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[livemoore]

Who: Liv Moore + You
Where: Inside the mansion
When: 10-1
Rating: PG-13, talk of people dying.
Summary: Liv is on the chopping block.
The Story:

[ When Liv re-arrives in Wonderland, the timing is incredible. Not because she overly loves being stuck in this place where she can't control the things that happen to her (but when could she these days, anyway?) but because she is literally up for execution. Turning people into zombies when there's a brain shortage is a capital offense these days, but letting people die of incurable diseases? That was worse to her than any punishment and well worth the risk.

Hands and legs handcuffed and mouth taped shut, her eyes widen as she lands in the foyer. Of course it couldn't be her room. She has to sort of hop until she finds someone, hope they recognize her, and decide to help her. It's as she's trying to scoot along that she remembers: she had unfinished business here, and now, in her urgency she falls over, groaning as she hits the floor.

Turtle-ing would be far more embarrassing, so she just sort of rolls to her side, trying to somehow get herself free. ]

Comments

[outstandingbalance]

[The weird thing is, Natasha's had plenty of experience with people being bound and gagged—sometimes herself, sometimes the other guy—but it's something she associates a lot more strongly with her work at home than she does with Wonderland.

There's not a whole lot of call for interrogations here, usually.

That being the case, she might as well offer a little professional advise, kneeling down to pull the tape from Liv's face.]

If you keep squirming like that, your wrists are going to swell up and make it harder for you to get out.

[Giving her expression a glance over while she decides if she should take things a step further and let Liv free.]

How'd you end up out here?

[livemoore]

[ Liv wets her lips and winces at the bitter taste the residue of the tape has left behind. ]

I went home.

[ She does go still at the advice, though. ]

Things have been better.

[outstandingbalance]

Yeah, I'm getting that. [A second more and Natasha sighs.] Give me a second. I'll get you out of those.

[livemoore]

Thank you. I couldn't tell if you actually wanted to or not? I'm not dangerous, I was just...

[ She was just what? How do you explain this, Liv? ]

My world is under new zombie government. Kind of sucks for all of us.

[outstandingbalance]

Good poker face. [If the zombie thing bothers her, she keeps that close to the vest too. Liv is coherent. Natasha recognizes her. There's not a strong argument not to help.

And she makes quick work of the handcuffs. You'd think she had a key.] I'm not too worried about it. Maybe I should be, but...

There.

[livemoore]

[ Liv pushes herself up, then rubs at her wrists. There's still faint bruising on the side of her face but it's healing. ]

Thank you, again. And no, don't be worried. Not about me, anyway.

[ A hand goes through her hair as she thinks. ]

Hopefully, it's only been a week, like with everyone else.

[outstandingbalance]

[Straightening, arms crossed over her chest as she teases out what detail she wants to to follow up on.]

Worried you missed something?

[livemoore]

There was a woman who was murdered. Claire. Is she still here? Did anyone catch the person who did it?

[ For all she knows some weird amount of time has passed and no one's going to know what the hell Liv's talking about. ]

[outstandingbalance]

I know about the murder. Michonne was investigating, but last I heard she didn't have a culprit.

[With more interest, though she keeps it professional.]

Do you know something about that?

[geekorthodox]

[ It's really unnerving the way people just randomly disappear here and come back with no rhyme or reason. When Liv leaves but her stuff is still here, Patterson knows she'll be back, but she's also preoccupied with wondering what she's going through back home. What new memories will she come back with? More often than not, it seems home life just gets worse for everyone who leaves and ends up back here.

So as with every disappearance, she's not sure when she can expect her friend back, only that she will come back.

She just...wasn't expecting her to come back like this. ]

Oh...my God. Liv!

[ She rushes forward, kneeling in front of her and pulling the tape off her mouth first, in one smooth flourish. ]

What happened to you?

[livemoore]

[ Liv doesn't have to breathe, but damn it feels good to have that tape off of her mouth. Closing her eyes for a second, she really wants to hug her friend and have a Moment, but instead, she swallows deeply. ]

Just your good old fashioned public execution. No big deal.

[ She says that weakly, with a just as weak smile. ]

[geekorthodox]

No big deal.

[ She repeats that with incredulity in her voice. No big deal. Bullshit.

Also, not buying it.

She knows her friend must want out of those handcuffs ASAP but that's going to take a minute and she just needs to reassure her. So, with an arm around her shoulders in a makeshift hug, she looks into her eyes. ]

You'll be out of these soon. And then back to our room. I'd say we could load up on ice cream but uh. Yeah.

[ Never mind, that probably wasn't super comforting. Back to business! Patterson pulls a paperclip out of her pocket, because of course she just has a paperclip with her at all times. No, really. Bending it so it's just a straight piece of metal now, she starts to work the locks, managing to get the handcuffs undone quickly. Almost like she's done this before... ]

[alsoagirl]

[ Jessica's been uncharacteristically keeping to herself for the past few weeks, her time mostly spent seeking advice from Kol or coming up with more and more convoluted plans to get her revenge. Knowing how bad a liar she is, she figured not talking as much would be best. Otherwise, she'd divulge wanting to trap Fitz in a tearoom, throw boiling water on his dick, kick him a few times, and then maybe set him on fire. A stab in the hand with a spoon would be the cherry on top. Normal stuff!

She's getting antsy, though, having to keep waiting for word from Liv. Every day they waited, the longer that asshole got to enjoy his smugness of getting away with some heinous shit. And, well, she wouldn't mind some more fresh blood.

So, she trots to Liv's room, ready for some action. There are far more knocks at her door than necessary, just for some playful annoyance. See, maybe if they talk in person, there was a chance they'd get down to business right then and there. They'd waited long enough! ]

Liiiiiv. Open up. [ Pause. ] Unless you're not in there and I'll have to go lookin' for you, in which case you suck.

[livemoore]

[ Liv's just trying to get cleaned up here, she has no idea what she's doing and her face hurts. But she hears Jessica's voice and pulls herself off of the couch. The blood is cleaned up, there are still bruises, and her wrists have suspicious handcuff-like bruises around them. ]

I'm here. Come inside.

[ She lets Jessica in and then lowers herself back down on the couch. ]

I went home. It sort of sucked.

[livemoore]

You have very many useful tools and I'm questioning why but also really glad.

[ As soon as she's free she rubs her wrists and closes her eyes for a second, just trying to calm her mind down, to focus on the fact that for now she's here and alive. ]

Thanks, Patterson.

[ When she finally opens her eyes, she manages a half smile that doesn't really brighten up her features like normal. ]

[geekorthodox]

[ She's kind of a female MacGyver. Kind of.

And honestly, her friend just looks terrible. Well, she kind of always looks terrible - that whole zombie thing - but worse than usual now.

Gently wrapping an arm loosely around her, she just starts to guide her to their room. ]

Tell me what happened?

[livemoore]

[ Pressing a hand to her forehead to try and thing, Liv sorts through everything at home, everything here and realizes for a dead woman who doesn't sleep? She's already exhausted. ]

I think, before I left, I had a theory. But it's not like anything's actually set in stone. This isn't the type of place where anyone bothered to process the crime scene or take photos or gather evidence. Which means I have no idea where to even go with a hunch.

[livemoore]

[ Liv leans in to Patterson a little, just trying to replay it all in her mind, back from the beginning. But she waits until they're in their room again and they can sit down on the couch to speak. ]

So, I sort of became a uh...human smuggler. Seattle is walled off now from the rest of the country. It's supposed to be zombies only, unless you have papers authorizing you to be there. Cops, teachers. Those kinds of people. Kids were separated from their zombie parents. So, I started sneaking them out, or in, depending. And people who have incurable diseases that are going to kill them, I...

[ She wets her lips and looks down. ]

They'd come to me and I'd scratch them so they'd turn. Forged documents with my boyfriend so it looked like they'd always existed as the dead. There's a brain shortage, not enough to go around, so it's a crime. One punishable by death.

[outstandingbalance]

You'd run into some problems trying. [Which isn't so say she likes it, exactly, but logistically it would be a nightmare to have some kind of law enforcement body here.]

You remember your theory?]

[kingtrousele]

[Despite the last event being so...rat-infested, things have been relatively quiet around the mansion! They say that peace is what true rulers and warriors strive for, but that also means that he's bored out of his mind.

He wanders around the mansion aimlessly for a while, but as soon as he notices Liv on the floor, bound and gagged, he almost jumps up in shock.]

OH MY GOD!!

[He quickly springs into action, skidding towards his friend and kneeling down, ripping the tape sticking to her mouth. He definitely has taken notice of Liv's disappearance, but he tried to remain as optimistic as possible that she would return. Thankfully, she did! It seems that this is a double edged sword, however, seeing her in a distressing state like this. He starts to fiddle with the handcuffs on her wrists as he asks her a bunch of questions rapid-fire.]

WHAT HAPPENED?? ARE YOU OKAY??? WHY ARE YOU TIED UP LIKE THIS???? WHO DID THIS?????

[truefriendship]

[Liv will find herself suddenly surrounded by sparkling teal light as Starlight lifts her up and sets her upright with her magic. The tape peels itself off and Starlight lowers her horn in concentration as she works on the handcuff locks.]

Who did this to you?

[alsoagirl]

Holy shit.

[ She's probably said that about five times since entering. Her first thoughts immediately went to Fitz, but hearing that there was a trip home eliminated that theory pretty quickly, unfortunately. She'd seen some things on the network about this happening sometimes. She's now vaguely wondering if the whole process was violent.

Jessica sinks down onto the couch next to Liv, still staring at her in shock. ]

God, I'm sorry! You okay? What even happened?

[geekorthodox]

[ The slow realization on her face shifts to a look of extreme worry for her friend. She's safe now, she reminds herself, but there's always that fear of what she'll be going back to now, what she'll face back home. ]

So they were going to - [ She reaches out, resting a hand on Liv's arm in comfort now. ] God, this is awful. I'm really glad you're here right now. For so many reasons. And if I have anything to say about it, you're gonna stay here.

[livemoore]

[ Liv rubs a hand over face then winces, because right. Still bruised and not completely healed yet. ]

...Yeah. It's...the clinic exam rooms are small. Like any other general practitioner. There's the exam table, a chair, a counter, and the door. Which is closed for privacy while we have patients in there.

[ Ah, yes. It's all coming back to her. ]

There's a mirror too, but it's covered. All the time, unless someone needs it while they re-dress. Claire said her back was to the chair because she was at the counter, getting ready to draw blood. The patient behind her had a full view of the room. He didn't make a sound, and the next thing Claire knows she's attacked from behind and on the ground.

[ Liv looks at Natasha. ]

I mean, it doesn't sound like we need to call in Sherlock or anything.

[livemoore]

[ When Liv hears his voice, she closes her eyes. She'll be okay. She's back, she has friends. As far as she knows, no one is killing her for being a zombie.

When the tape is off she winces a little, but looks very, very grateful. ]

So, going home wasn't great for me. But I'm okay for now, I think. Just glad to see you.