A Strange Afterlife

[ginger_firebird]

 It had to be impossible. He could feel his skin. A pulse beat under his neck. He stood in front of a store window and regarded his reflection in the glass. Same black leather outfit. Same brown trench-coat. The fabric weight down on him and he rubbed his arms as he tried to figure out what was going on. A wandering spirit had doors to enter and exit when it came to the world of the living, but he'd never achieved something like this. It was alien and wrong and he had no idea where anyone was.

Mantis sighed, marveling quietly at the way his chest rose and fell with his breathing. It didn't matter. He'd keep moving and hope for the best. If this was some punishment for a misstep, he knew exactly who to take it up with.

"Sorrow!" Even his voice carried an echo. Mantis pointed himself into a new direction and began to walk. "What did I do this time, old man?"

Comments

[ginger_firebird]

A mutual interest. Mantis is not at all used to meeting psychics, let alone ones with his own kinds of powers. He throws up some mental defenses on instinct, but doesn't quite pull away from the mental link. He needs to know, if only by a little, how strong this young man was.

"I've heard that twice now. I have to go home. There's someone over there I am not going to be parted from." Mantis crosses his arms and shakes his head. "Whatever brought me here won't keep me. I'll find my way home somehow."

[chiaro_oscuro]

Ben pulls back a bit when he senses the defenses the stranger pulls up. So, someone with similar powers to his own. That confirms it. He's curious now, but also cautious. He doesn't have a sense of the other man's power.

"Ah, well, you can try. But you'll be disappointed, I think. But I understand having people back home who you miss. I'm lucky that one of them comes to see me sometimes, but there are others I will never see again."

[ginger_firebird]

Mantis takes a physical step back, but only the one. He isn't about to be afraid, but this Ben person is going to be one he will not soon forget.

"Only one? Then he might end up here anyway." He isn't sure he wants to see Liquid going to his usual habits in a place like this. "Might be better if he doesn't show up here."

[chiaro_oscuro]

Ben's wary, too. It isn't every day he runs into someone with similar powers to bis own, though he's sure they do exist here. He's not afraid, but he is cautious.

"There's a lot of curious people here," he tells the stranger. "What kind of world are you from?"

[ginger_firebird]

"A world constantly at war. Someone's always fighting over something." And it's damn exhausting. He doesn't particularly miss battlefields and the constant stress. "People like me are rarely found."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"There are a few of those." Ben's heard about several from different people. "Worlds at war. Humans fighting humans, humans fighting aliens, robots fighting robots. It's a reason people come here - to get away from that kind of thing where they're from.The Nexus isn't completely safe, but it's an improvement over that."

[ginger_firebird]

"People are bad at keeping the peace. It's how things are." The descriptions of the different worlds catch his attention, though. Robots, maybe, but aliens? "Everyone needs their escapism when they can't handle reality. I was fine where I was. I don't need this place."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"It helped me. But to each their own." Ben's met people like this stranger before, but no one had openly talked about going back. "Some worlds are more violent than others." He's also a creature of violence in a peaceful place - though Ben tries to deal with his remaining aggression in more productive ways now. Dealing with monsters, working on self-control, sparring in the Viper's Pit.

[ginger_firebird]

"That assumes I can even find a way out. There's no real topography here. Everything is constantly moving." Mantis rubs his hands together. "What things stay the same in this place? If I can't get out soon, I'll need a place to stay."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"The inhabited areas are more stable than the Wilds. Finding a place to live shouldn't be too hard - there are apartments and inns that people use. But you'll need a PINpoint to help you. I can lead you to one, if you want." Ben wishes to get to know this other man a little better.

[ginger_firebird]

"A...PINpoint?" You're going to lose him with all these words. "Can you show me one? I don't want to get lost."

[chiaro_oscuro]

Ben considers the question, then nods. "Yes, I can. There's a vending machine in the Plaza. Do you have any money with you? They're dirt cheap, and the machine takes any currency as far as I know. If you don't have any I can pay."

[ginger_firebird]

Mantis pats at his pockets and fumbles through the inner and outer pockets on his jacket. There's quite a few of them, but it all turns up empty. "I'll pay you back somehow. I can't imagine how people earn money or find it in a place like this."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"People take on jobs here. That's how I earn my living, for example. I do repairs for people. Sometimes I sell artwork - sketches, drawings, sometimes commissions." Ben rummages in a pocket and offers Mantis a few coins. "It's in the center of town. Not too far away."

[ginger_firebird]

"All I can really do is read minds and move heavy objects..." He takes the coins, trying to guess where they're from. "Then again, someone will have a use for any kind of skill. I'm not an artist like you seem to be."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I'm sure you can find something." Honestly, Ben isn't sure where the coins came from, either. There's not much way of knowing for sure here. "Your skills - aside from the drawing - are a lot like mine."

[ginger_firebird]

"Desperation is the mother of invention." Mantis gestures for Ben to lead the way. "I could try becoming a therapist here. Telepathy would make it easier to find out what ruined people enough that they need help."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"That's not a bad idea. I'm not sure we have any therapists - there are enough people who could use that here." Ben leads the stranger deeper into the Plaza. "The telepathy would be new, definitely."

[ginger_firebird]

"You're not inclined to use your own abilities? It's strong enough that you could throw up mental defenses against me. That's more powerful than the few others like myself back home." Mantis puts his hands in his pockets as he walks. He clinks the coins together in his pocket, feeling the shapes with his thumb.

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I prefer to keep a low profile about my abilities, most of the time. It's a matter of habit. There are people here considerably more powerful than me." Ben looks over to the stranger. "There are others like you, where you're from?"

[ginger_firebird]

Mantis can understand wanting to keep out of the public eye, but he was never inclined to do that either. If he could make a name and get paid to do what he did naturally, why hide it? "Not many. It's a rare ability, so we stand out a lot when we're found out."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"There are some people with similar abilities to us here, I think. So there isn't really any need to hide that power." As far as Ben can tell, nobody in the Nexus really goes through the effort to keep their powers secret.

[ginger_firebird]

There's a moment of silence on Mantis's part. Other psychics and weird powers? It inspires curiosity more than anything. "I'll be sure to put on my best face when meeting them. So far, the people here seem to be peaceful."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"In the inhabited part of the Nexus, yes. But some of the people and creatures out in the Wilds aren't so pleasant, and are best avoided." Ben hasn't met many hostile people and wants to keep things that way. He tries not to look for trouble. "But it's easy enough to avoid trouble with them."

[ginger_firebird]

"I wouldn't mind trying my hand at the Wilds. No animal is so dangerous that they cannot be dealt with." He's envisioning crocodiles and lions, but given the haphazard nature of the Nexus, there may very well be beasts only found in stories. "Seems like my first priority is going to be a residence and then food and clothes. It almost makes me feel young again."