rekindledtitan | Excerpt 011: Recalibration

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Excerpt 011: Recalibration | OTA

TYPE: Personal log

LOCATION: The Nexus

PARTIES: Unconfirmed total [??]. Multiple [-] Ghost-type, multiple [-] Guardian-type, designate Blaze-37, Class Titan [[personal profile] rekindledtitan], additional [REDACTED]

ASSOCIATIONS: Multiversal Nexus; Nike; Rogers, Steve; Blaze-37; Coyote;

The havoc wrought by Coyote’s ‘gifts’ may not have been undone, and the trickster may be roaming at large still. But with an end to the rampage of the Big Bad Wolf, the Nexus streets are… somewhat safer, again. Night brings a chance for people to lick their wounds, or plot revenge… or just try to adjust to their circumstances.

Most of the bars and taverns close to the Plaza are exceptionally quiet tonight, but one of the pubs is playing host to an unusual gathering. The currently human-form Ghost is seated at one of the bigger tables, and before him is spread an array of bowls and small plates. Each bears a different sample of human-edible cuisine, most of them so far untouched. Around the rest of the table hovers a ring of… well, other Ghosts, these ones in their normal shapes. Their shells are angled or patterned or painted in different colors, but their blue optics glow bright in the low lighting of the bar. One of them - Penny, distinguished by her metallic green shell - dips to examine one of the many menus scattered around the table’s edge.

“Goat’s cheese!” she announces, and one of the others nudges a plate in front of Blaze’s Ghost. He eyes it a bit uncertainly, and Penny eggs him on. “Eat!”

“Eat! Eat! Eat! Eat!” The other Ghosts take up the chant with her, bobbing in the shadows, until Ghost manages to spear the lump of cheese on a fork. The others huddle in a bit closer to watch as he nibbles on it.

Over by the bar, one of the Guardians leaning on the counter observes, “You know, that’s kinda… creepy.”

“Yyup.” Blaze drops her attention back to pulling out the contact pins on the battery pack in her hand. “’Least they’re having fun.”

And worried as the Exo is about all this, at least she knows he’ll get enough to eat. Blaze? She just needs a drink. Or several.

[ Open post for encounters/CR after the first Coyote event post, particularly characters Blaze and Ghost know (and, of course, those with Ghosts of their own who might be joining in the vicarious taste-test.). ]

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"That's why we're both hoping this is over quickly." skekSa grimaces a little. "Grottans are cave-dwellers by habit, so it's not exactly comfortable for her. It was a mean trick. All the wishes I've heard he granted were interpreted in a way that hurt or inconvenienced people - so it's certainly not innocent and I'm not opposed to teaching him a lesson."

skekSa hasn't known any spirits, but she's thinking over Blaze's comment. The stranger strikes her as a bit of a showman.

"That's a good plan, and one I'd be willing to volunteer our help with if you'd have us. Tricksters are a sneaky lot, but they can't always resist a bit of gloating over their handiwork. We have a good idea of who to look for at this point. He probably knows he's made some dangerous people angry at him, so I expect he's lurking somewhere he has a good view of his chaos but can't be seen."

It doesn't help that Blaze is already mildly buzzed, on top of her own Issues. She's more than willing to nod emphatically, rubbing awkwardly at one antenna. "Right. Too damned typical."

"Unfortunately, yes," Ghost confirms. He looks down - seeing himself like that is just bizarre, still. "Hopefully not for long, but- well, I've been trying to learn my way around... all of this. Not that I have to tell you what it's like, I guess."

He's getting good enough he can sort of wave at the table beside him. "Um, would you- are you hungry? They keep talking about more food and I don't want it all to be wasted..."

"Look, we may have a very limited window for data collection, here," Penny points out from across the table. She's just sent two of the other Ghosts transmatting off with fresh orders. "We can't afford to waste any time."

She chuckles herself. "Deal. You want to tell him he's got to do that too now or will I?"

For all Steve pushes himself to keep up with her, she's always been a bit jealous that Ghost doesn't need to sleep at all. And she's perfectly willing to be a hypocrite about insisting her team take care of themselves, at least when she remembers they need to.

"...Yeah, he does. Deserve it, I mean." She pokes at the contacts on the battery she's nursing. "I'd do anything for Ghost, but I'm glad he's got more than just me. Especially right now. Just wish I could do more to take care of him - to fix this. He's always taken care of me when the Nexus..." She makes an irritable gesture at the air. "Pulls this kinda crap."

"Well, he might take that particular sentiment better from me than you, it's true." Steve hasn't been allowed to be privy to many of the Exo and Ghost's little fussings-over each other but even he's aware by now that Blaze is pretty singular even for an Exo. And that Ghost is pretty doting. They're still Steve's team. He wouldn't have this any other way.

"Are you kidding?" Steve stops watching the table of little bots erupting into questions when Ghost pushes the flan away. He raises an eyebrow Blaze's way instead. "You took Nike and went off the second you knew you had backup to look after him. You've just agreed upon a schedule to take care of him. He's got clothes, we've got a place all set up for him back at the outpost. That's all you. You are taking care of him. He never just...poofed everything back to better then the Nexus did this to you, right? He looked after you. Like you're doing for him right now."

"Wishes always come with a price. Seems like that's true here just like in my universe." And considering what became of the wish-dragons there... Blaze isn't going to argue with doing whatever's needed to stop this trickster. Even if he seems less lethal than the Ahamkara... so far.

She grunts, gives them both a nod. "Unless the Hunters turn up his trail tonight, looks like we'll be regrouping in the morning. I can give you a call when we've got something." She gives urSan another glance. "Might be more skekSa's kind of job, no offense."

"...Thanks, Steve." She probably needed to hear that laid out. A reminder that not being able to undo the problem isn't the same as being useless. "I just- hnh."

She lifts the battery to her mouth for a minute before she admits, "He's so much better at it than me. Planning, knowing what to say. Me... I can't tell if he needs me here watching over him or out there making things right."

Seems like she's had a lot more of those choices lately, where neither answer feels good enough. She snorts. "Guess we're both lucky you're around. You and Siri."

"As is the case in most universes, it seems. What's the Earth saying? No such thing as a free lunch." skekSa sighs. "Oh, he's probably having a right laugh at the expense of us all. I can't say I've seen a dog-headed man like you described before, and I've been here for a while, so my guess is he's a recent arrival. Best way to get away with mischief, if no one knows who you are."

"Oh, none taken. That's the sort of work my other half does best. Mystics aren't violent creatures. It's against our nature. I was only coming out for a little walk - didn't expect all the trouble." urSan returns the nod. "I wish all of you the best of luck in teaching him a lesson."

"Just because he's better at it doesn't mean you're not also useful. And..." He falters then, remembering the emotional distress Ghost was in when Blaze left the first time. It doesn't feel Right to speak of it for Ghost. Doesn't feel right not bringing it up at all either.

"So talk to Him when we're done. Ask him. If you don't know what I'm thinking or what I want you always holler at me until I give you an opinion. Hell, I couldn't tell you what Siri's thinking eighty percent of the time, no one's expecting you to Know what's going on in Ghost's shell."

Beat.

"Head--I guess, at the moment. Point still stands."

"Nice to see you, Blaze," he says, then adds wryly, "And sorry if I'm a...surprise. Some things happened back home."

He smiles at Ghost, and it's small and uncertain, but the hand of friendship being extended is much appreciated. Especially considering it comes from someone who isn't used to having hands. "Yeah, I do kind of get the disorientation of a sudden change in body type."

"I mean, I was thinking about dinner anyway. Not sure I should take your food, but I'd be happy to sit and join you for a while." Why the hell not? Even now that he knows what's going on, and feels a little bad for Ghost, this is pretty entertaining.

"Just don't make him sick," he tells Penny with mild amusement. "Human stomachs only have a limited capacity."

He's not as used to transmats as his counterpart, and the shimmer and hiss makes him pause and blink, bemused. As soon as he sees what it is, though, he breaks into a grin. God, it's just like passing notes in class.

He waves back, and glances up at Siri. "Yeah? I mean, I think he'd better. Sketching is easier from closer up. Hold on a sec."

He has a charcoal pencil, which would only tear up the napkin, so he flips to a page in the back of the book, where a messy row of watercolor swatches indicates he'd been testing colors. A few quick lines later and he tears out the sheet, holding it up for Siri. It's not as tidy as the pen drawing--different medium--but the gesture sketch shows the smaller man with a fishing rod, with which he appears to have hooked the Titan. Siri hovers nearby; he wasn't sure how to make her look longsuffering and resigned, aside from a little cloud beside her as if to indicate a sigh.

'Just get over here' says the text bubble.

"I'm so sorry you have to deal with two of us," he tells her.

Ben looks at Blaze, who he recognizes, and Ghost, who he doesn't. Then something clicks, and then he groans as he realizes what must have happened.

"Don't tell me he got to you too." The young man's teeth noticeably grit. "I was helping Cricket earlier. He made a wish, and whoever he made it to took his ability to walk away. He told me about a man with the head of a coyote - now, I'm not a human from Earth, but I understand that's an animal somewhere between a dog and a wolf."

"I wanted to go looking for him, but he's probably in the wind now." He breathes in heavily, almost slumping on the table. "I need a drink, if you have one."

"And if he's anything like Loki, I bet he could disguise himself too," Blaze grumbles. A server has come back with beer and a couple plates of scampi and dips for her two organic companions, wishing them a good meal and asking if they'd like anything else before she heads back to work. Blaze just shakes her head when asked.

"We'll take care of it. Don't know how long it'll last, considering the Nexus seems to love screwing with people, but- hnh. One battle at a time, right?"

"Hm. Everyone we met gave us the same basic description - dog-headed man in a suit - though it wouldn't surprise me if he can turn invisible or change his shape." urSan examines the scampi and dips. "Thank you."

skekSa samples some of the scampi, giving a toothy grin in approval.

"Ach. That it does. Like a sea serpent at its worst, this Nexus is - friendly and smiling at first, but with teeth behind it. I wasn't here for any of the truly unpleasant business this place tosses at people, thank goodness for that, but I've heard stories. One battle at a time's the way to go."

The Exo's eyes glow brighter as she looks up at him sideways. Her brow plates shift up for a second, then she laughs over her 'drink'.

"All right, that sounds a lot like sense to me." Quit the guesswork, just ask him. Try to remember it, even if she feels vaguely like she ought to just know what to do. "Besides..." she looks over at the table - Ghost is being compelled to eat another bite of flan - and her voice softens fondly, "he's still my Ghost, whatever shape he's stuck in. I oughta treat him like it."

"Well, you kinda caught me off-guard, but Siri warned us you were around," Blaze admits. "I should've realized. Changes or not." 'Some things happened' is such an obvious understatement she could almost chuckle, if it wasn't a version of Steve Rogers saying it. Last time 'things happened' in one of those universes, well... it wasn't at all funny. So she shakes herself and just adds, honestly, "It's good to see you still on your feet."

Steve's smile coaxes an equally tentative one from Ghost. Being front and center in social situations is almost as hard as the biological functions (and the not tripping over his own feet). "Well, grab a seat. I am trying not to eat too much of anything. Although I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to tell, yet."

"Don't worry," Penny says confidently, studying her long, long list of food items. "If you evacuate your stomach contents, I calculate you'll free up a substantial percentage of volume for further testing." The little machine glances sideways at that, as if she's waiting for the Look that Ghost manages to give her. And as a bonus, she gets one from Blaze, snapping the Exo out of her awkward hovering.

"Penny, you make my Ghost sick, you're going to clean it up," Blaze warns. She eyes the little bot for a minute before she sighs, looks back at the two humans. "I'm gonna get another drink. You want anything, Steve?"

Steve taps his fingers gently against the tools he's still holding, though Blaze no longer seems to need them for the moment. Back over at the table Siri hovers next to Ghost quietly asking him if he needs the stomach medicine she's obtained for him yet or not. He must still be fine because she floats on back to her vantage point right after.

"He is." Steve confirms. "I told him if he started to feel like he didn't want to eat anymore to stop, and if he started to feel uncomfortable to Definitely stop. So far they've been giving him pretty small samples so he should be good. In that body he's gotta eat something else he's going to end up miserable."

Steve glances at Blaze then but chooses not to say anything else on the matter. Hopefully Coyote didn't give him allergies to worry about or anything like that. Siri's been briefed and she's keeping a close optic on him. It should be enough to hopefully stay ahead of trouble.

Siri had dipped down to watch the second that sketchbook flips open and Steve will hear her little 'oh!' before she has to stifle a noise that definitely was amusement lest it get out that she's anything other than fed up with these two. Whether this one is just humoring her titan or genuinely Understands this awkward form of exchange is impossible to say for sure but she knows her ward will get a laugh out of this.

"That's alright," she replies fondly as the paper seems to tingle in Steve's hand before it vanishes into thin air after a quick scan of the Ghost's optic. "I shouldn't leave Ghost alone for long anyway." She turns when a startled laugh picks up before twirling slowly once around the smaller man with a smug little drift. Job well done.

Steve ducks his head with a little nod his alternate's way as he drags the chair across out to settle into. The sketchbook page is held carefully in one hand.

"Still a bit weird." He admits as he's scooting his chair in. "But I was happy to see a familiar face." Above their table, Siri makes a sound not unlike a snort. Steve shoots a sharp look her way before shaking his head a little. "You know what I mean."

"You can't assume that," Athena tells him, not quite scolding, but her tone clear she will be accepting no nonsense on this particular subject. "You have to nourish this body, or else it will become weak."

She bobs a little, dipping just slightly closer so she can watch him nibble on the bread. "...and I want to know why they make such a fuss about the healthy stuff."

Siri is a little more transparent than she thinks she is. Steve smiles at the noise of her stifling a laugh, but he kind of gets it. It's the same kind of thing his ma used to do when he and Bucky got up to shenanigans.

"Yeah, he seems a little outnumbered," he says of Ghost, glancing over to the collection of robots circulating around the newly-transformed human. "Definitely needs backup. I thought it was some kind of hazing ritual when I walked in."

It's clearly all in good fun, though.

When his counterpart comes over, he gives him a welcoming nod and moves a couple things aside to make space on the tabletop. "It was weird before, too. You learn to sort of Alice-in-Wonderland it, after a while in the Nexus, and just let the madness float by without questioning too much."

"Here," he opens the sketchbook to a blank page and turns it toward the other Steve. "You wanna try my watercolor set? The pigments are really strong; I was impressed."

It's a small, portable set of twelve little half-pans, and he's been using his water glass to clean the brushes. Someone in the kitchen might not be thrilled about that when the go to wash the dishes, but oh well.

He should've figured that. That Siri would give them a heads-up. It's still probably more visceral seeing someone than hearing that they exist. He gives a shrug, and smiles at her. "They have yet to find something to make me stay down, apparently."

That's true of more than one universe, no less. "Shoulder's a little messed up, still, but I'm fine."

Sitting next to Ghost, he rests his hands on the table and has to bite his lip to keep from laughing at Penny's suggestion. "Definitely don't recommend that M.O.," he tells them.

"If you're tasting liquids, you can do it like a wine tasting, though," he suggests. "Put a little in your mouth and swish it around and spit it back out." Obviously he'd need a spare glass for that.

Glancing back at Blaze, he hesitates for a second, reluctant to ask her to get him anything, but after a moment he relents. "I could go for apple juice," he says. "Lots of ice. I don't really do alcohol right now."

"Bmm?" Oh, wait. Ghost's mouth is full. He takes a minute to swallow before he gives the young man a concerned look. "Ben? Are you all right? The wolf- um, coyote man did get us. Me. But we're working on finding him." He looks over at the bar across the room, where Blaze is keeping an eye on things.

"I only have water, but I'm sure you can get a drink." He looks up at one of the other Ghosts.

"I'll get a server." The little bot zips off, not without a slightly envious look from Ghost.

What... what tone of voice is that? Is... is this what it's like for a Guardian to get told off? Sure, Blaze gives him orders sometimes but... Ghost stares up at his kin, slightly affronted and a bit shell-shocked before he acquiesces. "I suppose you're right..."

Hm. This is odd. There's so much texture. The seeds are startling for how they grind but his teeth crunch through them easily despite his hesitation. Ghost munches, frowns as he tries to work out how he feels about it.

"It's-" oh, his mouth is dry, he needs the water. "It's drier than the other foods. And it's weird to crunch the seeds - it's like grinding sand between your plates, except it's kind of satisfying." He's tearing off another piece to figure this out. "The inside tastes better - it's softer, and less... bitter."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I didn't see him myself, which is a very good thing, but all the trouble he caused was hard to miss. When I found Cricket after his wish, I could tell strong magic was involved. Whatever he is, he's powerful and ancient and has a very questionable sense of humor. A trickster who isn't Loki and a spirit who isn't one of the seasonal ones."

Ben isn't completely humorless, but he has little patience for Coyote's brand of pranks. He's frankly amazed, as far as he knows, that no one's been seriously hurt. What he saw happened to Cricket didn't give him much of a good impression.

"Are you all right, Ghost? I imagine being organic is disorienting." Ben nods in thanks to the other Ghost. "I hope it wears off soon for both of your sakes, and I'm all for this coyote-man being taught a lesson. A drink and a meal will do for now, though."

"People do that?" Ghost asks, surprise breaking the obvious worried look he's giving Steve. "It sounds... messy." Don't humans have all kinds of microbes in their- Oh, Light. Does he have microbes? Humans need those, don't they? Siri would have said, if he didn't.

"I've seen it done," he's assured by a Ghost with a larger, bronze-colored shell. Penny is making an audible note about liquids being more efficient as they confer.

Blaze, meanwhile, gives Steve a thumbs-up. "Heh, that makes three of us. Be right back."

"Ooh, wait! Ice! Get ice!" one of the more excitable Ghosts calls after her. The consensus is that dips are next on the list, and they are busily arranging a small array of little bowls as well as a basket of 'potato sticks' in front of the two humans.

Disguises and tricks. Not the kind of fight Blaze is good with, and not the kind she wishes this was. Or maybe she should be glad it's like this. If Coyote had wanted Ghost dead, the Exo is pretty certain he'd have gotten his way.

But there are things she'd rather talk about. "You ever seen a sea serpent? Are they real on your planet?"

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Excerpt 011: Recalibration | OTA

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