Tying Up Loose Ends [Open]

[governmentninja]

Stacy's drives made managed to come back online, and they had been on the move again. Though, on their journey to whatever destination they were going to next, the ship came to a halt at what would be a very brief pit stop...

...at the edge of a supermassive black hole.

In Stacy's hangar, Leon was finishing up programming the autopilot of a shuttlecraft to fly dead center into that black hole. No, he wasn't the least bit suicidal, and he wasn't staying for the flight. But the shuttle's cargo, the stone that held the Nightmare King, that was something Leon never wanted to see again.

He wanted to toss the Yeerk on there as well, but he agreed to uphold a jury decision. Thus, that thing still remained in indefinite stasis. (And, yes, he had checked personally to make sure it was still there)

The shuttle was easy to program, as it responded to verbal commands. The whole thing only took a few moments before Leon left the shuttle, and it departed, taking the Nightmare King to a prison that no living thing would ever be able to free it from.

As he watched the shuttle sped into the Event Horizon, Leon started going over his To Do list mentally. He had reports to write, and dozens more to read, he had to find out from Gauron which areas of the city were too damaged for occupancy and needed to blocked off so they could be demolished, arrange for Aang and Haku to be evaluated for release, keep the crew from killing each other, and about a thousand other things.

But as the shuttle got swallowed up by the darkness, he let out a breath and relaxed a bit.

"At least there's one less thing to worry about." Maybe he could finally take a break before tackling the rest of that list. Lord knows he needed one.

Comments

[itsaboutaction.livejournal.com]

"And that's something we can all be thankful for." a voice called out.

Approaching Leon was one of the new arrivals, namely Superman. He'd yet find any normal clothes for purposes of being mild-mannered Clark Kent, so he kept to his costume. Another noticeable thing he had was the long hair. While he was able to shave, he'd yet to find someway to cut his hair. He'd have to rectify that quickly.

"Hopefully, it'll never be a problem again. For us or anyone else." He extended his hand to Leon. "I'm Superman. I take it you're part of the main crew?"

[governmentninja]

You'd think after all that he had seen on this ship, this wouldn't phase him. But someone having the gall to call themselves 'Superman', while running around with their underwear on the wrong side of their tights was just...

Sorry, Clark, but Leon will never get you superheroes, so he will simply stare blankly at you for a moment.

Fortunately, that moment lasted only a half of a second or so, before his professionalism overrode his wtf'ery. So he at least did shake the man's hand.

"Yeah, I'm Special Agent Leon S. Kennedy, Chief of Security on board the ship."

[itsaboutaction.livejournal.com]

Don't worry. After all this time, he's used to it.

"Nice to meet you, Chief." Superman said. "I have to admit, what we went through was tough, but I'm glad its over." Letting out a small sigh, he continued. "I must apologize, though, for adding fuel to that fire that started afterward. Just watching everything fall apart like that got to me, especially after being out of it for so long."

[governmentninja]

Leon shrugged off the apology, as it seemed mostly par for the course around here. Superheroes were useful during a pinch, but the times in between they were well meaning, but more often than not got underfoot rather than be helpful.

"You don't owe me an apology," he responded. Not that Superman's speech had made his job any easier. "Though, in the future, if I might suggest, if you ever have to begin a sentence with 'I don't know all the facts,' you should probably end it there too."

[itsaboutaction.livejournal.com]

"Suggestion noted." Superman said, a small smirk on his face. "Though, I do still stand by what I said earlier - that we do need to start working together somehow. And that means everyone - man, woman and child. The Daligig gathered us for a reason and I doubt it was for fighting amongst ourselves."

[not_the_philistine]

Goliath watches the launch in fascination. He spent the last hour reading up on black holes after hearing the Nightmare King's projected fate, and has learned enough to know that the novelty (and the danger) of flying even this near to one is a rare and precarious thing indeed.

To fall through nothingness for eternity, pulled apart by the gravity of falling - in a pit where even light cannot escape, does a soul - should the Nightmare King have one - have a hope of ever knowing anything else?

And what need is there for a Nightmare King, when the multiverse itself has such things in store for them? Or was the Nightmare King himself the black hole's creator?

In any case - "It is a fitting end for him. Poetic in its horror."

[governmentninja]

Leon smirked a bit to himself. "There is a certain poetic justice in this," he agreed, "and no less than what he deserved." At least, so Leon figured.

"Goliath," he greeted, turning to face the gargoyle. "You said you wanted to talk about something?"

[not_the_philistine]

"Yes. I've taken long enough to come to this decision. Perhaps too long, in retrospect, with cooperation being such a necessity against such forces as the one we just faced."

He's had enough of looking at the black hole, so he turns his gaze to Leon instead. "I would like to join your Security force, and I am prepared to accept your authority."

[governmentninja]

"Glad to hear it." And given their last conversation about the subject, he truly was.

He extended his hand towards Goliath, "Welcome aboard the team."

[crusades]

"Infinity minus one," interjects a low, cynical voice. Where has he been standing? Why, in the shadows, of course.

[governmentninja]

Leon looked over towards the shadows, then shook his head a little.

"And good riddance to it."

[crusades]

"Assuming it's as simple as putting the cork back in," Bruce muses, folding his arms, "I have something to run by you."

[governmentninja]

That got an eyebrow raise, as Batman seemed to make it a point to insist that he didn't need to run anything by anyone.

"I'm listening."

[toariversodeep.livejournal.com]

"For now. The time may come that we encounter another aspect of the same being." Of course Roxie came to watch—in a sense. Her voice is recognizable, but she's wrapped up in red cloth from head to toe, and a red cloak pulled around that... no plantsuit today. The way she turns to look at Leon, without her eyes even being visible, is rather uncanny.

[governmentninja]

"He's still gone for now. That's the important part." Which meant Leon could cross his name off the list in the short term, anyway.

"What's with the outfit?"

[toariversodeep.livejournal.com]

"I haven't yet sufficiently recovered to be comfortable going about in public." Roxie probably couldn't come up with a more enigmatic answer if she tried.

[governmentninja]

"So either you decided to cover yourself by dressing as little red ridinghood, or..." he used a finger to slightly lift the edge of her hood up, "...or you're not actually in there."

[shroudedintent]

The Sangheili stood silent in the background as he like others watched the Nightmare King being sent to it's doom. Knowing well the dangers that black hole's posed. After all the havoc the Nightmare King had reaped throughout the ship, the nightmares he had inflicted on all, 'Vadum thought it a fitting end for such a being.

"And many more threats to come, no doubt," The Sangheili commented as he finally stepped over toward the human, "but no matter, you are the Chief of Security I presume?"

[governmentninja]

"That I am," Leon stated, looking up at the alien. "You're Rtas, I assume?"

[shroudedintent]

"Indeed," 'Vadum inclined his head to the affirmative, "As per my message, I wish to offer my skills to your department, either in joining it, or assisting in what manners I can. I will not allow my skills to go to waste,"

[governmentninja]

That was what he liked to hear.

"What skills do you have?"

[standaloneshell.livejournal.com]

When Leon's apparently limitless line of petitioners had petered out and left him alone, Motoko still hadn't approached him. That wasn't her prerogative, frankly; she was feeling a need for protocol and rules, the skin-close shackles she'd spent her life upholding. Those rules stated that she did not approach her commanding officer, she waited for him to come to her. It was a nod that the Major wouldn't ordinarily have given Leon, but...

Well, at least he'd spaced the damn thing. Compromises, compromises, but no one felt for the ugliness in this world. She wasn't about to ask, either, but for a different reason.

So, she stood in the doorway, back to the wall, waiting silently, like a doll or a palace guard for him to be finished. It was a comforting impatience, like knowing you are right to wait at a red light, even when you didn't want to. Familiar. Safe.

To each their own.

[governmentninja]

It was part of his job he had come to accept, the constantly being interrupted. But this was something he had come to expect after a crisis.

There were always two responses from the crew in general. Some blamed Command for everything that happened, others decided to sign up and offer their skill and experience. The latter group usually came to Leon before going to the Captain.

Thankfully, that was mostly done with. For now, anyway, there were likely to be more later. As he exited, he noticed the Major was still there, in the spot she had been for quite a few minutes. He paused as he neared her.

"Do you need something, Major?"

[standaloneshell.livejournal.com]

She needed a friend, someone to bullshit with and to talk with who she could trust implicitly, without fear of reprisal, or of being reminded of the wrong thing. Someone who knew her as well as Batou, or even Togusa— who Leon had come to almost-replace. She needed.

Instead she opened her mouth and said, "I'd like a recommendation. My support contacts have been reduced to nil over time."

Saying it aloud was her own way of fighting the lethargic forgetfulness Stacy tried to induce when Batou's e-brain had stop returning her pings, when she could no longer raise him on the comm and when it took her a week to finally wonder why it hadn't seemed that important. She'd almost been expecting it when the same happened to Saito.

[governmentninja]

There was initially a quiet stare at Motoko, followed by the narrowing of his eyes. The glare wasn't directed at her, however, despite his looking right at her. It was more aimed at himself, as her words reminded him that he had forgotten something.

He really had had enough of his mind being messed with.

He shook off that bit of disgust, and started walking again. "We can discuss that over a beer."