Summary: Quinn works as a mechanic in Clockwork's tower.
Characters: Clockwork
Prompt: OC

Day Thirty

Red eyes rolled as in the background the Master of Time droned on and on about the intricacies of time and maintaining things and all that boring stuff that was of little interest to Quinn. The mechanic's attention focused on the work needing to be done on Clockwork's tower. The place was huge, and with the whole grandfather clock motif, it needed almost constant maintenance to make sure the gears didn't jam up and stop working.

Quinn liked the work. After all, being a mechanic was the passion the ghost shared both in life and death. The only downside to working on Clockwork's tower was having to listen to the keeper of time ramble on endlessly about his work. Was the mechanic really supposed to be impressed by the ghost's knowledge of the workings of time? That was Clockwork's job after all. Of course he knew everything. So when it came around to the millionth time listening to Clockwork's rambling, Quinn merely tuned him out and focused on the mechanical parts of the tower.

"Then in another timeline I worked at a strip club under the name Cockwork," explained the Time Master.

"Uh huh," Quinn mumbled dully, nodding like always while listening to the ghost. Then head jerked upward and twisted around to face Clockwork. "Wait. What?" White brows knitted together on the blue face as Quinn frowned.

Clockwork smirked, amusement showing in his red eyes. "I just wanted to see if you were paying attention."

"Uh huh," Quinn repeated, eying the other ghost with a certain amount of doubt. Sometimes Quinn really hated that smugness Mr. All Knowing wore all the time. Mouth pursed somewhat in thought. "If you know all of time, then you already knew the answer to that."

"But I also knew how amusing your response would be."

Quinn rolled red eyes again before turning back to working on the tower. "You know I'm just here to fix things that break." When silence fell, Quinn happily enjoyed the reprieve from listening to any further droning on about time. But after several moments, Quinn's mouth curled downward as the ticking of clocks echoed in the otherwise silent tower. With a sigh, tools were lowered and Quinn turned around, lifting an eyebrow at the Time Master. "What?"

Clockwork sat on his throne, surrounded by time portals playing various scenes throughout the ages, as he leaned forward on his staff. His gaze remained on Quinn, watching the mechanic work. His shoulders hunched in a small shrug, his cloak rustling at the action.

"I get so few visitors here," Clockwork answered.

"I work here," Quinn reminded dully. "I'm not here for socializing." And honestly, he couldn't blame ghosts for avoiding Clockwork. Who wanted to talk with someone who knew everything that would or could ever happen? Added to that, Clockwork could be a real jerk.

An eyebrow arched upward as Clockwork watched, and Quinn frowned with the feeling that the Time Master knew exactly what thought just slipped through the mechanic's mind. "What I meant was, I rarely have anyone show up at my tower, and when they do, it's usually because they fouled something up and want me to let them go back in time to fix it." He sighed miserably. "As if that's the answer to all their problems. They don't even understand that making even a small change can sometimes drastically change the future. Things won't go exactly as they want simply because they alter a single moment in time."

"Fascinating," Quinn murmured, though it didn't matter much to the mechanic. Quinn never considered going back in time, even if it meant changing events to keep from dying. Maybe other ghosts had considered it, but Quinn was content simply being able to continue work as a mechanic in the afterlife.

Clockwork sighed, drawing Quinn's attention again. "You're the only one who shows up here and never asks anything from me. I appreciate that."

Quinn's eyebrows lifted a touch. "I just like being able to work with machines." Turning, red eyes gazed up at the gears and mechanical parts of the tower. "Being able to work with this nearly every day." A smile tugged at blue lips. "It's like a dream. Your tower is quite marvelous. I enjoy being able to maintain it." Lost gazing upon the tower's inner workings, Quinn failed to notice Clockwork had left his throne until a hand rested upon the hat the mechanic wore. Quinn's head tilted back farther to stare up at the Time Master.

"I'm glad you appreciate my tower." Clockwork's mouth curved into a small smile. "And I appreciate your companionship while you work."

Quinn's head jerked away, cheeks feeling a touch warmer than normally. "It's nothing," the mechanic grumbled, fiddling with tools. "Just doing my job."

Author's Note: Quinn is an OC created by my good friend akiwitch. Since the only OCs I know are my own, akiwitch created an OC for me to use for this. XD;; Sorry I haven't been keeping up very well with the themes. I'm totally stuck on favorite power because I honestly don't have a favorite so I don't even know what to write for it. I'll try to finish up the ones I skipped at some point.

Invader Johnny: Vlad just wants a family. orz

The freedom girl: Thanks~ 8D I always love little bonding moments. Vlad's life definitely would have been a lot happier if he had his friends with him, supporting him, after the accident. orz

HawkeyeLover: Danny is too cute as a child! 8D

midnight: Haha, I wouldn't be surprised if Jack and Maddie snapped a picture when Vlad arrived home with Danny. XD