[ He's joking, too, but he doesn't mind a bit of a preamble. He's pretty curious now what the request is going to be. Rollerblades? Hovering rollerblades?
Or something completely different ]
holy shit okay yeah sounds like you're definitely gonna need some better protective gear HOW did you get a hundred microfractures? also do you, like, need to go to the hospital?
the how is kind of still up in the air but i have at least sought medical attention good doc frankie gave me a house call
( to be fair, skye doesn't entirely understand her own powers yet. she knows she can make things shake, that with careful application she can essentially shove energy towards something else, but the how and why has not yet come to light. that level of familiarity will take more careful testing, and without gear to protect herself, she just can't risk that yet. hence: cisco. )
i'm still trying to figure out the whole thing, tbh there's no 'i can do weird shit for dummies' book on kindle yet
so the 'how' is a mystery? you're not punching through concrete walls or anything like that?
i know i'm just some guy you've never met but i'm not being nosy the more i know the better chance i have of being able to make you something that'll help
[ And oh, that last bit sounds pretty painfully familiar. Cisco had been there. He doesn't understand his powers perfectly, yet, but he's come a long way and he remembers feeling that deep, uncomfortable confusion and dread. So he knows, the right thing to do right now is not to hide that. ]
oh, i've been there before believe me i got the t-shirt and everything.
few questions: 1) how new are your powers? 2) do you know where they came from? 3) there any pattern you've noticed that triggers them?
[ Probably, it would be better if this whole thing were formal, if there were some set list of questions. Procedures. But Cisco's never been one for formal, and in a way that might be easier, for some people anyway. ]
i've been trying to practice wally's been teaching me a few things, but i want to be able to control it on my own too
the doc said i might have redirected the vibrational flow inwards
( it's hard to explain. she never knows quite where to start, or how to separate her own emotions from the timeline of facts and figures, so skye mostly flounders when it comes time to tell people The Real Shit. cisco's questionnaire, though? surprisingly helpful. )
1. before i got here? a couple of days, maybe a week? i was pretty out of it for a while. 2. a creepy alien city put me in a rock cocoon and then puked me out? i don't know, tbh 3. freaking out. fear. panic. anger. i can summon it sometimes, but then i can't control it. obviously that's not working out super well. 4. you better go catch it
[ As soon as Cisco reads that her powers have to do with a 'vibrational flow' he wants to text right back, interrupt, ask more questions, but he forces himself to be patient. He doesn't want to spook her off. He thinks that might be a good instinct, too - she is very new to having powers, apparently. And, unlike anybody else that Cisco has met in this place, her powers weren't gained by years of study of magic, or inherited along with other DNA. They were the result of something being done to her, without her choosing it.
Cisco knows all too well how that feels, too. ]
your powers have to do with directing vibrations? that sounds... pretty similar to mine, actually i wonder if wally was thinking that too
[ Wally knows what Cisco can do, after all. Cisco wouldn't put it past him, to set all this up, knowing Cisco might have more help to give than just some tech (though he can offer that too) ]
so, lemme make sure i got this straight: you're not exactly sure how your powers work, except that you had no powers, and a few days ago you were in an alien (!!!) city that did something weird to you with rocks, and now you can control vibrational energy, and intense negative emotions make your powers act in ways you can't control and it's hurting you? have i got that right?
AND you totally got me with that fridge joke, with that level of pun is it possible you are also a dorky dad and just didn't mention it?
[ He recognizes more than just similar powers in this conversation: she is using humor to ease the tension because this sounds like it's freaking her out a lot. Cisco can respect that. He is the same way, when it comes to his own shit. So he keeps it light and humorous as he explains: ]
for me, it was a particle accelerator explosion, a little over two years ago, which released a wave of dark matter that changed my DNA. you know, the usual! i kinda had some ptsd stuff going on for a while there and my powers are linked to freaking out, too, so i bet you can guess how much fun that was. but it means i got a load of protips and hot strats for managing that shit if you ever want any.
( it's somehow easier to talk about this over text, where she can't see the other person's curious or questioning or downright disapproving expressions. it makes it easier to admit that, yes, she still has no idea what happened to her underground or why she survived when trip didn't or how any of this is happening now. all she knows is that it is happening, and that it's hurting her, and she really, really wants that to stop.
the hurting, that is. skye doesn't exactly believe that there's some magic tech out there that could quell powers in their paces, because if there was, shield would have already had it in their possession. )
if i could dump my memories into a pensieve all dumbledore style to make it easier for people to understand, i would right now i just feel like a crazy person who can make things quake when i'm panicking, and in the rare instances where i actually manage to summon it, i'm the idiot who cracks a bunch of bones as my reward
( so, you know. she's in great spirits, all things considered. )
i'll pretty much take what i can get. hot takes, pro tips, fancy tech to replace my doctor-issued splints, i'm all ears.
[ Cisco is struck with the new and rather weird thought that, if they put their minds to it, he probably could see Skye's memories - not with a pensieve, but with his powers. Still, there's a pretty big difference between her joking about that and her actually wanting someone to go barging around in her life like that. Generally, if it's not a life or death situation, he tries to avoid infringing on people's privacy like that. ]
ok first of all you're NOT a crazy person take it from me, a guy who was 100% convinced he was going crazy for the first like month he had powers
and you're not an idiot for not understanding right away how to control them yet. i've met a lot of metas, and a lot of mutants, and everything in between and i've never met anybody who had a good handle on things right away nobody, seriously
how 'bout for now, i start working on some vibration-dampening arm guards that'll hopefully help channel that shit out rather than in and in a few days you can swing by my workshop and we can try 'em out and see if they help
as for the pro tips, i'm happy to pass them along or if you're feeling up to reaching out to somebody else, you can just talk to genji he's the one who taught me, and just a super great dude overall plus, you know, an actual cyborg ninja, from the future, with powers of his own and if that's not a recommendation i don't know what is
( it's not much, but she means it. there haven't been many opportunities to risk potentially poor reactions to her suddenly can-do capabilities, but skye has found herself consistently pleasantly surprised by the warm welcomes and kind understandings that have been extended to her by the residents of riverview. for a place that calls itself "quarantine", it's definitely a huge upgrade from skye's actual quarantine back home. )
you supply the gear, i'll bring the pizza and beer any preferences? (but if you say pineapple, i might just have to get sick beforehand.)
( kidding. kind of. in skye's firm opinion, pineapple on pizza is just plain wrong, and if he really wants it, she'll just have to get two pizzas. )
i'm definitely not in a position to turn down a literal cyborg ninja tutor, so ten points to ravenclaw for the recommendation i'll give him a ring
( why does she assume cisco is a ravenclaw? we just don't know. probably because he's brilliant, though. )
ok well pineapple on pizza is DOPE and you're totally wrong but i've learned better than trying to convert a heretic 🍕 anything is fine i love all pizzas i love all beers there are no bad options tbh
i'll send along his contact info he's seriously the chillest guy i know i would be a ten times more of a hot mess if it weren't for him i seriously could barely talk about my powers before i knew him much less control them
i think you're all just part of a pineapple conspiracy like pineapple and cheese is just gross add tomato sauce to it and you might as well add pineapples to your hamburgers
( #ew. )
...
( there's a brief, hesitant pause before the next set of messages. as if somebody's written, erased, and then re-written. over and over. )
okay full disclosure if you mention this to anyone murder is not off the table but there's not an equivalent of facebook relationship statuses here, right?
( because she's been trying to figure out a certain speedster and has had zero luck. damn you, moon, for your lack of social media with overly-revealing personal information fields. )
hamburger with a ring of grilled pineapple on it? don't mind if i DO! 🍍🍍🍍🍍
[ He has no shame whatsoever. But he is surprised when she doesn't reply to convey her disgust right away, but instead, seems to be typing for a good long while before she sends a text. He is expecting a rant about how a pineapple murdered her father, or a very good series of insults against the fruit.
Instead! It is this. ]
👀 no murder needed girl there's that friendr app but a lot of people just use it for friend stuff and a ton of people don't use it at all is there anybody you were wondering about in particular though because i know a lotta people who know a lotta people so i can give you the skinny if the skinny's what you want. maybe on, i don't know. a certain redhead? just a guess.
( a deep, melodramatic sigh — one she's very glad doesn't transmit along with her texts. she had thought she was being subtle. )
yeah, i'm not even going to try and deny that one am i totally barking up the wrong tree here? because sometimes it seems like we're on the same page and then sometimes it's like talking to a brick wall
like, dude, you'll hold my hand and heal me with your magic speed but you won't get handsy in a movie theatre what gives!!!
[ A text arrives from Cisco, which begins with a selfie in which he is beaming and holding up one hand, palm away from the camera and fingers splayed a bit, the better to show off the ring on his finger. It's not a traditional diamond one, but, the implication becomes clear with the caption: ]
eddie & i got engaged yesterday!
🎉 faq section: 🎉 1. no, we have not started planning yet. 2. yes, that includes picking a date. 3. no, we are not doing an engagement party this place has enough parties already. 4. yes, i am happy to give out deets about how it went down on an opt-in basis.
my fiancée! gotta get used to saying that i legit typed 'boyfriend' and had to go back
the tl;dr is he's a guy from my world he was the only one i knew when i first showed up here also he's the best
kinda funny actually...... the reason i met taako in the first place is he was dating eddie but then they broke up and later me and eddie hooked up but by then taako and me were bros just to make it super confusing for ya
[ Cisco does have the advantage of knowing the cultural implications of wanting to creep on somebody's facebook status. ]
i can't speak for him obviously but i don't think it's the wrong tree at all last time i checked he was single but nervous about trying to mingle i don't wanna go into too many details and violate some kind of bro code but his dating history has been complicated recently and i'm talking the kind of complicated that involves getting trapped in other dimensions & divergent timelines & amnesia not just the 'feelings are hard' kind you feel me?
he's a great guy i think it's just been a long time since he was in the game you might need to be a little blunt with him and a little patient.
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