entranceway | [Video]

[A teenager with long, reddish hair and amber-colored eyes considers the camera, adjusting a few note-cards he made as he thought things through]

Hi, everyone. Wonderlanders or whatever you call yourselves, Obviously this is my first time doing this kind of thing. Hell, the last time I was talking to a camera, it was to record my own eulogy after I’d been shot.

In the knee, it wasn’t really that serious or anything. But that kind of thing does make you wonder. Maybe this is the place for that. Wondering.

[A small, awkward chuckle.]

I’m just hoping someone out there sees this, and can lend the poor noob a hand. Because, prison or nexus dimension or whatever, this place sure seems strange, even by my standards. And, um, yeah, I spent my childhood in a VR chamber because I wasn’t able to interact with the rest of the world very well.

Oh, oops, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Bart. Bart Allen. It’s short for Bartholomew, and I wanted to be different. It’s not the worst nickname in the world. I have a friend who has to go by ‘Gates’ because his name’s pretty much impossible to pronounce without insectoid mandibles.

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But we're still a team, even if I haven't been there for you in forever. Wasn't exactly there for a lot of people after Kon....

[He lets that trail off, not really wanting to say anything specific, even though it could be worse. Besides, it's so much of a habit to talk about things without saying anything that might compromise stuff.]

Anyway, I still kinda have to pick a place and settle in. Because as nice as the library seems, I don't think I'd want to live there.

[Cissie manages not to wince, but she does look away and shake her head.] We don't have to get into that now.

[She can't get into it right now. Not so soon after she'd stood over Kon's body. Maybe not for a while.]

We're all up on the tenth floor?

Tenth floor? Jeez, guess I'd better hope my room has something that will make my knee not kill me after all those stairs.

[Because seriously, he's not going to take an elevator if he doesn't have to. It's just silly, waiting around that long.]

Whose idea was it to be up high? Wonder Boy or the Hero of Hawaii?

They got here before me, so I don't know. But Bart, seriously. Ten flights of stairs? That's not even two seconds, for you.

Doesn't mean it doesn't make my artificial kneecap twinge to do that many in a row. I guess I'll find a way to take it our on them.

[A pause, and then he continues.]

Seriously, Ciss, it's good to see you, even if the situation isn't that great.

Well, you don't have to pick a room up here? I mean, if it's better for your knee.

[Cissie offers a small smile, brushing her hair back.]

It's good to see you too, Bart.

Edited 2017-08-04 01:28 (UTC)

But if I'm up there, it's not as hard to find the folks I know, right?

It'd be annoying to have to keep texting you to join me or something equally slow and cumbersome.

Bart, you do know that you're going to have to text us and wait for us no matter where we all live, right?