capeandcowl | [ 3 ] [ voice; forward-dated to early saturday morning ]

Entry tags:

nelson gardner | captain metropolis

[ 3 ] [ voice; forward-dated to early saturday morning ]

[ He doesn't speak immediately, though there's the very, very faint sound of the radio in the background. A breath is drawn and when he does finally talk he sounds some combination of very concerned and upset while also trying not to be. ]

Um -- uh -- hello. I wouldn't normally use this thing for such a simple question, but I figured this would be the fastest way to get a real answer, since-- well, I know that protocol here doesn't always allow for just calling the police.

So: Has anyone else disappeared... recently? Unaccounted for?

[ He clears his throat and there's a pause as he takes a drink of something. ]

You see, I can't reach my friend Sally. [ Another pause. ] Jupiter. She's not normally very difficult to get ahold of, but it's no use. Now, my coworkers went missing for about a week last month without any warning, and they're all back now. But they weren't alone, either, and I know -- I know that these things can depend on if they're individual or en masse. That is, it's what I've heard.

But if anyone has seen her... or heard from her... I'd just like to make sure she's all right. I want to ensure that--

[ You don't want to know how many times he's tried calling her to bring him to the conclusion that, yes, something may be wrong. Like. It was a lot of times. Just in case: ]

Sally, if you're listening to this, I really hope you aren't just avoiding me.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's true. I have met some very fine folks here I may not have otherwise. Wouldn't have, as far as I know.

Probably not. There are people here that I'd never get the opportunity to meet without showing up here.

It's a hell of a privilege.

... It's an opportunity, that's for sure. Although I'm still getting the feel for it.

It, ah, takes a bit. When I first showed up, I made a fucking idiot of myself often enough.

[ MITCH. ]

Are you saying I act like an idiot?

What? No.

I'm saying I was a fucking idiot.

[ Squinting. ]

That isn't what it sounded-- [ Dial it back... ] What sort of things did you do?

Mostly made a complete ass of myself. There's always a shock to the system when you show up here. For you, it seems to be technology, for me, it was the people.

What's wrong with the people?

Nothing! They're just-- [ He makes a non-committal little grunt. ]

There aren't any superheroes where I'm from.

Oh -- yes.

I understand. [ Er. ] No superpowers where I'm from, for the most part.

It was the same for my world, but we didn't really have superheroes at all.

We only had them because of one man, really. He inspired the rest. I can see why that might not translate.

[ A cough. ]

Yeah, probably not. I guess every world really is different.

In minor ways most of the time, it seems like so far.

It depends. Some are really fucking different.

Are they? Really? I mean I have seen... um, aliens...

Yeah. Some are really different, obviously. Aliens being involved is kind of a sign of that.

I suppose so. A world could still be very similar otherwise.

Sure, but it doesn't have to be. Hell, in some of them, Earth might not exist.

Have you encountered any like that?

I haven't asked that many, no.

There are a lot of people to account for -- uh -- and you probably wouldn't want to know in most cases, quite frankly.

Yeah, probably not. It's not like my worldview should be shattered any more than it already is, right?

Uh. Right. Shell shock is a hell of a thing, you know.