fandomhighdorms | The Gym, Tuesday evening

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The Gym, Tuesday evening

Jessica had worked through most of her issues from the weekend. The problem, of course, was that getting past "most" still left "plenty." There was what Ben said about genetic decomposition, for one thing. It seemed unlikely, but there weren't exactly many experts for her to look into. She already knew of at least one Peter clone who aged up rapidly to his death after a period of stable aging. Who could really say it couldn't happen to her.

But then there was the identity stuff, which was just a whole other thing.

Screw it. She couldn't think about it right now and going out in costume was just not a fun idea for her at the moment, so she was going to set up a punching bag, she was going to make sure it wouldn't go flying if she really unloaded on it, and then she started really unloading on it.

It was better than thinking about things.

[OOC: Open gym!]

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Sia had gone down for some regular run of the mill training, but she couldn't say she was surprised to see Jessica there already. "That kind of weekend?"

"It was about fifty kinds of horrible with a whole bucketful of suck thrown on top," Jessica said between punches. "Not to be overdramatic or anything."

"I don't think there is such a thing as overdramatic in this down," Sia said, stepping to the other side of the punching bag, out of Jessica's way. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Jessica said. "But I probably should. Maybe that'll at least let me stop thinking about it constantly."

"Would you like to keep hitting while you do it?" Sia understood those days.

"You know me. I do some of my best talking when I'm hitting something," Jessica said, continuing to punch away. "Did you happen to catch radio at all over the weekend?"

"I did, though everything I heard was insane, so I took it with a grain of salt," Sia admitted.

"Yeah, well, it turns out a version of Peter went to school here years ago, and he was here for the weekend," Jessica said. "He was a few years older, but still died the way the Peter from my world did, so that's horrifying to know."

"That is horrifying. Though unfortunately alternate timelines do tend to repeat each other," she said, not unsympathetically.

"That's not the worst part," Jessica clarified. "Because some of the people controlling things were gross."

"I had noticed..." she said, almost afraid to ask how.

Which was why she expected to just be told.

"We had crushes on each other and just enough restraint to not try anything," Jessica explained. "Which, I mean... There are no words for how... just... gah."

People didn't often get to see Sia making 'ew' faces.

Well guess what, Jess was seeing it now. "That's not all right."

"No. It's really not," Jessica said. "And trust me, for as little interest as I ever had in dating to begin with, now the thought just makes me want to never stop washing myself clean."

"I wouldn't blame you if you had your mail relocated to the shower, no," Sia told her. "Though nothing happened, so you at least have that."

"The scary thing is, that's all the stuff I've more or less worked though," Jessica said. "There's more stuff where I just... I didn't like this weekend."

....

It got worse than mutually crushing on your cousin?

"What kind of stuff?"

"Well," Jessica said, figuring it would be easier to say if every word was punctuated with a punch, "I have reason to think it's possible that my body may be failing at a genetic level." Fortunately she punched quickly, so that sentence didn't take an hour to speak.

Jessica, your life was the worst.

"What does that mean?" she asked slowly. And worriedly.

"I also had a talk with a guy who's... well, he's a lot like me," Jessica said, easing up and almost leaning against the bag with one hand. "Got his powers almost the exact same way, that kind of thing. And apparently the process, he found out the hard way, might be a little shaky. My best hope is that science in his world doesn't quite equal science in mine."

Yeah, Sia didn't so much like the sound of that. "Advances could have also been made, to improve things by the time you have to deal with them," Sia said. "If you even have to."

"Maybe. But there's no real way of knowing," Jessica said. "The guy who made me what I am is dead. The people he worked with want me dead. And the only other person who's ever even analyzed the whole thing that made me me is a crazy megalomaniac who tried to take over and/or destroy the world and is currently in the kind of jail they put crazy megalomaniacs in."

Sia took this in, processing it. "I'd also place fairly good odds on someone here knowing what to do about it, if it comes down to that. Again, not that you know it definitely will."

"I'm not so sure about that. I think I have a pretty good handle on the greatest scientific minds around here, and unique genetics aren't really their thing," Jessica said.

"On this subject, I like optimism," Sia told her.

"I understand that, but I can't really rely on optimism, or super-geniuses who specialize in robotics right now," Jessica said. "Seriously, why is it always robotics with those guys?"

"It's probably because they can. It's generally why people do most things," she said.

"Yeah, but can't there be just one world-class geneticist around?" Jessica complained. "Wait, no, we can't, because they'd end up crazy and turning themselves and everyone they know into crazy monsters, because that's what happens every time. Sorry, I forgot how the world works for a minute."

"I'm not sure that's true for every world."

Which was her diplomatic way of saying Jessica's world was freaking nuts.

"If you can tell me that your home doesn't have objectively evil people looking for power, getting it, and prospering because of it without a care about who they hurt, then tell me right now and I will pack a bag," Jessica said. "Because that's pretty much all I see. Whether it's business, or science, or even those quote-unquote fans who wanted us to be their little puppets. I mean, that kind of thing is the only reason I even exist."

"We have them," Sia told her, "but they don't always win. And if they do, they won't be able to enjoy that victory for very long if they're not caring who they hurt. That's the way power really works."

Said she of the benevolent Empire. Who had to keep a certain mindset if she was going to keep her sanity running it someday.

"They don't always win in my world either," Jessica said. "But when they lose, somebody else steps up to take their place. Or they just come right back, over and over."

"That is why I'm glad you're here," Sia replied.

"Then you probably won't be glad to know that my best shot at answers is there," Jessica said.

"Does that mean you're going back there?" Concerned here, Jess.

"Not yet. There's no indication I've been able to diagnose that anything's happening to me yet," Jessica said. "And before I do anything, I want to be as prepared as possible."

Because she had fairly crazy plans right now.

"Good. I like hearing that." Was her relief obvious? It was probably a little obvious.

"You're a good friend, Sia," Jessica said. "Thanks for letting me vent."

"Anytime. That's... a lot to deal with." Which was putting it lightly.

"Well, if everything else I've ever had to deal with hasn't ruined me yet, I guess I've got a decent shot at surviving this," Jessica mused.

Dammit, Jessica, don't be hitting anything because you were getting a hug. Seriously.

And a hug was returned! Awwwww.

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The Gym, Tuesday evening

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