and Warren Tanner
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@vantas
Warren wondered if Carter would recognize him as compared to how he looked. He was fully aware he looked different from the appearance he had when fused with Michael. Interestingly, he had learned that the way the fusion worked was how he was imagined by the mind of the child.
He imagined that wobbling was going to be something that was going to be a recurring theme. He could have smelled the puke, but he was going to pretend that he didn't for the sake of Carter's sanity and dignity. He also honestly didn't care and waited to see if he had a million questions for him, but he imagined that he had only one and that was entirely fine with him tooo.
Warren looked over at him and was about to repeat what he said, but he noticed that Carter had stopped mid-sentence and he wanted to confirm what he was going to ask.
He raced through the million possible different questions that he could be asked and had came up with the definition for most of them and knowing that they were going to be simple for him to explain and even simpler to be honest about.
Well, mostly honest about. He didn't know anything about Myst or for that matter, what even happened when he was in the teen's body. The only thing he could honestly remember was two letters. SI and he had no clue what it meant.
He had ideas on what it could mean and that was about it. He rubbed his hand on the back of his head, happy that his anger had been calmed down and he wasn't currently trying to beat up a judge. ( Thank god, he didn't look like the other form and only shared a name at this point with it).
Out of all the possible questions he could have been asked, that was not the first one he had expected, but it was the easiest to answer
. " Heat signature. I tracked you by your heat signature. I can detect everyone's unique heat signature and am able to identify people that way, mostly because it is easy to find as each person has a unique one. Heat signature that is." he said, rubbing his foot on the ground. He knew Carter probably wasn't bi, but it was awkward to talk to such a good looking guy without screwing up. Warren cursed himself under his breath for saying heat signature so much.
Through slit eyelids, Carter looked the man up and down, wondering if this was the man he was looking for. The appearance looks the same but there's something different. Mellow, slightly looser in movement, embarrassed? Goddamnit, the stall's lighting isn't exactly the best place to analyze someone. As Warren answered his initial question, he rubbed his temples once more and exhaling.
"Of course." he thought, "Powers. He had to be a meta."
He saw him slowly word something out as he exhaled as the person who found him tensed up slightly. Carter wasn't that oblivious but then again, he wasn't that cocky either. The photographer let it slide.
"That would make sense." he replied after he was sure his vomit won't gurgle up to his esophagus as the medicine circulated through him.
"Thanks for the pill by the way. Mind if we go somewhere..." he raised his eyebrows and glanced at the claustrophobic stall, "
more flattering?"
Warren wondered if he would recognize him. It wasn't like he was too much different from the other guy, but it wasn't the same either. But it couldn't be the same at all. If it was the same, then he still would have been fused with the kid. If that was true, it also meant that things weren't better. He took a deep breath as he noticed him rub his temples and wondered if he was like the others. The ones who hated him for who he was. It wasn't like those things that were in control though.
He took a few shallow breaths and wondered if he had made things better or worse.
" Yeah, it's kind of simple though. It also helps that I'm not just the flame guy. Sorry that I couldn't get you some stronger meds, but the cheap corner store only had the generic brand and those fancy name brands. It's my pleasure to help someone who is need. I'm not sure if we are going to find a place more flattering than a stall, but we could go back to my apartment, I knew I wasn't stupid for putting down way too much rent that could last for years when I moved in."
"Say no more." Carter conceded. "
You were the one with enough cognitive capacity to buy medicine despite not being drunk off your ass. No need to apologize." He had to hand it to him though. He was the one who was helping him, he didn't have the right to be mad. A small seed of unease still compelled him to not get too close, episodes of close experiences with people like
him. Carter wondered if this case was akin to racism. Of discrimination not to color but of powers. He prided himself for having a very open mind but....
It's hard to trust someone after.
Carter applied his poker face once more once he realized he has drudged too far in his thoughts. He realized he haven't been paying attention to what he has said, though he assumed he offered a place to go. The man took a look at him and realized he's far too tense. Carter, by experience, learned that it's hard to gather information to someone with a state similar to his unless he was threatened or coerced. And Carter, by experience, learned that physical confrontations aren't his strong suit. Judging by how he seems very open for discussion so far, he assumed the information must be useful but not enough to go around. He was fused with another entity which meant he would either retain memory or know little.
Carter banked on the fact that if this person knew more than what he had hoped, then it would mean the information would be sensitive and dangerous. Didn't quite fit the bill since he was the one who stepped up first. The photographer would've guessed a little more challenge if there is. But, if he pushed his luck, he'd guess it wouldn't take more than just a few questions, eliminating any need to go to somewhere elaborate.
"Just outside of the stall is good, pal." Carter answered, "Or maybe around the curb if you're not feeling up to taking nauseous puke scent for the rest of this conversation."
He first had to break the ice before he could fully get the answers he wanted. "
It's uh,
Warren right?" Carter smiled crookedly, holding up his hand for him to shake. "
I'm Carter."
Warren wanted to say a lot more. He wanted to apologize for what happened in the bar when he was in Mike's body. He wanted to be clean, but most of all, he wanted the truth to what had happened to him and why the other man who had existed in them had killed the other sister. He wanted answers. "
I'm sorry, I'm so used to apologizing for things that I did that it became a force of habit. I have broken a few things both as myself and in Mike's body, that I feel the need to apologize. Probably isn't the best thing to feel guilty about things that are out of my control, but I am."
It's hard to not hate himself sometimes.
He saw him apply his best poker fake and wondered what he was trying, but he wasn't about to open that can of worms. Everybody had their own problems to deal with and if he opened things up, he could make things much worse. He noticed that he was tensing up, but it wasn't like he could alleviate himself of the stress that he cared every day of his life, he wished he could remember more, but there were gaps and other things. Something that had bugged him was that even if they had murdered them, what was the point of the robbery? Was it a diversion or was there a bigger picture that he was missing altogether. He understood from his limited memory that this was a recreation of old collateral cases, but there wasn't much else he could tell.
There were other things that Warren wished he could forget that had nothing to do with the cases or the murder though. Memories of a lab, of a needle being injected into his arm, memories of wanting more of the needles, memories of still feeling dependent on whatever had been in there. Memories of two younger kids in a trick with him. There was something weird about that particular memory, the fact that there were two kids when the other form had been an adult.
" Outside of the stall sound like a good place. I don't mind the puke smell, I have dealt with burning buildings amongst other things. A little puke isn't going to repel me away from this."
Warren had forgotten that his name had been named. " Yeah, Warren Tanner is the name, " he said, smiling back and taking his hand to shake it though. " It's nice to meet you Carter," he replied.
After shaking hands, everything else was natural and fluid. Carter allowed himself to ease, trying to make Warren follow his lead. His cold stance remained but his eyes grew warm. He stepped out tapping Warren in the shoulder in the process before turning back at the man, glad that he's away from his own reminder of his night. "I know you're better off doing something else instead of entertaining me so I'm gonna go keep this short and sweet." Carter licked his lips, before asking one smooth question. "I know it's not much but tell me everything you know about Mystification." Carter put his hand on his pocket and clicked the recorder shortcut key on his phone.
It was great that things had become better after they had shook hands. He noticed that Carter's stance was still cold, but his eyes were still warm. It was nice to see someone not being a cold and unfeeling monster. He didn't mind the tap on the shoulder and took a deep breath as he approached the curve with him though. He didn't mind when things were kept short and sweet, it made things a lot easier to answer.
" You are right that it's not much though. I know that I was forced out of forms when the other older form met her. I know it's a her and I can't-." He had a quick flashes of needles and children. " remember much else. I want to say she's a meta though, there was this thing she did when I forced my way through once in a talk and there was something- pardon the pun-mystifying about it that made me forget whatever I saw."
Carter analyzed what Warren has said, racking through different abilities and powers as if it was second nature to him now. "Mystification. Ability to wipe out memories as well? Would tie to her alias." he thought, "But that wouldn't explain the electromagnetic interferences that made her appear on all our screens. Maybe illusions via the mind? Thought manipulation?" He kept one theory to himself however that also involved being the CEO of Apple, but that was a different story.
"Thought manipulation seems valid. Memory wiping, explanation of her appearing on screens, potential mind control. Ties up but doesn't add up" Carter inwardly winced. "Dangerous." Carter eased on his right foot as he nodded at his answer. "Were you ever aware of what you were doing last night? Like maybe glimpses? Were you forced to do so or maybe compelled?"
Warren looked over at him and wondered if he was piecing abilities or possibilites through his mind. He was wondering what was happening between the conversations. He had wondered what had happened to him that made him not trust anyone. What was the thing that had made him not want to trust any meta-human ever? What was his turning point? He didn't dare to say these words a lot though because he didn't want to upset the man who was interviewing him. He could only answer his questions to the best of his ability.
" I can lie and say that I remember everything, but that would be just that a lie. Let me be canid to you, I can't remember much of my time fused with Michael. All of it is flashes of the life I lived through him and that person isn't me. He's a version of how he viewed me I believe. It's why I look-" He gestured to his form. " So different. All I see is flashes of both the life I lived before Michael and life as a part of Michael. I know who I was and who I might become, but nothing more and nothing less."
Carter looked at him square in the eye with a bemused tint in his glean, then he eyed Warren up. It fascinated and scared him at the same time on how was it possible for a body to change explicitly from the perspective of one person alone when fused. He made a mental note to brush up on his ability lore when he's free. Squashing any other instinctive urge to ask him what was it like and the machinations that allowed it, Carter decided it would be best to keep the interview Myst-centered.
"Alright, I can see where you're coming from."Carter judged his words, knowing full well he might get burnt with the fire he was playing with. "So you had no say on the matter while in that form? You have no recollection of doing anything, just being there?"
"If this may be the case then it must've meant that Warren was innocent when he was forced to fuse. Maybe even controlled." Carter thought. "Then maybe in that form, him and Michael were being controlled by Myst which can explain how it reenacted the case so perfectly."
He had to gather some info on Michael for his theory to concrete, however.
Warren wondered why he couldn't keep a straight face around nice guys, but he didn't know what else to say. It was so weird to be back in his real body and in to look so different from how the world viewed him and how different he was. His ID in his pocket was strangely right, though the picture was old and faded. He wondered in what ways he would remain damaged and what ways he had changed. It was one thing to pretend to understand what had happened and another to answer the questions of the interviewer even vaguely.
Warren wondered why he couldn't keep a straight face around nice guys, but he didn't know what else to say. It was so weird to be back in his real body and in to look so different from how the world viewed him and how different he was. His ID in his pocket was strangely right, though the picture was old and faded. He wondered in what ways he would remain damaged and what ways he had changed. It was one thing to pretend to understand what had happened and another to answer the questions of the interviewer even vaguely.
" I'm being completely honest on the matter too. I wish I could be more helpful," He paused and gave some thought about. " It was.... at times where I have control as Warren, but when it came to everything that made me, it wasn't my personality or even my mind. It was a warped version of it. Let me put it out this way. I think without even knowing it, Michael projected an image of what he thought I was and sometimes it would take control and I was there- but I wasn't. It's like I was there, but I do know one thing. The third form remembered more and was pushed aside more. I feel like if he stayed in that form, he would have known everything sooner... but I also feel like he had more control then I ever did."
Suspicion bloomed within him. Carter may not have found the exact informant to dig information about Myst, but he did open up a clue. He absentmindedly tapped his pocket, hoping that the voice recorder was picking up everything despite the white noise of both the noodle shop and the bustling roads.
"This third form would be more useful than I originally thought." he monologued mentally.
"Okay." Carter said as he took the information in. The intel he's been receiving heavily points to mind control but he knows that there must be a twist in the branch somewhere. He wouldn't put it against himself nor Myst if this was the case. She's a smart bastard.
Carter wondered whether he should take notes if ever decides to go crooked.
"Was there any implication that, at the very least, you knew what was happening or did it all seem normal to you?" Carter questioned. He wanted to see how deep this fusion rooted his mental capacity. "Was there ever any suspicion that this wasn't normal, like being lucid in a dream?"
Warren ran his hand through his hair as he looked over at him. He took a deep breath and wished he could tell him more about Myst. All he could remember was the needles as of right now and just like that... a flash. A whisper.
' I need to make things better for my boy, I hope you understand Warren, I have nothing against you, but it has to be this way. They have to see how broken this world is. I know by the time you remember this, it will be when you talk about me, let that Carter kid know that if he wants to learn more... well, he isn't getting it from you... and oh to watch his back. Snitches and reporters get stitches'. A shiver went down his spine and he looked over at him and he took a deep breath.
He wasn't sure if he should tell Carter, but he felt it was good to know that he had remembered something.
" It seemed normal to me as long as I never saw my reflection, but at times, it felt less than normal and there were times I wasn't sure if I was really me. But that's not important. I remember something that she told me in my form at least. She is doing this for her son and she doesn't seem to hate heroes.... I think she wants to break the collateral system or show its flaws. I can't tell you more. Actually her exact word were " Let that Carter kid know that if wants to learn more... well, he isn't getting from you, and to watch his back. And then a play on snitches get stitches."
"Break the collateral system." Carter muttered. Pinpricks of anger began to worm under his skin but he kept his cool facade. The collateral system was placed in order to stop metas and 'superheroes' from doing any more damage than they should. The young photographer wasn't one for judicial and legislative works but he knew, even if he hated being controlled, that checks and balances are always needed.
If it wasn't for that system, his grandmother would never have survived. Fractured spine and loss of two limbs and him and his family have to pay for medical expenses for the shit that these alleged heroes do? Not to mention the others. And.
Carter began to smirk, snarky cynical sarcasm downplaying rage as a calming mechanism.
"Watch my back. She can go kiss my ass and call me Queefus." For him, it may be bullshit but there had to be a motive.
"Doing this for her son. Maybe he died because the metas were too pussy to save him due to the collateral law." he simpered, but he didn't reserve pity.
"What a way to advocate something. Next time when I advocate pacifism, I'll go kill my neighbor." His words stung but his outward disposition never changed from his calm and collected pose.
"Tell me anything relevant information you know besides the things you've said before." Carter casually told Warren, being careful that his anger towards the Mystic Bitch doesn't branch.
Warren took a deep breath and tried to not lose it. When he knew that things were going to get worse, he also knew that he felt a prick.... and then another. Mystification. ... Myst... God, it was mind control, but it was something else that bugged him. How did she know he would be talking to Carter now? And that had been a whisper, but had the whisper been a memory or had it been... had it been a projection of her thoughts into him and through him.
' So many questions for such a smart man. I would think you had everything figured out by now. Mystification is short for Myst and when one is mystified, one's mind is not its own. I'm sure that you will love it if I do things as you, but I won't. I won't, my dear though. Just let him know that everyone has a part to play and tell Queefus is doing his just well'
Warren was breathing heavily.
" I think- no, I know that whatever she is doing is still affecting me. I think it's like a ... parasite. Her power lingers and she can still give messages through me... I think she wanted. No- I know she wanted me to be not a part of Michael... because she plans for him to do something. I don't know one... but I also can't believe I'm saying this. But I don't like the idea that she is in my head. Only other relevant thing that seems to be left is that I feel like she isn't working alone. it's just a gut feeling, but I feel like she knows what is coming. Also, apparently everyone has a part to play and she said that you are playing your part just well. Oh and she called you Queefus."
Carter grinned at the realization that Myst was aware that this discussion is taking place. Maybe the reason why she knew about this was that she can somehow read his thoughts as well by area of effect. Would her plans change if Carter jumped off a cliff while singing Jesus Is My Best Friend? Carter tried to think about that hard to throw the parasite off a loop but by now, she probably would've known if that were the case. The photographer smirked. "You forgot to kiss my ass." he projected with his mind. Just in case.
Mass mind control, thought manipulation and projection.
Seems to fit the bill well. Mystification.
Carter was more worried by the fact that Myst has the potential to tell Eloise about this and spawn another nickname hell with his face plastered al over it. He thought about "You forgot to kiss my ass." harder.
"Thanks for answering well," he simply said.
"If I was in your shoes, I wouldn't be too comfy to answer some questions from a random guy you've only met last night through a nigh drunken haze of Steven Universe bullshit so I appreciate it."
Warren was not doing well on the end and couldn't really know what was happening. It would seem that she had forgotten the other thing... or so it would seem. As a gift to Carter, she let an ant climb up him and kiss him on the rear. She knew that she couldn't manipulate the man to do it.
' Tell, Queefus that the ant friend was from him. I would rather not want to do it with you ' Warren hated being a messenger but it was all that was left for him now it would seem. He was relaying a message between two powerful beings, one human and one annoying.
Mystification was in the name of the game. Mass mind control, thought manipulation and projection.
There was only thing left for Myst to do. She text the villainess with the nickname Queefus.
Warren looked over as he felt her leave.
" I think she is gone for now, but I don't know if that mean she can do it over great distance or if it just means that she is out of range. Thought, I am leaning towards the later though."
He took a deep breath.
" Listen, it is not the first time I ask interview questions, but I like helping how I can. I try to not break things when I save lives and I don't let people get hurt, no matter how horrible they are or how much they hate me. Now all there is to do is remember the rest of my past."
As Carter felt the ant pinch his ass, he didn't need Warren's confirmation to know that this was Myst's doing. His face never winced nor betrayed any sign of pain as he smiled and raised his middle finger to the sky.
It could've been worse.
He could've said she could kiss the place where the sun doesn't shine.
Carter swears to god if Eloise calls him Queefus the next time they meet.
"Gone for now?" Carter pondered.
"There is a time when she can eavesdrop and when she can't." The man realized. "Does this mean it's only possible when the person was originally controlled at first?"
He kept this in mind, as his expectations for Myst was slowly being grounded by reality. It wasn't much and it wasn't less but it is equally deadly. Carter couldn't help but smile at the thought of a magnanimous powerful figure such as herself can drop low and be childish.
He didn't like that. This humanized her, and Carter needed all the conviction he can get in regards to her. She'll rue the day she made an innocent ant peck Carter goddamn Quimora in the rear.
"For what it's worth, even though you don't know much, this was very informative. We finally have a base to work with and I have a clue on what Myst can be." Carter conceded. Warren should be thankful Myst was gone from his head, or else Carter would've told him to relay her a streaming fit of expletives that can make a sailor piss his britches, and he figured he wouldn't like that one bit.
"Good luck on your endeavors, Warren. I wish the best for you."
Warren looked over at Carter and saw him raise his middle finger to the sky and he didn't even to ask. He knew that Myst had done something to make him curse him out and he assumed that it had something to do with what he said earlier.
What exactly had he said though?
It had something to do with kissing a certain area, but the place was escaping him.
He tried to push the dark thought away from what had happened to him though.
Warren paused to think abut it. Was she gone just for now or was she gone for good? He honestly couldn't tell and that made him feel uneasy about everything that had just happened and finally decided to reply to Carter with an honest answer, though he was sure it was not the answer he had expected to hear." I'm not sure if she is gone for good or only just for now. If I could tell you which it is someday, I hope that it will be good. news and not me being controlled by her. Maybe I should leave the city."
He considered the option for now, but decided to push it away as he didn't want to make things any worse for himself. He knew that things couldn't get much worse after all then how it was going to be after all.
" I am happy that I can help in any way that I can," he said, as his phone rang with two texts. One for Wildfire and one for Warren, the mortal form.
" It seems that some sort of thing is going down in the park at noon and the infamous Phantom Writer wants to meet the people at the bar for a talk in the museum," he said, as he heard Carter's phone ring. If Carter were to check, his phone would have the exact same two messages on them. Who was to know when they had been gotten? " I'm heading to the park, being compromised and all. I think heading to the museum might be good, Myst might send a spy there."