IC contact.

[retconman]

"You've reached Maxwell Lord. Talk to me, and keep it good. I'm a little preoccupied at the moment, but your call is important to me. Leave your name and number and I'll return your call ASAP."

( calls | text | email | voicemail )

Comments

call;

[liverletdie]

[ Ring ring, Max ]

call;

[retconman]

[ Second ring. ]

Tony! What can I do for you?

call;

[liverletdie]

[ Of course he picks it up at the perfect time. As soon as he stops talking, Tony starts, milliseconds after, actually. ]

Afternoon, Max. How are things on your end?

call;

[retconman]

Oh, you know. Business as usual around here. What about with you?

call;

[liverletdie]

A little more hectic than usual. [ A beat. ] Have you heard from the other team members lately?

call;

[retconman]

Not exactly.

Good news or bad, Tony?

call;

[liverletdie]

Not sure news, to be honest.

They're concerned. [ They're, being the key word here. ]

call;

[retconman]

[ He catches that, he does. ]

I don't suppose there's anything I could say to make them less concerned, is there? I can promise you I haven't done anything, not that my word alone means anything. Maybe my actions speak a little louder.

call;

[liverletdie]

Please, we've all done things we're not proud of. Actions here should speak louder, in the long run, but maybe a megaphone would be pertinent.

I think they want your story, but I don't know how well they'll listen. Some of them have proven...unsupportive of taking some steps in the past.

voice mail

[boobwindow]

[ Shoot her with Kryptonite now, please. ]

Max, it's PG. Call me back when you get this.

CALL.

[retconman]

[ Ring ring. ]

Karen?

... our keywords combo LMAO

[boobwindow]

[ Banana phone.

The line picks up, though there's some background chatter and pacing before it seems to fade away, Peej slipping into a less crowded room in the office. ]

It's me. Listen, I need to talk to you. Run by a few things again.

LMAO WELL THEN

[retconman]

Uh--

[ Uh oh. That's not a great sign. Or at least it does get Max's guard up. ]

Sure. What's up? Did something happen?

CHOKES

[boobwindow]

[ She can't filter out the seriousness, but tries to maintain a friendly enough demeanor so Max doesn't panic or worse, take off. She would like to think he wouldn't after the last couple of conversations, though with Booster's recent accusations...

Booster might be hotheaded, but would he lie about a global mind wipe? ]

Just for clarity's sake. I'm still confused by our timelines.

[retconman]

[ Their "timelines." Max squints in consideration before he answers. ]

What's there to be confused about? I told you-- I was with Booster Gold.

[boobwindow]

[ Mind wipe, she keeps repeating to herself.

It doesn't sound like Max. Booster hadn't exactly provided a good motive for why Max would do it anyway. What is he covering up? Is he alive back home, or did he never actually die? Whose body is in the JLA basement, then? Her head swims with too many worrisome thoughts and questions. ]

Can we meet in person? [ And quickly, to recover: ] It's hard to hold a conversation with half a dozen guys joking about genitalia in the other room.

[retconman]

[ He exhales shortly, nose wrinkling; there's a pause as he pinches the bridge of his nose, going over the possibilities in his head. She's been talking to Booster Gold, hasn't she? What other explanation for this could there be? Unless whatever suggestion that had been in her mind already was starting to slip.

In which case Max would still have a problem. ]

What are you thinking; lunch? Or do you just want to pop around my office? I can take an early lunch.

voice mail

[boobwindow]

[ Whoops, annoys Max again with vague messages again. ]

Max, it's Kar. There's... something I've been putting off for a while, but I think it's about time I brought it up. Call me back when you get a chance.

CALL.

[retconman]

[ KAREN... ]

Karen? Did you call me?

[boobwindow]

[ She doesn't like to beat around the bush, but how does bring it up? How is anyone she knows going to take the news about Eiko? ]

I did. [ ... ] There's something I want to mention so neither you or Booster are blindsided by it.

I'm just... not sure how to put it into words.

[ Superman/Wonder Woman leaves a bad taste in her mouth. ]

[retconman]

[ Great. This already doesn't sound like anything he wants to hear... ]

Well, try, you've already gotten this far.

[boobwindow]

Have you met a kid named Eiko here?

[retconman]

The name isn't familiar, no. Should I be concerned about this?

[boobwindow]

No, no. Definitely not the word I'm going for.

How much do you know about alternate universes again?

[retconman]

[ A pause. ]

The same amount as any of us would, I guess. We've all at least seen 'em. We're in one, Karen, would you get to the point?