Broken Mirrors - IC

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Lelou calmly retrieved the pack of Malboro Reds from his front pocket. His finger-less gloves stood out in contrast to the plain white shirt. His very vivid blue eyes, ones that held their own lambency. Ones who's irises appeared to swirl with at the turbulent madness of maelstrom. He had embraced this madness. Yes. Embraced was a good word. Even though it always seemed to make his tie feel...a little too tight. Like it were acting instead, like damn noose. And it wasn't the thought of death itself that made the made man in 'twitch', it was the claustrophobic feeling of a tightening around his throat. Very calmly he 'packed' the tobacco away inside the soft crumply paper.

Very easily did he perform a balancing act after he had retrieved on of the cigarettes on the the edges of his lips. He then held up both hands; one that held and ignition source, one that covered the flame shielding it from any stray gusts or zephyrs. The paper and tobacco sizzled and crackled as he inhaled, seemingly bringing it life as it glowed. This was his way of calming down. The medication helped, certainly. But as the saying went: To run into a hail of gunfire expecting a miracle. Being around this many people at one time, it stirred something in him. Something he'd rather keep undisturbed. Still, the various stories of those around him...agitated him.

Maybe it was because he could have very well made the argument that it was a better form of Hell in here than out there. That, their lives wouldn't be the same. That they couldn't possibly go back to the way things were in in the beginning. With a stoic, blank stare Lelou recounted his history before Brewster. But all he could seem to recall were blood stained walls, and motionless bodies. All he could feel then was a fear that only seemed to make him laugh. Fear at knowing that what he had done...made him feel happy.

"So, let me get this straight;" Lelou spoke up, his voice was shaky as he took the cigarette from his with two of his fingers while exhaling the smoke away from the group.

"You to escape a world structured for your general benefit--because you're a little home sick?" He shook his head cackling lightly as he flicked the ashes off to the side.

"You want my advice? You shouldn't go back." He told the group looking off distantly. "You really think someone who can read minds, or put up spheres so no one can hear them would be accepted?" Lelou gave a quick glance at the invisible 'bubble' Jason had put them in.

"And you can forget precog. People will just think your nuts. As for Hallucinations--do you realize how dangerous that sounds? And you--" Lelou looked over at Adam. "You're just as bad as she is with that persuasion shit."

Lelou flicked his cigarette again.

"People always seem to think its greener on the other side--no matter what side they are on." Lelou stated. But as he did his bio-electricity had started acting up again incurring a massive migraine. "Ahh. Son of a..." He placed a hand over his face.

"Lay-lay!" Skylar tugged Lelou's shirt. Lelou could hardly see him.

"Lay-lays not a bad guy! He's not!" The child pleaded looking back and forth between Lelou and the group.

Lelou placed a hand on the boy's head. His arguments would need to wait.

"My name's Lelou Arita. I am a class A Fulgerkenetic. I'm also a death-row inmate and Synthetic." Lelou gritted his teeth.

"This little guys Skylar. He's a class C, but his ability is very powerful and unique. He can manipulate gravity."
 
Even though Jack already knew what everyone else here was going to say, he still listened intently. He listened to what wasn't said. He already knew everyone here's stories pretty well, either by their own admission or through some help via Shine, and it was important for him to take note of what each one chose to keep for themselves, what they didn't want to reveal or talk about. These points would be weaknesses for them all, and weaknesses for the integrity of the team, it was best to identify them quickly and deal with them just as fast before they could be used against the broken mirrors later.

Then came Lelou's turn.

If he was completely honest, Jack would have preferred not having Lelou as part of his team at all. For all his strength, Lelou wasn't a broken mirror, not in heart, and the leader was rather concerned that the young man's negativity would weaken the team. To be honest, the only reason Lelou was sitting at this table was because Skylar would not go anywhere without him, Shine assured that Skylar would be necessary to the escape, and Shine vouched for Lelou's trustworthiness despite everything. So when Lelou started his speech by criticizing the very point that brought them all together, the point Jack had made very clear was the entire reason he was forming this team in the first place when he told Lelou he wanted, the white haired teem could not say he was surprised.

He was annoyed at the outburst, but didn't criticize Lelou for it, because this would actually end up helping Jack in the long run. This was another potential weakness for them, something that, well, at least sounded like a legitimate argument and would doubtlessly be brought up against them in the future. It was best to get it out in the air right now and deal with it before it became an issue. Jack was starting to get the feeling that very little discussion about the escape plan would actually take place in this meeting.

When the rant was over, Jack remained with a calm expression and breathed out lightly before addressing the pessimist. "That's a very logical and, some would say, persuasive argument 'lay-lay'," he dded a teasing smirk to the usage of the nickname in an attempt to cut some of the tension that had befallen the table, "This place does seem to be created entirely to cater to our special circumstances, and none of us here should have been here so long as to forget how the people of the outside world tend to persecute those different from their own, many came here exactly for that reason. Though I'd also argue that enough people these days re fans of the X-men and, with the amount of kids who wish they had super powers, a fair amount of the population would idolize us as well as those who;d ostracize us. But it's a fact that many people would argue that Brewster is a haven for our kind, and that attempting to live outside would be full of miseries. That's why there are only eight of us sitting at this booth. I'd bet that not a single other person in this square would join our cause if asked, regardless of the penalties for trying to escape."

He paused a minute to sip on his shake again, wanting to let the thought sink into everyone's mind before continuing.

"And yet here we all are," he placed his shake on the battle again and stared directly into Lelou's eyes, unflinching. "Here you are, Mr Arita. Even you, who thinks we're better off staying inside and apparently has no one and nothing to go back to outside. You're here, sitting at this table, part of this group, knowing exactly what our main goal is. Why is that?" he scanned the table with his eyes, observing all of his teammates. "Because we all know better, because we've seen past the disguise. All of us have our own reasons for wanting to get out, some are bigger than ourselves and some-" he looked to Skylar, then to Lelou with a smile. "Are much smaller. But one thing remains true for everyone here. We all know that the administrators here don't want what's best for us and don't want us to become happy, healthy, functioning citizens of society. Hell, you said it yourself, the outside world fears what it doesn't know. Well, Brewster's pretty well known outside these walls right? Personally though, I don't remember ever hearing about them training psychics. I first learned about psychic powers when I got in here, and I'm willing to bet that everyone here's the same. So if the administrators are teaching us to control our powers and getting rid of our mental illnesses to make us 'stand head and shoulders above all your peers, a shining example of humanity's future'," he said, quoting the head administrator's speech," then why the hell has no one on the outside heard of psychics before? Why did none of the past attendees of Brewster make headlines as the new superheroes of our world before we were ever even administered here? Why does everyone outside just think it's a prestigious mental facility?"

He laid back in his seat and took another drink from the milkshake, finishing it off. When he spoke again he had a somewhat more relaxed air, the hard questions had been asked and answered, now only the logical conclusion was left.

"What we all want to do after this, how we're gonna adapt to the outside world, none of that matters right now, it's a bridge to cross on another day. What's important is what brought us all together in the first place, the realization that we have to get out of Brewster, away from the administrators and their lies, and I know for a fact that's a realization most of you came to before ever meeting me."
 
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Lelou greeted her the usual way, a little distant and cold. When interacting with Skylar though, he was soft and encouraging. His words alone had the timid boy shyly peeking out of his shirt to stutter a hello to Rue, who smiled gently.

After introducing herself in her bashful way, everyone followed suit, Some more revealing than others. Though her headache was still bothering her, she knew it was on a decline, which helped her stay observant and listening through introductions of every Broken Mirror. She hadn't met Casey before. Her skin was dark, maybe a mocha color and she seemed comfortable telling the group about herself. Was she really okay with sharing that much about her past with them? Rue could hardly speak about herself without whispering in between or even stuttering. The girl was admirable, likable and acceptable.
Adam came next and he was still uncomfortable around the big group like most of them, but at the same time, it was easy for him to overcome it. Maybe it was because of his scary persuasion ability. He knew he could change their perceptions of him if he wished. Rue bit her lip softly, feeling a bit anxious around him until he mentioned that he loves reading. Though fantasy wasn't her favorite genre, she could read through it with a smile and she was glad that he would share that with everyone. Woah...why does that sound like we're in a therapy session? Oh right. We're in a mental facility...
Andrew was like her, introducing himself loudly to repress his nerves until he grew more and more comfortable, to the point that he was just dandy around everyone, wearing a crooked smile. He was a bit goofy, but he seemed to want to escape this place as much as anyone else, presumably. So far, the members were easy to enjoy as a company.
Then another redhead like her spoke up, stating her name as Autumn. The tall girl was beautiful and powerful as an A ranker. Her ability could be used against any one of them, which again made Rue nervous, but her bright blue eyes didn't look malicious at all. Rue looked at her and saw a prettier version of herself, in fact. They could have been sisters, twins. Rue being the ugly one. If she hadn't been put in here because of her parents' love, she could have been a model for sure. Rue felt a little envy crawl up her stomach. How she wished she had parents like that. Or parents at all. She winced, then learned that the girl was kind of funny in referring to Brew as a purgatory. Though she still relied on Kaleidoscope, Rue didn't judge her or anyone about their status when it came to natural or artificial. They were simple labels and if some were still working at letting go of the mysterious drug, they had time to succeed.

Rue decided that she did not particularly like the way Lelou told the truth. He was too much of a pessimist and his mention of her ability made her visibly flinch. Yes. The truth hurts. She's learned that lesson the hard way too many times. His little spiel made her doubt things about the Broken Mirrors as a whole. Though his was the only introduction with so much negativity, Rue found it hard to see if there was a front put up by any of the other members. She had faith in Jason, but was he sure about them all? Skylar vouched for his caretaker, shouting that his 'Lay-lay' was not as bitter as he seemed, but though the child was cute and she wanted to believe him, Lelou put her off. He...maybe she shouldn't judge him off the bat because she knows many put up a negative mask to hide pain. She should just wait and see, not by interacting with him directly, but by watching and listening the way she always does.

Jack instantly put the group at ease as soon as Lelou finished introducing his fragile charge. His little monologue was spoken with charisma and honesty as well. Yes the outside world was daunting, but any option was better than whatever Brewster is planning to use them for.
Lelou and Rue were similar in the fact that they didn't have anyone to go back to outside the walls of this facility, but she was willing to risk everything to at least help the others get out. They deserved that. They had people they missed, a life outside the walls. And though it made Rue's heart clench to admit it, she didn't have any of that. And so her contribution to the mission would be to get out if she can. If not, get the others out. She was insignificant. Just Rue.
She was starting to lapse into her philosophical thoughts about her own insignificance in the universe and the fact that its timeline was set so easily, but she didn't want to zone out while Jack/Jason's captivating, passionate green eyes sparkled as he spoke, reminding everyone as to why they decided to be here with him.
 
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Casey coughed, annoyed, as Lelou lit his cigarette so close to her face. His speech did little to impress her. By the end, her arms were crossed in front of her and she examined him with an exasperated look, turned slightly so that she could see him more fully. However, the half angry expression was soon replaced with a small smile as Skylar's head ended up very close to her own. He was adorable, and she couldn't help but loosen her posture enough to give him a small wave. His loyalty and love were admirable, and he had a look that expressed pure sincerity. Casey could certainly appreciate that.

As Jason chastised Lelou for being about the biggest bearer of bad news Casey had witnessed since being separated from her best friends (one having been a particularly negative pessimist), she took the opportunity to examine the others as their eyes were glued to the eloquent speaker who had evolved only a few minutes before. Rue -- it was nice to finally know her name -- looked nervous, but their eyes caught as Casey scanned the area. She offered a shy smile, and hoped the other girl would understand how much respect she already had for Rue.

She settled on Andrew for a minute. His introduction had been exuberant in a way that made her suspicious, like was trying much harder than appropriate. Not knowing how she felt about him made her uncomfortable, but she hoped that they could get along in the future. Petty feuds would only make the prospect of escape even more stressful.

Still, her eyes were mostly for Lelou. She wanted to figure him out more than anyone else at the table. A death row inmate? She mused, looking over at him from under her lashes. He was watching Jason, expression still pained from his little outburst, so it was easy to observe him. He was attractive, sure, but he was dark, and that darkness was what truly intrigued Casey. Watching his eyes while he looked away, she hoped to see something human about him. And there it was. At their very depths, his eyes were sad, maybe even mournful. She smiled internally. That look was more familiar to her than most would think. Perhaps that was because she normally kept weird company.

As Jason drew to a close, Casey decided it was her turn to speak. She didn't plan on making a huge deal, but she felt that she needed to figure the craziest person out. "You know, I am home sick. But that's not really the point, is it? If you want to know the truth, I don't technically have a home. I have two friends I care about a lot, and that's about it. My actual problem with being in here is the lack of free will. Sure, I want to see those friends again, but that's not nearly as huge as my wish to be able to make my own decisions," she said the last part in a hushed hiss and wondered if anyone else at the table could even catch it. "I'm not going out there to show my powers like some roadside carny. I'm getting out so my life can go the way I want it to. Do you think they're gonna call us out for having powers? No! The worst they're going to do is say we're crazy, which I'm sure most of our "families" know. Crazy isn't criminal, unless you've committed a crime. In that case, it only affects you. If they want to try and get us arrested, we still have to go through the court system, unless of course they control the government, in which case we're fucked anyway! So why not give it a go? I can sacrifice freedom for comfort pretty damn easy. If I have to, I'll disappear. You can call me naïve or whatever you want. I don't care. I'm here to be of use and to see freedom again. Do what you want with yours, and I'll do what I want with mine." As she finished, she turned slightly so she could talk to Skylar.

"I'm sorry if I upset you. I really don't want to. I just think maybe Lay Lay needs to realize that we know that it's dangerous, and that it may not pan out the way we hope. That's something we have to understand in order to be sitting here, getting ready to go." A smile spread across her face. She wanted to lean in, but she didn't want to scare him away. "So you control gravity? That's so cool! I wish I could do that! My power is pretty lame." Wrinkling her nose, Casey lowered her voice. "I hope sometime you could maybe show me your power. It'd be awesome to see you in action." She gave him another big smile before turning to everyone else. "That's all I have to say on the matter."
 
Skylar wasn't really sure what was going on. These people generally frightened him, though it was more a case of social anxiety than them actually seeming threatening to him. Though the "Jack" persona was definitely was beginning to change that thought. Though the girls were unquestionably fawning over him. That...both scared him, but in a way he liked how nice and considerate they seemed. Though he had no concept of girlfriends yet, and his mother having been an abusive figure in his life--these girls seemed different to him. Even as he was poking his head out from the security he found in Lelou--bringing to mind the notion of a rabbit or prairie dog poking their head of their tunnel--he noticed they wore smiles when greeting him and spoke softly.

He listened to one argument after another. Skylar didn't like arguments. He didn't like when people didn't get along. Cause then, usually, bad things happened. Either to one party or to both at times. He was perhaps, the only one that knew why Lelou considered himself a 'bad man' and on many ocassions when he'd asked if Lelou had wanted freedom Lelou would tell him that freedom was no longer an option for him. But that said, Skylar was afraid of Jason or Jack. He was afraid of pretty much, well, anyone. He'd been picked on, bullied and abandoned in most cases--and severely abused in others. Lelou was for all extents and purposes his guardian, and sometimes Lelou took the 'guard' part literally.

Still, in that moment he had no real clue what they were really talking about except the general idea of getting out of Brewster. The group seemed relatively displeased with Lelou, which triggered the boy's protectiveness of his one, and maybe only friend. And maybe the only person that has truly ever come to love him or that he has truly ever come to love. While Jack concluded then when the girl Rue who seemed rather quiet and sad. Did her mommy hurt her too? A girl named Casey spoke. She seemed...very annoyed at Lay-Lay for some reason. She gave off a different vibe to him. She wasn't as mad as that scary Jack , but she seemed definitely more than Rue. So when she looked over at him, Skylar immediately shrank but kept a careful eye on the girl.

"I'm sorry if I upset you. I really don't want to. I just think maybe Lay Lay needs to realize that we know that it's dangerous, and that it may not pan out the way we hope. That's something we have to understand in order to be sitting here, getting ready to go."

The girl held a smile on her lips, which definitely soothed him. Looking both ways as though crossing a street or more practically--seeing if anyone would jump at him, most notably Jack, he rose back up slowly.

"Lay-Lay's been my guardian ever since I came here." He confessed. "He says that he doesn't like the outside cause there are bad people. When I asked him if there were bad people here, he said there were. But he said on the outside--there are bad people you can't predict or see coming. I don't know what it all means. But I do know my daddy locked me in a cage whenever I did something bad. And my mommy would stick me in the bathroom and it would burn my nose and my eyes with the smell until I passed out. But Lay-Lay never did any of that stuff, even..."

Skylar stopped talking and turned red. "Even when I wet the bed cause I have bad dreams, and when I do something wrong he doesn't lock me up. I used to get really confused feeling over it. But he says he'll never let people like that hurt me again." Skylar began crying, it wasn't a sob just yet. But his eyes surely got teary as he clung to the man behind him.

"So you control gravity? That's so cool! I wish I could do that! My power is pretty lame." Casey told him. "I hope sometime you could maybe show me your power. It'd be awesome to see you in action." Sky sniffled, rubbing his eyes clear.

"Okay I'l try. Lay-Lay's been helping me. He says we gotta start small. It hard to do. But for some reason these round bubbles come whenever I get mad or upset. They said I probably shouldn't use that ability--but I don't even know what that is."
 
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A flicker of irritation passed across the redhead’s features as the sullen older boy lit a cigarette, the ease of his mannerisms belying practice. He didn’t even seem to bother asking the rest of the group if they were alright with inhaling the smoke, not to mention the horrid stench. Against her better judgment, she found herself wrinkling her nose in distaste. However, her irritation at his apparent lack of consideration soon faded away to be replaced with a spark of anger. The more words that spewed out of his mouth, the more her anger escalated.

"So, let me get this straight;"Lelou spoke as he exhaled the smoke away. "You want to escape a world structured for your general benefit--because you're a little home sick?"

Spoken like someone who’s bitter and has no one worth getting out for. She thought, feeling more than a tad spiteful. Seeing her family again was what she looked forward the most, it was one of the things which kept her from giving up. Having someone belittle that rubbed her the wrong way, to say the least. She understood that not everyone had a family or even a semi normal background like she did; she was lucky in that aspect. The group, each of their reasons for getting out was different from the other and that was completely fine. All it mattered was that they did want to get out, that was the whole point of the meeting.

Based on what he had said, Lelou didn’t exactly seem to want out of this hell. Death-row inmate, sullen, attitude problems – oh and he smoked. Looked like he really was running the whole ‘bad boy’ thing to the ground. She blinked in surprise, realizing that her thoughts had decidedly taken on a hostile edge to them and felt somewhat sheepish. Though the family thing did upset her, she decided to squelch it down. If they really were going to escape, they needed to work together, not contemplate ways to rip each other’s throats out. A soft, almost inaudible sigh escaped her lips and she flicked her eyes towards the rest of the group.

She noticed that the group’s demeanor had changed for the worse. It had gone from nervous energy and general awkwardness to tense and upset. It appeared that she wasn’t the only one who wasn’t entirely too happy with Lelou’s little speech. Sure, part of his argument was valid but no one would deny that he could’ve gone about expressing it better. Perhaps it was his master plan to alienate them all right at the beginning so that he could gloat about it when they discovered his kind and sensitive inner self.

The child, the little boy sitting next to Lelou suddenly spoke up, defending ‘Lay-lay’. He seemed fervent to express his belief that his guardian wasn’t a bad a person as he appeared. Oh sure, I bet he bakes cupcakes and sings to the kid, cute little birds joining him in the singing. A sudden and unexpected image of Lelou in a yellow apron with pink polka dots, holding a tray of cupcakes sprang into her mind, bringing forth an amused smile to her lips.

The tension slowly evaporated as Jason began to speak, his voice calm and confident. He seemed entirely different from the nervous and awkward boy she’d met when she arrived. Wondering what exactly that was all about, she took a sip of her almost empty drink. Autumn felt some of her remaining anger slip away as he effectively countered Lelou’s argument. Though it would undoubtedly be extremely difficult on the outside, she felt that it was a risk worth taking. Her fellow Broken Mirrors would agree, she assumed as they wouldn’t be here if they thought otherwise.

The girl sitting near Lelou and Skylar, Casey, began to speak when Jason finished. Autumn’s eyes widened ever so slightly in surprise and she found herself nodding in agreement with the girl’s speech, it was exactly what she would’ve said. That is, if she could ever bring herself to so confidently voice her opinions to an audience. She shot the other girl a quick, grateful smile. Autumn wasn’t exactly the best at expressing herself, especially to strangers. Casey had managed to convey exactly how the redhead felt.

“I agree with Casey.” She said quietly. It was apparent to her that any discussions about the actual escape plan wasn’t going to happen in this meeting, though that was fine. They needed to get to know the people they’d be trusting their lives with. It wasn’t just something they could back out of once it was underway. There could be no ‘ifs’, ‘buts’ or ‘I-changed-my-mind’s.
 
Right, so that situation was properly diffused, now to try and move on.

"Alright, well now that we've gotten the issue of 'whether we should even be doing this' out of the way, I'm sure many of you have more questions, concerns and comments about the entire situation. If that is the case, then now is the time to ask them. I should also mention, this meeting will be your final chance to back out of this operation. I'm not at liberty to say too much, but our group has an anonymous benefactor that has been supporting us since the very beginning, offering information that will be crucial to our escape. Those of you who have been with me for a while already know who I am talking about, the figure known only as 'Shine'. I won't say anything about their methods or tactics, but Shine has assured me that, should any of you get cold feet, they can arrange for you to be removed from the situation entirely. Your memories of your involvement with us will be wiped, and you'll be able to go back to being regular residents of Brewster. However, today will be your only chance to do this. After today, we will be in this together. Now that we've seen each other's faces and know each other's names, the psychics working for the administrators will be able to pull all of that information from our minds with little resistance. That means if one of us goes down, we all go down. We are a team, hell, at this point we're basically a family, we need to support one another, cover each others backs, and look after each other. I'm not gonna tolerate any lone wolves in this pack, and I'm certainly not going to tolerate anyone trying to play hero for everyone else's sake. So if there is anything left unsaid, say it now."
 
Lelou sat with his back mostly facing the gang. He almost seemed to be conversing with himself, or maybe a delusional character. Whatever it seemed to be, the irritation to his psychosis was apparent.He held his hand to his face; the inseam of his thumb and forefinger along his jawline and running vertical over his temple. He seemed like a man on a lunatic fringe trying to hold on to what WAS human and the thing he saw every morning in the bathroom mirror dripping wet and naked exposing the multitude of scars--some of which weren't so faint.

Six years ago, there was electroshock therapy which was equivalent to using paddles to jump start your heart. Honestly, why didn't thy do that. He imaged more surface area it'd be-easier. (To be con continued.)
 
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