versusnurture | eighth ♢ private + spam

private/video, backdated to shortly after white flag } megamind

[She takes care in her appearance, in a convoluted way, making sure she's dissheveled and exhausted-looking, hands wrapped tight around her upper arms like she's cold. In truth, and unfortunately, she doesn't have to do much work at all, just wrap her scarf securely around her neck and check herself in the mirror before cutting on the feed.]

[She's just naturally exhausted-looking, these days. The tentativeness is all fake, though.]

Hi. Um. I know we don't really know each other. But I was wondering if I could ask for a favor.

spam, tuesday night } elena

[Hannibal's hunt week frayed her nerves. The other Barge pulls a few stray ends out. But Abigail will realize later that the last straw was when she had to be sweet to him. Not that there wouldn't have been some other last straw - this just happened to be it. This is how it played out.]

[She knocks on Elena's door while shoving her scarf into her pants pocket. There's no way the other girl can't hear her heart hammering, she thinks, and tries to calm herself down for about five seconds before giving it up.]

spam, wednesday morning } ryan

[It's important, when hunting, to step quiet, to breathe calm. She was afraid before but she isn't afraid now. She's done this before. Kind of.]

[Besides, she isn't even sure he'll be here. The CES is a good bet, yes, but there are plenty of days when you go out looking and get nothing at all for your trouble.]

[If Ryan is here, or anyone else on the vague, short list she's got tucked away in the angriest, most vicious part of her hindbrain, nothing about her will change once she sees him. Not right away, anyway.]

[There's a dagger tucked into the back of her belt, under the bulky knit of her long sweater, a taser tucked up her sleeve ready to drop into her hand. She will wait until he reaches the edge of the woods, because that's where he is going to have to die. Between the open and the enclosed. Where he could run, if he was really looking at her face.]

spam, thursday morning } nathan

[And now she's nervous.]

[Which is not surprising. What is surprising is that she's not sorry. Not yet. She knows she'll be caught, she knew that from the beginning, but regret hasn't surfaced yet. This worries her. If she isn't sorry, how will she know she's separate from what she was trained to be? How will she know she's her own precise kind of monster?]

[She thought she might throw up after Ryan. She didn't. She just washed her hands and the blade and hid the dagger under the mattress. Business as usual, despite the fact that she knows Ben will find it as soon as he steps in there, despite the fact that she can't reuse that weapon. But he made her another one.]

[She hasn't inserted herself into the investigation, such as there's been so far. She is returning to the scene of the crime. This is, however, mostly because she wants a walk.]

[That said: as she walks, she's armed. Her hands are steady. She's nervous, but not sorry. Definitely not afraid.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh, ah, ollo?

[ The hero in him sees a young woman in need; immediately, Megamind is solicitous and concerned. He has a a soft spot for young inmates. ]

No, I can't say we've met. I'm Megamind. Are you-- alright?

[She hesitates. Not for long - the space of a breath, and then she shakes her head.]

Not - I'd like to say I am, but I'm not. Not really. Sorry.

[The brief appearance of an internal war. Then:]

I'm Abigail. Abigail Hobbs. I know you . . . were an inmate. Weren't you?

I'm-- well, yes.

I was. Eight months. Almost nine. You-- the Toshiko Takeover. You weren't there. I graduated out of that mess.

[ Which he is exceedingly grateful for. The longer time stretches between it, the better he feels about it. Though... he's creeping up on anniversaries now, instead. ]

Why do you ask?

I'm asking because I don't understand how people keep safe. People who aren't - who don't have powers, or anything like that. I'm just human.

[Human and small and frail and damaged.]

And if I'm being honest, I'm asking because I heard that sometimes you help people who don't have a good way to defend themselves. I don't. I mean, I'm learning [very, very quickly] how to fight someone off, but.

[She sighs, frustrated.]

I'm scared. [It sounds almost angry.]

[ His heart goes out to her; the great, green eyes are wide, aglow with sympathy. He's a easy read, if you get past the inhuman features; the strange colors that don't match human reactions, the press of his lips in a brief purse. ]

It isn't easy. Last October, a couple of my 'fellow inmates' cornered me in a stairwell. Broke my fingers. Both of them graduated. Not a word of apology or regret...

I...

[ He shrugs; it still bothers him, to this day. Just like what Dean did over the engine room bothers him. But he takes it, for the job. Like he can be hurt and it's completely inconsequential. But he takes it. He has a job to do. ]

I suggest you find friends, first off. A good support structure is a must. As for something more... direct, I can probably help.

I have friends. Some friends. But they can't be everywhere, and - I want to be able to take care of myself. I want to have at least a little power if I have to be stuck here.

Would you mind? I just. Want all my bases covered. As covered as they can be.

No, I wouldn't.

Have you spoken to your warden at all about your concerns? [ He's got no problem either way, but it's still one of those things he has to ask. ] You do have a warden, yes?

I do. Ben. He's been good to me. He's helping me with a lot of things - self defense. [Lie.] But I'm not very good at it yet [lie], and I still want to be armed.

I mean, I - might be being paranoid. Do you think I'm being paranoid?

eighth ♢ private + spam

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