Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Mission Monitor Board The Office of Security (out with the Lardy, in with the Dev)

Dev's eyes grow with an anger that Lardy has never seen. His hands are clenched into fists, and kis knuckles are turning white under the strain.

"Do I have any godddamned idea! DO I HAVE A GODDAMNED IDEA...I HAVE A REAL DAMNED GOOD IDEA EXACTLY WHAT THAT'S LIKE! You have no SPROCKIN clue what I've been through lately! You think because life is tough, you can leech of of those around you and not have anyone say anything because YOU'VE HAD IT ROUGH! I'll go round for round with you on this...I have found out that my wife has really been someone else posing as her for the last 13 plus years. I found out my real wife...the woman I married is dead...and has been brain dead since that accident back on Earth. My children...by a woman I thought was my wife are now living on a planet that takes me three days to fly home from. I'll see them every so often if I'm lucky. I almost died...and had one hell of a weird experience...and only thanks to Tempest am I standing here today. I'm scared to death to open up to her because she'll probably think I'm a raving loon..."

Dev takes several deliberate deep breaths to calm down. "So yeah...rip your entire life apart and have nothing left to live for but the job...I got that one covered."

Dev get's back in Lardy's face and calmly says, "I repeat. Step down. I don't know what you do at this point...but you better start by figuring out what the hell you need to do to get yourself together. Legion World can't wait around with you here to figure that out...I know what I need to do, and this is the start of it."

<as Dev and Lardy scream at each other, an alarmed secretary calls her friend to discuss; said friend tells her roomate; roomate tells her sister; sister tells her lesbian lover; lesbian lover texts her coworker; said coworker is in bed with Cobie>

Say what?!!

<contemplates what to say next for a long moment>

Look...I'm sorry about your wife...your kids...I had no idea. I...I've been there, too. Dru was murdered right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything about it. I...have two kids myself. Very few people know about them. I've...mostly stayed away from them and let a woman I care about raise them.

Listen...there are things we don't know about each other, and another thing you don't know id this: on this desk behind me is the paperwork for my own indefinite disciplinary suspension. It's self-imposed, Dev. I did some really shitty things in this job, and I'm very sorry for them. I dunno if I'll ever be on active duty again. I'm submitting it to the Oversight Committee.

You came in as I was dealing with it and getting up the nerve to make it official. It was...bad timing. This job and Legion World mean a lot to me, but maybe I was never really suited to it. It's not easy hearing someone else say aloud things about myself I know to be true.

I have plans to redeem myself, at least in my own eyes. I'm going to be leaving Legion World for an extended period of time. There's something that has to be done. Hell, it's dangerous, and I'm not entirely sure I'll survive.

But...in this paperwork is my recommendation for whom I think would be best to act as Chief during my suspension and a detailed list of reasons for why I feel he would be a good choice. <looks Dev square in the eyes> I recommended you, Dev.

That stopped Dev cold. He shut his eyes for a moment, and contemplated how best to express his thoughts.

"I...thank you Lardy. I'm glad to hear that you are doing the right thing here. I appreciate the fact that you think enough of me to recommend me for the job...I will understand if you change your mind after this, but thank you."

Dev turned and headed to the door. "I have to go find Tempest and see how she's doing. The last time I saw her was a little odd, and I'm not entirely sure if everything that I thought happened...did."

<after Dev leaves...> Damn. No one's ever put it to me like that! I guess I picked the right guy for the job after all...

So Dev is free and single, basically? I guess I've got some competition for Temp, after all. Still, he doesn't know how close she and I are getting...or even that he's got competition!

Sorry, Dev. I'll concede the Security Office to you...but not Temp! <grins>

Dev got into the hall and leaned against the wall.

"Grife. That went totally different than I thought it was going to."

He started moving down the hall. "Time to find Tempest, and see if she even wants to talk to me after what happened."

(A beam of light emerges from Tempest's chambers. She walks out of her room.)

DAMN GYPSY!!!

(She brushed soot out of her hair.)

Last time I go to Peek-N-Save.

Dev rounds a corner and almost runs into Tempest.

"Sorry..." looks at her and sees the soot, "is everything alright?"

(Stunned at seeing Dev.)

I'm fine. Things are strange here, at best. Just trying to make sense of things.

How are you?

"I'm doing okay...I think. Look, I really wanted to apologize if I was a bit presumptuous at the end there when you helped me out on the Astral plane, I shouldn't have presumed that doing what I did was okay with you, but I don't regret doing it," a small grin crept into the corners of his mouth.

"Thank you for the save, and the kiss."

(She stares at the ground.)

I would prefer that we kept that between us. It could make things even more complicated.

I don't feel you need to apologize. You did what you felt was appropriate for you, and I could have stopped you. And I would be glad to help you, I know you would help me.

Who would have thought? We were teammates, then enemies, then friends and now...

(Her eyes drift to him and she turns around.)

I hope you were able to make sense of things on your trip.

"What things is it going to complicate?" he asks as he reaches for her arm.

He stops himself short as a sharp pain shoots through his arm, and just moves in front of her again, "...what exactly are we now?"

(She looks him in the eyes, she finds them to be a brilliant shade of brown.)

Lardy...he and...he's got something going on, and we should probably focus on the recovery of Legion World.

I'm not a member of LMB, but I certainly am not going to become one by sitting around doing nothing. Have to help and all.

We're friends, Dev. Hopefully, we will become really, good friends. Right?

(She looks at him nervously.)

Dev looks down, "Lardy and...yeah, he has a lot going on...I'm probably going to be really busy soon, so friends is probably for the best..."

He looks back at her and looks into her eyes, "let me know if you change your mind though, okay?" he says and kisses her long and meaningfully.

He pulls away, turns and leaves. As he goes further away, he removes his jacket and shoulder protectors due to the irritation that wearing them too long causes. Under the tank top he is wearing, Tempest can see the bruises and scars that cover his upper arms, shoulders and back. The damage that the Red Bee had done to him was taking a long time to heal...and he absently rubs at his left shoulder.

DEV!!!

(She runs to him, seeing his bruises.)

Oh, Dev. I'm not the best healer, but I can help, please, let me try.

(She heads towards her room.)

Coming?

"Sure, but nothing anyone has done has helped so far. There was a healer in the Palace where my children are living that tried and nothing changed, but I'm willing to try anything at this point."

He turns and follows her into her room.

(As Dev walks in the room, the door shuts, the room is not glamorous, it's rather cluttered with a bunch of her oddest of odds and ends.)

Remove you clothes and lie on the bed.

(She pulls out a large wooden bowl and start throwing things in it.)

If science and magic cannot cure you, then you are to heal at the pace Fate has determined. I know of a select few who may be able to heal you. But the journey and consequences to allow you two to meet would be dire. Probably best they stay out it.

Like I said, I'm not the best healer. But this should help.

(She smashes and grinds her ingredients together and pulls out some cloth strips.)

Luckily this salve doesn't take long to make if you have all the ingredients.

He raises an eyebrow at her directions, but does as she asks.

"I appreciate the help again. I have a feeling that some of the problem may be my own fault...not really letting myself heal. Almost like...I'm punishing myself for everything that has happened. Is that even possible?"

(She walks over to him on the bed and sits next to him, she dips the cloths in the salve and begins to place them on his wounds.)

It's going to be cold to the touch, but the effects of the salve should last for sometime. It won't heal anything, but it will lessen the discomfort your in.

I think people are damaged. We crack ourselves time and time again. Sometimes I think it's against our nature to let ourselves become whole again.

Dev, I'm not completely ready to be with someone. My life can be...emotionally manic. I need to figure out how I fit in here. I like you too much to just use you. Right now, I can't commit to anyone, in that way...

"I can accept that for now I guess," he said as he turned his head to look at her.

"I am going to be really busy soon, I wasn't lying about that...or trying to make excuses. If what he was going to do pans out, I'm going to be the new Chief here shortly. I have a huge mess to clean up, and I could use some help."

He smiled at her. "I don't want to use you either, but I don't know that we'll ever be 'ready' to commit. People like us are prone to go from one disaster to another...keeping ourselves at arms length from the very thing, or person, that could make us happy."

He breathed in deep as the effects of the bandages started to take effect.

"I won't push you towards a relationship, if you really don't want one, but know that I am not going to sit back and not test the resistance level now and then."

Dev, what would you and the others do if you know what I did. Where I am from, how I was raised, what I did would be considered blasphemy and my punishment would be...

(She leans into him and kisses him. They hold for a moment until she sits back up. She get up and walks to the door.)

Stay still for a good half hour, then the salve will be done.

(She exits.)

Dev settled back in and waited for the half hour to be over.

"This day is turning out to be nothing like I thought it would...but it's been good so far. So Lardy and her have 'something' going on...sorry about that buddy, I'm not going to give this up without a fight. She is an amazing woman."

He rose and redressed.

Before he left, he glanced around at the room. "She does like a variety of stuff."

He put hi jacket and shoulder guards back on, "still need to talk to her about everything that happened with my powers...and my kids. Everything kind of happened too fast before. Next time for sure."

He headed out of her room and down to the exit. "No rest for me yet. I need to find Cobalt Kid and have a talk with him too."

Rickshaw1 passed through with a wombat under one arm, a lampshade on his head, and two trumpeteers playing "Jolie Blon's Bounce" while eating a piece of mango. He didn't say anything, he just stopped, looked, shook his head and passed on by.

Dev flies in and lands next to Question Lad.

"Don't be too sure that it's over for you Q," he says with a smile.

"Things, they're going to be changing around here, and I think you have a lot of potential. You have a little to learn about teamwork, but have a lot of good ideas that I need to hear. You'll be upgraded in rank soon, but on a probationary basis. Can you live with that for now?"