TEST DRIVE #002

[reveriemod]

TEST DRIVE #002

( 0 0 1 ) » WAKE UP

Were you asleep or were you unconscious? It doesn't matter: when you come to, there's an odd taste in your mouth and there's a low-level mechanical hum in the air. Your head hurts and you feel nauseous. You aren't anywhere you know: everything around you is metal, from the floor you lie on all the way to the ceiling. You are dressed in a jumpsuit you definitely weren't wearing before.

"We tried to save the world. I think— I think we did the opposite."

The message repeats on a loop. If you look for its source, you find a comms device on the floor next to you. The logo on its wallpaper says REVERIE TERMINAL. Upon closer inspection, you find the same logo on your jumpsuit.

Welcome to your new home. What choice do you have but to explore your surroundings?

( 0 0 1 . 1 ) » WAKE UP WHERE?

When you wake up, you find that you're not alone. But more importantly, you find that you're in a closet. An empty closet, bar you and your new companion. It's small, cramped, and there is no door that you can see. The ceiling is low, there is barely any lights, only some coming from the tiny flashlight clipped to your suit's shoulder. You cannot be sure that there is any air coming in to the room.

Are these grooves in the wall supposed to mean something?

( 0 0 2 ) » OBSERVATION DECK

There were no windows in the corridor you woke up in and no windows in any of the crew quarters you might have checked for occupants — but there are plenty of windows on the uppermost level of the station, deck 1. In fact, there are windows from floor to ceiling all along the circumference of the station's circular deck, and it's possible to walk along it all. What it shows is a strange solar system you've never seen before and a planet that might resemble one you know, but certainly isn't the same.

You're in space. You don't know where you are. Neither does anyone else.

( 0 0 3 ) » BAR

On deck 3, you find the bar. Tucked away from the crew quarters, it's dimly lit, there are bar stools thrown down on the floor and what looks like some very old drink spills, crusty and dark against the bar top. But there is alcohol here, or at least, what you think is alcohol, in bottles with faded labels, most of them indecipherable. Take a drink, get drunk, start a fight, or start a party? You're stuck on this station, might as well make the most of it, right?

( 0 0 4 ) » SPACEQUAKES

One second, you are is walking. Magnetic boots are on, the ground feels solid enough, for a metal deck in a space station. Everything is perfectly fine, or at least as fine as it can be, given that you still don't know where you are or how you came to be here.

The next moment, it's like everything explodes around you. You're thrown against the wall as sparks erupts from electrical panels, as the whole station rumbles and shakes around you. You fall to the deck, earning yourself scratches from the grating. When you look up, it's like nothing has happened. No wires hanging from open panels, no flickering lights, no more shaking. Like an earthquake in space.

( 0 0 5 ) » NETWORK

The comms device you found next to you when waking up connects to a station-wide network, REVERIE NET. You have the option to post video, voice or text messages.

What will you share?

( 0 0 6 ) » WILDCARD

The station features a variety of locations, from sleeping quarters free for the claiming to a dirty swimming pool and a bar that still holds alcohol (though some of the bottles seem to have been opened a while ago).

Go wild, but don't wreck the place. It's your home for the foreseeable future, after all.

Comments

[weaponize]

Home...

[the word is a soft rumble as he takes the room in. the one exit. the single bed. the lack of any kind of personality to the room. apollo may have only been here for a month so far, but he'd expect something of the man to be here. some sign that this room was at least being lived in. if it wasn't for the familiar scent in the room, midnighter would have had no idea that this was his. that he'd ever set foot through the doors.

they'll have to fix that. later.

stepping in to the room, midnighter takes a moment to let the door slide shut behind them. time to cut the two of them off from the rest of the station. it means he's free to wrap his arms around apollo without having to fight his computer for control too much. doubly so when he's the one stood behind the other man, forehead pressed to the back of his neck as he soaks it all in.]

Missed you. [and then an even quieter--] M'sorry. [though his apology has nothing to do with the situation at present and everything to do with the mess he made when he left.]

[solarcharged]

[ It doesn't feel much like home and Apollo can hear that in Midnighter's voice. But he doesn't say anything more; he can't defend why has been left so bare, other than the fact that he really didn't plan on staying long. And he still doesn't.

He relaxes as Midnighter slides his arms around him, settling against his back. It's a welcome warmth and a familiar touch, one he's missed more than he can express in mere words. He turns, twisting around in Midnighter's arms so that he can face him properly and wrap his own around his husband's familiar form. ]

Oh, are you now? [ He murmurs, amused by the apology. There's nothing about this that could ever be construed as Midnighter's fault. ] And what are you sorry for exactly?

[weaponize]

[it's a self-inflicted penance, in a way, when he leans back enough to make eye contact with apollo. it'd be so much simpler if he stayed where he was, with the two of them wrapped up in one another, rather than make the attempt. but given just what he needs to say in response, he isn't prepared to hide. he did enough of that when he chose to leave in the first place. when he continued to stay away for all those months.]

I left. And I wasn't here when you arrived.

[which, given the almost non-existent pause between the two statements, could be seen as a single issue. but it's only the latter that relates to being on this space station. the former is the one he actually regrets. that he's trying to apologise for. he needed to leave the carrier. the team. there was no other option for him. so even now, despite knowing all the damage he did as a result, he wouldn't even consider hijacking the time police's ride to go back and stop himself.

changing things though...

it's only then that his gaze finally flicks away. that he has to grit his teeth as he forces out the last few words.]

Should've talked to you.

[because then, maybe bendix wouldn't have been able to sink his claws back in to him. maybe he wouldn't have abandoned apollo. maybe jenny would have been able to have a real childhood. maybe, maybe, maybe. the only definite is that, if he'd talked to apollo, he knows they would have found a better solution to it all than midnighter chose.]

[solarcharged]

[ A faint frown paints a crease across Apollo's expression at that reply. 'I left'. As far as Apollo knows, Midnighter has only just arrived. How could he possibly have left already? ]

What are you talking about? [ The faint smile of amusement still lingers on his lips, making the frown seem more bemused than anything. ]

You haven't left.

[weaponize]

[there's a frown of his own, his confusion clear for the brief moment before he's able to tuck it away again. he hasn't had a chance to explore the station yet. hasn't sifted through the network and the plethora of information it holds. so the idea of time being a factor hasn't even crossed his mind. nothing beyond the knowledge that apollo has already been here for a month. maybe he's somehow...set it aside already?]

Harmony. [there's a lot more to his absence than that. bendix. paulus. even jenny had a hand in him staying away for so long. (he doesn't blame her though. he can't. not when he understands how much she was trying to help. doesn't mean he's ready to forgive her yet though.)

what it ultimately comes down to though is--]

I thought I could be normal. Should've known it wouldn't work.

[because like it or not, he's the midnighter. lucas trent is a lie.]

[solarcharged]

[ ...Harmony? Apollo's expression changes in an instant. He remembers those wretched months when Midnighter had vanished once again, this time in pursuit of a part of him that was probably better forgotten. Apollo leans back, giving Midnighter a look of pure confusion, and distantly shakes his head at the memory. ]

But that... that was months ago.

[ He pauses, battling with the sinking feeling in his stomach. ]

What happened just before you arrived here?

[weaponize]

Harmony was this morning.

[after well and truly cutting his ties to the place. after destroying what was left of his relationship with mindy. but if apollo has been here for a month already, there has to be some kind of time fuckery at play here.]

I came back to the carrier. And now I'm here, and you think that was months ago.

[and midnighter's-- well, not panicking. but it's a close call. have they messed with his head that much that he's forgotten the past few months? or worse, have they messed with apollo's?]

[solarcharged]

[ Harmony had only just happened as far as Midnighter's concerned, but for Apollo that had taken place nearly half a year earlier. Apollo shuts his eyes briefly, pained at the realisation that Midnighter has no idea what's happened to them lately. ]

Does the name Ken mean anything to you? [ He asks after a moment of indecision, opening his eyes again. It's worth checking, just in case... ]

[weaponize]

Something tells me we're not talking plastic dolls here.

[his voice is completely flat as he pulls away again, putting space back between them so he can give apollo a look. one that's a mix between annoyance at being out of the loop here, and concern that whoever this ken is must be important in some way if he's bringing him up. so whether or not it's something he should know about yet--]

What happened?

[solarcharged]

[ God. Somebody had made that joke, hadn't they? The familiarity of it twists his stomach unhappily; hearing Midnighter not remember (or not know) one of the most awful choices the Authority ever had to make in a long, long list of awful choices was nothing short of horrifying.

His hands drop to Midnighter's waist; he swallows uncertainly. It's not like him to be nervous. Is that what it is? Nerves? Or maybe just latent guilt. ]

It's a long story...

[ Apollo nods towards the bed. He needs to start from the beginning. ]

Sit down, I'll tell you everything.

[weaponize]

[he doesn't like this. doesn't like the fact that apollo is trying to ease him in to whatever it is he has to say. that means it's bad, even for them. means that the authority have likely fucked up in some way, and he hasn't been there yet to see it.

fingers wrap around apollo's wrist, and he tugs the man down with him. sits at an angle so he can see him. can try to work out how far to push for each detail he wants.]

Apollo. [there's a warning to his voice. not one of flat out anger though. not yet. rather, it's exasperation.] Just talk. No kid gloves. [...not that either of them have treated each other that way before.]

[solarcharged]

[ He lets himself be guided down, settling on to the bed beside Midnighter. Knees pressed against his husband's twisted around to face him a little - a mirror image of the angle that Midnighter turns to him. His hands in Midnighter's are warm and pliant, letting them be held as he explains. ]

The Carrier crashed through the Bleed, stranding us in a low-energy world. It didn't have any superheroes, any magic, no Doctors or Jennys. What's worse is our caged baby universe was missing and the Carrier was dying... we had no idea how to get home.

[ It had been something of a reality check; without the Carrier, the Authority were stuck no matter how powerful they thought they were. Apollo grimaces at the memory. ]

We were working with a local, a man named Ken. The Doctor looked inside his mind and he realised why the world was 'low energy'. He said it felt like everyone in the world was sleep walking...

[ And this is where it gets weird. ]

Turns out, this Earth had some kind of parasite. Like some space creature feeding off the entire world. Sucking out the emotional power of everyone on there, tapping in to the collective subconscious and draining it bit by bit -- hence why that Earth was low power, see?

And of course, there's us with the Carrier and all of our power, crashing in through the Bleed... it noticed us.