24 - Backdated to the Day after the Flood

[bodilesswarrior]

[Barbara is sitting at her desk, fingers curled under her chin. Her brain is buzzing, still; it remembers feeling the universe tick.

There are notes scattered in front of her. It's her handwriting, but it's not; it's crafted by centuries and worlds she could never dream of, penned in alien ink.

When she finally speaks, her voice is quietly pensive.]

How much of this do you think stays with us? The people we become, the lives we never lived.

[She settles back in her chair.]

I was a Time Lord for three days. She was bound to her TARDIS, and she saw things, understood things that I could never grasp, not really. She was hundreds of years old, and she'd seen hundreds of worlds, and she knew the rhythm of the universe like it was her own heart beat.

[She raises her hand, taps her temple.] How is my mind supposed to process that, now that it's gone? How the hell does it work? [She tries not to get frustrated, any more, at how the Barge functions, at how much she doesn't understand. She failed, today.]

[Private to Iris]

[It's still easy, though, to smile for Iris. It's faint and it's wistful but it's real.]

You were a witch, right? I could - I'm not sure, but I was aware, of what happened in the corridors.

Comments

[private]

[routemistress]

In some ways I always 'ave been.

If I'd been meself I'd've felt it, though. I wish I 'ad.

Will you remember it for me?

[private]

[bodilesswarrior]

I'll try. [Old irritation creases her brow; flood memories are the only ones that aren't perfect, aren't crystallised in her mind until she's gone herself.] Maybe I can share it?

[private]

[routemistress]

That's what I meant. I -

...did you see the egg, yet? Did I show you?

[private]

[bodilesswarrior]

...The egg? [Her eyes go wide, and there's a spark of excitement in them. She suspects what Iris means, and it makes her heart speed up a little.] It - you started?

[private]

[routemistress]

Aye.

I didn't think it were going to be like a literal egg, but it is. Dodo's sitting on it. I think that's 'is idea of appropriate.

...now I know it can be done.

[She can do it twice.]

[private]

[bodilesswarrior]

[Well, she can't help grinning at that mental image.] Hey, whatever works.

[And then Iris' words sink in, and she just stares, for a second.]

...It can be repeated.

[private]

[routemistress]

Well. Assuming this doesn't go wrong. You're supposed to 'ave a null-space hyperloom and - luckily Dodo can do the block-transfer work and the Barge is close enough to null-space.

[She is not crossing her fingers.]

We'll 'ave to see 'ow the little one turns out.

[mistconduct]

Lots and lots of drugs, Barbara.


I dunno. That's all I've got.

[bodilesswarrior]

[She smirks, despite - everything.]

In my experience, pot just makes me paranoid. [She tried it once. For science.]

[mistconduct]

For real? You smoke? I had no idea.

[bodilesswarrior]

Just the once, in college. [A slight shrug.] Reading about the effect only tells you so much.

[mistconduct]

Shit, Barbara. Do you break into banks to see how the criminal element acts too?

[bodilesswarrior]

Entirely different thing, thank you. [Okay, she may have come up with plans for heists just to figure out how other people might do it.]

You know, the real criminalisation of cannabis stems largely from selfish propaganda.

[praesidium]

I believe what we choose to hold onto stays with us on some level. What we don't, we discard or at least set aside.

[bodilesswarrior]

Do we really have that much control?

[praesidium]

[It's a good question. Alana doesn't answer right away.]

Maybe not always. But I think that's the ideal, isn't it?

[bodilesswarrior]

As long as you're not fooling yourself. [A slight, wry smile. She's done enough of that.]

[praesidium]

No, I'm opting for a little more clarity these days.

[bodilesswarrior]

How's that working out?

[voluntaryapnea]

[Stiles purses his lips, considering the question. There are things he remembers that definitely aren't from his own life, but from Bucky's and it's...a lot to process. It's the first flood that he's really personally been affected by. He doesn't know if it'll be a permanent situation -- will he always remember things he should have very little knowledge of? Will he always remember being tortured for days? He's been pondering all of it, as well.]

I'm not sure there's enough time to process everything.

[The next flood will surely only been around the corner the way it always is, and it'll be something new they have to deal with.]

[bodilesswarrior]

[She smiles, a little bit.] That, at least, I'm used to. [If anything, life on the Barge is slower than Gotham - even if she's dealing with things she never dreamed of before.]

How different were you?

[voluntaryapnea]

[He nods. He's used to that, too. It's slower on the Barge than Beacon Hills, but the things that happen? Just as weird.]

The history was pretty different. The relationships though...surprisingly familiar.

[bodilesswarrior]

That happens a lot. I guess some are just - fundamental.

[voluntaryapnea]

It's actually kind of comforting.

[bodilesswarrior]

It is, yeah. [That something good can be true across universes, something she treasures, something that made her better.] And it sure doesn't hurt to have someone to talk to.