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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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Vacated... [He squints and looks up sharply at Fitz.] Wait. Maybe we can test this. Better than we thought. [He sets the papers down on the desk and spins his chair to face the other man. He'd already mentioned it to him, and the guy had something incredibly similar in his world. He didn't seem too judgmental about it, either, so...]

Look, I mentioned earlier...that-- that I'm a meta, right? Well, one of the things that I can do is this thing called a vibe. It's...like-- precognition, but it happens in this weird bubble between time and space and other dimensions. [He's suddenly a lot more awake than he was moments ago, his brain kicking into gear with an idea to run with.] So, if you take readings on me when I'm in a vibe-- It's not perfect, but...you'd have something...reasonably similar to compare it to?

[His excitement sobers as he really starts considering all this though and reality has a harsh way of reminding him just how terrible his powers can be sometimes.] I can control when I vibe, sort of-- mostly, I have these goggles [There's a vague wave of his hand towards his face with that.] that help with that, but I can't control what I pick up on. Could be something that already happened or a potential future thing. It...could get really personal, I-I don't know if...anyone would wanna risk that. It's pretty invasive, actually.

[As Cisco perks, Fitz does as well, exhausted mind scrambling to keep pace with the sudden flow of possibilities this presents.]

An ability like that means a lot more than short term. I think a bit of potential sacrifice is fully warranted in the greater scheme of things. We do what we have to do in service of the greater good, yeah?

[He's already reaching into the closest drawer and unwrapping a fresh set of sensors for their monitoring equipment.]

[He can't hate the way Fitz thinks, so after a quick realization, he holds up a finger.] Hold that thought. I need go grab the goggles, I'll be right back.

[He doesn't waste any time making a quick run back to his room and heading back to the lab. He drops back down into the chair next to Fitz.] You're being guinea pig for the vibe, I take it. [He says, adjusting the goggles on his face.]

[By the time he returns, Fitz has several machines humming. He doesn't look up from a display panel before replying.]

I'll be monitoring both of our statuses. If anything goes wrong, you'll be able to read these on your own, correct?

[He nods.] Yeah, I can read 'em.

Good. Then have a seat.

[ he takes a moment to affix Cisco's neck and wrists with a series of sensors, then does the same for himself. ]

Is there anything else I ought to expect before you begin?

[There's a sort of nervous energy running through him as Fitz sets the sensors in place.] I don't actually physically go anywhere, so you might hear me talking about whatever I see. [He shrugs a little.] Kinda hard to keep reactions contained sometimes. Otherwise, we should be set.

I'll do my best not to judge. [ That's a lie. He'll be absolutely bursting with silent judgment. ]

Do you just need skin to skin contact, then?

[ he extends an arm and rolls up his sleeve, tensing slightly in anticipation. ]

Doesn't have to be, but it helps. But I've vibed off of people's personal belongings before, too. [Intentionally vibing people is still weird. He doesn't waste any more time, though, they've covered everything Fitz needs to know, so he reaches over and outs a hand on the other man's arm, focusing and letting the goggles and his powers do their thing.

It doesn't take long before Cisco feels the familiar sensation of being tugged into that weird between-space of a vibe, surrounded by a dark, blue of distorted images until one finally comes into focus.]

[The image is a ripple into one of the alternative spaces Wonderland occasionally constructs for itself. There's a lovely, well-furnished sitting room, though it's empty apart from two people. Caitlin is there, though it's the blonde, blue-lipped, ice princess version he best knows by a different name. Fitz is there as well, settled on the floor beside her with his head nestled against her thigh.

At first, their conversation is soft and muffled, but eventually, Cisco will be able to make out bits and pieces of a conversation between lovers. It would be almost romantic, if not for the obvious power imbalance. They talk of humans as "pets" and plot to enslave others. She strokes his head like a dog's and he hangs on her every syllable with a vapid, glassy-eyed reverence wholly incongruent to the hyperintelligent man of science who'd set the experiment in order.

They'd just been discussing the ordeal; it's been on Fitz's mind since then.]

[Physically, Cisco doesn't go anywhere, but there's still that sense that he is somewhere else, between all the possibilities and the have been's and might be's. Dark and distorted images in the swirl of blue until something comes into focus:

Caitlin, except...no, not Caitlin, Killer Frost, lounges with Fitz in her lap. Most of the conversation isn't clear, but he hears bits of it.

"There are humans, too, who don't understand what being a pet can be like. ... Animals require training."
"They should all be so lucky ... to know how silly and sad it is to fight against the inevitable."

"Humans need to rely on mutants for survival ... We need to be owned."
"It's so much easier when you can accept your place."

The scene is more than he needed or wanted to see-- and he realizes, belatedly, this is what Fitz had been telling him about before.

Out in the real world, Fitz can see the looks of confusion, then shock spill across his face.] Oh. Wow.

[He lets go of Fitz's arm and drops the connection and the vibe, blinking his eyes back into focus of the lab around him. He isn't sure if there was more to the scene he had been watching, but he's not so sure he wanted or needed to see more of it.]

[Fitz is preoccupied with readings and graphs as Cisco's eyes glaze. He's furiously typing with his free hand, taking care not to pull his away and disrupt the integrity of the session.

He quirks an eyebrow at the faces as they come. What's going on in there? Is he seeing Ward, or a therapy session? Is he watching Fitz struggle to ask Jemma on a date? It seems like it's probably something quite private, given reactions like that.

He stops only when Cisco pulls away, tilting his head curiously.]

And now I'm wondering whether I ought to be apologizing for subjecting you to something.

It was you-- you and Caitlin, that was... [More than he needed to know? Intense? Full of a Stockholm Syndrome vibe? He shakes his head. He's pretty sure Fitz isn't going to want to discuss it any more than he already had and...Cisco's more interested in diving into whatever the readings say.]

What d'ya got? [He asks abruptly, indicating the graphs.]

[But though Cisco is interested in graphs and numbers, the report leaves an unexpected result.]

It was something from here?

[He squints, blinking deliberately to keep his eyes lubricated.]

Nothing from before Wonderland. You're sure?

[What if there is nothing before Wonderland? What if the other Jemma is the right one?]

Yeah, it...it was definitely you and Killer Frost style Cait... [He pauses as Fitz tries to sort something out and Cisco thinks he knows where his line of thought is going. And he doesn't like it, which is probably why he launches into the ramble he does:] but you still know you're not from Wonderland. This doesn't-- I told you, I can't choose what I vibe, it just happens. Maybe...if I had more control over it, more practice with it, but I'm still figuring it out. But this doesn't mean the other Wonderland is the right one, okay? That's the sleep deprivation thinking, don't...don't let that influence what you're looking at.

We can't let preconceptions distort our perception of the data. If you'd been able to detect something that came before, that would be acceptable confirmation that this isn't a collective hallucination.

[Cisco sounds so sure of himself, but if this Cisco doesn't exist, then it could be a subconscious expression of his own delusion.]

...We need more data.

[He's just not entirely sure what kind of data could help.]

No, no that's not-- this is real, Fitz! Us, here, with memories of something besides this, it's... [Despite the emphatic start, he loses steam halfway through, voice dropping off quieter, more doubtful as a frown creases his forehead.] it's real, right?

[Now he's doubting it, unsure of what's truth or fiction and there's kind of a certain panic rising to settle in his chest. Was it real? Or was everything he thought was his life just something made up by Wonderland to toy with him?

He leans over his knees, palms pressed to his eyes for a long moment before he looks up and nods his agreement with Fitz's last statement.] Yeah. Yeah, we just...have to figure out what we're looking for. [He scrubs a hand down his face and slides his chair back toward the desk to actually look at what they did get, for the sake of something to focus on. Maybe they do this again, another vibe in the future to see if he could pick up on something else, something from somebody's home world, compare the two...]

[He passes charts and handwritten notes to Cisco, and rolls his chair over to give him a better look at the monitors' readouts.]

I think -- I ought to talk to Jemma about this more. She's offered to help me sort it out.

[Does Cisco even know her? Would he know her if he's not really here?]

[His eyes pour over the results and the notes, but...he's pretty sure he's too tired for this. Everything's just a blur and he's having a hard time focusing on any of it at all. He can practically feel the fatigue sinking into his bones, like it's all caught up with him now that his high of thinking he found something is over.

He's pretty sure Fitz's voice is the only thing that stopped him from falling asleep right there at the desk. He's slow to respond, trying to break away from what he was looking at and focus on the other an's words. His own sound distant, distracted, and whether because he's too engrossed in what he's doing or it's because he's losing grip on consciousness is debatable.] Jemma... she's like you're Caitlin, right? I haven't met her yet, but yeah, another pair of eyes is a good idea.

She's more than that.

[And here, she doesn't reciprocate. So maybe he should return to where she does.

He lets his head loll sideways against his shoulder.]

[Cisco isn't too far behind him, still distracted by trying to focus on what he's doing, chin propped in his hand, and slowly falling to drop on his other arm across the table.

So much for getting any more work done, boys~]

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