savetheearth | {005} Network Video + Log

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{005} Network Video + Log

[Misa is obviously freaking out a little. He eyes are wide, she's breathing fast, and she is newly blonde since she last appeared on the network. But her latest echoed change isn't anything that's visible.]

The lights over Tokyo— something is happening, I'm going home. If anyone is coming and needs a place to stay, my apartment is open to you. It's not very big, but I'll make room for anyone who needs it. Bring a sleeping bag or air mattress if you can. Private message me for the address, and if you have a doppelganger either do it in person or by phone. I don't want any uninvited guests showing up.

[[ooc: feel free to handwave Misa giving your character this information, as long as they are not a doppelganger and we have some previous CR.]]

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Who: Misa and ALL THE PEOPLE
What: Crash at Misa's one-bedroom apartment during insanity in Tokyo. SLUMBER PARTY. There will be separate header threads for different weeks, plop your person anywhere.
When: April 10-28
Where: Tokyo, Misa's place

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Cesar's chair scrapes, and he's standing and walking towards the man, looking from the eye to Tony's shocked stare. The second gets far less attention than the first, and Cesar points at his own eye, question written all over him: 'What happened?'

He taps the finger on his cheek for emphasis, eyes swinging to him to check for understanding. As though hoping it might help, he pulls his hands down for a brief flurry of signs, all of which would be spelling his question more clearly if Tony knew their meaning.

What the hell is going on? How did he fix it? Is this even Tony, is that why it looks perfect now? He can't even find a hint of scarring, and he knows exactly what he's looking for. Tony had been blind. So how...?

The gestures are enough. While Tony may not understand sign language specifically, he knows what the questions must be just by Cesar's frantic gesturing alone. After all, what else would it be?

"Well you see funny thing... It got better?"

He gives a grand, sweeping shrug and the most awkward of grins because that's not answering the question at all and he knows it. Stranger yet there are no scars. Not a single one anywhere on him. Cesar was certainly aware he'd undergone surgery to correct internal bleeding, that would have left a nasty scar. There had been beatings, broken bones, and yet not a trace on his skin. Not even the small ones you'd expect on a person who had led a fairly rough and tumble life, or hell a life at all.

Unnaturally scar-free, one might even say.

The look Cesar shoots him is a rebuke in itself: obviously he 'got better'. The question then is how? He makes the sign for this in slow, wide motions, mouthing the word as he does.

What follows is another succession of completely unhelpful signs, one of which means 'demon', and another that involves touching his own throat, before Cesar breaks off and turns on his heel. He comes back a second later and types with sharp jabs at the screen, turning it around with the intensity of a picketer trying to get an apathetic pedestrian's attention.

'Was this an echo?

Yeah, no, he's got no idea. Tony can guess the gist of what Cesar's asking him, as the questions themselves are fairly obvious and the very ones he'd be asking, but the specifics are lost on him. He just kind of gives a helpless shrug in response to most of the words.

Eventually Cesar gives up trying to mime at him and switches to the medium he understands better: written words.

"Yeah, yeah it was. And no, before you ask I can't share it. Sorry, dude. Would if I could I promise you."

Man if he could actively heal people? That'd be great, but no it only works on himself. As far as he knows anyway.

It is a disappointment, and it shows in the pause as he struggles to accept this. For a moment, he'd hoped.... But no. It's just as well, isn't it? He probably even deserves it in ways Tony doesn't.

He shakes the thoughts off, typing more. 'What was the echo? Your old body? Can you see?'

The new eye is following the old one, and it looks healthy, but the same could be said for a good prosthetic. Cesar lifts a finger and moves it distractingly into what would've been Tony's blind spot, as though unwilling to wait for him to actually finish reading.

If he could use this strange power of his to heal other people? That would be the best skill imaginable, but unfortunately it only seems to work on him. A purely passive, uncontrollable ability.

"Huh, my old body? Naw, nothing like that just... Look I took a bullet to the head and came out the other side being able to survive it that's all. And yeah I can see, it's all back to normal."

Possibly better than it was, but he's not sure if that's attributed to another echo or not. Hard to say sometimes. His eyes track the finger almost instinctively, like a cat that saw something enticing move. It'd be hard to do multiple things at once if his reactions weren't so quick. It really has been a while since he and Cesar have met in person, hasn't it?

Normal... It's as good as it ever was. That's good. Fantastic, even.

It's pretty interesting, actually. Cesar's still disappointed, but at least he has other things to think about. Tony's physiology isn't just 'back to how it was before' overall, or he wouldn't have nearly this same tone or reaction time. What he's seeing now is new and improved.

'Even the scars are gone. Did the one from the bullet heal, too?'

He stops just testing whether or not there's sight on that side, and moves the arm farther. He has a general estimate of how far human peripheral vision goes, and it.... Well, it looks like Tony has that same range? He wishes he had a pen light, but he lowers the hand, unwilling to push his luck just yet. His copy was just recently attacking this man in hopes of killing him. What kind of boundaries should he be expecting right now, as related to Tony's humanity?

Edited 2015-04-24 07:07 (UTC)

"Y'know one of these days you should really teach me sign language,"

Because all this flailing around would make so much more sense than it does presently, and it'd be easier to talk to Cesar without having to make him stop and write everything down.

"Considering it was a bullet to my face? Yeah I'd say it healed." And if Cesar knows anything about bullets, and he probably does, they tend to do a lot more damage going out than in. In other words, he's healed a massive head wound with no obvious signs that it ever happened in the first place. Tony still watches Cesar's flailing more out of a sense of 'what are you doing?' than anything else at this point.

Don't worry, Cesar, he's not some wild animal that's just going to snap and take your arm off because you flailed at him too much. Demon or no, he's still aware of himself.

His arm drops again, and that seems to be the last of it, because when he finishes typing it doesn't go back up.

'Maybe sometime. How long has this been going on?'

As far as boundaries go, he's starting to get the impression that he hasn't even gotten close. Tony's eyes followed his finger with some incredulity, but no fear. Fear was what he was worried about, wasn't it?

It occurs to Cesar that maybe the one that should be afraid here isn't Tony, but him. After all, it wasn't his alternate that walked out of his last clash with the man... Rather than frightening him, this fact is reassuring. Thrilling, too, in a twisted, private sort of way: if it makes for such a contrast, then surely some benign interest in the young man's abilities won't be turned away, will it?

"Damn, when did that happen... couple months now? Sorry, I hadn't really updated anyone on the whole thing."

After getting accustomed to the lost eye it was weird to have it back. And weirder to explain to everyone just how impressive his healing really was. Easier just to keep it under wraps and not explain it, besides... elusive came naturally to him now. Thanks, Other.

No fear, Tony's fairly hard to intimidate these days and waving a hand around at him isn't going to do that. He has no reason to believe this Cesar would be out for his blood, right? So no, the curiosity is better than the accusation or disappointment he was expecting, actually it was kind of curious in its own way. No one's been this curious about his abilities so far, which was fine, he didn't blame them, but Cesar's curiosity piqued his own.

After all, what all might he be missing about himself that someone with a sharper mind might figure out?

Cesar waves a hand dismissively. If he's harboring any hard feelings over this, he's doing a very good job of hiding them.

Would it be possible for me to have a blood sample some day? This could very well be more of the Network's strange magic, but if there's anything biological to find then it could have enormous implications.'

He tries to look innocent. Only not too innocent, of course, since if he looks angelic then that's not just strange, but a little creepy. How does anyone convey this particular kind of genuine interest when the request he just said might be pushing boundaries with anyone else? He doesn't know. He hopes he hasn't screwed this up.

Tony looks uncertain, but if Cesar's not going to hold a grudge over it he thinks it best not to argue.

"A blood sample? I guess, I mean I lose enough of it as it is a little more isn't going to hurt. What for?"

Oh Tony, so trusting. He finds the innocent look a little strange regardless, because to him it sounds casual enough that shouldn't even be necessary. Should he be suspicious? "Just be careful with it, yeah?" As far as he's aware his blood isn't toxic to anyone, but he'd still prefer no one get themselves hurt.

'Curiosity. Who knows, there might be something obvious that could explain your healing factor.' He smiles encouragingly.

This conversation has gotten carried away. The last time they talked was when someone died and other someones were tortured and hurt, and the elephant in the room waits patiently for them to feel its presence again. Cesar is feeling it faster, and he's trying to figure out whether he wants to address it. Maybe that one conversation that they had was enough?

"Huh, maybe. What d'you think you could do with it if you did find anything?" Could it be used to help people? That would be interesting, especially considering the source. Oh well, sure, why not? What's the worst that could happen?

Famous last words.

As far as elephants, the only elephant Tony was worried about was being called out on hiding his healed eye. With that out of the way he felt a lot better. But Cesar still looked a little uncomfortable, and he can imagine why. They've not exactly spent much time together on entirely favorable terms. "Everything alright?"

'That would depend on what I'd found,' he replies, spreading his free hand helplessly. If it's something that could be applied to other people, then the might be able to work wonders by something as simple as a blood transfusion. If it's not as easy as that--

Cesar's eyebrows lift, and he nods. 'I'm fine. Are you sure you'd be alright with this? It might take more than one sample.'

It's a reply that doesn't quite get at what he's really worried about, but that might answer his question anyway.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Still he sounds a little disappointed Cesar can't offer him more than that. Not that Tony doesn't understand, but the occasional hopeful flight of fancy is a nice thing to entertain every now and then, especially in the face of crisis.

To the repeated question he shoots Cesar a flat look. "Dude, I healed up a dissolved eye," He tugs up his shirt where once there was a nasty scar from surgery. No longer. "Even my surgery scar's gone, I think I can handle a couple blood tests. What are you really askin' me?"

There has to be a reason, mister logic that Cesar is makes his line of questioning suspect, when the evidence is more than enough to show that a little bit of blood isn't going to hurt Tony any.

Cesar looks at the scar-free area even after the shirt gets dropped down, and then shakes his head.

'That is what I was asking. That's all I wanted to know, thanks.' Cue for a tight-lipped smile that declares line of questioning closed: He's gotten whatever answer he was looking for from Tony's response, which is good, because he's not nearly direct enough to actually want to take the opening that Tony has presented him with.

A quiet sigh. He turns the tablet back around once he's pretty sure Tony is done reading.

'Can I text you when I'll be available to do this in a few days? I've cleared today and tomorrow to photograph the creatures in the Echoed zones, but I haven't planned far enough ahead to know what comes next.'

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{005} Network Video + Log

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