009 [ Voice ]

[hellionated]

[ So Julian's been gone somewhere close to a week. He finds that out from a newspaper stand. For him it's been a hell of a lot longer than a week, and his head is spinning now. Memories he hadn't known were there are rising to the surface, fitting back into place. Friends, enemies, people from other worlds. Events he'd thought he'd never forget. Skrulls, Vulcanus.

God, this is weird.

And last time he'd been here, he hadn't looked like this.

He's walking through the City, metal hands concealed in his pockets. Every part of this is a mess. His powers are holding the phone to his ear, and there's no video.

He sounds like he's bored. ]

This place has good timing. I was almost in math class.

So I'm back. You can all stop missing me now. Since nothing's in pieces I'm gonna guess no one tried to destroy the place this week. Did I miss anything worth telling?

Comments

[hellionated]

Yeah. If you let it.

[professorlionface]

Giving in to it isn't the only way to do that. It'll only fester if you bottle it up.

[hellionated]

[ That's pretty much the opposite of what he wants to hear. ]

You wouldn't say that about any other emotion. Why this one?

[professorlionface]

And how do you know I wouldn't? Maybe not to those more positive.

Of course, I have a bit more experience with guilt.

[hellionated]

So you should act on a feeling, no matter what it is? I don't hear that about anger.

And you're guilty about something that wasn't on you in the first place. You don't need to take responsibility for that, you're just doing it anyway.

[professorlionface]

It's far more nuanced than that, Julian. Not all emotions should be expressed in the same way. The proper setting for guilt is very different from that of anger, but neither should be bottled up and left to brood.

[hellionated]

[ This is making him irritable now, since Hank is talking about stuff he does all the damned time. ]

That still isn't the point. You're only guilty cause you want to be.

[professorlionface]

Wanted. The tense is very important.

[hellionated]

[ Pause. ]

So, what, doing time means the guilt is gone? [ Guess how much he buys that? Not even a little bit. ]

[professorlionface]

More that it helps you realize that the guilt does little service in the long run. Much as that was still true three months ago, I wouldn't have been ready to accept it.

[hellionated]

[ That sounds more like it.

He knew guilt never did any good.

Still, he says this grudgingly. ] Then it did good I guess. But I still don't like it.

[professorlionface]

You seem very curiously invested in my acknowledging that fact.

[hellionated]

I'm just making conversation, Professor. [ Who says this is personal? Not him. ]

[professorlionface]

There's a wide gulf between making conversation and a discussion as deep as this. There's nothing small about this talk.

[hellionated]

So maybe it matters. There's nothing small about being inside, either.

[ Yep. Because that's definitely the only thing this is about. ]

[professorlionface]

Yes, but I can worry about that enough for the both of us. I have much better lawyers working on it this time.

[hellionated]

They couldn't do much worse.

[professorlionface]

Well, that was the idea last time.

[hellionated]

[ Beat. ]

Who did you even go with last time?

[professorlionface]

One might say I went with the best fool I know.

[hellionated]

You went without a lawyer. [ Well, that explains it. ]

[professorlionface]

Hadn't I already implied that heavily enough?

[hellionated]

Give me a break, Professor, I've been gone for months here. Did I imply heavily enough that a real lawyer might've got you out of this? Cause if I didn't, I can make up for that now.

[professorlionface]

But that's just the point. When I didn't want out of this, I represented myself and sabotaged my defense.

Now, I have real lawyers. What does that say?

[hellionated]

That you finally agree with me. [ Slow smile. ] I don't hear that too often.