janitorscloset | Day 12 | Nexus and Elsewhere

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Day 12 | Nexus and Elsewhere

Who: Open post!
What: There are a few prompts that can be played with, but, generally speaking, space marines in 21st century Japan.
Where: The nexus … and a portal to Somewhere Completely Different
When: Day 12

What happens when you add together: 1) a dimensional nexus that transcends time and space, and 2) a formerly shattered-to-beyond-oblivion multiverse?

Well …

It’s the twelfth day since the nexus opened its doors. People — whether they’re brightly colored space marines, long dead Freelancers, or assorted others — have been doing as people will do; some minding their own business, others getting all up in whatever, or whoever, they can. No doubt that more than a couple of visitors have figured out how to make the portals work for them, opening up the gateways between universes. However, today … today, there's a slight twist to the tale.

The portals don't lead to the MoI, crashed or otherwise. They don't lead to Chorus, either, or a simulation base. No. Today, the portals allow access to twenty first century Japan — downtown Tokyo, to be specific, in the middle of summer. Bet you weren't expecting that! But wait, it gets better …

I. Prompt 1: Nice Costume, Cosplayer!

They're animanga fans, and they love your armor. They want pictures. They want pictures with you. Can they try on your helmet?

Or maybe you're just, y’know, trying to mind your own business while literally everyone stops and turns to stare. There may be a lecture about when and where cosplay is appropriate waiting in the wings, or maybe it’s just that nobody — nobody — is willing to take you seriously.

II. You Didn’t Do It! … Or Did You?

You were just accused of murder.

Yes, you.

Maybe you did it, maybe you didn't. Maybe you were actually caught red handed, smoking gun and all! Maybe you were in the wrong place at the time — or, hell, is there even a body? Whatever the case may be, you're the prime suspect, and the police (or sassy high school detectives) are never far away.

III. The Lucky Wildcard

If you're not being mistaken for a cosplayer or facing down a charge for murder in the first degree, what are you up to? Whether you're in Japan, back in the nexus, or in any of the newly linked universes; anything goes!

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[ Our wannabe detective sputters indignantly, curled over his — undoubtedly bruised, but certainly not broken, the weenie — hand. The crowd titters all around them, some chiming in that the cop is right, some speculating that maybe the accuser is trying to cover up his own dastardly crime. A couple are whispering loudly about the craftsmanship of her cosplay. Gosh, it must have taken her forever to put that armor together … ]

[ “Wh — b-but … c’mon, man!” ]

[ Cali folds her arms across her chest. ] Stop wasting all of our time. The officer has a call to make, and he can't do it if he's trying to keep idiots like you from flinging around baseless accusations.

[ He's covering for her. He knows as well as she does that she'd have been perfectly capable of pulling it off, so either he genuinely doesn't think she’s the culprit, or … or … Well. Whatever the reason, it makes her stomach jolt with butterflies. ]

[ He skulks back into the crowd, pouting. ]

[He's fairly sure she didn't do it.]

[He's also fairly sure if she DID do it, she wouldn't waste time throwing the guy out the window when the power armor could be used to literally rip the guy's head off and she could have stayed inside.]

This is a murder investigation. If you can't even answer how she threw a guy from a window and got down to the ground floor first, then you're getting nowhere fast. If you want to help, then watch that no one is running off.

[And he's pulling out his phone to actually make the call to the police, scanning the crowd briefly. Then again, Cali knows that's all he needs to do to get all he really needs for faces.]

[ The guy mutters something mutinous, shoulders hunching up. Aww, poor thing, his pride has been wounded. But to his credit, he does make a token effort at crowd control, puffing himself back up importantly the moment any of the onlookers make like they're trying to leave. ]

[ As for Cali … ]

[ She stays right where she is, arms folded, as still as any statue. She tries not to watch him. Tries to ignore the butterflies, and the overwhelming surge of disorientation borne of worlds colliding. There's a body on the ground in the middle of her home city, he is there — he's a cop, he knows her — and Cali is … Well. She's there, too. ]

[ While Wash — Puma? — busies himself with following procedure, she forces herself to look out over the crowd, the crime scene, reviewing the facts. Three suspects that she can think of, cause of death is reasonably obvious (do people really think they can hide a poisoning behind blunt force trauma?), motive is — ahh, a little harder, but she doubts it would take much digging. Maybe they won't even need a high school detective for this one. ]

[After the call is made, he starts procedure, having everyone take seats in the nearby cafe so he could get names, and getting taking pictures of the crime scene. And...taking notes?]

[Or rather, typing on his phone with his back to Cali, letting her seen the screen.]

['Megure and his people are coming. None from Nakamori's division. I'll try to swing it so I interview you. Kaito is going to get someone unknown to come to retrieve your cosplay and give you normal clothes. Pretend you called them. Your age should keep you from being recognized.']

[ Kaito. Kaito. Kaito. ]

[ It's been so long since she last saw her childhood best friend, and the thought of being able to see him again, hug him again, hear him say her name—it knocks the breath out of her. Safely hidden behind the visor, Cali closes her eyes tightly. Breathes. And … fakes a cough, too mixed up to think of a better signal to let him know she understood. ]

[ Take away her armor, though? Ha. Right. Good luck with that. The only one here strong enough to lift it is Puma – and it's Puma, it's definitely Puma, she knows it now, oh god – himself. Then there's that little, itty bitty problem where the technology used is several centuries ahead of what's available now, and … well, he'll know what her problem is. ]

[ What one of her problems is. Still, when a nondescript stranger bounces into the cafe with a backpack of clothes and every intention of ordering themselves the most expensive coffee on the menu, Cali pulls off the act flawlessly. ]

[ Megure, along with Takagi and Satou, arrive within fifteen minutes, sweeping onto the scene and taking control with the brisk professionalism of people who deal with horrible murders every day of their lives. (It's not like it's not true.) They're happy to let their star rookie conduct a share of the interviews, including the cosplay lady's. ]

[He knows. He knows she's going to hate being out of her armor. But the longer she's IN it, the more likely people are going to realize it's not just flimsy pieces of tin. That it's real, it has bulk, that it's got weapons, and things that don't exist. She's going to be uncomfortable, but until they got a handle on this, it's all they got.]

[Which is also why he got Kaito to get someone who COULD lift the damn armor without it being obviously several hundred pounds.]

[So the question becomes if Cali can even recognize Roxy after years, and a few years on the girl because she had shit to figure out with powers, okay. Then again, it might be hard to forget a girl who revived like she was half rainbows and sparkles. She's intercepted by Puma first, coming in with a rather bulky bag, and after a few words, she goes to order a coffee and moves over to Aoko.]

Sup, kittycat, got yer clothes. Lemme help with that costume. [She even offers a knowing wink. She has no idea what's going on, but when she gets a message of Shenangians and she sees UNSC armor, she can make some guesses.]

[As soon as he can, however, Puma moves over to talk to her.] So, as ridiculous as it is, you are currently the 'prime' suspect. If only to put the accusations to rest.

[ What. ]

[ No, seriously, what. ]

[ It takes a while. ]

[ Really, it takes a while, because California hasn't been Aoko in years, and it's been even longer since she was last in Kyriakos. Names and faces have slipped, blurred by time and – and by other things. Things that she doesn't care to think about. Still, she rolls with it, and they duck away from the bustle so that they can pull off Cali's armor piece by piece. At least by now it's not even a struggle for her, and with Roxy's help, it's a breeze. ]

[ And he's right. God, he is so right about her hating to be without her armor, without even her damn helmet. She fixes up her ponytail just so that she's got something to do with her hands, taking care not to make her implants too obvious. Puma might notice anyway, sharp as he is, if he isn't distracted by … well … by everything else about her. The age, the scars, the simple fact that she so obviously isn't the kid he adopted as a little sister. ]

... [ He's coming over to her. She sucks in a breath, keeps herself calm, calm, calm. ] Great. I love being accused of murder. [ Especially when she has way, way more important things to be doing. She pinches the bridge of her nose. ]

[Roxy stared when she removes the helmet.] ...defs shenanigans. [She then helped with the armor though.] I'll get it back to you later. [That's a whisper, but she seems....distracted, putting the armor in the bag. Aoko might catch a flash of gray every once and a while, but the bag is definitely not as burdened as it should be with armor pieces.]

Oh yeah. Always a fun ride, being the accused. [So flat and looks at Roxy.] We may need to check that for evidence.

[She grins and nods.] Yeah, cop shows kind of implied that. Dun worry, all here. [Winks at Aoko.]

Good to hear. Just hang around for a while. [Focusing on Aoko again, and he's still very firmly shut down everything, pulling out a notebook.] Just some basic questions. We're already sure the guy was thrown out the window and timing pretty much clears you.

Name?

[ There’s something to be said for having old friends with amazing, supernatural abilities. ]

[ … There’s also something to be said for how much she despises watching her armour disappear into the bag. She feels too light without it, too exposed. It makes her tense, keeps her focused and sharp, and all of those other painful, confusing emotions — joy at seeing her brother again, jubilation to be home after all of these years, pangs of worry and longing for all of the others — are locked down tight. She barely responds to Roxy, merely nodding and flashing a smile. ]

[ A smile that is nothing at all like the ones Aoko would wear. It’s too distant; too professional and practiced. ]

[ The thought of Aoko sends another rush of questions bubbling through her. She bites them back for now. Later, later, later, when she’s not knee-deep in a murder investigation. ]

It’s Cali. [ She glances up — not too far up, though; she’s a lot taller than she used to be — and meets Puma’s eyes clearly for the first time. ] … McCormick.

....

[He pauses at the name and never has he been more glad he used a fake name when he had to go about getting a new identity here.]

[He breathes in sharply, but let's out a breath, and writes it down.] Age and are you local?

[ Her stomach does funny little somersaults at Puma’s reaction (she has a feeling she might as well have literally, physically hauled back and punched him) — but she couldn’t have used Nakamori, she just couldn’t. Leaning back against the wall of the cafe, she folds her arm loosely, shifting on her feet. Anything to keep herself from defaulting to parade rest. ]

Thirty two. [ The lie rolls easily off her tongue. ] Japanese-American, here to visit friends and remind myself of my roots. [ She smiles at him. To anyone else, it might’ve looked real, like she’s warming to the subject. ]

International, huh? Well, hopefully you're not just a creative murderer, that'd be hell to process.

And what were you doing here today during the crime?

With all due respect, officer, it’s like you said back there: I would’ve had to have been more than creative to pull that off. [ Positively superhuman, in fact. Perhaps in possession of some incredible technology. Ha, ha. ] I was down on the street, heading south. There’s a park down that way, I thought it’d be a nice place to eat my bagel. [ Her bagel that she still hasn’t eaten. It’s a good thing she’s long since been used to going hungry, or she’d be in trouble. ]

[ She tilts her head, gaze sliding away from him. ]

You said that I'm a prime suspect?

Edited 2016-07-14 19:10 (UTC)

Only because the accusations have people pointing at you. Pretty easy to disprove since I was on the scene so fast and we've discovered signs of a body getting dragged upstairs.

We just need to assur-

[And here's Roxy with a bagel and coffee.] You haven't eaten?

[Sighs and he pinches the bridge of his nose.] I thought Epsilon was kidding about that, Miss Lalonde. [She seriously has some weird food thing?]

Shhhh, she needs to eat. Also probs need her wallet. [The wallet that totally didn't exist a minute ago, which she's placing next to the bagel.]

What about the b —

[ She’d been about to comment on something she’d noticed earlier, when Roxy pops up bearing gifts. Coffee — oh, God, it smells heavenly and she’s reaching out to snag the cup before she can think twice about it. Then she does think twice, visibly hesitating, her fingers curled around the warm cardboard cup. ]

[ Her eyes close. ]

[ She takes a sip. Super casually. ]

Uh. Thanks, Roxy. [ She opens her eyes again, not quite looking at either of them, and while the distance is still very much there at the forefront, there’s a hint of something else stirring underneath. ] You didn’t have to do that for me.

Well, I am your friend and cosplay helper person. Plus, I know Officer Washington. Friend of a friend thingy, small world. I know he won't mind.

[He sighs, looking put upon, as to be expected from him.] It is just food. And she knows to get out of the way when I'm doing work. [And a pointed look that looks real to anyone who doesn't know his tells.]

You were saying something, Miss McCormick?

[ If Wash — her Wash? — ever finds out she called herself that, he’d never stop choking. Ever. She can almost hear the sputtering, confusion breaking the thin veneer of melodramatic badass he likes to try to paint over himself. Maybe it’d be funny. It could be funny. Or maybe it’d just be one of those things where you laugh until you cry. ]

[ Another sip of coffee, longer this time. Really savouring it. Be casual, Cali: just because you haven't eaten anything except MREs and awful army coffee in god knows how long doesn't mean you can't be civilised. ]

I thought their lips looked ... [ Pauses to chew and swallow a chunk of bagel. ] Well, a little blue. I guess. Beneath the blood. I don't know if that'd mean anything.

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Day 12 | Nexus and Elsewhere

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