001 | video

[mcgill]

[The man seated uneasily in front of the camera probably looks familiar to anyone who knew or knew of Saul Goodman, ex-defense attorney and daytime TV judge extraordinaire. He has the same face, mostly, save for the abundance of hair on his head (which is sticking up just slightly, like he's been exposed to a stiff breeze or, in his case, static electricity) and fewer wrinkles around his eyes than anyone who got close enough to him might remember. And his smile, just like Saul's, is playfully crooked — though it's laced with a nervousness that doesn't really fit the image Saul projected whenever he had an audience. This man isn't as confident as his older lookalike, that much is clear, nor is he as brightly dressed. (A white dress shirt and a bland, striped tie are all that's currently visible.)

But he has that same ol' sparkle in his eye, and he straightens up a bit as soon as he's ready to speak, which is a habit anyone would recognize: that sudden shift from casual to professional Saul made any time he approached the bench or a business meeting.

And as for his voice — that's the same, too.

This is almost definitely Saul Goodman, but:]

Hiya. The name's Jimmy McGill. James, technically, but — I prefer Jimmy.

[He lifts his hands into view. Saul's trademark (fake) Rolex and gold pinky ring are missing, but that's because they're obscured by a pair of heavy-duty electrical gloves.]

I've got a little problem on my hands, pun only halfheartedly intended. [A laugh, one quick huff of air. Saul's laugh: Heh.] Seems the powers that be decided I should have the ability to manipulate power itself. Electricity, I mean. More specifically — [A brief pause, a swallow. He tries to play it off; there's no reason this word should bother him.] Electromagnetism. So, since I have no idea how to control an honest-to-God superpower because they're not really real where I come from, this is... uh, it's an issue. Anyone got any tips? Tricks? Ways to wake up, maybe?

[He smiles again, this time thin-lipped and a little desperate. It looks like he's on the verge of panic.]

Please?

Comments

[shittybirthday]

[ Looks like that lawyer guy. Sounds like him, too, from what Joel remembers. But he seems weirdly different, like... a wildly similar looking, more nervous younger sibling or something.

As for advice on the superhero thing... ]

youre stuck with it
you'll get used to it

[mcgill]

[Oh. Okay. A text message. HE CAN DO THIS. He can touch his communicator without breaking it.

Thanks, gloves.

After a little longer than it might take the average person to respond, because typing with gloves on encourages way more typos than Jimmy's comfortable with:] Thanks for the encouragement, I think.

Do you know anyone who has this same power? Someone I could talk to?

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[rathercommon]

[ Oh, you. Well, if he's choosing to go by a different name, she's certainly not going to call him out on it... ]

Hullo. If you're having trouble, I can neutralize your power temporarily while you get it under control.

[mcgill]

[SOMEONE HELPFUL. Yes. Jimmy's expression relaxes, just slightly.]

Can you? That's good to know. It's... it's okay right now, thanks to the gloves. [He wiggles his fingers.] And it's not really strong — I'm not running around like some baby Magneto, but I don't want to risk messing anything up.

[ Text ]

[enucleation]

It's not a permanent solution, but government official and military facilities often have power neutralization gadgets. Which means our powers don't work there.

[mcgill]

Ah. Smart. But are we allowed to just hang out there? I imagine government facilities like that would have a "no loitering" policy.

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[restingstitchface]

[This poor man. He looks in a right state; nervous laughter, swallowing and a thin-lipped nervous smile? What would be the right thing to do, here?

He switches on his feed. He looks clean, calm and pleasant.]

Your discomfort is evident. As a doctor, I really don't see how I can permit you to suffer. Therefore, I can prescribe medicine, if you need it.

Though it would require a discussion. I am not in the habit of breaking out my prescription pad. My pills won't magically banish your fear of losing control.

[mcgill]

[And then there's this guy.

Jimmy squints at his screen, head tilting just a fraction.]

I, uh, wouldn't call this suffering, really.

[He sounds a little judgmental, like, DO YOU PEDDLE DRUGS TO NEWBIES OFTEN, MAN?]

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[ferrisbuellean]

[The guy on this video has gone for shirt and tie too, the shirt a very pale blue and the tie, unknotted but still slung around his neck, a dark navy. There's also a scotch in hand, because that is the most important thing of all.]

Ugh, you'd think they'd have instructions to come with these powers. Some day someone's gonna get hurt and the Government will only have themselves to blame.

[mcgill]

[This guy looks like Jimmy feels. He appreciates that. He's a little envious of the scotch, though, and he licks his lips before responding.]

You mean that hasn't happened yet?

[ video - locked - about a day later ]

[hostage]

[Jimmy McGill. Jesse knows the name, and it's not so hard to put everything together: This is the person Saul told him about, the person he used to be. The poor schmuck.]

...Jimmy. Hey.

[mcgill]

Hey.

[Jimmy squints at his screen, searching for a name.]

Jesse, is it?

[askedtobe]

[ Ahhh, the days when he had no fucking idea what he was doing. Those were fun days.... not. ]

Finding somewhere to practice might be a good start.

[mcgill]

[That's kind of been every day of Jimmy's life up to this point, so...]

Like a rubber room?

[Half because of the electricity thing, half because he thinks he's gone crazy. It's mostly a joke.]

[resipiscent]

Go out somewhere in the wilderness where you won't hurt anybody and let loose. Learn to control it.

[mcgill]

What about hurting myself?

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[hsalf]

[His eyes widen a little at the sight of the gloves and then the electromagnetism is mentioned. He turns on his side of the feed and adjusts his glasses.]

Hello, Mr. McGill — Jimmy. [He says with a brief motion of his hands, hoping to wave his indifference to formalities.] My name is Dr. Harrison Wells and I work with this...sort of thing, you can say, back in my world.

[He doesn't really want to divulge all the details for privacy's sake, but he hopes the general idea is conveyed.]

Your electromagnetism, is it limited to just electricity or also manipulating objects that emit any sort of electromagnetic waves, along with...well magnetism in general, such as attracting metal objects to you? I want to know to help isolate the problem areas.

[mcgill]

[Jimmy perks up as soon as Harrison says he has experience with "this sort of thing," a hopeful little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Maybe this man can offer him some more specific guidance.]

Hi, Dr. Wells. I haven't really tested it yet; I've only seen the effects it has on electrical fields so far, and it wasn't... uh, I wouldn't say it was "manipulation," 'cause I didn't do it on purpose. I can check and see about the metal, though, since I'm pretty sure that's gonna be part of this deal eventually. I can't do much right now — my powers are pretty weak, as far as superpowers go.

video; after pestilence ends!!!

[earnedmystripes]

[Hey, here's another guy you don't remember...! But it's cool because he didn't even really know you, so he's perfectly fine pretending that one amiable conversation at the cafe never happened and starting fresh to spare Jimmy the discomfort.]

Friend of mine had electricity powers, back home. I wouldn't really be able to help with the finer details, but if you want help with keeping 'em under control and someone to practice with, drop by the Xavier's school. I'm kinda a powers training person there, soooo....yeah.

[mcgill]

[Xavier's school.

He knows that name.

But that's... haha, no. Nah.]

Kinda a powers training person?

[heavyhitter]

hahahahaha u got such a shitty newbie power!

[ here to help ]

[mcgill]

Shitty as in I could have gotten something better or shitty as in hard to control?

[Because he's kinda thinking it's both.]

text;

[nohalfway]

trade you

[ How come everyone else has the super bad ass powers and she's stuck with the injury-stealing? ]

[mcgill]

What's up for trade?

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[cleptes]

Watch out for overhead power lines. [smirk.]

[mcgill]

[Okay, she'll get a smile for her efforts because 1) her smirk is cute and 2) she actually has a good point. For all that Jimmy's kept an eye out for those in the past because of Chuck, he hadn't thought about that in regards to himself just yet.]

Will do. Wouldn't wanna accidentally cause any outages. Missed TV shows, dropped internet connections... oh, the humanity.

video.

[tsunderbolt]

Whoa... Electromagnetism, you said? You managed to get a pretty handy power right there.

[ Not that she's biased or anything. But it does go without saying she'd definitely notice a message like this. ]

[mcgill]

[He's starting to realize that, but it's still scary.

And yet there he goes, looking almost proud. Like he had a hand in this. Pfft.]

Thanks. It might not be so bad, once I get used to it. Everyone I've talked to so far has been helpful. What'd you get?

LATE...

[yatagarasu]

[And sure enough, this man's appearance is enough to catch Kay's attention. Mr. Goodman? Or was he someone else...

No, this had to be him. Younger. There were little things about him, bits and pieces that fit the Saul Goodman she knew. And when he speaks, everything clicks into place, and the picture in Kay's mind is complete.

...and then he introduces himself as Jimmy McGill. What. But...he's Saul Goodman! Did he have another name before? Or was he posing as someone else? So many questions crowd each other out but Kay quashes them all with a single sobering jolt back to reality: Saul, or whatever he's calling himself, or whichever is his real name, does not remember being here. And why would he, if he were younger? Still, she missed him enough to reply.]

...Sorry, there's no way of waking up. This is all real.

[mcgill]

I had a feeling.

[He laughs a little, but it's a humorless laugh. At this point, he just sounds tired.]

I stubbed my toe a little while ago, so when that didn't wake me up...

video; I HOPE YOU DON'T MIND IF I SCOOT IN HERE THE LATEST.

[kingpawn]

[ What the fuck is Walt seeing here. Did Saul get a toupee? Or is this some kind of look alike from a different world? Walt had met a couple people here who shared ghostly similar faces but weren't related in any way. And who the hell is Jimmy McGill? ]

....have we met before?

NOT AT ALL

[mcgill]

[By some miracle (the "miracle" being alprazolam he bought off some high school kid), Jimmy is much calmer today than he's been the past few days. Diminished paranoia, no more trying to attack anybody, increased appetite... it's nice, not panicking.

When Walt's name appears on his screen, he immediately recognizes it as the one Jesse brought up in their conversation.

And he doesn't panic.

God bless benzos.]

No, but I know who you think I am. I'm not that guy.

[That's going to become his mantra, isn't it?]