Before the Looking Glass

[Buio]

Jason

Spoiler

Name: Jason Greeves
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Rank: B
Appearance:

(pictured above with the Jack persona dominant)

Psychosis: Dissociative Identity Disorder (commonly knows as multiple personalities)
Psychic Power: Ichokinesis (of the greek word Ichos, meaning sound) or sound manipulation: Jason's ability is a sub-specialty of aerokinesis (air/gas manipulation), Jason has the ability to make the air around him vibrate in order to creates sound waves, and can manipulate soundwaves already present in the air by controling teh particles they move through, amplifying, muting, projecting and redirecting sound as he sees fit. He still cannot, however, change one sound into a completely different one (such as changing the sound of a bell into the sound of a piano key) only affect its pitch, tone, and volume. The complexity of the sounds he can create by himself is also limited. Needless to say, he has no control over sound passing through non-gaseous mediums like water or steel.
Psychic Type: Natural

Personality: Generally speaking Jason is a quiet, awkward, typically compliant young man who doesn't like being noticed. He's generally seen walking with his head down and frequently, if somewhat subconsciously, uses his powers to muffle the noises he makes so he passes by undetected. He has a hard time expressing himself, especially when he is presented with something he dislikes, resulting in him generally doing whatever is asked of him without complaint, even if he doesn't want to. He hasn't made many friends throughout his life and, while he's very bad at showing it tactfully, holds those people who are willing to spend time round him very close to his heart. He also has a distinct, if rarely observed, sense of justice. Even if he is not always ready to stand up and shout foul play (that's more Jack's thing) he knows when he sees something that is not right, and usually tries to do what he can to right what wrongs he sees, if he thinks it's within his capabilities. his low self-esteem, however, often paralyzes him between a desire to help, and the feeling that he couldn't do anything even if he tried.

Enter 'Jack', Jason's alter ego. Jack is, in a few short words, everything Jason wishes he could be. Brash, confident, charismatic, Jack is a typical 'good guy hero' archetype who's 'all about kicking ass and taking names'. A rather obvious avatar for Jason's hero fantasies, Jack is the one who has generally taken charge in recruiting for the Broken Mirrors, as well as organizing their meetings and preparation over the last 2 years. While Jason is technically the leader of the Broken Mirrors, and the one that Shine contacts exclusively, it is without a doubt his Jack persona that is recognized as the driving force behind the group. Jack has something of an older brother's perspective towards Jason. He is frequently frustrated with the latter's indecisiveness and constantly urges him to be more sure of himself.

History: To be revealed in RP.

Jason awoke to the soft sound of an engine's rumble. Instinctively he looked at his left wrist to see the time, but was quickly reminded that he wasn't in Brew anymore by the absence of his monitor watch. That was why he was here after all, hidden in the back of this convoy truck, hidden between crates of what Jason could only assume were either food stuffs or supplies of kaleidoscope. Even though he didn't need it himself the young Ichokinetic couldn't help but feel like he should still grab some while he had the chance. For all he knew he might come across an artificial who'd escaped-

Memories came flooding back. The escape attempt. The giant clusterfuck that had been. Granted he'd never expected the plan to go off flawlessly, but everything had been too wrong. They'd had a traitor in their midst, even after all the precautions he and shine took, someone still managed to rat them out to the Admins. He still remembered what they'd done to Andrew when he sold them out. Poor kid expected to be welcomed back like a hero and instead one of the S ranks squashed his head like a watermelon in front of everyone. and then Sky... hadn't reacted well to that at all.

the plan fell apart completely and... Jason couldn't even remember what had happened after that all that well. He remembered jack screaming out orders, adrenaline pumping through his veins, everything just going to hell, and somehow he'd managed to get out alive. Somehow he'd gotten them off his back... no, no he hadn't done that. Ashling... she must have started taking kaleidoscope before the mission without telling him. She'd drawn the S and A's away from him and held them off for as long as she could, her and someone else. Jason couldn't remember who had gone with her, too hectic, was it Scott? Maybe lay? either way they'd done what no one else could, sacrificed themselves to give everyone else a chance... and even that wasn't enough, even then there were more and more losses afterwards until-

a small movement brought him out of his melancholy and he looked over at the form curled up beside him. Rue, the only one he'd managed to save. Out of more than ten freedom fighters, only two managed to escape. From an objective standpoint, that was still a pretty impressive feat, no one had ever managed to escape the admins before. But Jason was far from feeling objective right now. He'd gotten at least five people killed that he knew of, and the rest were either dead or captured, and he honestly didn't know which would be better off. But he hadn't failed completely. Jack told him, he still had rue, he still had manged to save one person, at least one. It wasn't enough, not nearly, but it was something, a start, and he wasn't going to throw it away while the kid still needed him.

He looked back at the crate of probably kaleidoscope and sighed "No use drawing unnecessary attention i guess" he said lowly, resigning itself to leave everything untouched.

he turned back towards the girl beside him and shook her lightly. "Rue. Rue, wake up. I think we're almost there."

When the girl's tired eyes slowly pried themselves open the young man put on as convincing a smile he could given the situation "C'mon, this is one stop we won't want to miss."

 

[Ravenbelle]

RUE

Name: Rue Benette
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Rank: C
Appearance:

Rue is pretty short at About 5'1 and slim. Her eyes are normally turquoise but They darken to violet when she's in the middle of a 'vision'. There are only a select few people who see her smile.

Psychosis: Depression
Psychic Power: Precognition
Rue has a specific sort of..mental list in the back of her mind that she can add or remove from whenever. That list consists of the few things that she'd like to 'watch' daily. These things could be people, places or things. On a normal day, it's just the people she really cares for, though on some occasions, she watches the whole Brew facility as an institution, not the people in it.By watching, Rue means to say she keeps that list for the things she's capable of watching the future of. She cannot, for some reason see her own future though. In the lab, she can concentrate enough on the things they want her to and tell them of the brief flashes she gets of those things. The near future of them that is. Sometimes she gets involuntary visions that come unpredictably and painfully at any given moment. Those usually last much longer, almost two agonizing minutes of the future (most of the time) of one of the things on her list. Those are rare and hardly ever consist of things in the long term future.

Psychic Type: Natural
Personality: Most of the time Rue is honest and sweet, optimistic and soft-spoken, but there are times, though rare, that she snaps. She becomes very blunt and extremely altruistic in high stress situations, especially if someone she cares about is in danger, no matter how minor. Rue is independent and stubborn sometimes and doesn't like taking help from anyone. It is difficult to earn her trust. The struggle to evade the darker part of her mind has a taken a bit of a toll on her, especially when she sleeps, but she hardly ever lets it show.Is it ever gets too bad when she's alone, she'll read to distract herself. It's also a nice pastime even when she's not upset, so she reads pretty much whenever she has the chance to pick up a book and when she has free time in which she's not reading, she's daydreaming or making comparisons between her few friends and her favorite characters.

History: Rue has been an orphan her whole life. The orphanage she lived in was nearly always overcrowded and she was always kind of an outsider. The kind no one ever wanted to adopt. She could never understand why her parents never wanted her but once the kids around her started teasing her for how weird she was, she kind of figured it out. Rue was...lost. And for awhile she couldn't understand why she was even alive anymore. It was a dark time in her seemingly pointless life and that's where her secret comes in. It's pretty much the sole reason she tends to close off her heart all the time. Rue once got so bad that she tried to bleed herself out. There weren't many other options that would free her from her existence on earth in the orphanage, so slashed wrists would have to do. If only she hadn't been caught, dripping crimson blood all over the tile and everything. The scars are still pretty obvious, at least on the wrist without the wristband showing all her school color and rank. She isn't exactly sure how the people from Brewster's found her, but they did and of course the orphanage had no problems getting rid of another mouth to feed. Especially a 'mentally ill' one. And that's when her life changed, though she isn't absolutely sure it was for the better. As a prisoner, she'd been used for what she can see. And she hated it.

It had taken awhile for Rue to fall asleep and when she did, it was out of exhaustion. She had not exactly intended to curl up against Jason, but he was warm and stable in the convoy truck and well, she had to hold on to something. Especially now. Though her nightmares were merely blurry images tonight, she twitched occasionally and curled into herself tightly. Those memories would haunt her for as long as she lasted outside of Brew. She knew she had escaped, but she feels terribly guilty about it. Some would refer to the feeling as Survivor's Guilt.It would probably torture her for awhile. Even now it felt as if a flesh eating virus had taken to her as a host. It eats her up inside until she is hollow and then starts all over again.

People had died tonight. People she had started to care for. Seems like that had been a mistake. Especially when it came to the traitor. Despite the redhead's best efforts to help, she, the one with nothing to go back to, had been rescued. It wasn't fair. But she shouldn't have been surprised. When is anything ever fair?

Unfortunately her eyes opened again. They were dull tonight, plagued by what she had seen and been unable to prevent. They would probably stay that way for a long long time. The light at the end of the tunnel, something her optimistic view had always kept on the horizon, no longer shone on her irises.
But she had to wake anyway since Jason was nudging her. She didn't move away from him, but she did look up at him, bite her lip and nod. He was still the leader. Except most of his loyal followers were taken in the battle hard fought. Rue was still here. Why? She wished she knew. Because she had been too afraid to look much farther, the outcome of the battle had been determined without any source of prevention from her. The fates of those she hadn't predicted were bleak. Exactly what she had been afraid of before it happened, not in a vision, but before her eyes. In reality.
"..Where are we?" Rue whispered timidly. She waited for orders. Instructions to follow. She knew his smile was not sincere

 

[Buio]

"I don't know." replied jason "I just know that Shine said that the driver of this truck would give us an opportunity to slip out once they stopped into the next town."

It was concerning, really, just how much he didn't know where they were exactly. He remembered how shocked he was when they got outside for the first time. Not outside the walls -those, he'd discovered, were just for show-, but outside brew itself. Turns out the place they'd called home for the last few years had managed to pull the wool over their eyes in one way even he hadn't noticed until the end. the town of Brew had been encased by a giant dome that simulated the sky. Every ray of sunshine, every fluffy cloud, every distant star they had ever looked up at over their entire time in brew, all of it had been one great lie. And clearly the admins had been controlling the temperature and weather inside the dome too since when they got out of the dome they were greeted by a raging Blizzard outside. For all Jason knew they'd constructed that town at the north pole, or Russia, or any other of a million snowy deserts in the world that were a million miles farther from home than he'd ever wanted to be. He couldn't let it show though. Rue was depending on him.

"We'll have to keep our eyes peeled, just because we're out of brew it doesn't mean we've escaped just yet. The administrators will figure out that we're missing soon enough if they haven't already. I somehow doubt they're gonna be letting two trained psychics roam free and threaten to expose them. We need to be careful not to get caught again."

 

[Ravenbelle]

Shine..of course. Why did it always have to be so mysterious? If only she knew a bit more about it, she could predict its plans, but of course, that's probably what they want to prevent. Information could be dangerous, she knew, but it was becoming disconcerting. They could be anywhere on Earth and not know a thing. She had noticed the dome as well, which freaked her out a little. She had essentially been living in a perfectly constructed lie for so long. Every star she had wished on, every cloud she would make shapes out of, every raindrop...was fake. The truth, this blizzard, was to be a harsh awakening. But it had to be better than the cage that was Brewster.

Jason continued, making sure she knew they would have to lay low. She was already wary of the fact that Brew wanted them back and so she would have done what he told her regardless. Now that she was no longer tired, she would keep her eyes open. Getting back to sleep again would be the hard part.
Rue nodded, lower lip between her teeth. If they were captured again, the sacrifices of their friends would be for naught. Now she and Jason have a chance at freedom. Maybe they'll even help free the others. But this in between time was unsafe and nerve wracking which was not a great distraction from the cold. Rue shivered and curled up tighterinto herself, hoping she wouldn't bother Jason who was her main source of heat. She was close, but trying not to make him uncomfortable. She felt kind of awkward. So, while silent, Rue quickly reorganized her vision watch list. The named of the dead were no longer of any use. Of course Jason's name stayed at the top of the list and Brew as a building was on the list as well. If trucks or guards and things that looked like a search party left the facility, Rue would know. And she must keep her eyes peeled. Like Jason said. Focus. Not on the cold that gave her goosebumps, but on the scary stuff they must avoid.

 

[Buio]

Within a few minutes they could feel themselves rolling to a stop and Jason told rue to remain very quiet. Outside they could hear several voices, the drivers all exiting their vehicles and making small talk before walking away, the sounds of their voices getting softer and softer until they disappeared completely. Even when silence fell, however, Jason still motioned for her to remain still. It took another few minutes of excruciating patience before the convoy's truck bed was hit twice from the outside. That was the signal they were waiting for.

Jason moved to the back of the truck and unzipped the tarp that was their main shelter from the elements outside. Making sure the coast was clear first, he motioned for rue to follow him out of the convoy. On the ground beside the back of the truck were sitting two camping bags, one of which had a note attached addressed to Jason. The note was a set of instructions for him to follow and, after reading it carefully, Jason folded the note and slipped it into his back pocket. He looked to his left and saw an alley way across the street, opposite to the Big Stop the convoy had parked in front of. Jason assumed that the drivers of the convoy had stopped here to refuel and grab one last hearty meal before hitting the road again until the next town over. It would have been just like the admins to hide their cargo of precious and highly classified experimental drugs in plain sight right in front of a trucker's restaurant.

Shaking the bitter thought Jason motioned for Rue to grab one of the bags and follow him as they dashed across the empty street, instructing her to jump over or go around any unmelted patch of snow on the ground so they could avoid leaving visible tracks leading away from the trucks. Once they had ducked into the alley way Jason began looking around until he found what he was searching for. On the side of one of the buildings there was a featureless red metal door. He immediately went for it, trusting rue to follow after him, and opened it up without hesitation, rushing her inside before following and closing the door behind them softly, locking it from inside.

Within the building they found themselves before an old, rusted and plain steel staircase heading upwards about three stories and, from what they could see, down one to the basement level. At first impression it seemed to be some sort of fire escape or back door route for whatever building they were in, one way or another it was evident from the gathered dust that the passage didn't get much traffic. Jason led rue up two stories, not taking any extra measure to try and quiet his steps on the old staircase or even using his powers to muffle the inevitable creaking and clanking. Stopping in front of the second story door, Jason knocked on it softly and a low, musical voice came from inside almost immediately.

"Why do cats like boxes?"

"Because it's the only place curiosity can't kill them." replied Jason without hesitation, and then after a small pause "Or maybe it can."

Without any further response, the door could be heard unlocking and slowly opened for them. Jason stepped inside first this time and looked around. They seemed to be in the kitchen of a small, unimpressive apartment. Even in though all that illuminated the room was the dim, blue-gray light of early morning coming in from the window, it was apparent that no one was in the room. Once Rue was inside Jason closed and locked the door behind her and then immediately went over to the kitchen window, drawing the curtains closed. He placed his camping bag onto the kitchen table and motioned for the red haired girl to do the same before leading her into the living room. To his surprise the room was bare save for an old TV set, a couch with its back to the large window that looked down on the street beside it, and a reclining chair in the corner of the room. Seeming somewhat confused Jason looked around for a moment and then turned to go back to the kitchen before the same voice as before stopped him.

"Now what sort of mouse turns its back on a cat?"

Jason turned around immediately and saw that a man was sitting in the chair where no one had been a moment before. Little could be seen of the man, his features obscured by heavy shadows. The only thing that stood out were two, shining, golden feline eyes staring at him and rue from within the darkness. That and a wide, toothy grin flashing in their direction.

"So two mice escaped the trap. What were the chances of that?" asked the man again, though his grin remained intact even as he spoke as if he simply willed his voice into existence without needing to move his lips.


"You... aren't Shine, are you?" Asked Jason cautiously, somewhat unnerved by the strange man.

"Weren't you told that I am the one who asks?" intoned the man, somewhat amused. "A cat am I now, everything more and everything less, but what value is a cat? Care to take a guess?"

"hmm, then you're Shine's associate." guessed Jason. "Do you work for the administrators too?"

"To the white queen I serve as squire, yet the lords in white have earned her ire." answered the strange man. "The shimmer is an ally but only a reflection, an esper without, they cannot reach perfection."

"'The Shimmer' probably references Shine" thought Jason, already having picked up on the fact that this man was only going to speak in riddles and questions. "But what does he mean by 'an esper without'? Does he mean rue? Does shine need her to do something? And who the hell is the white queen?"

"A mouse without cheese cannot navigate a maze." said the man, still grinning. "Well little mouse, what bothers you today?"

"Hmm, I guess he's telling me not to think about it too hard and just move on." though Jason again, a little annoyed, though at this point he wasn't going to risk pissing off their only lifeline. "I was told that once we were inside we'd find help, I'm going to assume that's you?"

The man lifted his gray, clawed hand into the light, showing an open note that Jason recognized as the one he'd earlier torn off the camping bag and then slipped into his back pocket. "A set of instructions, clear and precise. But can a cat be trusted by mice?"

Jason sighed heavily at the indirect answer and thought maybe this would all go faster if he tried to speak the man's language. "A... mouse may trust a cat, if.. the cat know where the cheese is at?"

There was a silence.


The man in his chair simply burst out laughing. Not strange ghost-talk laughing, but legitimate laughter with lip movement and all. It was pretty evident that he'd found Jason's improvised answer quite hilarious. After a few moments he calmed down and got out of the chair, revealing his rather unnerving form. "Ohh, oh that was a good one. Though I think you should leave the riddling to me kid, don'tcha think?." spoke the strange man, his voice no less unnatural despite his lips moving like they were supposed to now.

Jason slowly recovered from his shock at seeing the man's true appearance and considered what had just come out of his mouth.

"Wait a minute." he said, a look of confusion drawing on him. "That.... wasn't... a-"

"I never said I had to speak in riddles, did I?" replied the man with a sly smile. Jason was becoming visibly aggravated with this guy now.

"Then why the hell-!" he started, though again the man in front of him didn't let him quite finish.

"What cat can resist playing with a mouse?"


Jason said nothing but seemed to be slowly boiling where he stood. Internally he and jack were debating whether it was worth the risk of being discovered to try and gather enough soundwaves to blast this guy clear through the far wall. The cat man only continued.

"Don't worry mousey, I've already eaten today so I'm not going to gobble you up. My only job is to confirm how many of you made it out alive. I'll be honest, 2 is about three times more of you than I was expecting. Ol' Shiny must have really seen something special in you mousey, or maybe you just got lucky, who knows? Either way, there's a more detailed set of instructions in those bags you brought in with you. I'll tell you right now though the first thing you two will need to do is strip down, though I'm sure two kiddies like you were planing to do that already as soon as you got a minute alone eh?" The man cackled at this while jason's eyes just narrowed and he glared, not quite managing to keep the blush from his face.

"The bag you put down closest to the door has civilian clothes in it. You two aren't exactly inconspicuous in those outfits and plus they've got tracking devices sewn in the fabric. Don't give me that look, you wouldn't have been smuggled all the way out here if we didn't have our ways of jamming the signal. Still, I'm going to need those uniforms, underwear and all, before I go back. So hop to it and get changed kiddies, you wouldn't want the cat to get hungry again would you?"


Jason sighed deeply and turned back to Rue. "Well, you heard the man. I'm pretty sure if you go back in the kitchen that door right of the back entrance leads into a bedroom, you can use that to get changed, I'll stay here and keep an eye on our... 'guest' until you're done."

"Oh and no tempting fate dearie." chimed in the feline man with a sly smile, his tail swinging back and forth behind him lightly "A quick glance at the future wouldn't really be worth the risk now would it?"

Jason kept quiet. He hadn't explicitly told Rue not to use her powers but he'd also figured she was smart enough to have figured that out herself. somehow though he got the impression that if this strange man was saying something, it wasn't without some sort of reason for doing so, thus he didn't protest and just nodded at rue for her to follow his advice and go get changed.

 

[Ravenbelle]

When Rue felt the truck roll to a stop, she started to get up assuming they might have to make a quick get away, but Jason told her to stay still and silent. Eyes wide and mouth shut, Rue shivered anxiously and flinched when two loud bangs were heard against the truck. No such anxiety left her system when Jason led her outside and had her grab one of the mysterious bags. She clutched the black blanket to her trembling body and followed his footsteps exactly to keep from leaving tracks. Her shallow breaths showed in the cold air while she crept into an alley and clutched her bruised midsection, glad to find that the cut on her leg isn't easily irritated. They found themselves at a red door. It seemed dangerous and she wished Jason had shared more of the sensitive info with her so she knew what was going on, but he walked in without hesitation. So she followed him blindly up the creaky stairs. For a Seer, this is a Grade A nightmare. The small esper shivered, tension growing with every step up as the visions in her head threatened to block her view of the present. Liquid Violet slowly leaked into her anxious blue eyes. She winced and it disappeared. Why won't he tell her anything?! Or even muffle the racket of the stairs beneath them! Knowledge is power. Without knowledge...she is...helpless. and that. Is one of the most the most terrifying situations for Rue.
Her leg burned and her heart raced before Jason knocked softly. Rue grit her teeth when a voice came from inside. It almost sounded like a...purr? A riddle. Rue's eyes widened when Jason replied easily. More secrets. She shouldn't be surprised. Then the door opened slowly. And no one was on the other side. Well. That's cliché. And really scary. Especially now.

Rue crept forward, eyes darting around the small second story apartment. Something smelled familiar..but she couldn't put her finger on it. It didn't seem like anyone else was in here. But then who had opened the door? Is the world the same place it was before she was taken from the orphanage all those years ago? Rue tensed when he locked the door, didn't let go of her bag, but followed close behind him. Even when he turned back toward the kitchen they walked through, she blinked toward it then--
Snapping back to face a shadowy corner with a recliner and a disconnected voice. The hairs stood on the back of her neck and she wouldn't stop shaking. Cat. That's what was familiar. There used to be stray cats that wandered around the grounds if the orphanage. That smell was what she remembered. And it was confirmed with the slitted gold eyes and disconcerting grin. That's familiar too...but how? Not in real life, but...
As the riddles seemed to come from thin air, Rue listened closely. White Queen? Esper? Rue's lips parted and a hardly audible gasp of realization could be heard in the previous silence.
Why is he imitating the Cheshire Cat?

The Seer's head spun when the cat man legitimitely laughed at Jason's attempt at better communication and stood. Equipped with a better background with Alice in Wonderland, Rue probably could have come up with something better, but she was too stunned to open her mouth.
Jason was clearly becoming very angry, but Rue felt very much like a mouse herself. Shocked, weak, uninformed. Like she was caught in a trap rather than free from one.
Wait...Shine is a person? Not just one though...right?
Rue twitched when he mentioned taking their clothes off and his following insinuation. Her cheeks almost grew red as her dirty locks, but when both men spoke to her, she was white as a ghost. Her wide eyes met Jason's, away from the swishing tail, and saw him nod before she unfroze. Scurrying off like a mouse once her back was turned, the little redhead followed Jason's simple directions and locked the door of the bedroom behind her. One shaky finger turned on the light to reveal an equally unimpressive bedroom and another door to presumably the only bathroom here.

Rue tried to slow down her heart, slid down the door in a tiny ball and tried to take deep breaths. It wasn't working. Her ribs hurt too much to expand the bones that much. She whimpered quietly and decided just to get it overwith. Rue stood, wobbled and went to the bathroom before standing bare in front of the cracked mirror, quivering. She was bruised in quite a few places, mostly her ribs. She knew all of this would hurt more in the morning so she just shook her head, washed some tap water over her face, stopped thinking of the future and threw on the clothes she found inside the bag brought in from outside the truck.

By the time she was brave enough to return to the main room with Jason's safety in mind, Rue was wearing a sports bra, a black tank top that was slightly tighter than she expected, old blue jeans that had to be adjusted with the stretchy tighteners in the waistband, clean socks and underwear, plus a pair of sneakers a size too large.
Parts of her outfit weren't immediately obvious because of the blanket draped over her shoulders and the old uniform folded neatly against her midsection. She left the camping bag in the bedroom, hoping (wishing she didn't have to assume) that that would be where she would be staying. Most likely with Jason. Once Jason and the creepy Cheshire copycat were in view, Rue's large eyes darted between them for a moment before she outstretched her arms and crept toward the slinky feline. Cautiously offering the white outfit she had worn in Brew too many times to count.

 

[Buio]

When Rue left the living room Jason just stood with his back to the apartment's front door, throwing occasional wary glances towards the cat man but staying quiet. The man himself had just sat back down in the chair, tail moving side to side slowly while he continued to grin for no apparent reason, eyes locked on Jason with no discernible cause. When it seemed that rue was taking longer than she should Jason thought he may as well try to break the ice with this stranger. If nothing else he might have some important information to share.


"So... uhm, my name is Jason Greeves. What sh-"

"Small talk can wait till your girlfriend comes back kiddo." cut in the older man, somewhat amused. "Shouldn't you be going to grab that other bag?"

The young psychic just sighed deeply and did as was asked of him, going to grab the spare bag and bringing it to the front room. He didn't bother looking inside just yet. judging from his guest's character, there was probably something important inside the bag and opening it should wait until rue was done. He brought the bag into the living room and just set it down next to where he'd been standing, adopting the same position as before and onve again waiting silently, the cat man's eyes not leaving him for a second.

Thankfully it didn't take very long for the red haired girl to return; dressed in more casual clothes now though she still held the blanket they had in the truck around her shoulders. Jason had guessed already that she was probably hiding the bruises from the previous night. He remembered how one of the enemy telekinetic had grabbed her at one point and started tossing her around with his mind like a ragdoll, playing with her. That had been when Ashling decided to sacrifice herself and that was probably the only thing that had saved Rue from ending up like Andrew. Jason had been powerless.

He shook the thought from his mind, he'd have enough time to beat himself up when he went to sleep and his nightmares took him, right now it was still time for business. He turned to the cat man and opened his mouth to speak but this time was cut off before even starting.

"Q&A can wait, now it's your turn to go get changed." jason gave a worried glance in rue direction and the cat man only chuckled. "If i wanted to hurt either of you, don;t you think I'd have already done it my now?"

Jason sighed and gave rue a reassuring look. "I'll be right in the other room." he said, before taking his leave and also going to get changed out of his Brewster's uniform.

Now it was just Rue and the cat man in the living room.


"Didn't quite go for brains when you picked your boyfriend, did you girlie?" asked the cat man with an amused tone.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Cheshire (she took to calling him that in her head) took her white clothes and told Jason to change as well. Rue caught Jason's worried glance, pulled the blanket tighter around herself, then furrowed her brow when Cheshire laughed. His next comment addressed her leader's concern and he sighed. Oh.
Rue hadn't been extremely scared of staying with Cheshire now that she had managed to suppress her fear and most of her trembling. In fact, she wanted to see what kind of knowledge she could gain from the tricky cat. But Jason reassured her anyway and she watched him go before Cheshire spoke again, making her turn to face him completely. Her stomach was clenching in knots when she made eye contact...that grin...

"Didn't quite go for brains when you picked your boyfriend, did you girlie?" asked the cat man with an amused tone.

Rue grit her teeth. Mustered her courage. They wouldn't have that much time before Jason returned. How much is this man like the true Cheshire Cat?
"Hm. Weren't you the one who said that there's an ugly word for those who do things the hard way? Or was that just the cat you copy? Either way, Jason managed to escape the 'mouse trap', didn't he?" Her words sounded more confident than she felt. All of the Cheshire Cat quotes she had ever memorized rushed through her mind as she tried to prepare herself in case he decided to start telling riddles again.

 

[Buio]

The cat man only laughed lightly in amusement at her defense.

"Oh, I'm sure you must find yourself very clever right now girlie, think you've cracked the code do you?" he said with his continued self-satisfied smile. "Well, I'll give you points for connecting the dots where mousey failed, but it's always so annoying when people assume I'm 'copying' the cheshire cat and think they've got me all figured out from there on, so let me clue you into a little truth girlie: the cheshire cat acts like me, not the other way around. It really is annoying when people see the genuine article and can only think of the more popular imitation. Anyways, you can call me Chess, and what's your name girlie?"

 

[Ravenbelle]

Rue took a tiny step back when the cat laughed at her. His amusement and following comment did considerable damage on her confidence around the stranger. Much like the Cheshire Cat, he made sure she would always stay on her toes and slightly confused. Except for the fact that he claimed originality. He seemed so sure of himself that it would be easy to take him at face value, but Rue found it very difficult to believe that Lewis Carroll himself had met this mutant who calls himself Chess. Much less that he felt so inspired by him as to create an all-important character for him in his world-famous novel. It was just...hard to swallow, so she couldn't really see a good list of reasons to trust the trickster.
Rue pursed her lips, hesitating when he asked for her name. Reasons to give it to him: Jason brought her here and let her stay alone with him, however reluctant he was about it.
Reasons to give him a fake name or withold information: Jason hasn't done so yet, Chess is intimidating, and there are no other reasons to trust him.
So she just pulled the blanket a little tighter and failed at keeping constant eye contact.
"As much as I..dislike you calling me that,..well why would a mouse trust a cat? And why shouldn't I trust the future?" The redhead wondered. Her ability has never failed her and usually comesin very handy. So..why hold back the endless advantages swimming behind her eyes?

 

[Buio]

Chess laughed lightly again, it was hard to tell if it was meant to sound menacing or not.

"Cautious little one, aren't you? Smarter than him though, for true." he replied, falling back into his rhyming style. "And to see the future isn't as bad as that, but you should remember: what killed the cat?"

He only continued to smile. The girl was good at connecting dots and seeing relations, but he could already tell why Shine had picked the other kid to be leader. He knew how to take a hint even when the dots didn't seem to connect. He was interested in seeing how long it would take for the girlie to do the same.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Why is he laughing? Rue gulped down her fear and remained calm before Chess. He seemed far...creepier than the storybook version. But she listened closely nonetheless.

Cautious? Yes. Smarter? Probably not. She bit her lip, not really planning on replying but then his lips stopped moving and...

A fierce chill trickled down the individual discs in her spine. One. By. One. Rue paled, stopped breathing. Blinked. What killed the cat was obviously curiosity, but Rue doesn't check the future because she's curious! If anything, she does it because she's cautious! Shallow breaths returned to the young, wide-eyed Seer while Chess' question echoed in her eardrums. Is he saying that she'll die if she merely tries to see the danger ahead? She wants to keep Jason safe. It's not like she can check her own future anyway!

And his smile never fades! Don't his cheeks ache? Won't his eyes stop glowing like that? Rue gulped, knuckles white. "I..." She closed her eyes. "Curiosity has nothing to do with it." Does it? Her stomach knotted harshly.
"If I can see when they're coming, I can keep hi--us safe." Her first instinct is keeping him safe. Self-preservation has been ripped out of her in pieces ever since she was little. Why would you want to keep yourself safe if you believe your own life means next to nothing? "H-how could knowing that be a disadvantage?"
She was pretty sure he wouldn't give her a straight answer and Rue's eyes were already glancing at the door to the bedroom repeatedly, but honestly, what's the big deal? Don't they need all the help they can get?

 

[Buio]

"For the same reason it would have been a disadvantage for me to hide our noises this whole time." answered Jason unexpectedly, walking into the living room already changed (he's just wearing the outfit he has in his character pic), walking over and handing Chess the folded uniform before going back to stand with rue.

Chess' smile remained still intact as Jason walked into the room. "Finally someone who knows what he;s talking about, wouldn't it have been such a chore to spell it out?"

Jason shot him an annoyed glance but didn't bother reacting any more than that, instead staying focused on rue, who still hadn't seemed to realize just how dangerous the Administrators were.

"If you try to see my future, the only thing you'll see is me being captured because you using your abilities will let them know exactly where we are," he turned to Chess on teh off chance his hunch hadn't been correct, "Right?"

"Bingo. Now that wasn't so hard was it?" replied the cat man happily.

Jason sighed out heavily, he'd figured that was the case when shine's instructions continuously told him not to use his powers unless necessary once they'd left the dome but had hopped he was wrong. Their time at brew had taught them to treat their powers like just another part of themselves, black school students like him had it especially bad, since they usually found ways to use their telekinetic powers in their day to day lives. It would be a chore for him to remind himself to not use his silencing powers on his alarm clock in the morning, or to instinctively make himself harder to notice by muffling his sounds. He had never explicitly enjoyed being a psychic, having known about Brew's trickery from very early on in his tenure there. Now that he knew he wouldn't be able to use his powers anymore though, the world suddenly seemed like a very loud place that he didn't want to be in anymore.

The chains that bind are found in one's mind he repeated in his head, remembering one of the first lessons Shine had taught him through their interactions.

"So then, using our powers is like sending up a huge flare letting the admins know where we are." stated jason to chess, confirming the current situation. "But shine said to only use the powers 'if necesarry', not 'under no circumstances'. So that leads me to believe that you guys have already planned for one of those 'necessary' eventualities, right?"


"I can tell you've been talking to ol' shiny a lot, already starting to sound just as paranoid." commented chess with a light, mocking chuckle. "Maybe we did, maybe we didn't, what do you think mousey?"

Jason pondered the situation for a moment, he was pretty sure his hunch was right, shine didn't leave things to chance, so how would they react if he and rue needed to use their powers?

"I... I think that the admins aren't what we need to worry about." he answered after his small pause. "I think we need to worry about the psychics under their control. In brew us using our powers would have been picked up by their equipment, but its impossible for them to have put up devices like that in every town and city in the world, or even the country, so the only reason we should have to worry about them finding us is if they have some A or S rank esper or telepath that specializes in detecting other psychics, right?"

"You know, it's fascinating how a kid who can't put two and two together like you can somehow do calculus like it's nothing. I guess this is what they call an idiot genius?" replied Chess with another, this time slightly less condescending chuckle.

"uhm,.. thanks, i guess. So I'm gonna assume that since they're using another psychic to find us, how visible we are is dependent on how much power we use. Sensory type espers usually have some sort of power scaling to their abilities that has to do with, uhm... was it distance and longitude?" he thought hard for a moment, knowing that didn't sound quite right. This was the kind of stuff taught to red and white students, he'd had to learn these things by doing his own research and he never pretended to be the sharpest bookworm out there. "No, wait! it was distance and magnitude, right the more here is of whatever they're looking for and the closer it is, the easier it is for the sensory types to detect. We were on that convoy for at least a few hours, so even if we assume we're dealing with an S rank, we should be far enough that the range starts affecting their perceptions. If we only use minor powers they should only get a general idea of where we are but if we use something big, or use the abilities often, they'll get more specific coordinates, right?"

"In theory you're right, but aren't you under estimate exactly how strong these 'S rankers' you call actually are?"

Jason shook his head lightly. "No, even taking all that into account i wasn't about to test my luck, not using our powers at all is the only safe route here, i just wanted to know how much wiggle room we'd have if we absolutely needed to use our abilities."

"Oh, you probably have a lot more wiggle than you think" replied chess, glancing over at the unopened camping bag. "But before we get down to that, do you have any more questions girlie?" he turned to rue with an expectant smile

 

[Ravenbelle]

Rue's head snapped to Jason when she heard his voice instead of Chess'. It took half a second to figure out that he had vaguely answered her question and waited for him to explain while shifting her weight uncomfortably. But with so much to pay attention to, Rue could ignore her sparking emotions, general sleepiness and confusion until further notice. The redhead found that she definitely preferred the outfit Jason had been given to the uniform he had passed to Chess who decided to stand with her. She fidgeted with her hands nervously and observed silently without interruption. Chess' response made Rue bite her lip. She felt very out of the loop. All this not-knowing was really taking a toll on her and it was only exacerberated as the explanation continued.

"If you try to see my future, the only thing you'll see is me being captured because you using your abilities will let them know exactly where we are,"
Rue's eyes grew huge and Chess confirmed the scary statement. She wanted to ask why, but she was sure it would be explained. As a normally quiet, bashful girl, Rue had definitely learned that when quiet, others tend to elaborate. And Jason did just that, but it wasn't at all what she wanted to hear.

"....But Shine said to only use the powers 'if necessary', not 'under no circumstances'. So that leads me to believe that you guys have already planned for one of those 'necessary' eventualities, right?"

Does Shine have everything figured out? As much as it concerned her that she was part of some big plan that she couldn't see, she really hoped that they had planned for eventualities. What if her visions come in dreams? Or uncontrollably in the day?! Chess didn't help with his roundabout response. But she continued to listen through every detail, silent and increasingly scared.

"No, even taking all that into account i wasn't about to test my luck, not using our powers at all is the only safe route here..."

Oh no.

"...I just wanted to know how much wiggle room we'd have if we absolutely needed to use our abilities."
"Oh, you probably have a lot more wiggle than you think." Replied Chess, glancing over at the unopened camping bag.

Rue played close attention and kept her concerns and questions to herself so she saw Chess glance at the camping bag. More to explain? Oh why am I so clueless and stupid? I definitely don't deserve to be here. Out of every--
Chess cut off her destructive thoughts.

"But before we get down to that, do you have any more questions girlie?" He turned to Rue with an expectant smile.

Of course he would know she had questions. How much does he really know about her? Rue hesitated, reluctant to share her problems with the both of them, but for Jason's safety, she supposed it had to be done.She pulled the blanket tighter again and nodded shyly.
"Um..." How could she say this without revealing to Chess the dangers of her power? Does he already know? He knew what she could do when they came in. There was no avoiding it. "W-well, sometimes my-uh-visions come in dreams. So I guess I could fix that by staying awake, but there are also the occasional Fated visions that are completely out of my control. They come without warning and...I don't want my failures to get y-us returned to. Brewster." Rue spoke softly, ashamed of her lower rank and lack of self-control. It really was true then. She was more trouble than she was worth. It shouldn't come as a surprise. That had basically been true since she was orphaned as a newborn. She should have just died after--DON'T think about it!!-- but she couldn't even kill herself correctly!!

Rue shook her head, returning to the present with slightly misty eyes, hair forward to hide a little and red cheeks to match her dirty locks. Most of the time, her past stays buried very deeply and away from her conscious, but recent events ((Brew's chaotic breakout)) have made her mind more fragile. Walls are slowly cracking and locked doors are broken down by the hour thanks to the memories that keep her eyes occupied in the nightmarish past instead of the future. She felt very small...well, smaller than usual. But she had to stay here. In the present. And it's become so hard all of a sudden...

 

[Buio]

Jason looked at the fragile girl with a somewhat confused and sad expression. "Rue, why are you talking like you've done something wrong? You realize that you've already told me everything about your powers a long time ago right? Both me and shine are aware that you can't control your visions completely and that's exactly why i assumed that shine had prepared something for such an eventuality. The unpredictability of your powers had been factored into the escape since day one, so you don;t have to act like you're some sort of inconvenience to us. You've always been an incredibly valuable member of the broken mirrors, even if now you are sadly their only member besides myself. I know we've been through a lot, and we haven't had time to properly grieve for our fallen friends. But i want you to know first and foremost that you've earned your place here. You fought for your survival just as hard as any of us and gave your all for our cause, you haven't done anything wrong by surviving. And not all of our friends died. You know as well as i do that some were captured by the administrators. For all we know they could still be alive, so it's our job to free them if they are. No mater what, we can't let ourselves fall into despair now. We escaped the mouse trap for a reason."

 

[Ravenbelle]

Rue didn't watch his expression, instead keeping her eyes averted. By his tone of voice, she could tell he was convinced that she had no need to bear any guilt, but it would take a long time to let it go. Or at least until she can make up for it a little. She was never sure of what Shine did or didn't know. But Chess knew her name now and not before...as far as she knew. And she assumed he was connected to Shine. He would help them right? Did he know about the preparations Jason said had been done ever since her unpredictable visions were described? Were they prepared enough? How many free passes at their powers did they have before they were found? Was it enough?

"...You've always been an incredibly valuable member of the broken mirrors, even if now you are sadly their only member besides myself. I know we've been through a lot, and we haven't had time to properly grieve for our fallen friends..."

Rue sniffed. It was true that they definitely didn't have time. Her heart felt like it would ache forever. And everytime they were mentioned, a new knife would slice its way inside her. She would do anything to bring them back. To go back and prevent their deaths in the first place!

"...But i want you to know first and foremost that you've earned your place here. You fought for your survival just as hard as any of us and gave your all for our cause, you haven't done anything wrong by surviving..."

Rue gulped and met his eyes. Her tears hadn't fallen yet, but it would be difficult to prevent. Did he really believe that or was he just saying it to calm her down? If she knew Jason as she thought she did, he was telling her what he thought was the truth. She could still disagree. She could still hurt. After all, the pain wouldn't be there if she didn't deserve it. Rue believed that by surviving without them, their blood was on her hands. She had known about the escape. She should have worked harder, been less of a weakling, or even realized that she wasn't worth the trouble so that maybe someone else would be standing in this apartment with a beating heart. Someone who has people who actually care about them. Again, her thoughts were painful so she grit her teeth and took deep, shaky breaths through her nose. Crying isn't going to help anyone! Besides, if she lets the first tear fall, she might not ever stop. She still has a job to do.

"...For all we know they could still be alive, so it's our job to free them if they are. No mater what, we can't let ourselves fall into despair now. We escaped the mouse trap for a reason."

Exactly. She can't give up, not that she ever did. If there's anything she can do to make the parasitic guilt go away at least a tiny bit, it's rescuing the rest of the captured survivors. It's what she'll strive for with everything she's got. As long as she can help, Rue always will.
So she bit her lip, pushed away the negativity doubting her strength, and ducked her head to wipe the moisture in her eyes with the blanket. With a final sniffle and suppression of pain, Rue looked into Jason's green eyes and focused on what their next step was.
"Yeah. T-to get them out. Find freedom somehow." She whispered. "Tell me how we'll do it. What's next?" She nodded, ready for her next task. What was the plan exactly?

 

[Buio]

Chess only chuckled at their exchange. His tone still carried with it the impression of detached amusement, as if nothing going on between the two psychics affected him at all, but this time it was definitely not mocking.

"Still got that fire in your bellies, eh kids? Well why don't you open up that bag and find out?"

Jason looked over to him and nodded calmly. He walked over to the unopened camping bag and brought it over to the couch, putting it down there and wasting no time unzipping a large pocket to the side with a note attached that red 'this side first'. Inside were several folders, and Jason paused. He slowly took the folders out of the pocket and flipped through them without looking at their contents. he separated two, putting them to the side, and then gathered up the remaining five and handed them to Chess. "We... won't need these." he said lowly. Chess only smiled and grabbed the folders, making them disappear into thin air soon after, having already done the same to the uniforms earlier when neither Jason nor rue were looking in his direction.

Jason then handed one of the folders to Rue, the one that had her picture attached to the cover. When she'd taken her own Jason then grabbed the one with his picture and opened it. Leafing through it confirmed Jason's suspicions, they'd been given new identities to assume. Jason flipped back to the first page, taking a closer look at his new name and then giving Chess a look that was a mixture of annoyance and incredulity.

"Really? 'Jacob Saulnier'? Jack?"

"I didn't pick the names kid, if you've got a problem why not take it up with Shiny?"

Jason sighed, shaking his head lightly and put the file back down on the couch, figuring he'd have time to look it over in more detail later. He then went for the camping bag's main compartment, unzipping it and.. once more stopping as he saw the contents.

Money.

And lots of it.

"How's that for 'wiggle room' mousey?" said chess with a cackle.

Jason picked up one of the bundles of cash and leafed through the bills quickly to check they were all worth the same amount. "Cat, these are all hundred dollar bills. What the hell are we supposed to do with all this?"

"oh, I dunoo, maybe start by not spending it all in one place?" he replied in a condescending tone. "I don't know all of shiny's plans but anyone with half a brain should be able to tell that you're not supposed to go wild with this cash. Anyways, I'm getting tired of playing messenger so why don;t we go right to the source?"

Chess materialized two small, silver, metallic objects that were vaguely pramid shaped. Jason didn't recognize the devices themselves, but their models were very similar to Brewster tech, and seeing them made him tense up and feel very cautious. Chess just ignored it and put the two devices down on the ground facing each other, turning them on and making a soft red light shine from the tip of both machines. After a moment the lights turned blue and a projection appeared, Jason quickly recognized this as the holographic communication technology employed by the administrators of Brew when a white haired young woman materialized in front of him. It didn't help either that she was dressed in a white lab coat and for a moment Jason was worried that the cat man may have sold them out. Until the woman, looking directly at him, spoke.

"It's nice to finally talk to you face-to-face Jason. I am Shine."

Jason froze for a moment. Not just at hearing the name, but because now that he saw the woman he was overcome with the feeling that he'd seen her before. Unbeknownst to him, rue would be feeling the same thing besides him. He examined the woman attentively. It was more than a little concerning that she shared his strangely discolored white hair, and her green eye seemed to look right through him despite it just being a projection. Her right eye was covered by a medical eye patch but she still wore a pair of thin framed glasses for the one good eye. No matter how closely he looked at her though, he couldn't place at all where he may have met her before.

"Do I... know you?" he asked uncertainly


The woman on the projection only smiled lightly. "No, you don't, but both of you will be feeling as if you do. I was once a psychic held by Brew just like you, a telepath to be accurate. Neither of you two remember meeting me because I couldn't risk your memories giving me away, but I implanted that feeling of recognition in your minds to trigger whenever you;d next see me so you could know who i am, and so i could make sure you two weren't impostors."

"Ohh, isn't that scary?"

"Be quiet Chess."

The cat man only laughed out loudly at this but complied and remained quiet. Shine sighed lightly and continued. "However, the circumstances of our previous meeting are not important right now. My first order of business s to congratulate you, and to apologize. Due to an oversight in my plans a sleeper agent managed to infiltrate the broken mirrors and the result was the near total elimination of a group we have spent years cultivating in order to hep you all break free from Brew's tyranny, I cannot apologize enough for the losses suffered because of this." though her expression remained mostly stoic, her words carried conviction and regret within them none the less. Jason had the impression he was talking to someone who wasn't a stranger to losing friends in battle. "And yet, despite that eventuality you two still managed to escape mostly safe and sound, that alone is a testament to your skill and your resilience, and I believe that is worthy of praise, I was right in selecting the both of you."

"With all due respect Shine, can we skip the pats on the back and get down to what we're supposed to do now? We still haven't gotten an explanation for the bag of money sitting right next to me." replied Jason calmly. It wasn't that he didn't understand what she was doing, but the message wouldn't be for him in the end, and the person it was for wouldn't be made to feel better by it, so it was best to just move on and keep focused on the future.

The corner of Shine's mouth curled upwards only slightly. "You're right, I suppose I forgot I wasn't talking to normal teenagers. Very well. Originally there were supposed to be four bags to be brought in with you, enough for your entire group. The two you brought with you now contain clothes, funds, and new identities for the seven of your members who were mot likely to make it out of the operation alive should something go awry. So yes, you have a lot of money right now that most people wouldn't know what to do with, but I'm sure I don't need to remind you that you're both fugitives. You will find a detailed document in the bag's bottom compartment that lists out economic plans written out for each imaginable combination of survivors. Find the plan for you two and follow it to the letter. There is money in the budget plans reserved for personal expenses to help you lead a comfortable life and blend into society well enough, but neither of you will be touching the money that would have gone to your allies and buying yourselves a Ferarri. I know you well enough by now Jason, you're already thinking about how to break back into Brew and rescue however many people you can, but there are things going on that are bigger than Brewster and all its secrets combined. Right now what we need from you two is to stay low and become normal people for a while. I know it's easier said than done, but it will take a few ears before we get the chance to strike back at Brew, and you already know the importance of setting up your pieces before making a move Jason."

The white haired youth tightened his fists but remained calm. He knew, of course he knew. He'd been the one collaborating with Shine this whole time. Two and a half years he'd spent waiting. Two and a half years he'd worked in the shadows, pretending to be just another good little lab rat, gathering his forces, making plans, checking allegiances, managing information, making sure secrets were kept. All so.... all so it could blow up in his face at the last minute...

"All so that you could be here, alive." replied the familiar voice in his mind. Jason knew that too. He was bitter at how long he'd had to wait, all for such unsatisfying results. But he also knew that if it hadn't been for all that planning and preparing no one would have made it out alive. Not him, not rue. He'd escaped Brew, something that had never.... well, no, Shine just told them she was a former psychic herself, so he guessed that it had to have been done at least once already. But either way it sure as hell hadn't happened often, and it hadn't been easy. It hadn't been like a movie where there was one, difficult, but incredibly obvious way to get out. Just doing the setup to the escape had probably been the greatest magic trick and act of misdirection ever pulled off by any group of teenagers, superpowers or not, and the fact that he and rue managed to escape even when the plan hadn't worked out showed just how important it had been for him to study, memorizes, and plan around all those defenses for those two and a half years. He hated that he was going to have to wait again so soon, but he knew damn well that waiting was exactly what had gotten him this far too.

"I understand." spoke the young man in as calm a voice as he could present despite his internal frustration. "Then, can you tell us where we are exactly? Are we still in America at least?"


Shine smiled very lightly. "Of course, Brewster isn't the only one that knows how to hide things in plain sight. Your current location is Orignale, Maine: a small town near the Canadian border. It's largely off the grid so there's a low chance of you two attracting Brew's attention there. If you are discovered though, you already have passports and other required documents for your new identities that will let you cross the border into New-Brunswick, we have several safe-houses established across Atlantic Canada and America's west coast. Should you need to make a quick getaway without contacting us, that will be the one instance where you are allowed to ignore the financial plan we've lad out for you ad use whatever funds are at your disposal to get away from Brew's agents. Beyond that, you are just a normal american boy born in canada who doesn't get along well with his father and dropped out of highschool to pursue a career in creative writing. You came to Maine with your girlfriend Miss Langlois" to this shine gave a stare in Rue's direction. "because it serves as the setting for many of your favorite Stephen king books and you thought it would serve as good inspiration for your own novels. You will be receiving periodic calls from our agents who will pose as your family members. This will further sell the illusion should anyone investigate you. Beyond that, any further information you should need on how to proceed will be available to you inside the various files that you were provided with in the camping bags."


"And how are we to contact you if something unexpected happens?" asked Jason, already figuring that the hologram projectors they were using now were too dangerous to be left in their possession.


"For now communications between us will be one-way. You two are both still too 'hot' for us to give you any way to contact us directly, instead we will be checking on you periodically. Once we manage to get Brew off your trail to an acceptable degree you will be provided with a means of contacting us, needless to say that the better a job you do at keeping your head down, the sooner that will happen. Until then we will have our ways of keeping tabs on you, don't worry. You aren't alone in this even if we have to make everyone else believe that you are. Now, will that be all?"


Jason thought for a moment before replying "I think that's all the concerns I can think of," he turned to the red haired girl, "Rue, do you have anything to add?"

 

[Ravenbelle]

Without wasting much time, Chess got the ball rolling on track again and Rue's curiosity was piqued when Jason was told to open a specific compartment of the bag. She moved to stand beside him and bit her lip when Jason gave Chess the files rendered useless because of her failures. Though she hadn't noticed before, she wasn't surprised to notice them disappear. The Cheshire Cat could do it, so it wasn't all that shocking. Especially with so much more to worry about. Jason handed her the folder obviously designated to her and followed his lead on looking through it. Pretty basic it seemed. And at least her name no longer signifies regret.
Belle Langlois. It sounds pretty, but it's fake of course. The background was a little more detailed, but she decided to memorize it later and set it on the couch when her eyes caught the cash piles in the bag. Did someone rob a bank? Jason was shocked too, overwhelmed by the money they were so suddenly given. They were all hundred dollar bills?! Shine must be loaded. But how? If it's only devoted to rescuing people it couldn't have made that much money. What else does the mysterious Shine do?

"Anyways, I'm getting tired of playing messenger so why don't we go right to the source?"

What? Two metallic pyramids poofed into Chess' paws and Rue blinked, watching them carefully. What are those? She stepped closer to Jason when Cat placed them side by side before the began to glow. Those aren't weapons are they?! Blue eues searched for green that kept calm. Or well, calmer than Rue's. How he didn't immediately start running when he saw the lab coat, she wasn't sure. A cold chill made her heart pump faster. Never trust white lab coats. Or those who referred you to them. Like Chess. Had he..?
The white haired woman spoke in the hologram like Mr. Bennet had back in Brew. Except her words made Rue gasp. She was overcome by a wave of that Deja vú feeling that she had seen this lady before. Normally for Rue that was true. That she'd watched a scene before it happened. Most times in a dream. Who is this woman who looked strangely like the leader of the tiny broken mirrors? Was she really...Shine? Jason asked about her identity first and Rue just kept close, observing attentively and always alert for danger.
This lady had manipulated their memories? Who or what else had she manipulated? If she really was Shine, Rue wasn't sure that she even trusted her. She apologized and Rue just stared. Did she know what it was like? Though she ws still wearing that coat, Rue would never wish this feeling on anybody even though it was likely she had escaped much like she had with Jason. If that was the truth.
Rue silently thanked Jason for getting straight to the point. She still wasn't ready to think of what had happened too much.
"You're right, I suppose I forgot I wasn't talking to normal teenagers."

Rue's eyes narrowed. How in the world could you forget that?
Though the woman was suspicious, Rue payed close attention like always, finding it crazy that they were considered fugitives for being pretty much kidnapped and escaping. What they'll be considered criminals for will be when they go back and rescue the others for sure.

"I know you well enough by now Jason, you're already thinking about how to break back into Brew and rescue however many people you can, but there are things going on that are bigger than Brewster and all its secrets combined. Right now what we need from you two is to stay low and become normal people for a while. I know it's easier said than done, but it will take a few ears before we get the chance to strike back at Brew, and you already know the importance of setting up your pieces before making a move Jason."
"What?" Rue breathed. Her hands curled into fists and her head turned to her leader. He wouldn't let this happen would he? What's 'bigger than Brewster?' What else does Shine even do that it would take some intolerable years before their friends were free?! Rue turned hopeful eyes to Jason, half hoping Jack would step in and yell at her since the quiet pair would not. But instead, he moved onto a different topic and let the fire dim in his eyes.
What? How could he let it go that quickly? Rue knew that she had been stuck in a fake mental asylum for years now, but if she was going to be sitting around pretending to be normal, she wouldn't be surprised to find herself in a straightjacket this time. How did she expect them to do nothing? Rue shook her head, about to say something, anything, but her words were dissolved in another stream of information stuffed down her throat.

Well..at least they're still in an english speaking country and apparently well prepared to lay low for awhile, backstories and all. But why are they doing all of this? Why does Shine want them to stay safe exactly? What are all their motives? Rue grit her teeth, fists still tight in the blanket until Jason gave her an opening to say something. Where she had been filled with objections before, she was pensive now. She had many questions, but none could be voiced with the frustration still red in her cheeks.
Of course communication is one way!How do we know we're not alone when I didn't see you anywhere when our friends were killed and captured!? Who are you anyway?How can we even be sure that you are Shine or if Shine really is any different than the people who used us in Brew?People in white can't be trusted.
Rue cleared her throat and clogged her anger for later. Would she get a good moment alone? Looking up at Shine's one good eye with caution and clear suspicion, she found her voice, knowing that she would sound uninformed. Anything she asked could be answered by Jason, or Shine, who could choose to lie. Would it be beneficial to know exactly what they want her to believe? It was hard to keep the bitterness from her tone of voice.
"..What exactly do you want from us after you..get Brew off our trail? Before keeping tabs on us to make sure we're abandoning our friends and making sure their captors don't sense where we are if we use our powers, what did you do? Are there other places like Brew? Have you been...helping others like us?"
And how'd you get all of this money and who are you and how can we trust you and what the heck do you want?

 

[Buio]

Shine looked at the young girl before sighing lightly. "You're as emotional a girl as ever I see Rue. But I suppose that's also part of the reason why I chose you. As for answering your questions..."

"She can't" cut in Jason with some small hint of bitterness in his otherwise professional voice. "We're not in the clear yet, we've only just escaped Brew now and they're hot on our tracks trying to find us, if we fuck up in any way right now we'll get caught and the admins will have our minds scanned down to our earliest memory in order to find out anything they can on Shine and her organization. That's why she hasn't even told us her real name yet. I'm guessing that just showing her face to us is already taking a big enough risk of its own, though the fact that she did it probably means that Brewster knows her, and already knows her to be an enemy, so she doesn't need to worry about that information being leaked. By showing us her face she's also making herself seem more trustworthy since now we're not dealing with a disembodied voice or nameless text messages, but instead a real live human, at least in theory. It's a good move on her part since she stands little to lose and a lot to gain in the form of our trust, but any information any more sensitive than that is too dangerous for her to give us right now in case we get caught tomorrow. We'll probably only get filled in to the details when we get the heat off our backs."

He had dictated all of this without looking at anyone or anything in particular, just standing at attention with his eyes straight forward like a military man, but once he was done he looked directly at shine and said "I didn't forget any of what you taught me through those psychology books and spy novels."

Shine smiled lightly and gave a small chuckle. "Then I raised you well. Either way it's like your leader said miss Langlois, for now the risk of you getting recaptured is too high for us to share sensitive information about our operation the likes of which you requested. You'll have to tolerate being in the dark for a few more weeks I'm afraid. I promise you though, when the time comes all your questions will be answered. Until then, do what you do best: stay low, stay safe, and look after your leader. Shine out."

With this the transmission faded out and the lights on the pyramids went back to the soft red hue before turning off completely. Chess picked them up and turned them off then made them disappear again.

"Well, that was fun kiddies but now I've got places to go and people to be. One last word of advice before I leave though. Do remember that actions have consequences yeah? It wouldn't surprise me if shiny DID have a plan put in place to deal with a baby on the way, but still, no sense in making things needlessly harder on yourselves eh?"

"Be quiet Chess." intoned Jason gravely, though it didn't have the desired effect.

"Hahaha! Yeah right, you'll have to kill a few more people before that works on me kid. Still, wasn't a bad attempt. The brave little mousey escaped, and never got caught. Now let see how long he waits before givin' her the co-"

Chess cut himself off by disappearing just as Jason's fist was about to connect with his face, sending the boy tumbling forward from the unexpected lack of resistance. Chess's laugh quite literally echoed throughput the room for several minutes after he had left. Once it had faded Jason growled angrily and yelled out "God I FUCKING HATE that guy!" to no one in particular.

After taking a deep breath to calm himself he turned to Rue and sighed. "C'mon, even with all this money here they wouldn't be expecting us to go out any buy groceries ourselves. Let;s go take inventory of-" he stopped as he looked at the girl for a moment.

She'd never been the most cheerful girl, he'd gotten to know about her lack of self confidence and self esteem well enough over the past few years, but despite that there had always been this.. lightness around rue before, a sort of inner hope that came from within and spread to whoever spent much time around her. Even more than her ability to see the future, Jason knew that that hopeful look of hers that made everyone want to try their hardest was Rue's greatest contribution to the broken mirrors. Right now though her eyes didn't look bright or hopeful. They looked empty, worn, and beaten, and Jason just couldn't...


"You know what you have to do man. It all starts somewhere, baby steps."


Jason walked towards the girl and, without warning, pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, for everything that happened. For everyone that we lost. I promise, I'll find some way to make it all up to you, even if i have to tear brew apart brick by brick to do it, eventually I'll make things right."

After holding her close for a few more moments he pulled away softly and turned from her heading towards the kitchen. "You go sleep, I'll take care of inventory and then I'll get some rest too, they couldn't have given us all that much anyways."

 

[Ravenbelle]

Shine looked at the young girl before sighing lightly. "You're as emotional a girl as ever I see Rue. But I suppose that's also part of the reason why I chose you."

Rue raised an eyebrow. Shine's tone of voice seemed condescending to her. How well could this lady pretend she knew more than the basics of Rue's personality? She's not always like this. Of course I'm going to be emotional right now! Who wouldn't be? I'll try to hide it better if that helps!

"As for answering your questions..."

Here we go.

"She can't..."

Rue immediately turned to Jason, which was a quick flash of her eyes from suspicious to trusting. Listening closely to his monotone explanation, part of her absorbed every bit of it and the other felt annoyed with herself for not having thought of all of the now obvious risks. Brew would have their brain scanning ways and the unfortunate possibility of their imminent capture was definitely cause for concern. Rue sighed, but watched Jason interact with Shine and blinked. They really did have a bond. It was strange to consider, but she might even be his mother. Or at least related to him somehow. She could be offending him by being so cautious around someone he clearly trusted. But she wouldn't ask him about it. At least not yet...

"Then I raised you well."

She raised him? To what extent?

"Either way it's like your leader said miss Langlois, for now the risk of you getting recaptured is too high for us to share sensitive information about our operation the likes of which you requested. You'll have to tolerate being in the dark for a few more weeks I'm afraid..."

Weeks? She bit her lip. Being out of Brew was getting harder to deal with by the minute.

"..I promise you though, when the time comes all your questions will be answered. Until then, do what you do best: stay low, stay safe, and look after your leader. Shine out."

Look after him. That, she can do. Rue nodded to herself as the hologram faded and watched Chess pick up the pyramids before cocking her head when he spoke again. People to be? Advice? Oh gosh.. Rue just looked away when Jason told him to be quiet again, but this time he refused to stop teasing and Rue shifted her weight uncomfortably until suddenly, Jason attacked him! Or attempted to. Chess was gone before Jason's uncharacteristic aggression caught him and Rue shook her head, trying to dislodge the unnatural echo he left behind. That is until Jason's alarming outburst.
Rue turned to him with concern. Of course she couldn't expect him to act like he normally would, but she had never heard him curse so muchin one day. That was usually a Jack thing. But when he faced her again, he was right to business. Good. It seems they'd both rather have something to do. Rue took a deep breath, a little overwhelmed, but swiftly shut it all down before staring up at Jason again,who had unexpectedly cut himself off.

She ended up looking up at him, but didn't back away when he walked toward her. Rather, she tensed up and widened her eyes when Jason's arms held her to his chest. It surprised her a little,but she didn't back away. In fact, she wanted to return the warm embrace, even if it bothered her bruises momentarily. But her arms were pinned to his chest, so she just closed her eyes, relaxed and appreciated his words. They had been through ...well, pretty much everything together. Now they just had to rely on each other a bit more. She knew she would need it if they were to never be alone and uf there was anyone Rue trusted, it was Jason for sure. She didn't doubt him and she would stand by his side as long as he allowed.

Rue cherished the comforting hug that lasted longer than his encouraging words. How long has it really been since her last warm hug? It seemed like a long time to her. Either way she relished the warmth both inside and out for as long as it lasted before he pulled away. Her eyes opened slightly shimmery, but the moisture disappeared easily while he offered to take the inventory job himself.

"Jason, if you're requesting I rest because you think it'd be best to take turns staying up as a precaution, I'll try. But if you think we're safe enough...and you don't mind, I'd really rather help take inventory." She needed sonething to distract herself with. Being alone would be difficult to say the least. Even if it's just for today. If he didn't mind her company and assistance, she would rather distract herself. It's not like she had a book to read. That would be ideal, but she assumed the best distraction would be unavailable for awhile.
Besides, did he really expect her to be able to sleep without waking a couple hours later screaming?

"And...don't be sorry. You don't owe me anything and if you think you do I forgive you anyway. If we can get through this, it's the other Broken Mirrors we'll have to make it up to. I'll tear Brewster up with you. You know that right?" She said, keeping eye contact despite her fidgety hands and shifting weight. She meant her words with all her heart, no matter how broken it was. How it still managed to keep her alive, she wasn't sure, but as long as it was beating, Rue would do what she could for Jason. And freedom. And the Lost members of a betrayed group of extraordinary teenagers.