day by day by day we're falling down [OPEN]

[goldtoxicity]

WHO: Josh Foley and YOU!
WHERE: All around the city
WHEN: Early to mid-event
WHAT: A week in the life of Josh Foley. Everything from healing fellow metas to assassination plots.
WARNINGS: Mild body horror, torture, terrorism, mental illness, violence, blood

safehouse.

[ it's not often that he's here. but if the porters are active again, that means it's time to act. right? right. time to recruit, or in the very least, make sure that everyone who turned up here is in fighting shape. because they will need to fight.

he's all smiles as he approaches new folks, reaching out to take hands. ] I'm a healer, [ he says, and his hands begin to glow. ] don't worry, it's gonna be okay. Did you just get here?

[ and to the oldbies, he flashes a lopsided grin that doesn't quite meet his eyes. ] Never thought I'd see this again. Did you?

healing.

[ anyone who knows of elixir most likely knows three things at this point. the first, and perhaps the most important, is that he's wanted for a damn good reason. the faction of the resistance he runs with doesn't really have a name, but the brotherhood of evil metas is bandied about in hushed whispers. they're extremists. assassins.

the second is that he's a healer and a powerful one at that. you want that incredibly obvious scar removed? he's got you covered. broken bones mended? easy. a limb regrown? sure. it comes at a cost to him, sometimes. but a cost to you. money, loyalty, or information. his hands might itch to touch the wound to fix it when it's presented, but he'll stay back unless you're a friend or willing to owe a favor to his team.

( but he's never great at sticking to it. some parts of the old kid remain. he was never meant to be this. )

the third, and the most important, is that there is something fundamentally wrong with joshua foley. there wasn't always. he used to be a pretty good kid, the kind of kid that'd rush up to strangers to heal them. but that golden skin of his isn't quite so golden now, blotched and spattered with black spots that induce illness when touched. sometimes, while healing, he can't handle whatever it is he's trying to do. sometimes he loses the thread, sometimes you get hurt before you get better. he's always apologetic, always quick to fix it, but it's a game of russian roulette.

but still, he's here. operating out of an abandoned storefront for the time being. there's a cot set up behind the counter. if you need him, you only need to ring the bell to draw him from the back room. ]

harming.

[ this side of his powers comes easier now. the gold washes away, leaving shiny ink black in it's place.

this guy is small potatoes. metas are coming back in a big way, if the porter being active again is any indication, and right now people's focus is on containing the newly activated porter. resources are split, information is easier to get a hold of, and that leads him to here and now. walking down the street in the middle of the night wearing all black, hood pulled over his shock of white hair as he follows a few yards behind a man.

the guy's not really all that important in the grand scheme of things. has some fun ideas on metahuman imprisonment. used to be opposed but now he's been bought out, because every human has a price that can be paid for their mortality, and as far as josh's fucking concerned he deserves to suffer.

maybe you do too. or maybe you don't. maybe you're sick of extremists making it hard to go about things the proper way and you're keen to intervene. ]

running.

[ and of course, you can't be one of the most wanted metas alive without complications. something goes wrong, somewhere somehow, and josh is bolting through the streets, running as fast as he can to evade pursuers. there's a price on his head - enough for someone to live very comfortably for the rest of their days - and the promise of immunity if they come forward.

he springs over a fence. shoves a pile of boxes over in his way. weaving in and out of traffic, alleyways, doing whatever he can to ditch the eyes on him so he can disappear into the shadows.

maybe you're keen to cash in. maybe you believe in his cause. but he's running your way and you've got one shot at a choice. ]

hurt.

[ the thing about his dark side? it doesn't heal.

anything. all processes dedicated to fixing grind to a halt and reverse, even the ones that should be fixing the damage to himself. the higher his bloodlust, the harder it is to switch back. trading compassion for power only leads to misery and bullet holes.

he's dripping blood. the streets are mostly deserted and the chaos that was following him has finally died down, but he's a long way from any safehouse. breathing hard and pressing an arm to the bullet wound in his gut that's warning him he doesn't have a ton of time to be fucking around. he came back from the dead once, but there's really no telling whether that was a fluke or not. he isn't keen to test it.

but he's not moving very fast either. he looks like hell. his head hits the back of the dumpster he's hiding behind, teeth grit as he tries to force himself to his feet. ]

wildcard.

[ choose your own adventure! hit me up at minimoffs

Comments

[helpdesk_hero]

And I wish you and Wallflower stopped this silly crusade of yours. There is always a regime, there is always and evil organization out to get us, there is always something. Putting yourself in the line of a bullet isn't the smartest choice.

[And Prodigy likes the smartest choices, doesn't he? Smart choices keep you alive. Smart choices are made with the head and not the heart. The heart gets you killed. Which, funny enough, here he is, acting with his heart, picking Josh up at his most dangerous.

Around another corner in the alley and there is a door. He doesn't even have to get a key out, given it's programmed to respond to his presence. A single sent from his glasses and the thick, safe room quality door makes a clunking and then gasping noise and swings slowly and silently open.

At least Josh had the decency to get shot near a warehouse. David carries him in through the door, sending a command to have it close behind him. It is one of his smaller ones, not much bigger than a studio apartment, but he's so very good with space. David moves to a nearby table and lowers David onto it. The papers there will live with a little blood. Or be replaced. He doesn't care.]

Do I get to know what happened?

[goldtoxicity]

Ah, [ josh says, a gasp of pain turned to nonchalance. ] you know me, I don't like being told what to do.

[ it's fine, he's good. it only hurts when he does literally anything. he's pretty sure there's no coming back from where they're at now. he and laurie have painted targets on their back and burned their white flags, there's no surrendering.

he looks up at the ceiling as david lays him down, managing a worn half smile. ]

I'm not scared to ddie.

[helpdesk_hero]

Which, of course, is why you're injured. Because someone told you to stay safe out there.

[He starts moving to get his medical things, only to freeze when Josh says that last statement. He turns on the other man and glares down at him, something just short of fury in his gaze.

While he might be in life only for himself these days, there are two exceptions for that rule. To a degree. Josh and Laurie.]

I don't care. You don't get to die. So shut up and be more careful.

[goldtoxicity]

[ it's not the right thing to say, but it's true. what he cares about is taking as many people as he can down with him. he's been in a tailspin for years now, and though he can't see the future he's sure it doesn't have him in it no matter how it plays out. ]

Sorry. [ he doesn't mean it. ] I didn't mean it.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Well then, they'll be two ghosts not in the future together. Because David's just like that.

You're not sorry and you do mean it and I'm not amused that you'd lie to me.

[He finally goes to collect his medical bag and moves to the table.]

Save me some time. Sit-rep.

[goldtoxicity]

I am sorry because you're giving me those big sad eyes and I hate it when you do that.

[ he coughs, clearing his throat and bringing a hand up to cover his face. ]

Got shot through the gut, ah, and again through my side. One in the thigh. Nothing vital.

[ he'd just have died of bloodloss or shock. the one through his leg has done a fucking number on it, hit the bone and made a wreck of it. There's no way he could've gone for help and the pain and anger kept him in the wrong form to fix it. ]

[helpdesk_hero]

I am not giving you sad eyes. I am giving you ‘why did I ever blow this idiot’ eyes.

[Gut wound is the most important so David strips off his normal gloves and instead pulls on two layers of nylon disposables. Ones that are clearly made for him because they go a lot further up his arm.]

Your brain chemistry still stupid in Lead? I’d prefer to give you painkillers but I don’t want to waste them.

[goldtoxicity]

Because you love me. [ he sing-songs. ] You literally just said so, man. While you were cradling me in your big manly action hero arms.

[ it's easier to laugh about it than to think about what a colossal mistake that was. ]

Oh, this is gonna suck. They wouldn't work well enough to be worth it.

[ it's not even like david can fix him. he can just patch him up enough to not die immediately and hope he can pull his head together to get shiny again. ]

[helpdesk_hero]

I don’t sleep with people because I love them.

[Not anymore. A dead man broke him of the habit. Still bore the scars of that relationship. Including some literal ones from claws. But that was how life worked sometimes.]

Don’t be jealous that I can build muscle mass and you are doomed to be a toothpick.

[He digs into the bag and pulls out a clean rag, rolling it up and passing it to Josh. For him to bite down on as David turns his attention to the gut wound.]

We got any fragments floating around?

[Even in this state Josh can tell him how much he needs to fish and how much is sewing up open wounds.]

tw gore (ISH)?

[goldtoxicity]

I do.

[ even if that 'love' is anything from truly, madly, deeply to platonic and all-encompassing. he takes the rag and gives a sigh. ]

Yeah.

[ he points the mess out. what needs care and attention. the leg is basically a write-off. if he wasn't a healer it'd be better to take it off than to try to salvage it, and he could regrow it but that'd take more energy than he can usually afford. the bullets are still in there, the one in his leg is in pieces, bone shards everywhere, and the one in his gut is whole but in a precarious place.

it sucks now but it'll suck a hell of a lot more if stomach acid gets added into the mix.]

Re: tw gore (ISH)?

[helpdesk_hero]

Next time, Josh, channel your inner speedster and run between the bullets.

[Which is the last thing he says before music, a nice soothing smooth jazz mix, pumps from a nearby speaker system. And David hums along under his breath as he works to extract bullets and patch up the path of shots. Soon he has a nifty little assortment of metal and even bone shards in a bowl at his side, his gloves scarlet with blood as he works. If nothing else, he is efficient in processing the wounds. And as he works through the leg, dropping a final bullet shard he shakes his head.]

Could make you a friendship bracelet with all these pieces. You could give it to Wallflower as a ‘I forgot to duck’ gift.

[goldtoxicity]

[ fuck that never gets any easier. josh bites the rag the whole time, clenching his hands tightly. he definitely cries, it's a whole thing. morbid as hell, but this is their friendship now isn't it?

he feels so faint when david's done. soaked with sweat and shivering. ]

S-She'd probably be into it.

[helpdesk_hero]

[Once David is done he wraps the areas, tapes them down, and throws his ruined coat over Josh as a blanket.]

She would. You’ve gotten weird like that. No accounting for taste I suppose. For any of us. Now... this is where I ask someone for payment and threaten their lives. For you... just tell me you’ll be careful. And any information you can spare so I can keep food on my table.

[Says the guy that just blanketed Josh with a two-thousand dollar designer jacket.]

[goldtoxicity]

I'll be careful.

[ he's lying, because he won't be. he can still barely think, just shutting his eyes and trying to relax enough to get back to gold. ]

And don't call my girlfriend weird, she's a saint... and, uh... I dunno what I know, dude, I'm mostly chasing pencil pushers.

[helpdesk_hero]

I reserve the right to call Laurie what I want. I know her well enough. Except, you know, that one way. Nor do I want to.

And pencil pushers don’t carry guns often.

[He gets up and strips the gloves off. With the blood cooling it doesn’t remember the same way. He’s safe from it.]

Snatch anything from your pencil pusher?

[goldtoxicity]

Just his life... got my hands on some info about retaliation plans against the resistance, then security walked in and we had a game of tag.

[ his hand drops, eyes shut. ]

Laurie's better at this part of the job. Kinda hard to do stealth when the jig is up the second the lights go on.

[helpdesk_hero]

[She would be better at that part of the job wouldn’t she? Not that David begrudges her it. At all. He wouldn’t want to do what she does. Actively doesn’t want to do what she does.]

Then I’ll put it on your tab. You’re damn lucky I like you. Though you should consider getting back up.

[goldtoxicity]

Gimme a sec.

[ he'd like to go to sleep, actually. he braces himself against the table and tries to sit up, hissing through his teeth as he does.

the gold starts in his fingertips, spreading slowly up his arm until he's mostly bright again. but it's clear from the breath josh lets out that it was an effort. ]

One of these days I'm not gonna be able to switch back.

[helpdesk_hero]

Would you like my opinion as a medical professional?

[Clearly non-certified. But he still has known Josh for a very long time. And he has opinions here.]

[goldtoxicity]

Sure. What does Doctor David say about this?

[helpdesk_hero]

You won’t get stuck. This is who your are, Josh. Two sides of one coin, free to change as the mood takes you. You’re fluid in nature and it all comes down to your brain. You choose to see a binary and thus a binary is what you have. But that binary, that two faces of one coin? It truly is self imposed. You are an alloy. Act like it.

[Not gold OR lead. Gold AND lead. Both at once.]

[goldtoxicity]

Your professional opinion stinks.

[ he lays a hand against his stomach wound. it takes a minute before it starts to glow. ]

They don't work like that, man. That's like telling a elemental user that fire and water are the same thing.

[helpdesk_hero]

Josh... you’re biokinetic. You control people’s bodies at a cellular level. If you wanted to you could kill by ‘healing’ someone’s lungs shut. You could heal by ‘killing’ infections in them. You define your powers narrowly.

[Or so David always thought.]

It’s literally all in your head.

[goldtoxicity]

Okay, so, when Ruth grabbed the lead part of me and almost killed herself, that was because I 'define my powers narrowly'?

[helpdesk_hero]

No. It was because since you psychologically associate the lead with death and a lack of control, that is exactly what it is.

[Control is what Josh makes it.]