Participants:
| Scene Title | 6 Bitches, 1 Room |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Redbird gathers for a meeting shortly after an attack from !Cardinal. Tensions are high and everyone seems to be at eachother's throats. Was this part of his plan? Only time will tell. The truth comes out finally, much to Cardinal's dislike. |
| Date | December 6 |
There's a sharp, professional feel to the main lobby of the building. The carpet is a deep maroon underfoot, the walls an off-white cream that doesn't glare too brightly beneath the recessed lighting in the ceiling. Half a dozen chairs upholstered in a sandy light brown sit against one wall beneath a painting, a print of a Thomas Brill that shows the ruins of Midtown covered in vines and greenery as seen from the rooftop of the Deveaux building. The receptionist's station takes up almost an entire wall on the right side of the lobby, guarding the hallway that leads back into the building's offices. Behind and above the desk, the logo for Redbird Security Solutions hangs on the wall in glossy black.
The central hall continues the same carpet and wall colors to a number of doors. There are four offices, a restroom done in shades of blue and pale sand tones, and a comfortable employee lounge with attached kitchenette. An open doorway in the main lobby reveals a flight of upward stairs, and there's a locked door at he end of the central hall that guards the basement steps.
The door to Redbird's lobby is locked, though it's just late morning on a Monday, and the office should be open for business. Instead a closed sign hangs in the window. There is still the stench of burnt wool in the air from the carpet, a casualty to the chaos that happened just an hour before.
Assembled in the lobby and reception area are Harmony, Elisabeth and Peyton, the latter two having just arrived half an hour ago, within moments of one another. Aric is in the building, but one of the three victims of the morning's mayhem is still missing — Elle, returning with Cardinal as they wait.
There's a palpable tension in the air as Peyton paces near the receptionist desk, her eyes shifting in and out of focus as she checks on the status of the two Endgame members still en route.
Suddenly she stops, turning toward the door and striding toward it, to unlock it — obviously they're close by.
Elisabeth's already made a thorough walk-through of the entire facility. And the message in the basement just flat pisses her the hell off. She's made coffee and she's texting back and forth with her office while she's waiting for the other to show up. She has promised explanations to Aric and Harmony, but she's not going to tell them what's going on before Richard and Elle return. The rest of Endgame will have to hear as well, but they're not around at this moment.
"Oh my GOD! Will you all just please stop thinking?!"
Harmony does not want to be here at the moment. She wants to be somewhere where there are no people. On a deserted island or some other such place that is appropriate. She intended on heading to the Library where she knew it would be very low on human presence, but she didn't quite make it. Roped back into staying in the place she just received an attack from. It is the tension and all of the various emotions floating through the air, the angry thoughts and the stress baring down on her all at once. It makes Harmony irritable, and she reflects back with her own frustration, broadcasting just as much as she gets, sitting in a char with her hands over her face. "Goddamit! I never thought I'd say this, but I want my powers back! I'm more comfortable with the notion of giving someone cancer than this."
It's rather late given the call that went out by the time that Richard Cardinal arrives, the lobby's door rattling as his hand slaps against it — and then he waits for the door to be unlocked. "Get inside," he tells, no, orders Elle in rather aggrieved tones, his head shaking slowly from side to side. He's in his 'security outfit' - black BDUs and a Redbird jacket on over it, looking properly paramilitary, right down to the dark shades. Once the (former?) electrokinetic's walked inside, he steps in after her, his head shaking slowly from side to side.
"Liz. Pey." An acknowledgement of both, his jaw tensing, "Do I even want to know what the fuck that idiot did this time?"
The little blonde looks like she should be cold, wearing a shirt with elbow-length sleeves that are rolled up, and a pair of jeans. She doesn't look like the cold bothers her. In fact, as she slips in once the door is unlocked, frowning at Cardinal's rather brusque tone. "You don't have to be a dick, Richard. I was going to walk in myself, and I don't need an order to do that. Maybe you could be a little nicer to the girl who burns her damn clothes when she's upset." She scowls at him as she slips past, the man able to feel the heat coming off of the blonde.
In her hands, she fiddles with a Geiger counter, which is rather obviously on, and…not making any clicking sounds.
Harmony's demand they stop thinking gets a withering look from Peyton as she opens the door, dark and worried eyes meeting Cardinal's as she steps aside to let both in, closing the door swiftly behind them, shutting the door and locking it once more once.
"Can we all calm down and cut the insults, please?" she says quietly, arms wrapping around herself. She was already nervous this morning thanks to the fact that Institute is asking for her to look in on someone she's supposed to be keeping safe — this sort of tension is just too much at the moment for the not-yet-22-year-old to handle today.
"I don't understand what's going on," she says, shaking her head. "Who exactly// did this?"
Closing her phone, Elisabeth looks toward her lover and his companion with livid blue eyes. "Believe me when I tell you, this is not Richard being a dick. And if you'd stayed put like you should have, it's highly probable we could have had this conversation a shit-ton sooner." She flickers toward Richard with an apologetic look. "It's time to tell them who and what that fucking idiot is." Her voice is tight and there's a pained expression. "He's gone and swapped out three of our people's abilities and Aric tells me that it was very deliberate. He had his asshole bodyguard teleport them into the basement," at least Liz now knows what number on the armor the teleporter sports! "so the place is a fucking shambles. And he left us a candygram."
Glancing at Peyton, Elisabeth is even more apologetic. Christ, this is a mess. "Peyton… come downstairs. This is best not talked about up here." Though down there doesn't appear to be all that much safer. "Harmony…. I'm sorry. I'm trying." To not broadcast.
This feels like cramps.. In the head.. The constant pinch and twitching of muscles in an uncontrollable fashion, that steady sense of discomfort. Harmony is pretty sure her brain is bleeding right now. That's what if feels like. It could actually happen, but it isn't. Doesn't stop her from thinking it though. She sighs, trying a few breathing exercises as she tries to listen to the explanation rather than the fact that two more minds have just entered to collective of chatter in her head. Visibly, Harmony's eyes winces closed and she turns to lean towards the wall, banging the front of her head against it. "God.." she groans. "Anger, anger and frustration, confusion.. I love Richard." She points to them each in succession as she names off the things she's picking up: Elisabeth, Richard, Peyton and then Elle. "Now that we've got those things out of the way, can we move on to something else while we discuss this?" she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small back of weed, tossing on the desk. "There isn't much there, but please please lite it up and everyone take a hit? It will so help right now."
"…and an hour ago you were going to go hang out naked in the middle of Ground Zero," Richard snaps in response, "So just— just fucking get inside, okay?" Once they're in, his hand comes up to rub against his forehead, a serious headache already beginning to pound beneath his temples. He's angry. That they'd strike here of all places, the sheer temerity of it…
Well, he's always been the one that did the unthinkable, after all.
"Right. Downstairs…" He walks right past the proffered bag of weed, heading for the stairs, "…how much fucking damage did he do, anyway? Eldridge is a goddamn walking disaster area."
With a frown, Elle Bishop turns an equally displeased scowl to Elisabeth and Richard in turn. "I left because I thought I was radioactive. I could still be." A scowl on her face, the former electrokinetic promptly kicks her shoes off, fanning herself. "And for all I know, even if I'm not leaking radiation right now, I could go radioactive any time. Hell, for all I know, I could get pissed off and suddenly become the next November 8th, 2006." She scowls. "I shouldn't even be here right now, with a dangerous ability I have no clue how to control." She rolls up her sleeves a little more.
Then, Harmony is pointing at her and saying things, and Elle's face slackens for a moment. Hopefully, nobody noticed that. With a glare at Harmony, she steps past her…though she does snatch up the weed as she passes. "Got anything I can use? If it helps me keep from blowing up, I'll do it." Scowl scowl.
The fact that it's TMZ-poster child whose lips part and mouth drops at the suggestion they all smoke weed speaks volumes as to just how much Peyton Whitney has changed in a year and a half.
"Right, because doing pot is a great idea when you don't know how to control your power," she says, reaching around to snatch the bag out of Elle's hands. "It might sound like a good idea to mellow out and keep calm, but you don't know what effect that will have on you," she says, glancing at Elle, then Harmony and shaking her head. "We can have the discussion without you, if you're not able to handle it. I know what it's like to be confused by an ability, trust me, but if you can't do it, then you're free to go rest somewhere and one of us will brief you later, if this many people is too many to handle. But we're not doing it stoned."
Shoving a hand through her blonde hair, Elisabeth says sternly, "Stop. Everyone. We're all stressed out. What Richard and I have to tell you is not likely to help that a whole lot. Go." She ushers Peyton to the basement personally, herding Harmony in front of her as well so that we're all down there as quickly as possible.
The single strand of red yarn with the message I'll handle the future from here on out. Love, Your Better Half on it gets pointed to so that Richard can take a look, and Elisabeth — now far calmer because most of our people are accounted for and clearly the alternate bastardized version of RIchard didn't know Delia was here — says quietly, "Sit. We've got some things that should probably have been explained sooner, but …. quite frankly, I don't think either of us knew how to tell anyone."
"Helps when you're unconsious." Harmony comments dryly to Elle. Since everyone is being angry. And she can actually express anger now without doing harm.. sorta. Least not physical harm. "Unconsious.. high on downers.. encased in lead.. We could build a lead vault, which could serve to both contain, and give you a place to try to get a hold of it." Finishing rubbing her face, she looks up and stands to follow. "I cannot stress enough. Stop. With. The emotions." she isn't saying this to everyone, just Elle. And not because of her telepathy. "I'm not kidding. Think about what happens when you get angry, when you get scared.. adrenaline starts flowing, you start doing things outside of what you would normally do.. That ability thrives on that. It's like.. trying to hold back an wild horse. If you do not get control of your emotions, you will never get the hang of that power. Never. Oh.. and we have got to talk about your obsessive behavior, Elle. Find. A shrink. Therapy helps.. it helped me when I initially had problems." As she is starting to unleash, she is actually feeling a little better.
"You were told by two people.. at least two people to leave Richard alone.. That scene you created in the mall? The thoughts you had about what you would do if I didn't tell you where he was.. Hell!.." she points to Cardinal, "Why on Earth do you think he's so pissed. S'not totally because of what happened. It's probably because you can't. Control. Yourself. Now.. I've lived with that ability for years.. years. And the behavior that you seem to display… not just on one, maybe two occasions.. Is not one I am comfortable with running around with my ability. I'm just sayin.. You need. To get it. Together.. Really.." Whew.. Harmony sighs, her sholders deflating a little. SOOO much better now.
"You're not going to have to worry about it." A flat statement from Cardinal as he steps down into the basement, gaze swept over the shattered bits of pavement that were teleported in with the pair, his jaw setting, "As soon as we can get you a supply of negation drugs, you're going on them until your powers snap back. That isn't negotiable. Your lack of self-control's going to kill someone otherwise."
The man's words are curt and sharp. He's all business, now, and his tone brooks little argument. He steps over to the hanging note, exhaling a snort as he reaches up to tear it down, "Cute."
As he walks down the stairs, he leans against the wall. "So…" He opens his hand and sparks shoot down his hand and up his arm, "You go some explain to do Lucy." Aric is holding an umbrella, "I would have gotten here soon yet rain and I dont get along right now."
Elle pulls the bag away from Peyton, fixing a glare on her, getting it away from the other woman. "Back off. If I'm going to be here at Redbird, and not at ground Zero where I should be, then I'm at least going to find out what the hell pot is like and if it'll help keep me from getting mad." She scowls at the other woman.
Then, Harmony's talking, and Elle is scowling at her too. And Cardinal. And there's that smell of freshly ironed clothes seeping off of the blonde, her jaw set. "Shut up. All of you just shut up, and let's get this shit over with." Her voice is low, like she's really struggling not to get too upset right now.
Aric walks down as he is thinking to himself Dude this colors are cool. I don't see why the girl can't control them. Hell I can't control them. As he walks into the room a small zip of electricity fills the air. His eyes on Cardinal, and he scolds to Cardinal shaking his sparking finger. He says with a spanish accent, "You got some explainin to do Lucy."
Peyton hasn't been down to the basement, and she stares at it for a moment before turning to stare at the two blonde least familiar to her. She backs away from Elle, her brows knitting together in confusion, anger, frustration — the dark circles under her eyes that never seem to go away stand out all the more when her face pales at the scent of burning fabric, and fear joins the motley mix of emotions that Harmony will be able to feel.
She opens her mouth as if to retort, but thinks better of it — though she doesn't sit. Instead she backs far, far away from everyone else in the room to lean against a wall, eyes welling up with exhausted tears.
Elisabeth squeezes Peyton's shoulder gently but doesn't stop her from moving away. Elle had better fucking get control of herself, or the blonde peacekeeper's gonna knock her right on her rump to settle her ass down.
"Cute indeed," Elisabeth says softly. Her brows pull together. "We've been trying to sort out the best way to handle this and not shatter the whole team like a glass dropped on cement. So please understand when I say to you that we didn't keep it quiet because we didn't trust you — we kept it quiet because we just flat didn't know what the fuck to say." She sighs heavily, her eyes skimming to Richard. She settles on the shortest version she can think of.
"In the year 2030 or thereabouts, there was some kind of major accident. A Moab-level accident. One that sent Richard Cardinal back to 1961. He was unable to get home again and lived in that time from 1961 to 1977, where Samson Gray killed him. And I guess about a year ago now or something like that, his best friend from that era, the man currently running the Institute for the most part, resurrected him. But not in his own body. From what we can gather either by accident or design, Cardinal was brought back to life and placed inside Tyler Case's body. For those of you who don't know Tyler Case — suffice to say that you met his ability this morning. He can swap or outright remove Evo abilities."
One more mind to add to the compiled list of crap that floats into her head. Once again, Harmony's hand goes over her face. At least Aric's thoughts aren't as chaotic as everyone else's. Everyone currently here has been sodomized with !Cardinal's fist, and he left it in there for them to walk around with. Know what it's like to feel the thoughts of 4 other sodomized people plush yourself? Aric does, probably. Get your arm out of there! PLEASE. As Elle goes off, Harmony frowns. Elle might radiate heat at the moment, but she is also a hurricane of rampant, unrestrained emotions. Harmony's own thoughts start to leak from her head.
Ohmygod. Why //why is she unstable? So many mixed feelings about this.. I wanna feel sorry for her, but at the same time, she's chemically imbalanced. First she puts Warren in the hospital, then she flips out and starts bawling in public, obsessing over Cardinal.. Every second word out of her mouth is an angry 'F' bomb, then the aggression when the incident happened, then AFTER the incident, all of that stuff she said filled with MORE aggression.. And then now the stuff that I'm picking up from Richard.. I was NEVER this bad with them.. Why do I feel so responsible for this?//
She is then picking up the stuff from Peyton, and it causes Harmony to frown deeply. All of a sudden, she wants to cry. However, the explanation she hears perks her interest. "So wait.. Richard did this to us? Or.. another version of him?"
As the actual story spills out of Elisabeth's mouth, Cardinal's shoulders tense up a bit… and he cuts a slight glare over in her direction before looking back to the scattered debris in the basement with his jaw set, fingers curling into a fist around the note that was in his hand as it crumples. Unfortunately for Harmony, she can feel the sharp spike of annoyance as that secret's detailed. Apparently, he wasn't planning on telling them everything.
He just remains silent, aside from a quiet, "Harmony. Watch your thoughts."
Elle is casting glowers around the room as Elisabehth speaks, at first, before irritated blue eyes turn toward Elizabeth, the formerly electric blonde listens, and she listens very intently. For a moment, she does better, the smell of ironed clothing fading as she ropes in her emotions, if only just a little bit. It helps, focusing on Liz's words.
That is, until Harmony's inner monologue sounds, and the full truth comes out. For a moment, she just stares. And then, the smell of ironed clothes come back. Her face screws up in a strange mix of betrayal, anger, hurt. Harmony…poor Harmony suddenly gets a glimpse of the real Elle, too, overwhelmed by emotions as she is. Under all of that aggression and anger, she's just a scared little girl who was already terrified of the world, and is now terrified of herself and the one man she thought she could trust.
Tendrils of smoke begin to whisp off her clothes. Resignedly, she throws the Geiger Counter, which is still decidedly not clicking to signify radiation, to the ground, and pushes off the wall so she doesn't do any damage there. Her clothes are turning rather brown and crispy, and begin to flake, even as she silently turns, flinging the door open and promptly leaving without a word, becoming more and more naked as she goes.
Aric looks over at Harmony and says, "Remember…focus on your breathing. I would hug you yet I am not the person to touch unless you want to tingly." As he stands to the side, the sight of Elle coming at him with smoking clothes causes his eyes to widen in fear. As he moves to get away from her and the group he runs to the corner. He crouches down and his own thoughts begin to go wild. /no/no no no. I can control this…I will be better.// As electricity begins to flow out of him in streams he looks like a static ball. He begins to breath and speak in Cantonese. The dome of electricity stops growing at 8 feet away from him. He grinds his teeth, "Stay back…."
The vague things Cardinal had said to her now make sense, and Peyton looks from Liz to Cardinal, brows knit, eyes hurt — not telling Elle, not telling Harmony, not telling Aric; that all makes sense. But she's been with them far longer than the others to have been left in the dark. A tear runs down her cheek, and she's stepping back toward the stairwell when the smoke starts billowing from Elle, stopping short as the woman runs by.
Aric then is moving to the far side of the room, and she seems caught, a deer in the headlights: follow the radioactive woman who could be the next Midtown (wo)Man or stay in the room with the man sparking like a fly zapper. Neither option seems good.
"Liz," she whispers, looking to the blonde, looking to her to somehow get them out of this.
Once it would have been Cardinal she asked first.
Elisabeth catches the look and says to Richard quietly, "Being worried what they'll think of you, being afraid of how everyone would react…. those aren't as important right now as showing them all how much we trust them, Richard. You don't want to wind up where the path of secrets will lead Endgame. The man who did that is to blame for all this."
She watches Elle run, blue eyes ice cold on the woman's retreating back. The erstwhile electrokinetic has exhausted Liz's patience with her overly emotional responses to everything that has happened, and the young woman's going to get her come-to-Jesus or by God, she's done here. Period.
Looking back at the others, she addresses each of them very much personally. "I'm sorry," she says quietly, simply. "One of us should have spoken sooner, but to put it as bluntly as possible….. the motherfucker who runs the Institute is a Richard Cardinal who has done bad enough shit that all of you turned away in his timeline — up to and including personally having me killed the night of the riots. This Richard has done everything in his power to try to thwart what's been going on, and is carrying the weight of everything the alternate him has done alone. Not anymore. I need all of you to understand this isn't about whether you're trusted." Her eyes fall especially on Peyton here. "You are. But all of us have our secrets and our fears. I'm asking you to cut us a little slack. We're human too, and although we generally have a plan, we're also not perfect. And we had no idea he was going to pull something like this."
Breathe he says. She is breathing. Harmony has spent the last 6 years or so not giving a shit about much. Worrying about her own emotions, and how to best keep them from going crazy. Now she has to worry about everyone else's emotions which makes it so much worse. Weeks.. or months of this? She doesn't want to have to learn to control something else. She was just getting the hang of her own ability. And now she gets the full story. It is as bizarre as she expected, given the source.. Richard Cardinal.
"Richard.. I speak my mind as it is. Do you really think I'm gonna be holding back what comes from my brain? I'm not trying to down anybody, it's just.. how I feel." her eyes rolls a little, "Now that I know you probably all heard that. I'm sorry, but, she needs help. I know how dangerous my ability is, and what it takes to control it. I also have observed and felt what things come from her. Yeah.. she had some stressful things happen to her. We all have, but come on.." Harmony sighs to Cardinal, brow arching as a super heated Elle moves to make her way out. The curly blond just shakes her head, "She can't even cool down. I start with light.. she immediately jumps to heat. Not a good sign.. I totally know what to do to control that ability, but she won't listen. And that is what miffs me a little."
Harmony is certainly the one not to hold back how she feels or says, and it is always in a controlled manner, but it is quite open and out there when she does. Perhaps that is what gives her a few seconds of clarity inbetween moments. Before she is right back to picking up everyone's stuff again. She sighs, "So then what do we do about the bad Richard? Can we kill him? I'm.. all for giving him a second smile at this point." she raises a hand, "What do you say? Anyone with me? Ear to ear?" She might be serious. At this point. "I'm just—Whoa!" she blinks and backs away from Aric.
"It's a little late now, Liz…" Cardinal's eyes close as everything essentially goes to hell in the space of about five seconds, his voice quiet and calm in the middle of the chaos, "…he already succeeded in what he was trying to do. It just happened. It isn't about if I trust them… it's about if they trust me. And I don't think they're going to do that again. Not knowing who that was that walked in there."
A half-turn to see Peyton turning to Elisabeth, and he grimaces, turning back to look at where there's fire-char still staining the cement floor, where the time web used to be. No maps anymore. Not unless there's something in the box. "Maybe it's better that they don't, anyway. And I know, Harmony. Elle's… gonna be dangerous until we can get her suppressed."
Aric keeps his eyes shut as the streams fade away as he gets power under control. As he opens his eyes and looks at Cardinal, his eyes crackle looking like Raden from Mortal Kombat. As he stands slowly he says softly, "Cardinal…I trust you enough or I would not be here. I believe in what your doing and Liz and Peyton and all…yet this…if I can help then I need to not be kept in the dark. I will get my ability under wraps. It is wierd and exciting all the same time. That was the first time I felt fear like that and I just felt…a surge." He leans against the wall keeping away from everyone, "I hope you trust me enough…I am gonna need to help Harmony until we fix this."
The clairvoyant stands awkwardly in spot she'd halted in, looking up the stairwell and then back. "She's not going to … I just met with Brennan, should I call him? I don't want her to get hauled into the Institute, but if it means the safety of … of us, and the entire city, then…" Then she would. And it pains her to say it, that she'd throw someone to the Institute custody, something she's help rescue people from in the past.
"But that's maybe what he wants?" she says, doubtfully, brows furrowing and she steps away from the wall to move closer to Cardinal, putting a hand on his arm lightly before dropping it, a slight apology for her reactions.
"I'll keep an eye on her," she adds, the pupils of her eyes suddenly swallowing up the mahogany of her eyes, watching the world from Elle's perspective to see where she's going. "She's heading up to the apartments… should we call someone? Should we leave?" Her teeth rake over her lower lip in worry and indecision.
As she listens to Aric, Elisabeth smiles just a little. He is proving her point in that moment. "Trust does not have to be blind, babe," Elisabeth retorts quietly to Cardinal, no longer angry. Merely tired. She struggles daily with the chronic exhaustion that blowing out her ability has caused — the adrenaline surge of terror at hearing about this situation is starting to wear off and she looks a hint on the grey side. She moves to sit in one of the chairs, hoping that her pallor will be chalked up to the basement lights — and that the new goddamn telepath will keep her mouth shut about what's going on with her. "In point of fact, trust shouldn't be blind. They deserve the truth on this — they all just got attacked by the alternate you. And he. is. not. YOU. They are perfectly capable of making that distinction. Just like I am."
Elisabeth reaches up and rubs her forehead absently, stroking just above her left temple. "I don't know if I can pull up a supply of negation drugs for us, but I'll try. We've got some at the base. I'll let Jaiden know to put word out to the Ferry to see if anyone's got any that we can lay our hands on." She nods to Peyton slightly as concern about Elle is voiced and says, "I'll go sit with her and calm her down. She means well even when she's a flake and a half. I don't know about Brennan, though." She glances at Richard for a call on that — she doesn't know the doctor.
Liz adds quietly, "I don't think it's in our interests to let her leave. It's definitely something the other you wanted. I was advised to get her the hell out of here, remember? Not so sure that's a good plan, doing anything he wants."
"Let me put it to you like this.." Harmony says to Peyton, "You know that feeling you get, when you have to pee so bad, and the bathroom is like.. all the way down on the other side of the field. You know you probably won't make it, but you still have to kinda try, pinching and holding it in while you tiptoe with your legs pressed together, making you moves all awkward and careful? You have it in your head that if you let it go, it isn't just going to be embarrassing, but it'll be bad. That's what it's like. With my ability. And Elle? She has no bladder control. So I am of the opinion, she needs Depends. AKA.. drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. If she's too high to so much as think the word anger, she will be less likely to explode." she sighs and looks back to where Elle went.
"Anyway.. I think maybe some time alone will let her cool off, to he honest. Give her a little time." Harmony nods. "I'm just wondering about this other version of Richard. He attacked once… who's to say he won't do it again."
A slow shake of Cardinal's head drifts back and forth as the others speak, the touch to his arm not even acknowledged by him. "No," he says quietly, "I don't agree."
He turns fully, gaze swept over those still in the room, and he says bluntly, "Since we're being all honest here, I have to say that I don't agree one goddamn bit. Yes, sometimes I tell you only what you need to know. That's still a fuck-ton of information that nobody else has, and if it's not enough for you, then tough."
One gloved hand cuts to the side, fingers splayed out as if to show off the room. "I've given you information, resources, money, gear, and it's not enough? Spare me. This job — and yes, Liz, it is a job — requires me to make decisions, hard ones, and I can't do that if I have everyone bickering at me to know the whole story. I don't have the time or luxury to do so all the time. And when you all get it, I get, second-guessed every god-damn step of the way. This isn't some high school glee club that everyone needs to know everyone's business. There are lives at stake, and if you don't trust me to make those decisions — even if they might be to leave you in the dark about something — then I don't think we have anything more to say to each other about this. Any of you."
He turns to head for the door, "Liz, you wanted your chance to be in charge. You're in charge. Run things however you want."
Aric sighs as she shakes his head and wishes he had his ability back…things were no so…serious. As he opens his mouth he snaps his shut and decides it is best to remain silent. His emotions fluxing from hurt feelings to anger to sadness. Aric sits down iun an Indian Style and closes his eyes and says softly, "Seems like we all need to calm down. It has to be hard for Richard to be hearing all this and we arent taking into consideration his feelings on this…we are more focused on yes its fucked up what happened but he might feel responsible for the other Richard…I am just saying we care…well I care." For someone who was gonna be silent he said alot. Aric begins to breath deeply.
At Cardinal's sharp words, Peyton blinks, lashes wet and pupils constricting back to their normal size. "Card," she protests. She glances at Liz, and nods to the ceiling. "She's in her apartment, taking a shower to cool off I guess," regarding Elle.
Her eyes return to Cardinal's back, and she shakes her head. "Don't go. If you push us aside, you're letting him win. He didn't have us in his life, but you do. Rely on us a little. Let us help you," she tells him, choking a little on the words as her emotions swell: love, fear, anger, hurt.
"I can't do this job without you, Cardinal. We're trying to help carry these burdens for you, and Liz might be able to, but I can't — I can't keep up on the business and everything else, things like this, things like Delia — Brennan asked if I could find her, by the way, and I had to lie and say I don't know her, that I can't find her that way, and someone at the Institute knows what I can do, Card…"
Her voice is rising, but before she can be told to calm down, she throws a look at Harmony, and winces. "Sorry — I'm sorry, I just…" she sighs, closing her eyes. "Whatever's done is done — but bullshit, that note. We're not letting him choose our future."
He's going to lecture her about the job? Seriously? About how he's got to make the hard decisions? Elisabeth's temper flares to life and she bites back a sharp retort, her hand flashing to her nose to hide the nosebleed as her ability attempts, once again, to come back to life and respond to her anxiety and agitation but can't. The explosion of pain in her head is immediate. Motherfuck.
And Liz says nothing. She cannot — and will not — argue this with him here. That he just gutted her by accusing her of taking something from him? That's her own problem to deal with. That he needs the space, she actually understands. So she says nothing.
Its too much for her. So many bad emotions floating through the air. How does Aric tolerate it? Sure, she is pretty well in control of her own right now, but all of these extra piling onto her.. They're all taking a meat tenderizer mallet and whacking her brain from all direction, no matter how much she cries for them to stop. "Okay.. let's go this way." she says and gets fully to her feet. "This meeting for me was a bad idea. I suggest that possibly next time? Phone or video conference me in. Clearly.. nothing is going to be decided here with fingers pointing and tensions running as high as they are. So and so is mad at so and so, so and so is frustrated about this, so and so is confused.. I think we all need some time for adjustment. This thing just happened, so.. Let's try this again when everyone is a little more mellowed, okay?" she sniffs in deeply, as if her nose is congested, "Richard.. I need to talk to you. It's completely unrelated to this whole thing.. Almost. But it doesn't have anything to do with what was said. Are you driving?" she moves to follow him. He might get the sense that she just wants to get away.
"You don't like the future he's making?" Cardinal's curt response comes as he hits the stairs, "Then make your own."
There's no response about whether or not he's driving. He may not even be physical or visible by the time she catches up to him, though, so the answer is probably a 'no' both on the driving and the conversation.
Peyton's mouth drops as Cardinal leaves, and she turns to look at Liz, before shaking her head. "I'll go up and make sure Elle doesn't leave," she says, her voice shaken, a tear running down her cheek. "Maybe wake Brian's ass up to make him sit on guard duty."
She heads to the stairs, slowly, not trying to hurry to follow Cardinal out. "And the business is closed today. I'm taking the rest of the fucking day off."
And he isn't there by the time she gets to the door? Great.. now is not the time for Richard to be angry. Although, she does know what Cardinal is angry about. Harmony got a pretty good dose of Card's frustration when he walked in. All she can do is shake her head, her thoughts spilling out into the open as she stuffs her hands into her jacket pockets. Not having her powers in this weather is a pain.
She really made him mad.. Most of that hostility was totally because of Elle. I don't think he would have snapped like that if she hadn't have tracked him down and did whatever she did. Dunno what it was she did do, but yeah.. Richard did NOT appreciate it.. Ugh.. where did he GO?
Elisabeth looks at the ceiling, rummaging in her pocket for a tissue to put beneath her nose. God alone knows some days …. She would fucking survive this too. The group will manage until he gets his head out of his ass. Maybe she can make it work to her advantage. A half-baked plan begins to form in the blonde's head. She shoves herself off the chair and moves to hug Peyton tightly.
"Everything's going to be okay, Peyton," Elisabeth says softly. "Get some sleep. We'll talk tomorrow." She'll hold them together if she can. And if not…. well, what the fuck. Maybe throwing in with future Cardinal isn't all that bad in the end, she has a moment to think just in plain exhaustion. "Call me when you get up," she tells Peyton quietly. "If Brian can't sit guard detail, tell Jaiden he needs to come sit with Delia. I'll leave my panic button." She doesn't even know if the teleporter who used to be attached to the thing is still in the Ferry or can or will answer it if she uses it, but … whatever. Right now, it's all she can do. "Aric… Just… take a couple days, rest. Stay out of sight. Let's hope this is a couple of days worth of a switch instead of months. We'll start dealing with the realities of control tomorrow." Maybe she'll send all their asses up to the Adirondacks. Elisabeth sounds weary and heads toward the stairs herself. She is beyond overwhelmed, but there's nothing to be done for it right now. Richard's once more dumped it in her lap to deal with….
So be it.