thelegion | Team Bonding, AMA

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Team Bonding, AMA

[ Tadashi is reclining in a bed in medical, wearing the beatific smile of the enlightened and the well and truly stoned. ]

I love biology. Well, no, I'm enthusiastic about biology, I don't love it. I love programming and engineering and my family and helping people. Not in that order. Maybe in that order in regards to science. Except programming and engineering are the tools I use to help people, but I do love them too.

[ He stares off into space for a moment, then shakes himself and focuses back on the camera again. ]

But, you know, the thing about biology that's so cool is that we don't understand it all the way. Sometimes biological interactions happen unexpectedly. Like, these painkillers. I don't have an example of them to show you; they're already in my system and the medical staff won't give me more of them because they make me really loopy. Which is cool, because it's not an allergic reaction or a result of a miscalculated dose, it's just a reaction that happens sometimes to some people. Which is cool! Even almost a thousand years in the future of an alternate universe -- which has seriously weird rules, oh my god you guys I wish I loved biology and philosophy and physics more so I could study how weird this place is, I could write so many papers -- people still don't really know how our bodies work and why they react to certain things the way they do. Reality is amazing and I am so happy it exists!

[ He beams at the camera, but his smile eventually fades into confusion. Then he gasps in apparent surprise. ]

Oh yeah! Anyway, I'm super bored right now and I can't concentrate enough to read anything longer than a few sentences. And I've kind of been focused on dealing with my own stuff and not lighting things on fire when I shouldn't to get to know people, so I was thinking I should get off my ass and do that. Metaphorically, not literally, because the medical staff has confined to this bed until I metabolize the painkillers.

I was thinking we could do a...thingy. That thing people sometimes-- AMA! Ask Me Anything, that thing! We could do that, but just for Legionnaires. Not that I don't love the staffers here, I do, but I was thinking it could be a team bonding thing and some people here are more private than others. But I'd need one of the scary computer ladies to lock it down for me, because I can't figure out how to do that right now.

[ His eyes widen suddenly. ]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean that like "scary computers who are women", that would be rude, I meant it like "scary women who are good with computers". Computer programming has a long history of ignoring the contributions of the women who are it's backbone, and we have a lot of women here who area really good at what they do and they deserve to be afforded all the respect due to them as people and as badasses. The patriarchy sucks like the vacuum abhorred by nature.

...I think this got away from me. What was I talking about?

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Of course not. I'm bloodline. Genetic clone of the Father of Justice himself. To turn my back on being a Judge, to reject the greatest honor anyone is capable of having, being what I am... would be unthinkable. It's no choice at all.

[His wording in his answer may well be deliberate.]

And besides, you're a Judge for life. There are two options if you do want to get out - retirement as a Judge-Tutor, or taking the Long Walk. At this moment, I have no plans to do either. [Both being equally unappealing.]

[That first paragraph hits him in the gut a little, again just a bit too familiar. Once again not liking how many similarities were popping up between them.]

What's the 'Long Walk'?

[He has a feeling he already knew the answer, going by the ominous title and what he'd already heard of this world, but he preferred to be sure.]

"Let his name be recorded in every place of honor. Let him take the law he serves so well to those who have it not. Let him bring Law to the lawless, carrying it with him like a torch until the end of his days."

[Rico quotes this grandly, gesturing with a single hand, as if reciting from a book.]

But in smaller words if you need them, for the disgraced Judges or the retiring ones, they have options. [Options. Sure.] When you take the Long Walk, they hand you provisions, your gun and ammunition, then show you the door to the Undercity or the Cursed Earth. And once you take the Long Walk, there's no coming back from it. No Judge has ever returned from one, and they wouldn't be accepted back if they did.

So they either died, or they somehow made a nitch for themselves in one of those places and just didn't come back?

[No such thing as a pension and a gold watch in this universe, huh? He supposed this went a way toward explaining why Rico couldn't seem to grasp the idea on not being a Judge in this universe.]

Or is there no chance of surviving out there?

Mn. Probably.

[Rico makes a non-committal sound in the back of his throat and rolls his shoulders in a shrug.]

There's plenty of radstorms, muties, wildlife that want to kill you in the Cursed Earth. But the radiation's the big problem, and the fact that it's a bombed-out drokking desert. In the Undercity, you've got werewolves, cannibals, and scavvers and grud knows what that got paved over with it.

[Why's he so curious about all this anyway?]

There are settlements, though. If you really wanted to spend the rest of your life scratching dirt out of your ears and eating rads. Personally I don't see the appeal of it, but either way, they're not really our concern anymore. They go out there to die. That's the whole point.

I suppose the logic there is that the best incentive to discouraging betrail is the promise of misery or death. I wonder if they ever meet each other out there.

Who was the Father of Justice? Was that his actual title among the Judges?

Oh, no. You got it wrong, juve. [A pause.] Inertia. There's a difference between disgraced judges and the ones who betray the law. For the former, this is voluntary. Which makes it all the more - [insane.] - admirable. The latter's sentenced to twenty years of hard labor in a Cursed Earth work farm, or Titan. [Something he has no intention of ever happening to him. He'd rather die first.]

[But huh. He wonders. Maybe they do meet each other out there. A banding together of the disgraced and the soon to die. It's a form of freedom in a way, but Rico doesn't like the idea of toughing it out there in the wilderness when he could have his jacuzzi in his penthouse.]

His real name is Eustace Fargo. The Father of Justice is just an honorific, since he was the founder of the judicial system we operate under now. He was the one responsible for implementing the reforms. The police and the courts were corrupt and ineffective, and couldn't keep up with the rising crime rates. He raised a nation of lawlessness into what it is today.

So, all this? [He gestures a hand over himself with a smirk.] All him. All his doing, too.

So it's more a final act of penance or a way to end it when they can't deal with it anymore?

[There's a slight pause before he adds- ]

I can see why you would be proud of carrying on his heritage.

[It may be hard to parse the sincerity of those words over text, but despite his general snippy attitude toward Rico, he meant that. Cloning, or the person you were cloned from, tended to be a touchy subject in his experience. It must be nice to be able to look up to the person whose DNA you shared.]

[Rico means his last sentence in more than one way. All of this, all of his cruel actions and corruption, that he was even allowed to hold such power over people in the first place - it's all Fargo's doing too. But Rico was young when he last saw him, old, weak and infirm, and he can't quite bring himself to hate him. His twin is a different story, though.]

[He stares into the camera for a second, reading the words, as if deciding how to respond, and just slightly angles his face upwards.]

Hm. I suppose so. [Rico's rolling his eyes behind his visor.] But heritage comes with a lot of expectations. Think I'd rather be a person than a walking representation of Fargo's face, as nice of one as it is. [He says as he rubs his chin.] Would've meant fewer blood tests. But of course - [He stresses the word heavily.] - I should be proud to carry on his legacy.

[It's surprising Rico's even forthcoming with this much. But after recent events, he's been feeling... indulgent.]

Edited 2017-10-15 03:42 (UTC)

[There's a pause before Thad eventually switches over from Text to Voice. There's none of the snark or sharp bite he usually throws Rico's way, his voice instead soft, matter of fact and with an odd touch of southern twang, as he falls into speaking English instead of Interlac for once.]

I think I can understand that to an extent.

Our situations aren't entirely the same, but there was definitely...expectations behind my creation. And there wasn't so much a pride in lineage as there was pride in the mission and the attempted reclamation of that lineage.

But I can definitely relate to a preference to being my own person over-...I suppose I would be considered less of a representation and more of an extension of will?...Over whatever it is I am.

[!]

[Rico cocks his head to the side, and looks for a very long time, as the blank visor gazes straight at his display.]

[Then, he abruptly switches over to private, and doesn't bother with an explanation as to why he's doing so. But he's smiling. Mentally, he's finding out how this fits, shuffling around his opinions and deductions of Thad to fit this new information.]

Lesson one, Inertia. Don't be so forthcoming in public where anyone can use it against you. Someone could build a profile with information like that.

[That's mostly just a cover for why he's taking this to private. Like it's for his benefit, not Rico's. He's still got to be careful about what he presents in public, after all. Everything he's said so far, he'd feel in the clear if even the Chief Judge had seen it. Nothing wrong with expressing a mild hypothetical preference. Anything more than that though, and he'd better keep it out of public view.]

You're a clone?

Edited 2017-10-16 01:12 (UTC)

The Legion is already aware of that much about my history. Some of their members were close to my genetic original.

[ One of them even family, though she was mercifully missing for the time being.]

Explaining my existence and proving that I wouldn't be a threat was necessary. The privacy is still appreciated though.

And yes, I'm a clone.

[Rico shakes his head and taps the side of his helmet.]

That's not what I'm talking about, Inertia. I'm talking feelings, motivations. It's not good to let on too much to other people about how you think. Never be sincere. [Reconsidering how that sounds, he then adds;] Unless the line's secure, of course.

[It's something Rico tries to take to heart. Psychological profiles are no joke. But having to explain how he wasn't a threat? That sounds interesting. He folds his arms and shifts in his chair, leaning forward to catch Thad's voice better, talking with a hint of false incredulity in his voice.]

You had to prove you weren't a threat? What kind of mission were you even made for?

[A pause.]

...Who was your genetic original?

[The warning was not so much a lesson in something he didn't already know, as it was a sharp reminder that just because he had common ground with Rico, that didn't mean he could trust him.

He was generally tight-lipped and mistrusting by nature, but the prospect of speaking with someone like him had been enticing. It still was. But this was a good reminder to be more careful of exactly what he let slip to this man.]

His name is Bartholomew Henry Allen the second, code name Impulse. Grandson of the Flash. Though not quite the one currently working with the Legion.

My mission was to kill him, his remaining family, and possibly his friends if they got in the way.

[Rico laughs at that, but he doesn't mean it unkindly. It almost seems to come across as sympathetic, instead. He knew there was a reason he'd liked him. And with his chuckles dying off, he's left with a small, upturned smile instead.]

Bartholomew's a dumb drokking name.

[Sorry Inertia. He just had to get that out of the way first. And this is coming from somebody whose last name is Dredd.]

But I see what you mean by wanting to be more than just an extension of will. That's quite the mission. [he says, thoughtfully. An understatement, perhaps, but at least he takes Thad's admission in stride and doesn't make a huge fuss about it.] Bred as a tool meant to be wielded by others. [Rico runs an idle finger over the sharp edge of his badge.] Can't say that I don't know that feeling.

[He pauses, and then remembers himself. He glances at the omnicon, intrigued. Seems like there was a lot more to this juve than he'd first thought.]

Did you succeed?

[Unable to decipher what that laugh meant, it took him aback for a moment. But that crack at Bart's name actually earns Rico a slight smile, not that he can see it, though he might catch a slightly startled snicker.

The smile doesn't stay for long though anyway, as he watches the older man with renewed interest, not missing the way his fingers trace that badge. He honestly wasn't sure what kind of reaction he should expect from him, still finding him a bit hard to predict. The understanding was not entirely unexpected but definitely appreciated.]

I would have, if I went through with it. I almost did. But I let them go when I started to realize most of what I knew about the mission and the reasons for it were false.

[That was a bit of a fib. Not much of one, more of an omission of truth. The fact that he'd been lied to definitely factored into things, in the end. It just wasn't exactly the catalyst he was making it out to be. But Rico didn't need to know about the details of what happened in the speedforce.]

I didn't appreciate being lied to, to put it mildly.

No, I don't think anybody does.

[So Inertia saw through it. He saw through the same kind of lie behind his creation Rico did, but he was also skilled enough that he could have carried it out, and it was his own spiteful choice to let them go. Drokk, he's so proud of the little twerp.]

I do hope you went back and showed your creators just how bad of a mistake they'd made. [He sounds like he's hoping indeed.] What did they lie about?

[He's eager to hear more. Eager to hear what happened, if only to live vicariously through it.]

Edited 2017-10-19 01:01 (UTC)

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Team Bonding, AMA

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