The Old Year Passes (IC)

[Avenger Assembled]

Mid-December, 2011

Murdock came home to a wrapped package waiting for him in his apartment office, fresh from a shift at HAX. It was something of a surprise; he didn’t get a lot of mail at his Lincoln apartment. Usually when people wanted to talk to him, they’d simply seek him out, whether contacting him in person at his place of work, coming here, or summoning him directly to Freedom Hall. But this was a season for gift-giving, and from the colorful wrapping paper this was certainly a holiday gift. He silently walked up to his apartment, silent now that Satyr was spending most of his nights out with his many girlfriends. His putative roomate hadn’t made much of an impression on the place, and as the former Omegadrone sat on his creaking armchair, the Spartan rooms were much as they’d been when he’d begun to decorate them. The only real change had been the presence of Fulcrum’s cat, but even he generally avoided him when he didn’t want attention: the feline never really had warmed up to the former Omegadrone, though he did consent to tangle his way between Murdock’s legs and purr when he wanted food. The cat was sleeping by the radiator now, enjoying the warmth.

“TO SM: THANKS FOR YOUR HELP WITH THE LUNAR SITUATION. THOUGHT YOU’D APPRECIATE THIS PRESENT FROM THE FARSIDERS. CAREFUL; IT’S POTENT!: STAR KNIGHT” Hmming, he unwrapped the box and found inside a single large bottle, its sides cold to the touch, the fluid inside a mysterious green. He carefully removed the cork from the cloudy glass, judging the consistency of the fluid within, and immediately realized what it was. He’d drunk alcohol before; even on Nihilor, making a still was one way to make yourself a king in the Black Ghetto, and between Satyr and the friends at Champions who had occasionally passed a flask around the dish line, he’d had plenty here too. But nothing so far had affected him; the cybernetic alteration of most of his organs having rendered him largely immune to Earthly intoxicants. With few material needs, he generally donated things gifted him to the local homeless shelters, but this was...hmm. He sniffed the fumes wafting from the bottle’s mouth and blinked. Just how potent was the Farsider brandy?

He got up, chair creaking beneath him as he rose, and took out one of his mismatched glasses, this one a Champions mug with the logo worn away. He thought for a moment, and poured himself a drink, his apartment as ever silent but for the purring of the cat and the rumbling of equipment deep down in the basement. He raised the mug to his lips, took a sip, and all but choked as green fire slipped down his throat. This was nearly pure alcohol, but with flavor all the same, and potent enough that even he had noticed it! Well, he couldn’t just donate this, not when it might poison a human who drank it, and his curiosity had now been piqued. He took bottle and mug and sat down before his television, flipping through channels before he found one of the many Christmas movies that aired this time of year. He had nothing better to do, not until his departure for Sancturary in a few days, and the chance to sit back and drink was not an experience he often had.

[Electra]

The strange green bottle had drawn little attention when it was delivered to ArcheTech; it was hardly the strangest thing every to be couriered to the attention of Miss Americana. Few of those things, however, arrived as gifts. Miss A had run a few tests on it, just for safety’s sake, and although it had a startling percentage of alcohol by volume, as well as a few other trace chemicals that might be of questionable legality, it seemed safe to consume, in small quantities. Since it was the holidays, she discreetly took it home with her. Twas the season, after all.

She waited a few more days before she did anything with it, until Friday night, when she had some time on her hands and nothing to do the next day. Sharl was away on some Christmas adventure with all the friends he’d made at school, so she had the house to herself for her annual tradition. Sitting down with the lists she’d painstakingly assembled through means fair and foul, she purchased a number of rather expensive presents for her nieces and nephews, the sort her brothers couldn’t afford to dish out for. Most of them were video games, which made her sort of happy. Most of the happiest times of her own childhood involved video games, before she’d gotten into the computer. Her brothers got new televisions, which she figured they’d appreciate.

Daddy had run up his credit card bill again, she noted upon checking into his finances. He hadn’t found a job he could do with his bad back, and the disability checks weren’t making ends meet. Gina stared at the balance for a moment, paid it all off, and then went to pour herself her first drink of the night. She was entitled, it was the happiest goddamn time of the year, wasn’t it?

Her analysis had warned her to be wary of the evil-looking concoction, but even mixed liberally with grenadine and Mountain Dew, the first sip made her eyes water. “Merry Christmas,†she croaked, standing in the kitchen and raising a glass to no one before taking another healthy slug. Ordering Emerson to bring the mixers, she carried cup and bottle back down to her lair.

[Avenger Assembled]

Some time later, Murdock was definitely beginning to feel the effects of the Farsider concoction, most notably when he finally rose from his chair and nearly stumbled through the floor. Having his inhibitions weakened was something of an alien sensation for the former Omegadrone, but it wasn’t necessarily an unpleasant one. Being free from the weight inside his mind and soul, if only for one night, was actually quite enjoyable. He found himself singing along to the Christmas carols on the television, letting his mind settle into the fuzzy blanket that the bottle produced. This was a good place to live, it was a good time of year, and it was good to be alive. This wasn’t his first Christmas, that being a holiday his parents had very occasionally marked in the so few good days, but it was his first as a new man in a new life. He’d pulled his chair close to the radiator, and between that and the strong drink he could almost no longer feel the metallic cold deep in his bones.

He thought about going out, but the idea of being seen by friends in an inebriated state was potentially embarrassing. This was a private moment to be alone with his thoughts, a quiet evening to celebrate that his life wasn’t all grey darkness, even here alone he could be genuinely content, even happy. And it wasn’t very likely anyone was going to seek him out, anyway! He found a show about a red-nosed reindeer living with the Santa Claus figure and found himself watching the puppets intently: what secret messages of tolerance were embedded in this delightful program, and how had they gotten the stop-motion animals to move so artfully with such primitive technology?

[Electra]

Emerson was an excellent and well-programmed bartender, keeping Gina’s cup assiduously filled to the brim so that it was hard to tell how much she’d actually had to drink. After awhile, though, she started to feel pretty good. She turned on music, something she rarely did anymore, and bounced along to some Frontalot and Jonathan Coulton while she finished her shopping. All her lab assistants got nice wine and cheese baskets, and the superheroes who were her friends got fancy-ass picnic hampers. After buying all those things, Gina realized she was probably hungry herself, and had Emerson make her a Hot Pocket while she checked her newsfeeds.

There were charities out there that needed funding for Christmas, she discovered. That was a damn shame near Christmas, that people should be unhappy simply for lack of money when there were so many other reasons to be unhappy. She made several generous donations, then stumbled across a site where you could send animals to people in foreign lands in honor of other people for Christmas. That was perfect! After careful perusal, she found the very biggest gift, two of every kind of animal in the catalog, and bought that, arranging for the gift to be in honor of her mother, with a card to say so sent to her in the mail. If Gina knew anything, Lissy Evans would lose no time in figuring how much that charity gift had cost, and know down to the penny how much money she herself hadn’t gotten. That was very satisfying.

By the time she finished with that, it was getting pretty hard to type, even if she concentrated hard on the keys, so Gina took bottle and cup and carefully headed back upstairs to the living room. She didn’t spend much time in here, either, but it was nice, with a big TV and all the channels, and a huge overstuffed couch that was like resting on a soft leather cloud. She turned on the TV and watched It’s A Wonderful Life as the temporary giddiness of a good tipple wore off into the maudlin stupor of intoxication.

[Avenger Assembled]

Murdock had put away a solid half-bottle of the Farsider alcohol before he began to feel its more nagging effects on his psyche. As much as he enjoyed seeing all the happy families and spiritual connections on the television, the alcohol made sure he couldn’t forget that neither of those were his: the friends he’d be with on Fleur de Joie’s world were just that, allies against the darkness in whose company he never felt totally easy. Some judged him, others didn’t, either way more than once he’d had the thought that he didn’t dare socialize with them. They wouldn’t enjoy his company except as a project to fix, and some days he wasn’t sure he deserved to have their company, to have their trust.

Unbidden, he thought of Gina, the woman behind Miss Americana, and wondered what sort of holiday season the cyberneticist had. It must be a grand thing, he thought without a trace of rancor, to be able to be so beautiful, so poised, so trusted, and without having to wear a mask like he did to do so. She was a lucky woman in some ways. Still, remembering her fear at the sight of him (fear she did _not_ show as Miss Americana, suggesting that it came from her own psyche and not his frightening nature), he doubted she was going anywhere today either. Miss Americana socialized, but he had a feeling Gina (whose last name he had not even learned) didn’t. Surrounded by festivities that must have meant so much more to someone actually from this world, who actually had Christmas memories and a family here, the holidays had to be very different for her. He thought about that, and took another drink.

With that thought, Murdock suddenly blinked and slapped himself on the side of the head, a sudden, violent gesture he’d never have done while sober. “Of course! I don’t have Gina’s number...but I do have Miss Americana’s!” Shaking his head at his own drunken absent-mindedness, he rose to his feet and walked to the phone on his kitchen table, slowly and deliberately dialing Miss Americana’s contact number. What was the worst that could happen?

[Electra]

It took Gina two rings to realize that her phone was ringing, and another ring and a half to find it, even though it was in her jean pocket. It wasn't her own phone, of course, that hardly ever rang, it was Miss Americana's phone. Everybody wanted to talk to Miss Americana! She managed to catch it just before it dumped to voicemail. “Hellooo?†she asked curiously. The phone automatically adjusted her vocal tones to Miss Americana’s speaking register, but her voice was still slow and a bit slurred. “Merry Christmas!â€

[Avenger Assembled]

The alcohol had made Murdock’s voice, if anything, even more deeper and measured than usual. He was doing his best to stay even and in control, which all in all made him talk like he was reading a book out loud. “Hello,” came his familiar voice. “This is Murdock. Merry Christmas to you as well.” A silence fell on the line as he measured his thoughts, alcohol making his voice nervous. “I was wondering what you were doing tonight.” He didn’t give names; she valued her privacy, and he wouldn’t risk it even over the phone lines, even drunk. At least for this. All he was doing was calling up a friend close to a holiday, when they both were full of drink. Or perhaps he had simply just woken her up? It was tough to judge, especially when he had to remind himself to hold onto the phone.

[Electra]

“Ah, Steeeve,†Gina repeated, tucking a couch pillow behind her head as she rolled the vowel. She had been feeling weird about Murdock lately, ever since that thing in the storage room, but it didn't seem as important tonight. Maybe she just didn't give a damn anymore. “Merry Christmas, almost-not-quite Christmas. Did you get a bottle of booze from Star Knight for that thing we did on the moon? Because I sure did,†she confided, looking over towards it. Only about a quarter of the bottle was gone, she realized, but it had been enough to do some damage. “What are you doing?â€

[Avenger Assembled]

“I did,” agreed Murdock, “I am drunk,” he added with his usual frank honesty. He certainly had taken more strong drink tonight than he'd taken in a very long time, and the wobbling sensation he felt when he stood up furthered his impression that he was certainly drunk. “I am sitting in my apartment watching Christmas movies. You sound as if you are drunk as well.” There was silence again as he closed his eyes, carefully marshalling his thoughts. “I was thinking of you, and wondering what you were doing. Are you well?”

[Electra]

“I am well and truly drunk,†she assured him, grinning to herself at the idea of her words being translated into Miss Americana's dulcet tones. “That’s quite a cowin-coindcidence. But tish the season, I guess. Merry Christmas, and goddamn but there’s another new year coming up. They just keep rolling on in, don’t they? I had some drink, did some shopping, and I’m sher- I’m really thinking about having some more to drink. If there’s a villain attack, I’m screwed, but I’m not skeerda them. Eff ‘em,†she added expansively. “Whatcha watching?â€

[Avenger Assembled]

“I am watching the end of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” said Murdock deliberately. “It is a very very interesting work. The themes of prejudice and superpowers are very...very interesting!” He pictured Gina’s face, and decided she sounded happy. It was a good sound. “I have been singing Christmas carols, and the cat likes them.” He considered a moment and then, greatly daring, suggested, “We should not drink ourselves unconscious alone. I was thinking that we should get together tonight in the spirit of the holidays. We can drink more, and do what we like.”

[Electra]

“Get...together?†Gina repeated slowly, almost as though she couldn’t understand the concept. On the television screen, George Bailey was laughing, surrounded by his family and friends, all the people who couldn’t get by without him. She frowned at the screen. George Bailey had a Christmas tree. She didn't have one of those, or any decorations. Or any family or friends. She was apparently Mr. Potter in somebody else's wonderful life, and that didn't seem very fair. “I don’t think... I don’t think I could go out tonight,†she admitted. “I’m in no condition to drive anything. Don’t wanna break my pretty body,†She snorted.

[Avenger Assembled]

“I can come there,” said Murdock, the idea coming to him for the first time as he slowly puzzled it out. He knew how Gina felt about human contact, he'd had a painfully memorable demonstration of that, but she seemed far more relaxed tonight. “Or to wherever you would prefer to meet.” He had no idea where that would be, but the thought of doing it seemed as warmly pleasant as the drinking had been. “I don’t know where you are,” he confessed. “But I can walk many places. Or fly. I am a good flier, and I have a disguise.” He had never actually flown while this intoxicated, but he supposed it would be all right if he was very careful. Maybe walking was the best idea, really.

[Electra]

Gina frowned. Even in her deeply inebriated state, the idea of letting someone else come over was more than a little daunting. But it wasn’t like this was some guy, it was Murdock, who half the time seemed totally alien and half the time seemed like a lost kid. And he was drunk too, so it practically didn’t count. The guy had been an Omegadrone, he’d seen atrocities and horrors on like a zillion worlds, one fugly woman wasn’t going to faze him. Plus he'd already seen her once, what more damage was there to be done? “If you’re drunk, you shoulnint fly,†she said firmly. “Hmm. Oh yeah. You sit tight, Emerson’ll come get you. Just go down to your lobby an wait. Put the bottle in a bag.â€

[Avenger Assembled]

Trusting Gina to know what she was doing, even drunk, Murdock nodded, then remembered she couldn’t see him. “Yes, yes, I will be down in the lobby with the bottle. I have a large brown paper sack from my groceries. I will use that. I will see you soon.” He hung up, realized he had no idea what Emerson looked like, and finally trusted that Gina’s messenger (not her sidekick, whose name he knew, would recognize him. And with that, pulling on a sweater against the chill outside (not wanting to look strange), he headed down to the lobby to wait.

[Electra]

At this hour of the night and with light snow falling, the neighborhood wasn’t too busy. Murdock only had to wait ten minutes or so before a sporty little electric car came whizzing silently down the street and pulled up directly in front of the apartment building. As Murdock approached, he realized there was no human being in the driver’s seat, but rather a boxy robot, much like the one Miss Americana used in her lab and called Mavis. It wasn’t using the wheel or pedals, instead it seemed to be hooked into the car’s steering by means of several wires. It looked at him, appeared to recognize him, and opened the car door.

[Avenger Assembled]

The sight of a robot driving a car was by no means the strangest one Murdock had ever seen, even on the streets of Freedom City. The thought that it might be illegal for one machine to drive another was alien to him, and anyway it wasn’t as if he could drive a car himself, especially drunk! He’d seen enough concerned public service announcements to know that. Instead he smiled at the robot and sat in the passenger seat, slowly and deliberately buckling himself in as the car accelerated off into the night. “Hello, Emerson,” he said after considering the boxy robot for a few moments. He wondered irrationally if this was how Protectron made a living, perhaps with a false mechanical face. “Are you able to talk?” he asked. “Or can Gina see me through you?”

[Electra]

The robot flashed its lights at Murdock in what might have been a pleasant manner, but it didn’t seem inclined to do any talking. Instead, it reached out a slender manipulating arm and turned on the radio to Christmas music, which played for the remainder of the trip. The drive took longer than he would have suspected, given how fast the car had arrived, and seemed to involve many turns and switchbacks. By the time they arrived at a nondescript house in a nondescript neighborhood, they could’ve been in any part of Freedom City. The robot pulled the car into an attached garage and gestured towards the interior door.

[Avenger Assembled]

Truthfully, as drunk as he was, Murdock would have been hard-pressed to retrace even a straight route back to his apartment. He didn’t think about that, though, or anything else as he thanked the robot with grave courtesy, then slowly and carefully picked his way across the concrete floor to the interior door that led into what had to be Gina’s house. He knocked firmly, not wanting to surprise her, as he cradled the bottle in his other arm. “Gina!” he called, “I am here! May I come in?” He leaned his head against the door having asked, taking a little while to compose himself.

[Electra]

“Yeah, come on in,†came the faint response. He opened the door to find himself in the kitchen of what he judged to be a nice house, though he was no expert in such things. It was clean and dim, with only a light above the sink to light the way, but there was more light from further on in the house, so that was the way it was probably best to go.

In the living room, off the kitchen, Gina sat on the couch with an enormous bowl of Doritos and another drink she’d made to fortify herself while she’d waited. She suspected that if she lost even a little of the buzz, she’d lose her nerve as well, and for the moment she liked thinking of herself as brave. Even so, she hesitated when Murdock walked into the room, big as life, intruding into her sanctuary. She took another drink, then offered him the bowl of chips. “Hey.â€

[Avenger Assembled]

“Hello, Gina,” said Murdock, who at first didn’t seem drunk at all until Gina saw him walk into the room, carefully measuring his steps as if he was worried he’d fall down. He joined her on the couch and placed his bottle on the little coffee table: where she’d been drinking hers watered-down and was drunk from a quarter and a bit more, he’d been drinking his straight and was tipsy from half. “Your robot was very efficient. You should reward him. Merry Christmas,” he offered, tipping his bottle against her drink, his hands shaking a little. “That is the traditional toast, I believe?”

[Electra]

“I’ll give him the good power outlet tonight,†Gina agreed, her words slurred even more now that the phone wasn’t altering them. She tapped her cup, which was full of a bizarre brownish liquid that smelled of alcohol, cherries, and lemons, against his bottle. “That’ll work. To your health. Merry Christmas.†Lifting the glass, she took a long drink. This wasn’t really so bad, she decided. He hardly bothered her at all, if she didn't let herself think too hard. Not thinking too hard was sort of relaxing in itself. “Somebody else will hafta handle the crime beat tonight.â€

[Avenger Assembled]

“To your health.” Murdock took another drink, a long one, the green Farsider ale burning like fire on the way down. He coughed, then took a moment to compose himself. “I am sure there are many heroes who can de-defend the city in our absence,” he said, too-precisely. “It will be fine.” He reached down and took a few bites of Doritos, hmming at the taste of the familiar luxury item. “I cannot remember when I was this drunk. I will have to thank Star Knight for this. I did not think she would remember me this well. I do not often lower my inhibitions in this way,” he added, almost apologetically.

[Electra]

“Should try it more offen,†Gina told him, ducking her head so that her frizzy brown hair fell over her shoulder and screened her face partway. That made her feel a little better, too. “Good for your blood pressure.†Listening to her, Murdock could hear a sort of drawl in her words that was less drunken slur and more regional accent. English speakers had more than enough of those, but this one reminded him of television shows he’d seen that were set in the southern United States. “I have more food,†she told him. “In the kitchen, just got groceries come in today. All kindsa stuff. You should help yourself.â€

[Avenger Assembled]

Hearing her talk like that was appealing to the very relaxed Murdock; Miss Americana had always intimidated him with her beauty, but the woman behind the woman was far more interesting, particularly when he himself was feeling very...interesting. “Yes. Yes, I will do that.” He slowly wandered into the kitchen, leaning on the doorframe as he did so. It took him a few moments to find his way around in the kitchen, and there was the smell of cooking food in Gina’s microwave. He came back with two two-liter bottles of Mountain Dew, balancing one under his arm, and carrying a plate of Gina’s hot wings. He set the food down, and the drink, and sat next to Gina again. He forgot the food for a moment, and studied Gina. “You have a nice voice,” he said after thinking on it, before turning back to his food. “It is different than I have heard before.”