noteasytobepink | Even when there's no walls or windows...

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wheelsy

Even when there's no walls or windows...

Who: Clarice, the Timebroker, Bill?!
When: After the end of Grant.
What: It's like coming home...when your home doesn't exist any more.

She groaned and cracked an eye open, immediately wincing at the harsh light. She was either back in the hospital or...

"Easy, Clarice, you're hurt," the Timebroker sighed, reaching back to pluck pillows out of thin air behind him. "Careful, that's a girl..." he helped prop her upright before patting her hand. "I lose you for a few years and look what happens!"

"...alien," she noted automatically, trying to breathe carefully. Time to take stock: broken ribs, she'd probably at least sprained her wrist, knee hated her, black eye...

"I already set your nose and three fingers," he offered helpfully.

...broken fingers and nose then. Headache. Thankfully no bleeding gut wounds or anything, that would have taken the wormy cake wouldn't it? "Getting soft," she chuckled carefully, licking her lips to clear away the grit of dried blood.

"No, getting lost without a proper team," he chided. "That level should have been a full team, not one crazy mutant backing up a town."

"So...why no team?" she asked, shifting to look at the short man standing beside her bed. Once upon a time a series of kitchen tiles standing alone in a desert would have been weird. Now? Now it was just where the Timebroker lived, and now there was a bed set on the tiles. How thoughtful.

"...because I can't watch everything." The Timebroker settled on a chair that hadn't been there a moment ago and held out a thermometer. Thermometers were important parts of ensuring wellness! That was what observation told him anyway. "There's more than just me out there, I'm a fixer, I meddle more than I should and I care about those that get lost. You fell...right out of my territory. A timeline and reality far past anything I can see. I knew I'd find you again if I watched for you, but the broker in that area was...less than happy."

"...I didn't go there on purpose."

"I know. You saved your team. That's what you do. She just...should have told me. She's the angry sort though. Anomalies are...discarded. So she didn't let me know one of 'MY' anomalies was wandering around in one of her worlds." He...didn't like his own kind much honestly.

"And Wheelsy?"

"Safe," he assured. "For good this time. It was a two event, one defeat, two defeats, out."

She leaned back on her pillows, letting that information trickle through her mind. Good. She didn't ask about Bill; she couldn't. His place was safe. His world was safe. It would be alright. "My team?"

"Still scraping along, you won't be up to joining them for a bit but Morph is saving a spot for you. Speaking of..." he held up a Talus unit, this one a bit more form fitting it seemed. "You lost your last one. I didn't know that was possible."

"Psycho mutant with a knife and super strength," she pointed out, holding up her left arm. That was a faint, almost hidden starburst of a scar on her forearm. The place the last had attached.

"Yes, well, this one is made for you," he assured, sliding the metal and gem sleeve on. "There, how does it feel?"

She had winced slightly when it went on, but she didn't even feel it attach like she had the last. A moment more and the metal had warmed to her skin temp, that was better. A poke revealed she could...feel through it. Huh. "A lot more user friendly," she noted. "It's like a second skin."

"I should hope so," he noted. "It took some time to work up but this one can't be taken from you, I promise. They won't even manage to cut off your arm if they tried."

"...that's reassuring," she chuckled, wincing as her ribs bit. "Don't...want to do that again." Get lost. Get involved.

"I know," he patted her cheek and looked out over the tiles until a kitchen showed up for him. "You rest. You've had a rough time, but you're safe now. We have you back. I'll get some soup going."

"Sorry to make you worry," she noted, already drifting off.

That was for the best. The soup could make itself, yes. The short little man was...pulling on a cloak suited for desert travel and going to trace down the other anomaly. He could send the man back to his own realms, but as he'd mentioned, the broker there wasn't kind to those who slipped between the cracks. If he was smart he'd just send the man away and let Clarice move on; Bill was from a world set where mutants didn't even exist after all!

But...he'd looked after Clarice. That earned him some credit in the Timebroker's book. It was a bit of a walk; being attuned Clarice had shown up where he was, but Bill? Bill had no place now so anywhere in the lost sands.

The Timebroker was good at finding things though. It wasn't long before he was nudging a sandy leg with his boot, "and what are we going to do with you?"

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"I don't know what you want from me," he said, just as frustrated with the man as the Timebroker was with Bill.

"You're Mr. Collective unconscious, why don't you pull my file out of your ass an' read that?"

This was all going nowhere fast, and the worst part was he had nowhere else to storm off to, because this was it.

"Look, I'm pissed as shit an' scared like hell right now. I don't know what's happened or what I'm supposed t'do from here. I just found out I can't ever go home where I was born, raised, an' the only place I've ever known. I can't be with the woman I love an' have the life I wanted for us. An' all you can do is be a jackass an' talk at me like I'm some fuckin' idiot with shit for brains.

"But I'm still here. I'm breathin', I wanna deck you, an' I don't feel like I need to check myself into the funny farm." And that was it, the summation of everything roiling through him right now.

"I want to get a handle on your capabilities, especially because you never went anywhere else in your life, so we know whether we are sending you off now or if you're going to take shot at being in Clarice's team," he summed up.

"Of course you're scared. Of course you're angry. That means you're sane which is a point in your favor. Most team members roll with the punches and think on their feet though, they channel anger and frustration in to doing everything they can to reach their goal. I've tried for years to give her team someone she can love. I'm a terrible match maker, but she does have someone she thinks of as a brother at least. I give her what I can because she has nothing do you understand? I'd like to make it so you can be with her. I would. IF you think you can do it. Set aside wanting to hurt me, set aside being angry if you can, and think. Are you capable of operating outside of a small town setting at all? Can you take instructions from a guy like me and a team leader like Clarice?"

Once again the Timebroker had Bill's focus, and Bill listened and thought about what was being said before responding.

"She's missed you an' the others," he said. "I can tell it, when she talks about you all." Just so the man knew.

As for himself and his current situation, "I can't tell you for certain if I could or not. I've never done it, aside from when I went to the academy. I believe I could, though, an' I'm willin' to try."

A beat, and in the name of full disclosure he added, "I will say takin' orders from her will come a lot easier than dealin' with you."

"We missed her," he offered softly. How could they not?

And hey, at least the man was being honest now. "I give missions, I see better than you all can," he admitted. "And Clarice is our team leader. In essence you'll be following us both." And that may not be easy for a Sheriff all told. He knew that much.

"I'm going to ask you to make me a promise. If at any point in the next few missions you feel you'll be unable to continue, TELL ME. She'd sooner see you safe and alive somewhere she can't go than dead or insane. Am I clear?"

Bill nodded, accepting this information. Time would tell if he could live by those terms. He didn't see himself as someone who had trouble taking orders, but given he hadn't had to do it since becoming sheriff, and how often he and the mayor butted heads, there might be some adjustment that would need to happen.

The promise he gave willingly, knowing it would be hard to follow through if the time came, but desperate for the chance to at least try.

"Yes, I understand, an' I will."

"Alright, come with me then," he sighed. "You'll have some studying to do about the sorts you're likely to meet and terminology so you're not completely lost. That should keep you busy until you and Clarice are mission ready." Ir at least it would keep him distracted from getting angry at Clarice he hoped.

"Do not make me regret this." But he was coming down off the dune at least?

Pushing himself back to his feet was getting to be more of a challenge each time he had to do it, but he managed and stood, ready to follow the short man.

"I'll do my best," he said, some of the grumbling coming back. He really didn't like this man, but he also meant it. He would try.

Yes, well, that was a test in and of itself as well. "Good, less than that will get you killed," he offered simply. "I promise not to test you though? I have yet to figure out the human ideal of written tests." Humans were weird.

At least they didn't have to go far? There was a stretch of black and white kitchen tiles in a large square over the next couple of dunes. There was a cot set up on one corner, and a stove with nothing else around it on another corner.

Bill rolled his eyes, not sure if the guy was trying to crack a joke or was really serious.

Limping along he tried to straighten himself out a little as they walked in anticipation of seeing Clarice.

The random floor tiles was... random. And weird.

"What's this?" he asked, looking at the strange setup.

"Whatever it needs to be," he noted simply. "For now a bedroom and soup is on." That much was obvious wasn't it?

"And classroom now." Since now there was a college desk in the center of the tiles.

"Okay." It was going to take awhile to get used to things here, Bill was sure of that. "This where you live?"

"In as much as I live anywhere," he admitted. "Things here are only as real as we need them to be, which one reason you can't live here. Humans and human-related types can get distracted, have nightmares, etc."

Hearing 'nightmares' Bill looked around.

"Where's Clarice?"

"Not while I'm present to hold the reality firmly," he sighed. "And there. The cot. I told you she was asleep. She likes blankets. A...lot of blankets." Somehow the girl had manifested more while he was away. Ah well.

Bill scanned the weird space again, this time his eyes locking on the cot. On knee-jerk reaction he reached up and pulled off his cap, holding it in his hands while looking at her.

"Yeah, she hogs the covers back home, too," he noted, not quite managing to move forward yet.

"Hogged," he noted the tense kindly. "Here she hogs, there she no longer does." Because she'd never return to that world.

"...you may stand here as long as you like." Since he didn't seem to be moving? The Timebroker was going step up on to the tiles and go check the soup.

Hogged. Right.

That was a fresh new sticker in his chest. Looking down at his feet he toed the sand, thinking about the situation a moment and trying not to let it overwhelm.

Pulling in a slow breath, he lifted his head back up and finally stepped up onto the tiles. He didn't want to wake her, so instead he asked, "There a chair I can sit with her, for a bit?"

The Timebroker waved over his shoulder and lo, as if he'd just overlooked it, there was a comfortable easy chair beside the bed. He figured Bill was beat to Hell and back even if he was entirely broken and best to have something on hand the man could sleep in.

"She won't bite you know."

Bill blinked at the chair, giving it a little nudge with his foot to test how real it was. "Thanks."

Looking at the pile of blankets Clarice was curled in, he shook his head.

"She don't rest easy. Best t'let her sleep while she can."

Real as it needed to be.

"That fine then, just don't be hesitant. I don't think she'd take it well given she cares for you."

Gingerly settling into the chair, Bill nodded. "Yeah. I reckon you're right about that."

He was dead dog tired and bone weary. Practically melting into the chair, he let out a slow sigh.

"She'll be out for a while. You may want to rest yourself." Just in case Bill was waiting for permission or something.

"Yeah." He doesn't really plan to, but he also doesn't have much of a choice. He's exhausted, and no longer has the benefit of adrenaline to keep him going.

It isn't too long before he's asleep in the chair.

To say she wasn't happy to see Bill when she woke up was an understatement. To say she was unwilling to wake him up when he looked like hell was accurate though the angry, sad, fruitless conversation with the Timebroker was done in hushes whispers over by the stove before she firmly told to sit down, stop being an idiot, and eat her soup.

Yeah, life was dandy.

Bill slept deeply, and thankfully without dreaming.

When he finally opened his eyes it was with a slow sigh and a low groan. Looking around he was disappointed to see that everything hadn't been a dream, but he was glad to see Clarice up.

"Hey."

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