Ned § Video 01 § Day 57

[nedofpies]

[ The video feed switches on upon Ned's determined face. It's his first video communication; he hasn't been using the network much, but this is an important community matter. ]

Does anyone know who is responsible for these? [ Ned waves a copy of that mysterious flyer which has popped up around town so suddenly. He turns the camera back to his own face, talking directly to his fellow captives. ]

Whoever it is, it seems to me like they are trying to sow the seeds of doubt and turn us on one another. Make us so suspicious of one another so we can't work together. Which makes me think it might have come from the people who are keeping us here. And it makes me think that we're starting to worry them. [ There is an edge of anger to his voice, beneath the surface, if you listen closely enough. ]

But I think they're underestimating us. Gossip? Really? [ He half-laughs and shakes his head in amused disbelief. ] We're all grown-ups here. We aren't going to be- to be manipulated by some anonymous bullies. [ The spite in the way he delivers that last word makes it sound as if he's had some experience with bullies. ] We just need to trust one another, and not let this nonsense come between us. Part of that is... coming clean.

So. Me first. [ Ned swallows, takes a moment to collect his courage. It's a big thing to confess, even if plenty of people already know about it. For all his big talk, honesty is against Ned's very nature. But this isn't exactly a normal place, and at this point, owning up is just a part of damage control. ]

...It's true. I brought someone back to life. [ He exhales, half in relief. It's done, now. No going back. ] It's not like that was a secret. It happened in broad daylight and there were like, a dozen witnesses, so this- [ He brandishes the paper again ] is not exactly an exposé, is it? As for being 'mint-in-the-box', well, I don't even know what that means, so I can't say if I am one way or another.

Comments

Video

[undomesticated]

[Excuse the gape, Ned. She's been apparently sharing a roof with Jesus.]

You legitimately brought someone back from the dead? For real?

video

[nedofpies]

Yes. [ Excuse Ned if he sounds a little hesitant; this whole talking-to-people-about-his-powers thing is new and more than a little frightening to him. ] For real.

audio:

[charring]

It seems a bit high school-ish, don't you think? Not that I went, but...I've heard high schools are known for rumors and bullshit.

audio

[nedofpies]

It does. [ As for Ned's school experiences, well... he's not going to get into that, other than to say ] And we're all mature enough not to fall for these kinds of tricks. [ Maybe if he says it often enough, he'll really believe it is true ]

Voice

[recognize_an_opportunity]

Sure, it's petty and unnecessary, but unfortunately, people tend to fall for that kinda thing. Good to know you're sensible, at least.

[And can apparently bring people back from the dead. But he's not going to ask about that just yet.]

voice

[nedofpies]

[ Yes, people they do tend to fall for this thing. Which is why Ned is hoping that his message that they are all too old for this shit will shame people into not taking it seriously. It's a strategy; maybe not a great one, but it's the best he's got ]

To be honest? I'm inclined to do whatever the people who brought us here don't want. If they're trying to drive wedges? I say it's time to get even cozier.

[manofiron]

Hey. J. Take a breath. Let it out. And then don't worry about it. It's not a big deal. Who cares what people think?

video; private

[nedofpies]

I wish it were that simple. [ He knows Tony is trying to be supportive, but he just can't bring himself to look at it that way, after the way he's always lived his life. Ned lets out that breath he's been holding, considers, switches the video setting to private. ]

'What people think' matters. 'What people think' can be life and death, if you're... [ He almost says 'a freak' but changes his mind. ] ...like me.

[ But Tony knows that. He was there when Ned ran into Dean, helped defuse the situation. Ned's expression softens and his voice is quieter when he adds ] I didn't get a chance to thank you yesterday. If you hadn't been there to calm that guy down... [ He trails off. Tony can probably figure the end of that sentence out on his own. ]

Video

[bostonhowler]

I'm not sure what 'weird' they're referring to. I'm just... a college student from Boston.

video

[nedofpies]

[ Ned believes her, completely, is more than willing to provide what reassurance he can. ]

I'm sure plenty of it is lies meant to confuse people, so they can't tell what's the truth and that's nonsense. You're... Brigid? [ He offers a small smile, just a little demonstration that he's not worried he'll blink and regret it or whatever ominous thing the flyer said]

( video )

[gleans]

Fucking right? Saying ominous shit about me is one thing, but implying I'm cheating on my boyfriend? I thought I was done high school seven years ago.

video

[nedofpies]

Yeah I noticed that you got two, it's like a fortune cookie with fortunes, but, you know. Horrible. [ See? See that rousing support? He's definitely not, in some hidden corner of his mind, worried about Galen being dangerous. ]

Must have really done something to piss off the men behind the curtain, if you ask me.

[ He's not going to give any credence to the rumor about Kenzi and Galen. Even if it were true, that's not his business at all ]

video

[venatical]

[ Ned? Dean's still totally unimpressed with him, at least outwardly. Inwardly, he's still figuring him out, and maybe at this point scaring him is its own brand of fun. It can't do that much harm, and it'll be better if he's scared of him than not, after all. ]

It means you're a virgin. [ Also, hello. He leans in toward the camera. ] Are you a virgin, Ned? [ is the question he asks, but are you slow? is the other question he's asking. ]

video

[nedofpies]

[ Ned is a picture of utter mortification. If he'd been prepared for that particular explanation he might have been ready with indignation and outrage. As it is, he gapes speechlessly for a few seconds in a shocked embarrassment that says volumes. He can feel his cheeks going bright red, clears his throat awkwardly. He thinks about just leaving the goad unanswered, but he's too worked up now to leave it alone. Besides, this is a public video. He has to say something. ]

I don't... s-see why that's anyone's business.

[ Which isn't a no, basically. ]

video

[tryingitall]

I was wondering about that, myself. The flyer I mean. Nothing specific about the rumors. [Hell, he hasn't even met half the people the pamphlet namedropped, although the mention of Lucifer, in scarequotes no less, struck him as bizarre. And possibly tempting disaster.]

I...think trusting one another and ignoring gossip is going to be harder than you're making it out to be, but you get points for courage.

Do you bring people back to life often? [Because, come on, that could be a useful skill. It's also something normally associated with Balthazar's kin, of which he's relatively certain this man isn't one. Odd.]

video

[nedofpies]

Who else could have so much information about the people here - even if some of it is probably made up? [ Ned isn't going to be fooled by that little dodge of referring to 'the scientists' in the first line as if they were someone else. Obviously their captors would want to disguise the origin of the missive as far as they could]

[ As for courage, Ned likes the sound of that. Much better than 'damage control' or 'getting it over with in a contained way while there is at least a shred of order still operating in this place' ] ...Thanks.

No. Not often. In fact I try to avoid doing it at all as a general rule.

[thezerothlaw]

... that is a very unique skill, Ned.

[It also answers a question he'd had: how many of those secrets were true. He knew the one about himself is true. He doesn't know how to deal with that.]

Do you know how you are capable of doing this?

[nedofpies]

[ Talk about understatement. Ned smiles feebly, exhales: ] Yeah.

I know how it works. I mean, how to use it, how to- [How to limit the body count, he thinks, but doesn't say that out loud. He substitutes a vague hand gesture. ] But I don't understand whatever is behind the process or know why I can do it. It just sort of started happening when I was young.

[ Ned rubs the side of his face, heart racing as he tiptoes up to a delicate question ] I don't...suppose what the paper said about you was true? About... controlling peoples' minds? [ He tries not to sound frightened, he really does. Mostly it's a success. But the idea of mind-control is a bit terrifying ]

( video )

[rigging]

Uh, yeah. I ain't fuckin' - what was it? Canoodling? The fuck uses canoodling - with Satan. [ He's scowling like crazy. This makes him SO MAD.

But, y'know. Ned actually talks about bringing people to life, and - Jesse registers that after a moment, pausing. For a long moment, he's quiet, and then he rubs at the back of his neck. ] Nice... thing t'add to a resume, though, huh? Can bake pies, owns pie shop, brings people back from the dead, is apparently minty fresh.

[ He thinks he KNOWS what they meant by mint-in-the-box, but he's being nice. He likes Ned. No being mean to Ned. ]

video

[nedofpies]

Even I don't say 'canoodling'. [ Ned knows his way of speaking can be a little strange, compared to some of the people here, and he uses that for the basis of this joke to show Jesse that he absolutely does not believe what the paper said. First of all, their self-proclaimed Satan clearly can't be Satan because that would be impossible. Second of all, well, Jesse doesn't seem the type. ]

Is that so? Too bad. Because I was getting my supportive speeches all ready. I was going to buy you a goat to sacrifice at your next Dark Mass or whatever it is you young hip Satan-worshippers do these days.

[ When it comes time to talk about his own power, though, Ned's smile and jokey demeanor slips away. He's nowhere near the point where he can see the humor in his power. He tries to keep his tone light, but there's clearly quite a bit of heaviness behind the scenes when he says: ] It's... actually not. A nice thing. At all. [ Ned rubs the back of his neck uneasily. For all his big talk about honesty, he isn't good at talking about this stuff, doubts he ever will be. And as for the minty fresh comment, well, his blush is probably answer enough. He gets it, now. ]

[audio; private]

[violenthearted]

[Because Erik debated responding to this - at least using the device, that not his preferred style of doing - it's a message Ned won't receive until hours after his initial broadcast. Ergo at first he uses just the voice function, clearing his throat audibly and waiting p...atiently for an acknowledgement.

The level of respect this affords Ned is certainly interesting from the guy who clapped him awake recently.]

audio; private

[nedofpies]

[ Well that's not ominous or anything. Mysterious private-setting throat-clearing, okay, he can work with that. He responds in kind. ]

...yes? H-hello?

[video]

[agentx13]

I wouldn't worry too much. The people keeping us here are known for playing tricks. Most of them are cruel. I think you're handling it well, though. Very well.

[ Time for a pause, please, because how does one ask- ]

So you can resurrect people?

[ -people how they- Ah. Never mind. Just dive on in, then. ]

video

[nedofpies]

[ Ned certainly isn't immune to compliments. Particularly coming so soon after his grand declaration that he's an abomination to nature, and all that. It means quite a bit to him, that she begins by reacting to his behavior, rather than just diving in and asking about his powers right away. It means that when she does ask, his automatic reaction isn't as defensive as it might otherwise be. He rubs the back of his neck, says simply: ]

Thank you. And yes, I can.

action!

[enchangement]

[ You totally didn't think that River wouldn't notice your amazing act of bravery, did you, Ned?

It may have taken her some time...nearly the whole day, really...but she does show up in Ned's room, cross-legged on the bed and grinning. ]

Proud of you.

[nedofpies]

[ River, you are going to give Ned a heart attack one of these days. He walks back to his bedroom, assuming it will be empty as always, flipping on the light as he tosses his jacket onto the bed nonchalantly. Except that he sees, out of the corner of his eye, that his bed is occupied. He starts, hand coming up defensively in fright. He isn't sure who he thinks it is exactly, for that first millisecond; it's just that he's jumpy, what with everything that has happened these last two days and - if he's honest - for even longer.]

[When he recognizes her and lets out a ragged sigh of relief. ] River.

[ He's glad to see her, really he is. He's just going to need a minute for his heart to stop racing. Ned presses a hand over his eyes, huffing out a laugh, embarrassed at his own skittishness. ]

You startled me.

Video

[godsprophet]

Wait, you... actually brought someone back to life?

[Don't mind him, Ned. He's just one of the various people who's curious about the fact that you can, apparently, resurrect the dead. Only angels and him God can do that in his world, and he can't help but be a little bit interested at that fact.]

video

[nedofpies]

[ Ned doesn't blame Chuck - or any of the others - for their disbelief. When he arrived here he didn't believe in a whole variety of things he's had to open his mind to in the last few days. ]

Yes, I did.

video;

[mentis]

[ With a warmth of concern in his voice. ]

Well, being a hero is hardly something to keep a secret. Why anyone would then need to gossip about something like that is beyond me.

video; private

[nedofpies]

I'm not a hero.

[ Ned might not feel as bad about Private Ryan's death as he ought, but he doesn't exactly feel great about it, either. Besides, he knows that it was all an accident. He didn't mean to bring Laura back, didn't mean to expose himself to public scrutiny, didn't mean for any of it to happen. So he isn't brave at all; he's just a coward presenting his mistakes in a way that makes him seem heroic to idealistic and kind men like Charles. He switches the feed to private, says: ]

Erik told me to talk to you. He said that I might be a... a mutant?

[happytobleed]

Perhaps they meant that you've suffered no serious injury.

[ He pauses. ]

Why do they care that my housemate and I are friends?

[nedofpies]

[ Clearly this guy hasn't seen Dean's video and Ned isn't going to disabuse him of that notion any time soon. He'll just make sure not to mention the fractured ribs ]

Oh, so you're from House 16, I'm guessing? [ Ned doesn't know anything about the living situation there or any of the parties involved so he shrugs, speculates ] Probably stir up jealousy. Maybe make other people feel bad for not being friends with their housemates? Maybe they didn't mean you and your friends at all but just picked a random number. Who knows.

private video

[greenisnteasy]

Don't worry; I've had someone try to stir up suspicion about me before, and strangely this is the least hunted I've ever been since the incident. [ Accident implies there's no one to blame. ]

Bringing someone back to life isn't the kind of thing people get upset about anyway. [ He pulls his glasses off, folds them up, and then sets them down before he looks back at the camera. ] But then, that's not all you can do, is it?

[ Guess who got to give a post mortem to the dead guy. ]

[nedofpies]

[ Though Ned has a general immunity to the phrase "don't worry," it's reassuring to hear that Bruce hasn't faced too much trouble here from the others. That information, plus the general tenor of peoples' reactions, is giving Ned some hope that maybe, just maybe, all this will turn out alright. ]

I don't know about that. Some people might say it's against the laws of nature. [ As a matter of fact, someone said exactly that. Ned goes on, tentatively: ] Besides, there are reactions other than 'upset' I wouldn't want to run into, like curious, or ambitious, or opportunistic. I'm sure there are certain kinds of people- [ Doctors and scientists, he thinks, but doesn't say that out loud ] -out there who would love to find out how to bring people back to life. That type of person doesn't always worry too much about how they do the finding out. [ Ned can't quite bring himself to be more direct than that, so hopefully Bruce catches his drift. ]

[ When Ned notices the careful way in which Bruce approaches his next question, worry immediately begins to gnaw at him. It's not hard to put two and two together; Bruce must know about the side-effect of his power. Ned clears his throat, looking away from the small screen and form Bruce's steady gaze - one that he sees as accusing, even if it isn't. ]

No, it isn't.

[ There's a strained moment of silence. Ned finds that he doesn't want Bruce, in particular, to think of him as a killer, even if he technically is one. Bruce was so patient with him, so gentle. What must he think now? Ned's voice is smaller as he explains: ]

I don't know what you heard, but it was an accident. I would never... most of the time I take plenty of precautions to ensure that it doesn't happen, but there were extraordinary circumstances. [ That excuse sounds so weak, even to his own ears. ]