He got the rundown, got the heroes and villains spiel, but it didn't make any of this make more sense. Sure, the world Damien comes from is weird, and yeah, they even have shady pseudogovernment organizations that claim to "help" people learn control over their abilities. But a different dimension? That's a step too far. A little too Philip K. Dick for his tastes, honestly.
Still. New city. One he has never seen or been to before, and hey, that's pretty impressive in its own right. All the years he spent traveling across the states, there was very little he hadn't seen or at the very least rolled through on the way to somewhere else. But this place? It was full of new things.
It was also full of people. People with, like, feelings and shit. It hadn't taken him long to figure out what the hell was going on– having some minor reference to how empathy as an ability works, it was pretty easy to put together. There's a sick irony in it, still being unable to access his actual ability while being given the one of the kid that knocked his straight out of him.
Botanical Garden seemed like the kind of place that, at the very least, would have a calmer demeanor to it in the people wandering through it. Mostly, he'd been right, and it had been the kind of break from the general buzz of the streets he needed.
The last thing he expected was that voice. For a long, drawn-out moment, Damien is completely frozen, rooted to the spot. When he finally finds his own voice again, it's soft, and a little raspy as he turns to face him, "Mark...?"
IV
Still. New city. One he has never seen or been to before, and hey, that's pretty impressive in its own right. All the years he spent traveling across the states, there was very little he hadn't seen or at the very least rolled through on the way to somewhere else. But this place? It was full of new things.
It was also full of people. People with, like, feelings and shit. It hadn't taken him long to figure out what the hell was going on– having some minor reference to how empathy as an ability works, it was pretty easy to put together. There's a sick irony in it, still being unable to access his actual ability while being given the one of the kid that knocked his straight out of him.
Botanical Garden seemed like the kind of place that, at the very least, would have a calmer demeanor to it in the people wandering through it. Mostly, he'd been right, and it had been the kind of break from the general buzz of the streets he needed.
The last thing he expected was that voice. For a long, drawn-out moment, Damien is completely frozen, rooted to the spot. When he finally finds his own voice again, it's soft, and a little raspy as he turns to face him, "Mark...?"