AU OOM :Test drive 18 year old Annabelle.

[aeons_crackshot]

The Annabelle Newfield that stumbles into Milliways is not the Annabelle the patrons are used to. This Annabelle is 18 years old and has just, barely, survived having her brain highjacked by a no good bastard of a psychic in Cuba.

Calling her psyche a mess at this point is an understatement. Metaphysically speaking, she's crisscrossed with open, bleeding wounds. (That tends to happen when you battle mind to mind with a psychic employing brute force to puppeteer your body that doesn't particularly care if you're even alive after they're finished with you.)

But this is not the main problem. The REAL problem is that Milliways does not allow two versions of the same person to exist in the Bar at the same time. Reality shuffles itself like a deck of cards and the 'new' Annabelle gets slammed with a whole different set of 28 years worth of memories as the 'old' Annabelle ceases to exist.

Memories that don't settle properly thanks to the mess her psyche is at the moment. Oh, they're probably in there to be found.....somewhere, eventually.......maybe. Damn it.

Annabelle looks around the Bar, too shocked and disoriented to even swear for the moment.

Comments

[leadinghome]

Connor just watches the woman, a bit wary still; to him, high-tech gadgets are signs of trouble and nothing else.

[aeons_crackshot]

It's not so much 'high tech' as 'impossible for normal humans to create tech', but Connor's not likely to realize that.

Annabelle catches the device as it starts to fall, then stows it back in her pockets. "So far as I can tell, we're in a different reality than we came from," she explains. "A pocket universe, if you like. The environment's not likely to kill us and time isn't passing back home. Other than that..." she shrugs helplessly.

Annabelle leans back against a piece of furniture, suddenly showing the exhaustion and the strain she's feeling. "I did not need this on top of everything else that's happened today," she mutters, closing her eyes for a second.

[leadinghome]

Pocket dimension and so on fly right over hie head, the teenager not being one for sci-fi things. "You're not the only one." He gives a sigh, and rubs temples.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle's not much for sci-fi either, she just lives in a VERY pulp comic universe. Annabelle gives him a sympathetic look.

"Anything I can help with?" Helping people is what Annabelle DOES. It doesn't matter that they're in a pocket universe and she doesn't even know his name.

[leadinghome]

He is exhausted and it shows. "I... dont think so. Just need to take a breath." And a lot more, but 'a breath' is a good start.

[aeons_crackshot]

"A breather is a good place to start, ...." and then she realizes that she doesn't know his name.

Annabelle blushes a little. (She's kind of cute when she does that.) "And I have completely neglected the introductions. Annabelle Newfield." She'll offer a hand for shaking, but she'll understand if he doesn't take it.

"Is there a name you'd like me to call you by? 'Hey you' tends to come across as rather rude."

[leadinghome]

Indeed, she is.

"Ah, sorry; I'm Connor." And he's blushing too.

[aeons_crackshot]

"Good to meet you, Connor," Annabelle replies with a bright smile.

Awwww. He's cute when he blushes. She can't make heads or tails of his outfit, which puzzles her. He SOUNDS British, but she's been in Britain often enough that she knows full well how people dress.

Huh. Feels like she got some minor lacerations at some point during the battle, now that the adrenaline is wearing off. Annabelle reaches for her first aid kit. "Are you hurt? I'm no doctor, but I can patch you up a bit if you need it."

[leadinghome]

"No, not hurt." The boy shakes head. "Just tired."

And hungry.

And tense, focusing energy in keeping his mind-barriers up.

[aeons_crackshot]

"That's good," Annabelle replies with a relieved smile. The medical kit has alcohol in it, and it burns when it hits the wounds, but it's her best bet at avoiding infection. At least it doesn't look like she's going to have to stitch anything closed.

More rummaging produces a Hershey bar, albeit not in a wrapper Connor's likely to recognize. (Mostly because it's from 1926, according to the labeling.) Annabelle offers him the chocolate bar. "I know it's not much, but it's all I've got on me."

[leadinghome]

He looks at her curiously, and takes the chocolate... then breaks the bar in half, and hands her one of the pieces. "Thanks."

Chocolate.

Hm, chocolate...

[aeons_crackshot]

"You're welcome," she replies, taking the smaller piece. She nibbles on it carefully, not sure if it's going to stay down.

It is tasty, tasty chocolate. Perfectly ordinary in every way.

Gods, she wants to get drunk right now. Not remembering that psychopath moving her around like a puppet, shooting her friend, and struggling to get back in control of her own body would be awesome.

She eyes the rest of the "pub" warily. It seems to be deserted, for the moment. There's not even anyone guarding the liquor behind the bar....

Annabelle gets to her feet, wobbling for a moment. Then, she makes her way over to the Bar. She'll just....leave money on the counter. She grabs a bottle of whiskey more or less at random and two glasses. (And the bowl of salted nuts that exists in most every bar everywhere because it makes people thirsty and thirsty people buy more alcohol.)

[leadinghome]

Connor watches her move, nibbling on his half of the chocolate, raising a brow as she returns with booze.

Hm, that is something KK would do...

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle offers some of the alcohol, because that's what the eyebrow was about right? No? Darn.

Annabelle gives him a slightly bitter smile. "Self medicating a bit. The last hour or so was...." She swallows.

Yeah. Where the hell do you even begin to explain something like that?

[leadinghome]

"It reminds me of someone." Connor shakes head. "You don't have to talk; I know all about weird hours. Or days."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle nods. "I had a feeling that you might." She does have some skill at reading people, even if she is a rank amateur by comparison to many of the people she know.

"Your girlfriend?" she asks, curious.

[leadinghome]

"Huh, no." Connor almost winces. "She'd kick my ass if I even joked about it."

Besides, KK is more like the older, bully sister, dating her would be... ew.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle grins. "Quick temper? I've known a few people like that."

Annabelle doesn't tend toward hitting people just out of temper. Killing things/people that have crossed the moral event horizon and are accelerating....well, that's different. You do what you have to do to protect people, even if you don't like doing it.

[leadinghome]

"Yeah, very." Connor stretches a bit, having not noticed how sore his arms and legs are after all the running and climbing, and so on. Adrenaline is going down fast, leaving the teen just exhausted.

[aeons_crackshot]

"You can rest if you want, I'll keep watch," she says with a reassuring smile. "I won't let anything or anyone hurt you."

Not unless they get through her first, and she's not easy to kill.

[leadinghome]

He... would very much like to believe that.

To take that offer.

But just trusting a stranger like that, well, it's a bit too early after being hunted. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Not really, but you can do wonders with the package; the chocolate gives him energy to burn, so its easy to quietly push exhaustion away. "I... we should check out the place." For safety, if nothing else.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle is too familiar with that kind of 'I'm fine' to believe it, mostly from using it herself.

Still, it's not like she can MAKE him rest. "Good idea," Annabelle agrees, getting to her feet. She resolutely ignores a twinge of pain that may or may not be a herald of worse to come.

Damn Siberia and the Rational Experimentation Group to the deepest level of hell.

She moves, slowly, down the left hand side of the room.

[leadinghome]

Connor follows, noticing the way she moves, clearly in pain, with concern.

"That looks like a door... huh, an exit door." The outside might be uncanny, but will be a much better shock, than the observation window.

[aeons_crackshot]

With the pain, Annabelle is employing the ancient human defense mechanism of 'maybe if I ignore it, it will go away'. Possibly because there's little else that she CAN do about it.

"Let's see what's on the other side," Annabelle says with a grin. The door is eased open to reveal a night time scene. There's a forest, a lake, the usual out back Milliways scene.

Annabelle blinks at the sight. "Not what I was expecting, but I'll take it."

[leadinghome]

Maybe she has an easier time ignoring it then him; the pain flares in his enhanced perceptions, eluding his mental barriers some.

He very much would like to help, but Miki is the one with the medical mojo.

Suffice to say, the outdoor area is a very welcome distraction. "...shit. Right, I hit my head somewhere, am hallucinating this..." He looks around. "Luke, don't even think of putting your ballsack on my face, you wanker. I am ripping it off if you do."