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[outofclothes]

spam.
[For most people, dying is a big problem. It tends to put a damper on their whole day. For Stark? Well, it's not quite the relief he thought it'd be (and a little more embarrassing than expected; going down to some rogue Sub Rosa was just not what he had in mind for his blaze of glory, but what can you do?), but it was on the to-do list somewhere along the way.]

[It doesn't even really faze Stark much when he finds his surroundings different from what he remembers from his last trip. Hell was on the brink of civil war. New management was always a possibility. He's annoyed, but not that distraught over the lack of his guns and knife. The na'at makes him a little sad, but he can always pick up another here. Weapons are everywhere if you know where to look.]

[And look, he does. Stark doesn't need his hand to be hold or to be told where he is even if this isn't what he was looking forward to. (And yes, he's completely aware of how fucked up that is.) The best he has, once he's on the deck, is that whoever took over the shithole has been watching a little too much Star Trek between organizing an army and overthrowing Lucifer. He hopes they didn't do something equally stupid to the arena or he's going to be pissed.]

[It's at that point, when he's fairly alone, he tries stepping into a shadow. When nothing happens, he's not all that relieved, but he's still not mad.]

voice.
[It's his cabin that makes Stark go from apathetic to not in less than a second. He would've shrugged off and forgiven being pushed off the U.S. Bank Tower compared to this. Stark knew death wasn't going to be a vacation for him, but there are some pretty clear lines that no one should have the balls enough to cross. Then again, there's always morons wherever you go.]

[Stark won't give anyone any satisfaction of an obvious reaction. You never let the other guy know he's under your skin because the second you do that, you've lost. He knows how to turn that part of his brain off and work on pure auto-pilot to close the door behind him, to sit down on the mattress, and start puzzling out the communicator. Luckily he's mastered enough of the ridiculous phone technology to figure it out.]

So, who'd like to take credit for this?

Comments

[outofclothes]

Right, so exits are which way?

[permutates]

Prison ships don't usually have a lot of exits. I think.

[outofclothes]

Well good thing I've never had a problem with making my own then.

[He does have a problem with second chances though. He doesn't believe it and also doesn't think he deserves one, so staying is definitely not an option. Trying to find a way out? Top priority.]

[permutates]

Good luck.

[ u go try, sir ]

[outofclothes]

Luck doesn't have anything to do with it, sweetheart.

[sssshhh AND STOP WITH THE SIR]

[permutates]

Most of the people who end up here don't really have good luck in their lives. So.. I believe that.

[outofclothes]

Okay, I'm not one for dishing out important life lessons here, but I'm feeling generous since you're not responsible.

Life doesn't run on luck because luck's a bunch of bullshit. When people can't explain why something bad happens or why something good happens - it's usually because they don't want to. So, they call what's really just fuck-ups and the occasional good decision luck.

[permutates]

When I was eight, homeless, and stealing every scrap of food I ate - because I was a shapechanger, and nobody thought it was possible - I broke into the house of a boy who turned out to be a telepath, someone else who was impossible. He took me in and gave me a family.

That's not luck?

[outofclothes]

[A Lurker? Well, Stark's not entirely surprised, but he is a little.]

No, it's not. You chose to break into that house, which I'm guessing was probably pretty nice if he could just take you in like that. And he made the choice to take you in. That's not luck.

That's you having a brain between your ears or at the very least a big set of balls and a kid not being an asshole and showing a little decency.

Give yourself and him some credit.

[permutates]

Not many houses would have mutants in them.

[outofclothes]

Being an asshole or not is a choice. I don't care who or what you are.

[permutates]

But finding someone who might understand you isn't common.

[outofclothes]

I hate to break your heart, but that's a choice, too. Most people choose not to because it's easier.

[permutates]

You've just met me. You're nowhere near my heart.

Mutants are... one in ten thousand, maybe. And most wouldn't have been able to recognize me.

[outofclothes]

You know what a Jade is?

[permutates]

If it isn't the stone, then no.

[outofclothes]

It's not. It's a type of Lurker. Like a vampire, but instead of your blood, they guzzle down people's insides. Most people don't know about them and it's not like they've got a monthly newsletter.

I know one and she's a great gal. In fact, she's even off the people juice. Or trying to be anyway. But see, it's not something she can do on her own. It's not just a switch she can turn off whenever she feels like. She had to ask for help.

Now Doc Kinski? It would've been easy for him to say no. He didn't owe her anything and frankly, it would've been a lot less grief. But he made the choice to help her because he stepped outside of himself for a second and thought about what it would mean for her.

He didn't have to be a Jade to get her. [She also didn't have to be a nephilim to get Stark, but he's very purposefully not talking about himself here.] And someone doesn't have to be a mutant to get you.

[permutates]

There were a lot of bad ways my life could have gone that it didn't go.

[ Just pointing that out. ]

Without that, I'd probably be an inmate, not a warden. But I don't think the distinction is all that important, except in here.

[outofclothes]

Then you're one of the few people who made more good decisions than bad ones.

Seriously, sweetheart, do me a favor and invest in a life coach or something. Your self-esteem is a mess.

[permutates]

How's yours?

[outofclothes]

Fan-fucking-tastic. It's a wonder I don't just make-out with myself.

[LIES. FILTHY, FILTHY LIES.]

[permutates]

Says the guy who asked for the exit when I told him the ship is a second chance.

[outofclothes]

See, I'm of the opinion that I don't need one. Big difference.

But I appreciate the concern.

[permutates]

Why not?

[outofclothes]

Considering the shit decade I've had? I'm pretty well-adjusted.