[27] - [Video]

[sharpememory]

[Here's Barron, looking... basically exactly like himself, except in a rather smart suit with his hair slicked back.]

Mysterio, master of memory, welcomes you to Gotham. [Barron smiles, showing way too many teeth.] I will take away your troubles. I will grant you more years with your young ones. I will draw the pain that has seared itself deep within you from you, in a way that will be so painless that you will forever wonder what had troubled you so.

[He pauses, dramatically.] You need merely to ask. Mysterio rather likes visitors. My price is secrets, impossible things and a little of your past. [A beat, then deadpan.] And cash.

[Barron's a supervillian with his normal power, which is basically to change/add/remove memories. He's basically just your normal working supervillian (including the lapsing into third person) who hasn't quite made it into the big leagues and occasionally gets punched in the face by Batman.]

Comments

[Spam]

[buywithme]

No one put me up to this, Comrade. If they had then you would have been able to see that, wouldn't you?

[Prefect tried to make the question earnest instead of critical. Mysterio was the memory guy. It was his craft that he needed to trust, rather than Prefect's honesty.]

That's where we both came from, and it's why I'm concerned about you. I don't want you to lose your memories for something that'll be meaningless to you in a few days!

[Spam]

[sharpememory]

I don't know. [Barron finishes putting on his shirt, before giving Prefect a sidelong look. He frowns.]

You have to have a new power. Some new super villain trying to make his name.

[Barron doesn't look like he quite believes that though. He's looking at Prefect nervously.]

This can't be true.

[Spam]

[buywithme]

Pretty terrible power, don't you think? To have inaccurate memories... Who else would I even be able to use it on?

[Prefect pointed out gently. He hadn't started getting dressed again yet, but he had crossed his arms over his chest uncomfortably. It seemed like a good idea for Barron to feel like he was still in control of this encounter.]

It's true. You and I are friends, and I am truly concerned for you.

[Spam]

[sharpememory]

Me, apparently. [Barron spits that out, turning away from Prefect.]

If you and I are friends, that means that means that my family doesn't exist, my friends are nothing and I haven't done anything I think I've done. [Barron puts a hand over his mouth, feeling decidedly sick.] It's Marco's birthday next week. He's looking forward to it.

[Marco, his lead henchmen. Who apparently may now just be another fake memory.]

[Spam]

[buywithme]

I'm sorry. [Prefect says, softly.] For what it's worth... none of us know how any of this works. It could be that you fill the role of someone who really exists while you're here. The family is still real, your friends are still real, and once you've gone, they'll all continue to live happily here.

[He does advance now, moving carefully.] But it isn't your life. You have another family who you could one day return too, and you have your own life to live, Barron.

[Spam]

[sharpememory]

[Barron rounds on Prefect, anger clear in his body language.]

My name isn't Barron. It's James Caldwell. I live here, in Gotham. I have a life here and you can't say that it's not my life.

[Spam]

[buywithme]

[Prefect lifts his hands, trying to be placating.]

Then maybe it is yours. Just like Barrons life is yours. Maybe it's just a reflection of the same thing in a different universe. You still have your powers, you still turned to a life of crime, you're still... kind of... smooth, in the way that you interact with people.

But be that as it may, you are my friend, and you do have another life, and I can't let you forget that.

[Spam]

[sharpememory]

[Normally Barron would be very interested in the mention of him being smooth, but at the moment it barely registers for him. He opens his mouth to argue, but doesn't speak for a second. Then his shoulders slump.]

Is any of this real? Are the people here real?

[Spam]

[buywithme]

I don't know, Exactly. I think they are. In the breaches, I think the people only exist because of us, but it's different in ports. When you fall overboard, it's like the world finds a place for you in what's already here.

[They've made progress. That means he can probably safely put his shirt on now.]

[Spam]

[sharpememory]

Great. So it's just me that doesn't fit. That's really helpful.

[Said with no small amount of bitterness. Still, he looks somewhat disappointed when Prefect puts on his shirt.]

I think I like it here better than I'd like it being on your barge.

[Spam]

[buywithme]

I'm sorry. But even if that's true, I can't leave you here. You - even if you don't remember them right now - you love your family. And you deserve to graduate and have the world open up to you.

If I just left you here, then you'd slowly do the same thing to your memory as you were doing back in his world, and... Comrade, I just couldn't let you do that to yourself.

[Spam]

[sharpememory]

[Mysterio smiles, in a way that isn't particularly pleasant at all.]

You can't make me do anything. If I choose to believe you, which is a pretty big if, that doesn't mean that I'm going to go along with what you want.

[Spam]

[buywithme]

I am not leaving you behind, Comrade. Under any circumstances at all.

[Prefect keeps his tone mild, but there's a certainty in his voice as well. Leaving Barron behind is number one on his list of things which he will never ever do.]

[Spam]

[sharpememory]

Why don't you stay, then? [Barron pauses, then smiles.] You could be my right hand man.

[Spam]

[buywithme]

I... Comrade, aside from the fact that I think I'm quite ill fitted for a life of crime, you know why I can't accept that. This path is going to leave you hurt, and I don't want to let that happen to you.

[Spam]

[sharpememory]

Come on, fighting Batman is fun. You could be our accountant or something.

[Mysterio sounds pretty positive about this. They seemed like good friends in the memories he saw.]

[Spam]

[buywithme]

[He could be Barron's accountant. He'd make a great accountant, and they could both still hang out together, and... No!]

It seems like fun now! But what about when your memories start going again? How long do you think it'll take for him to catch up with you then, and throw you in Arkham?

[Spam]

[sharpememory]

I get thrown in Arkham. So what? Sure, it's a nasty place, but I get free food and a roof over my head while I sort myself out.

[Well, someone is a little too comfortable with the Gotham system.] It's great, really. A little like a home. It's not so different from your barge.

[Spam]

[buywithme]

Comrade... the difference is that eventually you will leave the Barge and actually be... redeemed, Brother! You won't just be brought back over an over until you go insane!

[Spam]

[sharpememory]

It doesn't matter if I go insane. I'll just forget, won't I? [Barron taps his head and smiles.]

It's one of the few benefits to what I do.

[Spam]

[buywithme]

[Prefect boggles for a moment, before saying, rather loudly:]

It does matter, Comrade! What becomes of you matters, and losing bits of yourself is not a benefit!

[Spam]

[sharpememory]

We all lose bits of ourselves, Comrade. People lose a bit every time they go to work instead of staying home with their family. You lose a bit every time someone dies. Every time you go to sleep and forget a dream.

[Mysterio is getting loud. Nerve hit.] You don't have any right to tell me what I can and can't give up.

[Spam]

[buywithme]

Comrade, those losses are either inevitable, or at the very best, they're informed decisions. The people who lose time with their family still have the memories of every moment they've spent with them, they know that the money they're earning will go towards something they care about... You just have a void, Brother. I'm afraid one day the whole of you will fall into it, and I won't recognize what's left.

[He takes a step towards Mysterio, and reaches out to put a hand on his arm.]

Come on Comrade, come home with me.

[Spam]

[sharpememory]

[Mysterio isn't a big fan of touching. While he listens to what Prefect says, the moment Prefect puts his hand on Mysterio's arm is the moment just before Mysterio hits Prefect in the face. Not that hard, but hard enough.]

I'm not going home with you! I'm going back to my base. You can choose to come if you want, but I'm not going to any of your places.

[Spam]

[buywithme]

[Prefect had thought that the incredibly uncomfortable shirtless stroking had broken them through the potentially awkward period of time where touching was definitely not okay, but apparently not. He's knocked back, staggered by the blow, and he can feel a bruise blossoming across his jaw. Barron could have hit him harder, but it was enough to hurt. He rubbed his jaw gingerly, feeling chastised by the additional hostility.]

I'm sorry, Comrade. I'll go with you.

[Give him a bit, Barron. You punched him, and sometimes he just likes to do as he's told.]