open post: averageness

[tallyyoungblood]

Tally's first clue that it hadn't been a dream was that she'd woken up alone in her room.

Nowadays, she and Gideon have been sharing a room, so that Tally can protect her from ever finding a body alone again--and maybe conspicuously leave out some clothes that fit Gideon but aren't, like, ratty black pants. That day, though, she'd woken in an empty room, gasping from something that felt like a nightmare, but somehow more vivid than real life.

Without even getting dressed, she'd run for the woods to confirm what had happened. Horror had flooded her when she found the knife-mark, exactly where she remembered throwing it yesterday. It was true. She'd been Special. She'd been awful. She'd seen and felt the world with more harsh clarity than she'd ever thought possible. She'd hit Gideon.

Tally had collapsed onto the stump, gripping her own arms to make sure her familiar, average body was still there.

Over the next few days, Tally doesn't sleep well, and people getting swapped out for a second time doesn't help. People might find her wandering the mansion like a zombie, or in one of the kitchens, contemplating getting drunk. She's not as put together as usual, either, but of course on her even bedhead and sweats look beautiful.

Comments

[tallyyoungblood]

Tally's eyes get big. "You lived on the street?" She can picture poor little ugly-aged Magnus, and it makes her equal parts sympathetic and angry at the Rusties. "Captain America? No. I lived in North America, though."

[summerdude]

"He's this comics superhero. You should look 'em up, there's a ton in the library. He gets this, like, serum, and it makes him super swole. I had that but, like, smaller."

[tallyyoungblood]

"I'm not sure I need to read a comic when I basically lived that," Tally points out.

[summerdude]

"Okay," says Magnus. "So we're both Captain America."

[tallyyoungblood]

"Did they ever give the serum to a girl?"

[summerdude]

"Depends on the run, yeah. Russia used something like it for the Black Widow program."

[tallyyoungblood]

Tally gets a little more interested. "I thought Rusties only liked men to be in power."

[summerdude]

"Like, yeah, sexism is a real problem, but there are tons of women in power too. Fictionally and, like, in real life."

[tallyyoungblood]

"That's good. Maybe I will read a comic, then. Um, not that I want to discriminate against men, or anything. It just seems utterly boring to have a story be about just one gender."

[summerdude]

"Yeah, I totally agree," says Magnus. He squints at Tally for a moment. "You might dig America Chavez."

[tallyyoungblood]

"Are they all named America?" Tally giggles.

[summerdude]

"Nah, just a couple. There's like a million different superheroes."

[tallyyoungblood]

"We have superheroes, too, but they're kind of bogus. They're supposed to teach you to recycle and stuff."

[summerdude]

"Hey, recycling is important," Magnus says, half-teasing, half-earnest.

[tallyyoungblood]

"Definitely. Just not immediately life-threatening."

[summerdude]

"Depends on the world, I guess," Magnus says. "There's like a thousand different universes in comics."

[tallyyoungblood]

"I guess that part turned out to be, like, totally true to life. Not only are we from different universes, but there's different versions of each of us." She finger-combs her hair nervously. "Do you think that our future versions are, like, inevitable? Or do you think there's universes where we end up different? Besides this one, I mean."

[summerdude]

"I don't think they're inevitable," Magnus says immediately. "Like, those us-es never even came here, right?"

[tallyyoungblood]

"Right. I just mean that maybe only coming here can stop us becoming that? Or I guess that's what I'm afraid of."

[summerdude]

"What, that you were close to ending up like the other you?"

[tallyyoungblood]

"Yeah. Or like it could still happen, now."

[summerdude]

"How? We don't have that kind of, like, um, setup here. There's no way to turn you into her." It's much more likely that he'll become him.

[tallyyoungblood]

"I rewired myself once," Tally says. "Like, I cured myself of being pretty-minded. The pill I took didn't do anything by itself, it turns out. I don't know, maybe if I'm not careful and I try too hard to be bubbly I'll come out closer to Special."

[summerdude]

Magnus frowns. This does seem like a cause for concern. "So you, like, healed your brain? Are Specials, like, healed even further or something?"

[tallyyoungblood]

"I think it's more that they're damaged different," Tally says thoughtfully. "But I don't think surge is the only thing that can rewire you. The pre-Rusties didn't have brain surge, and they turned out all kinds of dictators and stuff. Obviously, I can't become fully Special by myself, but I could become. You know. Kind of a dick."