1 [voice]

[anunluckypenny]

[Maybe the amplified ticking that only just stopped had gotten to her. Maybe the reality of her situation took five days to hit home. Whatever the reason, Penny doesn't sound particularly chipper. One might go so far as to say that she sounds outright shocked.]

Oh my god. This is all completely real, isn't it? Not just the City, but all of it. What Hammer said, the death ray, Billy, dying, coming here... all of that actually happened.

The City and the dying--that I can deal with. Death happens like everything else, right? But Billy's a supervillain... a real villain with a death ray and everything. And Hammer's supposed to be a hero and he actually told everyone that we slept--oh god. Laundromat-frozen yogurt-shy Billy has a death ray and Captain Hammer's a total... a total jerkface, and he never did care about the homeless, and why does that bother me more than Billy being Dr. Horrible? But Billy--Dr. Horrible--didn't actually shoot anyone, and Hammer made the death ray explode...

And then--

[There's a long pause, but the recording continues. Penny's quieter when she speaks again, as if she's not talking directly into her network device.]

That really happened. All of that happened.

Billy's sweet and a supervillain, Hammer's--and then what happened to the shelter when the death ray exploded? Who else...?

[Another pause. This time the pause stretches into silence until the device times out.]

Comments

[thewildone]

For what it's worth, Captain Hammer definitely is an asshole.

Uh...he was here, at one point.

[anunluckypenny]

But he seemed like such a sweet guy after the cheesy first impression. I mean, he's the reason Caring Hands got a new building and he went to the park with me even though he's afraid of the ducks there, but then he just told everyone we--

...No, he really is a jerk. I'm so stupid!

[pause]

You remember me today, right?

[thewildone]

Hey Red, breathe.

Yeah, I do. It was just another curse last weekend. I must not've ever actually left the City. I wonder if that's really who I'll be...

[anunluckypenny]

Breathing, okay. I'm good.

Who you'll be...? You seemed nice to me.

[thewildone]

I mean, you're overdue for panic, but it'll be okay.

It's just that people change. Or don't and sometimes that's worse. I don't remember anything clearly, but I couldn't help looking through my own conversations for hints about my future, which I feel like I shouldn't have. I'm all for living in the present.

[anunluckypenny]

You're right. Completely. I mean, I can't do anything about it now, and I can't just... go back and see if everyone's okay.

You can live in the present and wonder about the future, can't you?

[thewildone]

Sure, but that's different than knowing. Or thinking you know. But, hey, either way is better than living in the past.

[anunluckypenny]

It's still the future, though. It could always change.

I think that, sometimes, the past is the only place to live.

[thewildone]

I'm not too happy with the past. Not that there weren't good parts, but there's plenty worth leaving behind.

[anunluckypenny]

You don't really leave it behind, I don't think. A lot of who you are is your past.

[thewildone]

Yeah, well, that's the catch. Man, I'm starting to sound like such a downer. Dunno why, I happen to like the present just fine.

[anunluckypenny]

Hey, I wasn't exactly being all sunshiny, either.

The present's a good place to be.