[open] Seeing Red

[justlittle]

WHO: Bean and anyone
WHERE: a Heropa beach
WHEN: late afternoon/evening of August 1st
WHAT: Bean returns from a monumental canon update port-out, and immediately gets struck with Red Kryptonite
WARNINGS: discussions of: war, kidnapping, attempted child murder, actual adult murder, genetic experimentation on embryos, inevitable and untimely death

This isn't Bean's first time returning to his universe. Only last time, he was there for a year and a half before the Porter pulled him back, only a day later in Porter-Earth time. This time, he was gone for several days, but back home for less than forty eight hours.

It was quite an eventful forty eight hours, though. Achilles' contacts within the Thai military had attempted to execute his kill order. Bean and Suriyawong were only saved by Bean's preternatural intuition. And then he'd retreated to the barracks of his strike force and sent out a desperate message to—

To the woman who had saved him from dying on the streets of Rotterdam, the first time Achilles meant to kill him. To the woman who had abandoned everything to go into hiding with him the second time Achilles tried to kill him. Third time's a charm, Bean thinks glumly. Sure, Sister Carlotta hadn't been Achilles' initial target, but he wanted her dead just as much as Bean. She'd seen him when he was weak, and thus, by Achilles' logic, she couldn't be allowed to live.

Bean has a lot of grieving to do, not only for Sister Carlotta, but for himself. Because the email she'd left him to read after her death spelled out a death sentence for him too. Sure, he had years more left to live, but not many.

He catches a ride from Cape Canaveral to Heropa, but rather than go straight back to his home in Jeopardy, or to his office at H.O.P.E., Bean takes a detour, walking in a daze down street after street, subconscious mind passively stopping him from walking into danger, but conscious mind too downtrodden to plan out a route to anywhere in particular. His feet lead him to the beach where he and Midnighter had gone swimming, back on Father's Day. It's less crowded now, late in the afternoon, so Bean just discards his shoes and walks straight into the shallow water. He doesn't even need to roll up his pants; they're already too short. Now he knows why.

Something catches his attention in the water, yanks his distracted mind forcefully out of his somber thoughts. A rock, red and shiny, being tossed back and forth by the waves. He reaches down to pick it up, examining its depths in the golden light of the sun. Slowly, the more he holds it, the more he can feel his heavy heart lightening. Too wrung out to question the sudden change in mood, he decides to keep the red stone in his pocket for safe keeping.


+++ Light Mood +++

Bean can be found splashing around in the surf long into sunset, skipping stones, and poking around the jetty to try to catch crabs. You know, all the things one might expect a normal, happy ten year old to do. He might send texts to his friends, telling them he's back and inviting them to come play with him on the beach!


- - - Dark Mood - - -

As the sun sets for real over the city of Heropa, Bean finds his happy mood slipping away. Soon enough he's curled up in a ball on the sand, crying alone in the dark, his tiny body letting out months of stored up tears in one big burst. The messages he sends now are desperate pleas for help. Come save him from his well of despair!

Comments

Light

[hatejakku]

Finn had known that Bean ported out, but he desperately tried to not think about it. Needless to say, when he got a text in, he was very much relieved. Bean even sounded like he was a good mood, so of course, Finn followed his direction without question.

He didn't really know what to expect when he arrived, but not... exactly this. He'd never seen Bean this happy before. "Hey!" he greets, his own smile widening. Maybe home had treated Bean well. "Everything okay? I got your text."

[justlittle]

When he hears Finn call out to him, Bean stands from where he was crouched in the shallow water. "Finn!" He runs over, wrapping his arms around Finn's middle in a hug.

"Thank you for coming! Today's too good to spend it alone, don't you think?"

[hatejakku]

... What the hell?

Finn pats him on the shoulder, too confused to return the hug fully. Are they being watched? By who? Didn't Bean just get back? He had ported out, right?

A million thoughts like those run through his mind, so he has to pause before answering again. "I- Yeah. Yeah! It's a really nice day out today. Great day." Still smooth as ever. "What were you doing out here?"

[justlittle]

Bean pulls back from the hug, not registering Finn's confusion, and grabs Finn by the hand to tug him down the beach towards the edge of the water.

"I just ported back in. I was pretty sad because of stuff that happened back in my world, and I didn't want to go home, so I came here. And I found this pretty red crystal that just made everything better!" He pulls the red stone out of his pocket and shows it to Finn. "See?"

if you want me to change this to before finn knows about them, lmk!

[hatejakku]

Finn gawked at the crystal for a beat, everything suddenly becoming clear. "No! No, no, no, um-" He couldn't take it! If he touched it, he'd just be infected again. That was a pretty horrible 24 hours, thanks.

"It- It's bad. Throw it away. Bury it. It'll make you feel weird. I saw these before."

That said, he is kind of happy to see Bean so jovial after what was apparently a bad trip home. But the mood shifts were rapid and violent. The good mood wouldn't stay, anyway.

no, that's cool!

[justlittle]

Bean shakes his head and laughs. Finn is acting weird all of a sudden, and it's silly. "I don't feel weird! I feel great! Much better than when I was feeling before I picked it up."

Logically, he knows that his mood is being altered. But really, he doesn't care. He's too tired to fight it.

[hatejakku]

His shoulders slump, starting to feel pretty bad about this whole situation. Whatever happened back in Bean's home wasn't good.

"I know," he answered gently, "but that won't last. These things have been causing mood shifts. It'll make you feel worse soon."

dark

[prayercycles]

At the very least, Bean’s timing was lucky; Fortunato is in Heropa late for a church event, and upon getting Bean’s text, it’s not a terribly long walk to the beach.

That said, Fortunato treads nervously, and not just because he’s only navigating with partial vision in one eye (the text had to be read aloud to him). What could get Bean so devastated as to send a message like that? He seems in control of his feelings, much of the time.

But Fortunato feels some responsibility to him. When he arrives, he glances around to the best of his ability and picks out Bean without much problem, a rare child among the few people on the beach.

“Bean.”

[justlittle]

Bean doesn't notice the other boy's approach at first, too numbed by his long crying spell to notice much of the outside world. The tide is coming in, and the waves are beginning to nip at his feet, but he doesn't care.

He pushes himself into a sitting position, wiping his face and sniffling.

"Ho, Fortunato."

[prayercycles]

Clearly something's happened. Fortunato was aware Bean had ported out, but at this point cannot let himself dwell on those things too deeply, especially considering how many people come back quickly- and it seems his choice was warranted in this case.

But he's also well aware that port-outs can have lasting consequences. He experienced it personally, after all. He's not thinking of these strange meteor showers when he sees Bean's state- he's thinking of that.

"...What happened?" He asks, somewhat reluctantly. Whatever the answer is, he knows he won't like it.

[justlittle]

'What happened' is such a simple question and yet the answer is so huge that Bean isn't sure how to put it into simple words for a reply. What happened? What happened is that Achilles tried to kill him again, and failed, but then succeeded in killing Sister Carlotta. What happened is that it doesn't matter whether Achilles kills Bean, as he's going to die young anyway.

"I went home," he says in the end. "And I got some really bad news."

[prayercycles]

Bad news, at least, does not imply Bean’s death. For Fortunato- a fatalist- that is, in some ways, a good thing. But Bean is still deeply affected by whatever he’s learned, and Fortunato frowns sympathetically.

“I am sorry.”

He looks away, out into the water. “You...do not have to explain, if you do not want to.”

[justlittle]

He doesn't want to. Not particularly. But... It hurts too much to keep all of it to himself. So he thinks he can let at least a little bit out to someone like Fortunato.

Quietly, he begins. "I'm not like other kids. I was born in a lab, after a scientist performed illegal experiments on my embryo. I knew that, before. But now I know what exactly he did to me, and what that means for my future."

dark

[knaval]

Oh, Bean. Poor, sweet Bean. Riptide found himself mildly confused over the text he got, one so miserable. He was planning on just replying and leaving it-- but then they get steadily worse and he sighs heavily, deciding that he'd feel pretty shitty if he just left the poor kid wherever he is. Maybe he needs a lift...?

Hands in his hoodie pockets, Riptide saunters over when he sees what he assumes is Bean. Not bothering with his natural form for this one. He sits on the sand next to him.

"The mortifying ordeal of being known, huh? I get that."

Re: dark

[justlittle]

Kuso. Here Bean is, crying like an idiot, and some stranger he doesn't recognize comes up to him looking like a little kid who skinned his knee. Even though the grief Bean is mourning is much greater than a skinned knee.

He looks up at the strange man, no recognition in his features, until the man speaks. That accent...

"--Riptide?"

[knaval]

"In the disgusting greasy flesh!" He says, shooting Bean a grin. "You gonna tell me what's wrong? I got a hell of a text chain from you."

[justlittle]

Bean isn't even going to ask how that's possible. He's just going to assume it's something the Porter has done.

He looks back down at the sand and sniffles. "I ruined everything. I got the one woman in the world who cared about me killed. It's all my fault."

[knaval]

"Yeah?" he asks, genuinely interested. "How'd that happen?"

[justlittle]

"My enemy," he starts, trying to think of how to explain Achilles to someone uninvolved. "We were both hiding from him... He tried to kill me. I got scared, so I called for her to come to where I was. She came out of hiding and got on the next flight, and... and... He shot her plane down."

In the end, Achilles got what he wanted. Again.

dark

[bookkeeper]

Receiving the message and being nearby already, it all works out for Nate heading in that direction. He isn't exactly sure where the kid is but he's sure he can find him if he moves closer to where the water meets the shore, walk along it. Sand might be getting into his shoes as he treks across the beach but that matters little.

All that matters is finding Bean.

"Hey," he speaks up, finally and slowly approaching the small figure curled up. He'd had to use the flashlight on his phone to help him along, even with the sun setting low behind the horizon. Nate won't ask if he's okay, that would be stupid, and it's obvious that Bean isn't. "Want some company?"

[justlittle]

Even with all the increasingly desperate messages Bean sent out, he half doesn't expect anyone to actually show. What do they care? Who is he to them but some annoying kid on the Nets? So when Nathan comes walking across the sand, Bean is taken by surprise. He opens his mouth to answer the question, to say something big and tough to show Nate that he's fine.

But he isn't fine. And he certainly isn't feeling big and tough right now. So he closes his mouth again, and just nods. A long moment of silence passes between them, then Bean finally speaks.

"The nuns, at your orphanage. Did they take good care of you?"

[bookkeeper]

In that moment of silence, Nate drops down to sit in the sand next to him, keeping a bit of space there in case Bean isn't comfortable with having anyone get into his personal bubble. He remembers what it was like at that age, being alone most of the time, abandoned, orphaned. Not quite close yet with the older man who'd taken him in and acted like a better father figure than his own dad could've ever.

When Bean speaks up, he glances over. His heel nudges at the sand for a moment as he thinks back to the Saint Francis Boys' Home he'd been put up in. "They tried. I guess I never exactly made it easy for them. It was Father Duffy who cared more than anything."

[justlittle]

Bean listens, still not looking towards Nate. He keeps his eyes trained on the water, on the way the little sunlight that's left sparkles on the waves.

"Sister Carlotta was that to me. She saved me from the streets. Gave me an education. Sent me off-Earth. Went into hiding with me, after Achilles tried to kill my family." And then immediately came running when Bean called for her, stupidly.

If Nate looks over to Bean, he'll notice the tear tracks running down his cheeks, sparkling like the light off the waves.

[bookkeeper]

He does in fact look over. It's after the mention of his family. Nate's quiet. This kid had had a poor upbringing made better by a single nun. One who believed in him, who cared enough to go to the ends of the earth for him.

Often Nate does wonder how things might've been had he not left Father Duffy behind, going off with his brother instead. He's thought about returning to Boston and visiting him and Saint Francis. Unfortunately everything that's gone on in life has taken him in the opposite direction.

"You miss her. A lot."

[justlittle]

He doesn't nod. Nate's statement was correct, but Bean doesn't show any affirmation.

"I got her killed." The words escape his mouth, pained and choking on tears. He's silent after those four words, just sobbing into his arms crossed above his knees.