° DARK STATE.

She had known it was coming. Amber wasn't stupid, not by any means, and she knew once she admitted her guilt, he wasn't going to just drop it. As soon as his little rant began, she just let him continue, not interrupting it. She could handle a little bitching, couldn't she? "You shouldn't have turned around." It was a simple statement, one she knew that he might have agreed with. He'd gotten one over on her, shooting her, Even with the bulletproof vest on, it had hurt like a bitch, and he could have easily gotten away with the others. If she knew that, she knew that he did as well. "I'm not justifying anything, not to you. I know who I am and what I've done. Nobody's living with that but me. I'm just stating a fact. You don't want to die? Don't chase the murderer. It was that simple." Maybe she was rubbing salt in an open wound, and there was a part of her that felt bad. But if he was going to keep talking, so would she. "Even a monster can feel guilt, Dewey. I had my reasons, and only a few people were meant to get hurt. You weren't one of them." She let out a scoff then, rolling her eyes. "I don't know, honestly. If I killed them. Probably not, but I wouldn't put it past me. I did die though, apparently. I don't remember it."

He couldn't help but laugh as she spoke, though it wasn't a mean laugh. It was a laugh reserved for her specifically, one that only she could get out of him. "I think I have plenty of evidence to back up my case, princess," he retorted, but it wasn't long before he was stepping closer despite all the banter, the teasing that could have continued. "Honestly, I haven't known what to do without all the baddies hanging around. So maybe you're a little right, this time." He hummed at her question, content to just hold her for a moment. "Well, you've never left any marks on me that I didn't like, so I think Lizard might have you beat there." His arms tightened around her slightly, not really caring who was watching them. Now that he had her back, he wasn't going to lose her again. He moved his head back just enough to look at her, though his hands stayed on her, resting on her waist now as he glanced over her, checking for any signs she'd been hurt recently. It was a habit, considering how dangerous her line of work was. "I feel a lot better about being in London now that you're here," he admitted. "Not to sound all mushy, but I like having you around."

From his words, it sounded like this guy did know him. There were few people who were proud to know him well. If your name wasn't May Parker or Felicia Hardy, he probably got on your nerves, and even then he knew he'd stressed them both out plenty of times. "Aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" He asked before he heaved out a sigh. "Okay, I'm gonna explain this one more time. I don't know you. I've never met you, I don't even know your name. If you've met me, it's a me from my future, not me right now. Is time travel really so farfetched considering you're saying the multiverse is real?"

The smile was easily returned, though his was more brief. "I'm Bruce," he replied, before he nodded. He wasn't one to brag much, if at all, and talking about his accomplishments with anyone felt odd. But he had started the conversation, and he wasn't going to just walk away from it. "I am, though not a medical doctor. I do have three PhD's, though, so I'm qualified somewhere." He nodded then, giving another small smile. "I haven't been here too long, just a few months. I know I'm not from here, though."

He couldn't help the little laugh that escaped him as he looked at the mug. It felt like something he'd own himself, if his mom wouldn't kill him for it. "I don't have any kitties, sorry, I'm more of a dog guy." Percy said, a little frown coming to his face at the man's next words. "You're good dude, I can take a joke. Trust me, I'd have gone insane by now if I couldn't."

If he were as good a detective as he seemed to be, there was no way Dewey didn't notice the shift in her at the mention of Sam. The way her jaw clenched, her eyes hardened. Only for a moment though. Amber was good at controlling herself, even if she slipped up every now and then. She was silent as he spoke, and saying it out loud felt far better than she had imagined. Even with the guilt that ate away at her, not hiding was far better than constantly looking over your shoulders. "It was me," she repeated, her voice far calmer than it should be. She expected the distance, the glares, and his words didn't phase her. If anything, she expected worse. "Maybe I'm not the psycho everyone wants to think I am, or maybe I am, but I'm not going to pretend that I didn't gut you while you're being nice." It made sense to her, at least a little. She owed him that much, if he was going to be kind. No matter what she had said to him in the moment, his death was one she had regretted. Good for the movies, sure, but she didn't really care about those. "Besides, I'm the least of your worries. I didn't want to kill you, you just shouldn't have gone back. But Stu? He's here, and I don't know if he'd be as . . . I don't know, guilt ridden as I am?"

"THAT IS A FAIR ENOUGH POINT, KATE BISHOP. FAIR ENOUGH." nodding, and.. right now, it was perhaps clear that YELENA WAS FIGHTING a smirk. what could she say? the other was perhaps one of the most interesting companions that she had come across in the past and.. did yelena truly enjoy being around her? it was something like that. yes. "i could make you tell me?" moving in to hug the other. / @drkstate

Yelena's words made her smile, even if it were only for a second. She and Yelena hadn't started off on the best of terms, but she had quickly grown to respect her, had quickly grown to like her. She hugged her gently, knowing neither of them were entirely fond of touchiness. Or perhaps Yelena truly was a softie, and she just hid it well. A laugh escaped her as she pulled back some. "You could, but I'd rather not get my ass kicked."

"I mean, do any of us really know what we're doing? My best friend is a middle aged man who'd be late to his own funeral. Hell, I'll be late to his funeral too." Kate said that freely, too. She'd say it to Clint's face, no hesitation. Why wouldn't she? It was true, and she loved him for it. She frowned then, head tilting just slightly as she looked at her. "What did you do to her? It can't be that bad."

He shook his head at the question, because really, Lucerys was content. He was doing well in his classes despite not understanding much at first, and he had learned to live in such a modern time. He lived happily, even. And he was perfectly happy being Luke Penderson, rather than the boy who had died in the sky. The name had been a lie at first, just something to make schooling easier. But he felt that it was true now, that he was Finn's son. "If I need anything, I'll let you know, I promise." Because he knew Finn would give him anything he asked, he was sure of it. It was such an awkward situation with his mother, because he did love her still, he had missed her dearly. But his death had surely been a burden, and that was one he wouldn't wish on her again. "I'll respect her choice either way. It couldn't have been easy, losing me." One of his fears was that it had been easy. But Lucerys knew his mother, and he knew it hadn't been. "I do have a family, I have you. And no matter what your family says or how they feel, you have me as well." His fears of being replaced had been the result of being a second son, of being the replaceable one. But something deep inside told him Finn wouldn't do that, and he trusted that feeling. "I won't meet anyone you don't wish me to, not intentionally. We'll be okay, we've got each other."

She was a hard woman to forget. He wasn't quite sure if he'd ever remember everything, but he was glad that he remembered her. Something inside of Bruce was just drawn to her. "Hello, Natasha," he greeted her, eyes softer than they would be with any other. "Am I as unforgettable as you are? Because you've been hard to forget, no matter how hard this place has tried."

His face scrunched up a little at that. A Peter Parker? "Yeah, sure, because you know me so well." He didn't like this, not one bit. He was a quick learner, quick to put pieces together. This man had met him, or some version of him. That meant the multiverse was real, and there was more than one Spiderman out there. "I haven't met you," he admitted. He could be a pain, Peter knew, but this was serious. "I know of the multiverse, but I haven't experienced it. You've met another version of me, or I'm from a different time period as you."

"A lady waiting? Come on Cat, we both know you aren't a lady." The words came easily, but Peter knew she heard the smile in them, that she saw the smile on his face. He wanted to rush to her, wrap her in his arms and not let her go. She'd enjoy that a little too much though, and if she was teasing him, he could give it right back. "I don't know, it's been pretty peaceful around here. I might miss it." But Peter had missed her, more than anything. It hadn't been easy giving his heart to someone else, but once he had, she had sunk her claws in him and he had welcomed it. He didn't wait much longer than that, always having given into their little games before she had, and his arms were around her in an instant, holding her close to him, not really wanting to let her go. "Don't I always look good? It's part of the charm." His words were teasing still, but quieter as he buried his face in her neck.

"WHAT.. WHY ARE WE STARING? DO WE KNOW YOU?" he supposed that he was bound to get some stares, seeing as he had a dragon right next to him, but.. as far as he was concerned, that did not matter. toothless was his friend. toothless was his very best friend and if anything, he was just glad that he didn't need to be here without him, because he didn't know what he would have done if he was. "look, i know. he's a dragon, but he's also my friend. can we move on with that?" @drkstate

He wasn't quite sure which was more surprising. The fact that a dragon stood before him once again, or the fact that this man was identical to his brother. Older than Lucerys remembered him, but it was as if h were staring at Jace. This wasn't Jacaerys, though, that much Luke could tell. He would know his brother. "You don't know me, no," he answered him, his voice quiet as he took a step forward. He wasn't afraid, far from it in fact. There was only one dragon he feared, that haunted his dreams. Stepping closer, he looked at the dragon, a kind smile on his face, letting him see that he didn't fear him. "May I pet him?"

"If you want to tell me your name, that's fine," Bruce offered. He knew it all too well that kindness was rare, which was why he tried to spread it as much as he could. Her words weren't a surprise to him, neither was her skepticism. "Why? I'm a doctor, helping people is what we do." At least it should be, but that wasn't a conversation he would have with a complete stranger. "They don't," he agreed. "But I do. So if you're new around here, I don't mind to help."

For a moment, everything was simple, and it all made sense. JJ was in her arms and that was enough. She kept her arms around the blonde, not moving until she did, and when JJ pulled back, reality came crashing back down on Emily. "You aren't going to lose it, I promise." Emily wouldn't let that happen, but she knew that Jennifer wouldn't either, not when she had the boys with her. She listened as JJ explained what had happened, and it just didn't make sense. None of it did. But she knew JJ wasn't lying. She knew JJ, she knew when she was lying. This wasn't that. her hands reached out once again, taking the blonde's in them and squeezing gently. "I don't know why, but whoever's responsible won't get away with it. We won't let them." She squeezed again and nodded, fully prepared to go to war for this woman, for those boys. "You need me, I'm there, you know that."