Tuesday Afternoon: The Not-so-Abandoned-Warehouse

[badassprodigy]

Barry had avoided the warehouse for a total of a day. For the better part of the weekend, he had been holed up here watching friends go through some of the more horrible things that he could have ever imagined. There were of course bright moments that happened as well but the overall horror was outshining those moments.

Which is probably why Barry decided to call home.

"Dude!"

Jeremy's face was all smiles. "What the fuck man? You finally decided to give your best buddy a call after weeks of ignoring me?"

"Shut the fuck up," Barry retorted with a smirk. "I send you emails all the time."

"Yeah but who the fuck has time to read that?" Jeremy snarked back. "So what's the reason for the call?"

Barry paused a moment, his grin fading. "I don't think I ever thanked you."

Jeremy's expression went to immediate puzzlement. "What?"

"I never thanked you. For smacking me around whenever I was doing dickish things to people when we were kids."

Jeremy's expression never changed. "Dude. What the fuck are you talking about? You're being like... serious and shit. What the fuck happened?"

And it all came out. Barry told Jeremy everything. About Eleanor and her sub. The away team's trip to Rapture. Especially all the ugly things that had been done just because no one gave a shit about the consequences. Eleanor. Little Sisters. Big Daddies/Mr. Bubbles. Splicers. Cults. All of it.

Jeremy's jaw had dropped and his mouth was hanging open by the end of it. "Duuuuuuuuuude..."

"I know. Anyway. Part of me wonders if I had been there what I would have done. I'd like to think I would have stopped the experiments, not allowed little girls to become monsters but... honestly I think I would have gone along with it."

"DUDE!"

"If I didn't have you as a best friend."

"What?"

"You were always there. Telling me to do the right thing. Most of the time. Calling me on my shit when I was being a fucking dick."

Jeremy snorted in amusement. "Dude you weren't always that bad. You knew what needed to be done. You just needed a fucking push sometimes. Or a kick to the fucking 'nads."

Oh, Jeremy. It always came back to the gonads, didn't it?

"Yeah. But you were the one doing the pushing. And I just wanted to say thanks."

Jeremy grinned. "You're welcome. Now are we done being fucking wusses now? Shit. I think my shlong inverted just talking to you."

"Fuck you," Barry said with a laugh. "How are things with Roxie?"

"Good! She's fucking awesome. We're going to see meta for Guardians for the thirtieth time this weekend. You should come!"

"Eh. We'll see. I might have something planned with Elsa."

"Ooooo. Elsa. You finally fucking kiss her or what?"

Barry's face betrayed any response he could have had.

"DUDE! I SAW THAT!"

"Fuck you!" Barry retorted. "I don't know what you're fucking talking about!"

"BARRY KISSED A GIIIIIIIIRRRRRL! BARRY KISSED A GIIIIIIIIRRRRRL! BARRY KISSED A GIIIIIIIIRRRRRL! Do you LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE her?"

"Fuck you!" Barry said half laughing. "It was just a kiss."

"BARRY KISSED A GIIIIIIIIRRRRRL! BARRY KISSED A GIIIIIIIIRRRRRL!"

"I take everything back," Barry said shaking his head in amusement. "You're an asshole."

Jeremy had no response. He was too busy making kissy noises at his phone.

"Fuck you," Barry said as his way of saying goodbye and disconnected.

After the call he sat back and shook his head in amusement. Suddenly the warehouse didn't seem as grim anymore.

Five minutes later he was back to his regular self and running five experiments at once as he started building yet another project.

[Open door, open post]

Comments

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy really wasn't sure that this was the best way to handle things, but her conversation with Anders was preying on her mind and, of everyone, she was closest to Barry and he was one of the furthest removed from what had happened.

That didn't mean he'd be up for talking about it, though. Or that she felt good about asking him to do so.

She also felt like this was somehow doubting Anders, like she didn't trust him to have chosen the safest and most humane options he could have taken. But she just...just needed to know.

And so it was a much less bouncy Kathy than normal who was quietly tapping on the warehouse door.

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"If you're here to give me shit about my face you can walk away," Barry said jokingly once he saw who it was.

He put down the arc welder he was currently using and turned it off. Safety first people.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Your face?" Kathy asked, confused for a moment. Look, it was a million miles away from what she was thinking about. "Why would I--Oh! Your face!" That, at least, got a smile out of her. "No, I didn't come to make fun of you. I got that out of my system yesterday."

Though when she brought up why she was there, he might have preferred the harassment. "Can I come in?"

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"Nope. You have to stay out there and have a conversation in fucking semaphore code," Barry said rolling his eyes. "Yes. Duh."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Umm, you may not be so eager when you hear what I have to ask you," she said, looking uncomfortable. She did head inside, though, mostly because this wasn't a conversation that would be good to have out in the open. "But it's not about you and Elsa!"

That was a comfort, right?

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"It's not about pockets is it? Seriously Kathy it's just a fucking pocket!"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Shut up and wear girl clothing for a month," Kathy said, turning up her chin. "Then tell me how you're going to take pockets for granted again."

Seriously, Barry. You had no freaking idea how good you had it.

"No, I have a question about...about Rapture." She winced, waiting for the explosion.

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Barry let out a long weary groan. "Fuck me. Now. What?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm sorry," Kathy said, inadvertently raising a hand towards her face. "I know it's not something you want to talk about and I swear, I'm not, like, indulging my curiosity or my sense of the macabre! It's just I was talking to Anders and he told me about something and I'm not sure I understand and I thought it might be better to ask you before I just made some kind of final assumption and that wasn't okay, I'm sorry, I'll just go, okay?"

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Barry closed his eyes. His conversation with Jeremy helped him. Maybe whatever he could answer for Kathy would help her or Anders.

"No," he said with a sigh. "Just ask, okay? I'll answer it the best fucking way I know how."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Anders said he killed someone," Kathy said quietly. "Or, well, more than one. Is that--was it--?"

She looked down, feeling horrible and guilty, both for doubting Anders and for making Barry go through all of this again.

"I mean, he said that they were being attacked by some drug addicts or something and I can get how scary that probably was--" ahahahaha no she didn't "--but I know he comes from a different world with different social mores, where it's just okay to lock people up for having magic, so maybe it's just a completely different worldview and I'm being terribly ethnocentric about everything and..."

She should have just left. She really should have.

"I'm sorry."

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Barry was pinching his nose with his hand as he counted to ten. "Kathy this wasn't just some crook on the street or some mugger. This was a group of fucking insane killers who wanted to literally rip people apart. I'm not kidding here. The entire trip was a fucking horror show. When they had to kill someone they didn't really have a fucking choice. It was either that or be fucking killed."

[spin_kick_snap]

"He didn't..." She was hunching forward now, trying to get very small, as if she could disappear if she just closed in enough of herself. "He just said that most of the people there were on some horrible drug that wiped their minds and their bodies. And that it was the worst place he'd ever been. I was just...I mean, it's not like I thought that he was killing for fun or something. He's not like that. Which is why I thought I'd come and ask--find out what I was missing--"

She was taking tiny steps now, inching around Barry while staying firmly out of his personal space. If she could just get to his other side, she could run out of the warehouse and maybe pretend like she'd never been so stupid as to ask.

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Barry looked up to see Kathy's actions and rolled his eyes. "Kathy... oh for fuck's sake. I'm not mad at you. Sit down. Please," he said wearily as he took a seat at his workstation.

"Listen... if you're going to play hero you're going to have to make some tough decisions. One day you're going to come up against a situation where it's either going to be you or someone else. Anders was up against that this weekend and I'm telling you he made the right call. If it wasn't for him and his healing abilities I don't think anyone would have made it back safely."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy didn't look like she entirely believed him, but she hurried to obey, skittering over to a chair and sitting on the edge. "That's...that's all I wanted to know," she murmured. "It's just...what he described didn't match up with what he said he had to do. I can't imagine ever having to be in that situation once, never mind multiple times, so I had to ask. That's all."

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"You can't imagine having to be in that situation?" Barry asked. "Even once on this island? This place has a history of being invaded. Right before I got here wasn't there multiple invasions from multiple dimensions?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Not with people," Kathy said. "Maybe I'm just being stupid. Okay, I know I'm being stupid. And I didn't hurt anybody then."

No, she'd gotten swooped up to try to find out what was causing it all, only to get caught by a swamp on their very second location.

"I've never had to hurt anyone." She still woke from bad dreams about Lady Dokkaebi and the monster the carnival had turned her into. "I'm fast enough that I've been able to take down anything dangerous with non-lethal means. I'm not a cop or a soldier, I'm just a girl with superspeed and a bunch of gymnastics moves. I don't kill people. Heck, I don't kill anything mammalian. And it was just a shock to go from 'there were scary drug addicts around' to 'I had to kill them.'"

She didn't have a single point of reference for this. All she knew was that she cared about Anders and wanted to be assured that it really had been that bad.

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"Well... then you're lucky," Barry said with a grim look. "And I hope to fucking God you don't ever have to make that choice but if you plan on being a super hero you might want to think about these things."

[spin_kick_snap]

"What makes you think I haven't?" Kathy asked, voice small. "I'm just...I'm a girl from a mostly normal world. No aliens, no monsters, no insane gadgets that rewrite reality. The few superheroes that have shown up in my world fight off the regular gangs in LA. It's not like a comic or a video game, where death has no meaning. In my world, a handful of teenagers can't just decide to leave with a little girl because she's being mistreated and drug addicts can be dangerous, but that's not a reason to kill them."

She spread her hands, willing Barry to understand. "I know that I don't have the first clue about what happened down there. That's why I came here, to ask. Anders doesn't want to talk about it and I don't want to force him to. So...I thought...maybe you could help me understand. Help me reconcile things. That's all."

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"Well then do you understand now?" Barry asked deflating a little bit. "You're not going to judge Anders for what he did down there are you? Because he doesn't need that right now."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy didn't, not really. But she also wasn't going to ask again and risk making Barry angrier. She got the gist that they were in real, life-threatening danger and that was enough.

"I knew that Anders wasn't the type to kill without some kind of reason," she said. "That would be the only reason I'd really judge him. I mean, it's not even my place to judge him. Or anybody, for that matter. I just wanted a better idea of where his lines are drawn. Get a better idea of what he'd gone through to get to that point. His explanations...didn't really cover it."

She swallowed. "Sorry I bugged you about this. I should have just assumed...I don't know. That everything happened for a reason, I guess."

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"I wouldn't assume that at all," Barry said. "It's good that you are asking this question but I think now I'm even more worried about you running around out there playing hero."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm not playing!" Kathy flared, balling her fists at her sides. Her eyes jumped to his, the first time they'd met since she'd started the conversation. "This isn't some kind of game for me, Barry!"

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"I know it's not. Bad choice of words," Barry said seriously. "I know you're doing this to help people. I'm just wondering if you're prepared to make the right decision when the time comes."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Why does killing someone have to be the right decision? You know most police officers don't kill people and I'm less than that! I'm a costumed vigilante who leaves bad guys tied to telephone poles with zip ties and a gymnastic ribbons!"

She just couldn't imagine looking at what used to be a living, breathing person with thoughts and feelings and a whole future and knowing that they were dead by her hands. Or feet. Or...whatever.

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"I didn't say it was the fucking right decision," Barry said calmly. "I'm saying you need to be prepared for it. What if we did a scenario? Suppose there was a super powered bad guy. More durable than the standard fucking purse snatcher. What if he had me in a chokehold and your non-lethal attacks wouldn't work? What would you do?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Okay, so, let me get this straight. There's a supervillain, you can't get out of his grasp, you inexplicably don't have any weapons or anything on your person, and none of my attacks work? Then how the heck am I supposed to kill him in the first place? Do I have a gun for no reason than because this is a scenario that I'm supposed to default to killing in? Okay, and he's so durable that shooting him in the knee won't stop him and shooting him in the shoulder won't make him let go, and...what? He doesn't believe me if I go up and hold a gun to his temple and threaten him? Is this how the scenario is supposed to play out?"

Kathy couldn't eyeroll harder. The problem with scenarios like these were that they were always so stupid. They ignored reality in favor of weighing towards a predetermined outcome.

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"So you're telling me that there is no situation where you wouldn't have to take another person's life?" Barry asked and then shook his head. "Bullshit."

[spin_kick_snap]

"I'm not saying that," Kathy said, scowling. "But I can say that killing someone would be my very last resort and something only to be contemplated after all other avenues have been explored! And since I have abilities that the average person does not, I think I have more of a responsibility to come up with ways around taking another life, not less!"

This outlook was probably why she was on your Ethics Committee, Barry.

"Will I maybe one day be in a position where I have to make a snap decision about whether or not to kill someone? Possibly! I think this island makes it more likely than my night job in Baltimore, but, you never know. Maybe it'll happen. But that doesn't mean that I have to approach every problem like it's kill or be killed."

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

Joker swaggered into the warehouse with a gigantic smirk. Because, hey, he needed to brag to someone, and it sure as hell beat talking about the other huge thing weighing on his mind. "So, Studmuffin," he said, "I hear little Barry's finally become a boy!"

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Barry rolled his eyes. "Right. Is this about me kissing Elsa? Because You're a little late to give me shit about it. Besides... What was going on that Eleanor had to drag you to Anders to get healed?

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

"Give you shit?" Joker asked innocently. "No, I'm here to congratulate you. You kissed a girl! Good job! In only a few more years, you'll start to grow pubes and your voice will drop! ...Seriously, though, it gives me warm fuzzies. I'm sure it was absolutely adorable."

He gave Barry a smirk. "Eleanor didn't drag me, she just... you know, gave me support. I know it sounds weird to say out loud, but I can't walk well with an injured hand. Because she came so hard she broke my hand. I am the man!"

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"Shiiiiiiiiiiit."

Barry just stood there for a moment in disbelief. He even forgot the insult Joker just laid on him.

"I'm not sure if I should be grossed out or impressed."

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

"Impressed, definitely. At me, at her, at the whole shebang. There were fireworks, I tell you." He waved his hand at Barry. "Seriously, fucker was purple and swollen. Almost as bad as that time I tried catching a baseball."

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"I'm not so sure I need this much detail into your love life," Barry said cautiously. "I mean... Yay for orgasms and all but fuck... What were you doing that made her break your.... I can't believe I'm asking that."

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

"In general terms? She's strong, I'm fragile, never had it so good in her life, complete loss of motor control, vigorous convulsing, I'm sure you get the picture. Specifically? I've got style, bro. You want pointers, just ask."

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"Why? So I can get my fucking hand broken?" Barry asked. " I don't think so. Besides, Elsa has a thing about being touched as it is. And... Wait you guys were doing this right after you got back from the sub?"

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

That got Joker to look a little sheepish. "Yeah... it started out just as, you know, being comforting. And then... things progressed. Now she's being weird about it, but I'm pretty sure that's because my hand got broken. She... We both kind of needed it."

He cleared his throat. "Anyway. It's not not like you have to worry about your hand breaking; I'm just fragile."

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Well if Barry knew anything about the Snow Queen (http://oglaf.com/snowbound/2/) in Naveen's world he'd probably have something to worry about. [Link NSFW]

"I'm not going to claim I'm fragile but... Look, I don't feel right rushing Elsa. She'd freak out and then it would just be weird. And I won't bullshit you but the whole kiss thing was a comfort thing as well. Is Eleanor okay? Because man that would fuck with my head if that happened."

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I wasn't saying to rush her. I mean, she's sweet and shy and nervous, so are you, she's a princess, she could accidentally turn you into a popsicle..." Joker shrugged. "All good reasons to take things super slow."

He sighed, and gave Barry and unsure look. "I'm actually kind of worried about Eleanor. Part of how everything started was her needing to know, after everything this weekend, that she's not a freak... and then this happened. I'm trying to downplay it as much as possible; not sure how well that's working."

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

"Fuck. Has anyone talked to her yet other than you?" Barry asked. "Maybe if she talked to someone other than the person she hurt?"

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

"I... don't know," Joker admitted. "I mean, Anders was kind of mortified... And Eleanor's kind of a private person. I don't know if she'd think to talk about it with Elsa or Celia or anyone... Shit, this is bad, isn't it?"

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

That was a lot of friends Joker just eliminated. Barry wasn't liking his odds.

"Raven? Maybe Raven? Big sib who has no problem running around all blue and scaly?"

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

"I don't know," Joker said again. "All I know is that she doesn't want to talk to me. I can't tell how much is too much to push, you know?"

[notaweenie.livejournal.com]

Barry winced. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

[fly-so-serious.livejournal.com]

"I... have no idea." Joker sighed, and gave Barry a rare moment of complete candor. "I'm fighting down the urge to say that if I can't fix it, it's unfixable. I'm not sure what you can do. But, yeah, if you want to talk to her, it can't hurt. I'm worried about her."