[He doesn't want to fight. But he can't help being irritable about things at times, because it's easier to be irritable than it is to be sad, or guilty, when you're trying so very hard not to be.]
You suppose? Damn it, Adam, I hate when you do this kind of thing. I kept thinking, I don't know, that you would just corner me one day and get in my face about it. All of it. But if it's not immediately hacking you off it's not worth confronting me about, is it? So now we're going to have it out, face-to-face.
About what, that you did what you had to, in a future I have yet to face? It's nothing, Peter. In an infinite sized universe, one reality and one possibility accounts to nothing when you are not in it. I don't see the point of discussing it. But if you want, if this is what will make you see this from my perspective, I will corner you and I will have it out with you.
It's not your fault. Maybe I just didn't explain, or I should have done- I don't know. It matters, Adam. And if it didn't, we wouldn't have put it off, you know?
[Maybe he doesn't want to talk about it because there seems to be so much that he doesn't want to deal with right now when he's fighting to control a sentient soul gem -- also not telling Peter about it. Things like death and having your friend kill you seems insignificant in face of that obstacle.]
I'm tired, Peter. And I'm sorry this seems... irrelevant to me right now. But whatever steps I chose to lead us there, it is not your fault.
The Soul Gem. It has been in my possession before, a lifetime ago. How much did Gamora tell you? I'll fill in any gaps.
[Even though this isn't any of their business and he loathes the idea of telling them about the Soul Gem because of it, but the secret's already out so he might as well spill the beans and he's trying, really, to be a team and a friend.]
She said that you had it and that you needed to "master" it...and I can't remember any other details, so why don't you fill me in on the whole picture.
[Since they both know how Gamora's explanations go, and they go badly.]
The Soul Gem is a sentient entity. It feeds on souls. And once fed, the souls there will never move on. They become the wearer of the Soul Gem to shoulder.
[And their voices. All their haunted voices, even though he knows that they're in a peaceful and happy place, their voices always comes back. And the Soul Gem always wants more.]
You haven't known me for very long, Peter. The Soul Gem has been mine for most of my life. The gem and I had—have a bond that's... strange and hard to explain. In this most recent regeneration, I was reborn without it. Our bond broke. It's free to find a better wearer, and I can't allow that. I feel... it's different than the one I worn for so many years. It's control is stronger, ultimately, it feels more dangerous.
[See, this is why he hates cosmic gadgets like this. This kind of thing right here. It is so damn unsettling to hear that, without any sort of wiggle room for interpretation, one of your good friends is dragging around a parasitic object for reasons that...reasons?]
I've been using it on and off since I got to this reality. It—It doesn't like me but it is still in my possession. I'm guessing I'm still the best host for it so far. I can't expect that to stay the same when there are new arrivals from every dimension possible.
[Which is bad. He thinks it's bad. It's probably really bad for this reality and all the ones it's linked to. That and the time travelling thing? This world pretty much goes against everything he thought were reality breaking bad.]
But if the rules are different here, maybe the weapons and how they work are too.
You didn't pick that as your weapon, did you? The one they claimed they could make sentient?
[Peter has not actually been trying too much to explore that with his guns. He can kind of guess what might happen to them, at least in that he can't...predict it properly. And he damn well would never do that with the Cosmic Dube.]
audio;
I suppose we do, Peter.
audio;
You suppose? Damn it, Adam, I hate when you do this kind of thing. I kept thinking, I don't know, that you would just corner me one day and get in my face about it. All of it. But if it's not immediately hacking you off it's not worth confronting me about, is it? So now we're going to have it out, face-to-face.
audio;
About what, that you did what you had to, in a future I have yet to face? It's nothing, Peter. In an infinite sized universe, one reality and one possibility accounts to nothing when you are not in it. I don't see the point of discussing it. But if you want, if this is what will make you see this from my perspective, I will corner you and I will have it out with you.
audio;
You don't see the point, or you just don't want to have to deal with it? Or can't?
audio;
We both failed each other. What more is there to it.
audio;
I- jeez, Adam. Everything.
audio;
audio;
audio;
I'm tired, Peter. And I'm sorry this seems... irrelevant to me right now. But whatever steps I chose to lead us there, it is not your fault.
audio;
Ok, then, change of subject. Ready to talk about your parasitic doohicky yet?
audio;
The Soul Gem. It has been in my possession before, a lifetime ago. How much did Gamora tell you? I'll fill in any gaps.
[Even though this isn't any of their business and he loathes the idea of telling them about the Soul Gem because of it, but the secret's already out so he might as well spill the beans and he's trying, really, to be a team and a friend.]
audio;
[Since they both know how Gamora's explanations go, and they go badly.]
audio;
[And their voices. All their haunted voices, even though he knows that they're in a peaceful and happy place, their voices always comes back. And the Soul Gem always wants more.]
You haven't known me for very long, Peter. The Soul Gem has been mine for most of my life. The gem and I had—have a bond that's... strange and hard to explain. In this most recent regeneration, I was reborn without it. Our bond broke. It's free to find a better wearer, and I can't allow that. I feel... it's different than the one I worn for so many years. It's control is stronger, ultimately, it feels more dangerous.
audio;
[See, this is why he hates cosmic gadgets like this. This kind of thing right here. It is so damn unsettling to hear that, without any sort of wiggle room for interpretation, one of your good friends is dragging around a parasitic object for reasons that...reasons?]
You're not using the thing, are you?
audio;
[Which is bad. He thinks it's bad. It's probably really bad for this reality and all the ones it's linked to. That and the time travelling thing? This world pretty much goes against everything he thought were reality breaking bad.]
But if the rules are different here, maybe the weapons and how they work are too.
audio;
[Peter has not actually been trying too much to explore that with his guns. He can kind of guess what might happen to them, at least in that he can't...predict it properly. And he damn well would never do that with the Cosmic Dube.]