And the stars look very different today...

[zunesareawesome]

It was a way out. But it wasn't home.

Truthfully, after Norfinbury, anything would be better than that place, but the cold truth was--there was no way to find his own universe out of the endless multiverse, even if Norfinbury's busted technology had worked properly. He was stuck, here, with a megalomaniac Flynn--granted, a Flynn that managed to open up a portal out of there. Maybe that's what it took to get out of Norfinbury.

Or, Peter thought sometimes on bad days, Norfinbury only released you once you became the twisted version of yourself it wanted you to be. A specially-designed virus inflicted on countless worlds.

Besides, he ought to know something about that.

He didn't stay long on earth, he couldn't. Maybe it had something to do with the mystery of how they were revived in Norfinbury, their bodies recreated or cloned or healed, or maybe it was something that was gonna happen to him anyway, but he could feel the Light burning inside him, inside his head almost as soon as he landed. A desperate need to take to the stars. He'd managed to create a ship and took off.

Time passes, and scientists notice something odd about several exoplanets they're monitoring, especially ones marked as 'earth-like' or other planets in zones that could make them potentially habitable. Bright bursts of light and changes in the composition of the atmosphere or surface, it was inexplicable. Possible evidence of intelligent life? If they didn't know any better, especially with the rocky planets that now somehow boasted extreme changes, it was like something was terraforming them.

There was cause for alarm when Mars suddenly turned blue and green a few months later.

Meanwhile, a small blue-and-orange ship that looked suspiciously like a slightly more organic-looking Milano was racing towards the earth.

Comments

[luckythief]

"Yeah, I'm sure he will be." He can't quite keep the sarcasm from his voice but it's a lot more subdued, a lot less snide than it could have been.

It bothers him. He has never policed his tone around Stone before and it feels like giving up another part of his freedom. Like a win for Flynn and Stone and their notions of teaching him 'respect' or whatever - but right now, it's necessary. Ezekiel tries to think of it as breaking a lock instead, carefully picking at the different components and not getting too impatient. He doesn't want to make Stone angry. This Stone is terrifying when he's angry and he needs him to not be angry in order to work on saving the other Stone.

"The circuit board might take me a while." He hesitates. This next one is risky, he doesn't know how Jacob will react, but he has to try.

"It would go a lot faster if I could keep working on it in my cell."

[bookbrawler]

"What?" Jacob pauses, staring at him and holding the sandpaper up. He's clearly thinking about it, weighing the options. Jones was sneaky, sure, but what damage could he get up to with that in the cell?

He chews on his lip for a second before shrugging.

"Ask Flynn. If he doesn't have a problem with it, then I don't."

There was something weirdly freeing about deferring to Flynn. It was easier this way, plus he didn't have to worry about fighting with him or anything. Less trouble for everyone all around.

Flynn making the decisions for him was much easier.

[luckythief]

"Seriously?" Like Flynn is ever going to agree to that. Maybe Ezekiel shouldn't have punched him but back then it had seemed like the only option.

But that's actually not what's bothering him right now.

"What happened to 'I hate these tattoos so much and I'm super mopey all the time because I don't get to make my own decisions?'"

[bookbrawler]

"Yeah, seriously. In case you haven't noticed we both work for the guy?"

'Work for.'

He shrugs and goes back to aimlessly sandpapering.

"I was more stressed out then. It's easier now."

It's a tone that suggests he might not exactly believe that.

[luckythief]

'Work for.'

Ezekiel pulls a face and watches him out of the corner of his eye, measuring his reactions. It's a fine line to thread here, prodding at dangerous subjects but if he wants to figure out what Flynn did to Stone he needs to narrow it down, needs to understand how his friend's mind works now and why. Is it a spell? A curse? Something that changed morality? Something that forced him to make certain decisions?

"I don't know, you kiiinda seem a little stressed to me." You know, with your rage face moments and hammer wielding insanity. "And since when do you like the easy way?"

[bookbrawler]

"I'm not stressed!" His voice rises, then he catches himself.

"I'm not stressed. And maybe I like the easy way cause..."

He doesn't look at him and digs around a bad scratch with his sandpaper.

"Maybe I'm just tired of fighting. Maybe...maybe I've fought long and hard enough and it's gotten us nowhere. Maybe Flynn actually isn't so bad after all and we can actually get things done by working together. Not that you'd know anything about that."

[luckythief]

"Maybe I don't."

It feels like a throwback to the early days, of pretending he doesn't care for these people he suddenly finds himself working with, because he's just here to have some fun and treasure along the way.

"So you like working for Flynn now?"

[bookbrawler]

"Yeah, I figured." There's a scoff. As if he didn't expect much else from Ezekiel Jones.

He pauses in his sandpapering, looking back over at him.

"It's not really a question of liking. It's more like...figuring out the best way forward. And maybe he's part of that."

[luckythief]

"Mmh." This is fine (it's not), he's used to Stone thinking ill of him (he's not, not really, not anymore, not when he's so serious about it).

"You really don't care about any of this. Breaking my hands? Locking me up? Like, I get that you're angry and you feel betrayed and think I somehow doomed Earth by not getting beaten up by the space gardener but you're actually saying what you and Flynn are doing doesn't bother you?"

[bookbrawler]

This is completely fine.

"Of course I care, why'd you think I'm doing any of this stuff in the first place? We gotta defend the earth, unlike you, who thinks pizza is worth more than people--"

What he and Flynn are doing?

"He's doing what's necessary. It's tough times right now." He sounds a little unsure and goes back to buffing out another scratch.

[luckythief]

"You smashed my fingers with a hammer. Do you even know how much it sucks to have your fingers smashed with a hammer? Because it really sucks a LOT."

He pushes himself up, moving away from the crate again.

"Like, I'm pretty sure there's an International Law against that or something. Or used to be, you know, before Flynn literally took over the planet."

[bookbrawler]

"Well, maybe you shoulda thought about that before you decided to throw it in with the video game guy!" he waves a hand in the vague direction of space indignantly.

"And yeah, Flynn took over the world, but we're working for the most powerful guy on earth, so you know. There's some benefits for that."

Whatever they were.

[luckythief]

"That doesn't even make any sense. We're supposed to be Librarians, we don't work for anyone but the Library."

He moves back to the panel and crawls into the UFO, grabbing the phone and hiding it in his sock before he can accidentally cross a line with Stone.

"Which means if I'm a traitor, then so are you."

[bookbrawler]

"In case you haven't noticed, we have Flynn now! We don't need the Library anymore!"

He regrets the words as soon as they come out of his mouth. It feels so wrong to say it.

He feels like a traitor.

And now he's even more pissed at Ezekiel.

"Don't you put this on me!"

[luckythief]

"'We don't need the Library'? Are you serious right now?!"

When Jake's rage picks up Ezekiel feels like apologizing, then angry at the reactive urge, then furious at what Jacob is saying. He should diffuse the situation but he's genuinely upset now and the words are out before he can stop himself.

"You punish me for treason but you renounce the Library?!"

[bookbrawler]

Renounce is such a...strong word, really.

"The Library protects the earth. Flynn protects the earth better than anyone else right now, and he's gonna last forever, so it's--y'know, it's fine!" That's not really a great argument and he knows it.

[luckythief]

That is an awful argument, Stone, and the worst potential way to end it, too. "It's not fine!"

He shouldn't have done that. This isn't going to end well but once they started going down this road he can't seem to stop himself, his carefully constructed pretense slipping away.

"Working for this maniac is not fine! Breaking my hands is not fine! What the hell's going on with you? This isn't you! Do you really not realize that he must have done something to you?!"

[bookbrawler]

There are doubts in his mind, but he only doubles down harder when accused. He can't trust Jones. He can't be wrong in his decision to break his hands. He can't because that meant...no, he couldn't harbor those thoughts. Ezekiel was trying to get him to turn against Flynn, obviously.

"Don't you realize everything changed when that maniac--" he waves a hand vaguely at space and accidentally drops his sandpaper, getting worked up in the moment.

"Came down and decided he wanted to take over the earth? That Flynn's the only thing savin' the good people of earth? That you're gonna say whatever you need to get me on your side, then you're gonna convince me to join you and betray Flynn? Unlike you--" He jabs a finger towards him.

"--I know how to be loyal! I know where I stand! I'd never sell out this planet!"

[luckythief]

"I didn't sell out Earth!"

He throws his hands in the air, agitated, walking away (maybe getting a little more distance between them), angrily ripping out a handful of dead cables to toss in the bin next to his work station.

"Oh my God, I can't believe you. I can't believe this. It's like talking to a brick wall. You don't even have any proof!"

[bookbrawler]

"I can't believe your lies, man! You just keep lyin' to my face and I thought we were friends! I thought you cared, maybe, about something other than yourself but nope!"

His agitation is rising, and he ignores the scratches for now to yell at Jones.

"The proof? The proof!?" He throws a hand out in Jones' general direction. "Right there. You're proof! There's no way you could have come back like you did without makin' some kind of deal!"

[luckythief]

"I didn't make a deal! I just distracted him and kept him talking until you guys came to get me! Why won't you believe me?!"

He snaps his mouth shut when that last bit comes out a little too raw, a little too hurt and he didn't mean to give an opening like that. This isn't Stone. He can't forget that this isn't Stone.

[bookbrawler]

"More lies," he just can't believe Jones' audacity. "Does this work on the more gullible people, Jones? That's how you do your stealin' and thievin'? It won't work on me and sure as hell won't work on Flynn. You know what?"

He kicks at a loose piece of metal, sending it flying.

"If you ever respected us, if you ever respected our friendship, you'd stop this awful pretense. It's insulting."

[luckythief]

He presses his mouth to a thin line, looking away, because that actually hurt. Ezekiel leans against the UFO, taking a couple of deep breaths to collect himself, struggling to get the mask back into place.

It doesn't quite work.

"You know what? Sure. Screw it! Believe what you want!"

That's probably not helping.

"Oh, and by the way, if you ever respected our friendship? You wouldn't have tortured me!"

[bookbrawler]

"Yeah, that's what I thought!" He notices how Jones has seemingly become upset, but he misinterprets that as becoming upset over breaking through his lies.

"You only got what you deserved," it's a low growl. Look at him being all overdramatic, as usual.

[luckythief]

"You know what, Stone? Bite me!"

He's pointing back at him, the horrible experiences slowly catching up to him and taking their toll.

"Because I didn't! I didn't deserve it, I don't deserve it! And you know what?! I did get more flowers than you and saved the universe, too, so there! You and whatever magic is swirling around in that blockhead of yours is probably just compensating that all you did was crashing the UFO!"