inhotwater | BORDERLANDS AU 1

[it's been....tense, for the couple weeks or so. Everyone's noticed; how could they not? Oswald and Edward went from what seemed like a tenuous friendship to nothing but cold business. Oswald's reverted to calling Edward "Mr. Nygma" when he does speak to him in person, which is not often despite the scheduled group dinner every night.

Ivy's attempts at any kind of reconciliation have been rebuked or gently directed away, to her frustration. The whole thing has left the Gentoos in general in an awkward middle ground. Aside from that...everything seems to be running as normal. The issues with the bounty hunters seem to increase slightly, but now that Oswald knows what he's looking for and who to look for, those issues are all kept to outside the Citadel. Victor and Bridget have been working with Edward on getting a shield up and running, which is very close to completion. There's just a few more parts needed, which Oswald (accompanied by Butch and Selena) have left to go pick up.

He has no reason to believe this isn't a normal exchange: pick up and drop off. As they've always done. As they pull up in the technical, though, Oswald can't help but raise an eyebrow, a frown starting to crease between his brows as he swings himself out of the vehicle.]

Meroni. [he takes a couple steps towards the man, hand on his cane, hearing Butch and Selena behind him.] This is significantly...less than I expected. [an understatement, perhaps. Instead of the supplies he's asked for, as well as the normal guard, Sal Meroni stands alone, hands clasped behind his back, that same smarmy smile on his face that Oswald is ever-so-used to.]

"Yeah...sorry about that, Penguin." [he smiles, slowly, and Oswald's eyes narrow further behind his sunglasses] "'Fraid plans've changed a bit."

[....well that bodes well. Oswald tenses slightly, and he can hear the tell-tale sound of the movement of leather as Selena draws her whip.] ...I see. And what does that mean, exactly.

"It means that I got a better offer. Y'see, I really wasn't very happy when that guy a'yours got me to back down on that price of our deal."

[there's a cold dread that starts to gather in his stomach, and he just manages to keep his expression and tone neutral, because of course Meroni's talking about Edward] I'm sure you weren't, but you were ultimately given a fair price for the merchandise.

"Yeah, yeah. That's true. But I don't appreciate bein' showed up, y'see." [Meroni's smirk widens at that, incredibly nasty] "Not to mention you've been pissin' me off for a while now. Actin' all high 'n mighty, like you're better'n us."

Well. You said it, not me. [flippantly--and Meroni's smirk morphs briefly into a scowl, jabbing a finger in Oswald's direction]

"See, that, there? That's the attitude I'm talkin' about. You need to be brought down a peg or two, Penguin. See who's really boss around here."

[Oswald arches an eyebrow in reaction, regarding him cooly] And who's that? You? [derisive, and Meroni smirks nastily again in response]

"It's about to be. Y'see, you've got a guy on your base that someone was willing to pay a whole hell of a lot of money for."

[that little bit of dread now morphs into a rock in Oswald's gut, and there's a vice around his ribs, and his upper lip starts to lift in a snarl]

...what kind of idiotic thing are you trying to pull, Sal? [but Meroni just smiles wider in response]

"There ain't no try, Penguin. I just wanted to get you out here to see you as your whole kingdom crumbles out from under ya."

[And Meroni looks up to the sky, towards that spaceship floating just outside the atmosphere. Oswald's head jerks up to watch it also--watch as it slowly powers up, gathering--]

No--[the word is barely out of his mouth before the shot fires--but not at them. No, it's in the direction of his Citadel. Oswald's head jerks back down, face twisted into a mask of rage as he immediately brings his gun up, firing at Meroni's forehead] Meroni! [it's a snarl, practically a screech, but Meroni's laughing as the bullet passes through him like it were nothing. It's a hologram, and a very good one.]

"Welcome to the ruins of yer castle, Penguin. Enjoy, eh?"

[and with that, Maroni's hologram flickers off, and Oswald turns, already running for the technical]

We're going--now!

[he doesn't have to yell but he's doing so anyway, spurred on by adrenaline as he swings into the drivers seat, turning on the car and throwing it in drive as he speeds back towards the Citadel]

[Edward can almost feel what's happening, before his mind actually connects the dots. It's as if the whole building is shaking and dread creeps into his stomach. After that, the initial blast, there are more he can hear. Some closer, some sounding further away, but all close enough to feel. The alarms on his computer are going off like crazy, but he barely even needs to check to know what's happening here.

Moonshots.

Of fucking course.

He's out of his room before he can even think. He's about halfway into the library before he stops walking, because he needs an actual plan, here. By now, he has the layout of the Citadel perfectly memorized. The quickest way of getting anywhere is all in there, but with the moonshots, who knows if any of those paths will last.

The shield isn't quite ready yet. It... could go up, maybe. With some last minute adjustments, it could at least go up this once, protect the building now, even if it's late.

He should probably just stay put. Find the most fortified place, hide out there.

Or...

Edward turns, briefly, looking at the direction he knows there are vehicles. It would be easy. So easy to just take the nearest vehicle he could find, the damage to the Citadel having surely ripped open some hole in the wall he could leave through. It would be logical enough. He doesn't owe anyone anything. Being here was never his choice. No one could blame him for deciding to just go. Wasn't this exactly why he didn't want to join up with anyone else? Knowing that, sooner or later, everything would catch up with him in some way?

Then he glances away, again. Looking in the direction one of the shield nodes is at.

He looks between the two points a few times, before there's another hit, somewhere, and he can't help but jump. And before he can even make the conscious decision to, he's moving.

It doesn't take long at all, to get to this part of the shield. It's decently far from the next. No one else will be able to make it to this one in time. It's certainly possible to get the shield up without this, yes, but it will take longer. It won't be as strong.

So.

Edward gets to work. And goddamn, it's a lot of pressure, but he manages to keep at it nonetheless. A little code here, messing with a few wires there... It feels as if it takes forever, but timing everything by shots that have fired, it's not quite as long as it feels, before, finally... the machinery starts whirring to life. Edward lets out a breath, relieved, as he takes a few steps back. Taking his glasses off for just a second, to rub his eyes. Now to let the shield start working, hopefully. Assuming someone else managed to get to the other part of it. Surely they must--

Everything feels hot. No... mostly his side. He registers that before the sound of it all, which almost seems to come at a delay despite being impossibly loud. Edward can't even scream, too much in shock from it all, but all he can think about is how much it hurts before suddenly there's a crumbling sound and...]

[darkness]

[He blinks, slowly. It's still dark. It shouldn't be now, should it? But everywhere around there's just... nothing. Did he black out? Or did he--

He shudders, hissing quietly. No. No, if he were dead, he's sure everything would hurt less. Instead, pain is just about all he can feel right now. That and the horrible sensation of something weighing down on him. He realizes, then, just how much it's restricting his breathing. He can still breathe, yes, but... barely. That's not good. That's very not good.

In time, his eyes start adjusting to the dark, but it doesn't do him much good. It's just rubble all around him. Part of the room must have collapsed, he realizes. He tries to move, to push the rubble of or to crawl out from underneath or anything.

Nothing happens.

His breathing starts speeding up as the panic sets in, but he focuses, with all his might. Can't do that. He's not sure if oxygen is actually coming in or not and he can't run out of air here. He can't.

At some point, while lying there, he realizes he can't feel his arm. Blood circulation must be cut off, he thinks, from the weight crushing him. He can't really look over to confirm that. He can barely see right at all, even from what little there is to see in the dark right now. It's... blurry, too. Did he lose his glasses...? He can't...

...remember...

...

It feels as if he's been lying there forever. It probably won't be too much longer, though. Edward can feel himself getting weaker, losing consciousness slowly, in bits and pieces, so most likely he's getting close to the end of the line.

Probably... put that off long enough...

God, he's so fucking tired.]

[Another moonshot. Then a third, just as they're cresting the horizon, and the shield goes up just as it hits. The Citadel is half-crumbled, and Oswald's heart is in his throat--he feels like he can't breathe as a fourth and final moonshot heads their way; this one rebounds off the shield, though it shakes the Citadel's foundations. And then--everything is still. The Gate itself is in ruins, so he pulls the technical up to it with a screech of tires, practically stumbling out of it as he throws on the parking break, already starting to climb over rubble to get inside the Citadel--

and as soon as he is, he's brought to a stand still at the destruction at his feet. Everything he's built up, everything he's worked for, reduced to this. But even that doesn't eclipse the horror at knowing that it could've possibly lost him some of his people. At least a fourth of the Citadel is in ruins, another fourth dangerously close to it. Luckily, the final half is intact, most likely thanks to that shield, but...Oswald feels that knot of dread suddenly explode, and he wants to tear Meroni and Handsome Jack apart. He starts to shake, vision starting to go red--when a heavy hand clamps down on his shoulder.]

"Boss. Deep breath. Not now."

[Butch's voice, heavy and full of warning, and Oswald sucks in a harsh breath. He squeezes his eyes shut, fists clenched, still shaking]

--headcount. Do a headcount. We need to find everyone, make sure everyone survived. That's first. Then we assess damages.

"Yep. You got it, boss."

"I'm going to find Ivy and Bridget!" [Selena barely spares them a glance, already rushing into the rubble in search of her closest friends. And Oswald...takes in another breath.]

Start looking for the others--anyone that's injured, get them to safety, direct others to help.

[that hand squeezes his shoulder]

"Be careful."

[Oswald swallows, hard]

...you, too.

[They do a headcount. It takes hours. Bridget has to be dug out of a hole she managed to duck into to escape being crushed. She's scraped and bruised and inhaled some dust, but otherwise alright. Victor and Ivy managed to be in the right place at the right time, and the shots missed Ivy's greenhouse entirely. There's some Icicles missing, and several injured. Victor's called Doctor Thompkins, and she arrived a couple hours ago, bringing with her some aides and already tending to those injured.

And yet....there's still no Edward.

He's not in his room, or his office, or the library. All of those places remained intact, so the lack of him either means he left when given the chance (a strong possibility, as far as Oswald's concerned,) or....he was somewhere else. Which makes little sense, but...until they've cleared away the rubble and are certain, he's not going to stop looking until Edward is found.

He's taken whatever's available and whomever's available, and started moving some of the rubble, slowly but carefully. They've hit about the eight hour mark when they get to where Oswald's quarters usually are. These, unlike other parts of the Citadel, are almost completely destroyed. Oswald feels a sincere pang about that, but it's negligible in comparison to the fear and worry that pushes him through to keep working; keep removing the rubble. They've managed to get a couple mechanical bits to help with this, pulling off the bigger pieces while groups clear away the smaller bits. Here, they've managed to pull out a couple people--one or two Icicles, immediately taken to the medical tent that Dr. Thompkins set up.

And yet, beginning of the worst comes when Butch, who has been neigh essentially in getting rid of a lot of the rubble with his insane amount of strength, calls him over]

"Hey...uh, Boss?"

[Oswald's head jerks around to look at Butch, who'd just pushed aside a large piece of rubble-and he's staring down at something]

What is it, Butch?

[and Butch looks up at him, and Oswald's heart immediately drops to his stomach at his expression]

"I think Eddie's around here somewhere."

[....oh hell. Oh, why. Oswald's dropping the piece he was working on, breaking into a jog to get over there, though immediately slowing when he sees what Butch is looking at.

Edward's glasses.

Chipped and fractured, but undeniably his. And Oswald's heartrate near skyrockets in dread]

No, we...[his voice is strangled; part of him had hoped Edward had just left, had gotten to safety--] --we have to find him.

[again, that heavy hand clamped on his shoulder, steadying even as he shakes]

"We will. We'll find him, Oswald."

[and he just...nods. Shakily. That's all he can do. He bends down to carefully scoop up Edwards glasses, trembling as he squeezes his eyes shut, clutching them close--stupid stupid this is his fault, he should've listened to Edward, he should have--]

"Alright, work in this area! Eddie might be trapped in here, and we gotta dig him out! So be extra careful, okay?" [Butch raises his voice, calling out to the others around them, and there's a nod of understanding as they start to focus more in that area. Oswald gets back to work as well; his mind feels almost blank and his chest hurts with every breath but he has to find Edward he has to--]

[another 3 hours go by. It's around 2am. They've got as many lights on as possible. Oswald can feel exhaustion drag at him but he can't sleep yet. He hasn't stopped for a moment, and he's not about to. Not until he finds Edward. His hands are shaking a bit, grunting as he pushes away another slab of cement, coughing the aftermath of the dust. When he turns to try and move the next piece, that's when he sees it:

A hand.

A familiar one, at that.

For a moment, his heart stops.

and then he's flinging himself onto the ground, picking up that hand, on his hands and knees to peer into the rubble, voice a hoarse shout]

Edward?! Edward!

[There's a sound. Something about it seems familiar, but somehow, he's having trouble placing it.

And there's... an odd feeling. Someone holding his hand? Honestly, he thinks that might just be his brain playing tricks on him.

So there's no reaction to his name getting called out, not really.

But as Oswald peers into the rubble, through it, he'll be able to see someone there. Edward's form. Still, too still, but it's hard to tell if that's because of the rubble or because he's not breathing. If he thinks to check a pulse, however, he'll realize there is one.

Faint. But present.

What is visible of Edward doesn't look right. He's injured. Badly. Though the extent of it... is impossible to see, like this. Not until he's dug out of the rubble. Though there is a sound, if Oswald focuses. Barely audible. A quiet wheezing.

The sign of someone having trouble breathing.]

[no reaction, nothing--but it's definitely Edward. And for a moment Oswald is completely still, barely daring to breathe...before he hears it. A quiet breath. Wheezed and not sounding great but it's there--and he swallows hard, immediately sitting up, frantic, still clutching Edward's limp hand in his]

Butch! Help, I've--I found him! Hurry!

[and he's turning his attention back to the rubble, already trying to figure out what should come off first. He can barely reach for anything when Butch is already there, and Oswald hears a muttered "Holy shit--" before he's already in there, starting to pull a couple pieces off. He looks up at Butch, starting to reach to help, because what else can he do--except then Butch's voice, firm and steady.]

"Go get Doctor Thompkins."

[it's a good idea, but he doesn't want to leave Edward--]

--but--

"Now!"[it's snapped, grunted as he starts lifting a ver heavy piece of cement] "Tell her to bring a stretcher, we're going to need it."

[part of him wants to snap back, to yell back because that's the kneejerk reaction but...Butch is right. And Oswald squeezes Edward's hand--before scrambling to his feet.]

Right. Okay, right! [and with that, he's booking it for the medical tent]

[The weight, the pressure, suddenly... lessens. That should be a good thing, a great thing, but Edward's barely aware of it at all. Things are happening around him, there are sounds, light is finally spilling in, but everything is just... one big blur to him, right now.

And as Butch continues pulling off rubble, he'll see the state of Edward. It's not good.

There's the cuts, bruises, the small injuries of having been hit by a blast and buried under rubble. That... would be one thing.

But there's blood. A lot of it and more, now, as the pressure is taken off of the wound, letting the blood flow again. Though the side of Edward is already covered in blood regardless. Which is where the real problems become obvious.

His right arm is gone. There's nothing there, at all, just a wound bleeding out at his shoulder, some ugly looking burns on the skin around it. So not from the collapsing rubble, no, that's from the initial blast.

His face is in similar bad shape. Covered in blood. At first it might just seem like blood from a head wound leaking over and that's certainly part of it, but the right eye socket looks... bad. It's a horrible, awful wound, blood leaking out... The odds of saving that are looking pretty damn grim.

And that's only what's immediately visible. Who even knows what's going on inside, right now, after being stuck under crushing rubble for that long? His ribs are probably not doing great, for one. And the rest... Well.

The doctor's going to have a time with all of this.]

"Holy shit, Eddie--"[Butch swallows hard, already dropping to one knee once he's got some of that rubble cleared and pulling off his tie to wrap it around what's left of Edward's shoulder like a tourniquet. Or at least a very rough version of one.

No sooner does he have that finished that Dr. Thompkins appears, followed by a stretcher, two aides and, of course, Oswald and the rest of the Gentoos. As if they would stay behind.

Oswald goes immediately white as a sheet as the blood drains from his face] Edward--

[and he starts to take a step forward, but Dr. Thompkins is already in his way, shouting orders to her aides about what they need to do, how to get him on the stretcher, what she's going to need--]

"You--go back to the tent and prep for surgery, sterlize everything--does anyone know what blood type he is?!"

I-I, no, no, that's not something we--[Oswald's voice is hoarse and thin--and Lee immediately interrupts him]

"Fine--" [and she's back to her aide] "Get some O negative prepared, he's going to need a transfusion--" [even as she's speaking, they're situation Edward onto one of those boards, gently rolling him onto his back.] "You!" [she turns to Butch] "Help us get him onto the stretcher."

[and with that, it's another bit of coordinated movement to get Edward loaded up onto the stretcher, and then they're at a cautious fast-walk back to the tent, the rest of the Gentoos and Oswald trailing behind. As they approach, there's a separate part of the tent, closed off by a curtain, being held open by the aide from before. This looks like the surgical area. Oswald, of course, starts to follow--but he immediately gets Lee turning on him, finger in his face]

"No, Oswald! You're staying out here."

But--

[again, she's right, but he can't help--]

"I need to work and I can't do that with you hovering. Now stay!" [it's snapped, harsh, before she's turning away, and Oswald's hackles start to go up--]

[when he's tugged back by Ivy. She's got a hand on his arm, her grip surprisingly strong]

C'mon, Pengy. You gotta let her work.

[she can feel the tension in his muscles, trembling, but she tugs him back never the less, drawing him away. It helps, to focus on his distress rather than her own, after all. She's scared witless. It looked bad and she doesn't want anything to happen to Edward but Oswald's in distress and if she focuses on that, she can cry later. So she'll draw him away, the rest of the Gentoos either following or scattering to find something to eat or drink or even take a nap. They haven't rested either, so now's the time, really.]

[And it is going to be a lot of work. There's the blood transfusion, doing something about those bleeding wounds, of course, and... well. The eye is a no-go, already far too damaged, there's nothing really left to save. The burns around his shoulder and along the side of his abdomen are going to need treatment, as well, though they haven't spread very far. Small mercies.

Several of his ribs are definitely broken and he's having some trouble breathing, still, even now that he's out of the rubble.

It's mainly those things that are the highest priority. He seems to have been lucky enough to avoid any serious internal damage, for a... given definition of lucky, anyhow. It's going to be close, everything, but at least none of his organs have been ruptured by anything.

...He's not okay, by any means. But he might just make it...]

[despite how all the Gentoos have scattered, they eventually all crowd back up together to await whatever verdict Lee is going to bring them. They're all sitting on various bits of rubble or the ground, all clumped together, quite like their namesake. Selena's gone and fallen asleep on Bridget, who is sitting next to Victor, the two of them doing some calculations for the shield. Ivy is between Selena and Oswald, and Butch has settled behind them on a chunk of concrete. Oswald is, for once in his life, quiet. Almost too quiet. He stares blankly at the closed curtain to the operation area, hands fisted in his lap, clenched on each other, surrounded by the ruins of his metaphorical kingdom.

This is his fault. All of it. It's his own hubris that lead to this, thinking he knew better, thinking he knew Pandora better--and now look where he is, where they are, where Edward is.

This is the cost of his arrogance, and Edward, more than anyone, has had to pay the price. Not to mention the damage to everyone's research labs, what might've been lost. The injured Icicles. His Citadel may have become a target of Handsome Jack eventually but...Oswald just sped the process along. He should be in the one in there, not Edward.

...finally, Lee emerges. She looks tired, because she is tired--and Oswald is scrambling to his feet anyway, the others quickly following suit. Oswald feels like his heart is in his throat and he's strangled, unable to speak. Fortunately, Lee's already doing so even as he starts to open his mouth to try anyway.]

"He'll live. He's in pretty bad shape, but as long as we keep an eye on him, he'll recover eventually."[she presses her lips together] "We should get him back to my hospital, though. He needs another blood transfusion and a lot of the drugs he'll need are there." [at Oswald's numb nod, she continues] "His right arm...it's gone. I wasn't able to salvage his eye, either. He has extensive burns on his right side and some broken ribs from the rubble, not to mention the dust and dirt he's breathed in. But...no punctures. Despite the fractures, he managed to avoid pretty much almost all internal bleeding. So there's that. I do want to take him back to the hospital right away, though."

[she pauses, narrowing her eyes at Oswald]"But before I do...you wanna tell me why the hell you guys got hit by moonshots?"

[Oswald's mouth presses into a thin line] What does that matter, exactly?! He needs help--

"Because I should know what I'm getting my hospital full of doctors, nurses, and a lot of sick people into!"[snapped back, interrupting him--she's not about to have any of that horseshit] "I'm not saying I won't treat him or take him there, Oswald, but I need to know what to be prepared for."[her voice is low, stepping in so she's almost nose to nose with him. Oswald's jaw works, clenching, that anger still boiling blow the surface]

....he used to work for Handsome Jack. He found out some information Jack doesn't want to share, and now he wants him dead.

[At that, Lee leans back with a small huff.]

"...right. So probably better to pretend that he's dead for now, while he's recovering."

[Oswald blinks at that] Ah....yes?

"Yes. This isn't my first rodeo, Oswald." [drlyly] "Put out some kind of bounty or something. A prize for Jack's head. Make an angry, tearful announcement. Sell it like I know you can." [she reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder] "You take care of that, and stay here and start to rebuild. In the mean time, we can say someone else is in the hospital, in order to have a reason for all of you to visit."

[her eyes flick over the rest of the Gentoos]

"Who wants to volunteer?" [there's a brief hesitance, because being laid up like that means that no research is getting done--but after a moment, Selena just raises her hand]

"Sure, why not. I could use a break of sitting around and doing nothing."

"Good." [and with that, Lee's stepping back]"You're coming in the transport with us, then. Let's go." [and she's turning to walk towards the large transporter van that they all came in, and Selena moves to follow, turning to salute them]

"See ya, nerds." [and with that, she's hurrying after Lee.

And there's a silence that settles over them for a moment. And Oswald wants to scream. He wants to throw things and tear something apart and probably cry but

None of that would do Edward any good. So he swallows, hard, before clapping his hands together]

Well! It seems we have a job to do and a video to record. Butch! Come help me with this! Ivy, Victor, Bridget, get some rest.

[there's a moment--a flicker of uncertainty among them--]

Now! Let's go! [snapped--and that's enough to jolt them out of it. Ivy reaches out to squeeze Oswald's arm before she's being ushered away by Bridget, Victor bringing up the rear. Oswald turns, starting to walk towards the technicals. He can hear Butch's footsteps start to follow him, quickly catching up. ]

"....where're we gonna film?"

[Oswald hums in his throat] In front of the wreckage, I think. For maximum impact.

"Right. I'll hold the light and the camera, you ham it up?"

Exactly. Though I don't know how much hamming will be necessary. [there's a dark color to his voice, guilt and regret, horror, anger, rage. Butch glances down at him...before he nods]

"You got it, boss."

[Edward isn't expecting to wake up again.

When he does... he almost expects to still be stuck in the same place, stuck underneath rubble. Back to the agonizing slow wait until his body finally gets with the program and shuts down.

The first thing that clues him in that something's off is the lack of pain. Well. No, not quite the lack of it, entirely, but it's all drowned out. It feels more numb than anything and it's... a relief. Enough of one that he drifts off again, for a little longer.

When he snaps back to consciousness, he tries to open his eyes. Only one actually does. He doesn't quite... wonder about that, yet, mind still catching up with everything happening. And he blinks a little, blearily. Trying to take in what he's seeing.]

[it's...a hospital room. White walls, no windows, a curtain pulled. There's a bedside table, and a chair next to his bedside.

And sitting in that chair, reading a book, one of her feet propped up on the steel frame, leaning the chair back on two legs is...Selena.

It's been a couple days, so she's cleaned up now and back in her casual clothes. There isn't much to do other than hang out and keep an eye on Edward, which is kind of boring, but it definitely gives her time to just...relax.

So that's what she's doing. Relaxing.]

[It takes a bit, before his mind is awake enough to actually start connecting any dots. He's not... entirely there, yet, but after a slight delay he squints a little, to focus his vision.

Which isn't much, but even blurry, he recognizes that person.]

...Cat?

[His voice is quiet, kind of hoarse. But he manages to force the word out, at least.]

[it takes a moment--a pause in her reading, a frown, glancing up--and then her eyes widen, almost comically.]

"Holy shit, you're awake." [she lets the chair drop back down onto four legs, closing the book and dropping it on the chair as she pushes to her feet. Selena leans on the railing of the bed, smirking down at him] "Welcome back to the land of the living, Eddie."

[Edward blinks a few more times, just... tiredly shifting his head a little so he's got a better view of her. That's... harder than it should be. He hasn't put together why yet.]

Kinda... didn't see that one coming...

[Kind of a wry sarcastic comment there, but honestly, he was fully expecting to be dead by now.]

[yeah, Selena's gonna just arch an eyebrow at that one]

"What, the moonshot? Or you being in the land of the living?"

The latter, mostly...

[He thinks that over for a moment.]

...I guess both, technically.

[He's... feeling a little sluggish, here, so the response is a bit slow. There's a lot of drugs in his system, right now, which is helping him not be in horrible agony.]

"I mean, technically you are kinda dead officially. I'm your injured stand-in. Hence why I'm stuck hanging out here." [she sounds more dryly amused than put out, though]

"But hey! Actually, you're not dead. So that's a bonus. And whatever you did with the shield saved, like, half the Citadel and Ivy and Victor so good job there."

[He squints... more, at that. Selina, please, he's far too out of it to follow along with all of this.]

I'm... huh?

[He's very confused. Selina. Why.]

[yeah he looks very confused. She just huffs a bit, and waves a hand]

"Don't worry about it. Hold on, though, I gotta let Dr. Thompkins know you're awake--"[Selina leans over, pushing a button on the side of his bed, and there's a low buzzer noise] "There. Fulfilled my civic duty."

Oh... okay...

[He keeps trying to focus his vision, but she's just a little too far away for that to work, really, without his glasses. And--

He blinks, suddenly realizing part of the problem. It feels like... there's something over his other eye. A bandage, maybe? He tries to touch it to confirm, except... one of his arms feels a little stuck. IV drip... oh. Hospital. That makes sense.

And... no response on his other side.

...If he was just a little less awake, he'd wonder about that more. Right now, it's really just... one step at a time.]

Suddenly I'm hit; is this darkness or the dawn?

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