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[How many days has this been going on, again? He isn't even sure any more. He sleeps, but it's not restful because he wakes up in another version of Wonderland every time and he's awake the whole time there and-- ay dios mio, everything's a mess. He's exhausted and has taken to mainlining coffee when he's awake just to attempt to function.

And misery loves company, right?]

Does anybody else feel like time and sleep have both lost all meaning by now? Because I'm not sure I know what either of them are any more. This has to end sometime, doesn't it? Come be miserably awake with me, Wonderland. At least if we're talking, we aren't sleeping and at least it's on our own terms. Or something. I don't know, I'm tired, come keep me virtual company.

[ooc; just so y'all know, if I make public posts, everyone feel free to threadjack everywhere to everyone all the time. I love that shit. Blow it up. I welcome it.]

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[He opens up a private feed; increasingly, he's being told by people on both sides that he's been irrational and that they're worried for him, and he's doing his best not to make waves about that.]

They're trying to wear us down, most likely. Probably easier to get in our heads that way.

I find that incredibly disturbing because you're probably right. [Jst don't mind it if he sounds a bit punch-drunk, Fitz. Exhaustion sucks.]

And, you know, they...really...probably should stay out of my head. It's a freaking mess, like all the time.

Edited (icon fail :| ) 2016-12-23 21:39 (UTC)

[He barely notices it, honestly. Everyone sounds a bit like that as of late. He's been increasingly mumbly as the endless day continues wearing on without his consent.]

Occupational hazard. When one is as... [He trails off vaguely.] As... um.

When one does what we do. [Language takes more focus than he's been able to pull together. He's doing his best not to panic about it dissolving on him.] It's a cluttered space, up there.

Yeah, to say the least. [He lets out a soft sigh.] Think this'll ease up any time soon? Aren't Events usually shorter than this?

Can't know for sure. How long has it actually been? Time is so...

[Another absent gesture.]

Over there, they act like there's been years gone.

Multiple days is about as specific as I can tell anymore.

I think it's a peek into a possible future timeline, maybe. But...I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation talking, here, but I kind of wonder if we're supposed to be doing something specific when we're over there. Or looking for something. Or...something.

Or the alternative is possible. If the time we spend here is what's affecting the things they take over there. If -- here's the only place we can alter things before that happens...

[He shakes his head, though, unsatisfied by that line of thinking.] Unless we're still there, but this is the evented space.

We need more concrete evidence to narrow the possibilities.

[He scrubs a hand down his face.] Except you can't really...do much to read dreams. Not the content, at least, I mean... [Unless maybe he could vibe something from one of the dreams somehow. Because then he could take anyone he wanted back into it, right? Or...no. Maybe not. He'd have to try and figure that one out.

He shakes his head.] I dunno. I know some people are taking notes about things they do over there. Maybe something'll stick out.

And if they aren't dreams? We might want to hedge our bets and run concurrent experiments in both spaces.

[He thinks one of them must be a dream, even if at this point he's not entirely sure which version of it seems more like the fake. But he knows Fitz might be right, too. Maybe none of it is a dream at all.]

Can't hurt. But what are we setting as variables in this?

That's the trouble with Wonderland. It's difficult to pin down any constant controls. It all seems variable.

[ he rubs at the pressure points beneath his brow bone. ]

Should we bring other people in on this? [Normally, he'd immediately jump to suggesting Caitlin, and really, it's still his first instinct and impulse, but there's a hesitation attached, too. He still isn't entirely sure what to do about whatever has happened to her. He still doesn't understand-- they'd checked. She didn't even have the gene to make her being a metahuman possible. And yet...]

I mean, there's gotta be something that's constant enough that we could test for it... [Yeah, back to that because it's bugging him. He doesn't mind a challenge, but this is beyond that. Between Wonderland being, well, Wonderland and the near-delirium of the sleep deprivation...he's got low hopes for this one.]

Jemma -- my lab partner -- and I have been trying to work with sleep analysis to help with monitoring the others while they're asleep. It's -- not gone very far, though. We seem to have fallen into different sleep patterns -- harder to catch her awake.

[He glances away to something offscreen, lips pressing together.]

Is Caitlin handling herself well?

[He hasn't seen her since she tried to freeze Daisy to death. It put a bit of a strain on their friendship.]

Well, the sleep pattern thing is unfortunate. [He spreads his hands.] We're both awake, I definitely need something to do with my time. I can come by and we can go over whatever you guys have gotten together? There's gotta be a pattern somewhere. [Right?

He purses his lips at the question. It's...heavier than it should be. Because she'd barely gotten back from whatever nonsense had gone on at home before this event landed on top of them and these two things combined, he thinks, isn't hitting her so well.]

She's...trying. [It's the softest way he can put it, without being an outright lie. She is trying. But...well, Cisco's concerned. A lot.]

If you'd like to drop by, I wouldn't turn away the help. [Or the company. He's been a bit stir crazy.]

I've -- met who she'll be if she stops trying. If you need help staying grounded.

[He nods a bit.] Yeah, I'll swing by.

You have? [He's not sure if he feels better for having someone not-from-home in the know or bad that he's met Killer Frost.] Wonderland shenanigans?

[He nods.] It's how we met.

There was an event -- some time before you arrived. One of the types that rewrites our identities. I'm sure you've seen how those can wreck one's perspective from time to time.

Oh. [Yikes. Now the best meet-and-greet. He wrinkles his nose a little and nods.] Yeah, I've noticed.

[But since they're on the subject and Fitz actually knows what could happen... words just sort of tumble out of his mouth without thought.] I gotta find something to help her with this. I-- she can't...be her. [Her. Killer Frost. Caitlin can't be synonymous with someone like that. It's just a fundamental thing to him. Caitlin is a good person, through and through, and he refuses to let some meta-power ruin that and change her into something she's not. Because she's not. She's just not.]

I'd be inclined to agree with you, given that I most likely wouldn't enjoy her company quite so much a second time round.

[He shouldn't be saying as much either. He's too tired to hold things back.]

I've had quite enough of friends betraying me. I don't intend to let it become a habit here. Why don't you just build her a set of power suppressants?

[Both brows arch at that. What an odd set of words, there.] Enjoy...?

[He lets out a soft huff and nods his agreement.] Yeah, me too. [Shrug.] I probably will, but it feels a lot more like a bandaid than a fix, yanno? If something happens and they break or Wonderland decides the tech should all be faulty or something, then what? Back to square one.

I just... [He presses his lips in a line and shakes his head.] If some piece of tech is the only thing that's keeping her from losing grip, it's not secure. I wanna figure out why it changes her like this. I don't have that, and I can't think of any other metas that just completely flipped on their personality because of their powers like that. There's gotta be something different about hers somehow and if I can find out what it is, then maybe we can find a way for her to be able to use her powers without totally losing herself.

[Yeah, in all of his outpouring of words, he doesn't realize he just admitted to being a meta to Fitz. He doesn't broadcast it, he kind of hates it.]

We were an item. It's... Not a life I remember with full clarity, but I don't believe the relationship was entirely consensual. Neither of is particularly proud of the choices our alternate selves made. [It's like his mouth is moving without permission from the rest of him. He hasn't even talked to Jemma about this.]

It could be part of the transitional process. There's most likely variance between our worlds, but in my experience, powered people undergo a drastic shift in DNA when their abilities are triggered. It isn't unrealistic to imagine that brain chemistry may be altered, particularly given a dramatic swing in temperature.

[Yikes, that sounds....awkward, to say the least.] The way this place just rewrites everything about us like that is just disturbing.

Huh, you know what, you're right. It would totally make sense. [And gives him something to look into. Why hadn't he considered it before? Oh, right. Genetics is Caitlin's thing.]

It's never quite everything though, is it?

[ he rubs a hand down his face, then sinks further down in his seat. Despite his best efforts, his eyes are starting to lose focus, words rambling with less of a point.]

Even when she does horrible things, it's out of... something else. She's afraid of being left alone, I think.

Close enough.

We'll figure this out. We'll help her. [His voice is quiet, but determined.

He drops his chin in one hand and tries to think awake thoughts...or something.] I should probably head your way, before I fall asleep at the desk. [He's so tired. It'd be nice. Except that it won't because he'll still be awake on the other side in the weird Wonderland. Weirder anyway.]

Don't focus so much on helping her that you forget to help yourself. You know what she's capable of doing to people if her behavior worsens.

[He makes a vague noise of assent when Cisco announces his intention to move; Fitz isn't sure he'd be able to move effectively enough to make a similar claim. He blinks rapidly, struggling to keep focused.]

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