Marceline and Simon continued the air-borne search for any hidden cameras. The sound of a single bird chirping proved to be an increasingly annoying backdrop. Progress remained to be made on the search. And just as Simon predicted, they were beginning to involuntarily distract one another.
"Astral project with Betty recently?" She lowered her chin and rested it in his hair, ruffling it in the process.
"Marceline, we need to focus on seeing if we can find a camera. But yes, and it was a lovely time."
"That's good. Hey, maybe you could teach me to do it some time. It could be fun to actually see things during the day without having to pile up sunscreen or layers of clothing."
"Right. You'd probably just follow us around and tell us to get a room or something. And then you'd find us and say to get a different room." He chuckled.
"You should be nicer to me, considering I can just let go and watch you fall to the ground, Simon."
"We both know you wouldn't do that. If anything, you'd just catch me a second after you let me go."
"Well, maybe I'll just set you down and let you try and look for the cameras on the ground then."
"By all means, do it. I think this is the fourth or fifth time you've held me hostage in the air today."
"Mm, no. I think I'll keep you like this. If I'm going to be bored, you're going to have to suffer the agonizing fate of not having to walk around."
"Well, the faster we find a camera, or at least confirm they aren't any here, the faster you can stop being bored—and the faster you can go back to Bonnibel." He teased.
"If you were anyone else, I would have definitely dropped you for that."
"If I were anyone else, you wouldn't have begun flying me around to begin with— well almost anyone else."
She lifted her chin from his hair. She briefly spun him upside down. She made sure to rotate him slowly so he could figure out her game and give him the opportunity to hold onto his glasses.
"Next time I won't start to slowly."
"You'd blind a defenseless thousand-year-old man for some slight teasing?"
She was going to respond but caught something in the corner of her eye. Simon noticed her fixation as she floated closer towards the object.
It was a bird's nest on a far branch of a tall tree next to the cultural center. Only, there were no signs of life. And on closer inspection, the twigs which made up the nest were actually made of wires, coils, and small metal tubing. A single, unmoving bird-shaped object resided in the middle of the nest.
"Hey Simon, am I crazy or is that not actually a bird?"
She inched closer, allowing the pair get a better look at the fakery.
"Yeah. You're right. That's definitely not a real bird. Some sort of metallic look alike. What's more is the sounds its making. From down below this looks and sounds like a genuine bird's nest. Someone put a lot of effort into this."
"So, what do you think? A fake out hiding a camera?"
"Either that, or a hyper realistic art project doomed to never seeing thee recognition it deserves."
Marceline lowered herself to the ground. She let go of Simon and watched him give out a full body stretch.
"So, what do you think then? We take it to PB?"
"I think so. If we're right, that thing had a bird's eye view of whatever went on here. No pun intended."
"And if we're wrong, or if I accidently break it?" She asked mildly concerned.
Simon shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, then I guess we come back and continue the search from square one."
"So, I better be careful then."
She rose and returned to the bird's nest. She stared at the metallic fake bird. The face held a deadpan expression while the body wasn't anything special. The feet and tail seemed to be held in place by metal rings in order to focus it.
An idea snapped into Marceline's head. She gently ripped the metal rings apart and freed the fake bird from its metaphorical cage. She turned it upside down and bingo. A camera lens concealed by the tail feathers. Peering down, the nest and tree branch had a hole directly under where the bird had been positioned. If this thing worked, it definitely captured whatever happened below it.
Marceline rejoined Simon on the ground, painstakingly making sure that her spoils wouldn't stir in her grip.
"So, what's the verdict Marcy?"
"There's a lens concealed by this thing's tail feather that was aimed directly over a hole in the nest. I think we found what we're looking for."
"Let's take this thing back to Bubblegum and Finn as quickly as possible. Hopefully we'll have a way to access whatever recordings it holds."
"You gonna complain if I carry you? It would be a lot faster than having to wait for you to walk."
"For once, no. Just give me the bird."
"Simon I'd never dream of disrespecting you like that. But if you really want it, we could go find Marlo or Breakfast Princess." She flashed a grin.
"Very funny, Marcy. Give me the metallic bird look alike and let's go."
She handed him the look alike and bent over. He secured it, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She straightened herself and took off for the medical center.
Finn and Bubblegum had been waiting in the lab. In truth, Bubblegum could have gone alone. No one questioned her when she tried to walk in. Finn was just glad he was able to tag along. He could have pleaded with Marceline about the good of the settlement or serving justice on behalf of Elder Marc for the rest of the day, and she probably would have just kept bringing junk and insisted they were cameras.
A Minerva bot took the piece of cloth from Bubblegum, promising to return with any found information. Unfortunately, the bot also denied the pair access to DNA records of the settlement. But promised that information would be brought as well. The princess and her champion sat on a bench outside the lab.
"Hey PB, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, Finn, anything."
"It was Marceline's idea to look for a camera, right? Why do you think she got bored so fast?"
"Honestly, I don't know Finn. Marceline doesn't really like politics, and we've all kind of been dragged into the middle of a political crisis. Plus, we've been making slow progress all day. I think she wants to help the humans, but she's never been good at slowly building up to something. It's funny, she—we— have all the time in the world but always rush into things."
"Why do you think that is?"
"Well, in my own case its because I like progress. Its frustrating to get or feel like you're stuck on something. I think she does it because good things don't usually last for her. She wants to move through things fast and not get stuck, because whenever she's gotten stuck, she's gotten hurt."
"But wouldn't she want to hold onto the good things even more then? Or isn't she learning that she doesn't have to rush through things anymore"
"Finn, I don't want to sound rude, but I'm not exactly a psychologist. But people react to things in different ways. Marceline's gone through a lot so it will be hard for her to change her behavior. Simon and I have been trying to get her to slow down a bit, and she has. But I think in the back of her mind that she always expects something to try and tear everything apart again."
The pair grew quiet for a couple of minutes.
"Sorry for bringing it up Peebs."
"Its fine Finn, really. But I have a question for you."
"Oh, yeah go for it."
"Are you doing okay? I mean, with the whole human settlement under threat and everything?"
"Kind of? Like, I always enjoy getting to spend time with you guys and my mom. I would have liked Jake to have been invited, but he doesn't really like politics either. I'm still kind of struggling in trying to find the role I should be playing though."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, like people have said, I don't have to be the hero or take the hits anymore. For a long time, I thought I needed to be a hero. And for a long time, I thought a hero was someone like Billy, or someone who could just punch the bad guy and save the day. But with everything that's gone on— the Lich, finding about the Ice King being Simon, you and Gumbald, Golb, and everything else— I've learned that isn't really true. Billy once told me that heroes shouldn't really bother fighting all the time because more bad guys always come. I think he was half right. Not that heroes shouldn't bother, that part was dumb. But not having to solve everything with fighting or violence. That part I get now.
"And you're confused about how to solve the human settlements problems?"
"Yeah. I mean, I understand politics is messy and there isn't really a solution. And that someone is going to feel like they lost even if they didn't. I guess I kind of wish things could go back to being as simple as I thought they were. But I'm also really glad I learned they weren't that simple."
"I know what you mean, dude. I thought for so long that if I controlled everything about the candy kingdom then everything would just work out. But I didn't realize how much effort and strain that was. I kept going deeper and deeper. I spied, lied, did brutal things… and it didn't really get me anywhere. If I could go back to the idea that everything was just a simple, I'm Bubblegum so I'm right and everything will work out fine, I would like it for a day. But I would resent it really fast."
The pair went silent again. Finn decided to try and lighten the mood.
"So how are things with Marceline? You guys kiss a ton and junk?"
"Finn! That's inappropriate! …But things are going well, ya know. I think we've both grown a lot and are ready to keep growing. Plus, she seems to be really happy now. And that makes me happy. What about your personal life Casanova?"
"Oh, me? Well, I'm not really looking right now. I don't think I'll look for a while actually. I mean, a lot of the other princesses like me, or the idea of me. And I think a lot of the girls in the settlement like me because I'm so different. But none of them really like me for me."
"It can be tough finding someone who likes you for being yourself. Its usually a once in a life time thing. I know it probably won't help to hear, but I know you'll find someone who makes you happy for being you. Even if you don't end up marrying them, you have a way of finding people Finn."
"Oh, thanks I guess."
"Finn? Bubblegum?" A Minerva bot called from outside of the room.
"Yeah, mom?"
"Another Minerva bot told me the others arriving at the medical center doors. They seem excited."
"What about the DNA?" Bubblegum called back.
"Still waiting on analysis. Shouldn't be too long though."
Bubblegum turned to Finn.
"Let's go see what Simon and Marcy have found. If they're excited, it must be something." Bubblegum smiled.
"Yeah, let's do it PB."