capencowl2020 | i used to trust so easily

Entry tags:

!ic,
!log

i used to trust so easily

WHO: Josh Foley, Damian St Laurent
WHERE: Government holding facility
WHEN: Duration of the event
WHAT: Josh is a little too trusting, Damian's a little too traitorous.
WARNINGS: Violence, character (near) death.

[ Josh Foley isn't as stupid as he seems.

Hard to believe but true. He knows the risks of the jobs he takes, he knows people are liars and usually only out for themselves. He's been burned enough times to know better than to see Damian's message and agree. Should have said no outright, barely even thought twice about it. Saw the writing on the wall and realized that all this would only end in tragedy.

But he'd been looking for these guys for a while. Members of the Brotherhood of (Evil) Metas that he'd lost touch with during some onslaught or another, never managing to find and reconnect with. They were for sure somewhere in The City, and Damian's lead is as close to a real one as he has.

So he doesn't tell Laurie.

Or David.

Or Joey.

He doesn't tell anyone, because he knows this is stupid. That this is risky, but these guys are important to the cause. If rumors are to be believed, then some meta sympathizers who had clout in the movement were also here too... It's a lot, but Damian says he's got a surefire in, that he needs help, mentioned that he wanted atonement and that's the buzzword that always gets him.

And though he doesn't look it, Josh was once black ops. Not to mention being fundamentally immortal and apparently immune to a lot of government bullshit. He's Got This even if it goes south.

Right?

So here he is. Dark hoodie, dark pants, dark shirt, his skin a patchwork of shiny gold and matte black. ]

So [ his eyes cut to the facility. ] What's your game here?

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[ Damian's been waiting in a black suit of his own, complete with a bulletproof vest and body armor underneath. Dressing for style really only takes you so far, days like this demand it be set aside. He leans against the brick wall of their nearby position, eyeing the target out the broken pane of the window between them. He's been over his "atonement" before -- he thinks it helps that he really had set out after that, at first. When he came back, missing friendships and connections he'd used to have, he was ready to do a lot to try and earn them back. Too bad progress had been so slow. It's a dangerous world out there, how can he be expected to go about both earning his way back into good graces, and keeping alive?

He'd decided on a shortcut, and Josh is going to help him. ]

I told you. I have a lot to make up for. I'm just trying to get it started.

[ He gestures at the building. ]

They'll sense any portals opening inside. [ Because of course he still has that power; it had been too useful to ever overwrite. And he's on better terms with its owner these days, that helps. ] But I've had a look at the schematics, and there's a vent on the roof just large enough to accommodate a body.

[ His eyes find Josh's again, and he gives a tired, but wry little smile. ]

Remember this part? [ One hand finds his chest, the other tweaks the air in front of him. A portal opens -- without the sound of ripping fabric that used to go with it, this one is smooth and silent -- and a breeze from the nearby rooftop blows in. ] I'll go first, if you want.

[ He missed the use of these portals, he can't deny that. It is an exceptionally useful power he wishes he'd taken advantage of more often, thee's something smooth about it that teleporters just don't have. ]

Go ahead.

[ he's not dumb enough to go in first, after all. ]

I'll be right behind you.

[ Of course. It tracks, what with how he still has to prove himself, and all. But his smile has sunk into something more serious, and he only nods. He ducks through the portal, reappearing instantly on the rooftop 100 feet away. He drops to a wary and ready crouch next to the ventilation system he's placed himself next to, just below the vent that will apparently be their ingress.

This, he thinks, will go quickly. He's been given very specific commands. Get them into the containment room, portal out, collect his reward. The reward being, of course, the willful overlook of his miraculous return from the dead. There will be a lot he can achieve when he can stop looking over his shoulder for the government's long, long arm.

All he has to do is deliver the package. Easy. He takes out a collapsible crowbar, working quickly and quietly to pry the vent open while Josh decides whether or not it's safe to follow. ]

[ It seems safe enough. Josh hesitates only a moment longer before he steps through, moving soundlessly.

If they could get in and out like this, then maybe there's a chance they can make breaking metas out of holding facilities more streamlined. Easier. Busting everybody out of these hellholes without need for bloodshed or pain.

If Damian means it, if he wants to be better, then Josh -- despite his own misgivings -- has to believe him. To give him that chance. And it was better that they do this together, that he vets him, before he does him any favors or brings him over to David to apologize.

The vent pops open. Josh doesn't move to slide in first. ]

[ He closes the portal with one wave of a hand as Josh steps through, and doesn't so much as stop to see if the guy wants to take point on the vent thing. No, this is all clearly on Damian. It's fine, though. He's a much hardier man than he was before his death, he's had all sorts of training. He's squirreled away all sorts of useful powers. He really, really doesn't mind going first.

He sets the face of the vent down quietly once he's got it, and wastes no time in slinging himself into the narrow metal shaft. It's a fall of about five feet into the main ventilation, and there Damian pauses to consult the map on his phone -- after politely shuffling his tight crouch to the side to make room for Josh's drop, of course. ]

Guards. [ His voice is low, a quiet murmur. ] Should be ... twenty three of them in all on shift, throughout the building. They travel in pairs.

So, I take left and you take right?

[ he's kidding. partly. guards here are no laughing matter, and he's not sure damian could tank one in a fight. if he got his hands on them they're as good as dead, but...

well, hiding bodies is a lot harder than just avoiding them all together. ]

How close can we get travelling through the vents?

[ He huffs the suggestion of a laugh, shakes his head. ]

We can get to the same floor, opposite end. [ He points at a section on his phone; it looks like it'll be a straight shot. Fairly simple. ] The only thing to keep in mind is that I can't portal in here, they've disabled it. If there's any trouble, we'll have to fight our way out.

[ He stows his phone, serious gaze once more finding Josh's. ]

Ready?

[ the flashes that old cheeky grin. the one that he'd give moments before he sprung onto david's back to try to wrestle a controller from him, the one he'd given when he'd announced that he was seeing a guy. the one that says he knows he's about to face god and walk backwards into hell, but he's not about to let his nerves show. ]

I was born ready.

[ Josh was born ready, it's sad but true. Here he is, with Damian, even after everything Damian has done. And for as incompletely as he's extended trust to Damian, it was just far enough. It's almost a little regretful.

But, such is life. Damian gives a half of a little nod and starts them forward.

They move almost soundlessly through the vents, pausing whenever they near an opening and spot one of those pairs of guards. Progress is slow, but it does eventually bring them to the exit. Damian reproduces the crowbar, once again prying his way in, and drops carefully to the ground. The walk down the hallway feels like it takes forever, but their timing is good; they aren't seen. The door to access is locked, and Damian murmurs something about having bought the codes as he dives briefly into his phone. A small data exchange later, and the door clicks open.

It's a bare and empty room ahead of them, glass walls and metal floor and ceiling, and three doors wait for them along the back wall some fifteen feet away. Damian nods toward the arrangement. ]

The holding cells. We're almost there.

[ And he motions for Josh to go first, moving to close the door carefully behind them. They are almost there — this is the room he'll escape from just as soon as he's locked them both in. ]

[ It's easy. A little too easy, he should be more suspicious than he actually is... but he isn't.

That's the problem with stubbornly believing the good in people. Even when they have no good to offer. Even knowing better. They're this deep in enemy territory, what idiot would try to backstab him now?

So he heads in first, reaching out with his senses to try to figure out how many are there. If any are hurt - but he's not finding anything. Were they moved...? ]

[ He flicks a glance at the ceiling. He's been told this is where the walls come down, sealing them in -- well, sealing Josh in. Damian will be portaling his way cleanly out, just as soon as he's confirmed Josh is locked in. Kudos to whoever designed this building, though, he can't see so much as a seam up there.

There's a click, a rumble. The mechanisms spring into action. One wall slams down at the end of the hall in front of the triad of doors, one down in front of the door they've just come through. One wall surprises him, coming down right in the middle of the room, and it's instinct that has him grabbing Josh's wrist to yank him back and out of the path of it. He might be turning the man in, but that doesn't mean he wants to see him bisected. Not in the near future, anyway. ]

Secured.

[ He says it calmly, apparently to no one, but he knows the mics will pick it up. Panels scrape open along the wall, and nozzles that can really only be the barrels of guns appear in the slits. Damian steps away from Josh, a hand to his chest and a faint smile on his face. He always smiles when a plan works out. It fades pretty quickly, though, when a portal fails to open under his opposite hand. ]

It's not work-- you said --

[ A voice crackles to life from an unseen speaker: Deal's off, Lorrant. We'll take you both.

The barrels flash as a cacophony of thunder rolls into the room with them. ]

[ son of a bitch.

josh whips around as the barrier falls, eyes wide. damian jerks him out of harms way but that doesn't matter, what the fuck, what the actual fuck. his eyes snap to damian's face, something between anger and shock playing across his face. ]

You bastard.

[ he doesn't really get a chance to think about it beyond that.

guns flash and he grabs damian by the back of the neck, throws him to the ground and flattens himself as close to the floor as he can get. ]

[ This wasn't supposed to happen. This wasn't supposed to happen again. When is he going to learn that this government doesn't make deals? His plans go up in a flash of fire and smoke as the ground pushes all the air out of his lungs. Thanks, Josh.

It takes him only an instant to settle on a new plan. He goes nowhere without multiple escape routes planned, and this is no exception. He slides one hand under his weight, pressing fingertips to his chest, and under the other hand -- the floor begins to liquidate. There's no heat, just a change of matter. He begins to sink through it, and Josh along with him by virtue of proximity. Bullets burrow through the altered floor around them, and all Damian can do is cover his head, hope, and work.

The ground swallows them like quicksand, and Damian furrows his brow as he concentrates, liquidating layer after layer between them and the open space of the floor below, until it finally drops them with a strange and elastic reluctance. Damian lands on his hands and knees with a gasping breath, and feels a burn in his side. Something must have grazed him. Fantastic. ]

[ idiot. idiot. the fucking idiot. josh isn't kind as he grabs damian by the back of the shirt, hauling him up and shoving him towards the vents they'd come through. The whole place is on high alert, they can't afford to stay here and josh can sense the injury inside him. ]

What the fuck were you thinking? [ he hisses. he should leave him here. take off himself, save himself, his life would be a lot easier if he was that kind of guy. ]

[ Damian has just enough time to glance up at Josh -- he expects the anger, the rage. He expects violence. He expects a fight for his life on two different fronts, frankly. What he gets instead is shoved toward the vents.

Well, he won't argue it. He clutches his side grimly and darts forward. He doesn't bother with the crowbar this time, the heightened emotion in him is all he needs to flex both hands into red-feathered wickedly curving claws. He rips the vent out of its casing and throws himself into the narrow space.

He doesn't answer. There isn't any good answer -- and his mind is occupied with calculations of how long they have before every ventilation exit is blocked. The enemy knows just where they are, because the enemy planned this entry with Damian.

It's not long enough. He stops short, checks the schematics once on his phone to be sure, and nods. ]

Hang on.

[ Since, apparently, they're in this part of it together. Again, the liquidation trick -- and this time he has them plunging out of the vent and into a freefall of about fifteen feet. Damian lands painfully on his side, but it had been a solid navigational choice, at least. The wide room is empty, and just a few halls away from an exit door. ]

Edited 2020-01-29 07:08 (UTC)

[ Josh isn't particularly graceful in his landing either, but he's not sporting any bullet holes (yet). Again he's grabbing for Damian, hefting him up by the shirt while the other hand goes dark and ready to grab anyone who tries to come for them.

What does he do about this? Once they get out of here, he needs to tell someone. He honestly should kill Damian here and now, he turned traitor twice already (can you turn traitor twice if you never reconciled to begin with) and he's a threat and a danger. But he doesn't know how to do that to an old friend.

Instead he focuses on getting them out. There's noise in the hall behind them, commotion above them, they're closing in. ]

[ The grab is equal parts necessary, as Damian doesn't think he could climb to his feet quickly enough otherwise, and irritating. A few stumbling steps into their trip down the hall and Damian sets both hands on Josh's, digging in still-transformed claws. He wrenches with this bit of added motivation, looking to either tear away Josh's grip or his skin. Whichever gives first. ]

Left. [ His breath is ragged, a gasp, and his run is starting to look more like a stagger. He keeps up somehow. ] Left again -- there. Door at the end.

[ The rip at his side is worsening, he thinks. When he pulls a hand away from it, the red feathers and pebbled talon-skin are darker with blood. It's seeming pretty unlikely Josh will have anything to say about this, though. He'll have to portal himself to one of the doctors that can be paid enough to keep their mouth shut. Soon as he's out of this building. ]

[ The cuts hurt. Sharp nails, claws, nothing he isn’t used to. He doesn’t let go, his skin heals as the marks are made. Pain is nothing he doesn’t know.

But shit, Damian is slowing down. Shit, that wound isn’t minor. Shit, shit, shit shit, shit. He’ll worry about it later, once they’re out. Once they’re out of sight. There’s another pop of gunfire behind them. Josh moves instinctively, trying to shield Damian with his body.

The door isn’t locked. Thank god. It gives under Josh’s heavy shove, and at this point he’s hauling Damian along because he doesn’t want to leave him behind.

Why is he like this? Why can’t he just leave this fucking thing be?

No matter, no use. The guards outside aren’t immediately on them, the ones inside will have a shitty time getting to the door when he whiffs a tear gas grenade behind him. Someone gets in a parting shot, he doesn’t pay it any min.

It’s only when they’re out of sight (temporarily, he can sense them coming, they have seconds and the walls around them are already littered with bullet holes ) that he turns, sides heaving and a little blood coating his spit, to press a hand against Damian’s side to heal him. ]

[ Josh should drop him. Every bit of common sense says Josh should drop him and disappear, especially as they leave the perimeter of the building and Damian can feel his access to portals return. There's no love between them, not anymore, especially not after this latest stunt ... but Josh has always been an idiot.

He can feel himself fading, injured in a way he's only ever felt once or twice before. A life-threatening way. Would he even make it to whatever doctor he can think of to drag himself to? He's still numbly sorting through his chances when he feels Josh's hand press to his side. Healing. Just as he was sure Josh wouldn't.

It's a chance he can't pass up, and his body moves on instinct, clutching wildly at any shot for survival he can snag. His hand fastens on Josh's wrist, the opposite one flying to his chest. And just like that, the conditions are met. The power floods into Damian, leaving Josh entirely, as Damian stares with wide and nearly unseeing eyes at the man that he's just so thoroughly fucked over. ]

[ Josh Foley has blue eyes.

They haven't been blue in six years. His skin hasn't been quiet this pale, either. The white of his hair and The gold of his skin have traded places, leaving an entirely too normal looking young man in their place. Leaving only the startled look of betrayal.

He doesn't get a chance to say anything. A shot from the dark hits him, ripping through his back. He pitches forward, no healing factor to stop him, knees hitting the ground as he slumps sideways. The arm Damian holds the only thing keeping him remotely upright.

But still he looks at him like he can't quite believe it.]

[ They're nice eyes, Damian thinks. It's strange to see them, strange to see Josh looking so, so normal ... and even the shot rips through him just as it would through a normal man. It's not surprising, though, that's just what Damian's work entails. He's done his job properly, is all this means.

His own body is instantly healing under its own power, and when he glances down he realizes those red feathers at his forearms have turned gold. Strange. This is going to make slipping into hiding a hell of a lot harder.

He steps away, leaving Josh to crumple, and pauses only briefly to meet that betrayed gaze, that kicked puppy gaze. Things never could have gone differently between them, really. People like Josh Foley make Damian's job that much easier, and he could never forgive himself for not making use of resources like that. For a moment he considers some reassuring platitude, some, they'll heal you after they take you nonsense, but it probably isn't true. They're not looking for such an average man, and Josh will probably die right here in the street. (He can sense exactly how terrible the damage of that shot is.) Damian, on the other hand, really has to go.

He wordlessly tears open a portal with one golden hand, slips through, and seals it after himself. ]

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i used to trust so easily

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