entranceway | text;

You and me both, pal.

[ For slightly different reasons. ]

[ Philip has already taken the network's advice to heart, and made the caves his temporary home. Supplied and secured he barely gives a second thought to anything other than passing the time until the event blows over.

All the same he knows the sort of impact Wonderland's reminiscences can have on those they concern directly, and "it'll be over in a week tops" offers only so much reassurance when you've been treated to a second helping of your personal nightmares. ]

So, seeing as you were one of the two votes [ and the person supposedly to blame for this in the first place, though it would take a good deal more spite for Philip to repeat that], why did you decide to unsubscribe? Or how, for that matter? [ He's been there, that's what the transmission said, though whether by force or choice it didn't mention. ] "Run and hide" works as a beginner's guide, but it's not much of a permanent solution.

I didn't decide much of anything. Before they took me, I worked for a task force designed to stop them. When they were done with me, I was their top assassin.

I don't think anyone here is working for them willingly - whether they realize it or not.

[ He might be leaving out plenty of detail there, but it's a long story, and most of it isn't relevant to what's going on right now. ]

As for how I got out... I failed my last mission for them back home, got angry, and went after the guy who stopped me.

It turned out he was my best friend. They'd stripped out all of my memories - I didn't even know I had a name until he said it. He talked me down, but even then, I'd already beat him within an inch of his life.

You can try that, if you've got to go after someone you care about, but I don't know if it's possible to get through whatever Wonderland has done.

[ If it is possible, he certainly hasn't succeeded yet. ]

Edited 2015-08-30 20:20 (UTC)

[ His breath hitches, shallow.

He's been on the other side of that story. Skin on his chest prickling from old and long-gone wounds, taken away seamlessly by Wonderland's magical workings. Familiar hands lifting the barrel of a gun, a sight etched into his mind forever. Bodies are not where to look for people's scars here.

He's been on the other side of that story, and Wonderland's compulsions proved to be too much to break. Or the worth of his friendship too little to do it.

Philip doesn't think to offer commiseration. ]

If Wonderland did it, then only Wonderland can undo it. But if these memories are yours, then breaking through the illusions may be part of the game. Sorry, "game".

[ He reads the account again, considering. ]

I thought the idea was to escape our own conversion until the event blows over. Perhaps I had it wrong. Perhaps the idea is to bring them back to our side.

[ The game. James doesn't take offense to the words; he can be pretty blunt himself when he's laying out strategy. What gets right under his skin is the fact that this guy is probably right on the money. This is just a game to Wonderland, and he's been too caught up in it to realize that HYDRA might be a means, and not an end after all. ]

You could be right. [ He considers this again. ] I haven't gotten through to anyone yet, but a couple of them have shown signs of fractured programming - anger, especially. They've been freshly converted. They aren't supposed to be feeling anything at all.

[ Hm. Might have some useful implications, that. ]

That's good to know. If any emotion might have a chance at breaking through the cracks, then I've probably got a better shot at irritating people into remission. Not that I'm quite so eager to try either way, but it's something to keep in mind for emergencies.

[ On the subject of emergencies though... ]

How do they do it, anyway? The conversion. [ Hang on, that's a bucket of unfun things to talk about, let's amend: ] I don't need details, just the gist. What to look out for. Magic, tools, drugs, that sort of thing.

If nothing else, you should be able to break their concentration.

[ Which is a pretty decent advantage, as far as James is concerned. ]

It's all science or pseudoscience, no magic. It looks like here, they can just strap you in and flip the switch. The chair does all the work. That's probably why the programming is so unstable. It doesn't hold as well while you're capable of fighting it. [ Texting is a great advantage here. It's a lot easier to compartmentalize and get his thoughts in order when he doesn't have to say any of this aloud. ]

Do you have some kind of experience with this? [ By 'this' he means 'this technology' but he leaves it a little ambiguous; he's curious about how the man will take the question. ]

[ Something like...? Like, well. Philip isn't quite sure about the question, but his answer is probably the same, no matter the intent. ]

The technology? Nothing like it, no. Might've seen a cheap sci-fi movie or two about it, but that's about as close as it gets. I've heard of HYDRA before, during a different event, but they never made an appearance before, not that I recall.

[ And what else is there? ]

I've run into similar effects a few times, but I can chalk those up entirely to Wonderland's events. From what I gather my own world seems staggeringly tame, compared to most people's here.

[ Except the small corner of it that killed him, but who is really keeping count these days? ]

Who mentioned them?

[ He's mostly just curious about what acquaintances they might have in common. ]

In that case, I hope we get something from your world next time. I wouldn't complain about a less eventful walk through memory lane.

[ Philip grimaces, rubbing the back of his neck. His nails dig into scarred skin. He'd rather not think of the sort of events his world has left. ]

Don't bank on it. My first event was trying to tell me that I'd been spending too much time in front of the tv. Kept bringing movies to life, and let's just say Jurassic Park III isn't the only reason I regret investing in the box set anymore.

[ Took him a while to even catch on that it was his. The ones that followed after weren't quite so easy to miss. Or joke about, for that matter. ]

Anyway, I heard the name from Steve Rogers, at least I think that's where it came from. Another event, from what I gathered he'd suspected that a few of us were affiliated with HYDRA in some form or other.

text;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject