pushtheboundaries | IC INBOX; MoM

[it's been rough.

his session with Crane on Monday went as well as it could have, and, at least, gave him the calm that he'd lost since the barn. it's helped him regain the perspective he's so sorely needed, to the point where he can shake his head at his immediate actions - to be fair, he was stressed and panicking. the campus has been calming enough, in turn - burying himself in work has always been a good diversion for him.

to say nothing about what he's been tinkering with on the side.

still, his responsibilities take priority over any toys he may be playing with - and so, even at this hour, it's not unheard of for him to be in his office. not unheard of for him to barely glance up before looking back down at his desk, reshuffling some papers]

Come in.

[ Well, crap. Callaghan is here, despite the hour. Hiro has two choices now: he can leave and come back later, try to catch Cal's office at a time when he isn't here ... Or he can walk right in. He can't decide which of those he wants now that he's confronted with a definitive choice and not just a Schrödinger's box of possibilities. Silence stretches for a long moment as he lingers outside. This is such a bad idea. This is such a bad idea...

Very, very slowly, Hiro nudges open the door. He makes sure it's wide enough for Callaghan to see him - wide enough for him to see Callaghan in return, sweep his gaze up and down a few times before again staring at the floor - but does not cross the threshold. That seems like a terrible idea indeed. Better to give Callaghan the chance to react now that Hiro's arrived here and probably startled him. He swallows, hard, and keeps absolutely still. ]

Professor?

Edited 2015-07-10 10:31 (UTC)

[the pause has him glance up again, arching his brow. and the slow opening of the door makes him wonder just what the

hell.

immediately, Callaghan shoots to his feet, a sudden rustle of metal coming from one of the desk drawers as a small grouping of microbots slips out and moves on to his hand like a gauntlet. that says nothing about his posture itself; shoulders squared, spine straight, it's rather reminiscent of when he wore a mask.

it seems that for all Hiro's attempts to placate, there's still a high degree of wariness.

but he says nothing.]

[ He really should have expected that. He still flinches seeing his own microbots used against him - it dredges up all kinds of unpleasant memories - but forces himself to hold firm. Hands up, one fisted and both a little shaky, but a firm sign of surrender nonetheless. Deep breaths. Deep, calming breaths. ]

I'm not here to fight. [ The words tumble out in a rush. ]. You - you didn't respond to my texts so - [ Considering how he lured Callaghan to the barn, that's not surprising either. He gets himself lost for a moment, unsure of what to say. ]

[it's certainly a difference from the ~~horrifically~~ composed boy at the barn; more like the one at the warehouse, than anything. still, Callaghan keeps his guard, watching Hiro with a thin, suspicious frown

and then another subtle shift in posture. again, his guard is still up, but it's towards a defense rather than preparing-to-strike. his words are steady, if short.]

I thought it best if we kept a distance.

[ Hiro isn't without a trick or two up his sleeve - but he isn't wearing a backpack and he doesn't have his technokinesis. He's essentially unarmed. The only thing he has is his fists... And he's walking forward slowly with one held out as far as he can from the rest of his body. He won't quite get close enough to Cal to touch him, but he will get close enough that Cal could take his hand if he wanted. ]

I know. But -- [ he had to see Callaghan alive and well ] -- I found something of yours. In the barn.

[ He turns his hand over and opens it, revealing a a familiar ring in the center of his palm. Carefully cleaned and polished to remove any soot from the band. ]

[Callaghan remains stiff and still as Hiro approaches, the only motion the microbots subtly shifting on his hand. if things do go bad, he could probably- he thinks he can restrain him with them, or at least distract him long enough to get in to position where he can do so. there'll still be the suspicion, of course, people blaming him for this when all he wanted was to be left alone, damn it!

his uncovered hand balls in to a loose fist. this isn't his fault, he's tired of being blamed for things out of his control, how could he have expected

that.

Callaghan blinks with a sharp inhale, visibly taken aback by the small band in Hiro's palm. he recognizes it, of course; it's impossible not to. unthinkingly, his hand moves towards his neck, where until recently, it'd hung on a chain under his clothing...

abruptly, the microbots slide out. they're whip-quick, making to snatch the piece as though afraid Hiro will pull back if they don't move fast enough.]

[ It takes all of Hiro's self control not to flinch back as the microbots brush his palm. But he manages to relax once the bots have retreated, dropping both hands back to his sides. There. He's done what he came here to do. Should he go now? Probably - but somehow he can't get his feet to move. ]

It was in the barn. You must've dropped it.

[they touch as little of him as they can, and don't linger. instead, they bring it to Callaghan's own fingers, where he takes it and brings it up to his face, examining it grimly...

for what? flaws? proof that it's it? there's the inscription, there's no way it could be faked, even if...even if...

he lets out a slow breath, lowering the ring, and looking back at Hiro with a furrowed brow]

...You could have had someone else bring it.

[he doesn't sound angry. just...a bit bemused.]

[ He could have. Tadashi would have been happy to bring it, he's sure; Krei or Cass would have been even better choices. But he had to see for himself that Callaghan was alive, first of all. That he hadn't been crippled or maimed or ... Hiro's recovered enough to be able to live with himself if he'd caused any of those things, but it hadn't helped him sleep much at night either. He had to do something.

He looks back down at the floor, not meeting Callaghan's gaze. ]

You saved my life, back there. Least I could do was bring it in person.

[Hiro acting like this is bittersweet. on some level, he approves of the clear regret; another is suspicious, whispering that it's a ruse, to not lower his guard for an instant or he'll-what, exactly? Hiro's literally powerless here. to be fair, he's still brilliant, and it isn't as though he overcame such an imbalance before.

he did have help then, though. here, he's alone.

and Callaghan sighs, moving to slip the piece inside his shirt pocket. he does have to reach under the sweatervest to do it, but all the better, now, isn't it?]

Saving you was as much selfish as it was selfless, Hiro. I was already half-convinced nobody'd believe it wasn't my doing in the first place.

[he's subdued, admitting it, but...yet another part of him does not want the boy feeling indebted to him in any way. at least - not for this.]

[ Too late for that. Hiro already feels indebted to a lot of people in the aftermath of that mess; Callaghan is just one out of a crowd. A very important one. He shrugs a little in response to that, helplessly.

You still could have left me there. I - even after Krei got me out of there, I was still ...

[ Trying to kill you, is the actual end to that statement, but he doesn't know how to phrase that without sounding crazy. He was crazy, after all. That's the long and short of it. He takes a deep breath. ]

They pulled out the thing in my head making me act like that.

I could have left you, and any number of people would have assumed I took advantage of circumstances. [he's not sure why he's not simply accepting it- does he want Hiro to go back to being mad at him? there's a hell of a lot of an easier way to do that, all he has to do is tap in to that venom that's always so close. even so, Hiro bringing up 'the thing' has him pause on that route, studying the boy for a few moments before he - slowly - moves to sit back down in his chair]

...Your brother mentioned something was affecting you.

I'd like to know what it was. [and if he has to worry about it happening again, but- he'll leave that, for the moment]

Edited 2015-07-10 21:11 (UTC)

You still saved me.

[ Said firmly - he's not backing down from that particular point. The fact that he's standing here is proof of that. As for the mental influence ... There's still a lot he doesn't know about it. Theories, of course, but he doesn't want to accuse anyone potentially innocent. On the other hand ... it is Crane. And suddenly all his good feelings towards the psychologist have evaporated, given recent events. Callaghan's asking what it was rather than who, at least. Hiro can answer that much.

And Callaghan deserves an answer. ]

Some kind of mental influence. Someone put it there. [ Crane, Crane, probably Crane. ] It felt like a fog in my head. I couldn't get past being angry with you.

Mm.

[if you can't beat 'em - move around them. focus on something else, which, in this case, is something worth investigating. even if he really, really should dismiss the boy...there's a thousand and one reasons to send him on his way, and few to encourage him to stay.]

Any chance of a reoccurrence?

[reason one.]

[ He shakes his head, the color draining a little from his face at the thought of all this happening again. They'd assured them that they'd gotten everything, M'gann had been certain ... ]

Completely gone. [ He pales a little further. ] And - they're watching so - [ Surely, even if this were to happen again, they would stop him. ]

[and now he's terrifying the boy. he doesn't bother trying to fight the shred of satisfaction from that - that, at least, feels justified, because there's at least one other angle needed to be seen]

And if whoever did this tries to do it again? Do you have any idea whom they might be?

[ There's the difficult question. He's sure the influence is gone; he's not sure it came from. ]

Yes.

[ That's all he can say about that. ]

Yes, you know? Yes, you're prepared if they try again? [he leans forward, intent. here, he needs specifics ]

[ Hiro takes a step back. With Callaghan controlling his microbots, having just survived an attack from Hiro ... He doesn't much fancy his odds. ]

I have an idea. And - there's ways for us to check. If it might be happening again.

[the motion has him clench his jaw. that's not the kind of fear he wanted to invoke, damn it...

another exhale - more of a huff, really - and he leans back.]

Then I suppose I'll have to take your word for it.

You can ask my brother. You know he'll be checking up on me.

[ Even if Hiro doesn't trust Cal, then Tadashi surely does. Tadashi would tell Callaghan everything, Hiro's sure of that. He falls silent for a moment, thinking. ]

... I think ... I think the person who did this is Dr. Crane.

[Callaghan tilts his head in acknowledgement of Tadashi's reliability

then abruptly goes rigid, eyes widening. for a few seconds, it's all he can do to stare in utter shock before he manages to recover, a tense mask of forced calm sliding in place over his features]

And why would you think that?

[ Hiro isn't sure how to interpret that. Is it disbelief? Dos Callaghan know Crane already? Are they friends? That would be just his luck. ]

He had me do hypnotherapy a few months ago. I think that might have been around when I started feeling weird. And ... I remember a man during the dive. Someone with glasses.

[his lips press together in a thin, unhappy smile. a thoughtful one, but- still unhappy. he folds his hands in front of him, fingertip to fingertip] There's more people out there than Dr. Crane who wear glasses. As for hypnotherapy - unless he's got an ability neither of us know about, hypnosis isn't nearly as related to mind control as people think. If what you're suggesting has any relation to what happened, it'd need more than one session. A lot more, even with you young as you are.

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