vaccination | contact ☣ ❝scorpions are pretty creepy.❞

[Ellie can count on one hand the number of people she's hugged. She stares at the offer for just long enough for it to be uncomfortable, then steps into Steph's arms. Fuck it.

I ain't gonna go anywhere on you, I swear.

Bullshit. The last time she hugged someone, he promised to never let anyone hurt her. Not even himself.

Bullshit. All of it. But why?]

I don't get it.

[She wraps Ellie up in a hug, not too tight, in case she wants to pull away, but she does press a kiss to Ellie's hair, the gesture affection, hoping to be something close to comforting.]

Me neither.

[They'd have to drag her kicking and screaming.

She does get it, though. Or she's starting to.

For a second, she debates whether she should tell Ellie, because it might make her panic, but keeping it from her, letting her think Joel would abandon her like that, surely that's the worse option?]

It's not him, there's-- I dunno what it is, but something's going on. My Ellie left, too. [Something cracks in her voice, and she hugs Ellie tighter.] Said she was heading to the Outlands for a week, but I think that was a lie.

[She leans into Steph more than she actually returns the hug. Ellie's not so dependent on Joel that she needs him constantly, but right now she misses him despite the hurt. She misses that feeling of security she felt when around him. There was no one else she felt safer with.

He's been gone for how long, now? Hours, but who knows if he's coming back. He wasn't talking like a man that had much to return to.]

Her, too?

[It's enough to make her pull back, if only to get a better look at Steph's face, her brow creasing.]

What do you mean?

[She lets Ellie pull back, trying for a wry smile, but it just ends up a rueful twist of her mouth.]

Sometimes she heads to the Outlands for a week or so, just to get some space, and she left on a trip a few days ago, but... [A pause, a shrug, as she tries to decide how to word this.] She was acting a little off. I just thought maybe she was angry at me about something and we'd talk about it once she'd cleared her head. Seeing that other people are leaving has me worried. And she isn't answering her tablet.

[The way she says it suggests that's something strange.

Even when she's in the Outlands, Linton will answer a call.]

[Her eyes fall to the floor, so she misses that failed expression.]

Joel... he wouldn't go out there without his gear. He's smarter than that. And he was fine last night.

[She'd fallen asleep on the couch, next to him. It's happened a few times since they've been in Exsilium, and the next morning she would find herself tucked into her bed. Not today.]

He always tells me where he's going when I ask.

[He knows she needs it. He wouldn't worry her if he could help it.]

[She thinks of Helena and Selina talking in binary, trying to kill her. The man who jumped to his death, who she couldn't save. All the students grabbing at her and taking Babs away.

Steph takes a steadying breath, leaning down a little so she's at eye level with Ellie. She reaches out to tuck a strand of Ellie's hair behind her ear, then puts her hands on her shoulders.]

Whatever's happened, we're gonna find them.

[There's no trace of doubt in her voice, because they have to find them.]

Did anything in the video look familiar?

[It could give them a place to start looking. Joel's trail won't be cold, yet.]

What do you think is going on?

[Ellie's lost. Steph's Ellie and Joel, randomly going on their merry ways. Out of character for both. What did that mean?

She doesn't react to the touching, but her eyes settle on Steph's face. Steph was a superhero. It always turned out okay in the comic books Ellie poured over day after day. Hopefully that applied to Batgirl, too.]

I don't know. [She was too busy having her heart ripped out of her chest.] But I'm guessing it's not somewhere he'd be easily found.

[There's a difference between working up a theory in her head and actually saying it out loud, where it can impact someone else's opinion.

She doesn't want to say something that might not be true, but then--

The UE hacked that man, Adam, and she has to wonder if they've figured out a way to do it to normal people. If the Calculator could, it's not impossible.]

I think there's something else influencing them, but I don't have enough evidence to say what.

[It's enough, without giving too much speculation.

She gives Ellie's shoulders one more squeeze, then lets go, because she needs her hands to grab up her tablet and start looking over the video.

God, but she wishes Kara were still here.]

Let's see if you people kept him talking long enough that we can figure out where he's got to.

[Like what, brainwashing? Ellie opens her mouth to say it, but Steph is moving away to the tablet and there's no fucking way in hell she's listening to that again. She doesn't want to hear Joel, and she sure as hell doesn't want to hear herself.

She called him an asshole and told him not to fall on any metal poles. The regret hit her so hard after she said those words, it nearly toppled her over.]

Can I use your bathroom?

[That draws a worried glance, but she nods.]

'Course. [a beat] You're not gonna bail, right?

[Whether because she's being controlled or she's just scared or something, Steph's just - worried.]

I have to pee.

[More like chill in there until Steph's looked through the video recordings. She won't bail, but she doesn't want to relive any of what just happened with Joel. She does it enough in her head already.]

I'll be back.

[She turns to head to the bathroom.]

Thanks.

[Which sounds - weird, but she means for the reassurance, and she's just going to let Ellie go.

She's also going to go over the video at least three times, hoping that there's something familiar in the background, anything that could give her a clue about where he might have gone.

There's nothing. Just rain and indistinct buildings.

She doesn't even know where to start looking.]

[Once she's in the bathroom, she presses her back to the door and lets herself slide to the floor. Steph's speculation doesn't help clear up any of Ellie's confusion, but if Joel was drugged or something, at least that meant she could give him the benefit of the doubt.

She just wants to rewind to last night. Maybe if she hadn't fallen asleep, things would be different.

Ellie leans her head back against the door to listen to what Steph's doing. Any sound is muffled by the wood between her and the rest of the apartment, though she'd recognize Joel's low rumbles and Texan accent from across anything. But the tone was off, off, off. While she can't hear the words, she remembers them, and how off they were, too.

She presses her palms against her eyes. The hell was going on?

After Ellie thinks it's safe to head out, she pushes herself to her feet, flushes the empty toilet, and washes her hands before heading to the door. It's pretty obvious she was just biding her time in there--or taking a massive dump.]

Anything?

[Steph knows, but she won't press it. Everyone needs privacy, everyone has to deal with things in their own ways, and she won't begrudge Elie for whatever she needs.

As long as she's still here, that's all that matters.]

Not yet, but I've got other ways of finding people.

[This feels awful already, guilt like a heavy weight in her chest, because she's already let her Ellie slip away, and she can't let down anyone else.]

It's gonna be okay.

[She holds an arm out to offer another hug, though she's not sure if it's for Ellie or herself, right now.]

What can I do?

[Because if there's some sort of plan, she wants in. Better than sitting around.

Though she does (belatedly) realize that it's not just her missing someone, worrying about someone. So, with a little less hesitance this time, she goes for the hug. An arm finds its way around Steph's middle.

Even superheroes freaked out.]

[Steph has a complicated relationship with physical affection, but right now she's just glad for the contact.]

You should talk to... Tess, right? [the woman from her world] She might know a little more about where Joel could've gone to.

I've got a couple cameras around the city, so I'm gonna check the feeds for the last few days and see if I can find anything out of sorts.

[And she'll talk to Babs and the Birds, see if they can't all figure something out.]

[Even Joel needed that contact, sometimes. She'll never forget the look on his face when she gave him that photo of Sarah. He was gone in that moment, but came back when she decided to be brave and give him a hug, remind him of who was still alive and breathing. It had been pure grief. She doubted anyone would expect that of a man who snapped necks regularly.]

Yeah, Tess. [Jesus, Tess. That was not going to go well.] I should probably start heading back soon. I don't want her to think I ran off, too.

[She doesn't want Ellie to go, not when there's the possibility of her leaving, too, but she knows it's necessary. Tess will need to see her, and Steph can work better alone.]

Tell her she can call me if she has any questions. [In case she doesn't believe Ellie about the whole mind control theory.] And--

[This is potentially a bad decision, when it compromises Babs a little, but she just can't risk something happening to her and Ellie not knowing.]

If something happens to me, I want you to call a woman named Barbara Gordon, okay? You'll be able to search for her on the tablet, she'll help find me.

[That part will be simple enough, if a little painful.

She already joked about subdermal trackers with Saul, now it's time to actually impliment it.]

[Ellie's not sure how she's going to explain that to Tess, but surely a woman who went from a normal, relatively peaceful life to a post-apocalyptic world full of monsters could swallow that. Benefit of the doubt.]

What do you think is going to happen?

[She knows about preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, but this is heavy.]

[How does she answer that?]

I don't know.

[It's painfully honest, because she can spin theories and make guesses but until she has more evidence, there's not much she can do.

And the theories that she's forming aren't ones she wants to share with Ellie, not when it'll just worry her.]

People are probably gonna keep leaving, but I don't think they're gonna be hurt, okay? It's too complicated for that, so we've just gotta figure out where they are and get 'em back. But if anything tries to make me leave, I'll make sure you can find me again, with Barbara's help.

[Honesty is something Ellie likes, even if it's not exactly comforting. She nods.]

Okay.

[It's something, at least. She doesn't know what she and Tess are going to do, but she doubts they're just going to sit around the apartment and hope Joel comes back.]

I'll check in with you soon, alright?

[She starts moving backwards, towards her pack. When she gets back to the apartment she'll see if she can find anything of note in Joel's.]

Yeah.

[If she'd had more forethought, she could stick a tracker on Ellie right now, but she doesn't have any on hand. She'll just have to make sure to keep in contact.]

I'll keep you updated. Stay safe.

[Be careful.]

You too.

[She pulls on her pack, pausing after she opens the door to leave.]

And... thanks.

[It helped, talking to her. Maybe she could bring back some of that calm and reassurance to Tess.

With one last look, she heads out.]

You're welcome.

[She manages something like a smile, even if it's sad and rueful, before Ellie leaves.

There's a lot to do, and she isn't even sure where to start, but she won't stop until she's got Ellie and Joel back.

contact ☣ ❝scorpions are pretty creepy.❞

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