17th Fight

[soulless_soldier]

Action A:
As Barton quickly ages, she's wracked with pain. Every hour she ages a year, and the changes to her body are agonizing. She hides in her room, the door locked, trying to hide her suffering from the rest of the household.

On Tuesday, Feb. 2nd., she reaches 100 years of age. Slowly, she begins to lose feelings in her legs. It slowly creeps up her body until she is paralyzed, frozen stiff in her bed.

She is trapped like this for a few days, stuck in a waking nightmare, until a certain bat-wielding boy comes along to offer some help.


---

Action B: The effects of the surgery have worn off. Barton's hellish nightmare is over. She may be a strong girl, used to a harsh life as a soulless person, and the pain and confusion over psychic abilities. But Mayfield played on her only fear, and it's going to take some time to recover.

So, housemates and visitors. Don't mind her if she just stays in her room awhile, curled up on her bed. The door is unlocked now, at least.

---

Action C: Later today, Barton will make it outside. She needs air, and sky. She's used to a life outdoors, so she won't stay inside forever. She'll be at her usual haunt - the trees around Makeout Point, bundled up in her coat, a small fire going. Her big blue German Shepard is at her side, keeping her company.

Comments

B

[thegreatsaiyaman]

[There is a knock on Barton's door, and then a pause, should she not answer, Gohan will quietly poke his head in, just like the first time he met her.]

Hey, Barton? Are you here? Sis?

[Some might find it silly, but Gohan thinks that, if they're going to be in a familial unit, they might as well go the full thing. After all, families are good.]

You doing any better?

[soulless_soldier]

[She doesn't move from her spot, but her eyes do, and they narrow at him. Who is this guy, thinking he can call her "sis" so easily?

When Gohan had last seen her, she was in her sixties, looking frail and weak. Now she's back to being 16, small but strong and muscular.]

Yeah. Back to normal.

[thegreatsaiyaman]

[Gohan's face lights up.]

That's great news! And you're looking much better, too! I will be honest, I was kind of worried, especially with the things that I learned about this place.

[Should Barton not stop him, he'll actually walk into the room, looking at her.]

So, we didn't get to talk much earlier, do you have some time now?

[soulless_soldier]

[Nope, not moving. But she answers him in her usual monotone:]

Not really in the mood right now.

A

[strike_you_out]

[While Barton is lying paralyzed on her bed on the final day, the mattress dips slightly near her leg. Sitting at the edge of her bed is a young visitor.

Slugger peers at her, being sure to place himself within her sight in order to offer a weary grin that is meant to be more menacing than it actually is. If nothing else was sure in this world, he would always have this job even if, today, his heart isn't really where it should be.

His voice is soft, nearly a whisper.]

Hi.

[soulless_soldier]

[Her eyes move to him. That's all she can move. He's barely recognizable as her old self like this. There's fear in her eyes. Being trapped like this is too much.]

[strike_you_out]

[Not only can he see it but he can sense it on some other level, too. Life was becoming too unbearable to live. A way out was what she needed, and a way out he would provide. Slugger lifts a crooked baseball bat and rests it upon his shoulder, a casual movement yet, in this circumstance, also foreboding.

After an exchange of looks, he reaches slowly toward her frozen face with one hand until his fingers hover above her eyes. They lower down to close her eyes, his touch light and somewhat cool.]

Goodnight.

[soulless_soldier]

[She was ready for this. She had had enough. Not knowing what was going to happen now that the resurrection system was broken, there was still a twinge of hesitation and fright in her mind. But then, if she didn't come back, at least it didn't have to be like this.

She was ready.]

B

[justdumbluck]

[ Firo's been worried about Barton for the past few days and finally, now that it seems the trouble's over, he's decided to pay a visit. He's not sure of what he can do for her, but he needs to at least check on her.

He hovers anxiously on the front step and knocks. ]

Hey, anybody home?

[soulless_soldier]

[After a few moment, the window above the front door - where Barton's bedroom is - slides open, and she peeks out.]


Hey.

[justdumbluck]

Hey!

[ He takes a step back and looks up, a weak smile springing to his face. There's a bag in his hand and he holds it up so she can see it. It seems pointless to ask if she's okay right now, so he decides to move right on to the nest order of business. ]

Can I come in? I got somethin' for you.

[soulless_soldier]

[There's a slight moment of hesitation, but she ultimately nods.]

Yeah, come on up.

C

[notyetageneral]

[Tyve isn't too keen on going back home after school so she decides to take a walk. Partially to explore the town and partially to clear her head.

As she crunches up the snow on Makeout Point she suddenly pauses as she smells smoke. While most of the effects from the surgery are gone, she still doesn't quite trust her senses yet and follows her nose, trudging up the hill. She needs to know if it's just another hallucination or not.

The first thing she spots is a blue dog. It looks normal enough. But it's blue. She just sort of stands there awkwardly, unsure if there's actually a blue dog or it's just part of the brain repair process.] Is that real?

[soulless_soldier]

[Barton looks over at her, and the dog's ears perk up at the visitor as she approached. Barton pats him on the back to keep him from intimidating the visitor.]

As real as any other dog.

[notyetageneral]

[Tyve has a monstrous canine big dog back home herself so she's not too phased by the dog and the thought of getting potentially attacked never crosses her mind. Dog aside, she does calm down, relaxing muscles she didn't know she'd been tensing, upon seeing that the fire isn't an all consuming blaze she expected it to be, merely a small campfire.]

I'm sorry...That was a bit rude, wasn't it? It's just that blue isn't a particularly common dog color from where I'm from.

[soulless_soldier]

Nah, it's fine. I hear it a lot. But they ain't blue where I'm from either. Someone here made him. With magic.

Action A - Possibly sliding into B later?

[doofenstrudel]

[A locked door was not enough to really dissuade Heinz Doofenshmirtz, no. Because really, all you need to do is batter the thing down or at least take the screws out at the hinges or build a Door-Destruct-Inator... and he would not be dissuaded from helping his not-daughter.]

Barton! BARTON! Please tell me you are in there! Tell me you are alright!

[It's when he stops getting an affirmative answer that he'll be battering that door down.]

[soulless_soldier]

[There's no answer. There's no movement when he breaks the door in. What there is, is an old woman, unmoving but awake in the bed.]

[doofenstrudel]

Oh no. No.

[He had been observant enough to see that whatever they had done to her, it was progressive. But he hadn't realized that it would progress to this point. And here he was with a paralyzed not-daughter who looked old enough to be his not-great-grandmother, and what could he do?

He could go all out on an ultimately futile gesture to help. For the sake of her privacy he set the off-its-hinges door back in place while he went to gather necessary supplies. First the hospital for iv bags and tubing. Then the garage to build racks. In the end, he would at least try to keep her comfortable, to ensure that she does at least not starve, while Mayfield works this latest horror out of its system.]

I... I am sorry I could not do more. Not while you were still at least... well... Ahah, I had never constructed a De-Age-Inator, you know? I could... possibly, but not with the materials here, at least, I don't think, and... and there's no time for that.

You... you can't answer. I know, I know, I should stop, but...

...this will be over. This will be over soon enough. And you will be normal. And here. And you can go right on ahead and continue taking apart the car and rolling your eyes at me and you can even punch me, if you want, alright? Alright, Barton?

[With nothing else to do for her, and nothing else to ramble upsetly about, he'll leave the room and leave her be. With the occasional trip upstairs to check on her. Which allows for time for Slugger to visit, and do his thing.]

Action B

[hardhat_truckie]

[Guess who's come to visit Barton? Knock knock knock.]

[soulless_soldier]

[There's silence for a few moments, then a very quiet "It's open."]

[hardhat_truckie]

[Engie pokes his head in.]

Hey Barton. How ya feelin'?

B

[a_crazygirl]

[Have a soft tap on the door. Toni hasn't seen much of Barton lately and to say it's worried her is an understatement.]

You in there?

[soulless_soldier]

[Quietly:] Yeah. It's open.

[a_crazygirl]

[She comes in slowly, not sure what to expect]

You sound better. Are you okay? Or is that not a good question to ask right now?