alderwitch
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'There's someplace in here that she still feels safe,' Alex responded back to Erin, though on a private channel. When the mindscape shuddered, Alex spread her hands out, sending power to reinforce the structure which actually gave strength to Singularity since they were wandering through her mind, 'Encourage her to go to it. If it comes from me, she'll suspect a trap but she trusts you, I think. At least as much as she can trust anything. She's very feral at this point, relying on instinct and primal fear rather than reason.' Alex turned slightly away, giving her back to Singularity as if she were distracted. It was illusory since even in her own body, Alex relied on senses well past her eyes and ears. Here, they were even more magnified. 'Some place she feels Pathos touch the least. I suspect it's something mundane. Her favorite memories Pathos would have used against her, her worst fears likewise but the banal, the every day. There's little to use in it and still some comfort in routine to it all."
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"Why is it that whenever we get together, there are always Nazis? Isn't there an expiration date on them? Something? Seriously, am I going to get to a hundred and still be having a nice holiday interrupted by yet another return of the Third Reich? What are we on, anyways, seven? Eight?" Talya murmured to Ace as she slipped out of her seat nimbly and despite rushing air and tipping plane, made her way through the seats and towards the conflict. "Entschuldigen Sie!" Talya said when she was close into the conflict and tapped the burly arm, "Der Krieg ist vorbei. Sie haben verloren. Vielleicht bist du verwirrt?*" She paused, and tipped her head to the side, flashing her most winning smile, a show of bright white teeth between crimson red lips as she switched to English, "You do look familiar though. Perhaps I've threatened you before? If so, you should realize that this is the point where the nasty surprise kicks in." Talya made a show of looking down at the slender watch clasped around her wrist, fully expecting to get stared at by the Nazi and hopefully give that strapping young lady wrenching steel back into a place a chance to cold cock him. Talya, after all, was all about girl power, "Right about now, I'd say." [* - "Excuse me!" "The War is over. You lost. Perhaps you're confused?"]
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"Yes, very." Alex agreed as they entered the vestibule that served as the center of Singularity's mind, fractured and fragmented as it was. The expression on the young psychic's face was remote as she took in the damage, clinical and detached in a way that would have sent shivers down the spines of many that she called friend. For those that knew her, the blankness of expression was the best indication that she was well and truly rattled by her alter-ego's handiwork and had retreated into a place where her own emotions were folded deeply away. As long as she examined it like a problem to be solved for the moment, Alex could suppress her own revulsion. She took in Singularity's appearance as well, her gaze sweeping from hair to toes, "She's still so young. Not much older than when she fled the dimension if at all. That's likely a combination of trauma and deliberate repression. In abuse cases of all kinds, the sense of self is generally stunted. Part of that is self-protection on the mind's part." Alex stepped closer and raised her hand to chest height, "I'm going to release her from the mental grip I have on her. Sadly, I can't just fix the appearance of the mindscape. Well, I COULD but it would be just as false as what Pathos had done. Just a patch job. We need to know where she feels safe in here. That will be the best place to start building back up." After giving Erin that warning, Alex relaxed some of her control over the girl's broken mind. She was more concerned about hurting Singularity than she was about her own well being. Physically, Alex was fragile but here in the mental arena, she was a power player. But with the war torn mindscape beneath her feet, Alex was even more conscious than usual about the repercussions of flexing that power.
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Move Action - Feint: 1d20+20=39 Even with the -5 for a move action, that's still a 34 to beat with a sense motive. Thanks to some suggestions, I'll spend an HP to acquire Set-Up and pass that onto Wander at her next round.
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Init: 1d20+7=9 *sighs... shakes fist at her old nemesis dice roller* Acrobatics: 1d20+20=27 Fort save: 1d20+2=8 WHY DO YOU HATE ME SO, INVISIBLE CASTLE, WHY?! Spending my hero point to make a DC10 fort save... Hrmph. 1d20+2=3 That's a thirteen which is enough. Gather Information: 1d20+10=14 Awesome. I know nothing. Also, IC is rigged. Seriously, a 2, 7, 6, 3, 4? So much hate!
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'It's a complete fabrication to start with.' Alex swallowed and then repeated her circuit of the room, although this time examining the doors, 'My... Pathos built this into her head. It's a fold in her brain, hidden away from her with additional negative reinforcement in the walls to keep her mind from ever wanting to find it. These doors...' Alex pressed the palm of one hand against them, her brow furrowing as she took in the construction. The very wrongness that Erin sensed was like a palpable miasma to the psychic and while Alex's hands were steady, her projected face was pale and drawn. It went against every instinct to touch this construction but Alex wasn't here to shy away from the work. Nothing would get done if she did, 'They're short cuts. It's like, hm, a security booth. Or more accurately, it's like having someone hide in your attic with peepholes in every room. It's the ultimate invasion.' 'I'm so sorry,' Alex whispered that to the walls when she stepped back again. Rubbing her hands together, she turned away from the walls and towards Erin. Visibly struggling for self control for a moment, before she shook herself and focused on the task at hand 'When her mind is less fragmented, I think I can unmake it but it will take time. She had years to build these in and I'm sure there's nasty hooks to cause pain and distress if anyone tried to remove them. Let's take a look at her actual psychic landscape and start there.'
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"Enough," Alex said it but it was backed by her force of will. That carefully contained power - so much power - spread out of her and filled the room with an almost unnatural calm. She projected the sensation of warmth, and comfort. It was the feeling of a rainy day, snuggled safe in a blanket with a hot drink. It was the sensation of being cradled safe in a mother's arms. It was a the smell of a favorite childhood toy warm from the dryer. Alex spun the emotions out of her own psyche and laid them over the room, leaching the fear and rage and leaving that balm in its wake. I'm going to put her under and force her to calm, then I'll pull us inside, she explained to Erin mentally to give her a bit of warning. Once she'd laid the groundwork, Alex used her most deft and light touch to slip into Singularity's tortured psyche. It was unnaturally easy, the channels that Pathos had worn down like raw holes in the natural barriers in the girl's mind. The link established, Erin would feel the wrenching sensation she associated with her psychic friend's tug into the realm where thoughts existed. Erin would wake to find herself standing in a surprisingly stark chamber, very different from the sort of dreamscapes that she was used to accompanying this little trick. Alex's mental projection looked no different than her physical form but that was entirely for Erin's sake. Her appearance was a deliberate projection that overlayed her psyche's. The expression on 'Alex's face however was very grave. She stepped over to one of the dingy walls that looked like something out of a filthy dungeon and touched them with ephemeral fingertips. Oh, this is very bad, Alex said, running her hands down the wall. There were doors of all shapes and sized around the vestibule, some large and some impossibly tiny and every size between. She left those alone as she moved around the room, touching the walls very carefully as she went. I imagined it but this... Alex looked like if she could have thrown up, she would have. Apparently, whatever this room was, it repulsed the psychic. When she stepped back to Erin, she even wiped the hands that didn't really exist on equally ephemeral jeans. This is vile.
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Talya gave a wave of her gloved fingertips to Mark and his charge, a smile tugging up the edges of her crimson lips before she touched the tip of her fingertip to them, "Talya is just fine when I'm not skulking about, dear boy. It's a pleasure, of course." She settled into her chair, after a brief nod of her head to the direction that Ace pointed before settling back down. She smoothed the skirt over her thighs and shook her head at him, "That's because you are a terrible pilot. Honestly, 'Ace' indeed. You could have let me fly us. I would never do anything so ridiculous as to lose a year in the Triangle." Talya clucked her tongue and reached out to pat his thigh as if she were comforting him in his terrible flying skills, "Dearest, you really should just stick to things that have wheels. Play to your strengths, I always say."
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Alex sighed and dutifully stepped back, "I had hoped talking would help at least a little," she told Erin, turning her head slightly away from the woman freaking out at her presence. The only real sign at how painful Alex found this were the faint lines around her eyes and the fact that the sunny, cheerful face she always presented had fallen away to actually show the troubles she carried on her features. Alex ran her fingertips over her brow slightly and took another step backwards before she dropped to the floor and folded her legs up under her as if she was settling in. "Do you want to stay out here?" Alex asked Erin, her voice quiet as she folded her hands in her lap and looked up at her meaning of course, staying here and out of Singularity's mind, "It's going to be unpleasant and what's inside is... well, it's terrible. Not just your memories but what's layered on top of it all. It's twisted and obscene what's been done to her."
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Alex continued to walk forward and raised her hand up slightly. She was tempted to leach the fear from the woman but in this case, Alex thought even her subtle touch might be too much. Most people couldn't even sense when she was projecting calm into the room. "I'm Alex," she agreed, "My codename is Psyche. I know you're afraid of what she did. I know you're afraid she'll do it again. It's terrifying, I know, to have someone reach in there and change what you see. What you think." Alex stepped up next to Erin and touched her arm gently, her voice still calm and quiet but projecting a quiet confidence. She could feel the terror that Singularity had and while Pathos would have reveled in it, Alex only felt a deep sorrow. Still, she figured that like Erin, safety and protection would matter to her doppelganger. "If you'll let me, I can close the pathways she made and give you some protection should you ever see her again. It will take time and some trust on your part, but I CAN do it. Everyone should feel safe in their own thoughts. I am so very sorry that was taken from you and I'd like to help you get that back."
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Alex's senses had followed along and she took this as her cue, stepping out so that she was visible. There were countless cues to the sane mind that this was not the creature that had tortured Singularity, key words there being sane mind. Alex paused, leaving extra distance between herself and the cell wall, her entire posture placating and vaguely submissive. With her hands upraised, palms out, she offered, "I'm the Alexandra Albright of this dimension," Alex kept her voice calm and soothing although she full on expected screaming and frothing, but for the moment she planned to ignore it, "My friends call me Alex."
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Bombshell laughed. It was a husky sound that spoke of all sorts of naughty things but was genuine amusement. "Let's make a deal right now. I won't comment about your generation, and you can skip ma'am'ing me. It makes me feel my age." Still chuckling, she waved one gloved hand, "And I meant for the cape and cowl look. Personally, I prefer a 'don't shoot me' sort of motif but my 'romantic interest' as you so quaintly put it wears bright red. Believe me, I've given my thoughts on perhaps a more 'low profile' ensemble so as to perhaps draw less bullets. But if you've met her, I'm sure you're aware that she can be... quite set in her ways." Bombshell's lips quirked and she wiggled her fingers to invite him closer, reaching once again for the light on her waist to shine into the drawer, "Social niceties aside, no, there's not been any word on this street but this place... looks funny, at least to someone with an eye like mine. As I said, there's nothing of value downstairs BUT there are some odd voids in the layers of dirt. And this office," She flashed the light around it, "It's cleaner than it should be. Which generally means that someone's been using a nice big, abandoned place to do things that the upright sort generally disapprove of." She lifted one shoulder in a shrug, "Which is way I always preferred smaller one man jobs. Thievery tends to fall down as a career when you involve careless thugs."
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Alex took a deep breath and nodded, spreading her hands slightly to spread the glowing aura that covered her to Erin as well. Within moments they were both airborne and on their way to the grim fortress of Blackstone. It took the usual time and then some to get through security. Fortunately, like Erin, Alex had visited the prison as well so her identity was on record. It just was the interminable process of verifying that for the security on the place. Once they were deep inside, Alex extended her hand towards the hall, "I'll give you a few minutes to prepare her."
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"Well, it's NOT the Danger Jet," the blonde commented to her companion, her tone dryly amused. She looked as if she'd stepped off the set of some film noir spy movie from the large, dark sun glasses covering her eyes to the pencil thin skirt with the slit up the back and seamed stockings. The peep toe shoes she wore were break-your-ankle high but Talya moved with her usual languid, hip swaying grace between the large first-class seats. Except for a small clutch, she didn't have carry-on. "But I suppose it will do. Honestly, Ace, has the magic left our relationship? What's next? Coach?" Talya slipped through to find her assigned seat and twisted to tuck her purse away under a seat, a teasing smile on her lips. Catching sight of the young UNISON agent, Talya pulled the glasses down lower on her nose to make sure that she was right in recognizing Rick Lucas' boy. Winking once at him and his charge, she turned her attention back to Ace and settled into her seat, crossing one long leg over the other.
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"Those days are behind us," Alex said, her expression sad. "And they went by awfully fast. But, there's still a lot of good things up ahead and we made a ton of memories and friendships that will last forever. Besides..." Alex's sunny smile reasserted itself, "...you COULD always go back. And teach. You know you'd love running some freshmen through the gym basics. There's gotta be a whole crop of new people that are getting run through the ringer, just like we were." Alex went to signal and turn off towards where they could park. Blackstone was off the shore but they wouldn't need a boat with Alex's power set, provided Erin didn't mind the lift over. Putting the car in park, Alex took a deep breath, "Ready?"
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"Bombshell. Just Bombshell is fine," she said, her tone amused. She cocked her head at him, taking in the entire look. "Personally, I always go for a bit more color but the floating and the cape does have its panache..." Her lips quirked in a secretive smile, as if she was laughing at her own inner monologue for a moment. She turned back towards the filing cabinet and started to wiggle it open, "To answer your question, because personally, I always have found the 'wander rooftops until SOMETHING happens' a terrible waste of time. Really, a little preparation, a bit of elbow grease. Honestly, it's a wonder that this generation survives at all." With a creak the old cabinet separated, sending up a little puff of dust. Bombshell waved one hand in front of her face to clear it and then carefully eased the drawer until it rested on the ground. "Besides just *looking* isn't a crime and there isn't anything here worth taking. It's all already been lifted. I looked."
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"Oooh," Alex said, drawing out the sound as her eyes rounded slightly. "I think, somehow, having all my clothes just fall off might freak Mike out more than usual. I don't want to spend fifteen minutes explaining that no, he did not accidentally rip my wedding dress off of my body. He still frets about that super strength getting out of control, and all that." Her eyes twinkled, "Though the look on his face... I might have to save that for later on the honey moon. I have a teeny-tiny bikini already tucked away. That's neat though. You know, my Granpa says that's a dying art what with all of the manipulable molecular fabrics coming out on the market. Well, he grumbles it more than anything. Apparently it was all the rage when it was him and my mom doing their heroics."
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Bombshell glanced up at the polite knock and rolled her eyes at the hero - the white and gold was a good hint, to say nothing of the polite knock on the glass. She paused to hold up one slender, gloved finger and then finished with the rusty lock. When it gave way with a satisfying click, she reached up to retrieve the flashlight and turn it off, slipping it back in her belt. "No, it's warehouse, they generally have thugs if they have anyone t'all," she responded, her words clipped and precise, the accent distinctly British and upper-class. She shifted slightly so that her knees were under her and glanced up, arching one brow, her smile slow and lazy, "I'm going through their records, to answer your first question and JUST as soon as I've done that, I'd be happy to entertain you in what ever fashion you're looking for."
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"Well, it was a successful if horrible and stupid plan. Which only really makes it far more likely for there to be further horrible and stupid plans," Alex laughed at that, shaking her head slightly. "If it was more Trevor's style, I'd offer to go over his plans and point out possible safety precautions but... he likes being the quiet and mysterious type. And I wouldn't go plucking things out of his head, that'd be rude." Alex wrinkled her nose and tapped the side of her temple, "Makes me glad that Mike and I have that link, honestly. At least it gives me forewarning when he's going to try something near-suicidal.... So just how DO you know about these one-button dresses? Seduction, as we all know, so not my forte."
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Alex groaned, her tone almost whining. "He still holds me like I'm going to crack and he is stubbornly set on nothing happening until the wedding night. I told him that was practically archaic but he just got all broody and quiet. And then started going off about RESPECT." She waved one hand in the air in little circles, the other steady on the wheel. "I KNOW he respects me. It's important to him but, man, you'd think we were living in the nineteen fifties. I'm halfway worried he'll back out of it on the wedding night and spend the entire evening on the moon or something. I think he's nervous."
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The incomparable Bombshell was, as usual, up to no good. A bored Bombshell was a reckless Bombshell and the minimal security on the empty warehouse wasn't anything like a challenge. She'd simply landed on the roof and shimmied her way through a cracked window panel and voila, instant access. Such as it was. Her lip curled up slightly as she pulled the palm sized flashlight from the small belt around her hips and took her first look around. Boxes and papers. Oh, WHY couldn't there be an old computer instead. Sighing, Bombshell put the small flashlight between her teeth and crouched down next to the still locked, but dented filing cabinet and started to work at the lock. She'd found in a long and perhaps, slightly spotted, career that the best stuff usually was behind lock and key. Crouched, her black leather body suit helped her hide in the shadows, but the small domino mask only covered her eyes and her golden hair was loose down her back. To say nothing of the bright light carefully held between her teeth and aimed at the lock she was deftly popping open.
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Alex laughed, "Well, of course we're inviting Mark. Although Mike is still trying to figure out who to ask to be his best man. I'm just lucky that the choice was easy for me. Here, let me show you what it's going to look like." Without even a wrinkle of her brow, the giant wedding binder in the back seat levitated and slid between the chairs in the front to settle gently on Erin's lap. It was no surprise that Alex had organized the hell out of her wedding already. Even in school, she'd been queen of the note books. Everything from photographs of the huge church to the sketches of the decorations and favors, to menus were all carefully organized. The guest list looked like it included half of Freedom City. "We're holding the reception in the same ballrooms that we used for junior prom... although hopefully it won't be half so exciting," Alex's smile was quick at the mention of that dance, "That way I can add AEON's security to the actual event. Ooh, look, dresses!" Alex nodded to the section holding fabric swatches and clearly designer sketches. They were custom designed, and as promised, all one color in a soft butter-cream with what looked like floaty layers of organza over silk sheaths. The wedding dress wasn't much more complicated, same fabrics although it had fuller skirts and instead of saying that soft golden color, it started with that pale golden yellow at the top of the bodice and ran through a sunrise of colors until the hem was a deep blushing pink. "I couldn't do all white, but I figured it IS my wedding. What do you think?"
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"If you think that will help, by all means," Alex smiled back at Erin. Even if it didn't help, they could feel that they'd tried to soften the blow as much as possible. She switched topics, grateful for the chance to talk about something more pleasant until they had to deal with the grim reality of the day's task, "We're still going back and forth. The fall, I think. It's mostly for Mike to get settled in. He wants to come out as Phalanx before we have the wedding but... two terminus kids getting married? It's going to be a zoo. Not to mention the protesters we'll get..." Alex trailed off for a moment. It was sometimes overwhelming the legacy of her birthright. But, it was Alex, so she rallied after pausing for only one quick beat, "You ARE going to be my Maid of Honor, right?" Alex's eyes twinkled at Erin, "I promise, the dresses are all one solid color. Very tasteful."
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"I know," Alex said, her expression sad. She waved off the comments about the differences. Yes, Pathos was evil but Alex was aware that she had the potential for that. She had always been both insightful and introspective. It was why she had so very many rules about what to do with her powers. "And I'm far too familiar." Alex slid into the driver's seat and eased the car onto the road. She drove carefully and at the speed limit the entire way, but her focus was on Erin. She had plenty to go around. "I think first we're going to start by talking her down from the screaming and rocking fit that my appearance causes. I don't think it's going to be possible to make her happy with any sort of telepathic contact. It's going to be awful." Her lips were grim but the set of her jaw line was stubborn, "For all of us."
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Alex's relief as Erin took it lasted only until her next question. Then it was Alex's turn to force serenity that she didn't feel to her features. "No point in waiting further. I know that they need to know whether I can help to plan the next phase of therapy, or whether they'll have to try and track down the Scarab instead." She straightened her shoulders, accepting the burden of her doppelganger's action as she had accepted so many others. Silently, without fanfare or complaint. "Besides, even if I don't make any progress, we all know that I'm the most likely person to be able to explain what was done. That'll be useful in devising the regime and I'll unravel that much faster than any one else could." Alex looked up at Erin, the shadows deepening under her eyes, "After all, it's my handiwork. Or close enough to as not be able to tell the difference."
