badassprodigy | The Not-so-abandoned Warehouse: Friday Evening (Reply)

It was Aristotle who one said that there was no great genius without a touch of madness.

Then again Aristotle never got stabbed in a butt full of crazy-juice by a gremlins, so fuck him and touch of madness shit.

Barry had been stabbed in the butt with syringe full of crazy-juice. And he was not looking good. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin was pale and feverish and-

"SCIENCE!"

Well, Barry was pretty much bat-shit crazy. He was still trying to find a cure for the vaccine that was currently eating away at his body but at this point he'd be lucky to find his nose on his face let alone a cure.

"AH-CHOOO!"

And he was still having issues with the gummi bears.

Yep. Looked like Barry was dooooomed.

Rapunzel	Barry had been acting strangely enough that Rapunzel had worried when she'd run into him earlier this week. And Rapunzel being Rapunzel, she'd also listened to the radio and steadily fretted herself into a tizzy over his apparently deteriorating condition. Which was why she was here, now, carrying her hair into his warehouse lest it get...snagged on anything. She found him just in time for that sneeze. "Barry! Are you -- wait, are those gummi bears?" Both gross and interesting. Hmm. No, wait! Back to fretting. "Are you sick?"
Kathy	"Yes, yes he is," Kathy said from behind her. Kathy had a front row seat to watching Barry fall apart yesterday. It wasn't pretty. "And I'm done listening to him make excuses. That's it, Barry, we're going to the clinic. Now." ...Not that she had any idea what the clinic would be able to do for him. But whatever he'd been trying was clearly not working.
Barry	Barry looked at his friends and blinked a couple of times. "I'm fine. Okay?" he said drowsily. "I'm fucking-" Barry's eyes glazed over and he began making the sound a garbage truck makes when it goes in reverse. BOOOOP! BOOOOP! BOOOOP! BOOOOP! BOOOOP! BOOOOP! "-fine," he finished. "I can fix this. I know more than any other doctor and I can fix this because SCIENCE!"
Rapunzel	"That's...Barry, that doesn't even make sense. Like, I love science as much as the next girl, but I don't think you can fix this or you would've already," Rapunzel said a little bit timidly, because she thought logic was still applicable in this situation, and looked to Kathy in concern. "He's way worse than when I last saw him."
Kathy	"Thank goodness," Kathy muttered. "Someone else who speaks sense." She was just going to ignore Barry's so-called contribution to the conversation. It was honestly getting to the point where his random gibberish was less frustrating to deal with than the times when he was able to string coherent sentences together. "I've called Elsa. Joker and Eleanor, too. We're like a pot of coffee away from an intervention and I wouldn't be surprised if someone stops at the Perk on the way."
Elsa	Was now a good time for Elsa to show up with a tray of tea from the Perk? It wasn't coffee, but Elsa didn't really do coffee, and tea was generally better for sick people regardless. Well, normal sick people. Whatever this was, Elsa wasn't sure about. Tea was helpful for congestion of a non-bear-shaped sort, and that seemed like a good enough start for her. "Is he still being stubborn about this?"
Barry	"I can handle this!" Barry protested. "I've diagrammed this out." He moved over to one of his whiteboard which was filled with scribbles and... well pictures of stick figures stabbing an ocelot. "See? This will work!"
Eleanor	Apparently, Eleanor had arrived just in time for the insanity. "You aren't allowed to stab anyone's cats," she sighed. "You're being overruled by your ethics committee." It seemed like a useful card to play, at this juncture.
Joker	Well, she'd been slowed down by a slow companion moving slowly. Who was just about done with Barry's experiment. "Yes, Babe, let's talk sense to the crazy person. That'll go well. Someone knock him out, so we can drag his ass to the clinic."
Kathy	"All work and no play makes Barry a dull boy," Kathy read off the board. "Yeah, somehow I don't think you're about to crack the code of what the hell is wrong with you with that equation." Look, Barry. She was getting legitimately worried here. She was busting out the profanity! "I'm probably fast enough to tie him up before he has a chance to struggle much," she added, nodding at Joker's suggestion. "And I'm really liking where we're going with this." Specifically, to the clinic.
Eleanor	"The clinic?" Eleanor asked, eyes wide. Her tone suggested that everyone else wanted to paint Barry in barbecue sauce and throw him into a pit of hungry tigers. Tigers that had been provided with assault rifles, just for fun. "I don't know that -- I mean -- surely he'll snap out of it on his own. There's no need for such drastic measures." She had yet to step foot inside this insidious clinic, and with luck, she could avoid it altogether for the length of her high school career.
Barry	Barry's arm flipped up and suddenly was patting the top of his own head. His other hand went immediately to his stomach where it began rubbing in a counterclockwise mottion. "Do you really fucking-" Ooo-Koo-Ka-Choo! "-think the clinic is going to help me?!" Barry shouted. "I've been running tests for two fucking-" BOING "-days straight. What good are they going to do me? Screw them. I've got SCIENCE!"
Elsa	"Barry, so far your science has gotten you a stick figure doodle of you destroying a cat. I'm pretty certain that's going to do little more than give you some brief catharsis. And that's only if you don't get mauled by Babou while shooting bears out your nose and making random foghorn noises." She crossed her arms over her chest. Maybe now was the time to break out the big guns. "Barry Ween, if you don't let us help you, I swear by the throne of Arendelle I will never shimmy my hips again." Hopefully nobody would notice just how red her ears were getting as she said that. Hopefully.
Rapunzel	Rapunzel totally noticed your ears, Elsa. She totally did. But she was more worried about Barry hurting himself if he kept this up, and clearly science wasn't the answer here. Which...maybe meant that the clinic wasn't either. ...maybe magic was though. But, ugh, oh gosh, there were so many people here. And she knew most of them, and...okay, she didn't think anyone was going to take her hair (except maybe that tall girl with Joker, just because she didn't know her) but.... "Barry, stop that!" she snapped, finally, stamping her foot and ignoring her internal debate for the moment. She could deal with that in a second -- right now, she was just going to stop him from hitting himself, or something. Kathy's idea about tying him up was a great one, she thought, and fortunately, Rapunzel kind of had a lot of experience with knots and restraints. Which was why she was winding up a length of her hair and lassoing it out towards Barry, where it would hopefully whip around his legs, at least. That way they could tie him up in the rest of it without him getting away.
Barry	What the fuck? First there was denials of hip shimmying and now a hair lasso? Barry decided right then and there he was officially and certifiably insane. The hair lasso hit its mark and Barry started alternatively swearing and singing something about the moon being in the seventh house and Jupiter's alignment with Mars. And he was doing his best to try and get out of said lasso.
Rapunzel	"Quick, help me tie him up!" Rapunzel called, scrabbling over and starting to loop her hair around the rest of Barry quickly. "And then -- I might have an idea." Maybe. Or they could just take him to the clinic, but -- maybe.
Eleanor	Eleanor wasn't sure what the strange girl's idea was, but she liked the sound of anything that didn't involve going to the clinic. And so she helped to ... tie Barry up in the yards of hair that were strewn about the floor. "This doesn't hurt?" she asked, giving the girl a curious glance. Because if someone were struggling within the depths of her hair, she imagined her scalp would ache.
Joker	"Hair doesn't get more than a few meters long," Joker whispered to Eleanor. "So there's probably something mutant-y or magical going on. Don't stare." While everyone else was busy doing tying-up stuff, Joker whistled loudly and snapped his fingers repeatedly in Barry's face. "Yo, WEENIE!" he shouted. "FOCUS! Calm the fuck down, and let us help you!!!"
Barry	"But I've got SCIENCE!" Barry protested as he struggled with Rapunzel's hair. "SCIIIIIIIIIIENNNNNNNNNNCE!"
Elsa	"You have got," Elsa shot back, "to the count of three to stay put, or so help me, I'll..." What? Freeze his butt to the floor? While it was getting more and more tempting by the moment, Elsa knew a terrible idea when she thought of one. Especially since she was very firmly sitting in the 'not going to use ice powers on anybody ever again' zone. Still. Forever. "I'll..." Oh, to hell with it. With a little huff, she stomped over and did the one thing she could think of that wouldn't put her too in the way, while still being somewhat helpful. She sat on him. And then reached for a length of Rapunzel's hair and started winding it around his legs, herself.
Kathy	Kathy still wasn't entirely sold on the idea of wrapping Barry's up in Rapunzel's hair--that was weird right? This place was screwing with her ability to judge was what or what not utterly insane--but if it was going to keep him still while they decided what the heck to do with him, she was game. Rapunzel had asked for help tying him up quickly and speed was something Kathy could provide. Grabbing more of Rapunzel's hair, she set to work making sure his hands were tightly bound. "No, seriously, does anyone have a better idea than hauling him to the clinic? Because now seems to be the time for brainstorming."
Barry	Okay. This was fucking weird. "SCIENCE!" At this point Barry was completely tied up and couldn't move a damn muscle. Helpless. "Guys! Seriously! Guys this isn't going to-" Barry started making retching noises like he was going to vomit... but instead of the icky stuff it was rays of light. Multi-colored light. A rainbow to be exact like he had thrown up the night before when Rikku was around. "Okay," Barry said collapsing. "Maybe I do need help."
Rapunzel	"Barry!" Rapunzel, content that he was being held securely in place (good thinking, Elsa!), scurried over to sit by his head and actually grabbed at his face so he'd look at her. "Barry, listen. Remember what I told you about my hair? We're gonna try that, okay?" Well, that was annoyingly cryptic for everyone else involved, Rapunzel. She glanced up at the others, looking doubtful. "Um. Just try and help keep him still, guys? I've never done this on a person...sick like this, before. And...don't tell anyone." She had never done this in front of more than one person, and she was still really unsure about doing it at all, but...but Barry needed help. "And don't freak out." She closed her eyes, partially due to stage fright, and began to sing. "Flower gleam and glow, Let your power shine, Make the clock reverse, Bring back what once was mine." And as soon as Rapunzel began to sing, her voice soft and low and slow, her hair lit up a bright, glowing gold starting at her roots. The light flowed down her hair like molten gold in time with the song, glittering at every instance in which it came in contact with Barry.
Kathy	"...This, I wasn't prepared for," Kathy commented to no one in particular. She was pretty sure magic glowing hair hadn't been in any of the versions of the fairy tales that she'd read. The more gruesome version had involved some healing tears for the prince's blindness, but she'd always assumed that was more of 'true love healing all.'
Barry	Okay. Now the hair was glowing and felt... weird. Okay not the most technical of description but Barry wasn't exactly with it. "I'M SHINY!" Yeah, Barry so wasn't with it.
Elsa	"But still loud," Elsa replied, though a little breathlessly now as she glanced down at the glowing hair to watch. Rapunzel had... she could... she wasn't the only one who... This was going to need some time to digest.
Rapunzel	"Heal what has been hurt." Rapunzel's her voice was almost mournful and crooning as she sang, the gold glittering as it swept slowly through her hair. She kept her eyes shut through the whole song, because if she didn't, she might lose her nerve, and it only worked if she sang the whole thing. "Change the Fates' design, Save what has been lost, Bring back what once was mine, What once was mine." On the last note, she opened her eyes, looking hesitantly at Barry, and gently began to unwind her hair a little. "How do you feel?" She didn't dare look at anyone else, yet.
Barry	As the glow faded Barry blinked a few times and... tried to think through of all of it. But the bottom line was- "I feel good," Barry said cautiously. "I mean-" Well there's only one way to tell. "Fuck." ... "Fuck." ... "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck." ... "Shit." He paused a bit longer. "I'm not being wacky again am I? If not, please untie me because this is how bad fan-fiction starts."
Kathy	"Well, it's hard to get a base level of wacky for you, Barry, but you haven't sneezed gummi bears, screamed 'Science!,' or made a random noise is about thirty seconds, so you might be good," Kathy observed. "Just to make sure, why don't you look at your whiteboard of ideas and tell us roughly how many things are wrong with your original plan to deal with it?" Because if that still looked like a workable solution to him, they'd know that Rapunzel's magic-glowy-hair treatment hadn't worked.
Barry	Barry looked at the board and winced. "Why the fuck would I want to kill an ocelot?" Barry groaned. "Okay? There. I'm normal. Can someone untie me please?"
Eleanor	Okay, so ... that had happened. Apparently the blonde girl could heal people with her literal yards of hair. So, Joker had been right about her being magical, then. Some selfish part of her brain wanted to file that information away, for the next time Joker stumbled and shattered his ankle or dislocated his shoulder, but that might be presumptuous, to ask a strange girl for healing-on-demand. She knelt down to start carefully unwinding the hair from where Barry was entwined within it, hoping not to cause any knots. Maybe the hair was magically un-knot-able. "You must be feeling better," she commented, tongue thoroughly in cheek. "You're desperate to be untied, but you don't seem to mind Elsa sitting on you." Joker was a very bad influence, everyone.
Joker	If Rapunzel was hoping everyone would avoid talking about her hair, she was out of luck. Joker applauded loudly. "Now that is some serious hair!" When Eleanor made her comment, he snorted appreciatively. "Oh, I think he likes that part." To Kathy, he asked "Were you the one who called her?", gesturing at Rapunzel. "A plus plus good idea!
Elsa	Between Eleanor and Joker, Elsa was pretty sure now would be a great time to just evaporate into thin air, never to be seen again. Since her powerset didn't involve spontaneous vaporization, she was going to settle for blushing furiously and practically throwing herself back to her feet again. "A very good idea," she agreed, dusting herself off and trying to look dignified again. "Well done, Rapunzel. I... I didn't know you had it in you." Very literally.
Rapunzel	"Yeah, can we...maybe not tell people my hair does that?" Rapunzel asked softly, looking around uncertainly as she pulled loops of no-longer-glowing hair off of Barry. "It's kind of secret? I mean, a couple other people know, but...things can be kind of dangerous for me if the wrong people hear, okay?" She was a little bit proud that she'd been able to heal Barry (Joker's applause was making her blush a little, in fact) -- she hadn't been totally sure she would. But that was quickly being eclipsed by her worry that she'd finally put herself in the danger that Mother had always seemed so sure she'd find outside her tower.
Barry	"Rapunzel, everyone here is your friend. Or at least my friend," Barry said half lifting himself off the floor. "If you want to keep it a secret that's fine but no one here is going to betray you."
Kathy	"Wish I could take the credit for that, but I had no idea that Rapunzel could do that," Kathy said, caught somewhere between astonishment and awe. "Because wow, that was amazing." Finally, she shook herself and offered Rapunzel an earnest smile--and a pinky. "Barry's right. Friends don't tell one another's secrets. The eternal power of the pinky swear says so, right?"
Elsa	"I'm... not much for pinky swears," Elsa offered, still a few paces away, still trying to muster up what was left of her dignity. "But... I can keep a secret, too." She hesitated for a moment, and then pulled off one of her gloves, sending a quick puff of snowflakes into the air above her outstretched palm before pulling her glove back on. Really, the only people in the room who didn't know at this point were Rapunzel and Kathy. And if showing Rapunzel just how well she really understood that fear was what it took to help set her mind at ease, she'd do it. And then she looked back at Barry, with a sharp glint in her eye that said that she was going to have words for him about this week, later.
Rapunzel	Rapunzel paused, pinkie finger outstretched towards Kathy's, and stared at Elsa. "I thought -- I thought I was the only one," she breathed. "In our whole world, I mean. I -- Elsa, you're magic too? Mother always said -- you didn't even have to sing!" She was a little jealous of that, but mostly impressed. Belatedly, she hooked her finger through Kathy's, offering the other girl a shy smile. "I've never pinkie-sworn on anything, before," she admitted. "This...seems like a good way to start."
Kathy	Kathy's expression wasn't all that far-off from Rapunzel's. "Wait, you too?" she repeated. "I mean--that's awesome!" Snapping her fingers, she pointed at Barry. "She's who you were working on the cold-sink technology for, wasn't she!" Looking back up at Elsa, she explained, "I caught him working on something once, but he never breathed a word about what it was about beyond 'Science!'" She'd never really had powers-envy before, but Rapunzel could heal and Elsa could create snow, and Barry's genius was at a level so high that it was practically magic and Kathy? Kathy bounced. "...Umm, me too, sorta? But nothing as cool as either of you," she admitted, blushing. "Enhanced speed and agility don't really rate, here."
Eleanor	It was interesting, watching everyone bond like this. Eleanor only hesitated a moment before holding out a single finger and letting a flame escape outward from its tip. Incinerate was the easiest plasmid to show off, really. "I'm not magic," she said. "My genetics are complicated. But like Barry said -- you're among friends." Or at least trusted persons, which was the next-best thing.
Joker	Joker looked around and shrugged. "It's not as impressive right now, but I've got the power to fly a spaceship better than anyone else in the galaxy," he told them. "...You know, once I've learned and trained and everything. Still working on beating Professor Skywalker's records. Plus, I'm really good at getting severely injured if I fall down."
Barry	"Not to take away from this magical moment, but when we're done singing fucking kum-by-ya I'm still tied up here," Barry grumbled.
Rapunzel	"And Barry can fit the F word into any sentence," Rapunzel added rosily, before stifling a shy giggle and getting back to untying him. "But, seriously -- thank you, guys. I know I can trust you."
Elsa	"I'm pretty sure most of us can relate," Elsa replied, smiling warmly at Rapunzel. "There are more people who know of my powers inside this room than outside of it." Barry could suffer on the floor for another little while. They were having a moment, here. And besides, he was still in trouble. ... Elsa would forgive him for this week of madness before long, anyway.
Kathy	Don't be so quick with the forgiveness, Elsa. They were still recovering from Barry being a puppy, too. Or, at least, Kathy was. But then, unlike certain time-displaced princesses, Kathy had cleaned up after him during his walkies. "If this were a comic or whatever, this would be the origin story of our own little superhero group," Kathy mused. "Since it's not, I vote we make Barry treat us to dinner as a thank you." And also, he was insanely rich and Kathy was pretty sure she hadn't gotten a pay check from the Ethics Committee yet.
Barry	Barry sighed. "FINE! Just fucking untie me!" And despite Barry's supposed grumpiness.. he was actually pretty pleased. Why? Well, Charles Peguy once said that Love is rarer than genius itself. And friendship is rarer than love. Charles Peguy was full of shit. If Barry learned one thing today it's that he has friends. People who care and try to look out for him despite his own destructive behavior and shitty attitues. All he had to do was let himself be open about who he was. And that was probably the best lesson he ever learned. Also that a gremlin vaccine was a truly terrible idea. Now gremlin repellent on the other hand... That's a great idea! [The End. FOR NOW! Mwah-ha-ha.]

[That Barry's friends had an intervention and got Barry better is Okay to broadcast. All display and talk of powers, especially Rapunzel's, is NFB. Preplayed with