{004}

[burdenbearing]

[Fakecut to AU information!]

[Action: Around town.]

[Working as a babysitter is pretty tough for Mirai. It's obvious she's not having an easy time of it, as she tries to wrangle 3 drone children who keep trying to run off on her. She grabs one by the collar.]

Hey, where do you think you're going!? Are you trying to get hurt, or what?

[The other two push her forward from behind, and she barely manages to keep her feet as they run off without her.]

Eh-? Hey! Get back here!

[They're out of sight within a few seconds.]

Ugh... Just great.

[Phone]

It's been really quiet lately. Too quiet. This place has to be planning something big to make up for this.

Have any of you heard or seen something weird?

Comments

[burdenbearing]

What makes you say that?

[hisnameisthecaptain]

They sometimes take everything away. All your plans, all your friends, all your supplies.

If your flexible, even in the worse case scenario you'll come out able to recover.

[burdenbearing]

...Hm. I guess I can see it your way. It's not a bad idea, at least.

[If one could voice a shrug, she'd being doing it right now.]

[hisnameisthecaptain]

Thanks for seeing it that way.

I just don't want anyone breaking down from over doing it. After a couple of years you'll get the hang of things.

[burdenbearing]

Sorry, but I don't plan on staying here for that long. I'm going to get out eventually.

[hisnameisthecaptain]

Oh, yeah, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Still, it could happen.

[burdenbearing]

What happened to not thinking so negatively?

[She sounds amused.</small.]

She's going to hate the real him so much.

[hisnameisthecaptain]

[That gets a light laugh from him.

In a much more cheerful tone.]

So, I'm a hypocrite sometimes, I think I've earned it.

You're right though, can't get down just because I've been here a while.

She's a crazy, obsessive, violent magical girl, so THEY CAN HATE EACH OTHER.

[burdenbearing]

Right, right! If you're going to lecture the new guys, you have to set a good example yourself. Otherwise, nobody will take you seriously, even if you're right.

[She laughs outright, this time.]

He's usually a depressing, crude, illiterate, alcoholic superhero

[hisnameisthecaptain]

I don't want them to take me too seriously, I'm not the leader type.

I just want to make sure all of us get out of here in one piece if I can.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster, hahaha.

[burdenbearing]

Heh. You sure sound the type to me.

Well, I'm sure we'll be fine, as long as nobody breaks the machine that brings us back again.

With him? Always.

[hisnameisthecaptain]

Sounding the type and wanting to be the type is an entirely different thing.

That machine, though. I wonder if they aren't lieing to us and just punishing us. You know? Giving us a target we can hit and then pretending we caused our own suffering.

[burdenbearing]

Yeah, maybe... But even if it is, the punishments the gave people for breaking it were too much. Nobody's going to risk breaking it again.

[hisnameisthecaptain]

Either way, we play their game.

Still, we survive and all we have to do is keep surviving.

[burdenbearing]

Right! They can't keep us here forever. Sooner or later, they'll bring someone here that's too powerful to control, and we'll escape.

[hisnameisthecaptain]

[He wasn't going to use himself as an example. For all he knew, ultimate power left him on it's own free will.

Still...]

I think they have, and I don't think they are bringing anyone stronger than them here.

A lot of people seemed confused by this, thinking themselves more powerful.