@lazarus | video

[benhargreeves]

[ The video opens on Ben's face. He is looking particularly grim, filming in one of the rooms in the residential section. No greetings or build-up, he just cuts right to the chase, holding up a tiny device between forefinger and thumb. Visible is a tiny lens, and what looks like a small antennae to transmit. ]

PSA. There are surveillance cameras hidden in the lighting fixtures of the bedrooms. I found a creepy tunnel leading to a creepy lair where some fucking creep has been spying on us. Still trying to figure out who is behind it and what they want, but the feeds only show occupied rooms and no empty ones so it's not a coincidence, unfortunately.

[ Ben turns the frame to face the spot where the small camera had obviously been ripped out of an overhead light. From offscreen he says, voice clipped and angry: ]

Anyway. Wanted you guys to know. Hit me up if you need help ripping the suckers out. I'll post again when I know more.

Comments

[writtendestiny]

[She only gives a small shake of her head to the apology. Don't worry about it, Ben, she wasn't too busy today anyway.

The odd-looking creature that had crawled up onto her shoulder when she was speaking to him on the video is still there, with two tentacles wrapped snugly around her neck and a peculiar, bubbling purr sounding from it.]

That's alright.

[Poison watches him, a small frown crossing her face, and she lifts her hand to distractedly fuss at her pet.]

Is Peter okay?

[benhargreeves]

[ Ben eyes the odd critter curiously; sometimes Ben can be jumpy and anxious around small animals, but this one is odd enough that it isn't an issue at all. He's too busy staring at it and trying to reconcile the parts of it that seem similar to a cat and the whole fuzzy tentacle situation.

But before he can inquire what it is and where it came from, Poison is asking about Peter, and that is a pickle, isn't it? Ben rubs the back of his neck, stalling for time as he considers. He can't say nothing, which is unfortunate. He isn't going to lie and say Peter's fine. But will he worry Poison, being vague? Giving too many details also feels like a betrayal of Peter's trust. ]

I don't think he's in any danger at the moment.

[ Obviously, the most important thing to establish. He'd done what he could in his own announcement on the network to protect Peter's identity even if he didn't ask for that. As for different definitions of okay: ]

He's... been better.

[ Then, because it only seems fair to Peter, Ben gives a little shrug and adds: ]

We both have.

[ He comes into the room, eyes roaming around for any signs of anything that seems off, that might conceal recording devices of any kind. If only he had powers that helped him with something like this, instead of just making him very good at tearing people limb from limb. ]

[writtendestiny]

... Yeah.

[She doesn't ask further, because she wants to hear that Peter is really okay from Peter, and Peter is a terrible enough liar that she'll be able to see right through him.

So, instead, she makes a small gesture to invite Ben further in. Another cat - an entirely normal-looking black cat with sharp green eyes - watches them from a countertop on the other side of the room.]

That's Bat. [For the sake of conversation, she introduces the cats.] This is Anderson.

[The tentacled creature around her shoulders purrs at the sound of his name.]

If you need help, just tell me what I need to do.

[benhargreeves]

[ Ben is grateful she leaves it at that; he doesn't really want to lie to her but Peter had said he wanted to be the one to tell Poison about the intruder he'd seen on the video. This way, he doesn't have to dodge around any info on why Peter is doing quite so bad.

He makes his way in, glancing down at Bat and then back at Anderson. Ben doesn't mind cats, really. They tend to leave him alone, and that's how he likes it best. But he can't help a flicker of curiosity, and so he asks: ]

What, um. Is Anderson?

[ Maybe he's a species that is familiar where Poison is from? Gosh this parallel worlds / different realities thing can be a real trip sometimes.

As he asks, he makes his way towards a chair, pulling it to the center of the room so he can stand on it and look in the light fixture. He's sure Peter had already gotten the camera and looked for any others, but the whole reason he's here is to double-check. And now that he knows some stranger was in here, he's extra on the lookout for anything else that might have been tampered with. ]

Ummm... can you tell me if anything's been moved or gone missing in here? Like, at any time. Or if anything else that's strange has happened. If you saw or heard anything suspicious?

[writtendestiny]

He's... some kind of hybrid. The Technicians in charge of one of the places I've been made him.

[She gives him a gentle little scritch and he purrs louder, rubbing his head against her cheek. It's hard to tell by sight alone if he's squishy or soft when you touch him, but the answer is 'both'.]

I haven't noticed anything missing. [Anything she has, she's asked about, and it's usually something that Peter's picked up on his way out.]

I hear Peter moving around in here while I'm in bed sometimes, but neither of us sleep regularly.

[benhargreeves]

Can he... understand us?

[ Look he's really willing to believe anything at this point and he just needs to know if he ought to apologize for asking such a rude question. Maybe he is making himself seem like a complete idiot to Poison but that might just be inevitable. Just because the creature is behaving like a house-cat right now doesn't preclude anything.

As for Anderson, Ben watches the way it moves with a kind of shocked fascination. It's really rather unpleasant to look at, he thinks, but perhaps those are just his biases. Poison seems quite attached, and honestly, he doesn't blame her for any comfort she might be getting from an animal friend on this, the shittiest of days. ]

Oh.

[ Fuck. He hopes what she had heard in the room really was Peter. He's going to have to ask Peter. Or she will once Peter tells her about what they saw on the footage. Fuck. Fuck everything about today.

Ben's answer is automatic, distracted: ]

Me neither. We should start a club.

[ He needs to examine the room and get out before he asks the wrong question of blurts something. Certainly, he doesn't want to end up worrying Poison or getting in the way of the tough conversation Peter will be having with her later. So he searches in silence, face intent. Why hadn't he just done this in the first place? How had he let himself forget how much easier, how much simpler everything is he simply keeps his mouth shut? ]