<div class="floatleft">(http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5499ff2ce4b0b85c868a2158/t/556fb05ae4b01eeb36c217a6/1433383003661/)</div><hr/><strong>Name:</strong>Arthur Curry/Orin (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=239229.msg11802466#msg11802466)<br/><strong>Affiliation:</strong>The Atlantean Empire.<br/><strong>Time:</strong>Saturday the 17th of October 2015, 21:46<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Gotham Clock Tower, Central Gotham<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>M'gann.<br/><strong>Theme Music:</strong>Starvation - Thomas Bergersen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnGaCAHhGfo)<br/><br/><hr/><hr/><strong>Summary:</strong>Orin sorts through the memories and feelings that M'gann transmits to him, then offers her his advice borne of experience, accidentally launching into a semi-lecture that concludes with him hugging her gently...before grounding her.<br/><hr/><hr/><br/>Well...it was good to know that M'gann was ok, if nothing else, and that no lasting damage had been done to her either psychologically or physically at the hands of Continuum...he doubted that they'd leave her alone now that they knew that she existed, but now that<em>she</em>knew that they were after her she could take the necessary steps to ensure her own safety...and, of course, now that<em>he</em>knew that they existed and were after her, they would likely find it far more difficult than they would otherwise like to capture and keep her. Even if they were somehow able to nullify her abilities or take her unawares, he - and, from what he understood, about half the Super population in Gotham - would instantly begin a global hunt for their secret base if necessary, and raze as many of their facilities as it took for them to get M'gann back. He wouldn't need the Atlantean Army for that, he was certain, since he'd have his own Justice League of sorts, all determined to find her and get her home. Of course, one thing she needed to understand that she had apparently forgotten was that now that she was one of his own, she would never be able to shake him of his protective instinct; once she was considered Atlantean, she was under his protection and more, she was considered<em>family.</em>And he took his families safety extremely seriously, especially since she was the last thing that was even close to that that he had. Oh, Kori was close of course, but she was nothing like a sister to him; considering just what they did when they were together, that would just be weird. She was a close, valued friend, but M'gann was something else entirely. He would fight tooth and nail to keep both from harm, but it was just...<em>different,</em>in a way that he couldn't quite explain. Thankfully - or not, depending on your perspective - he didn't seem to have to; before he could speak, M'gann continued in a very...unexpected way. She pulled away sharply, earning a confused frown from him...and then it hit him like Leviathan.<br/><br/>The thoughts and memories and feelings threatened to momentarily overwhelm Orin with their intensity, squeezing a surprised, almost bewildered blink from him before he managed to get a handle on himself and sort through the flood of memories and emotions that assailed him through their Telepathic Bond. He forcefully began to sort through them - which memories and feelings had the imprint of M'ganns thought patterns on them, and which had an alien presence moulded into it like a watermark - and even though the exchange was over in a few seconds, it felt like far, far longer. For one, he was utterly shocked that M'gann could possibly go that far over a simple taunt; he had done worse, of course, and would do worse things again if he thought that they were his best option, but there was a difference between doing something terrible because you had to and doing it as a reaction to something that could easily have been ignored. There was doing what you had to, and there was going too far. And M'gann...well, what she did to that man - regardless of who he turned out to be - was definitely too far. She knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't judge her harshly based just on a morally ambiguous issue, but suddenly her reluctance to tell him sooner made sense; she knew his feelings on unnecessary cruelty very, very well. If it was the only way to save lives? Yes, he would torture information out of somebody, if he was certain that they had the information. But doing it because the subject simply pissed him off? That was a different matter entirely, and if her guilt and shame was anything to go by, M'gann knew that all too well. Oh, the thoughts and pleasures and memories she ripped from that mans head sickened him and made him want to "punish" the man himself, but he restrained his fury...that was not the example he'd want to set to M'gann; killing and torture and inflicting pain was sometimes unavoidable, but doing so purely out of righteous retribution? That was wrong, no matter what the person in question was like. If it didn't serve a higher purpose of safety or happiness for others, it was wrong. He had to remember that, if he was going to guide M'gann away from the dark path she had stumbled towards...he couldn't allow himself to fall back into the mentality that Wartime had warped him into before he realised what he was becoming. Honestly, he was actually relieved that she felt guilty; it was a good sign that she wouldn't do it again in a hurry. He shook his head...he needed a delicate touch here. Ordinarily he was direct and brutally honest, but M'gann was particularly fragile at that moment, so perhaps some more tact than usual was called for.<br/><br/>He shook his head a little and reached over to take her hand, enclosing it in his own whether she wanted him to or not. Honestly, she didn't have much of a choice; she was listening to him, and that was that. Oh, he knew that she could phase away if she wanted, but he knew M'gann well enough that he knew she likely wouldn't do anything of the sort. At least, not right away. He looked at her seriously, giving her a disappointed look...honestly, he<em>was</em>disappointed that she lost her temper like that, as much as he could understand it...but it wasn't that the look was for. It was over the fact that she hadn't told him sooner, a distinction that was difficult to get across as more than just a vague feeling via the Bond without outright saying it, though the sentiment was still there. "Little One, you should know by now that I am more than capable of handling myself, and I can't help or guide you if I don't know what's happening in your life. I'm not asking for daily updates - you're a grown woman and you don't need anybody to run your life for you - but from now on, if you're in trouble or if you're upset or need advice...I want you to tell me sooner, so I can do something about it. You're right that my people need me...but you're part of that group. More, you're<em>family,</em>and whilst that might not mean much in the human world, in Atlantis, family is<em>the</em>most important thing." He gave her hand another squeeze, before withdrawing it again. "But...now we must discuss the obvious topic." He would have to approach it carefully; she was obviously extremely guilty and she'd effectively ruined a mans life, along with any family he had that was relying on him...things that had likely occurred to M'gann as well, so he wouldn't bother recounting them. His job was to guide her, not make her feel orders of magnitude worse.<br/><br/>"You of all people know that I am not moralistic or idealistic. Sometimes, difficult decisions must be made and occasionally those decisions require us to do distasteful or even outright terrible things, simply because they're the best options available to us. Attempting to stick to a black and white moral code that doesn't acknowledge the shades of grey in our world is a surefire way to lead to more death and destruction; how many lives might have been saved if Bruce - may he find rest in Elysium - had simply relocated The Joker to the middle of the Arctic after his second killing spree and escape?" He paused for a moment; yes, Bruce had been right to put him through the justice system the first few times, but at some point - in their world - a villain became just too much of a threat to safely be kept alive, especially if they kept escaping from prison. It was distasteful, but one chaotic, spiteful life to save potentially thousands of innocents? He would have made that call in a heartbeat, and after The Jokers third attempt to destroy Gotham, he doubted anybody would have blamed him. He shook his head and continued. "But there is always a line that you shouldn't cross; always a point where a 'necessary evil' becomes 'unnecessary cruelty...' and from your guilt, I know that you already know that you crossed that line." He paused for a moment, and then something strange happened; across the bond, M'gann would have felt...<em>pride.</em>Not self-pride, no...but pride in<em>her.</em><br/><br/>He put his arm around her shoulder again, gently but firmly pulling her back towards him so that she sat cradled against his side. He<em>was</em>proud of her; it might seem strange, since the pride was still mixed with the tinge of disappointment of her actions, but all would become clear momentarily. "That guilt you feel? That's a good thing. It means that you know that you crossed the line, and it shows that you care that you did it. I'm proud of you for being able to see unaided that you went too far. For people like us, people who see the world as it really is and have the power to change it with a wave of our hands, it's easy to become blinded to your own shortcomings since you're so busy seeing everybody elses. It's easy to rationalise things away using both vague conjecture and after-the-fact information; many others would have taken the knowledge that you gained from that man to justify their previous actions, when that is just a post-incident imposition. You had no way of knowing what type of man he was until after you ripped it all away, and you know that. What's more, you aren't trying to justify it to either yourself or to me. So...I say again; I'm proud of you for knowing that you crossed that line." He squeezed her gently and pressed a tender, paternal kiss to the top of her head. "You need to use that knowledge to avoid it in future, and now that I'm here, I want you to know that my door is<em>always</em>open for you if you need my help, my advice or even just somebody to give you a hug when you're feeling at your lowest." He looked down at her and offered her a wry, almost sarcastic smile.<br/><br/>"And you know full well that if you ever get to the point where you're crossing the line and not caring, I won't hesitate to stop you in whatever way is necessary." It might have sounded odd, but...well, that was what M'gann needed to hear; she needed to know that not only did she have support if she needed it...she had somebody willing to stop her if she got out of control. And honestly? As difficult as it was, he would stop her...because he knew that that was exactly what she would want him to do, and if it got to that point, the monster he'd be facing would no longer be his Little One. If she refused to listen to reason and if<em>he</em>couldn't get through to her...then she'd already be too far gone to help. Why wasn't he more angry with her? Well...he wasn't actually her uncle or her father or any kind of blood relation so didn't have any real authority to tell her how to live her life...he had influence over her, of course, thanks to their emotional bond but...if she ever decided that she was sick of his attempts at guidance, then there would be nothing he could do. Besides...he was not one to throw stones in regards to doing terrible things out of anger, then regretting them later. He knew exactly how she felt, and angry tirades and stern lectures were not what she needed. She needed reassurance that she wasn't evil for committing those acts, and that she could control her anger if it struck again.<br/><br/>"We all stray off the path from time to time, Little One, and we all do terrible things; mistakes and poor decisions are a part of life. Am I disappointed in you for succumbing to such anger and such extreme methods so easily? Yes. Of course I am." His smile dropped away a little and he shook his head a little. "But I also know you, and I know that you will do your best to avoid such unpleasantness in the future...and doing your best is all I can ask of you. I, more than anybody else on this planet, know exactly how it feels to make a terrible, unnecessary choice out of anger. And I know more than anybody else what you need right now." Oh, the stories he could tell her of the past five years...but he elected not to. This wasn't about him, and he had no desire to relive the War that night, especially not after having almost-flashbacks earlier that very same day when faced with that abominable weapon of Ivy's. Quietly, he reached over and turned her towards him, gently pulling her into a tender-yet-firm full-frontal hug, his arms wrapped comfortingly tightly around her back. "Of course," he murmured softly, "you do need to face some kind of justice for your excessive force. It was self defence, so I am not about to turn you into the GCPD...but you<em>are</em>under limited house arrest, starting tomorrow." She'd had a long day...he'd give her one more night of complete freedom, just to unwind from earlier. But starting tomorrow? She had to be punished somehow. Perhaps it hadn't been his place at first, but he'd done similar things in the past when she'd caused a little too much mischief. Nothing like what she'd done that time, true...but it was the only thing he could reasonably do besides put her over his knee and give her a hiding, and she was far too old for that.<br/><br/>He pulled away just a little, and reached up to cup her face affectionately and comfortingly. He smiled apologetically. "You can go to work, go to the shops for food and go on patrol so long as you are accompanied by somebody you trust to take you straight home after all three. All other times, you stay at home. You are allowed visitors, but no more than one individual or group of three a night, and for no more than an hour...this is to last for the next week, ok? I know this sounds...strange...but think of this as a chance to punish yourself safely for what happened, and a chance to think about how best to avoid such outbursts in future. I'm trusting you to stick to it until this time next week. Are we clear?" He kissed her forehead gently. Yes, she wasn't a child...but she needed guidance, and honestly, confining her to house arrest was the best thing he could think of. he couldn't take her to the GCPD, since how exactly do you "prove" mind-rape? And they likely wouldn't care anyway, since he was admittedly a member of a criminal organisation that did Gods knew what behind the scenes that broke who knew how many laws...so, the best he could do was a semi-self-imposed imprisonment that didn't interfere with her work helping people. Not perfect, but...it would have to do.