dollpocalypse | The Edge of the Island

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The Edge of the Island | Sunday Evening

The world hadn't ended. The world was okay and there were people hugging and crying, but the lights were still off in the room across the hall from his, which meant that Topher had only one place to check.

He didn't run, though it was a near thing, and that was mainly because his legs still felt a little shaky after having flown around a freaking mountaintop on a wingless dragon. So he walked, his heart pounding erratically with worry and hope. A nervous habit kicked in, and as he stepped into view of the very tip of the island, Topher brought one knuckle up into his mouth to chew on uncertainly.

Please let him be there, please let him be there...

[[For guess who.]]

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"Try not to make comments about people based on their color next time," Tony advised. "You wouldn't call Rhodey 'Brown' would you?"

THE ANSWER HERE IS NO, TOPHER. JUST AS AN FYI.

"Of course not!" THAT WAS A WHOLE DIFFERENT THING, TONY. "But I didn't remember his name and he is blue and people usually aren't and Billy already gave me the speech, okay?"

He looked uncertain. Tony hadn't existed for like ninety-one hours and now he did and Topher really didn't want Tony to be pissed off at him...

Tony shot him a look out of the corner of his eye to confirm this was indeed the case. "Okay, as long as you know not to do it again. Apparently there are people like that, or will be, where I'm from too."

And he'd like to say it wouldn't be as bad as Bobby and Warren's worlds, but... he knew better.

Topher nodded. "Yeah, Billy said you guys all come from around the same place," he recalled. Moving right along! "Anyway, that was one of the times Karla punched me. Then there was also this whole other thing when she was being a jerk and I was like, 'well, one time I slept on Warren,' and she hit me."

OBVIOUSLY KARLA WAS WELL-ADJUSTED AND HAD TOTALLY COME TO TERMS WITH THEIR BREAKUP, RIGHT?

Tony stopped texting enough to facepalm. "Don't tell girls you slept with their boyfriends. Ex-boyfriends. Whatever."

"It wasn't like when you and I slept together," Topher clarified. SO MANY PROBLEMS WITH THAT SENTENCE. "It was just, you know, on the couch in your lab the other night!"

HE WASN'T TOUCHING THAT. "...did she know that's what you meant?"

Topher pondered that.

"...there is a chance that she did not."

Tony gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Just don't tell people stuff like that. Especially not Karla."

"Anyway, I think her problem was more with the fact that Warren, you know, did the disappearing thing too." Quickly, Topher clarified, "Which I did not know at the time!"

Edited 2011-12-11 22:43 (UTC)

"Just avoid her if you can, okay?" It was the safest response for Topher.

"Yeaaaaah, I'd really rather not get poisoned anytime soon, so."

A beat.

"But she also, um, sort of saved my life a little bit," Topher added.

ADDRESS WHICHEVER PART YOU WANTED, TONY.

Edited 2011-12-11 22:49 (UTC)

"...What?" HE ADDRESSED THEM BOTH. AT ONCE.

"Well, see, there were these weird, like, accountant people--" the word was 'Auditor,' Topher, "--and they wanted to know why my hair stood straight up and kept chasing me, so Karla sort of rescued me. True story."

"And tried to poison you?" Wait, hadn't Topher mentioned that before? "That wasn't a joke?"

A beat.

"How does your hair stay up?"

"It just does, okay!?"

Sculpting spray. Don't ask.

"But, um, yeah, sort of? I mean, I don't think she was, like, trying, you know, at the time. But she was telling me how she could. Like, if she wanted."

HUH. THAT SOUNDED FAIRLY TERRIFYING IN RETROSPECT.

Tony stared for a moment. Then stared a little more. Because this earned it.

"You know that's not okay, right?" TOPHER, IF YOU DIDN'T, SOMETHING WAS VERY WRONG IN YOUR WORLD.

"...um?"

LOOK, TOPHER JUST WANTED TO GO BACK TO THE PART WHERE TONY PRAISED HIM FOR SAVING THE WORLD. THAT PART WAS NICE.

"I mean. She was, like, mad at me. 'Cause -- okay, you won't tell anyone I told you this, right?"

Biting his lip for a moment, Tony nodded in acknowledgement. Because now he was both curious and concerned what it was about.

"So, um, remember how we first met? Like, with Ender's files?" HE PROBABLY DID, TOPHER, YES. SOME OF THOSE VIRUSES HAD BEEN BUILT TO LAST.

You know. Not, say, Technovore-quality, but.

"Um, I sort of... accidentally mentioned it to her. By accident." That was what 'accidentally' meant, yes. "And she freaked and went all, 'Oh, I'm magic, I can read all your thoughts and fears, and BTW there's poison in my finger that can kill you if you ever do it again.'"

That was... kind of a scary-good impression of her voice. Fear it.

Looking away, Tony clenched his jaw to keep from speaking before he had time to sort out what he was thinking. "Did she now?"

"Don't tell Peter?" Topher ~~pleaded~~ asked hopefully. "I just -- like, Karla was blaming him, and I didn't want her to say anything because I really shouldn't have brought it up in the first place and he'd probably be mad, so I told her he didn't have anything to do with it, and I just don't want him to be in trouble, okay?"

BREATHE, TOPHER.

"I won't get Peter in trouble," Tony promised. "You just--don't go poking there, okay? It's Ender's life and he's really private."

Said the guy who watched all the same things Peter and Topher had.

"No, no, I know," Topher agreed quickly. "This was, like, in August, remember? And I didn't even know Ender then, so it wasn't even Karla's business 'cause it's about that whole different Ender who's Peter's from home..."

LOOK MORE TERRIFIED, TOPHER. TRY.

"If it happens again, find me, okay?" So he can be all white knight like all the people who put on silly costumes to fight crime. It was a thing.

The Edge of the Island | Sunday Evening

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NFB

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