closed;

[takeitslow]

Who: Alan Bradley and Peter Maximoff
When: 27th
Where: Science Department
What: An awkward conversation about Rinzler, sentience, and science
Warnings: Non-organic prejudice? Teenage angst? Will update as needed



[He limps his way into the lab, head ducked and hands in his pockets but expression pleasant. He expects to be dropping in on a friend here, a chance to see someone older and wiser and not connected to the family to hang around. Listening to theories and engineering babble sounds better than another round of well meaning sister's asking about the outpost. And maybe just the chance to hide from all those questions.

His luck was never good enough to give into his expectations.

Bruce is no where to be found, the only soul left in the lab is Alan. Peter stares for a moment, turns around and nearly bolts for the door. He's not afraid of Alan, the man's not his creation, but Peter's tired of fighting after weeks of stress and shackles. Wanda would be disappointed if he got into another one so soon. It's not like it hadn't been that long ago since his last fight with Rinzler, since the reason for this limp came about.

He turns back around anyway, stands in front of Alan's computer terminal.]

It's just you around?

[He can be civil, he tells himself. He can have a mature conversation with Alan, something that's been overdo for months now. He can. Probably.]

Comments

[alan_1]

Not everyone was here for what happened to Adrian. And even if they were, I don’t know if what happened to him was quite as… publicized. [They have Tex to thank for that. The woman hadn’t just informed the crew of what had happened; she’d actively tried to stir up outrage. Not that Alan can hold a grudge for that. Given what she believed they had done to Rinzler, her anger was more than justified.

He’s quiet as Peter continues to explain himself, but he shakes his head when the teenager asks his first question.]

Not like this. Not to the point where I was willing to hurt someone else. [Bending the rules to help those he cares about had felt like a damn near constant back home and he’s picked up his fair share of criticism for it there too. But everything he’d done to find Flynn, to protect Sam, to deflect suspicion away from his more daring friends, all of it pales in comparison to what Peter had done in the name of family. What he seems to have done in vain.]

I don’t know, [Alan sighs.] If I’d gone through with it? I think he would’ve suffered more.

And if you were wrong about Rinzler -- if you’d only imagined his threat towards your sister -- then there wouldn't have been any reason for it. You could've destroyed someone over a misunderstanding.

[takeitslow]

Plenty of the people getting mad back then were. The trials used to be something everyone heard about. It wasn't an excuse.

[But that's not the point he wants to stick on. Well, he does. He'll always want to argue that but he didn't come here for a fight. He knows if he keeps talking about Adrian he's just going to lose his temper and any chance of finishing this conversation civilly.

He hears what Alan has to say and can only shake his head.]

Then we have different ideas of caring.

[He can't imagine anyone doing any different, wanting to do any different. Everything was for family, no matter the sacrifice or personal toll. How could anyone live any different?]

He would have been alive. [He mutters it under his breath.] But that's not what ended up happening. You didn't do anything to him, things worked out.

[alan_1]

[Alan sighs.] Fine. You’re right. If the captains tried to alter someone’s mind without their consent, people shouldn’t have stood by for it, no matter who it was. I can agree with that much. [Not that any matter of right and wrong seems to matter to Peter. So long as he can tell himself his actions were to protect those he cared about, Alan’s not sure there’s anything he wouldn’t do. If murder and forced lobotomy weren’t off the table, Alan doubts anything is.

He doesn’t say anything to Peter’s charge that they have different ideas of caring because it’s undeniably true. It’s only what he says next that Alan can’t so easily let go.

”Things worked out.” For a moment, all Alan can do is stare at Peter in disbelief. Disbelief that quickly turns into anger.]

No, they didn’t. [His tone is caustic, far from even the frigid demeanor he had held when speaking to Peter in his cell after his first attempt on Rinzler's life.] Do you really think this is something any of us just walked away from? This-- there wasn’t anything humane about what we did. Rinzler was conscious the whole time. Alice had to hold him down. And he thought I was erasing him. [And Alan had tried to go through with it anyway, knowing it was cruel, knowing Rinzler was terrified, because the only other option he’d seen at the time was watching Rinzler kill again or be killed himself.

Maybe his and Peter’s ideas of caring aren’t so different after all, Alan thinks, disgusted.]

I’m never going to be able to take back what I did to him, [he says, voice quieter though no less bitter.] I hope whatever peace of mind you got out of it was worth it. Because things didn't "work out" as neatly for the rest of us.

[takeitslow]

[His agreement gets a little nod from Peter. It's not much, just one person saying that it was right, that his anger over Ade was justified. But at least it was something. The way people have glossed over it, made Peter feel like he was overreacting felt too much like what he would expect from home. It was almost nice to have someone agree, even if it was someone whom he could barely get along with.

The rest however, doesn't get any of Peter's approval. His lips curl in a faint, snarled grimace when Alan starts getting worked up.]

I didn't tell you to do any of it, you know. It was your suggestion, your plan, your word. I wasn't even there when you tried it.

[He doesn't feel like being yelled at for a plan he only joined because Alice seemed to so whole-heartedly believe what Alan was saying. That he only got involved in as far as he did because he'd been worried about Alice's safety.]

If you thought it was such a terrible thing at the time, why didn't you stop? [He pauses.] If you have amends to make-

['It's not his problem', he stops himself from saying. He thinks maybe that's taking things too far. But he doesn't want any of Alan's guilt. His own is hard enough to sort through.]

I got my peace of mind, you're right about that. I'm only the public face of it. I only broke my sisters' trust over it. I only lost friends, only left my job, only have people looking at me like I'm some kind of monster. Don't act like you're the only one who has consequences.

But it is over. It happened, or this case didn't happen. If you hadn't noticed we're all alive and get to deal with it. [To try to work it out, in Alan's case. To try to ignore it, in Peter's.] I've said I'll leave him alone. No more trying anything against him. Hell, I guess I'm supposed to be grateful now, or whatever since he didn't kill me? [The short bark of laughter is bitter, unpleasant. He swallows it, edging toward the door.] I didn't come here to start a fight with you. Or to argue about how wrong we were.