*Max was still laying in bed, he didn’t want to get up, how could he knowing what happened because of him? he sighed softly, finally letting go his now damp pillow*
*peeks into Max’s tent, still smiling.* Max? Hey buddy – are you ready for a fun day?
Damien looked at him and raised his eyebrows. “A bit of a personal question to be asking me… and to call me young man, when you dont look much older…”
“What? Really? You don’t appear as old as I am… I’m thirty-five myself.” Carlos knew the greying hair at his temples did make him look distinguished, but come on… with that, the slight bags under his eyes, and his body type? He wasn’t surprised when people mistook him for older, really.
Was this gentleman his own age? Because he looked younger than that, Carlos had thought.
“I’m thirty.” Damien said furrowing his brows. “You always go around asking mayors how old they are?” Damien asked
Carlos didn’t hide his own shock at that. “You… well, I mean, no, I don’t. I just… I noticed how you held yourself and I thought that it was impressive and I assumed… I’m sorry, but otherwise you appeared younger than thirty. I guess I was at least right in thinking you were younger than me, but… huh. Okay. I hadn’t meant to offend you, really, I was just curious.”
He cleared his throat. “Sorry, Mayor – You don’t even know who I am. I’m Carlos.” He gingerly offered his hand for the other to shake.
Damien continued to frown at the other as the other stumbled over his words.
“Its still a bit… weird randomly asking strangers for their age. No matter how young you think they are.” He noted looking at Carlos’ hand.
He took it and shook it warmly. “Damien Iplier.”
“Iplier,” Carlos repeated, making sure he got it. “Kinda like Master Ip – but with a bit more to it. Okay.” He then looked a little sheepish. I… yeah, I’m sorry. I just… the question popped into my head and for some reason I decided to voice it… absolutely my bad.”
“I
agree… it will be good…..” Looks up as he hears Kraglin shout St. Peter
to stop bouncing. “And now the best is bugging his big brother….. “we
have another 2 hours of night cycle then we’ll be there to you within 2
hours of that. I’ll bring Tullk and Jamie along. Jamie was really
interested in the unique nature around your house.”“So soon? Really? I thought you guys would be maybe a standard month out.”
“Not if we use the jump drive. And to avoid peter driving us insane.. we’ll use it. We’re actually not far… just beyond… uhhh That planet Pluto? I think you terrans call it…”
“Yeah, Pluto,” Carlos agreed. “And we classify it as a dwarf planet here on Earth – basically just a smaller celestial object. What are you doing in the Solar System?” Now that Carlos thought about it, what were the space whales doing in the solar system?
“Picking up some materials from the planets around the sol system. But that’s about it. Nothing illegal this time. Hehehe.”
“Well good – the Earth has plenty of scum and villainy going on all by itself,” Carlos joked with a slight smirk. f
“Ouch… right in the heart….. at least I’m hot scum. You liked it and you know it.”
Carlos laughed. “Sometimes,” he admitted. “I should let my dad know you guys are heading here so he can start planning meals.”
“I
agree… it will be good…..” Looks up as he hears Kraglin shout St. Peter
to stop bouncing. “And now the best is bugging his big brother….. “we
have another 2 hours of night cycle then we’ll be there to you within 2
hours of that. I’ll bring Tullk and Jamie along. Jamie was really
interested in the unique nature around your house.”“So soon? Really? I thought you guys would be maybe a standard month out.”
“Not if we use the jump drive. And to avoid peter driving us insane.. we’ll use it. We’re actually not far… just beyond… uhhh That planet Pluto? I think you terrans call it…”
“Yeah, Pluto,” Carlos agreed. “And we classify it as a dwarf planet here on Earth – basically just a smaller celestial object. What are you doing in the Solar System?” Now that Carlos thought about it, what were the space whales doing in the solar system?
“Picking up some materials from the planets around the sol system. But that’s about it. Nothing illegal this time. Hehehe.”
“Well good – the Earth has plenty of scum and villainy going on all by itself,” Carlos joked with a slight smirk. f
“I
agree… it will be good…..” Looks up as he hears Kraglin shout St. Peter
to stop bouncing. “And now the best is bugging his big brother….. “we
have another 2 hours of night cycle then we’ll be there to you within 2
hours of that. I’ll bring Tullk and Jamie along. Jamie was really
interested in the unique nature around your house.”“So soon? Really? I thought you guys would be maybe a standard month out.”
“Not if we use the jump drive. And to avoid peter driving us insane.. we’ll use it. We’re actually not far… just beyond… uhhh That planet Pluto? I think you terrans call it…”
“Yeah, Pluto,” Carlos agreed. “And we classify it as a dwarf planet here on Earth – basically just a smaller celestial object. What are you doing in the Solar System?” Now that Carlos thought about it, what were the space whales doing in the solar system?
the-perfect-scientist:
Carlos nodded in agreement. “Yeah… it doesn’t seem real for me, either. It’s been… roughly twelve hours already. But you’re still here… that’s all that matters.” Carlos took his hand and lifted it to his mouth, giving him gentle, loving kisses.
Cecil vibrated softly at the affection, yet at the same time he was trying to wrap his mind around the first part of what Carlos had just told him.
Twelve hours already. Twelve hours, he had been afflicted with this strange, horrific curse. Yet what was twelve hours compared to a lifetime, an eternity? Cecil shuddered. It wouldn’t come to that. Rather, he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Optimistically, this would be cured. Again, he had to remind himself of his husband’s brilliance, of the effectiveness of science. Just because Night Vale had never had to face vampirism before did not mean that it could not overcome it, that, more to the point, he and Carlos could not overcome it.
And he was still here, yes. And so was Carlos. And they were together. And this was surely enough.
Cecil gazed up at Carlos, still gently vibrating. “Yeah, I’m still here. I promise.”
Carlos smiled at him. He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to Cecil’s mouth, still gripping his hand.
“We need to get up and ready for the day,” Carlos said softlly. “We should call the mayor… see if anything’s developed while we were sleeping.”
“I
agree… it will be good…..” Looks up as he hears Kraglin shout St. Peter
to stop bouncing. “And now the best is bugging his big brother….. “we
have another 2 hours of night cycle then we’ll be there to you within 2
hours of that. I’ll bring Tullk and Jamie along. Jamie was really
interested in the unique nature around your house.”
“So soon? Really? I thought you guys would be maybe a standard month out.”
Tony
shook his head before he looked over to the other. He tilted his head
at the question and smiled sweetly. “Would be all yours, it’s blank,
outsourced paper so our logo isn’t on it anywhere, even under UV, you
can take the plan with you, just want to see what you would plan if we
let you go wild. I’m always interested to see what my employees can come
up with when they are given the chance.”Tony leaned back in his chair and smiled softly as Pepper sighed
heavily. “It’s simply an offer, something to help you feel more
comfortable, we have been told many of our interviewees like the feel of
being able to plan something out before they talk with us so we can see
what they can do before we ask them whatever we want to and it allows
us to see how they might work. This will be all your work, all your
tech, maybe something you can build here in the future should we find
you an ideal candidate.”Tony was impressed the guy wanted to check, wanted to make sure his
work wouldn’t be stolen. “This guy has a good head on his shoulders too~
I’m impressed right now.” He chuckled softly and smirked a little as he
looked over the other.The compliment took Carlos by surprise and before he cracked
a little smile without really thinking about it.“I just know what happened between Edison and Tesla,” he
quipped; this was a more natural response from him.But he then cleared his throat, a bit awkwardly. “So… Um,
yeah. I can absolutely do a quick mock for you both to look at. How… how long would
you allow me to work on it?” It would be nice to finally get the idea on paper
so that he had something to add to while he thought about it instead of keeping
mental tabs on it all. He never got the chance to sit down with the idea at
home because he was supposed to be applying for jobs and interviewing.Tony smiled seeing the man relax a little and it seemed to be easier to talk with him now. He took a moment and watched him before nodding.
“A quick mock would be brilliant. just want to see how you work and see if we can get things sorted to work how you do. We like to meet everyone’s needs here not just those who are easy to work with.” He smiled kindly and ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s say we’ll give you an hour? We can ask you questions while you’re sketching it out to make it easier and then maybe as you to present us what you drew explaining how it would work and why we should make it.”
That meant Carlos would have to think about what to say when presenting. A little bit more on-his-feet-thinking than he was prepared for, but if that was a sort of thing that Stark was looking for then he had to do his best certainly. He decided that he was going to shorthand notes on the blueprint so that when he looked at them he could make connections more quickly while explaining it.
Though… an hour wasn’t a long time for blueprinting at all. But Carlos could make it work. Stark and Potts were pretty busy people, so they must have somewhere to be after this. “That sounds doable, Mr Stark,” Carlos said.
He set his document folder down on the table next to the blueprint paper before finally sitting down in the chair in front of it. He watched Mr Stark and Ms Potts. “So to be clear… we’re doing some of the interview questions while I’m working on this?”
“Oh
I think he did. Got upset you weren’t there. But he’s ok now. Sometimes
comes and searches the ship but yeah. There wonderful lovely
creatures.”“They are,” Carlos agreed. He’d never seen anything like them. “Gosh… I hope his parents are somehow able to let him know that it’s okay. Or… I dunno, Yondu… You, um… your species seems to have some minor telepathic abilities. I… I dunno if this is presuming too much, but… are you able to just…let him know I’m okay? I’m just asking – I don’t know what I’m talking about, so I’m just asking…”
“Don’t worry his parents took care of him and… Hmm I guess they can understand me in a way… I whistle and they understand that way I guess. Don’t worry it’s ok. Maybe someday you’ll see him again. But always remember he’ll be you soul traveler…. he’s a baby so that means you will have a long life. You’ll both be old before he carries you to Valhalla…”
What…? Carlos had wondered about what aliens believed regarding the afterlife, but the subject had just… never come up. Did they think space whales were basically boats to the afterlife? That… well, he could see that making sense as a belief.
“You believe in Valhalla?” he asked. That was a term that Carlos had thought was exclusive to Earth… well, until it was revealed that one of Earth’s heroes was actually an alien – a Norse alien, if there was such a thing.
“We all are a bit different but it all comes down to Valhalla for those called warriors. I’m a ravager… we believe in a form of Valhalla. We’re like space warriors…. we have a code. We’re honor bound… we fight great battles at times… kinda like…. uhhhh As petey says… uhh Vikings or pirates I guess. And we belive were guided to Valhalla’s gates by those space critters out there.
“Huh,” Carlos said as he pondered. “That… sounds pretty nice, actually. Valhalla, um.. what is it to you? Is it a paradise?”
“In a way yes…. it’s the absolute… the final…. we stand in the halls of great warriors….. we drink, and eat with honor…. and we watch the world around us…… time is nothing…. but everything is perfect…. the food and drink unending…. and the companionship of our fellows eternal…….”
“Huh,” Carlos said softly. “On Earth, um… Valhalla is all that… but the legend says that there’s going to be a big fight between the realms and the warriors who died and resided in Valhalla would rise again to fight for the good of everyone. Or… something like that… I’m honestly not well versed in the Norse belief system…”
“Norse? That’s what all warriors of space belive too. Thatcwe are honored in breath and will rise to life when it was time to be summoned.”
“That’s… just what it’s called here on Earth,” Carlos explained. “There’s probably thousands of religions here on Earth – Norse is just one of them. Honestly, for a while I thought it was a dead religion. But that was before we had an actual Asgardian appear to help save the world.” He chuckled softly.
“Wait! One of the warrior gods actually came and saved terra! I …. wow… I hope someday to be honored with a drink with one in the halls of asguard….”
Carlos smiled slightly at Yondu’s apparent excitement. “Yeah, he… he did,” he said. “It was, um… It was Thor, the God of Thunder, if that means anything to you space-faring people. From tabloids and rumors, it sounds like Stark has great Avengers parties, especially when Thor’s in town.”
“And he dines and parties with mortal terrans?! I may have to get into one of those. Damn… that’s….. do those terrans even know how big of a honor that is?!”
Carlos’ smile grew wider. “Well, I think the Avengers might have some idea… I mean, he’s their friend and all. Others probably think he’s just taken up the title of Thor… I mean, I did until I did the whole space adventure thing.
“One of his friends here is the guy I mentioned earlier… um, Iron Man. One of Earth’s heroes.”
“Friends! With a literal god!! Oh dear Odin!! Shit Odins legitly real! Forgive me Odin for saying your name without honor!! Fuck!!!” Jumps up knocking the tablet over and starts doing the ravager prayer of forgiveness.
Carlos stared at the communicator in shock and in some concern. “Uh, Yondu? Yondu, are you okay? Yondu!”
Picks it up and nods to him. “Fine. I’m fine… was just sending a forgiveness prayer to Odin father of Thor god of thunder..”
“Uh, yeah, I … I saw that,” Carlos said. “You just dropped the comm though, and… I didn’t really know what I was looking at.”
Yondu smilesand sighs. “Love you carlos. I miss you and … can’t wait to get to terra to see you again…”
Carlos blinked. He smiled shyly at Yondu. “I miss you too,” he said. “I… I look forward to seeing you too. And the boys, of course. Just… It’ll be great all around, I think.”
*he
smiles slightly, hugging his pillow* that sounds nice.. i only got to
talk to my brother three or four times cause he was busy with college
and work…You have a brother? How much older is he?
like.. 13-ish years i think? *he shifted slightly, glancing away*
Oh… that’s tough. Mine’s just 18 months younger than me. *he rubs Max’s shoulder through the blanket.*
*he shrugs, stilfling a yawn* there were worse things then not knowing your brother.. and who knows, maybe i’ll get to see him again some day…
There could be worse things… but that doesn’t mean it’s okay. If he had any sense, he’d see his younger brother. How bad is it? I mean – I’m asking about your nausea now.
*he shrugged slightly* i’m more tired now then sick feeling.. *he curls up slightly, frowning softly*
That’s okay. You should drink a bit of water, just in case you feel nauseous again and need to throw up. Look forward to tomorrow though – I’ll get you something good for your birthday. *he smiles* Oh – what’s your favorite cake flavor, by the way?
*he nodded slightly* favorite cake flavor..? i dunno.. i haven’t ever really eaten cake but i guess chocolate *he yawns*
Chocolate’s a good one. It’s mine too. *he smiles wider* Relax, Max. I’ll find your water bottle and a bucket.
*he smiles softly back, rubbing his eyes* thanks Carlos..
You’re welcome, buddy. *he searches around before finding Max’s waterbottle. He sets on the bed next to Max before leaving for a moment. He comes back with an old bucket he found by the Quartermaster’s store and set it beside the bed.*
*when he comes bback, Max is already alseep. hugging his pillow and the water bottle as he quietly snores*
*Carlos smiles. He reaches to pat Max on the floof before quietly turning and leaving the tent.*
The Perfect Scientist 