pushtheboundaries | IC INBOX; MoM

[Callaghan can't help but wonder if this is bigger, though. if Hiro's just a pawn - not necessarily against him, but in something greater both of them are missing.

that's his own wonder, though. as long as the boy keeps himself contained...as long as he has his friends...

Callaghan rubs his face, thumb and forefinger rubbing at his eyes. he doesn't want to do this, but at the same time...]

Then I suppose I should trust you. Come over here.

[ Hiro looks up at him, unsure. Does Callaghan trust him? He supposes if Callaghan wanted to hurt him, or capture him, or - whatever, he would have had ample opportunity by now. Cautiously, he inches his way over to the desk, until he's standing just across from the professor. ]

What is it?

[Callaghan, for his part, has a tired resignation to him. a lingering wariness and tension, but it seems that he's accepted - or at least come to terms - with something. he extends his hand with those microbots in it, arching his brow]

Unless you want me to keep all this. Frankly, I think it's better you take it back before I become reliant on it.

[ Oh. Right. His technokinesis. And his microbots, neither of which he particularly wants in Callaghan's hands. Too late for the latter if he's taken any of them home, he supposes, but he can at least feel out anything in this room. And he's missed his powers now that he's out of the comm. Inside, it hadn't been so bad. Outside ... well, for Hiro, having that white noise to drown out the excess data of the rest of the world has helped him focus. It hasn't been a great week at work without it.

So with a mixture of - relief? Gratitude? Uncertainty? He reaches out for them. ]

No, I need it back. [ A deep breath. ] I didn't come here to get them back, but ...

I know you didn't. That's why I'm returning them.

[he takes Hiro's hand, lightly - a finger's contact would work, but it's the gesture that he wants. he's easy with his grip, not forcing it on Hiro, but it's there if he wants to return such.

all while Callaghan pushes - and that almost hyper-awareness he's forced himself to get used to fades. the world goes silent, almost, and were it not for his other hand that slipped itself in to his right pocket, why, he wouldn't be aware of one of his recent inventions but for the memory of it.

as it is, his fingers have clasped over it, thumb in position to flip a switch if necessary. it's a simple device, one that he tried to make even simpler - reducing pieces and structure and connections as far down as he could make them, until he has a still-workable EMP device which only requires a connection made before auto-firing. the range is small, only a few feet, and it has no way of recharging or being reused...

and even now, he's not sure Hiro won't sense it.

but he'll be damned if he's caught defenseless if this has all been a trick.]

The rest of the microbots are in my room. I thought it best to keep them in storage unless I was actively using them.

[ Under normal conditions, he might have sensed something - the breadth of his senses has only grown since he first received the ability, on both ends of the scale; he has learned to manipulate simpler machines as well as more complex ones. But they're at the limit of his awareness, and they all blend together even on a good day; he wouldn't be able to distinguish Callaghan's device from, say, a snap button or a zipper on his clothing. It all sort of blurs together at that level of simplicity.

And today, specifically ... Everything rushes back into his head at once, a swirling cacophony of sound and awareness and - his mind is still too tender from the dive to take it all in easily. He does tighten his grip on Callaghan's hand, if only because that has suddenly become the only stable source of contact in a world gone crazy for a moment. The other hand comes down hard on the corner of Callaghan's desk as he leans most of his weight against it. Between the two, he only barely manages to keep himself from passing out on the spot.

Stars flicker at the corner of his vision as he gulps in air and waits for the dizziness to pass. Too late, he remembers that he'd neglected to eat anything today. A week in the comm has sort of ruined his appetite. The microbots in Callaghan's hand only twitch, faintly, as his power slowly takes them back over. It's going to take a moment for him to come back to himself.

If this is all a trick ... it sure is elaborate. And one that leaves him utterly at Callaghan's mercy for a solid minute as he struggles to stay conscious. ]

[all told, he probably should have expected something like this. still, the sudden response from the kid has his own hand tightening - hands, rather. when two seconds pass and it's clear that Hiro is more disorientated than dangerous, Callaghan releases his grip on the device and slowly pushes himself up, using his hold on Hiro to try and tug him towards a chair on that side of the desk]

Careful - sit down. Breathe.

[it wasn't as dizzy for him when he took the power - but then, maybe the fire and stress of the situation was dizzying enough that he didn't notice. and the echoing absence, the silence..it's disturbing, but not enough to shake him. not when his focus is on making sure Hiro's not about to pass out.

by the time Hiro becomes more aware, he may be aware of Callaghan having come all the way around to try and urge him down. please don't collapse on him, Hiro, that would be bad.]

[ He sits down a little too roughly, putting his head between his knees to keep from passing out. It's a little touch and go for a moment, but ... When that moment passes, he takes in deep, bracing breaths. Slowly but surely recovering himself. ]

I'm - I'm okay. Just ... give me a minute.

[ He's still trembling from the weight of it all in his mind. It's all going to be a colossal headache later on - but for now, it starts to slide back into place. Color returns to his cheeks as he finally lifts his head again. Ah ... the microbots. Carefully, he reestablishes his control over them, so that they trickle away from Callaghan and crawl back up his own arm, to perch on his shoulder like some kind of protective bird. ]

Edited 2015-07-12 17:39 (UTC)

[it'd be a lie to say there's no trickle of alarm as the microbots respond out of his control. there's also a trickle of - wistfulness? wanting? while he has them at his beck and call, there's a part of him that feels invincible, as though nothing is out of his reach, and that's aside from the nigh-limitless sensation of having everything in his control and mastery...

he's going to miss them, no matter how much he tells himself this is for the best. that this is right, despite how much doubt lingers. he could do far more than Hiro could even dream of with them, and...maybe giving them back was as much for himself as it was for Hiro.

if nothing else, he isn't sure he should be tempted with that sort of feeling. he looks away so Hiro can't see his face, even if he looked, though at least he seems still preoccupied with recovery.]

I've got a few water bottles in the desk, if you need one.

[ Water ... water sounds pretty good actually. His poor forgotten stomach needs something, but he's not sure he could keep down anything more substantial. Stupid comm antics making things difficult. He nods, weakly, and settles himself a little more comfortably in his chair.

And since Callaghan's turned away from him by then, he can't see the man's face. Is he hiding an expression from him? Fear, maybe? The thought of that pricks uncomfortably at Hiro's heart. ]

Water would be great. [ He pauses. Hesitates. ] I - I'm not going to hurt you. Not now, not ever.

[obviously he was just looking towards the aforementioned desk, Hiro, and now he's just making sure he's not going to bump in to it. and now he's opening one of the lower drawers, and there's a bit of rustling as he pulls one out, and then

he pauses.

when did he start wanting - or needing - or even caring about a child promising not to hurt him? he makes a dry, humorless sound that could possibly be related to a chuckle, coming back up and breaking the seal of the bottle before handing it to Hiro]

I should be the one saying that, you know.

[ He accepts the bottle gratefully, taking a long thirsty swig of it before doing anything else. Much better. He'll still have to find himself some food soon, but he thinks he can make it back to Aunt Cass' house easily enough now. He should be fine until then.

He makes an equally dry noise in response to that, more of a snort than a chuckle. They both know age has nothing to do with the toxicity of their relationship up until today. ]

I'm the one who tried to murder you. [ The linguistic distinction is important: Callaghan tried to kill Hiro and his friends, it's true, but every time they were in Callaghan's way. Still terrible, but ... potentially avoidable. Not like what Hiro had tried to do. Crane's influence did nothing to blur his memories; after all, he made every single one of those decisions himself, even if the influence distorted all context for them beyond rationality. ]

[just two brilliant minds on parallel tracks, whose crossings can be...rather spectacular, albeit in the worst ways.]

You weren't thinking clearly.

[sure, Callaghan didn't hunt them down, and was simply reacting to what he perceived as obstacles...but the decisions were still his. the only thing affecting him was...

well.

himself.

and to try and deter further discussion on that path, he eases himself back in to his seat and continues;] Let me ask you a question. How much of that did you truly mean, back at the barn? With it being hopeless?

[ Probably best that they keep away from that topic. That's only going to make the both of them feel terrible with no real gain. Hiro latches onto the new topic with ... well, not relief, but at least some semblance of fluidity. Just a nod to acknowledge that yes, he wasn't thinking clearly that night. He'd lashed out at everyone, tried to throw himself off a roof...

Much better that they aren't discussing this. He swallows, hard, around the lump in his throat. ]

About the portal? [ What else would it be about? He stays quiet for a moment, taking another drink of water. ] I meant it at the time. Part of - part of what was in my head had me convinced ... [ Another deep breath. ] I don't know now. I don't trust any work I did for the last couple months.

Mmm. [he can definitely understand 'at the time'. that sort of thing can be blamed for...well. quite a lot. but other than tilting his head, he doesn't remark on that, focusing on what's important;] I haven't been there since. Clearly you have- how bad is it? Are we starting from square one?

[ He shakes his head firmly at that. He'd gone over it in as much detail as he could, lacking his technokinesis to feel for bent parts and the like. If the portal had been damaged beyond repair - if they'd really been thrown back to the beginning - he's had a lot of reasons to be unable to live with himself now, but that would have been the worst. ]

It's a little damaged, but it's nothing you can't fix. I mostly just scorched it. Destroyed some of our supplies.

Nothing we can't fix. [don't try and imply you're not a part of this, even subconsciously. if he's back on this damn thing, so are you, kid.] I'll get back to work on my research of the Porter and what problems it - she - could pose. [beat] The point I'm trying to make, Hiro, is that if Phoenix is still on, then I'm willing to move past all of this. I don't think either of us are going to forget it, but...

[he trails off. but now you know how I felt? now you know what it's like to be angry?

but I don't care, so long as you promise Abigail is the priority right after Tadashi.

none of that seems to fit, so he lets the silence rest.]

[ Even if Callaghan isn't saying as much, he certainly can think along those lines. That first one for sure ... ]

You don't have to if you don't want to. You don't - you don't owe me anything any more, after all of that. We're even.

[ At bare minimum, as far as he's concerned. Maybe he even owes something to Callaghan in return, for saving his life. ]

You've got a funny way of looking at 'even'. [and he can already tell this can go in to an argument that will just make both of them miserable in the end. especially since while he's beginning to come to terms with the brutal side of himself, accepting it as part of him as opposed to just a mask...it seems that Hiro's not nearly as at ease with it. not that Robert himself is, but he's beginning to allow it, as opposed to blocking it off.

Hiro's not ready for that.

and all told, he thinks he's just about done for the night.]

If you're ready to go, I'll get the rest of the microbots, or you can pick them up later. But I don't think I'm getting much work done for the rest of the night.

[he could really, really use a drink, actually]

[ Hiro opens his mouth - to argue, maybe? But no, Callaghan's right. He doesn't get to say what's "even" when he's barely two weeks out of trying to brutally murder someone. Clearly, that puts him in a desperate amount of debt to this man.

He's not sure what else he was trying to accomplish, going down this particular avenue of conversation. Some solace, maybe, in the thought that he could be ... if not forgiven, then accepted. But he doesn't see that happening either. Best to take his microbots and go. Hurt flickers in his expression as he stands, weakly, and puts the half-full bottle down on Callaghan's desk. A little more despair curls around his heart as well, but it's got plenty of company there already. ]

I'll take them.

[ It comes out barely louder than a whisper. ]

[is Hiro so desperate for Callaghan not to feel in his debt? there's a hell of a lot more that needs to be done until that happens. this - changes things a bit, but the fact remains they're three to two by Callaghan's count. and that's not even touching on the fact that because of his actions, Hiro lost someone dear.

and because of Hiro's actions, someone dear was returned to Robert.

he presses his lips in a slight frown, watching Hiro for a moment before getting to his feet with a sigh]

In lighter news. Desmond- ah, Wasabi arrived. I sent him towards the girls, but you should probably meet up with him as well.

[ That has what was likely the desired effect: Hiro stops for a moment, startled, and then brightens. Another friend? He must be the luckiest person here to just keep getting them. And here he thought he'd be all alone when he'd first arrived. ]

-- Really? Do you know where he's staying?

[bingo.]

I didn't ask - I figured that it was better to send him towards people he was more comfortable with. I didn't tell him much, either, for the same reason. He'll have enough of a headache getting used to everything as it is, better he hears about everything from his peers.

[he'll wait until Hiro's up, and then start to lead him through the school. after flipping off the lights and locking up, of course.]

Yeah - yeah. Honey and Gogo would help him out too.

[ He's still a little wobbly as he walks, but not too bad. The water has done a lot to get him back on his feet. ]

I let both know, just in case. Both responded, so odds are they've already met up - especially since this was in the morning. I'm sure he'd appreciate hearing from you, too, though.

[hope you don't mind him not taking too much of a lead? because he's still watchful that you're not about to fall over.]

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