[oom: Suite 134]

[mnt_mike]

A hospital.
In a freakin' hospital.
No no no, it gets better....in a freakin' MAGICAL hospital.

Mike is seated on the floor of his living room. Around him are the scattered remains of maps and plans.
To say that he's frustrated would be a gross understatement.

Comments

[mnt_donnie]

Donnie has just prepared himself a tasty lunch of tofu stir-fry, planning to eat it while reading the brand-new genetics research journal he'd gotten that day. He steps through the door into his room, anticpating a pleasant lunch.

He gets a bathtub. A bathtub surrounded by an amazing amount of rubber ducks. He doesn't need to be a genius to figure out where he's ended up.

"Mike?"

[mnt_mike]

Mike looks up.

"Donnie?"

He gets to his feet and makes his way towards the bathroom.

"Are you uh...are you okay in there?"

[mnt_donnie]

"Oh, I'm fine," Donnie says mildly, his voice echoing slightly. "It was a perfectly smooth dimensional transfer, I was just hoping for a more comfortable spot in which to eat my lunch."

The green of his face takes on a slightly reddish tint.

"And, ah, I don't want to just barge into your living room in case I might be, ah, interrupting something."

[mnt_mike]

"It's just me. And really, I could use your help."

There's a certain amount of pleading in his voice

[mnt_donnie]

More pleading than anyone usually hears from Mike when ice cream isn't involved. Donnie opens the bathroom door and steps out, his lunch forgotten.

"What's happened?"

[mnt_mike]

Mike does a pretty admirable job of making himself look small.

"i...I lost him. I lost Raph."

[mnt_donnie]

"You lost Raph?"

Donnie blinks.

"You mean, he's left the bar?"

There are other things 'lost' could mean. They're being ignored.

[mnt_mike]

Mike takes a big deep breath.
Donnie is not Leo.
Donnie won't make him feel guilty...will he?

"He left to help some friends. He got hurt in a fight, and they brought him to a hospital. The hospital still has him. They've got him in a magical creatures ward, Donnie."

[mnt_donnie]

Donnie is a scientist and a pacifist who's currently having a hard time thinking like either.

"The magical creatures ward? How did- He's not-"

Donnie stops, closes his eyes, and takes a long breath. His voice is colder but there's no blame in it.

"Well. Then we'll have to get him out, won't we?"

[mnt_mike]

Mike nods. The lack of blame helps. Alot.
Donnie's good for that.

"I would have come and gotten you and Leo sooner...but I can't leave if Bernard isn't here. It...it's a thing.

But! I've got a blueprint, kind of. And I know that he's safe, for the time being."

[mnt_donnie]

Donnie relaxes, just a little, when Mike says Raph is currently safe.

"Any kind of a blueprint will be helpful. The more information we have, the better off we'll be. Can I see it? And what do you mean by not being able to leave because of 'a thing'?"

[mnt_mike]

Mike picks the piece of notebook paper of the floor, and hands it to his brother.

"Death drew it. She...she's the one who found him.
...
NOT on a professional level."

Mike waits until Donnie is engrossed in the map before he breaks out the latest tidbit of news.

"I uh...kinda...had been made Barman, but now I'm co-Barman, so it's better, but not today."

See? Isn't it all cleared up now?

[mnt_donnie]

It takes a second for Mike's words to penetrate Donnie's concentration on the best possible egress points.

"...they made you Barman?"

A position of responsibility. Involving alcohol. And Mike?

"Is this a joke?"

[mnt_mike]

"Um....no?"

If it is, Mike's not laughing.

[mnt_donnie]

"Oh."

Donnie puts the map down.

"So as long as you're Barman, you're not allowed to leave? That doesn't make it sound like this is a matter for congratulations."

[mnt_mike]

Mike avoids eyecontact by scratching the back of his head.

"Well...it's not, you know, so bad. She's real nice, and it's giving back to the community."

[mnt_donnie]

"She?"

Donnie is very confused. This is not new in his dealings with his brothers.

"I thought you said they made you Barman."

[mnt_mike]

"Well...yeah. I'm the Barman, and she's the Bar.

It makes more sense if you squint."

[mnt_donnie]

Donnie's definitely squinting.

"I think you should try explaining this to me again once we've rescued Raph."

He glances back down towards the blueprint.

"You said he's safe for the moment, which I take it means we have a small amount of time to work on our plans? This blueprint is incomplete, and I'd also like to know more about the type of magic I'll be facing in this world."

[mnt_mike]

Mike nods in agreement. It's true, in ins-and-outs of barmanship are really tertiary to the rescuing of Raph.

"Bernard sent a note to someone he knows on the inside. So that'll be good. We're going to need someone to open the door for us; I can only get the one home.

But I do know that there's going to be a lot of security. These are people who hide from normal people harder than we do. And they've got magic."

[slayer_fray]

At first glance the set up looks not unlike Mike's standard comic organising set up, so that's what Mel assumes is going on as she lets Stampy into the room.

"I've signed up for the mission to save the bar..."

As she picks her way through the papers, she glances down at them. Plans?

"What's going on?"

[mnt_mike]

Mike looks up at her.
There's no brave face, no ever-present smile, he just looks lost.
Totally and utterly lost.

[slayer_fray]

Mel says nothing. What is there to say. She just drops down beside him and wraps her arms around him. Comfort first, ask questions... well, never, for them.

[mnt_mike]

Questions?
They don't need no stinking questions.

Not when they're answered in full the moment his lips touch her temple.

gonelosttakenfailedIfailedwrongallwrongnightmarestakenBASTARDS!

[slayer_fray]

Mel pulls him closer to her, and then there's no room for temple kissing, or for looking at each other, or for anything except siotting there, faces to necks, holding each other tightly.

She loves him. That's the thing to remember right now. Other than that, it's all terribly simple. They'll go, they'll fight their way in, and they'll get him out.

Simple.