fatemarked | enter Sir Grumpus McWhinelord, King of the Pissbabies [audio; filtered from Gene]

[It's been a week, and Tony has done everything short of throwing himself on the floor of a Governor's office and literally kicking and screaming. And despite all his arguments and protests and even a few veiled threats, he is still stuck with Gene. They take this 'link' pretty seriously here. Tony thinks it sounds like a bunch of faux-mystical nonsense, but apparently he's not going to get the Governors to budge on it.

That means the only people he has left to turn to are the Fatemarked and his fellow Sentinels. He has absolutely no faith that the Governors are telling him everything. Maybe the other recruits will give him some straight talk.

The post is audio - he's not disguising his identity, but he's not going out of his way to make it obvious, either. He has locked the post from Gene, though. Gene already knows that he is extremely unhappy with the situation, and Tony really doesn't care about offending him, but he wants to minimize Gene's opportunities to needle him with snarky comments.

He makes a cursory attempt to hide the post from the bigwigs, too, but he's aware that it probably won't be effective. Fine. If they see him going behind their backs to get this fixed, maybe they'll start taking him seriously.]

So, these 'links' that some people have - what's the deal? The Governors can't really think we'll believe them when they say they don't know anything about them, right? Somebody's got to know how they work. And how to break them. Who else has one? Are they permanent? Does anyone have any idea why they happen? [...HE'S ASKING FOR A FRIEND.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hate to break it to you, but the mysteries of the fucking multiverse are beyond my ken. If you were expecting someone to come down from on high with all the answers and present them to you on a stone tablet like Moses, uh, you may have been aiming a little high there. But I do know this - if you're here, especially if you're linked, you are important. I have enough experience to know that much.

[Kami's voice turns wry, and the video function is enabled on her end.]

A year? Yeah, you don't say, [she says, holding her left hand up to the camera. Her fatemark is clearly visible.] That sounds like it sucks.

[The sarcasm gone, she says:] Want to see something special? Come by my lab sometime. I figure I've got a few things to show a cynical soul such as yourself.

Oh, I'm important. Yipee. [Gosh, he's getting a lot of practice with his sarcasm here in the Double-F.] So if you don't know what these links are, what do you know about the Fatemarked? Other than that they're "important." I've been hearing a lot of that, and not a lot of details.

[He frowns when she shows him her fatemark, and lets out a little "hmph." Okay, point to you, Kami.]

What kind of lab? [he asks, trying not to show that his interest is piqued.]

Boy, you really are just demanding all the information we have, aren't you? Now I know there's no love lost between you and your linked Fatemarked, so I'm going to counter your question with a question - why do you even care?

As for 'why you', my best guess is someone in Upper Management thought you'd be the best choice to guard the guy you seem so keen on punching. Don't ask me; I just work here. [She shrugs.]

Robotics, mostly. I also muscled my way into being the local sysadmin.

[Tony looks mildly annoyed, and genuinely confused.]

I'm stuck in a different universe for a year, protecting someone from one mysterious organization for another mysterious organization, for mysterious reasons that no one has actually explained yet. I care because I want to know what I'm doing here and why it actually matters. I'm not wasting a year of my life on 'because we told you so.' So, yes. I want to know everything.

[Like, duh? Of course he wants all the information they have, whether or not he likes Gene. How is "tell me everything" not the number one request they get from all their new recruits? (Aside from "send me home," obviously.)

But the word "robotics" temporarily distracts him from giving her a hard time about the Double-F's complete failure to adequately inform their guests.]

Where's your lab? When are you going to be there? [Right now? He wants to see it right now.]

[She exhales, and even looks a little sympathetic.] Kid...sometimes I forget not everyone's used to this cloak-and-dagger multiverse shit. I've spent most of my adult life doing it. Back at the old place, and now here.

It matters because...it matters. I gotta...I don't have clearance to... [She exhales again.] Look, you don't want to see what happens if you don't play the part. It ain't pretty.

Lab's on B-8, East Wing - I'm literally always here.

Oh, wow, now there's clearance levels. And I better play along, or else. I'm really filled with warm, trusting fuzzies right now. [Yeah, Kami, that's the opposite of helpful.

But he can pester her more about it in the lab. And also see her lab. He's gonna go check out the lab. LAB. ]

I'll be there as soon as I can.

enter Sir Grumpus McWhinelord, King of the Pissbabies [audio; filtered from Gene]

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but soft, what light thru yonder window ROBOTS