plotting to unnerve her

[self_composed]

Bella finds Milliways in the moon palace instead of one of her balconies.

"Huh," she says aloud.

Then, to Alice, Libby, Elena, and Mary, and Lazarus except he autoreplies with a busy message, [Hey folks, Moonstone Palace grew a bar that I don't remember putting in, come check it out.]

Comments

[manofmyword]

"Why."

[self_composed]

"Because with a captive audience - mind you I say a captive audience, someone whose job is on the line if she just gets up and leaves, I'm not saying you're mistreating arbitrary people who can go as they please if you have sex with them - I think you could be unduly fascinating, at least to a certain kind of person who might be disproportionately likely to become a shrink. When the only winning move is not to play, anyone who has to play - loses."

[manofmyword]

"Mm," he says. "Nah. I don't buy it. I could be playing her, sure. But I'm not. I just—" he smiles briefly, there and then gone "—like her."

[self_composed]

Bella shrugs. "I am not infallible. I am Space Empress, not Space Pope."

[manofmyword]

"Like I said, though, I bet you guys'd get along. Doctor Quinzel," he says. "Harleen Quinzel. Funny, right? Keep an eye out."

[self_composed]

"Sure, why not?"

[manofmyword]

He hums to himself, looking down at his solitaire game.

Then he rubs his hand across the cards, stirring them into an irretrievable mess.

[self_composed]

Bella can't see Alice where he's at - he and his new friend have gone outside, which is not visible through the same window that leads to the exploding stars - but she checks to see when he's likely to want to go home.

[edgeofyourseat]

In a word, nope.

[manofmyword]

"Getting antsy?" the Joker inquires.

[self_composed]

"A little. If you're asleep, how do you go home? Do you just stay here indefinitely until you decide to try to take somebody's arm off?"

[manofmyword]

He points at the door.

"If I go out, I wake up." Smiling, "But mostly I don't go out."

[self_composed]

"Aha. Well, I can see how this'd compare favorably with an asylum."

[manofmyword]

"It's fun when I'm talking to Quinnie, but that's only once a week."

[self_composed]

"They only have you in therapy once a week, or you have multiple doctors?"

[manofmyword]

"First one. You kidding? After Dr. Larson, I think she's the only one who'd take me."

[self_composed]

"They must be really overcrowded or understaffed or both."

[manofmyword]

"Yep."

[self_composed]

"I wonder how many worlds there are," Bella muses idly. "And how many duplicates. So far I have seen a bizarrely high ratio of duplicates of people I know from home to others, but that could just be Milliways steering me to interesting crowds."

[manofmyword]

"I never met a single one before," he offers. "Still haven't, technically. I never saw your boyfriend. Maybe Milliways doesn't want me to."

[self_composed]

"He's outside with his new friend Matilda talking about... cupcakes, at the moment, but they've ranged over a variety of topics," says Bella. "If you're still here when we leave I imagine you'll see him on our way out. What would you do if you saw him, that Milliways wouldn't approve of?"

[manofmyword]

"Give him a kiss?" is the first thing that comes to mind, delivered with an innocent flutter of eyelashes.

[self_composed]

"I'm not sure he'd recognize you at first glance. I've fixed up my eyes and he hasn't done anything to his; the makeup and the scarring and the decades are probably an impediment." She shrugs. "Then again, even if you were a total stranger that doesn't necessarily mean he wouldn't be into it."

[manofmyword]

"Try to take him home, just to see what happened," is his next offering.

[self_composed]

"That doesn't sound like a wise experiment," says Bella.