Open

[blindninja]

» WHO? Matt Murdock & OPEN
» WHEN? Now
» WHERE? Deck 6 => 6.27 => Deck 5
» WHAT? Arrival
» WARNINGS? TBC

Arrival Hall (CLOSED to Frank Castle)
It's cold.

He's not where he was before. He knows that much. He squeezes his eyes shut and lets his senses go, scanning his surroundings like an uncalibrated radar. Metal. Lots of metal, clanging, banging. But everything is wrong. Lighter, like things are floating even when they're not. People are talking. Laughing, maybe. But distant, like the next apartment building over, or somewhere down the next block. The fine hairs on his arms and on the back of his neck stand with the low buzz-hum of the vessel, creaking, engine churning like an old ship, suspended in space.

It's like a hangover, except. He feels heavy even though he's light. Shackles on his feet. His head hurts. Everything hurts. And God, what is that noise?

Less of a waking up, more of regaining consciousness as Matt rolls over with a pained cry and a grimace.

His hand crawls over to the smartwatch, trying to mute the beeping and humming and screeching grating against his ears. What day is it? What time? What happened? He clutches the device with one hand and runs the other hand down his body. Daredevil's gone. Only Matthew. A jumpsuit covering the bandages. Stitches. Blood. No pearly gates, no apostles. No questions to answer about how he's lived his life, whether he's lived it well, whether he's repentant. Paid enough of a price. Just a jumpsuit... and a pair of boots?

"...lectra." Talking feels like rousing up a sandstorm in his throat. He groans and struggles to his feet, using energy he doesn't have to drive him forward. Out. Just the one thing on his mind.

I have to save her.

He gets blood on his palm as he presses his hand over a wet bandage, stitches having been ripped as he sluggishly stumbles deliriously down the corridor. His boots clunk along at an uneven, unsteady pace. Everything is too loud. Too cold. Too heavy. There's blood on the wall where he braced himself against it. And then there's a door. Everything flickers behind his closed eyelids. Black, red, black, red, black, black, black...

Room 6.27. Where everything's a little quieter. And he can just focus. Keep the red lights on in the dark.

6.27. Matthew. Chapter Six. Verse Twenty-Seven. 'Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life?'

Hn. That's funny. The chuckle bubbles to the surface. For all the pain He's inflicted, God still has a decent sense of humour.


Departure Lounge (OTA)
He doesn't take kindly to being dumped in the med bay, but there's not much of a fight he can put up against Frank Castle in his current state. He's not sure how long he's been resting there, but when he's well enough to orientate himself again, he's not staying in the med bay. The machines are noisy. He has questions. He's scared.

Matt makes it two steps out of the med bay before space sickness kicks in. The sheer wrongness of the gravitational pull throws him off, throws everything around him off. He sinks down to his knees and clutches his head, curling up against the wall. He looks pale, like he's about to throw up.

Comments

Departure Lounge ALSO HI I RECOGNIZE YOU

[resleeves]

He's been lying low since everything happened. If he emerges from his room, it's to see Miller or Ricki and then he goes back and sits there and stares. Occasionally, he rages at no one and falls asleep only to dream of Reileen's face.

Today, he feels decent enough to come out and take a walk if only because he needs some fucking food and he doesn't want Miller having to bring it to him all the goddamn time.

So, today would be the day he leaves his room and that would be the day some poor fuck stumbles out in front of him and crumples to the ground, looking like he's about to barf all over the fucking place.

"Need a bucket?" Kovacs asks dryly.

ORLY

[blindninja]

Matt hasn't gotten used to the boots banging around yet, clobbering his eardrums and he almost misses what Tak said. But he at least picks up the word 'bucket' and the lilt that signifies it was a question. "...yes." Otherwise he's going to puke all over Tak's feet and that's probably not the first impression he was aiming for.

this isn't quite curtis but CLOSE ENOUGH

[resleeves]

"Too bad. I don't have one. Puke on the floor," Kovacs says, clearly showing that he's all heart. He takes a few steps back to make sure he's not in the way of any errant vomit should it come and eyes the man coolly.

"What happened to you anyway?" he asks, crossing his arms. "Eat some bad shit from the replicators?"

They'd never hear the fucking end of it now.

this is not the curtis I recognise!!!

[blindninja]

Matt doesn't need permission but since he was given it he's just going to do as he's told and puke on the floor. He hasn't eaten in days and he might have thrown up some blood from the internal injuries he's sustained.

"...I'm fine." This is what fine looks like apparently.

i'm wearing a different face gasp!

[resleeves]

That's a mess. One corner of Kovacs' mouth curls up in disgust but he's seen worse. Honestly, he's probably produced worse and it's far enough away from his boots that he's in danger of splash back from the barfing that's just happened.

"Yeah, you look real fucking fine," Kovacs says dryly. "What the hell happened to you?"

Kovacs doesn't recognize him so he's either been laying low or he's new.

"Just get here? Lucky you."

I see through your sleeve-changing ways :|

[blindninja]

"...mmfell down the stairs." Yeah, that works on the elderly neighbour, so surely it would work on this surly gentleman looking down on him. He supposes he should just count himself lucky that he's not getting kicked while he's down here.

"Who are you?"

Re: I see through your sleeve-changing ways :|

[resleeves]

"Kovacs."

The man's lie was blatant but Kovacs doesn't call him on it. He guesses it's got something to do with suddenly showing up here but what the fuck does he know. Or care. He'd been fine when he'd gotten here but not everyone had the training he did.

"Pretty nasty fall if you're barfing up your insides," he remarks blandly. "Shouldn't you be in there?"

He nods at the med bay and crosses his arms. "Puking all over the station isn't going to win you any fans."

[blindninja]

"I was." And now he's not. Matt's checked himself out. Clearly, a little bit prematurely, before the clean bill of health. He's already left a bit of a blood trail upstairs so he's clearly not trying hard enough to make friends on his first few hours here.

"Matthew," he introduces himself as. Struggling to get to his feet, Matt closes his eyes in sheer exhaustion and sighs.

"...need to get out." There's some fresh air in the airlock right?

[resleeves]

"You intending to take a space walk?" Kovacs asks, still not making any move to help. The guy had two fucking legs and his guts weren't falling out. He could do his own shit. Kovacs wasn't going to go around helping people even after what had just happened to him. He was not changed, he was not different, he was just angry.

"Breathing vacuum's really going to help you," he remarks, glancing around. "If it doesn't make your head explode first, you'll end up throwing up all your helmet and choking to death."

Cheery.

"Why don't you just find a room to die in?" he suggests.

[blindninja]

Everything was louder, closer to the ground. The floor vibrated with every step other people took. The recycled air felt more stale. He thought he might throw up again. The vivid imagery of his head exploding like a dropped watermelon and choking to death inside some sort of crinkly suit wasn't helping.

This is not where or how he wanted to die.

Matt wipes his lips with the back of his hand and sighs, his stomach churning uneasily.

"Where are the nice rooms?" For future reference.

[resleeves]

"Probably back on Earth."

So, you were just the luckiest, weren't you, Matt? You got to show up here, sick and vomiting, and you were about to get your own comfy closet. Sighing, Kovacs reaches down to grab his bicep and squeeze, a warning that he's going to yank Matt up so Kovacs can at least drag his ass down to the crew quarters.

"I can take you but if you puke on my shoes, I will make you eat them," Kovacs tell him. Maybe with someone else that would be a joke but he's serious. It would be mildly entertaining, watching a man eat a shoe. Belly laughs for days.

[blindninja]

It's too fast. He can't move that fast yet. He can feel his stomach lurching into his throat like he's about to hurl again and he tries to yank his arm free with a frustrated noise.

"I'm fine." He knows Tak is being deadly serious. He doesn't need to spend that long in the vicinity of this guy who's probably half a foot taller than him to know that he's a grade A asshole. Matt's in no shape to fight back. He doesn't want to eat a shoe.

"I'll just die here."

[resleeves]

"No, you won't," Kovacs says, letting him go so he can slump pitifully back onto the floor. He's not going to carry you, bridal style, Matt. You weren't really what he was looking for in a partner.

"I'm a little fucking tired of seeing dead bodies so stay alive, shithead," Kovacs says, sighing and shaking his head. "Why don't you crawl back into the medbay? There are beds there. Probably more comfortable than you just sitting here. Someone might step on you."

Someone like Kovacs. Good thing he was a little more aware right now, careful of where he was going and who was in his way.

[blindninja]

Matt's hands quickly go to the wall behind him and he doesn't fall on his ass, which he's going to consider a victory for now. That's really how he's going to struggle through space - one small victory at a time.

"Have people been dying?" He would - just crawl back to the med bay and not get stepped on metaphorically or physically - but that comment has his attention and draws the focal point of his senses into that sleeve.

[resleeves]

With little else to do, Kovacs follows him to give the illusion that he was going to help. He'd probably just stare if Matt fell again but he hadn't walked away so that was progress, wasn't it?

"Yeah. It doesn't stick though," Kovacs tells him, thinking of Rogue and her death and subsequent resurrection. "Don't ask me how that fucking works. Don't know. But people die. They come back."

Except his sister. Godfuckingdammit. "I wouldn't recommend trying it though. Death still hurts."

[blindninja]

He's taking everything the other man says with a grain of salt. Matt has no doubt that he's not lying, but it doesn't make much sense. None of this makes any sense. He knows the Hand can bring people back to life with some strange mystical ritual but he's pretty sure that's not what Tak is referring to.

"Did you die?"

[resleeves]

"Not here." But he knows a few people who have. "But, I've died a few times back where I came from. Pain in the ass. Still fucking hurts."

Thank goodness for new sleeves, right?

"The dying I did is different than the dying that happens here. You die here, you come back but you might be fucking blind."

Which wasn't going to really affect you, Matt, so congrats. "Don't ask me how it happens. Pretty sure it's just this fucking place puppeting us like toys."

[blindninja]

Matt's brows furrow and his head tilts, jaw tightening as he struggles with the concept of coming back. It's just... very different from what he expected. The finality of death isn't there in Tak's tone of voice or his body language.

"Huh." A slow blink. "Well I guess I dodged a bullet." Ba dum tch.

"We are talking about death. Not... grievous injury," Matt can't help but clarify even though it probably makes him look stupid.

[resleeves]

"Yes, we're talking about death and yes, I know what that fucking feels like," Kovacs says, rolling his eyes. "Anymore than that, you're going to have to talk to those that have died here. I've avoided that so far."

He'd just found the body of a loved one dead. Rotting. He was trying not to think of that.

"But feel free to try it out for yourself," Kovacs offers, shrugging one broad shoulder. "Better hope you're not the exception to the rule though. That would be terrible."

[blindninja]

"You don't really think that," Matt says flatly. It's easier to focus on that than dwell on the idea of the impermanence of death. It seems... cruel, to keep coming back like this. Prolong the suffering.

This guy isn't exactly giving off the sharing and caring vibes. Maybe it's an unfair judgement but it probably wouldn't bother him at all to be stepping over corpses around this place.

"But I appreciate the sentiment."

[resleeves]

"I don't mean a lot of things I say," Kovacs agrees, watching Matt steadily, "but I still say them."

It just means that whoever he says things to has a challenge on trying to figure out what the fuck he means and what the fuck he doesn't.

"Taking it you've never died before?" Kovacs asks. Which meant he wasn't from a place with stack technology and he didn't come from whatever fucked up world this station was stuck in.

[blindninja]

"Not yet." It hasn't occurred to him that maybe he had died at the bottom of Midland Circle and got brought back here.

"It doesn't work, you know. Shutting people out." Matt's clearly more concerned about Tak's odious personality than dying.

[resleeves]

"That so?" Oh Matt, you were trying to pep talk the wrong person here. You'd have better luck with almost anyone else on the station. It was admirable that you wanted to try but it wasn't going to work.

"I don't know, been working pretty fucking well for me for most of my life," Kovacs says, ignoring that few years span where he had let people in and had felt pretty fucking good about things.

"Is this where you give me a lot of advice, newbie?" Kovacs wonders.

[blindninja]

"My name is Matthew." They don't have to be friends or even get along but he's not going to be intimidated. He doesn't yet understand how much they have to play nice in order to make it out of this station alive but he just knows that even an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff is better than a dumpster filled with rubbish bags full of broken glass.

"We're all stuck here together. You're not going to make it out of here on your own. Even if that's how you've been living your life up until now."

[resleeves]

Kovacs just eyes him steadily before he rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "I'd say it a pleasure, Matthew, but it's not. You don't want to be here and I sure as fucking shit don't want to be here. But, I've been doing pretty well on my own so far."

No, you haven't, Kovacs. You'd been doing terribly and, yeah, he kind of hasn't been on his own really. Not if you count Miller and Ricki and a few others. But, Kovacs isn't thinking about that and he's definitely not going to admit that to someone he doesn't know.

"You planning on making friends with everyone, then?"