notyourutopian | First Injection [Action then Audio]

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First Injection [Action then Audio]

[One moment, Eleanor had fighting for her life through the tunnels of Inner Persephone, the dark secret prison of Rapture, her and her father fighting off her mother's twisted splicer minions. Behind them, waiting for the way to be safe, was a group of young girls, all recently freed from her mother's twisted grip, and all of them hoping to escape the city. And they were going to!]

[And then, a moment later, she was waking up to the soft sound of running water and the strange tickle of grass against her nose. For a moment she simply lay there, her mind trying to process what had happened, before the water sound really pushed its way into her consciousness. She wasn't wearing her suit and she could hear running water!]

[She shoved herself up onto her hands and knees, her eyes searching for whatever leak had to be nearby. Running water in Rapture meant a leak, and a leak meant collapsing buildings, and that meant...that...

[Rather than the twisted metal walls and massive windows of a Rapture tunnel, she found herself sitting in a field of grass, a small stream (the source of the water) bubbling nearby. Trees rose up nearby, healthy, giant trees like nothing she had ever seen, and above it...]

[She had no idea how long she sat there, staring at the sky. There was just so much of it, so blue and distant and massive, looming above her. Her fingers dug into the soft ground, as if she half expected to be dragged up into the emptiness. But she'd dreamed of seeing the sky, and there it was. It wasn't until a bird flashed across her vision (a bird! she'd never seen one outside of pictures) that she was shaken from her trance. She...she could figure out the sky later. And the trees, and the stream! But she had to find out what was going on.]

Father? [She called out, quietly, startling a nearby animal, but nothing else. No response.] Father!

[Okay. He wasn't answering. She took a quick tally of her surroundings instead. She was wearing a dress similar to the ones her mother always brought for her, flimsy and white, more nightgown than anything else, and she plucked at the fabric a few times. It wasn't quite the same. A quick search of the ground nearby found her diving suit, thank heavens, leaning up against a tree, her helmet settled on the lap, the metal framework and gear propped up nearby. If this was a trick of her mother's, some insane thing, why would she have left her her...oh. The syringe was missing. So, a suit without a weapon. Still her suit!]

[Whatever was going on, she'd feel better with the familiar weight on. So she tugged the suit loose from the tree and pulled the back open, stepping into it and tugging it up...and then letting out a startled sound of pain, sending some nearby birds scattered, as she tried to tug it up over something in her back. Something that hurt!]

[Some twisting about finally revealed the strange, white wings attached to her back, their soft color marred by blotches of reddish brown. What in...she frowned at them, and the wings fluttered as if in response. And she could feel them, now that she knew they were there, feel the ache where she'd tried to tug her suit around them, feel them shift with her breathing. She had wings. She had WINGS!]

[Had mother caught her and subjected her to another round of those injections? Was this her own first showing of the awful mutations that had destroyed Doctor Alexander? Although his had been...much worse and much less...well. She had wings. They fluttered again with her shock, the motion sending weird little shivers up her spine, and she had to close her eyes, giving herself a moment to adjust. Whatever it was, she couldn't do anything about them now.]

[So what else was different? She backed away from the tree for a moment, leaving her suit on the ground again. A quick glance around revealed a tree branch, and she held up her hand, mentally willing it to come towards her, feeling the soft shift in the back of her mind as her telekinesis responded and the branch flipped up into the air and towards her. She caught it, hefting it once, then let it drop. She lifted her hand, concentrated, and a burst of fire engulfed her fingers, blisters and burns forming immediately along her otherwise pale skin. She shook the fire and pain away quickly and watched her hand heal back over. So her plasmids still worked. Nothing felt different. She just...had wings.]

[That, and she couldn't put her suit on. So instead she gathered up her helmet and tucked it under her arm, tied the metal framework to the fabric legs of the suit, and drug it along behind her as she started quietly through the forest. Whatever mother had done to bring her here, she'd find one of the woman's splicers soon enough and get answers. Whether they wanted to give them or not.]

[Audio: Hours later]

This is Eleanor Lamb speaking. I was told that these books would allow me to communicate with other people that have been brought here as I was. I still don't quite think I believe it, but I suppose there's little point in doubting, given everything else that I've witnessed since I awoke.

[She hesitates, letting out a breath. She's talking to a book. It would've felt insane if not for the wings, and the strange people, and the sky...]

I am not certain what I am supposed to say. This is all...quite surreal to me. Am I supposed to talk about what I am thinking? That's what we did with the diaries back home, but they were personal, they weren't meant for others to hear.

Still. I guess it cannot hurt. All of this is rather overwhelming, honestly. Just a few hours ago the sky was nothing but a dream...and trees, and birds...and now it's all just...here. Rapture was a nightmare, and yet I'm not sure if I've woken up to something worse or better, or if this is all still some trick of mother's...

Heh. Maybe it's both. I don't-

[She cuts off, silent for a moment, and then makes a frustrated sound.]

This is ridiculous. I'm talking to a book.

[And the book closes with a thump.]

[ooc: Eleanor is supposed to run into Sheena first, but she can meet anyone else after that! She'll most likely be skulking around the edge of town, not quite willing to head inside yet, and be somewhat less violent once she's gotten some answers.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She didn't really know what she was expecting, but it wasn't that.]

I...when I think experiments, I think...genetic manipulation. I mean, they put wings on my back.

Technically, they gave you the wings 'cause you need 'em. Something about being in this world requires them. They can make people look different, too, though—anything from new appendages to changing species. But again, it's all temporary. It never lasts.

Just because it's usually weird doesn't mean they can't still be dangerous, though. So it's always important to be on your toes.

The last person who experimented on me spent the end of his life in a giant glass tube as a formless mass.

[It wasn't her fault, but it was still a lovely image of what she might do.]

So they better be careful what they try on me. Whomever these beings are.

[...damn. He didn't expect that, but then again, maybe he should have. It sounded like her life had been pretty rough so far, so he doesn't doubt what she says.]

Hey, you're not the only one. I think we've all got a thing or two we'd like to show 'em once we get our hands on 'em.

...and remind me never to piss you off, by the way.

[Again, he teases. He'd never want to get on her nerves on purpose!]

That's a marvelous thing for you to remember.

[She's trying to joke, it's just not working.]

I just...I don't understand any of this.

It's okay. It's kind of a lot to deal with, and there's not exactly a whole lot we can do to prepare for it. We just gotta do what we can.

Besides, you seem like a girl that knows how to take care of herself.

I haven't ever had another choice. I had to take care of myself.

From what everyone is saying, everything is supposed to be easy and free here, except at the same time it's full of horrible experiments. 'A lot to deal with' doesn't even begin to describe it.

I guess not. It's even worse because it's different for everyone. Some people get lucky and don't have to deal with a lot of experiments, while others get hit hard, and often.

And everyone comes from somewhere different, too. For some people, it being easy and free makes up for all of the bad stuff, because it's a lot better than where they came from. Others might not have anywhere else to go. Being here's a lot better than being dead.

Mm. I think I'd rather work for my own needs, rather than have them handed to me.

[Her mother made her rather bitter about utopias.]

Perhaps the universe will let me be fortunate, given what I have already endured.

Me, too. The stuff that's worth it usually can't just be handed to you anyway.

But hey, you never know. This place has been an awful lot nicer to me than I'd expected given my own luck. So maybe you'll be one of the luckier ones, too.

I suppose we shall see.

What is your name, anyway?

It's Jason Todd. Sorry, I would have mentioned it sooner, but I got carried away. [Chattiness is also a bad habit, it's true.] But it's nice to meet you, Eleanor.

You too. I think.

[She sighs.]

I'm sorry. I haven't had to be...social...in a very long time.

Hey, I'll take it. Besides, I think I'm social enough to make up for both of us. I never really knew how to keep my mouth shut.

[He sounds almost proud of that, though!]

You do seem to rather enjoy talking, yes. I suppose I don't mind. I can't really remember the last time I had a normal, civil conversation with someone who wasn't a gibbering drug addict screaming at the ceiling.

[Boy, does that one hit close to home. He's pretty casual about it, though.]

Been there, done that. They really don't make for good conversation partners, do they?

But you know, if you ever do mind, I can take a hint, I swear.

No. It probably didn't help that I hated them all, though.

[And has since killed a lot of them. Whoops.]

I will keep that in mind.

[Considering her threat to the Malnosso and all that? He doesn't doubt that at all.]

Well, I think most of the people here are capable of holding a conversation, at least. So maybe they'll be a little more likeable over your old "pals."

Maybe.

I still suspect I will be better off out here.

Out where? [...oh, wait.] You're not in the village?

[It doesn't seem all that strange, when he thinks about it. He kind of feels bad, but if that's what she's most comfortable with, then...]

No. I'm under a tree.

Oh. [Man, what should he say...?] Well, you know, some of the community buildings aren't all that full. If you ever decide to come into the village, you could probably have an entire floor all to yourself, if you want.

[She's quiet for a while.]

Maybe. I've never really seen trees like this before. Or the sky...I think I'll stay here a while.

[Okay, that makes him smile. He can see how things like that might be worth just sitting around and looking at for a while.]

Sounds like a plan to me.

I don't suppose it's possible to simply live out here?

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