make people feel all sorts of things? To make myself look like someone else and take their place? Even I know that what matters is not doing what that voice says." He suddenly looks sheepish. "Although I'm not good at that. Anyway, my point was... I think you've got more than one chance at this. You're gonna fuck up but I think it's gonna be okay. You've got people who care about you." He says, trying to look sympathetic. "Shit, I don't know. I'm not good at this." He mumbles.

Sarah snorts. "Neither am I. But, uh, thanks for trying." Sarah looks out over the city again. "I guess we're all a little fucked up, right?"

Duncan snorts and waves his hand at her. "Hell, you look at Balefire lately? That guy makes my fur stand on end, which is saying something when seeing the devil does the same thing." He stretches long and languidly. "Anyway, I'm gonna head back inside and nap. This shit is worse than any hangover, which I guess is something you have no reference for and lots of to look forward to."
He walks back in, giving Sarah an ironic salute.

Sarah looks back, watching Duncan's tail sway as he walks back and fourth. Duncan slides the door shut behind him, leaving Sarah alone on the baclony. "Asshole..." she says, looking out onto the city. After a couple seconds, Sarah cracks a smile.

## Memories (Duncan, Marlowe) (4.5)

Marlowe slipped back into the apartment in the evening. They timed it so they wouldn't run into anyone, made sure the common rooms were empty. Once inside, they took a couple of steps towards their room, then stopped. Sighed. Briefly shut their eyes. Then, they turned towards Duncan's room.

They stood in front of it for about a minute before finally knocking.

There's a pause then the sound of slow footsteps towards the door. Duncan opens it with an expression of annoyance that immediately changes into startled surprise and then settles on a dour frown. "... Hey. You're back." He says finally, not opening the door wider to let Marlowe in.

"Yeah," says Marlowe, not quite meeting Duncan's eyes. "I figured it was better if I... recharged for a while. And I know I'm probably the last person you want to see right but I need to. Uh. Return your memories."(edited)

Duncan shakes his head and sighs. "No, not the last person. I was worried." He says flatly and steps back to let Marlowe in. He closes the door behind them. He goes over to sit on the bed, watching Marlowe intently, waiting silently.

"Oh," says Marlowe, and leans back against the closed door. "I'm sorry. I'm not... I'm not used to people."

Duncan raises an eyebrow. "Yeah, I noticed. The 'thinking that no one cares about you' part kind of gives it away." He drawls, leaning back on his hands. "But you can't undo this, apparently, so we've both got to live with you knowing something I'd rather you didn't. Just..." He sighs, a little irritated. "I'm not going to *break*, Marlowe. It happened. We move on."

"No- I-" says Marlowe, then stops and takes a deep breath. "I can give them back to you. That's why I'm here. I can return them. I'll just end up... keeping a copy. But you get the originals back."

Duncan shrugs a little non-committally. "Right. Okay. It's important to you, so let's do this." He says, waving Marlowe over.

Marlowe walks over to Duncan and gently puts a hand on his cheek. "Duncan... This should be important to you, too. We're all just memories. Those are the things who make us who we are. Sometimes, if you're missing large enough chunks, key enough experiences? That's it. Your motivations, your perception of the world, it all changes. Knowing who you are, knowing where you came from, and what led you to being where you are? Those things are important. You should be important to you."

Duncan looks embarrassed for a second, then his brows furrow again.
"...I guess you know all this from experience? So taking people's memories changed you?" He says quietly, meeting Marlowe's eyes.

"If they're strong enough memories," says Marlowe. "But I'm also missing a lot of things that.... that Taunt took. And I don't want to do that to someone I trust."

Marlowe leans down and kisses Duncan on the forehead. Their eyes go dark and something crackles beneath their skin. The blackness bleeds into the scleras of Duncans eyes and the memories pour into his mind.

*The first one looks recent. Duncan’s sitting in the back of a parked car with two other people. The girl next to him shoves his shoulder and laughs. "God, look at him! I know it's way too easy for you, but it would be so funny!" She's pointing out the window and Duncan follows her gesture to look at a disheveled homeless man sitting against the wall of a building across from them, drinking quietly out of a bottle in a brown paper bag. "Just do this and we can go to the party afterwards. You don't even have to drink it, we can pass it onto someone else." She reassures him in a smooth voice. Duncan looks out the window silently for a while, then he sighs and opens the car door.*

*In the second, he’s younger. He's sitting on the edge of a bed, watching a fair haired boy smoking outside on the balcony. He looks back at Duncan with a smile. "You know this is just a sometime thing, right? There's no way I'd be seen in public with you, I mean, have you taken a look at yourself?" He's got a clear, ringing laugh. Duncan tries to laugh along with him.*

*In the third, Duncan’s just a kid. He’s with an older woman who shares his skin tone and hair colour. She's sitting with him as he's drawing on a piece of paper and strokes his hair, smiling pleasantly.
Duncan holds up his drawing to inspect it and then looks up at her. "Maman, do you feel happy all the time?" He asks her. She laughs and shakes her head. "No, of course not, everyone feels a little down sometime, sweetie."
Duncan face lights up when he hears this and he reaches his hands for her face. "Oh! I know how to fix that." He says happily.*(edited)

Marlowe pulls back.

Duncan's expression is pained and wretched and tears start rolling down his cheeks. He looks away with teeth clenched, shoulders shaking. He doesn't say anything for a while.
"I... fuck." He says hoarsely. "I don't think I wanted that to be a part of who I am." He wipes at his face furiously.

"You're not your past. You're a sum of your past," Marlowe says quietly, and sits down next to Duncan. "It happened. But what you choose to do with it, who you choose to be? That's up to you. I'm sorry that they're so fucking awful. But if it was me, I'd rather know."

Duncan lets out a long breath and leans against Marlowe.
"You're kind of full of shit, Marlboro." He says almost affectionately. "But... thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Sorry about the whole... y'know, you got some shit memories." He barks a rueful laugh. "Shit, it'll take some time to forget about that again. I need a drink. Or three."

"I've had worse," says Marlowe. "I'm sorry that you had to go through them again. I could- Well. No. I couldn't. But I could probably have a drink, too."(edited)

Duncan looks up at Marlowe with a squint. "Yeah, no, not happening." He gets up and grabs Marlowe's hands and pulls at them. "We're gonna go to a nice bar I know I can get into and getting some cute disgustingly sweet fruity drinks. My treat."

"Considering what happened at the museum," says Marlowe. "But if you want, I've got some, uh. Devil's Lettuce?"

Duncan gives Marlowe a long, level look. "I hope that you're offering me weed, because I'm gonna need some after hearing what you said just now."

Marlowe smiles slightly and reaches into their jacket. From their pocket, they pull out a small black cylindrical container. "Sorry. May I offer you some Hungarian Hummus?"

Duncan pinches the bridge of his nose and breathes in deeply. "Marlboro, I love you but please stop. Hummus is a food not... no, I'm not doing this."

Marlowe shrugs. "Hold on, I'll go get my bong."
In the doorway to Duncan's room, they pause. "I. I'm still sorry. About the memory thing. That was shitty of me."

Duncan shrugs. "Shit happens. Especially when you've got shitty dangerous powers." He grins and points two fingers at his eyes and then at Marlowe. "You'll make it up to me, though."

Marlowe smiles. "I'll try.

## Bad News (Beacon, Carrington Family) (5)

Beacon landed on a sleepy street. Motor City's skyline towered overhead, but here all was quiet, save for the gentle flapping of his cape. Beacon looked around, spotting the house he wanted, and walked up to it. He pressed the doorbell, and seemed a bit taken aback when no sound was produced. He tried a few more times, out of politeness, before knocking on the door. He stood calmly, hands folded behind his back, for about thirty seconds before a man, much shorter than him, sporting a scruffy goatee and glasses, opened the door. Beacon smiled, but the man's mouth immediately fell to a look of dread. Beacon spoke up: "Hello. I am sorry to disturb you, but are you mister Daniel Carrington?"

Daniel continued to frown, and hesitated for a moment, before saying "yes. And you're--" "Yes, I am." The two stood there for a moment, neither quite sure what to say, until Beacon asked "may I come in" while Daniel asked "do you want to--" simultaneously. The two shared an awkward chuckle, particularly forced from Daniel, and he moved aside, gesturing welcomly to Beacon, who thanked the man and stepped inside. Daniel shut the door behind them as Beacon looked over their cozy foyer, into a shag carpeted living room. Daniel, hands in his pockets, shouted "Linda, we have a guest." Before turning again to Beacon. "Can I get you some coffee, or..." Beacon quickly raised a hand in protest. "Oh, no thank you. I find i fly better without the caffine, you know." Daniel nodded, struggling to relate. "A decaf man, then? My doctor tells me to do the same, but you know... old habits."

Linda walked down the stairs. She wore a pair of reading glasses attached to a chain around her neck. Her hair cut in sensible bangs. She and her husband both looked a little greyer than they should for their age. Behind her, the young Erika followed closely. Linda turned around, shooing Erika away. "Sweetie, why don't you play in your room for a while." Erika frowned, and stopped walking down the stairs, but stood at the top, looking in awe at Beacon. Not just any superhero, but *the* superhero, standing in her foyer, talking to mom and dad. Well, he wasn't as dark and brooding like balefire, but who doens't love the classics?

Daniel gestured toward the couch in their living room. "Please, have a seat." Beacon smiled warmly, that smile he's perfected. "Thank you, MIster Carrington." Daniel laughed. "Christ, Daniel is fine." Beacon sat, with Linda and Daniel sitting across, on easy chairs. Beacon took the whole couch, looking rather silly sitting alone. Erika crept further down the stairs, as Linda and Daniel tried their best to avoid the coming conversation. Eventually, Beacon sat forward, his hands folded over one another. He wasn't smiling, even if the news he had was, on all accounts, good. "I think... you both know why I'm here. This is about your daughter, Sarah."

Daniel and Linda looked at each other, both of them immediately choking back tears at the mere sound of her name. Linda spoke first. "Uhm, our other daughter, Erika, has told us some... things, but--" Daniel interrupted. "But we've been over this again and again and again. She's..." he choked. He tried again, and spat out the words. "she's gone, as hard as that is, and we have to... we have to accept it if we're going to move on."

Beacon shuffled a bit, suddenly feeling out of place. Why did he feel this way? Usually, this conversation was telling parents their child was dead. This should be happy instead. He forced a smile. He was as good at forced smiles as he was at natural ones. "Mr and Mrs Carrington, your daughter is very much alive and well."

Above, on the bannister, Erika smiled. She was right all along.

Beacon explained what had happened to a stunned Linda and Daniel. When he had finished, Linda was shaking her head. She looked like she wanted to cry, but she was all cried out. "I don't believe you." she said. Beacon looked a bit startled, and Daniel moved to comfort his wife. "Honey, please" but Linda persisted. "No. No, we-we searched high and low, we asked friends and family, we did every thing we could, and when all that didn't work, we had a funeral. And now you're, you're telling me that not only is my daughter alive, but she's been alive, and with you all this time, and she's... some sort of space alien? No, I--I don't know what kind of trick the guard is pulling, but I've seen the final john and i know what you people are-are like."

LInda stood up, stammering and shaking. Daniel moved to comfort her, putting an arm around her. He looked at Beacon with a look that said "i'm sorry." Linda shouted at him. "Get out. Get out of my house. I want you to leave." Beacon sighed, and stood up. "I understand. I am... sorry." He wasn't sure exactly why he was apologizing for bringing someone back from the dead. Linda ran out of the room, and Daniel shouted after her, but she was gone. Daniel turned to Beacon, extended a hand to shake, which Beacon took. Daniel said "I, uh... thank you for... Listen, you know where the door is, right? I have to" and he ran off after Linda.

Beacon moved towards the door. He stood in front of it for a moment before reaching for it. What would they do now? What would Sarah thing? Would she blame him? Would she trust him, still? Would any of them? He trembled, just a bit. He reached for the door, but he hesitated. Just as he was about to turn the handle, he heard a small voice say "H--Hi mister Beacon." from behind him. He turned around, his smile big and beaming, fake only to him, and looked down on Erika, who had cralwed down the stairs, and was now meekly looking up in awe of him. His lack of confidence faded, and Beacon rememebred who he was, and what he stood for. He kneeled down, getting to Erika's level. "Hello. You must be Erika. It's so good to meet you. Your sister has told me a lot about you."

Erika almost squealed, but kept her cool. She held out a hand, which Beacon shook, and she said. "Sorry about my mom. She's, uh.." and Beacon just smiled. "It's fine. I understand. These things take time. Remember, it took your sister a long time before she felt comfortable talking with you. Your situation is... unique. And I am sorry you have to go through that. " Erika looked down a bit, searching for an answer. "It's ok! It'll be ok." "Yes, it will." beacon responded. Erika took no time changing the subject. "I--I think you're really cool." "And I think you're very brave, doing what you did for your sister. She's very brave, too. She's being very brave and she is going to make a great hero." Erika beamed, and Beacon warned "But remember, you should do your best to be a hero in your own way. Even those of us without special powers can be heroes."

Erika giggled. "I know. But that's pretty boring, don't you think." Beacon began to begin a lecture on how the real heroes are those who try their best to improve the lives of others, in any way big or small, but Erika seemed bored. Of course, she wasn't going to interrupt Beacon, but he picked up on her irritation and changed the subject. "Erika, I have something for you, something special." Erika was, of course, estatic. Beacon produced a small cell phone, which looked a bit on the old side. He hadned it to Erika. "This is a special phone. You can contact Sarah with it, but please do not try and contact her with another phone. This one is encrypted, which means that bad people won't be able to find out anything about you and sarah if you use it." Erika held it close, and Beacon put a hand on hers. "Keep it close, and please, use it. You are so, so important to Sarah, more than you even realize. She needs you, your support, if she's going to be a great hero." Beacon stood up. "I have to go now. Erika, will you be ok." Erika, her starstruck nature finally catching up to her, simply nodded enthusiastically, holding the phone close. Beacon smiled, waved again. "Until next time, Erika Carrington." He opened the door and walked outside. Erika ran for the window, just in time to see him take off. With a bolt of lightning, Beacon was gone.

## Clean Room (Marlowe, Dave) (5.5)

The night after they get back from camping, Marlowe writes a phone number down on a piece of paper. They stare at it for a while, then carefully take it and walk over to Dave's room and knock on the door.

"Dave?" they call. "Remember how you had my emergency contact as my grandma? Can I, uh, change that now?"

"Agh, fuck--" there comes a sound a shuffling, and then a very, very fast shuffling, as though somebody were taking everything in a room and piling it in a corner. Then, moments later, the door opens just enough to show Dave's face.

"What? Why? I guess? Who is it."

"Not my grandmother, that's for sure," says Marlowe, and holds the paper out to Dave. "It's uh... Void. They'd be the best person to call when something happens."

Dave takes the paper, looking at it and memorizing it in the span of about five seconds. Then he looks back up at Marlowe.

"Why the fuck would Void be the best person to call? They're a supervillain. A supervillain you just gave me, hi, technically a guard mole? The phone number of."

"I don't have anyone else," Marlowe says quietly. "My parents are useless. I don't know any relatives. And my grandmother can't know. Void might be kinda shitty, but when I die, they'll be able to deal with anything that happens. They've got magic and they know me."

Dave crumples paper and puts it in his pocket; he's already got it in his head.

"I mean, I guess? Generally the Guard puts out messages for like, funeral services and shit, I dunno what Void would care about that--" he stops. "Hold up. 'When?' You've been saying a lotta shit lately about dying and you got some finality in that tone that I don't think I'm a fan of."

Marlowe blinks, taken aback. "Well... yeah. You have- you have my file, right?"

Dave squints at them.

"Uh, yeah?" he screws his eyes shut, casting his memory back to reading it. "Psychic constructs, vitality absorption, memory manipulation, hit eleventh grade early and then stopped, went back and got your GED, took like.. two community college courses? Split into two halves after a magic-related incident, and you maintain a psychic connection to your mirror version that you're still learning to control... am I, like, missing anything?"(edited)

"Oh," says Marlowe. The close their eyes for a moment. "Fuck. Sorry. I- I thought you knew."

They take a deep breath and open their eyes. "Dave... I'm. Kind of dying? Taunt's. Pretty literally sucking the life out of me. And I don't know how long I have left. Could be weeks. Could be months. Might be a year. I'm sorry. It's going to be really inconvenient."(edited)

Dave tilts his head, very slowly.
"Marlowe, what the *fuck* are you talking about."

Marlowe shrinks back a little. "Taunt's killing me?"

"Says who?" He's straightening up now. There's something barely perceptibly changed about the set of his jaw. It's one of those things that you had to be in the know to notice.

Marlowe rubs their forehead. "Says me. I can feel it. Whenever I'm weak or exhausted or- yeah. I can feel my life slipping away to Taunt. My magic's holding me up for now, but it's still bad. There's uh. Throwing up. And physical pain. And... Dave, I know what dying from energy siphoning looks like." They spread their arms out. "This is it."

"Wh--" Dave sputters, eyes bouncing from wide to narrow as outrage and incredulity fought across his face. "Well then, fuckin'-- take some back? Take some from me?" Dave pushes himself out from the door, walking straight into Marlowe and pulling up a sleeve to expose the pale length of his forearm, as if he were offering to donate blood.
"You're not *dying,* Marlowe, you need *dialysis*."

"Christ, Dave," says Marlowe, eyes wide. "That's not- Fuck. Please roll your sleeve down that's not. Not gonna help in this case. When they take my life, my magic, uh, expands to fill in for what's missing. The only real way to get it back is to take it from Taunt and.... they're stronger than me. They're Alex. I'm just.... a copy.

Dave doesn't roll down his sleeve. His eyes narrow, and he leans in to Marlowe's face.
"Fuck. That. *Shit.*" He grabs Marlowe by their collar and drags them into his room, slamming the door behind them.
The inside of Dave's room is vastly different now than it was when the team had moved in. The bedspread, initially immaculate, was rumpled and tossed to one side, one corner of the sheets having come loose from the mattress and left where it lay. In the corner behind the door was a pile of black garbage bags, one of which had the logo of a fast food container peeking out of the top of it. The desk, which had been so orderly and organized mere weeks ago, with various half-built trick Bullseyes littering it. His guitar sat on its stand next to the desk with its amp beside, and neither had been touched in days.
Dave pulled Marlowe into his room and pushed them onto his bed, the only clear surface in the room.
"Alright, talk. What the *fuck* makes you think you're not the real Alex Marlowe? That there even *is* a real side?"

Wide eyed, Marlowe scrambles backward on bed until their back hits the wall. "Because if I was Alex Marlowe, I wouldn't be here! I wouldn't care! I'd be with Void and I wouldn't *care* about anything or anyone!"

Dave drags his hands down his face.
"So what, you think detachment is the sole defining characteristic of Alex Marlowe? Then where the fuck did *you* come from? If Alex Marlowe couldn't care about anyone, then why the fuck do *you?* Unless--"
Dave turns away from them and picks up one of the bullseyes from his desk. "You *do* care, don't you? You wouldn't be here if you didn't... Right?"(edited)

"Yeah," says Marlowe. They look away, blinking back tears. "What do you think the *incident* was supposed to get rid of?"

Dave throws out his arms out to his side, throwing his head back.
"I have no *fuckin'* idea what it was supposed to do, but *rid you of human empathy* sure wasn't high up on my list! Jesus *Christ,* Marlowe!" He pulls his chair out and throws himself into it, causing the frame of it to groan. "Jesus Christ," he repeats, quieter. "Well, it didn't work, did it? It did the opposite. It pulled the apathy out of you."

"No, I- I think it worked pretty well," says Marlowe quietly. They pull their legs up and hug their knees. "Taunt's... everything Alex Marlowe wanted to be. I think. I don't have all the details. I'm just what was left over, you know. All the bullshit."

"What Void wanted you to be, maybe. What you were told you wanted to be." Dave begins to straighten in his chair, pivoting to look at them.
"But guess what, Marlowe? If Taunt was everything Alex Marlowe wanted to be, you wouldn't be here. A schism doesn't happen *naturally*. It needs *friction*. And you had enough empathy, enough *give a fuck* in your body that it's enough to power an entire *person.*"
He's leaning forward now, almost jumping out of his seat at them.
"You exist because Alex Marlowe *cares,* and you need to remember that."(edited)

Marlowe lets out a laugh, but it's mostly a sob. They put their head down between their knees. "Well, I'm still dying," they say thickly. "But, you know, I'm really glad that I'm gonna be dying on this team. You're- you're a good person, Dave. Thanks. And I'm. Really sorry you had to hear all that."(edited)

Dave crosses his arms, leaning back on his chair and causing it to creak again.

"Pfft. No you're not."

"Sorry but yeah. I am," says Marlowe, voice muffled.

"Nah," says Dave, a smirk growing on his face. "You already told me how you're not. We've already *seen* how you're not."(edited)

July 6, 2017

His head tilts back the other way.
"Who's the main character in *Alien*, Marlowe?"

Slowly. Marlowe lifts their head up. There's tears on their face and they quickly wipe them away. "...Ripley?"(edited)

Dave leans forward again, eyes bright.
"Exactly! And you didn't remember when I first asked you, and nobody else told you! You fuckin' *took it back,* man! You can take it *all* back!"(edited)

"I don't think the mirror's the best idea, Dave," says Marlowe. "It worked once but. Taunt knows better than me how that thing functions. They'll be ready. You should save it for an emergency."

"Yeah, fuck the mirror," says Dave, waving the idea away. "We don't need it for that. It just confirmed a hypothesis, that doesn't mean it's impossible without it. It's just a seesaw, dude. It's just a matter of shifting the fulcrum."

"There's nothing that says you *have* to die."

"I don't know, Dave," Marlowe says, and they sound tired. "I've made my peace with dying. It's fine, trust me. If it's really that inconvenient for the team, I'll leave when it starts getting really close and tell Bastion or something. The Guard will be able to find a replacement more easily that way."

"Peace?" says Dave, incredulous. "Fuck peace! Fuck inconvenience, too! You're not going to need a replacement because you're *not going to die.* I'm not gonna let you, and who's gonna stop me?"

Marlowe looks at Dave and their expression slowly turns concerned. They want to say that Taunt will, probably, but when they open their mouth to tell Dave that, what comes out instead is, "Are- are you ok?"

Dave blinks, recoiling for a moment. "What? No. Shut up. We're talking about you."

"Yeah," says Marlowe. "We do that kind of a lot. And you seem kind of more fucked up over this than I am. Dave you- You jumped off a roof. And now you're. So set on solving this. And, no offense, but your room's kind of a disaster. And you keep risking yourself when you don't have to and- You keep trying to solve everyone's problems but you never talk about yourself. So.... are you ok?"

Dave leans back in his chair, letting out a sputtering, barking laugh, and covers his mouth with his hand. He rolls back enough to back his chair against the desk, jostling the papers and tools on it. A screwdriver falls onto the ground.
"I tell you what I'm *not*, Marlowe, and that's losing another person I care about to supervillain *bullshit.*"

Marlowe is silent for a long moment.

"If you really want to solve this," they say finally, "If that will help? Alright. There's time. But you're not ok *right now*. And you haven't been ok. So. What is it, Dave? What's going on?"

"I don't just *want* to solve it, I'm *going* to solve it. And you're not gonna give up." He looks at Marlowe again, eyes fierce behind his sunken posture. "Promise me. Right now. You're not gonna give up."

"Dave," says Marlowe. They lower their legs down and look Dave in the eye, holding his gaze. "Tell me what's wrong and I'll promise you anything."

Dave shakes his head.
"I *don't* know what you're talking about! I honestly don't!" There's an edge of desperation in his voice, moisture beginning to cause his eyes to sparkle. "I'm a *superhero*, Marlowe, I'm *helping* people, I'm *saving* people! I'm making the world a better place! What could *possibly* be wrong?"

Abruptly, Marlowe stands up. "Alright," they say sharply and stretch their hand out. "You wanna know what's wrong? Then let me show you something."

There is a blur as Dave jumps to his feet and takes their hand instantly.(edited)

Marlowe turns around and drags Dave out of his room and down the hall, to Marlowe's door. They hold their free hand out at the locks four locks, and briefly, darkness gathers as black glass keys materialise in the keyholes and turn. The door swings open.
The room in front of them couldn't even be called spartan. If anything, it's barren. There's a mattress topped with a sleeping bag on the floor, on cellophane. Next to it stand four closed cardboard boxes and the keytar case. A broken off piece of door, the same one the team absolutely destroyed on their first day in the apartment, lays in one of the corners, next to a tall mirror.
"This is how I live, Dave," says Marlowe, pulling Dave forward, into the room. Their voice is quiet, but intense. "Every night, I got to sleep - if I sleep- wondering if this is the night I'm going to fucking *die.* If my magic will destroy my body from the inside after I die, if it'll be a mess and if one of you is going to have to find it or worse, *clean it up.*
But every day? Every day I stand up. I go outside. I talk to the team. I spend time with them. I make memories and do things that I want to do, that I like doing. I don't just go on missions, then lock myself in my room until it's time for training or I have to eat. I do things. I play my keytar, I watch movies with Sarah, I cook. I visit my grandmother and hang out with her fifty something cats. I *live*, Dave. But you? You're not doing anything. You're cooping yourself up in your room with your thoughts and bad ideas like *jumping off a roof* and you're doing *nothing*."
They look at Dave. "That's what I'm seeing is wrong, Dave. So please. Tell me. What is it?"

Dave's eyes widen at the sight of Marlowe's room, pupils flicking rapidly around each corner to take in every aspect of the decor-- or rather, lack thereof.
"They should have given you a bedframe," he mutters, mostly to himself. "Why didn't they give you a bedframe?" His eyes finally flick up to meet Marlowe's, and his brow furrows. "I'm sorry, Marlowe, I didn't realize, I should have been paying more attention. I can get you a bedframe-- I can-- I--"
Dave backs up into the nearest wall, hands reaching up to claw fingers into his hair, tears now beginning to slowly drip from his eyes; for someone who moves so fast, they come few and far between. Dave sinks down until his head is between his knees, taking shoulder-hitching gulps of air.(edited)

Hands shaking, Marlowe closes the door and sits down next to Dave.

"I- I don't need a bedframe," says Marlowe, and very carefully puts a hand on Dave's shoulder. "Really. It's fine. I got rid of it. I'm sorry. I don't need a bedrame. I just need you to be ok. Please, Dave. Just... Tell me what this" --they gesture to Dave-- "is. Let me help."(edited)

"I can't--" starts Dave, and then has to inhale again. He takes a few more shaky breaths, trying to steady himself. "I can't fuck up again. I need to do better, need to *be* better, than I was before. I can't keep being a failure."
He clamps a hand around Marlowe's wrist on his shoulder, trying to tug them closer.
"Nobody else is going to die," he hisses through his teeth. "Not if I can stop it."(edited)

Marlowe lets Dave tug them closer and sighs, leaning against Dave. "You're not a failure. With all the hero stuff? You're doing well. But all of this is burning you up. And I. Don't think life's about how or when you die," they say haltingly. "It's about how you live. And Dave, like I said, you're not really living."(edited)

"I'm making sure *other* people can keep living," says Dave, muffled against his leg. "That's the thing that matters. Keep moving forward."

Marlowe awkwardly puts an arm around Dave. "You gotta live too, you know? Like. You gotta keep moving forward *with* people. Because right now, you're just trying to push others forward while staying still. That's not gonna work forever."

Dave puts a hand on Marlowe's and stutters out a chuckle.

"I dunno, I can push pretty hard. I'm pretty good at it."

Marlowe tenses when Dave puts a hand on theirs, but then slowly and purposefully relaxes. "It's a two way street, Davey. You gotta let people help you, too."

"Ah, shit, right, I'm supposed to be teaching you how to be a hero," Dave lets out a shuddering laugh and finally looks Marlowe in the eye. "Alright, hero. Help me. What do you think I should do?" He says it like a joke, but the smirk doesn't reach his eyes.

"If something's bothering you, talk to someone about it. Like. Talk about your problems, you know? Go outside and spend some time with all these people you're trying to save. And probably clean your room." They smile at that last, but it comes out more sad than reassuring.

"God, that sounds like *effort*," Dave whines, but his legs straighten out, sprawling across the floor of Marlowe's room. His heart settles into its standard frantic beat, rather than the machine-gun rattle it had been at previously.

"So is staying alive." Marlowe didn't mean for it to come out sounding like a confession, but it certainly did. "I'll help where I can, you know that, right? You don't have to do any of this alone."

Dave looks over at them and grins.
"Well, get ready for some hard work, buddy, 'cause you ain't dying *any* time soon." He scrambles to his feet in a flash, holding a hand out for them.
"See, now you're sounding like a hero."

Marlowe takes his hand and stands up. They pull Dave closer and put a hand on his arm, steadying him and looking into his eyes. "You, too. Get ready for some effort, hero. I'm not letting you off this easily."

## Physiology of Bifurcated Humanoids 101 (Clarke, Marlowe, Taunt) (5.5)

Clarke looked around the wide open space, a little nervously, a little sadly. It didn't feel right without Sarah there. Clarke had been pacing back and forth, on her feet, and the flooring showed the abuse in places. She looked up when the door opened, and flew over when she saw it was Marlowe. "Marlowe!" she said, smiling brightly. Hoping it didn't seem fake. "You're back!"

"Um," says Marlowe, elbow deep in a giant can of Pringles. "Yes! I am. Back. What's up?"

A reusable shopping bag of more snacks and awful soft drinks hangs on their shoulders. The front of their crop top reads "Hi Hater." They're wearing their holographic sandals and shorts that could be boxers, but that's really anybody's guess.(edited)

"Oh, nothing," Clarke chirps brightly. "Just. Sitting here. Waiting? For nothing in particular." Her hands were wringing; she being incredibly obvious, but she couldn't help herself. "Uh. Do you think you could help me with something?"(edited)

"I can try," says Marlowe, and stuffs roughly ten pringles in their mouth. "What is it?" they ask, voice muffled by a the chips.

"Um." Clarke lowered to the ground, claws scraping against the floor, and then she floated back up. "As far as I can tell, you and Dave are the closest to baseline human, of all the humans I know. And I don't really feel comfortable asking Dave for... well. One of the science ships in orbit wants biological samples from the ground. I've already sent a few, things I know are safe and non-contagious, and I, ah, need a set of human samples. To send back."

Marlowe blinks, then smiles slightly. "Well, if that's all it is. What do you need, kiddo? Blood? Hair? Other fluids? A finger? I could do a toe, I think. Not an eye, though. I don't think my healing box could fix that."

Clarke blinked owlishly, then giggled. "Oh, it won't be much. I think. Blood, hair, bone, spinal fluid to start with. Maybe soft tissue? Muscle fibers, nerves. Definitely some of the stuff in your lymphatic system, I've been reading a lot about that."

"Would a toe cover most of those?" says Marlowe thoughtfully. "I think there's some muscle in a toe. Some nerves too, but don't quote me on that. That would also do bone. And skin. We can do hair first, then toe, then spinal fluid after that. What's uh. What's in my lymphatic system?"(edited)

"Oh, and I've been smoking. Um. Cigarettes. If that changes anything."

Clarke considers. "I don't know? We'll see. As long as it's not contagious, it should be fine for initial samples. We don't really have a protocol for this. We've never *had* physical samples before." She floats into her room, and comes back out with an enormous case. "Ah, just sit over there. I'll be right there in a second. And the lymphatic system is what carries your immune system, I believe? I'll have to check Web-o-pedia again. Either way, studying the human immune system would do wonders for my immune boosters."

"Could we do this near my healing equipment?" says Marlowe. "More margin for error that way. Since you've never done this."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea," Clarke says, picking up her case. "Come on, I'll fly us there in the ship."

"Aces," says Marlowe, searching the recesses of their brain for some cool teen slang. "Let's go."
They follow Clarke out to the ship.

The trip is a quick one. The ship is *fast*, and Clarke gets them there in under a minute. She leads the way into Marlowe's weird hole, and stops. In her tracks. "Oh," she says. "It's the asshole." To Taunt's face.

"Oh," says Taunt. "It's the anime girl and my lesser half. What a lovely surprise."

They're sitting in one of the bean bags, heavily bandaged, with one black eye. Their smartphone's playing the Angry Birds music.

"Go fuck yourself," says Marlowe.

Taunt grins. "Are you offering?"

Marlowe rolls their eyes and walks over to the Dark Cradle, saying nothing else.

"Well." Clarke drops the case on the table. "If you're here, you might as well make yourself useful? Let me take some biological samples, and I'll tell the team you aren't a horrible person. Maybe they'll hold off next time before beating you into the ground." There was just the slightest hint of disapproval at her team's violent tendencies, which Clarke covered up by opening the case and revealing a plethora of instruments. "Ah, Marlowe, I wasn't really sure what I'd need, so I just brought... a lot of things I've been working on."

"Just give me some shears," says Marlowe, taking off their sandal and hopping onto the edge of the Cradle. "And like, a bag or something."

Taunt raises an eyebrow. "Are you cutting off a toe again?"

"Get fucked, Taunt."

Taunt rolls their eyes.

"What kind of samples are we talking, anime girl?"

"Again?" Clarke glances between Marlowe and Taunt. "...is this something I should be concerned about?"

Then, "Ah, just a basic variety. Skin, hair, soft tissue, spinal fluid. That sort of thing."

Marlowe and Taunt shrug in unison.

"Void-" they say simultaneously.

Marlowe glares at Taunt. Taunt gives them a blinding smile.

"Void needed a sample just in case," says Marlowe.

At the same time, Taunt goes, "Void wanted something to regrow me from in case I die."(edited)

At the mention of spinal fluid, Taunt cringes. "No," they say. "Have shadow do it. They seem ready enough."

"Oh, no," Clarke says, with a completely sincere smile, not at all fucking with anyone, no. "I think this is vital, actually! Do you know how rare bifurcated organisms like you are? I don't think my people have encountered someone like you before. I *need* a full range of samples from you, Taunt. Do you know how grateful my people would be?"

"Do you know that I don't care?" says Taunt, and, with some effort, gets up out of the bean bag. "I'll see y'all in hell."

They make their way for the exit.

Clarke smiles prettily and says, "In fact, I'm sure they'd be so grateful they'd give you a reward. Who even knows what it would be? I read a story on the datanet once about a ship who gave someone plasma engines in exchange for *information*. Biological samples have to be worth a lot more than that."

Taunt pauses and squints at Clarke. "That sounds like a lie, but... I'll do it if you pay me up front."

"It'll take a few minutes for anything to reach here from orbit, and we may as well take the samples while we wait." Clarke pulls her phone out of her pocket. "Is there anything in particular you want? Or, ah, that human phrase? Dealer's choice?"

"Fifty bucks and a pack of cigarettes," says Taunt. "Maybe a beer."

"Oh, do you have like. Alien beer?"

"...nothing you could consume without dying?" Clarke shrugs. "I could certainly request some if you wanted to try it, though."

Taunt gives Marlowe a thoughtful glance. "...Yeah. That's good. A little dying never hurt anyone."

Clarke sighs. "All right. Request sent. I'd rather get the samples before you taint them, though? The containment modules should be here, I'll go grab them." Clarke leaves for a moment, and comes back with three bulky spheres held awkwardly in her arms. "The sending module is on its way, just fourteen keys. Uh, that's, ten minutes. I think. Marlowe, if you're dedicated to cutting off your toe, here." Clarke grabs what looks like a pair of scissors made of wire and hands them to Marlowe. "Taunt, take your shirt off, I'm taking the spinal fluid first."

"Oh no," says Taunt, as Marlowe takes the scissors. "I don't strip until I see the money."

Marlowe snorts at that and takes the scissors. "Can I get something to put my toe in?" they ask. "I don't want to know what'll happen if it falls into the Cradle."

Clarke taps on one of the orbs; a port slides open, revealing a second orb inside. "Just put it in there. Taunt, I -- oscalla, I think I have some human money?" Clarke digs through her pockets, and pulls out two hundred-dollar bills. "There. Is that enough?"

Taunt grabs the money as fast as they can. "Thanks, babe," they say, shoving the cash in their pocket.

Marlowe gags.

Taunt winks at them and pulls off their shirt . "Should I lay down?"

"I don't know? I haven't done this before, although it may be good to do a trial run on you before I have to do it to Marlowe." Clarke shrugs. "Keep sitting up. If it's not working, we can try laying down."

"How about I lay down in the Cradle," says Taunt. "After shadow cuts off a toe."

"I do still need a ziplock bag or something," says Marlowe.

"Oh," they say. "Orb. Great."

Taunt tosses Marlowe something, and Marlowe catches it. "Bite down," Taunt says. "I don't want to hear you scream."

Marlowe sighs, but shoves the piece of wood in their mouth, positioned their foot over the orb, all inside the cradle.

They close their eyes, take a deep breath, and snap the scissors shut around their toe.

They don't scream, just let out a low, pained, grunt, after which they spat the wood out and doubled over, swearing.

The toe fell into the orb and they quickly lifted it out of the Cradle, foot still inside.

"Oh, don't be a baby," says Taunt. "That thing dulls pain. It can't be that bad."

"I will *murder* you and make knitting needles out of your bones," Marlowe grinds out, eyes entirely black.

"Sure," says Taunt. "Sure. Are you done yet?"

"...give me ten minutes," says Marlowe, clutching the edge of the Cradle.

Clarke unceremously pushes something into Taunt's back, which burrows into their spine and starts extracting fluid.

"What the *fuck*?" Taunt yells, and briefly jerks forward, but stops themself, closes their eyes, and stands as still as possible, shaking slightly.

"Stay still," Clarke admonishes when Taunt jerks forward, then smiles when they keep still. "This equipment hasn't been tested. You're advancing the cause of science, just by sitting there and letting me burrow into your spine! I think it's done now." Clarke withdraws the device, showing a vial filled with spinal fluid, and drops it into a second orb. "Blood next, then we'll see." She loads a second vial onto the device, which looks like a squid from hell.

"Hey now!" says Taunt. "Shouldn't there be blood on that toe?"

"You know," says Marlowe thoughtfully. "I don't think there's enough... Clarke, you'd better get more samples. Just in case."

"I need samples from each of you," Clarke says. "We don't know what sort of effect bifurcation has on the human-base body and genome. I'll need spinal fluid from you too, Marlowe, and blood from each of you. Which." Clarke peeks into the orb Marlowe's toe fell into. "I'll need a cleaner blood sample than that, I'm sure. It's been a while since my biology training, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

Marlowe sighs. "Might as well."

They lift their leg out of the Cradle. The toe's only half grown back, and they stick their foot back in. "Do Taunt first."

Taunt opens their mouth to complain, then closes it. The $200 sit heavy in their pocket. They stick their arm out towards Clarke. "Just get it over with."

With the device more visible, it's easy to see what it does. Several tendrils latch on to Taunt's arm, and then pull the base of it flush against their skin. Several more tendrils burrow through the skin, creating a path to a vein, and the vial starts to fill up with blood.

"Hot," says Taunt, sounding mostly bored.

Marlowe makes more gagging noises.

Clarke immediately presses the back of her hand against Taunt's wrist, then their temple. "Are you feeling warm? Itchy? Like your chromatophores are bursting?"

"My what now?" says Taunt, looking a little alarmed.(edited)

"Your..." Clarke hums. "The cells? That regulate your color? Humans have very basic ones, I think. You said you're hot?"

Taunt shoots Marlowe a glance as if asking "Is she for real?"

Marlowe closes their eyes and sighs.

"They're just being an asshole, Clarke."

"...oh." Clarke huffs, putting her hands on her hips. "In the future, while I'm harvesting your bodily fluids, can you try to take it seriously? I'm using technology I invented two days ago on a species I know nothing about. There's too much margin for error to be joking around. Now, I'm just going to need to cut out your eye, and we're done."

She's smiling politely at first, but it turns into the biggest shit-eating grin within seconds as she starts giggling wildly.

"You're not cutting off shit," says Taunt.

"Yeah, I have no clue what cutting out an eye will do to the two of us," says Marlowe. They sound completely serious, but there's a twinkle in their eye. "But maybe you should try. For science."(edited)

"Well," Clarke said with that same smile and a giggle still in her voice, "Taunt would have a harder time seeing what happens." She fell to the floor laughing, and while she was down there stuck another extractor on Taunt's leg, which took some muscle and nerve tissue.

Taunt swears and jerks their leg away.

Marlowe looks on.

"Wait," Marlowe says belatedly. "So I *didn't* have to cut off a toe?"

"Probably not? But you seemed really set on it, so I didn't want to say anything." Clarke floats upright, carrying the vial now full of muscle and nerve tissue. "Ah, that reminds me? Taunt, I'll need a sample of bone to complement Marlowe's."

"Fine!" says Taunt, and leans back dramatically. "Take it!"

Clarke pulls out something that is very much not one of the extractors she was using before; it was a drill-looking device, and it went into Taunt's arm very easily. There was a small amount of blood as it started whirring, and then a small piece of bone plinked into a vial. "There! I think that's an amount of bone humans can regenerate."

Taunt swears and clutches at their arm, then rushes over to the Cradle. They push Marlowe out of it and climb in.

Marlowe topples backwards and hits the plush rug.

"Now who's being a baby?!" Marlowe yells, not bothering to get off the floor.

"You, in a minute," Clarke says cheerfully. "Taunt, I just need some hair and the stuff in your lymphatic system and then I'm done with you. Marlowe, we can get started. That toe should have enough bone, so that should be okay, but I'd prefer a cleaner sample of muscle and nerve tissue, and I still need a blood sample." She claps happily. "This is fun! I see why people like the biological research track now!"

Marlowe stands up and reaches into the Cradle with one hand and the scissors they'd cut their toe off with. They grab a handful of something, pull, and snip.(edited)

Taunt screams(edited)

Marlowe produces a handful of dyed blue hair.(edited)

"Hair sample!" they say, grinning.

"Thank you, Marlowe," Clarke says primly, sealing the hair in a vial and dropping it into Taunt's orb with the rest of their samples. "Now, if you don't mind exposing your spine for me? I'll just hit everything I need at once."

"Sure, kiddo," says Marlowe, sits down, and pulls the back of their crop top (that reads "Bye Hater!") up.

"I will bleed you dry and make origami out of your skin!" Taunt shrieks, sitting up in the Cradle.

"Okay," Clarke says, slapping another extractor onto Taunt, which immediately starts filling up with lymph. "That sounds really inconvenient, though?" She pulls the extractor off. "You're done. The pod with the ullin arrived a few minutes ago, you could go out and get that." She turns to Marlowe, carefully applying extractors to them.

Taunt growls and reaches over to the table next to the Cradle, grabs a stray cigarette and lighter. "Glad to be of service," they grind out.

"These'll just be a moment," Clarke murmurs to Marlowe, gesturing to the extractors, and then she floated outside and came back in with a pod. "Ullin is like Earth intoxicants. You'll probably have a severe allergic reaction, or worse, but that's why we have this healing pod, I guess." She pulled out three packets, poured three glasses of water, and poured a packet of powder into each, then stirred. Then she removed the extractors from Marlowe as she offered the glasses.

"Oh I don't want it now," says Taunt. "Just leave it on the table for later."

"I need to drive somewhere later tonight," says Marlowe. "But thanks."

Clarke threw her hands in the air. "The single thing you asked for? Fine. Whatever. I didn't even need samples from you!" Clarke took her orbs outside. The two filled with samples she resealed and they started flying back up; Clarke poked her head back in long enough to say, "I'm gonna head back to the apartment, should I leave the ship here for you Marlowe?"

"No," says Marlowe. "I'll go with you. Wouldn't want to become origami."

Taunt lights their cigarette and blows a puff of smoke in Marlowe's direction. "You'd better run, shadow."

Clarke coughs. "Ah, I'm sorry, Taunt, but my memory's a little fuzzy. Who got their ass kicked, exactly?" She smiles kindly at Taunt, and pulls Marlowe out by the hand.

## Visiting Hours (Marlowe, Dactyla)

As soon as they possibly could, Marlowe corneres(for a certain definition of the word) Balefire and asks to see Sarah. The man isn't particularly fond of the idea, but seems to soften when Marlowe produces a broken, "It's my fault all of this happened." He gives no consolation, but does spirit Marlowe away to something straight out of one of their nightmares. To one of those prisons that Void had always told them decidedly not to get put in, because even their powers couldn't always reach into these dead places.(edited)

Balefire calls Sarah's cell up for them, and Marlowe steals themself for what is to come. Balefire leaves the room, giving them some privacy in front of the cell. How good of a decision any of this is, Marlowe doesn't know.(edited)

The cell was, of course, not made of glass, but the thick material it WAS made of was see through, providing no privacy to Dactlya, who snarled as Balefire approached, retreating to a corner of the room like a wounded bug dangerous predator.. When Balefire left and it became clear that Marlowe was there to stay, Dactlya stood up, carefully approaching the cell's viewing side. She looked upon Marlowe with a measure of disgust. "You are the host's ally." She says, the twisted and alien voice piping through the prison's super-advanced communication system. "Are you here to gloat? To taunt us? We have endured eons travelling through the void of space. These temporary restrains cannot hope to hold us."

Marlowe gathered themself up and took a deep breath. The conditions looked inhumane, to say the least. Briefly, they were very glad that they werne't on the other side of the glass. Maybe turning to heroics had been the right decision after all.

"I'm not here to gloat," they said, and showed their open palms to the being in the cell. "Just talk. Do you... remember me? I accidentally fell into Sarah's mind some time ago, and we, uh, talked a little."

Dactyla pondered for a moment, then responded. "You are the intruder. You sought to harm the host, but we are stronger than you expected. We drove you out, and we can do it again."

"I'm not- I wasn't looking to harm the host. Not now, not ever," said Marlowe. "I'm just... not always in complete control. But you're not, either. Barreling into situations where you don't know what your opponent's capable of? Not the most risk-free move."

Quietly, they add, "I'd rather die than harm your host, anyways."

Dactyla frowns, looking slightly guilty. She considers her words. "We have... underestimated this planet. You humans are unlike the others. You have... abilities. But you are weak, in your ways." She smiles "You wish our destruction, but you are unwilling to destroy the host. A terrible weakness, and a common one, among worlds."(edited)

"I'm not sure I wish your destruction," Marlowe said. "I don't know enough about you to really know that. Sure, you destroy a lot of things, but, hell, who doesn't? Mostly, I'm concerned that for all that you care that your host's body is intact, you don't care so much about her mind. Is she... Is Sarah in there?"

Dactyla scoffs, almost seeming offended. "We have answered this already. We are of the host. The host is of us. One cannot survive without the other."(edited)

"Right," says Marlowe. "Sorry about that. You and Sarah are... one. Can't survive without each other. Alright. Been there. And you want to... what? Destroy the world?"

Dactyla stands proud. "We are conquerers. Consumers. We shall swarm over this planet, and the next, and the next, until all is Dactyla.... but we are survivors first. And we shall survive. This is our imperitive."

Marlowe's blood doesn't quite run cold, but it's a near thing. They've met people like this. Those that have no goals other than sheer destruction. Void was a near thing to it, but even they have ideas, goals, some twisted morals and codex that they live by. Dactyla seemed to have... nothing.

"Cool," they say, instead of the million things that they could. Because, from experience, disagreeing with these kids of people never got you anywhere. "Can't you like, let Sarah out to play every once in a while? Destroy the world on weekends, eat meat and watch bad dramas on the weekdays, you know? That kind of set up."

"The hosts allies are problematic. You encourage unneccesary risk." Dactlya almost looks worried, if just for a second. This seems to be the sticking point, the thing keeping them imprisoned. "We will not allow control to the host again. The host cannot ensure our mutual survival."(edited)

"Your foolish imperative to rescue the doomed, to not destroy enemies when given the chance. These are antithetical to survival."

"*You* risk the host's survival," says Marlowe. "If you weren't there, your host would be perfectly fine. If you weren't so obvious about who's in control, you wouldn't be in that cell. I learned that the hard way, today. I don't know how Taunt managed to do it, but they tricked someone into thinking they were me. And, well, you did pummel them, but they got away in the end. And yet you're here. In this cell."
Marlowe sits down on the ground in front of the cell. "At least we can both agree that rescuing the doomed is some dumb shit. You know how many problems would be prevented if someone had just killed me? So many. But. Here I am. And here you are. "
The pause for a second. "Sarah is... my best friend. She's done a lot for me. I can only hope to do as much for her. But since you're here... and you're Sarah... I just. I don't know what to do with this information."(edited)

"Honestly? I'd rather you didn't devour the world," they say, and lean against the glass. "But, it's probably going to be after my time, so there's nothing I can do. I'm going to die either way, you know. Whether it's because Taunt destroys me, my team realizes I'm a liability, or you do your thing. No matter what, I'm dead. So. Can you, uh. Tell me about the place you're from? What's it like there? Do you miss it?"

Datyla simply stands there, confused. She wonders, for a moment, why this human is talking with her. She considers rebuffing this human. She has learned from the host that verbal violence is effective on these creatures. But then she rememebers Balefire, and Beacon, and considers how much power they have gained with the host, with cooperation.
"The homeworld of Dactyla was unforgiving. A struggle of evolution. Here was scarcely the resources to support a single dominant species. Only the strong or clever could survive. We are both. We evolved as parasites. Those who we infested were given extraordinary power, dominance. Through these first hosts, we fed. And when we had fed the planet dry, we turned our scope upward."
"We adapted. It is our way. When an endless stretch of space stood between us, we adapted. On worlds volcanic, frozen, we adapted. We were made to survive, and we shall survive this too."(edited)

"Huh," says Marlowe. "Doesn't sound like the best option. Why bleed a world dry when you can just gain control of it and breed endless supplies of renewable food? Well not endless but. Near enough."(edited)

"We have learned much from your host. You have more than enough resources, yet countless humans go hungry. You bleed your own world dry as we speak. Survival means expansion. We exist on many worlds. We shall exist on many more."

"Hey," says Marlowe, "I think we could be doing worse, all things considered. And we're not like. A hivemind or something with 'eons' to think about this shit. But let me get this straight. You, like, take over a world, feed on it, and then expand, but continue feeding on the world you've already taken over?"

"When a world has been consumed, we release our spores to seek out other worlds. To spread."

"The spores infesting this host are from one such world. We are the first to reach this planet."

"Still seems super inconvenient," says Marlowe, and shifts to get more comfortable against the glass. "Which world are your spores from? What was it like, taking over?"

Dactyla considers your question for a moment. "The world we are from has no name on this planet. We do not understand this human convention. Naming of planets. Naming of individuals. All are Dactyla." She starts to pace, thinking back, something she really has not done before. "We are coded to know our biological imperitive. Our knowledge is generational. This is unlike your human memories."

"And your biological imperitive is destruction," says Marlowe. "Got it. But like, what was it *like*? If you have generational memories, you've gotta know. What things looked like, how it smelled, felt. What those hosts were like. Don't you... don't you remember those things?"

"This information is useless. We must adapt to the individual conditions of our host. Any beneficial information is gathered on consumption and added to the instinct of new spores."

Marlowe sighs. "I'm sorry. That doesn't sound like much fun. I guess I never thought about how different surviving is from living."

Dactyla waits, expecting another question, but it does not come. "THe ally of the host is satisfied. Why do you stay here?"

"I don't know," says Marlowe. "I'm lonely, I guess. I miss talking to Sarah. And if it wasn't for me this time around, you wouldn't be the one in control. So I guess I'm just. Trying to take a bit of responsibility. And trying to see who you are. And uh, I don't think my time here is done yet. And I kind of want to make the most of it, you know? Even if it's just sitting quietly on the floor.

I guess... When I die. And my life flashes before my eyes. I want to have these moments. I want these to be the things I want to see before I go. There's been so much shit going on that. That I want to see the things I actually like. I want to see the team, the ok times, my friends, Sarah... And since Sarah and you are, uh, one. I want to see you, too. I want to remember. "(edited)

Dactyla ponders for a moment. "The ally of the host feels blame for the host's condition. How foolish. We cannot understand why the host has such strong affection for this one."

"Yeah, it's dumb," says Marlowe. "But hey. You're running on pure instinct, so who are you to talk?"

"Our instinct is pure. It spans galaxies. This cannot be said of your fleeting human connections. There is much of us you refuse to understand, and more you fail to comprehend. Even if this host dies, Dactyla will endure long after this planet is nothing more than ash and dust."
It felt like an empty threat.
"The host's infestation causes its allies distress, yet you still wish the human memory of Dactyla. This, we fail to understand."

"I don't have many memories that are purely my own. Most of the ones I have, I made back when I was someone I don't want to be now. And I don't know how many of them my enemy stole or copied today. This? Talking to you? It's not something that past me would do. It's not something that my enemy would do. It's just... me. Me and you. Here. I'm sorry if I don't understand things. I really- I really am trying. If... if you're Sarah, or even part Sarah, I'd like to understand you."

"And, well, I'd feel way more distress if Sarah never came back out. Her sister's probably waiting for a call, you know. If not today, then soon. I don't like dissapointing kids."

"You seek understanding of Dactyla for the betterment of the host. This is.. wise, for a human. But we do not understand the purpose of interacting with the host personality. We are the host, and the host is us. There is no difference."

"I gotta say, I don't entirely understand that. But I'll work on it. Your host personality has concerns you don't. Things that matter to her well being that don't matter to yours. To my dumb human self, it feels like there's a difference. And we put a lot of merit on feeling. Your host personalities has responsibilities and bonds that you don't and can't follow through on. Because you have different goals. And that's... That's alright for you. But it's not alright for me, and I don't think it would be alright with your host, either. "

"We do not understand these human emotions. Our inhereted knowledge informs us hosts act upon instinct as we do. This is why the host cannot be trusted. Emotive species are difficult to predict."

"Not if you learn how emotions work," says Marlowe, and stands up. "Could be useful for the future. If you ever, I don't know, happen on another planet with an emotive species. And it would help you now, too. It would help adding that to your knowledge base, I think."

"Before I go, uh... Your host personality won't like this but. If you and her are one, you have to make good on that promise she made to call her sister. Because that's your sister too, now. Will you do that? "

The door to the chamber Marlowe is in opens just as Marlowe asks their last querstion, and Balefire steps in. He ignores Dactyla, walking directly to Marlowe. "Time's up." But Marlowe waits for Dactyla to respond. After a moment's consideration, Dactyla says "the host's connections do not concern us." She slinks away, further into the cell, acting the wounded animal part again. Balefire and Marlowe leave, neither speaking for a while. But they walk for a bit, without Balefire summoning a portal for them. After putting some distance between them and Dactyla's cell, Balefire asks: "Did you learn anything useful? I was hoping that seeing you might have some effect on her."

Marlowe laughs, and it's sad and just a little hysterical. "Probably not. Dactyla knows that she wants. But I do feel like I know more now, so that's something."

Balefire puts a hand on Marlowe's shoulder, stopping them. "Marlowe..." his voice is always cold, of course, but there is a hint of warmth in it. Like a struggling bonfire in a mountaintop blizzard. "This isn't your fault. You need to understand that, and you need to have hope. Sarah's part of the guard. And we don't give up on our own."

Balefire's voice is steady. Sure. Unquestionable. "We will get her back."

"Right," says Marlowe, and looks more panicked at Balefire's hand than at anything else. "If there's anything I can do, tell me. I'll do it. Sarah's part of the team. And like you said, we don't give up on our own."

Balefire opens a portal in front of you, back to the tower. "ill check the recordings on what was said, no need to file a report, but feel free to update the rest of the team." but before Marlowe could step through the portal, Balefire interrupted. "Oh, and one more thing. Youre Guard, too. dont forget that." Balefire turns his back on Marlowe and starts walking back into the prison.

"The Guard," Marlowe says as they step through the portal, not entirely convinced. "Right."

## Checkup (Marlowe, Aiden, Cristina) (5.5)

It took almost two weeks for Marlowe to get a text from Cristina.
"??? It's been a week."
Followed immediately by:
"It's been almost two weeks! No texting???? What's up."

"sarah's been kind of sick? i promise she will call u as soon as she gets better. everyone is trying their best."

Marlowe sees the little symbol of typing, then the little symbol of erasing, then the little symbol of typing again. "Bullshit?" After a few seconds the typing symbol comes back again, then erased, then back. It lingers. "What do you mean sick?"

Marlowe, sitting out on the balcony, gets up and paces back and forth for a couple of minutes. then, finally, they type out:
"dactyla's out. sarah's in the backseat."

It takes a few minutes for Cristina to respond. "WHO???"

Marlowe puts the phone down, mentally screams, then picks it back up again.
"alien that sarah's sharing a body with? sorry thought u knew."

"WTF HOLD ON." There's no typing symbol for a few minutes. Then Marlowe get's a call from Cristina's number.

Marlowe sighs and picks up.
"Sorry," they say immediately.

The line is silent for a few seconds.
"What did you do to her?"(edited)

"I didn't do anything. Believe me, I wouldn't. We were... on a mission. That kind of went bad. And Dactyla, the alien part of Sarah, came out to help. Except she's kind of. Not going back. I wasn't exactly there for that, so I'm not sure."(edited)

Cristina lets out a long, exhausted sigh. She covers the phone and tells someone to shut up. Then she talks into the phone again: "So it's what Erika was telling us about? The thing with. The thing that uh, that Beacon talked to her parents about? I thought the whole point of her staying with you was so you could help her or protect her or whatever." Cristina seems to be working herself up. "She would have been better off with us, without you." Cristina starts shouting at someone else, before screaming back into the phone. "She should be with people who actually -care- about her!"

Marlowe takes in a deep breath and lets out slowly.
"If you think. For a single second. That our team doesn't- that I don't care for Sarah.-" They stop and close their eyes, already going black. Their voice is low and sharp. "I get up every morning ready to die for her. I have had her stab me through my fucking shoulder with her *wings* and I'm still fucking here. I would rather she kill me- I would rather Dactyla kill me- than hurt Sarah. If I could, somehow, transfer Dactyla into my own body, and leave Sarah with her old life? I wouldn't even *hesitate* and you'd have Sarah back and everything would be fine and dandy and we wouldn't be having this phone call. So don't fucking tell me I don't care about her. Because Sarah is my friend and I am ready to die and kill for her. Can you say the same? Can you honestly say that you're ready to draw your last fucking breath just so she can live another day, no matter the form she's in?"

Cristina doesn't say anything. Marlowe can hear her breathing on the other end of the line, breathing heavily. But she doesn't say anything. Then, a dialtone.

Later, that night, after everyone had gone asleep, Marlowe's phone rings again, but not with a number he recognizes.

Marlowe lays sprawled across their mattress. Physically, they're not tired, but mentally? They're at the edge of their rope. Still, they pick up their phone after the third ring.

"Who is this?" they say, and they sound exhausted.

"Uh, hi." It's a teenage boy's voice. Awkward, a little confused. Not used to talking on the phone anymore. Everyone just texts nowadays. "It's, uh, my name is Aiden. I'm Sarah's friend? I don't think we met, unless you're that super fast guy. Is this, uh, Vex?"

"Yeah, it's Vex," says Marlowe, and rolls over onto their back. "Sorry I'm not the super fast guy."

"Haha, no man, it's cool. That guy was, that guy was all right. But no, it's cool, right?" Aiden coughs a bit. It sounds like he's walking somewhere, and Marlowe can hear a gust of wind. "Hey so like, you talked to Cristina earlier today, right?"

"For a certain definition of 'talked'," Marlowe says carefully.

Aiden laughs, definitely that sort of forced laugh, a laugh practiced for when he needed to be on the phone with distant relatives he never saw. "Yeah, I uh. Yeah. Sorry about that. Cristinas, she like, you know. She didn't take the whole thing well. She and Sarah are close, i mean, we all were, but especially those two. She, uh, she shouldn't have said that shit to you. That's not fair, you know?"

Marlowe closes their eyes. "No, it's... all good. It's fair. I can see why she'd think that. I should... probably be the one appologizing. She didn't need to hear that."

"Hey, it's uh, cool. You know. She'll get over it. She's uh, she's just worried. We all are. I mean, uh." Marlowe had gotten used to hearing the sound of Aiden's feet trudging along, but now they stopped. "I, uh. We all had kinda given up. I mean, except for Erika and Cristina. We all just assumed the, uh, the w-worst. I guess. But now, it's like. You know, it's like, i feel like i should have been there for her, but i gave up. And i dunno, i guess i feel like an asshole about it. Or whatever. But i'm, uhm. I'm glad that, like, she--you said you were her friend, and stuff, so i'm glad that she had some friends that were, you know, there."

"Look, it's- You're- You're not an asshole for thinking like a normal person, Aiden. There's no way you could have been prepared for... all of this. You seem like a nice guy. You, what, drove Cristina and Erika over to find Sarah? You must have, fuck, broken how many traffic laws? You're doing good, trust me. There's just. Some things that you have no way of dealing with, you know? Like, no resources or experience? And that's alright. I'm glad Sarah has friends that are... normal people. And that'll be around for a while. Sorry, I don't know how else to phrase that."(edited)

"oh, no no. No offense taken. Haha. No, uh, no worries." Aiden searches for a minute. "Yeah, shit, i uh. I drove fast i guess. But it's cool, yaknow? Like, I mean, sure, we'll be there for sarah always or whatever, and if you need anything for her, like you know, if us normal people, ha ha, can help, you call us, yeah man i can make that drive again, i, i would make that drive again for sarah, of course. But uh, i mean, it's cool that she has people like you, uh, not normals..." Aiden mutters sorry. "People who can help her more. That's good that she has that. And like, well, i don't know. When we saw her she told erika she was dead, but then later she called us, and then she's been talking to us and texting us and she, well i mean, you know, she's been like her old self again. So whatever you're doing, uh, vex, it's working."

Marlowe laughs. "You know what, call me Marlowe. And I don't think it's that I can help her more than you can. She really needs that... normal vibe. In her life. I can keep her alive, but like. You gotta tie her to humanity, you know? To that normal, day-to-day stuff. She really needs that. And I'm not really good for that."

Aiden pauses. "I guess. Yeah, no, that makes sense, uh, vex. I mean, uh Marlowe." Marlowe can hear Aiden start to walk again. "So, uh, Cristina was really mad about, like, what you had said, about Sarah being uh, turning into an alien or, like, sharing a body with an alien, or whatever. I mean, i dunno, superheroes deal with stuff like that all the time, so like, you know, i'm sure it'll be ok. You guys are trained to deal with that kinda stuff, right?"

"Uh," says Marlowe. "There are protocols, things to do, things to try. Sarah... was sharing a body with an alien before I met her. That's sort of why she left and was with the Guard in the first place. We all try to be as ok as we can be, you know?"

"Well... yeah, i guess so. But she's got, you know, she's got that quick guy, and the uh, flying chick, and you. So like, you know, between that it sounds like she's in pretty good hands. I guess, i mean i get where she was coming from but you know, i dont know, it's kinda cool to be part alien i guess. That would be pretty cool. But yeah, she's, uh, haha, she was always kinda mean, you know, she would pick fights and stuff, i dont mean she got into like actual fights but you know, shouting matches, she really liked those, so don't let her give you too much shit, ok? haha."

"Eh, she doesn't give me much shit." Marlowe flips over onto their stomach and adjusts their grip on their phone. "This kid Duncan, though? The cat boy? She can fuck him up pretty good. But they seem to be doing better lately. Less shouting, more talking. It's nice."

Aiden laughs a lot. "That, uh, that sounds like her. We actually, we didn't get a long at all, for like, all of middle school. I guess i was kind of a bully, or whatever, but we weren't really friends until after that, and like, in high school. So i guess, you know, it sounds like she hasn't changed all that much."

"Glad to hear it," says Marlowe. "I think she mostly only bullies villains now. It's a pretty good outlet."

"Hell yeah it is! Anyway, i uh, i kinda started walking and i ended up like a mile away from my house, so i should start getting back before mom and dad get worried. But... well, you know, she's been texting us a lot, and she talks about you--you uh guys. You know, all the cool adventures you go on and like, living together, and all that. And she, i dont know, Cristina's still really worried, and we all miss her a lot, but she seems like she's been pretty happy. So, I guess I like, I guess i trust you. Or whatever. I mean, i'm not like her mom or whatever, but you know. Whatever."

"Get home safe, kiddo. I- Sarah doesn't talk about her old life much. But I'm glad to see that she's still got it. And that you're still with her. I'm... Glad that you trust me. And I want you to know that I trust you, too. To have Sarah's back, and to take care of yourself."

"Hey, you too buddy." Aiden hangs up.

Marlowe puts their phone in their pocket and walks out, to the balcony, and looks out over the city. For once, they don't lock their door behind them.

## Who Am I? (Clarke & Marlowe) (6)

Marlowe wakes up in pain, the life draining from them. Their skin cracks and darkness pours out. As they try desperately to get away from it, they accidentally teleport into the Black Forest in Germany. Confused, desperate, and afraid, they call Clarke and beg her to get them out of there (although they have no idea where they are).

Clarke calls up Marvel and asks her to search for Marlowe's energy signature. The search produces two results and Clarke goes to the one in the middle of a forest.

On the flight back, Marlowe confesses that they're afraid that they don't have that much time left with the team and asks Clarke if she thinks there's hope for them. Clarke says that yes, and then in turn reveals that she's not too sure about Earth and the person she's becoming here. Marlowe, never the best with advice, said that she should pick the thing she wants to be and run blindly towards it.

## Eat Dirt (Clarke & Marlowe) (6.5)

"Now, Marlowe," Clarke says. "I've spent the past few local cycles gathering soil samples from various locations. We're going to be testing for three criteria: Mineral content, organic material, and crunchiness. You'll rate each from one to ten, with one being very low and ten being very high. First, some dirt from the park in the city." Clarke hands Marlowe a small plastic cup with dirt in it.

"Can we also add a category for taste?" asks Marlowe. "I feel like since this is going in our mouths, taste is a very important concept."

"Of course." Clarke gives a brilliant smile. "Alright. On the count of three. One, two, three!"

Marlowe tosses the dirt into their mouth and chews thoughtfully, then swallows. The entire time, they're thoughtful and straight faced.

"Not the best dirt I've eaten," they say. "Very soft, maybe a two on the crunchy scale. Lots of organic matter. Possibly a six? Uh. Mineral content.... isn't as high as I'd prefer it to be. What do you think, Clarke?"

"I'm not certain my immune system could handle eating dirt, and I'm not particularly enthused to find out." Clarke gives Marlowe her most innocent smile. "Sorry. But you just got Clarked."

Marlowe laughs. "Do I still have to fill out this score card? Also, uh. Should I just keep eating the dirt? Now I kind of want to know he difference between the samples."

Clarke giggles. "Yeah, sure! We might as well get some pseudoscience out of this prank."

"I do have one concern, though," says Marlowe. "Was this dirt actually from the park?"

"Of course? Where else would I have gotten it?" Clarke shrugs. "I just got all this dirt from around the city, honestly.

"But where in the city, Clarke? I've eaten dirt from all around New Unity. If you have records of where you got these from, you wanna see if I can match them up to the sources?"

"Oh, that sounds fun." Clarke claps. "I have, uh, lloa auckai? Ah, 'perfect recall', in English? I can remember where it came from."

"Oh hell yeah! Bring it on!"

## Sunglasses and Advil (Duncan, Marlowe) (6.5)

Marlowe, drunk, breaks into Duncan's room, holding a huge bottle of tequila and wearing a button up shirt and sunglasses. Duncan, also kind of drunk, thinks Marlowe is going to fight him. However, Marlowe just wants a drinking buddy. Marlowe gets progressively more and more wasted as Duncan talks about his issues, specifically how he's not part of the team and how he's weaker than the team. He's also concerned that he's born to be a terrible person. Marlowe suggests Duncan get professional help, in a very polite way (for a drunk person), and Duncan retorts that Marlowe's not getting help, so why should he? In turn, Marlowe explains that they feel like, considering the fact that they're dying, that would be a waste of resources. Eventually, the two of the just settle on mutual hero-ing.

Duncan then invites Marlowe to watch Netflix with him and Marlowe agrees. The two pass out watching Ghost Hunters.

The next morning, Duncan attempts to get Marlowe into bed with him figuratively, even though they're already there literally. This backfires when Duncan unbutton's Marlowe's shirt and discovers darkness-filled cracks (akin to those in porcelain or perhaps glass) across Marlowe's chest and heart. Marlowe says its not a big deal and hastily explains that "this happens sometimes" and that it got better, but it's something to do with their doom. Duncan tries very hard to act OK about it, even though he really isn't, so he pretends to go back to sleep, leaving Marlowe reading Twilight.

Full transcript can be found here: https://pastebin.com/nZYEuv1c

## One Day at a Time (Sarah, Beacon) (7.5)

Sarah shivered as the fuzz of the transporter particles left her view. Was this what it would be like every time she was teleported somewhere? It was such a sensation, not bad, but unique and uncomfortable. She felt that it would be an acquired taste, something to eventually look forward to, like scatching the ends of her wings, but for now, it was just a twinge and a tingle and the feeling that you had been zapped into a million pieces and put back together, *gently*.
Finally, Sarah had a look around. She was surrounded by a wealth of plant life, a jungle of exotic flowers, bushes and trees. She was not assaulted with color: it seems that each row and section of this magnificent garden was carefully coordinated, down the individual buds. Whichever way she looked, she saw a new renaissance painting, a new arrangement that impressed her to no end. This was how Beacon spent his time when he wasn't saving the world?

Beacon floats smoothly towards Sarah, keeping just a few inches above the smooth pebbled path. He gives Sarah a pleasant smile.

"Welcome, Sarah. You said you wanted to talk?"

Sarah looks around, amazed, but a bit confused.

"Where... Where *are* we? I mean, I know this is like, your secret lair or whatever, but where *is* it?"

"One of Earth's poles. I think telling you more would break one rule or another." He winks, like he's sharing a joke or a secret. "It's where I go when I want to get away from the world. I figured some privacy would do you good. Would you like to come help me trim the tomatoes? We can talk while we work."

"Uhm, sure. Yeah." Sarah and Beacon walked together to a bush full of ripe, plump tomatoes. Sarah wondered for a moment who ate all these, but knowing herself and Dave, being a hero was hungry work, and the biggest hero on the planet probably had an appetite to match.

As they began tending to the plants, Beacon started waxing poetic about his hobby. "What I like about gardening is... it is often not terribly demanding work, but it requires your attention. For the best fruit, they must be picked at just the right time. Some of the fruit takes a bit longer to ripen, while some prosper quickly. In order to get the best harvest, you have to work one day at a time." Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat and dove in. "I uh, I wanted to talk about me. I mean, about Dactyla. You know what I mean, heh." She let the air hang between them for a moment, but only a moment. "I mean, you know, I figured it made sense, what with the, uh, 'incident' recently. And I normally would just talk to the team and stuff but I didn't want to like burden them. I mean we have enough going on at the apartment, it's always crazy there. And they went through all the trouble of going into my, uh... my brain. Dactyla's brain. Uh." She thought for a second. "Dunc--They told me about that, by the way. About.." and she poked the front of her head with a finger.

"Ah," says Beacon, and picks up a pair of shears. "It is good to see you up and... present. Could you hold this leaf up? Thank you."

Sarah holds the leaf up as Beacon snips it. Sarah looks up at Beacon, half with skepticism and half with worry. "So, how long have you, uh, known?"

Beacon inspects the tomato plant and gestures for Sarah to take hold of another one of its branches. "Officially, since Bastion did the scan while you were... out. Unofficially, the idea has been proposed before, though there was no proof."

"Oh..." Sarah said. "So, uh, were you going to tell me?" She absent-mindedly snipping one of the vines with a ripe tomato on it. "Shit." She put down the clippers. "Sorry."

Beacon catches the tomato before it falls to the ground. "That's quite alright. It was about time for that one, anyways."

He puts the tomato into a basket near the base of the plant.

"I wanted to make sure before I told you. Not knowing is bad, but so is having the wrong information."

"The wrong information? What do you mean?"

"We weren't sure about your brain. Even now, from what Bastion says there are... more tests to run, or at least more questions to ask. I can set a bone or tell you if you have the measles, but I'm afraid this is somewhat beyond me."(edited)

Sarah snipped another tomato leaf, being sure to be careful this time. She could see why Beacon chose to do this. It was calming. Tranquil.

"I uh, actually came to talk about something else. I mean, it was related." Sarah sighed. "At the theme park, Dactyla didn't... take over. I... I let her."

before Beacon has a chance to answer, she goes on again.

"I was terrified. I don't know. I wasn't thinking straight. I was panicking, and, and taunt was, well, taunting me. And Dactyla said they could make it all better, so I said ok. It was stupid."

Beacon's rhythmic snipping stops for a moment, then continues in its slow, steady, pace. "That is *one* way to utilize your resources."

"Though perhaps," he says thoughtfully, "not the most efficient in the long run."

Sarah was always loud. She was a loud kid, she was a loud teen, and now she's a loud superhero. But Sarah mutters, almost whispers. "Are you mad at me?"

Beacon looks up at Sarah. His expression is gentle and his eyes are soft as he says, "No, Sarah. You're... going through a very difficult time in your life. Being a teenager, and a superhero, and dealing with Dactyla? That's more than most people can handle on any given day, let alone under stress. But here you are, with me, gardening. You're... you're doing well."

Sarah smiles a bit, looking away as not to show it. Of course, Beacon saw. But he knew enough not to press it. They continued snipping plants for a while before Sarah spoke again. "There's, uh, something else. The reason i said i wanted to talk to you in the first place. When we were fighting, uh you know, those militia guys. I took a hit, a big one. I was still in control but, all i could see in front of me was..." Sarah considered lying, a white lie, for a moment. But no, her friends hadn't risked their lives for her to lie. "food. It was like, all i could see was things to consume, things to destroy. But it wasn't Dactlya. It was just me."

Beacon is silent for a short while.

"Have you heard of the id, super-ego, and ego?" he says finally.

"Uh, i think i learned about it in class, like a year ago. But I wasn't... really... paying attention."

"The id is instinct and impulsivity. The ego is the more realism and logic. And the super-ego is morality. It's been a while since my Intro to Psych class, so do take this with a grain of salt." He pauses and inspects the tomato plant, then nods and moves on to the next one. "Dactyla seems to be all id: little sense, no morality, all instinct. If you and Dactyla are.... one.... then it makes sense that that is part of you. However, you are also human. You can thing logically beyond instinct and beyond food. You have a sense of right and wrong, or at least of what society thinks is right and wrong."

The next snip of the shears is sharp and slightly jerky. "We all give in to our more base desires. It's easy. Self control... reasoning with yourself... taking into account the very broad concept of morality... is hard. But it's something that everyone in our line of work has to learn how to do."

"But what if i.." Sarah snorts a bit, frustrated. "It's not like, *IM* not like other people. What if it keeps getting worse? What if I'm a little less.. Sarah every day? A little more.. whatever?"(edited)

"Then"-Beacon plucks a ripe tomato from the vine and holds it out to Sarah-"we'll take it one day at a time."

"Nobody is the same person they were three years ago. Or three months ago. All you can ever do is your best."

Sarah looks at the tomato, and then sighs, taking it. "One day at a time. Ok. That's... managable." Sarah reaches the tomato up to her mouth, then hesitates. "I can't eat this." She puts it down. She looks over the tomatoes. It seems that the two of them were able to trim every tomato while talking. "Is.. that all they need?"

Beacon steps back. "Yes. It's best to prune them every once in a while so they can focus their efforts on fruits, not foliage. If you want, we could collect what's ripe now and you can take them back to your teammates. I might also have a nice steak in the fridge here, which I'm assuming is more to your taste."

"Y-yeah! That sounds, that sounds really good. I mean, i bet Clarke would love them. I wonder if she's ever had a tomato. I mean if we asked she would say 'what's a tomato' and then we would start explaining and she would say she knowws what a tomato is and i would have to hear about how i got 'dunked on' for three days. God, it's like being home with Erika sometimes."

Beacon smiles and hands Sarah a basket. "It's good to see that you're getting along well with the team."

Sarah starts to pinch tomatoes, picking the ripe ones. She puts them into the basket. "Yeah, yeah, it's going... ok, actually. I mean, most days are good. You know. I think I'm mostly used to it by now. And I guess we've all been like, in each others heads or whatever. I guess that's kinda weird, but yaknow, it's hard not feel close."

"That's good," says Beacon. It comes out about awkward, if earnest. "Having friends is good."

"Speaking of one day at a time," he says, just as awkwardly. "Have you thought about continuing your education? I've heard it keeps the mind sharp."

"E-education?!" Sarah almost dropped the basket of tomatoes as they carried them towards the large facility that Beacon made his home. "You mean like school? Err, wouldn't I be, like a distraction in classroom?"

"There's always homeschooling and online programs. The Guard could get you tutors. If that is what you want, of course."

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. I guess i haven't really thought about it much... But, I guess you're going to tell me that education is important and just because i'm a superhero doesn't mean i don't need to go to school, right?"

Beacon gives Sarah another smile. "It seems you already know that. A little education can go a long way in our way of life."

Sarah sighs. "Yeah. I guess I should get used it... uh, our way of life."

"You're saving the world, Sarah. Everything else will sort itself out along the way."

He pauses.

"If it comes to it, you're always welcome to come grow tomatoes with me. It wouldn't hurt to have an extra pair of hands."

Sarah smiles. "I'd like that. Even though I can't eat them" She hoists up the basket. "Are you sure i can take this many? I mean, it's a big garden but, well, you know."

"Of course. It's tomato season. I have more of these than I know what to do with."

## Moulting (Sarah, Marlowe, Clarke) (8.5)

Sarah sat on her bed, covered in blankets, her eyes bloodshot and her face in a scowl that she isn't sure will ever go away. Around her, Clarke and Marlowe are buzzing and fussing. No matter how hard she begs, they just won't leave her alone.

"I told you already, I'm *fine*" she growls through her blankets.

"You're not fine, you're *moulting*" says Marlowe, and shoves another bite-sized square of meat into Sarah's mouth.(edited)

"Thank hew fer reminding meh." Sarah says through annoyed, slow chews.

"This is something humans don't typically do," Clarke was saying into a small device strapped to her wrist. "Sample D-16 is directly from subject; nonstandard biology confuses the issue, but it should be dermal tissue."

"D-Dermal tissue?" Sarah perks up and hisses at Clarke. "What do I look like, a vending machine?"

"What does a vending machine have to do with this?" says Marlowe, and shoves more meat into Sarah's mouth.

"You look like someone who agreed to let me study you if I cleaned your room for you," Clarke says with a smile. Into her device, "Sample D-17 is subdermal tissue." and took a subdermal sample.

Sarah let out a small yelp, spitting out the hunk of meat Marlowe had shoved into her mouth. "Yeep! Careful with that, Clarke! I'm gonna freak out and cut your arm off..." She thought for a second. "By accident."

Marlowe catches the piece of meat out of the air and tosses it in the trash can. They then places the back of their hand against Sarah's forehead, checking her temperature. "She took samples from me and it wasn't that bad. Of course, I cut my toe off first, so that might have helped it seem better."

"Well, Marlowe, *sweetie*. YOU weren't shedding off all your SKIN, now WERE you?"

Marlowe adjusts their sunglasses, thinking about it. "Well, you're right about that."

Sarah leans over at Clarke. "What do you even need those for, anyway? You said it yourself humans don't do this. And besides, isn't it all gross and infected anyway? You couldn't send any samples to the osci..."

"Human equipment is limited," Clarke says with a faintly dismissive sniff. "But I can study it here and send the information back. And I requested some equipment that will help me study it better. This isn't my area of expertise, but I don't need to do much beyond taking samples properly and using the equipment."

Marlowe looks like they're vibrating slightly, and are holding a takeout box of cut up meat squares at the ready. "Sarah, can I get you anything? Blanket? More meat? Sunflower seeds?"

"Ughh" Sarah pulls the blankets over her head. "I'm *fine* Marlowe. I just wish everyone would leave me alone. It's embarassing for you all to see me like this." Sarah thought for a moment, then muttered. "Thank god duncan isn't here..."

Sarah thought a little bit more, and then said. "Oh my god, and Erika. Can you IMAGINE what she'd say?"

"Do you want to text her? I can go get your phone."

"NO!" Sarah shouted

"Alright. Alright. Are you sure? That's your sister. I think she'd think it was super cool."

"Oh my god." Sarah mutters, pulling the blankets over her to create an impenitrable fortress of softness

"*I* think it's super cool."

A wing pokes out from under the covers. It twitches a bit, and is visibly cracked in some areas, stuck on with what looks like ooze. "If you think it's so cool, come a little closer and try it for yourself" Sarah says threateningly

"If you need help picking skin off, I can do that," says Marlowe. "But is that what you really want me to do?"

The wing slowly curls back into the blankets. "I was threatening you. That was a threat." After a beat, a hand slowly, a bit weakly, reaches out of the blankets in Marlowe's direction. "meat cube please."

Marlowe smiles widely and places a meat cube in Sarah's hand.

The hand quickly curls up and snaps back into the blankets, and some chewing sounds are heard. "Thank yew fer tha meat" Sarah says with her mouth full.

"You're welcome!"

"Also. Uh. The molting...." Marlowe looks between Clarke and Sarah. "Does this mean you, Sarah, are getting larger? Or just that your skin's getting old?"

from beneith the covers, a low groan. "ughhhhhh. I don't know. I don't want to think about it."

Marlowe pauses. "....ok. Meat cube?"

The hand shoots out again, the fingers bending rhythmically as if to say "gimme"

Marlowe places a couple of meat cubes in Sarah's hand.

The hand shoots back in, and as usual, chewing sounds are heard.

"I assume it's a regenerative process," Clarke murmurs, busy picking bits of dead skin off and placing them in a vial. "I don't think Sarah's had any significant increase in size."

"Pul-leeze stop saying the word size." Sarah mutters from beneith the covers

"And PLEASE tell me you're not gonna do anything creepy with those vials."

"Science isn't creepy," Clarke says primly, as she takes another dermal sample from another place on Sarah's body.

Sarah sighs. "At least it isn't Bastion doing this. That guy gives me the heebie jeebies."

"Bastion's fun," says Marlowe. "Kind of an asshole, but fun. I've been avoiding him too, though."

"why have YOU been avoiding him?" Sarahs voice drawls out from under the covers

Marlowe opens their mouth then closes it. Opens it again, and they don't look too sure. "M-magic stuff? I was thinking maybe talking to Balefire instead but. Dude's terrifying."(edited)

"Balefire's been pretty cool with us, hasn't he?" Sarah peeks her head out of the blankets. "Well, i mean, there was this one time he took off his glove in front of me. Dude has, like, cracked black skin with scars and stuff. Scared the heck outta me." Sarah reaches behind her back, and winces as you hear a snap. Then she pulls out a particularly large chuck of chitan from behind her. It's covered in a small amount of slime. "ew. CLARKE." and she holds it o ut

Clarke grabs it and places it in a vial. "Humans are so weird."

Sarah frowns at Clarke, her head poking out. "I'm only, like, half human."

"Humans are weird," says Marlowe distractedly. "Uh. Cracked skin, you say?"

Sarah looks over at Marlowe again, feeling like a snuggly, warm and a little sticky jabba the hutt in all these blankets. "Yeah, it's not like yours though. It's different. But uh, I dunno. He was giving me a lecture about how I had to learn to control, or whatever, and he said that I wasn't 'the only one with voices in their head'. It scared the shit out of me."

Marlowe rubs their neck. "Shit. He's been around, huh?"

"I guess so." Sarah snaps another piece off of her. "Ughhhh... I'm going to be sticky for, like, a week."

Marlowe reaches down under the bed, brings up a large packet of baby wipes, and solemnly holds them out to Sarah.

Sarah looks at them for a moment, then grabs them. "Jeez you thought of everything. Remind me to call the next time i get a cold..." she pulls out a wipe and retreats under the blankets. "Can i even *get* colds anymore? Oh man, can you imagine if I couldn't get sick anymore? Hey, silver linings right?"

Marlowe beams. "Silver lining! But I am *pretty* good at planning ahead with this kind of thing, if you need that. Comes with living with an old lady. And then Void. And uh. Taunt."

Sarah snaps another piece off and grunts, then pulls it over to the side, and tosses it in the garbage can marlowe provided. "Trust me, you don't want *that* piece." Then she looks at Marlowe. "Oh my god, is Taunt a nightmare when sick? Are they a big baby who needs every little thing done? Please say yes."

"They got sick right after we split, before the uh. Divorce. They were a mess. Absolute diva. But Void told me it was nice that I was 'finally taking care of myself'."

"Barf."

Marlowe shrugs. "It was nice, for a while." They point to Sarah's arm. "Missed a spot."

Sarah looks at her arm, then peels it off, again with a wince. Her arm is covered in the sticky oozy substance that was keeping the chiten attached, and beneath, a new layer is already there, looking shiny and a bit greener. "Yeesh. I hope this isn't, like, a regular thing." Sarah winced again. "Only big pieces left. Marlowe, distract me. What--what's void like. THey're a supervillain, right? But they're not like the people we've, uh, fought, are they?"

"They're.... quiet," says Marlowe. "And uh. polite. And helpful. And efficient."

"And um. Ruthless."

"They like reading," they say. "And uh. You know. They'll also do anything to get what they want."M

Sarah thinks for a minute. "I'm not sure if i want to meet them."

Marlowe shrugs. "Few folk on either side are uh. Fans of Void. But they're respected. And feared. But, uh. I'd face Void over anyone else, I think. The don't, um, play with their food."

"Not that they eat people," Marlowe says quickly. "It's like. A figure of speech, y'know?"

Sarah sighs. "yeah, i get it." She reaches behind her, then frowns, straining a bit. "Uh oh." She looks at Marlowe sheepishly. "Uhh... Marlowe." Sarah gulps. She'd have been beet red if her skin still allowed blushing to be shown. "Can you... uh... help.. me? There's a, uh, spot on my back i can't... reach..."

Marlowe snaps on a disposable glove. "For sure, my dude. Point me to it."

Sarah gingerly turns around, showing her exposed back to Marlowe. "It's, uh, well you'll see it." Although a lot of her is covered in a bit of goo, one large chunk slightly below her wings is still the old chitan. It's a darker green than the rest of her, and looks a bit pale. "Be. Careful. With. It."

"Uhuh." Marlowe looks down over their sunglasses, sayings, and carefully peals the piece away, then tosses it in the basket along with the glove. "Got it!"

Sarah winces as Marlowe peels the hard shell from her back. "I think that's everything." She turns to Clarke. "Did you get everything you need?"

"Should've, yeah," Clarke chirps. "I'll be taking these to my lab now. Tell me if you need anything." And she left.

Marlowe fingerguns at Clarke, then turns to Sarah. "Hey, I can go grab Duncan's laptop and we can watch Labyrinth again."

"Ugh, again?" Sarah sighs. Then she looks Marlowe up and down. "Fine. But i need to shower first. Like, fifty times. And we're only doing this because you've been so... helpful."

Marlowe punches the air. "YES!"

"But uh. You also don't need to do things just because I'm 'helpful'. We can watch something else."

Sarah chuckles. "No, it's, uh, a pretty good movie. When Erika was little she *loved* it. I swear i watched it with her like 100 times."

"Man, your sister sounds great," says Marlowe, and stands up. "Well, you go shower. I'll run out for some sunflower seeds and popcorn."