[IC] Ju-V

[Lawful Newtral]

^{MENTIONS: @Skai
INTERACTIONS: Still talking with new roommate Haven
LOCATION: New Alcatraz, San Francisco, California, US
NOW PLAYING: Still nothing.}

---

"Planes go up, like, five miles into the air," Zee remarked in a matter-of-fact tone that masked how impressed she was. So Haven can fly with those. It must be nice to be able to reach the open air and soar through it like it was nothing. Though there was little enthusiasm when talking about her wings. The flight came with unwanted cargo, it seemed. Zee nodded at the explanation, silent confirmation that she would pry no more.

Now, as for what kind of trouble she herself was...

"It does have to do with the gloves, actually," Zee said. She reckoned that it'd be easier to just show Haven. Reaching into her backpack, the blonde picked up a plastic bottle of water, reasonably full. With a deep breath that frosted up in the air like a winter day, she took the risk and removed her left glove. Pale bare skin made contact with the bottle, and it was not long before the water within froze completely and thoroughly. So sudden and swift was the freezing, loose droplets on the bottle's plastic froze into ice particulates that flaked down onto her lap.

"I'm an ice person. I freeze things." Before anything bad could happen, Zee put the gloves back on and left the bottle of water next to the sunlight so as to melt. It'd be a waste of water otherwise. All well and good for now, but Haven needed to know the risk her roommate posed. She owed her that much.

"...Yes, I can freeze people too. They die if I do that. So, gloves."

Haven did not look like the type of person to judge, of that Zee was grateful, but people's opinions tend to change when forces that could take their lives were in the conversation. She was dangerous, she might be the only kid here who deserved this incarceration guised as counseling. She wouldn't begrudge anyone for calling her for what she was: a monster.

Then again, she wasn't exactly able to begrudge much of anything anymore, was she?

[Hound55]

"Stupid. Stupid-stupid-stupid-stupid-stupid-stupid." David's mind kept repeating, he looked around the room and worked hard to match others expressions as they looked on at the aftermath of his interference.

"You didn't know she could do that. Relax."

"No. You didn't know what she could do. What could happen. And you stuck your nose in anyway. Stupid."

"But nobody saw..."

He snuck a quick peek at Sasha, who was checking out the wreckage that was Billy Isaacs.

"That's not exactly true though, is it..?"

She turned her head towards him, as if sensing he was thinking about her, and he quickly looked away before their eyes could meet.

"Yeah, but she thinks you blew him up. What was it she said..? 'Do svidaniya, Davinski, So much for not beink human bomb...' So she doesn't know everything."

He looked at the two people being restrained under heavy guard.

"...just that you did something."

They began to be led in single file out of the room, he pulled his eyes away from the two and looked back ahead towards the blonde Russian girl.

"But that's alright. You heard her. She's not going to say anything. She was sitting facing the other direction. Plausible deniability."

She looked back at him in line, he wasn't prepared for it this time and the pair held eye contact.

"I mean, what's she going to do. She's Russian. What, she's going to trade on the information or something? What kind of stupid, prejudiced idea do you have of her? She's just a simple Russian girl..."

He curled his top lip back to return a sheepish smile, hopefully delivering some kind of sense of reassurance. But not feeling confident in it in the least.

"...with an unknown number of 'friends' she very deliberately was evasive about, who seems to have some kind of undefined familial or military ties, who has been in our country for less than a week and is very cagey with details..."

They both looked down at their feet, self-conscious of their held eye contact.

"You're a god damned idiot. Stupid-stupid-stupid-stupid-stupid-stupid."

Sasha was led out the room as she was ahead of him in the line, so he dared raise his line of sight once more.

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop that shit. Stoicism. What is it stoicism teaches us? Plan, think and control what you can, and stop sweating what you can't affect or change."

As David was also led out of the room and Sasha was back in line of sight, he distracted himself by looking at the rooms and locations he passed on the way from the Recreation Wing back to the Residential Wing. Committing the different locales to memory.

It was good. It would be important for later. Knowing where everything is. When called on to go somewhere at set times. Keeping things moving. Orderly. Not ruffle feathers, not make waves.

The group were led into another wing and down a corridor with dormitory doors on either side. The rooms' doors remained closed whilst attendees were manouevered and paired before different doors. A guard grabbed David by the upper arm and physically moved him to just in front of a specific closed door. No pair, no partner. This would be his home for the duration.

"This is good. This is very good. Plenty of time to 'think, plan, and control what I can'. Plenty of solitary time to figure out where to go from this god awful mistake, free of threats and distractions. Just you, your thoughts, and..."

He turned the knob and as the door swung open, he saw the boy Director Virgil Rowell had referred to as Frederick Jackson sitting on one of the two beds.

"Well, fuck..."

---

Fritz had been handed a soft rubber ball as he'd been delivered to his dorm, and after he'd noted the presence of two beds, indicating an inevitable roommate, he'd chosen one bunk through the use of no formal process whatsoever, and proceeded to spend all of 10 minutes, maybe less, bouncing said ball off of walls, floors, ceilings, windows, over and over and over until the sound of the soft thump against surface became more unbearable than the boredom of waiting. The cliche of it felt comical almost at Fritz' expense, and he couldn't be sure it wasn't intentionally mocking; either way, he was done with it. The ball dropped from his hands and rolled away into a corner to be forgotten.

The time passed slowly; Fritz considered turning in for the night just to skip ahead, but his mind steadfastly refused to succumb to slumber, racing with the day's events and implications of his current circumstances. He knew Ju-V was a last-chance when he'd accepted the offer, but now it truly sunk in; this was it. He didn't even have the refuge of self-exile - if it wasn't here, it was jail, and there were no two ways about it; Fritz was sure Jones' heavy paw upon his shoulder would guide him all the way to the gallows pole if it had to.

So Fritz just sat around, inspecting the surprisingly well-equipped room that had, he deduced, been notably pre-inspected; there was nary a point nor edge to be found, even the furniture corners rounded off. There was nothing to do but wait, so wait he did.

Only to be thoroughly disappointed that someone so dutifully un-entertaining eventually walked through the door, a feeling which appeared to be returned in kind. The young man's face said it all - shock, repulsion, a general dejection at forfeiting the dorm-room lottery. The charming affectation of the skunk-stripe through his hair did little to endear him to Fritz.

"Same to you, buddy." Fritz decided to open with, crossing his arms and putting on a well-practiced, unwelcoming frown.

"It's not--."

He sighed and brought himself to make direct eye contact with his new roommate.

"Don't take it personal. It's not because of you in particular. Five seconds ago, on the other side of that door I thought I'd scored myself a solo room."

Fritz sucked his teeth, changing tact and turning smarmy instead of hostile. If he was going to be lumped with a boring roommate, he'd have to make his own fun.

"I've heard worse than jerking off while trying to sleep, so knock yourself out." He rolled over, facing the wall, arms still crossed. "Place isn't exactly the Marriott, if you hadn't noticed already."

David looked around the room.

That didn't seem right to him. The room seemed to be furnished with more than he figured you'd find in this type of rehabilitation facility - in particular, a really nice TV - but he had no real first hand knowledge of any. He opened his mouth to say as much, before realising that his new roommate might actually be speaking from experience.

So instead he closed his mouth and picked up the plastic bag of his clothes, testing it for its weight.

At least that was something to be said. He was able to wear his own clothes in this place - albeit a much cut-down version of his wardrobe.

Fritz, meanwhile, made an outward show of ignoring David, but with a practiced subtlety and a habitual hyper-awareness instead watched him secretly over his shoulder, ducking back when he risked being caught. Loathe though he was to admit it, the sleep he'd been getting after the first few days in pokey - once he'd gotten used to solitary - had been some of the best of the last few years, the guarantee of overnight safety a basic luxury he'd long forgotten. Fritz was not looking forward to returning to half-slept nights, light enough to wake at a moment's notice. His palms were already clammy at the thought of sleeping without a weapon.

The plastic bag derailed his train of thought completely, and Fritz watched with an air of light awe as David turned the bag upside-down and a pile of clothes cascaded from the opening onto his bunk. It was all sturdy, well-constructed, in good repair, and even Fritz could tell it was a tasteful collection. Raw envy flooded up from Fritz' stomach at a pace and ferocity that surprised even him, and he swallowed hard to subdue it. He sat up, swinging his legs around to sit on the edge of the bed and watch David in earnest, subtly kicking his own, significantly smaller bag of possessions further underneath the bunk and hopefully out-of-sight.

They maintained a polite-but-awkward silence for a few moments as David rustled around and Fritz watched, before an instinctual voice in Fritz decided it was in his best interest to learn what he can about his new bunk-mate, and a quieter, less-familiar voice decided it would be nice to just try talking to someone again.

"So what's your story, skunk-stripe? You apply, or was it a 'pragmatic suggestion'?"

The meaty slap of his brother's body hitting the cement in their basement rushed back into his mind, before he answered the question.

"It certainly wasn't my idea, no." He replied quietly.

He didn't bother to parrot the same question back, and instead went in a different direction he'd be more willing to answer if his roomate chose his next question on 'the path of least resistance'.

"So where exactly are you from?"

Even if Fritz couldn't see the tension rippling through David's muscles as he answered, the smell of it was unmistakable. Kid had some no-go topics, it would seem, a theory quickly backed up by his hasty re-direction of conversation. Fritz sucked his teeth and decided to let sleeping dogs lie for now. If his new roomie acted up, or gave an attitude, or gave Fritz any other kind of reason, he'd pry further, regardless of how uncomfortable he might feel in sharing. But, for now, sail smooth waters.

"Buncha places. Nowhere in particular. Bounced around fosters for a while, then scrapped the system entirely. I guess if I have to give an address...San Fran courthouse is where you can post me fan-mail."

Fritz took another nosy at David's pile of clothes.

"Doesn't look like you packed to travel, either. Got, what, a couple hours to throw your must-have digs in a suitcase and get on-board?

It seemed they'd had two very different trajectories.

After the tragic day, it'd been quite a few months before he had received the Aegis form letter, requesting his presence. With a date set for weeks following that. With his own particular story, they hadn't had the same eagerness to get him in an enclosed box quite so quickly as his foster-formed roomie.

He suspected he'd come from somewhere more distant than California state from his speech and mannerisms, but he guessed if he'd had his own touchy topics, he was more than entitled to his own prickly points as well as for his origins.

"Had a little time. But figured we get laundry here... didn't want to pack anything I couldn't lose in a pinch. Their 'offer' didn't smell like much of a holiday."

He reached over to the other bunk where Fritz lay, with a hand out-stretched.

"Jackson, right? That's what the guy said your name is. Mine's David. Other than the girl you tried to pluck herself, I don't know that I'd worry too much about what the rest're thinking about you. You missed some fireworks, I think they might have something else they're talking about now."

Fritz almost flinched as David approached and reached an arm out - it took him longer seconds than he'd like to admit to realise it was a friendly gesture, a hand proffered for shaking. The kind of interaction he'd long retired.

Gingerly, Fritz reached out and grasped David's hand in his own, his firm grip surprising himself.
"Fritz." He said, as firmly as he could. He'd had enough of correcting people already, and he was only two introductions deep. "And I'm not particularly worried about what anyone thinks of me. Head down and get out the other side. I don't have the luxury of a safety net if this gets all fucked up."

David noted his roommate's demeanour. Squirrely. Snark to warn of the potential to strike, but eager to stay clear, keep to the shadows. Not be noticed. Defensively aggressive. He could relate to the desire to not be seen from his own high school experiences, but he suspected that was probably about where the similarities would end.

"Probably about the best possible attitude to have for a place like this." So what the fuck was that before? was the unspoken thought. "A few of the others'd probably be better served thinking that way too."

He went back to putting his clothes in drawers. Opening the top drawer he found the tv remote. Turned it on, and tossed it on Fritz' bed. "Put something on. Background noise." He picked a set of headphones out of the drawer as well, holding them up for inspection.

"You get some of these as well?"

Fritz hadn't actually taken the time to rummage; he'd assumed minimal was provided, and was well-accustomed to keeping himself entertained within his own mind, without the need for external distractions. TV hadn't been common even before he began living on the streets, and though he'd noticed the device when he'd arrived at the room, he'd paid it little mind. He picked up the remote like it was an alien device or a particularly sensitive pipe-bomb.

Ignoring whatever the telly was blaring, he opened his own drawer, finding his own pair of headphones within. He lifted them from the drawer and inspected them himself, subtly mimicking David's movements. He wasn't sure what David was looking for, and less sure what he himself expected. Turning back to the remote he stabbed three random numbers on the numberpad and let the TV switch over; with no knowledge of channels, he didn't really know what was 'good' or 'bad'. Much to his chagrin, that quiet voice in the background prompted him to socialise again, and against his better judgement, he obliged, stretching his arm out with the remote in-hand as he watched David plug his headphones in, noting what to emulate in a moment to setup his own.

"You pick your favourite." He said, attempting what he hoped was a friendly tone and smile to match. "I don't have much in the way of taste."

"Favourite, nothing." David replied casually. "Just want background noise to blot out the silences... And the not-silences. This place is probably going to take some getting used to."

"If I accidentally stumble upon 'Oz' right now, I'm going to hang myself from the lights with my own socks." David's sarcastic mind responded to the current level of social awkwardness.

He took the remote and threw the channel to some cartoons. Familiar background for David from years past, less so for Fritz.

He finished putting his possessions away in the drawers and sat on the bed. He checked the time, it still seemed pretty early. He ate heavy at home for lunch, making the most of his remaining freedom and not knowing what the food would be like here toninght. He suspected the same couldn't be said for his roommate. Hell, he didn't look like he'd had a good meal in a while. Considering Fritz he guessed whatever it was they were planning on feeding them, they'd only be given a spoon.

[Carlyle]

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_{Location: Dorm Rooms - AEGIS Complex, Alcatraz Island}

Issue #5: Hi, I'm Natsumi

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_{Interaction(s): Sophia @Qia}

Previously: Magnet for Chaos

The blonde girl extended a hand, introducing herself to Natsumi.

_"Natsumi," Natsumi spoke in reply, taking Sophia's hand in kind. _{"Although most prefer to call me Nat."}

Letting go of the girl's hand, Natsumi approached one of the two beds in the room. Upon it sat a familiar yet now plastic-wrapped laptop and phone, both belonging to Natsumi. As she sat down on the bed beside them, awkwardly comfortable as it was, Natsumi thought about calling her family. Surely, they all must've been wondering how Natsumi had been holding up since her arrival to the AEGIS complex earlier in the day. But would she even be able to get any kind of reception on the island? Or rather, perhaps it was better to consider if there was some sort of policy prohibiting phone calls in or out of the place. Natsumi hadn't known for certain to either question; after all, there hadn't been much time for explaining rules in such a hectic day.

Looking back upwards to her new roommate, Natsumi paused momentarily before deciding to push her concerns aside temporarily in favor of conversing with Sophia. There would likely be a time to ask the warden, or anyone else who could answer her questions later. Right now was an opportune time to make friends with someone instead, especially someone she'd likely be spending much time with in the coming future.

_{"So, what landed you in the slammer?"} Natsumi playfully asked, jokingly alluding to the island's past. _{"You didn't rob a bank or anything, did you?"}

[Qia]

---

Sophia's initial tension eased as she shook Natsumi's hand. Her new roommate seemed friendly and approachable, and it was a relief to encounter someone who didn't exude the same intimidating aura as some of the metahumans she had witnessed earlier. The events of the day had heightened her anxiety, but now she found herself in the presence of someone who felt like a potential ally.

Two people she was on good terms with already? It was a surprising turn of events that she would have never guessed would occur upon her arrival at Aegis.

As she settled down on one of the beds, Sophia couldn't help but notice the laptop and phone on Natsumi's bed, both wrapped in plastic. She contemplated her own journal tucked away in a ziploc bag placed on her pillow, wishing she could call her parents and tell them about everything that had occurred thus far. However, once she gave the idea a bit more thought, perhaps it wouldn't be best to tell them everything once she had the chance. The girl doubted they would be okay with the idea of her already having witnessed someone almost getting blown to bits.

A pang of homesickness gnawed at her heart then, but she knew she couldn't let it overwhelm her. She had come to Aegis for a reason, to understand and control her abilities. And to not repeat the same mistakes she had made before with them, most importantly.

As Natsumi broke the ice with a playful question, Sophia couldn't help but chuckle. "No bank heists on my record, I promise," The blonde replied with a smile, her voice tinged with humour. She appreciated the attempt to make her feel at ease, at least. "I'm here because of... well, my abilities, I guess. They wanted to help me understand and control them. My parents."

"What about you, Nat?" Sophia asked, genuinely curious about her new roommate. "What's your story, beyond a possible criminal past of course?"

[AlteredTundra]

^{INTERACTIONS: Aegis Agent, New roomieeeee! @Retired
LOCATION: Rekt Room → New homeeee with da homie}

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

It hadn't mattered where Kyle went. He always felt like the odd one out whenever he was on an island. The Aegis facility he and so many others were forced to live in might've been a lot less tropical than the place he called home, but it didn't lack the same kind of excitement.

Except, in Kyle's case, he wasn't at the center of said excitement. He wasn't mad or anything or even disappointed. He just felt like he was in an odd place as the events that unfolded had him lamenting about everything. He wasn't part of the group that was engaging with the others. He wasn't blowing up tables or anything even close to that. Kyle was playing video games, enjoying whatever racing game was left unattended. In all truth, he was having a grand time by himself because that's who Kyle was. He could find enjoyment out of simple pleasures such as video games.

During the immediate aftermath of everything that happened and every single meta like him was told to get against the wall, Kyle wanted to look back but it was so intense, he thought it would be beneficial to his physical well-being to just not poke the shark. Oh, but the temptation was indeed high.

Being led down some hallway, Kyle wasn't really paying attention other than where he was told to go. It hadn't been until he heard the soldier or whatever they were called had been guiding him down said highway did he hear another that was with him read off Kyle's name from the handy-dandy tablet in his hand.

"Vass, Kyle--" The look on the man's eyes when he met Kyle's was the expression of a man who thought he saw a ghost, but it was just the pesky annoying little turd that refuse to call him by his real name.

"Not Austin, It's Steve!" Kyle excitedly declared, seeing the familaar face and smiled. "Mahalo! How are you?"

"I don't ask for much from the director. I just want to do a job. I just want to do a job and not have to stress about much. And yet..." Steve was mumbling to himself and completely lost track of time.

"Yoooo whooooooo!" Kyle was waving his hands in front of the dazed Steve's face. Time went by, but after a few minutes, he finally snapped back to Planet Earth.

"Right. Anyway, this is your room. Your personal items..well, item should be in there. And you'll have a roo--"

Much like his own power over wind, Kyle blitz'd into the room. He had a one-tracked mind. He heard his board was returned to him and he rushed in to see it. He left STeve hanging on an unknowingly importnat note that he didn't even stop to consider that there would be two rooms. The implication didn't hit him until he saw the belongings of someone else in one of the rooms. Not that it was much, but Kyle made a note of a MP3player, but when he saw his board, Kyle's world came full circle. His heart was full of joy and he gave his board a gentle, yet full tap.

"I can't wait to ride you. Feeling the wind in my hair, letting the air currents really take us high."

The Hawaiian surfer spent a few moments saying things to an inanimate object that most would probably find weird, but Kyle was a weird dude. He marched to the beat of his own drum. And, in all honesty, he just didn't feel complete without his board. In that time, he didn't even acknowledge there was another person that entered the room. He was, however, snapped out of his own little world when the other boy greeted him.

"Mahalo brada!" Kyle energetically gestured to..Wes with a hang loose hand gesture and a wide smile. He was still mentally in his own world, riding high on the cloud of air of his own excitement. "I'm Kyle! Well, Skylar, but all my ohana just calls me Kyle. Sometimes idiot. Definitely have been called a dumbass and loco. You're free to call me whatever the wind carries you to. You can even call me Wave Rider, if you're feeling like it...Though I guess that one makes no sense, huh? Well it's cause of this bad boy!" He tapped his hoverboard again for emphasis. "When I'm on my baby, I fly high like a seagull that's accidentally consumed an edible. You ever had edibles before? Let me tell you, that's a whole different kind of high, especially the good shit!"

[Skai]

H A V E N B A R N E S

---

"Planes go up, like, five miles into the air."

Haven smiled in response. A sort of dreamy smile that also held some pride. She remembered how elated she felt when she realized just how high she had gone. It had been incredibly tempting not to race the shiny machine through the clouds.

She was pulled from her memories when Zee confirmed her theory. Haven's brows lifted a fraction, and she sat up a little straighter as the girl reached for a bottle of water. It was hard not to show her interest. What kind of ability did she have that would need gloves to contain it?

Haven was already impressed as she watched Zee's breath chill the air as it left her lungs. So by the time the bottle froze with a single touch, little snowflakes that were once condensation falling from the it, Haven was in awe. With her vision, she'd seen exactly where the ice began at Zee's fingertips and travelled through. She even heard the pop as the bottle expanded around it's solid contents. It left a chill on the back of her neck.

Even in her amazement, she noticed how quickly Zee put the glove back on. Haven held back her praise long enough to hear the reason behind her caution. For Zee to know that she could freeze people as well... It meant that she must have learned the hard way.

Haven bit her lip, and her eyes moved to the frozen bottle in the sun so Zee couldn't see the trouble in her eyes. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to have an ability capable of that much harm. To discover that through experience must have been hard for Zee. Haven mulled over what she could say for a moment, before she pushed the sympathy down to the pit of her stomach and looked back at her roommate.

"I'm sorry... if you found out the hard way." She nodded to the gloves. "I hope that they can teach you to control it here."

"And I won't say anything to the others. It's not my business, and I'm not here to make any enemies either." She gave Zee a small, albeit a bit awkward smile despite the heavy conversation they were having. "I definitely don't wanna piss off someone I have to sleep around."

[Lawful Newtral]

^{MENTIONS: @Skai
INTERACTIONS: Still talking with new roommate Haven
LOCATION: New Alcatraz, San Francisco, California, US
NOW PLAYING: ♫ C418 - Aria Math ♫}

---

It's official. Haven was one of the good ones.

Zee saw the statement as what it was: an olive branch of empathy and understanding. Were she literally another person, she would go right up to the winged girl and hug her tight. Alas, her touch kills and still she feels nothing. The best Zee could offer was a small smile. Rigid and fleeting, but certainly looked more genuine than the last, the permafrost around her eyes creasing ever so slightly.

"That's nice of you to say," Zee said. "Thank you. I'll try my best to not be a threat to anyone here." Emotion still failed to color her voice, but she tried to. God, did it strain her, but she tried. Sighing, her eyes averted to the slow defrost of the water bottle, this plastic microcosm of the long thaw in the north and south. The sigh was soon replaced by a rhythmic hum. A melody from the past, eliciting images of foggy forests and endless lava buckets. Lava was a similar sort of destruction to the one on her hands. Uncontrollable, unstable, indiscriminate. How Zee wished the power to destroy remained solely in the confines of Creative Mode.

"And don't worry. I don't have the emotional capacity to have enemies." Was this another joke? No, it wasn't. Factual sincerity in her voice, this was the truth. Zee has no enemies. There is only Zee, and everyone else...and Haven.

[Wei Wuxian]

Mentions: N/A
Interactions: N/A
Location: Alcatraz Island; AEGIS Complex, Recreation Wing - Dorm Room

---

---

Seobin had smiled after his interaction with Libby. There was more to her than others would spend time uncovering. She was interesting, and he wondered if he would get more chances to pick her brain and see how things worked. The fight between a girl and a boy did not go unnoticed, but he didn't wish to concern himself with such things. Instead, as soon as the explosion occurred, he waited for the incoming of the guards which was bound to happen given the severity of the issue. Shortly after, they were escorted to their dorms, the place they'd be sleeping while there. Entering into the room, Seobin looked at the bed. He trailed a stiff finger across the comforter. Nothing of his had been confiscated, and the room only contained the luggage he'd arrived with. Everything was in its place. The atmosphere in the room was inviting, but it wasn't home. As he sat on the bed, his mind wandered to his son. The sleepless nights waking up to his son crying wanting to be fed, changed, or something more complex. The nights he sat up with him rocking him and singing him a song that he knew probably sounded like nails on a chalkboard, but for whatever reason his son would drift off to sleep in his arms, and shortly after he would drift off in the embrace of his bed.

Being without him was tough, but he remained strong. He was doing this for him, for a better future, to provide for him. He wondered if he could send a letter to his father to see how things were. For now, he needed to wrangle in all of the emotions he'd felt in the single day he'd been at the facility. There were so many names to remember, and yet he hadn't spoken to a single soul except Libby. Was he there to make friends? Was it dangerous to do so when he didn't know what they were there for in the first place?

Sitting in the middle of the floor, he closed his eyes and allowed his body to become weightless.

[Skai]

H A V E N B A R N E S

---

Haven watched her roommate with thoughtful eyes. It was hard to imagine what it felt like to have such a dangerous ability. Zee would try her best not to be a threat? The fact that she had to say that aloud made Haven think that Zee never meant to harm anyone in the first place. Yet a voice in the back of her mind had to chime in. To remind her that she'd just met Zee, and that she shouldn't let her guard down yet. Even around her other new friends. It had been too long since she'd been around a kind soul to forget how cruel people could be.

"And don't worry. I don't have the emotional capacity to have enemies."

Haven's brows rose, but the hidden humor behind Zee's words was enough to keep her from asking any questions. Haven grinned. "Looks like we'll get along great, then."

Even if she couldn't fully trust Zee, Haven decided that what she knew about her roommate was enough to truly relax around her. She lifted her wings from the bed, which took more of an effort for her tired muscles than she'd like, and turned to lay on her stomach. She hugged the pillow underneath her, her head resting on it's side to face Zee. A sigh of relief left her as she let her wings rest beside her.

"Did you have to travel far to get here?" She asked. Zee didn't look tired, but then again Zee didn't look anything. "They put me on a plane." Her nose wrinkled as she remembered the experience. "It was awful."

[Carlyle]

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_{Location: Dorm Rooms - AEGIS Complex, Alcatraz Island}

Issue #6: Memories

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_{Interaction(s): Sophia @Qia}

Previously: Hi, I'm Natsumi

_"It's..." Natsumi paused, uncertain about being so open perhaps for the first time in awhile. _{"A bit of a long story."}

Thinking back, Natsumi remembered the fateful events of her metahuman awakening. She had been crossing the street, having planned on grabbing a bite to eat before running some errands. But the second Natsumi had stepped foot into the crossroads that day, all hell broke loose. A distracted driver. A disappearing girl. An angry mob. So much had happened in such little time, and it was exhausting to remember for Natsumi.

_{"I thought by coming here, I could help protect my family."} Natsumi continued, echoing Sophia's familial sentiment that she spoke of. _{"But as much of a disappearing act I've become, I still seem to leave quite the trail behind me."}

She let out a pained laugh. Was it the lingering effects of the pepper spray, or her own uncomfortable memories coming to light? Natsumi hadn't known for certain.

_"So," Natsumi looked around the dorm room, taking in her surroundings before turning back to Sophia. _{"What do you suppose we do now? Should we watch some TV or something? It might be awhile before they let us roam the complex again. Things... kind of exploded before they shoved us all in here, but you already know that. Hopefully everyone is okay, though."}

Hopefully.

[Qia]

_{Interacts with Natsumi (@Kuro)}

---

Sophia's expression softened as she perceived a hint of hesitation in Natsumi's demeanour. She didn't want to pry or make her feel uncomfortable by delving into sensitive topics. But as Natsumi continued, Sophia's attention remained rapt, though she sensed a guardedness in her narrative.

"It sounds like you've been through a lot," Sophia replied gently, aiming to offer comfort and understanding. "I can't even imagine how challenging things might have been for you." She paused for a moment, allowing her words to convey the support she wanted to extend to Natsumi. "You don't have to go into detail about anything if you don't want to. But I'm here to listen whenever you're ready...despite being a stranger and all." Sophia didn't have many positive experiences in terms of communicating with others. Having mainly animal friends growing up probably didn't help with this either. So the girl sincerely hoped that her words didn't put any pressure on her new companion.

Sophia felt the residual tension lingering in the room after the recent chaotic events and pondered Natsumi's suggestion. "Yeah, maybe a distraction would help," Sophia concurred, seeking to divert their attention from the unsettling occurrences. "TV sounds good. It might give us a chance to take a breather, you know? Try to shake off some of the craziness." She hoped that a brief respite could alleviate the anxiety that lingered within both of them.

"And yeah, I hope everyone's okay too," she added with a sombre nod. "That... that was intense." The gravity of the situation lingered in her mind. "I hope that guy... Billy, I think? I hope he'll be alright." She hesitated for a moment, feeling the weight of the recent events. Sure, Billy more than likely deserved it but...the last thing she wanted was someone to lose their life without having the chance to maybe make up for their bad choices. The situation was way too close to home, either way.

Sophia's steps echoed faintly in the room as she headed for the common area. The search for the remote felt almost like a distraction from the whirlwind of thoughts about her new environment. As she picked it up, she turned towards Natsumi with a small, uncertain smile.
"Any preferences?" Sophia asked, the remote control feeling like a foreign object in her hand. "I'm not much of a TV person myself. Maybe something light?" She shrugged lightly, her gaze wandering briefly around the room before settling on Natsumi.

[Carlyle]

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_{Location: Dorm Rooms - AEGIS Complex, Alcatraz Island}

Issue #7: Explosions and Elephants

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_{Interaction(s): Sophia @Qia}

Previously: Memories

Natsumi softly smiled once more at Sophia. It felt nice to find another person so welcoming to be on her side. Aside from Lina, she had largely been met with hostility, disgusted gazes, but also pepper spray. She was never one to judge a person, but truthfully it felt relieving to have a break from the chaos.

_{"I was trying to wash out my eyes when the room started to explode, so I only caught the tail end of it. That... That force field that appeared out of nowhere probably prevented more injuries from the explosion."} Natsumi replied, thinking back to the events in the rec room. How many more people would've been hurt if the force field wasn't in place? Better yet, who put the force field up? There was so many questions that needed answering, but it felt so dizzying just attempting to make sense of the chaos.

_{"Hopefully Billy makes it through, though."} She let out an exhausted, tired sigh. Everything felt so tiring—it had been chaos since the start.

As Sophia picked up the remote, Natsumi paused, considering what they should watch. A good movie or show might help lighten the mood. Yet truthfully, it had been awhile since she had truly sat down and watched some television, being so busy preparing for her future college work before the world swept her off her feet with all this "superhuman" nonsense that she was now preoccupied with. What to watch... what to watch, indeed.

_{"Maybe Larger Than Life if they have it?"} Natsumi replied, looking back at Sophia. _{"My parents have always been big fans of Bill Murray. I don't really get their love for him, but road trip movies haven't failed me yet."}

[Qia]

_{Interacts with Natsumi (@Kuro)}

---

"A force field?" Sophia echoed softly, her interest piqued. Her eyes widened slightly at Natsumi's explanation. She had missed the presence of a force field entirely, too preoccupied with the explosion itself. It clarified why, aside from Billy, no one else was harmed. Sophia couldn't help but wonder which among them possessed such a power. Attempting to recall who was near the redhead at that moment, she furrowed her brow. It all seemed too intricate, especially considering the possibility that the shield could have been activated remotely with such rapid reaction time.

Her inner voice interjected, "Really, Sophia, does any of that truly matter?" She mentally rolled her eyes at her own unnecessary questioning, recognizing that without the force field, the situation could have been significantly worse. That should have been the primary concern. Right?

Right.

Sophia scanned the TV listings and found "Larger Than Life." After a moment's confirmation, she nodded, offering a small smile. "I think I've got it," she said, displaying the remote. Then, with a thoughtful pause, she added, "Honestly, road trips weren't exactly a tradition for me and my family." She hesitated, absently using the remote to select the movie.

"Have you ever had that feeling of something being off, but you couldn't quite place it?"

[Hound55]

The office decor was rich in reclaimed dark wood and stone, classicly designed and in stark contrast to the rest of the facility and even this wing's generally sterile looking interior and harsh stone exterior. A laptop rested on the desk. The chairs within were a high quality firm leather. A warmer refuge away from necesary order.

It was easy to speculate as to whether the reclaimed wood was meant to be something of a metaphor for their place in this facility and the Director's role.

But such a conection was beyond Brian's capabilities.

Taking his own seat he scowled at Noah from a face still caked in pepper spray residue, as his eyes burned in two ways. Noah’s scowl, however, remained fixated on the floor, her foot tapping against the floor as her mind anxiously raced with all the potential punishment scenarios awaiting her. But just in case either party decided to go for round two, the security staff who had escorted the pair made their presence felt in keeping the two separate.

"I'll make this brief for you, Brian. You've been here long enough. You know the rules." There was no sigh of resignation within his voice. No disappointment. This was duty. This was statement of fact. Cold and unyielding, more aligned with the decor outside of these walls than within. It didn't bode well for Noah, even if this was only her first run-in with this man. And he'd warned them less than a half an hour earlier on the sports court!

"You don't take these things into your own hands. You know that. You'll be having a 'cooling off' period." They anger left Brian's face, to be replaced with a look of concern. Whatever this punishment was, he was aware of it, and it was enough to bother him.

"Sir!" He exploded to his feet. Once again demonstrating remarkable quickness in spite of his size.

The Director held out a single hand. He didn't intend for this to be a conversation.

"A week. BUT we will inform you if there is any change in William's condition. You know how things work here, Mister McIntyre." The use of his surname to further emphasise and bestow the sense of personal responsibility upon Bulk's head. The kid Noah had been introduced to as Bulk looked crestfallen, but made no effort to argue the punishment. Was it because it would do no good? Or because he knew the judgement to be fair? Or did he fear that even worse was possible if he dared to respond like that?

"Now, leave us."

In the fraction of a second of a glimpse he gave Noah before he walked away, escorted under heavy guard, the redhead saw a change from the rage-filled face that met her before. But was this a brief look of concern for her, or was he merely looking at her whilst thinking of his friend and his dire state?

She would probably never know.

The room fell silent upon Brian’s departure, and the atmosphere felt heavy between the seconds until the door closed behind him and the few beats the Director took before addressing Noah. She expected to hear frustration: that such actions were unacceptable, explosive invective… But the thing was: Noah had never directly and intentionally used her powers on another person before. A hundred 'worst case scenarios' had raced through her head as she'd sat outside his office awaiting this time-- and given the sequence of events that had led Noah to this facility in the first place, these weren’t really outside the scope of reality. The guilt, anxieties and fear of the unknown consequences made her hands tremble, even whilst she kept her face firm and unwavering, if only to not make the other boy who was waiting think it was him that had got to her.

His tone now shifted, from a firm one of meting out punishment to those who had been made adequately aware of this place, to a slightly softer one which she had been yet to hear-- off-puttingly so.

"I had thought that I had made myself clear earlier in the gymnasium..." He opened, finally puncturing the uncomfortable silence. Immediately, Noah was about to explode with an outburst of an argument: that it was self-defense, that he'd--

Then she caught the wry knowing smile creased across his face. Perhaps he knew more about what had happened, what this Billy was like, that he truly did have it coming his way, than he first let on.

"You did. But did you see anything that happened before that?" She settled on as a reply, trying to control her nerves and avoid sounding combative or accusatory.

"He's a tricky one, William. We change up the camera cycles weekly, for a while there twice a week. It makes no difference, he sees the pattern and acts around them. It means there's never really any video evidence which corroborates people's stories. But there's also too much smoke for there to be no fire..."

"Then why the hell would you let him--"

"Why would I let him be in the first group of program-attendees that you all met? Well, first of all, that's usually left to random chance. But then I found it tends to work out worse if he's not brought in that way. A group of twenty, six long-timers, the new group outnumbers him. Maybe he targets one or two, but those six people have a lot more attention from the twenty wary new people who don't know what to expect. If your first encounter is from a larger group setting - say the cafeteria. There's too much going on around them. New people are even more vulnerable. Perhaps not the most satisfying answer, but it's the truth."

Noah began to get a sense of why the wry smile had crossed his face once Brian had left. Perhaps he was happy for some kind of justice to have met him, even if it wasn't institutional.

"I know why you're here, however. Your accounts of the incident with Mr Sterling, as well as my own suspicions as to what prompted such a response from you on this occasion with William..."

Just the mention of the name of the disgusting pig that was Howard Sterling was enough to elicit a bristling response from Noah. On this occasion, though, the figure of authority standing in front of her seemed understanding-- empathetic, even: a completely different experience from the one she’d had with the university officials. She remembered how his laying down of the law in the gymnasium took the form of a plea for empathy from the group rather than a group punishment, so maybe he was going to be reasonable, understanding and fair in her treatment here.

The Director opened a laptop computer that rested on his desk, and revived it with a quick tap of the space bar.

"Especially since, on this occasion, he left more evidence than usual..."

He turned the laptop around with a video already open and paused to the relevant frame. Billy had been distracted, caught off guard by the series of events and lost track on the cycle of cameras. His hand reached out in a claw-like grasp for a region below her belt.

"So what do you suppose he was doing here?" The Director asked. It was an incredibly confrontational question which he had seemed to spring on her relatively lightly, all things considered.

"The asshole was trying to feel me up." She answered through gritted teeth, discreetly trying to fight back the fight or flight response that activated in her the second she’d laid eyes on the video clip. The Director took a second to turn the laptop back around, and nodded understanding her response.

"That's good." He replied. "Your testimony combined with the footage should make it possible to deal with him should his condition change--"

He turned the laptop back around, and used a pen to point at another boy - the quiet, handsome one with the cool-looking hair she had seen on the bus - who was sitting in the background playing chess with the blonde girl she'd boarded the bus with. His own hand was also clawed over a chess piece, while his eyes were barely slits as he glared beneath his brow in concentration. It was an easy detail to miss. She certainly would have, even with the video still, had it not been drawn to her attention.

"But I was asking about him..." The pen tapped against the screen, right against his shock of discolored hair. The Director held tight eye contact, watching closely for her expression and response to the question at hand.

"I-- uhh-- he looks like he's playing chess." the young woman said dismissively, but the hesitation was enough to give her away. She certainly thought he was doing more than just that. She remembered how Billy's hand had frozen on the spot, never finding what he was grasping for, as if an invisible force was stopping him in his tracks… Even if she didn't understand why the young man had taken such actions to protect her in the first place, it was pretty obvious that he had been the one to save her.

But why would she snitch on the man and his actions? Rowell had said it earlier himself: to not take justice into their own hands? He might forgive her for her own response and be empathetic to her situation, but that didn’t mean he’d be so lenient with third parties getting involved and stirring up trouble.

Strangely, the Director smiled at her response, as if somehow satisfied by it.

"Perhaps..." He said. He turned the laptop back around and tapped in a few commands, looking down at the screen with a wider smile, before closing it again.

"I meant what I said earlier, about taking things into your own hands. But given how this specific situation turned out, and given that you were-- targeted... in this situation. Your probable concerns for how this would be handled after what saw you brought here in the first place, I think you've probably been through enough and know not to respond this way in the future? Yes?"

Noah had opened her mouth to respond when she saw Rowell open a side drawer from his desk and place some objects on the wooden surface, directly in front of her.

The vape pen and pack of spare cartridges that had started all of this.

"In fact, it's probably left you feeling quite anxious."

Frowning with confusion, the young woman looked up at the director and saw another smile there once again. She was immediately suspicious of the offering, considering what had happened the last time someone pretended to show her any form of kindness. But unlike the circumstances with Billy, this exchange appeared genuine, with no ulterior motives or hidden conditions.

"Oh my God, thank you" She replied gratefully as she pocketed the vape pen and cartridges before Rowell could change his minds, breathing a sigh of relief. It was a nice consolation gift considering the latest trauma she had been subjected to.

"I've been told your guitar has passed through security and should be waiting for you on your bed, once you get back to your quarters. Banks here will walk you back." He gestured to one of the two guards who still held her in close scrutiny. The red haired girl rose and was joined by the guard as they walked to the door.

"Dinner time will be in half an hour. I'd tell you let the rest of your group know but they've all been shown to their individual quarters. Just know you won't be confined there for more than the next thirty minutes."

Well, this had been a surprising turn of events. Rather than wallowing in despair at being given further punishment or being subjected to further trauma, Noah felt more in control than she had at any point since she got on the plane that day. She had regained her possessions, was being informed of upcoming mealtime, provided with means to control her anxiety, and even made privy to some of the behind the scenes facts of this place. The cameras, that animal Billy and his reputation… Even the strange actions of the cool-haired boy who seemed to be her hero in disguise (she’d have to tackle that later). Most importantly, her one-on-one time with the person who ran this place made her realize that he wasn’t a callous dictator, but a fair, reasonable leader open to discussions who kept his word and was willing to fairly punish those who deserved it.

Taking his last statement as her queue to go, Noah stood up, smiled at the older man and took her leave, allowing the guard to close the door behind her.

The Director re-opened the laptop and tapped some commands in, before smiling again at the screen.

"You want to know why I did that." He uttered aloud at the weighted silence from the remaining guard in the room. He didn't respond, but his posture suggested he'd hear any explanation which was provided.

"Two months..." He replied to the void. As if that was enough of an explanation in and of itself, until extrapolating further.

"Aegis provided two months of 'free, privately funded therapy' to him to find out what he knows… And got nothing. The report from the therapist was that there could have been twelve months of sessions and he still would likely say nothing."

The guards eyebrows rose, as he absorbed what he was being told, unquestionably.

"In that household, he's either an absolute fool who somehow knows nothing, or he's a genius who has somehow managed to bottle it all up and never said a word."

The eyebrows dropped as he took this new information, the further explanation, on board.

"A five minute look at his report cards down the years will tell you David Fermi is no fool..."

The Director turned the laptop around, a still image of the boy with the two-toned hair on board the bus standing over the sleeping red headed girl with his hands up, fear in his eyes like a deer caught in headlights, a look across his face as if he'd somehow he'd been left exposed to all the world, was left upon the screen.

"...so perhaps it will just take something else to get him to open up."

[Hound55]

It was a cold Montana morning as an unmarked SUV drove down the I-90 in the direction of the Washington AEGIS facility.

Staring somberly outside from the back seat headrest, Quinn watched the rolling hills and forests shift by. The two agents upfront appeared to be conversing about something, although Quinn hadn't been certain what. Everything that they spoke sounded like military buzzwords, or the kind of dialogue you'd find in a spy movie. Truthfully, not knowing what they had been saying put her on edge. At least with Jackson he had been dimwitted enough to make sense of. After all, the man had been nothing more than a rural mountain hillbilly (albeit armed with quite the arsenal). But these two? Even if they were her supposed saviors, Quinn still couldn't help herself but to feel suspicious of any and all ulterior motives they might've had as they conversed amongst themselves.

"How you holding up back there, kid?"

A voice spoke, cutting through the tension like a knife through hot butter. Looking away from the window, Quinn glanced towards the front seats and came face to face with one of the agents staring back at her. Or rather, where she should have been. Cars weren't exactly made with the teensy-tiny in mind, and so Quinn sat as comfortable as she could, having held onto the headrest for safety.

"We still have a few more hours before we arrive. Why don't you get some sleep for now? You look like you need it."

Sleep—it had been awhile since Quinn had a good night's rest. But falling asleep with two strangers she had just met? That sounded like suicide. A trap to lure her into her next prison, which no matter how they tried to spin it, AEGIS sounded like.

"...I'll think about it." She spoke in return, truthfully not intending to fall asleep in the first place.

"If you say so, kid. But if you need anything, just, well," The agent paused, trying to think of a word to use as they turned back forward in their seat. "Holler, I suppose. There isn't much out here, but we'll see what we can do."

Quinn didn't bother to reply, and instead returned her focus onto the rolling landscape outside once more.

The rolling landscape that seemed to blur as the hours went by.

The rolling landscape that disappeared on and off into pitch black as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

The rolling landscape that was now replaced with an endless labyrinth of hallways that seemed almost impossible to escape from as she awoke.

---

The steady symphony of an assortment of hospital machinery.

Vanyssa Newhope lay on the hospital bed, a Jane Doe in every other sense. For want of a name they searched her person and came up with documentation that provided this name, but by all government searches into her background she didn't exist. The documentation appeared fraudulent, albeit of a quality beyond which most people would attempt to create a fake id.

So for convenience's sake more than anything, for the duration she would remain Vanyssa Newhope.

She'd captured the imagination of more than a few nurses around the Mayo Clinic Hospital in St Mary's. A few would come in break or quiet hours and talk to her as if she could hear them.

She'd arrived in a strange, bright white set of clothes which for some reason hadn't required changing. They appeared to self-clean somehow, with neither grime nor muck keeping to it. It raised questions at the time, and protocol was broken to not change her or bathe her unless to not do so would do her a direct harm - which as yet, it had not. All these months later. The tasks for duty nurses had basically been to check on her and occasionally turn her to avoid bedsores, even this task was done less frequently than usual.

Given the unique circumstances surrounding her, they speculated she was likely a metahuman. Aegis was contacted and had sent representatives, test were taken, and on their confirmation, she was entered into their database and the clinic was requested to keep them updated on her progress and when and if her condition changed.

Nothing from any of the machinery that had surrounded her, constant steadfast friends since her arrival, pointed to any impending change in the near future. It all beeped and puffed and flashed as if alive, but with the steady pacing as if keeping in time with an orchestra's conductor. Never missing a beat, forever keeping tempo.

And so she would lie there, her bright white clothes contrasting with the dark silence of her mind's activity.

Until she awoke, still in darkness, but in a new place.

---

Everything was new. And for the first time in his life, that fact scared him.

Kaiden was situated in his room, as it had always been; neat and proper, with a well-kept bookshelf occupying nearly an entire wall, and his desk taking up another slot of space within the confines, with its most notable additions being his computer and, a bit off to the side, a glass cage with its own little biome within, housing a family of moths that he had taken recently as pets. That was rather ironic now, wasn’t it? Perhaps one of them was secretly radioactive, and had bitten him to give him his powers. That at least got a chuckle out of the poor boy, breaking him from his oppressively silent stupor.

Kaiden shifted his weight on his bed. What had once comfortably supported him for nearly his entire life now felt dreadfully frail, creaking under his weight as he moved. He took the chance to look over himself again, as if to solidify that this was really happening just one more time. Just in case…Though even the simple act of ‘looking himself over’ was bizarre and different now, as his vision poured out from his many sets of eyes, almost numbering a dozen. Instantly, he felt his head swim as it tried to compute everything it was taking in; every single nook and cranny of his room, from a hundred different angles. Some of them weren’t even using the right kind of vision. It nearly made him want to hurl, but he’d had a few days to adapt. Quickly, he squeezed all his eyes shut, and with considerable focused, opened only the two on his head.

Even this was almost too overwhelming; compound eyes were quite the thing to try and adapt to, he had found out. Still, he could manage it. Barely. He looked himself over, a mass of white fur and brownish chitin, his hands ending in almost talon-like protrusions, and his legs…Well, honestly, if they weren’t where his old legs used to be, he wasn’t sure he would’ve called them legs. They looked more like sticks, yet somehow managed to support his weight perfectly. It fascinated him to some extent, but the overall disturbance of his power offset any intrigue or excitement he could’ve had. He nervously adjusted himself again, trying to get more comfortable. There were his wings, too. While it was cool to be able to fly, actually managing them was a whole different story. At the end of the day, the only way he could get even vaguely comfortable was lying face-first into his pillow, giving his instruments of flight the breathing room they craved.

…Why had this happened to him? Was it really some chance occurrence? Or was there more going on? Did the universe feel some need to spite him somehow, or was there a grander importance to this new form he’d found himself in? Kaiden just groaned. He knew the answers weren’t going to be found here, at least…And truth be told, he wasn’t confident he’d find them elsewhere. Today, some people were supposed to come around and pick him up, to take him to a facility with others like him. It was a hopeful prospect, but it also brought plenty of fear to him, as well. Were there really going to be others like him? He had no idea how he would relate to others with gifts like him, or if he even could! Or, more concerningly, he had little confidence others could relate to his own plight. It was one thing to gain powers, and another entirely to become so decidedly inhuman. He glanced off to the side, viewing himself through a dozen different lenses as his gaze fell upon his mirror closet doors. He knew he was still Kaiden, the human. He just hoped he could convince others of that fact.

Though, there was at least one person he didn’t need to convince. As his bedroom door opened, Kaiden hauled him to a sitting position on his bed, facing it intently. He’d actually already heard the footsteps approaching way before they had made it to their destination; he knew who it was. The door opened, and he was greeted by the gentle smile of his mum. Seeing her instantly made him feel better, like an anchor to his original life. Quietly, she drifted into the room and stopped next to him with a steaming mug in hand. He’d also smelt that way before she’d finished it, but it didn’t make him any less happy. “Some cocoa. I know you say that you don’t feel the cold as much now, but you’ve been spending far too much time outdoors, young man!” She took a harsh tone, but her face gave the game away as Kaiden could only chuckle, very gently taking the drink from her. ”Thanks, mum.” He carefully brought the mug up to his mouth, keeping his impulse in check. It was second-nature to use his proboscis when eating or drinking, but he had been trying to learn to reel that in. It made others uncomfortable; hell, it made him uncomfortable. After taking his grateful swig, Kaiden turned his attention back to his mum, catching the look in her eyes. She looked…Content, but sad. Not surprising; when she had heard the news, it was…

Kaiden shook his head lightly. No, it wasn’t worth dwelling on all that nasty stuff. ”Is…Something happening? Or did you just feel charitable?” The question was worded pointedly, but his tone was very much not, and his parent was easily able to pick it up, giving her own brief chuckle in kind. She reached over, stroking some of the fluff near his head as she took her own seat on the bed. “Fur or no, you’re still my baby boy. And sometimes, baby boys need a treat from their mom.” In normal circumstances, he would’ve been embarrassed; dreadfully so. But…Well, she’d chosen her moment well. Just knowing that she was thinking about him and caring for him brought a warmth even the pleasantly hot cocoa could not, and it was one he desperately needed.

The moment was broken as his mother retracted her hand, a solemn look taking her over. “...They’re here, sweetheart.” That news slammed him like a sledgehammer. They were?! He hadn’t expected them until, well…Later! At least! He jumped up, the force almost enough to jostle his mother straight from the bed before she caught herself. Kaiden hurriedly grabbed the bag he was going to take with him, a hefty thing already stuffed with plenty of books for the road…Though perhaps due to nerves, he decided on taking a few more, skillfully using his lower set of arms to shimmy a few more into the bag. That was enough to break the tension, as least for his mother, as she gave a warm laugh, looking at her son’s panicked packing. He was still very much himself. Getting up herself, she tentatively reached out, grabbing the forearm of one of his upper arms (and careful to avoid grabbing the shoulder; she’d learned that quite quickly with Kaiden’s new condition). That caught him quickly enough, hastily turning to face his mother. To his surprise, she jumped up, trying her best to get a good grasp of him as she wrapped him in a tight hug. While initially, his own fears kept him in check, he eventually found the nerve to return the hug four-fold, easily lifting his mum up before they broke the contact. She looked up at him, her eyes wavering. She didn’t want to cry, but clearly, this was even more taxing on her than it was for him.

“...Sweetheart, I want you to know that you’ll always be welcome here, even if things don’t go well at this facility. Okay?”

”...Of course, mum. If I don’t think I’m making any improvements, or if it isn’t what I thought it’d be like, I’ll be sure to come home as soon as I can.”

She nodded approvingly before swiftly turning away from Kaiden, trying her best to not let her boy see how vulnerable she was in the moment. “Well…You best not keep them waiting.”

With that, the pair of them walked out of his room and to the front door, to which Kaiden nervously grasped. But…Before he opened that door, and to whatever possibilities lie beyond it, he looked back to his mother once more. He tried his best to smile for her, as well as his new form could. ”I’ll keep in touch! I’m sure they’ll allow phone calls or some such. I’m planning on it being weekly!” That brightened her up, thankfully, as she returned his attempt at a smile. “You better! If I don’t hear back from you by next month, I’ll be raising hell on all those shady folks who took my sweet boy away!” That got the both of them laughing again, a precious moment of levity. Kaiden took in a deep breath; a final whiff of his beloved home. He didn’t know when he might see it again…But he’d be back. One day. And with that, he turned and opened the door.

---

…What? It was…Quiet? Too quiet. And not cold enough. And where was the door?! Everything around him was utterly foreign, indescribable walls closing in on him from almost every angle. Except…He looked up. He could fly! He could soar into the skies, and break free from all this! Or, well…That’s what his brain was telling him, but a more primeval sense tingled away at him, raising the hairs on his body. The last thing he’d want to do was fly into the open. Things would see him. Things that should not, under any circumstance, be allowed to see him. He felt like his insides were going to twist into a knot. What on Earth was all this?! Was…Was this even Earth? He took a closer look at his surroundings. Towering walls of pitch-dark stone scoured the landscape around him, twisting and turning in a myriad of different directions, like some kind of twisted labyrinth. Should…Should he walk around? Try and find an exit?...Would there even be one?

”C’mon Kaiden, get your head in the game!”

Kaiden whispered to himself, giving a few smacks to his chitinous face to snap himself back into place. So he was lost; that much he knew. With no idea which way was right, or if there even was a right, or if he was just completely screwed…No point panicking. He’d already done plenty of that. He took a deep breath. That soothed him, but also brought some new questions. The air here was…Off. It felt open, and fresh, yet trapped and stale at the same time. Completely alien, yet oxygen all the same. His sense of smell, too, something that he still hadn’t gotten used to…It smelled nothing, and yet a little, tiny smidge of everything at the same time. Just where was this? With a sigh of defeat, he merely trudged forward, cautiously trailing the left side of the gigantic walls. Hopefully this would lead…Somewhere.

---

Enormous, rough-hewn stone walls expanded in every direction forever, their rugged surfaces a mix of eroded curves and harsh, hand-chiseled edges. The cragged, pock-marked plane snaked away around corners, wrapping in on itself with corridors that weaved and knotted and intersected at crossroads and loops and spirals. You could walk for five hundred days and never find a dead-end, never cross back on yourself, but you'd have made no progress at all. Above was a black, empty expanse, an endless sprawl of agoraphobia that weighed down on top of you and made the stone hallways all the more narrow; claustrophobia in equal measure.

Poe, rake-thin, 3-foot-something, hair matted and greasy, curled into herself against the cold floor that was simultaneously the cold stone of the walls and a clinical vinyl linoleum tile, each version of itself straining against the other to assert their own reality; eventually, the linoleum gave way, and stone swallowed up what was left of where she'd come from entirely. She pressed the butts of her hands into her eye sockets, refusing to see what she could hear and feel and know in her very core. This was a world she was familiar with but wanted little to do with; a world she knew in glimpses and fragmented nightmares. A surreality that defied all logic regarding its incomprehensible, immutable being. It was and is and would be. It was frightening. It is dangerous. It would be navigable, would Poe simply come to understand it. Alas. Such a thing defied understanding just as much as it defied all man's ken. Poe, young and scared and of little experience of known reality, let alone this other, outside-place, could not dwell on extant metaphysics - she could only cower.

Poe, rake-thin, 5-foot-4, hair brushed and straightened and falling far past her shoulders, lay in a hospital bed, mattress soft and firm. The clean plastic and metal of the bed's frame were a stark contrast against the ragged rock and stone of the surrounding labyrinth, the muted pastel green and cream almost blinding against dark grays and blacks. The tube in her arm suggested an IV drip had at some point been in place, but such a feature was absent now - just a loose cannula draping over the edge of the bed, the last few drops of saline from the open end the last indication of any medical attention she had been receiving. She was bleary and confused, and though a part of her couldn't help but recognize where she was, how she came to be here, and the implications upon her circumstances that both fragments of knowledge imparted, there was a fog against her mind that prevented a conscious acknowledgement. She was here, she had been somewhere else, she would arrive elsewhere entirely; all were important, none felt relevant. In the haze, she merely lifted her arm, observing her pale flesh sparkle in the black starlight from above.

Poe turned away from these particular versions of herself, caught in here, ensnared in the maze. Which version of her was more true she did not know; if either were constructions, either of her own making, or the labyrinth's making, or from some further alien source, she could not place their origins and she could not recollect herself in their places. They were mirages, conjured up to frighten or threaten or elucidate or distract; it didn't matter, she didn't want them, and suddenly they were gone as the walls stretched and scraped with a great stone-on-stone grinding to finally slam closed and box both in entirely, before the corridors before her stretched away at such a pace she felt nauseous; and that was that. Out of sight, out of mind.

Distantly, distantly...shouting? Poe turned, her brows knitted together. Hallways spanned out before her but choosing was a lottery; the sound seemed to come from each in equal portion, bouncing off the rock to surround her with shouts becoming half-heard whispers. She knew, in her bones, that if she wanted to find them, she would, regardless of choice of direction, but she wasn't sure she did. Something else in her gut told her not to go looking. Which instinct to trust, which hunch to rely upon? Curiosity rallied and ignited the fire; with five passages splayed out in front of her she spread her fingers and slapped her hand hard against the rock before holding her arm out in front. Her ring finger hurt the most, so that was the way she picked.

Twisting, turning, running hands along rough stone. Shouting grew steadily closer, and though she could hear the source moving it gained no ground on her. She circled it, drawing ever-inwards as it frantically span in a frenzied search. She could hear it properly now, make out the words, although wouldn't deign to guess whether that was because she was close enough or she was now simply allowed.
"Poe! Poe, where are you?! Poe!"
Searching for her. A sliver of ice ran through Poe's chest and she nearly tripped, distracted by shock, but her hands caught herself on stone rushing to meet them and she steadied. In response, the walls shifted, and what would have been a circuitous, rounding path suddenly opened at its core and there it was, the source; a well-groomed, stern-looking older gentleman in a clean-pressed and expensive suit, flanked by a man and a woman, looking slightly less collected, in white coats and wielding syringes. Poe's eyes flared in panic as she noticed the needles; the gentleman's eyes flared in poised anger as he noticed Poe.

"Poe! Poe, come with us now."
Poe stepped backwards, scared, threatened. Quietly, the straight path shimmered and what had been, momentarily ago, an endlessly spooling corridor behind the trio, was suddenly thick with stone. Of the white-coat pair, the man noticed first. He sprung back - Poe recognized swelling panic flush across his face, a mirror of her own expression. The gentleman only glanced subtly to either side, seeming to assess his immediate surroundings.
"Poe, come on now." A calmer tone, but with the words came another advance, and his advance prompted Poe's retreat; she didn't know who these people were, didn't desire to, and her attention was fixed on the metal of the needles that still glimmered in the non-light. "We need to be getting on."

The woman ran out of patience and darted forwards, prompting the gentleman to yell out, but not before Poe was away and sprinting backwards; they were chasing, faster than she could escape - and then came that grinding of stone against stone again, and more shouts,
"Poe! Don't leave us here! Poe! Don't! DO-"
and then the stone slammed shut and there were no more shouts and Poe was alone again.

---

As she took in her newfound surroundings, an immediate wave of sheer panic set upon Quinn at the thought of being trapped again. This had to be a dream, perhaps more of a nightmare but a dream nonetheless. She was simply still in the vehicle, and just so happened to doze off in the process (despite not intending to). Surely, that was all this was.

But the eventual realization that everything felt a little too real said otherwise.

"No no no no no—" Quinn endlessly repeated, growing more and more horrified by the second. Her skin turned clammy while her heart raced a thousand times and an uneasy feeling churned deep within her gut. This couldn't be happening, Quinn continuously thought to no avail.

---

Vanyssa found herself on the floor alone in a place far from where she expected herself to be.

Sitting up gingerly, she realised she didn't remember exactly where that was in the first place. She slowly got to her feet, and feeling weak, staggered before propping herself up against a wall.

She felt weary despite her rest. Tired, beyond the sleep she had just awoken from. She was wearing some kind of loose fitting garment, which made her feel strangely nervous and violated before she realised that she was wearing clothes underneath. Clothes that she didn't remember, but felt 'right' nonetheless. She took the hospital gown off and left it where it lay. Then stopped to rub her head, the tired fog didn't seem to be lifting and she couldn't recall how she'd gotten to this place. Looking at her arm she saw a plastic wristband that gave her details and was marked with 'Mayo Clinic Hospital-St Mary's Campus, Rochester' and a date of admission. Which might mean something if she had any idea what today's date was.

She tried to think about how she'd wound up in hospital. More questions.

She collected herself and leaned her back against the wall. She didn't feel up to running, her legs... the muscles were weak. She found herself hungry. She looked around this new place and decided that anything she needed likely wouldn't becoming to her just by staying put.

Faint sensations. She couldn't remember anything, but got the sense that answers were here, somewhere, in this place. If she could just make the right turn. Her name was Vanyssa Newhope, the wristband said as much. And certain things, muscle memory things, her grasp of language which allowed her to cobble her thoughts together, some things were still there. And the other thing she could do. She knew that was still there. Even if her own past was like a forgotten dream.

She started following the right wall, in hopes that it would lead her to answers, memories of her past, or another person.

She wasn't certain which she'd prefer.

---

Kaiden continued to traverse along his left wall. It was a solid plan. No matter how big the labyrinth was, following one wall would eventually see him through to the end, even if he had to walk the whole maze. However big that was. There were doors intermittently littering this place, but just like the space above him, something terrified him about opening random doors in this place with no knowledge of where they led.

"No. Better served working within the maze first, maybe there's someone else here who can tell us more, before we go making the unknown even bigger."

At least until things get more desperate...

The left wall made sense too. After all, it's a maze. Any maze would be man-made, surely. Socially you're supposed to drive and walk down the rightside of the path... so it stands to reason, that the person who made the maze would make it so following the right wall wouldn't yield such quick results, since the maze is supposed to be difficult. Right? Kaiden thought it made a certain kind of sense anyway, and it was as good a plan as he had, so he intended to see it through.

Mazes, labyrinths, his mind kept racing whilst he followed his current plan trying to think of how others had solved his current situation. He immediately thought back to Greek lore, tales of King Minos and the minotaur. Thread would come in handy right now. But then he worried. If he did see someone down here, would they think him the monster? He made a note to speak early if he saw anyone and make sure to appear as non-threatening as he could. Wouldn't want to scare off anyone trying to help.

Then he began to think, "Anyone down here is probably looking for help as well..."

And just as he mumbled that, he discovered his plan had paid off. Walking towards him slowly was a girl, or woman - it was dark and difficult to tell from a distance - wearing some kind of bright white clothing, which seemed to give off a little light.

Kaiden wasted no time to make himself appear friendly. "Hello! Are you stuck down here too? Or do you know your way around here? My name's Kaiden!" He quickly offered his name in another non-threatening gesture.

Vanyssa saw something calling out to her from the darkness, in the distance up ahead. She could make out a silhouette, very large, not so large as to not be human, but the voice didn't seem right from something that big.

As she approached she considered her options, she was weak, but she still felt if she had to she could use her powers and put good distance between them without completely exhausting herself. At least short term. As she got closer and more of 'Kaiden' became visible, removed from the shadow of the wall and the darkness she suspected she didn't have the strength for direct physical contact with this one if it came to it.

So powers to escape would be her only option, but a good one. If it came to that.

"Hell-- Hello." She rasped at first, her voice not used to speach from the long time without use.

"I don't really know where 'here' is. I just woke up and found myself in here."

Kaiden felt relief, she didn't seem scared by him, although she did seem a little wary judging by the crack in her voice. Still that was understandable, considering the circumstances.

"Same here! I just opened my front door and wound up in here, how crazy's that!"

He was far more upbeat and energetic than Vanyssa was prepared for after just waking up. She wondered how long he'd been in here for, and how long he'd hoped to find someone - anyone - to talk to.

"So these doors... they lead to places? I hadn't been game to try any yet."

"Me either. Something about them... just gives me the heebie-jeebies unless I know exactly what's behind a door. As bad as the maze seems it doesn't seem as bad as the unknown. This place... it just-- there's things which just have this crushing sense of foreboding. Same with the sky as well... I can fly, but everything about this place is telling me that would be a bad idea."

Vanyssa nodded in understanding. She had the sense that answers and memories were around here somewhere, but doors just seemed to have this intimidating unknown factor to them. Even though she suspected what she wanted was behind A door, with no knowledge of exactly which, it seemed almost paralysing to go through this place opening random doors. At least at this stage.

"So how are we going to do this, Kaiden?"

Kaiden was confused what she was talking about. "What?"

"Well, you're pretty clearly following your left wall. I'm pretty clearly following my right. So how long have you been walking for? There's no point in just re-treading places the other one of us has been walking longer."

"Oh, I see."

He thought a few seconds about the question. He didn't have any means of keeping track of time in here, but he could guess.

"It feels like... about thirty, forty minutes?"

"Hmm... it seems we both wound up in here about the same time. It feels about that long since I woke up. Alright, I'll turn around, we'll keep following your left."

"Okay. Are you sure?"

"No, I'm not sure, it's a maze." Vanyssa responded curtly. "But I've been going pretty slow and took some time after just waking up. You've probably covered more ground if we both got here at the same time."

That made sense, so the pair continued in Kaiden's direction.

---

Quinn wandered the long halls and corridors of this place aimlessly with frustration setting in. Her short legs weren't getting her anywhere fact, and the thought of flying... something about this place made it unthinkable.

"HELL-LOOO! HE-LLOOOOO! She called out for anyone in earshot. It seemed hopeless, but again, her legs weren't getting her anywhere fast.

---

^{_{"--LOOO! HE-LLOOOOO!"}}

Kaiden stopped in his tracks and turned.

"What? What is it?"

He pointed down an intersecting path, "There's someone yelling out down there. I can hear it in my wings."

Vanyssa looked down the pathway in question quizzically. Kaiden broke and took off down the path.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait up big fella."

"But-- someone. They're calling out."

"They are. And we both go stumbling and bumbling after them we'll lose track of where we got up to. We'll wind up going around and around in circles."

"Then what should we do?"

"You wait here. I'll go. I'm probably more visible, and probably less likely to scare them off. I'll bring whoever it is back here and we can keep our place."

It made sense, albeit a little hurtful, so Kaiden stayed and waited.

"Hello! Whoever was calling out!? Are you down this way?! Can you hear me!? HELLO!?" Vanyssa called out as she got more distant from Kaiden.

Excitement filled Quinn, and she responded in kind, "Yes! I'm down this way! You're getting louder! Keep coming!"

Vanyssa rushed over and eventually met up with Quinn. She turned back and was relieved they had done it this way, Kaiden's location was not visible from where they were, and it would probably take a little effort to find him again afterwards.

After a brief conversation and explanation of the current situation, Quinn joined her in walking back to the other "Strange friend who is like us". She'd been scant with the details, but told her enough that she hopefully wouldn't be terrified at the first sight of him, as confronting as that first sight could be. She'd called out a few times just to make sure they were going in the right direction. This place was so strange she was not a little worried that the labyrinth might somehow mysteriously change in the space between them. But it hadn't.

Vanyssa also managed to convince her it might be quicker if she were carried. She didn't much care for the idea, but flying in this place felt so uncomfortable, and her gait so short compared to others that it was too impractical not to do so.

"Here he is..."

"Whoa... That's--"

"Yes. He's a mothman. This is Kaiden."

"Well... OK then." Quinn replied, realising adversity makes strange bedfellows.

And again, the three were on their way. After a sneeze from Quinn caused by Kaiden's shoulderfluff.

---

"I'm not crazy, it's been hours now, right?"

"That it has." Vanyssa replied.

"So what exactly is the plan?"

"Well, so far we're going over the maze looking to see if we can find anyone who knows their way around this place. That seems the best way to go. Until we've searched the whole labyrinth."

"But we don't know how big this place is... and even if we did, how do we know we haven't already seen all of it?"

This stopped Kaiden in his tracks.

"Won't happen. I left something at the place where I came in. We go past it again, we'll know we did a full circle. And with any luck, this place has a clear exit before it ever gets to that." She said, referring to her hospital gown.

Kaiden started walking again, pleased that the plan had a solution to that problem.

"And what if we don't find anyone who knows their way around this place? What if we get back to where you started?"

"Well, then I guess we start thinking about those doors. But at least we'll be trying our luck there knowing that we have checked this place for anyone else first. Cheer up, it may never happen."

A quick inhalation came from Kaiden up ahead, as he gasped, before whispering to the others in a hushed tone.

^{_{"There... Up ahead."}}

Sure enough, a straight haired woman crept out of one door up ahead, and started to quickly make her way down the corridor away from the trio. A straight haired woman who didn't seem unnerved by the doors in this place. And seemed to move these halls with purpose.

"Go!" Vanyssa urged. Trying to push on herself, on weary weakened legs.

"WAIT!" Quinn called ahead.

The dark haired woman turned, saw that people were in pursuit and broke into a run.

"Go! Go! Go! This is it! Don't lose her!"

Kaiden ran carrying Quinn on his shoulder. Vanyssa ran as well as she was capable. The straight haired girl ran. She turned a corner...

"No! Don't! Can't lose her!" Instead of running straight ahead to pursue the woman, she cut in front of Kaiden and used her power, grabbing on to a furry chitinous limb. Everything seemed to slow down for Kaiden and Quinn, but he cut a path at his regular speed.

"Go... gotta... just don't lose... her..." Vanyssa was rapidly weakening from the expanded use of her power in her tired state. Kaiden scooped her up and kept running, turning the corner just in time to see the straight haired girl going through an open door.

The trio gained ground, but the door was swinging closed. Once again he found something sticking to the fur of his chitinous arm, and looked up to see Quinn in the thick of his floof, reaching out to catch the door just before it could close. Vanyssa's power had ceased, and she'd collapsed in Kaiden's arm. Kaiden pulled the door open and the three fell through...

---

Vanyssa awoke on another bed, but a far cry away from a hospital.

"Are you Okay?" She heard from Kaiden before she could see him.

"Yeah. Yes, I am not. Where are we?"

"We're in... well, we're not in where I was going, but in a place like it. They said it might be easier for us to just stay at this one..."

"Waitwaitwait-- You're not making any sense. Just... Short answer, where are we."

"Aegis. We're in an Aegis facility in San Francisco, Vanyssa. Ju-V."

San Francisco..? Ju-V..? Why did some of that sound familiar? Like the sound of the bedside alarm fitting around events within a dream you couldn't wake from.

"Hang on. I didn't tell you my name."

"Oh... sorry. It was on your wrist. There wasn't much to do while you've been out. I got curious. I didn't know it was supposed to be a secret."

She sighed. "It's not that it was-- I don't remember much about anything. So my name was about all that I knew about me. So when you go and read something I've been holding back. I know it sounds stupid--"

"When all you know is your name, when others know it too, you feel like you don't have anything to yourself? Something like that?"

"Yes. Like I said, I know it sounds stupid..."

"No. I guess that makes sense. I'm sorry."

"So what exactly happened?"

"Well, we saw Poe... Oh, that's the girl we were chasing. She ran away, you used your power - which is crazy-cool by the way, we caught up. She tried to cut out through a door, little Quinn caught the door. We went through, fell through space to here. Then you blacked out, and the people who work here showed us to these rooms. Quinn... kind of freaked out. I don't think she likes the idea of being in a prison-- well, the place used to be a prison. But yeah, Quinn's in a room with Poe. I don't know how well those two will get along, or what this place intends to do with them. I know I was already coming to a place like this before, so no biggie. At least I know someone here now. I think you must have been going to as well."

Vanyssa listend, but it didn't all seem to make sense. Not with her memory of events, and these recent memories she held and clung to tightly.

"Huh--? That's not right. I was already out. Doesn't make sense."

"Well, when we fell through to here you looked up at the guy and said 'I'm here.' or 'We're here' or something like that before you blacked out, so I figured that was when you went down... Thought that must be why you were going here as well."

Vanyssa tried to think about what that could mean before her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Dinner. At the cafeteria. Now."

It seemed less like a request than a cold order. But she didn't have time to dwell on the courtesy. She was famished.

[Carlyle]

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_{Location: Dorm Rooms - AEGIS Complex, Alcatraz Island}

Issue #8: Deep in Thought

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_{Interaction(s): Sophia @Qia}

Previously: Explosions and Elephants

As Sophia pressed play, a series of familiar opening credit sequences began to play on the television. For Nat, the familiarity or normality of such a simple thing felt oddly relieving. Despite the fact that they were now living on a former island prison and that everything had seemed to have gone to total shit the second they landed, for a few seconds, all of it was washed away with memories of home and family.

_{"What do you mean?"} Natsumi asked. Typically, when things seemed off, she often ignored such signs. A sort of "don't judge a book by its cover", if you could put it that way. Of course, however, today had been incredibly different from, say. dealing with a grumpy individual or something. Nat had been pepper sprayed, and the cafeteria had a literal explosion go off. All and all, it was difficult to ignore the chaos that had taken place.

_{"Are we talking about this place?"} She further moved to clarify. _{"I've... I've tried thinking otherwise; that maybe we're just having a rough start. But with everything that has happened, as well the locked doors, armed guards and such, this place is starting to feel like it won't be much of the help they promised me back in San Francisco. Perhaps you feel similar?"}

[Carlyle]

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_{Location: Dorm Rooms - AEGIS Complex, Alcatraz Island}

Issue #1: Absolutely Buzzingly Furious!

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_{Interaction(s): Poe @Roman}

Previously: N/A

A faint echo of frantic pitter-patter filled up the AEGIS dorm room.

Pacing back and forth, Quinn nearly drove a rut into the sterile-like flooring. Her eyes were wide, panic-stricken. Anxiety crawled up her tiny spine and into her very thoughts. There was only one thing she wanted right now: out of this damned room. Being locked up once more filled her with dread, even more so upon the realization that this place was the former site of Alcatraz. She could only think of how to escape, but how did one escape from the inescapable Rock?

Maybe she could crawl underneath the door threshold. No, that wouldn't work. While Quinn was small in stature, even she probably couldn't squeeze underneath through the gap. What about picking the lock? Yeah, if only she had any experience in lock-picking. It was too bad that she spent more time trying to keep herself alive rather than attending Lockpicking 101 while she was still living on the streets back in Montana.

"FUCK!" Quinn yelled, although to her newfound roommate, her angered shouting wasn't particularly what one would consider "yelling" due to her small figure. She heel-turned to Poe, and pointed a finger at her. "It was you, wasn't it? With all that labyrinth bullshit! Come on now; conjure up one of those doors so I can get the hell out of here!"

A strange request, given that the labyrinth was just as much of a prison as this facility was. One that was very much anxiety-driven and made with clouded judgement.

[Roman]

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Poe's legs burnt as she continued full-pace down stone hallways, fleeing something she was certain, but had already forgotten what, already sealed that away in sheer unconscious trauma-response. Now she was just running, carried by specific but unknowable fear, and the Finite Passage was more than happy to spool open further paths and corridors in front of her, quick to provide further space to put between her and whatever she had left, distantly, fading, behind her. She rounded corners and bounced off stone, seeding little fruiting bruises that she'd poke and wonder and wince at over the coming days, but all was a blur in favour of just running.

Something sharp pulled at her like catching the thread of your sweatshirt on a thorn and she whirled on the spot; in front of her, where there had been none previously, was an innocuous wooden door, smooth and walnut-brown, with a polished brass handle set above a polite but sturdy keyhole. Poe paused; she looked to her right, down the corridor she'd come from - endless gray, rock curving away to the great black maw at the edge of the world. She looked to her left, up the corridor left before her - faintly, in the distance, she thought she could see wall, but it was impossible to tell if that was an end or simply a corner. She looked back at the door, and found she was already grasping the handle within her white-knuckled fist. Utterly disconnected, she watched herself twist the knob and push through door, trading one corridor for another.

There were things on the other side, and all the mystery of the door's appearance was subsumed by a rapid resurgence of the fear that had been spurring her sprint.

girl in white, feels familiar, clinical, hospital, endless prodding and poking, needles and saws and tests and I'm running but running from what, running from that, can't remember what or why just run run RUN

creature is huge and monstrous and an insect, afraid of bugs afraid of monsters, can't be real lives in the labyrinth wants to trap you wants to destroy you, wants to keep you here to fade away and die be forgotten behind stone walls. run. don't let them close around you. run. run.

small girl is a joke, look how little you are Poe, look how pointless you are Poe, look how insignificant and lost you are Poe, just like a child, like a fairy like an imp, like a little girl who hasn't grown up doesn't know herself doesn't know where she is or where she was or where she's going. keep running. what will you find. you will find nothing. you are nothing. just a little girl, crying in the deep dark.

Poe turned away and ran and she realised, with a terrible deep fear, that the strangers followed. But Poe was fast; this was her mind, her labyrinth, and even if she didn't know it, it knew her and it gave her paths, corners, a great winding circuit to lose her pursuers but by the grace of god they were fast and they were cunning - and Poe wasn't sure they were real; and if they weren't, then they were her too, as much as the labyrinth was, and she'd never lose them. How do you run through yourself, from yourself?

Panic climbed in Poe in a recursive pattern, feeding into itself to amplify the terror, and she could feel her vision fading as the adrenaline and hyperventilation and sheer emotional overload threatened to blot her out completely; finally, mercifully, the Finite Passage threw her a bone: another door, picked for no discernible reason, and she crashed through it like a girl with no other options. The last things through her mind before she passed out completely were the small girl holding the door behind her and noticing she had wings, and the realization that the other side of the door lead not to more endless stone corridors, but to a bright, well-lit rec-room.

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Poe had had little time since coming back around following her - and her apparent compatriots' - latest impromptu trip through the Finite Passage, but she'd been caught up on the basics during her escort from the facility's infirmary to her erstwhile living quarters, a practical but comfortable two-person dorm room, surprisingly well-equipped despite the obvious unexpected nature of her arrival. They'd tumbled out of the labyrinth into San Francisco, specifically the AEGIS junior facility built from the once-crumbling walls of Alcatraz penitentiary itself. Said facility had, that same day, welcomed a new set of 'attendees', who'd apparently already managed to cause their fair share of dramatics during their still short-lived tenure; the arrival of Poe and the others was just the feather in the proverbial cap, and administration at that point had decided they'd quite had enough and quickly enforced a curfew, remanding everyone back to their dorms.

With where they were solved, the next obvious question was where they'd come from. Poe had low expectations here, given her addled state of mind, but AEGIS had surprised her here, too; facial tracking and recognition worked quick these days it seemed, and the cameras spread across Alcatraz had flagged her to the as-yet-elusive Director mere minutes after she crashed to the floor in the rec-room. Poe Navidson, in one minute held at another AEGIS facility based in Washington, the next tumbling out of the air on the other side of the continent. They'd reached out to her previous facility with an urgency that usual bureaucratic belligerence could neither stifle nor deny, and determined her identity, the length and circumstances of her stay, and a basic rundown of what was understood of her nature; everything else would be issued soon, once collated and encrypted. Apparently, there was a sizeable file dating back many years on the young Ms. Navidson, and she was something of a unique case. Even more peculiar, two of the other arrivals - Quinn and Kaiden - were due to be welcomed at the same facility that very day. What bearing this had on their inclusion in Poe's journey wasn't bothered to be speculated on.

It was with a sense of great relief, though this would not be revealed to Poe herself, that her accidental extrication from one AEGIS complex had resulted in her internment at another.

Now, all Poe wanted to do was fall into a deep, dreamless sleep, and she had been assured that the the remaining doses circulating her system would allow her to do so with little difficulty; however, little difficulty was, at this present time, proving to be ironically prophetic. Quinn, her erstwhile roommate, was making a shocking amount of noise for one so unassuming in stature. Poe just curled up in her bunk, burying her face in her knees and pressing her forehead against the cool concrete wall, trying to block out the world around her and fall asleep.

"FUCK!" Quinn yelled, startling Poe and rattling her already-shaken mind. She looked over her shoulder, only to see the be-winged girl pointing at her, one aggressive and accusatory finger stretching in her direction. "It was you, wasn't it? With all that labyrinth bullshit! Come on now; conjure up one of those doors so I can get the hell out of here!"

Poe began to cry. She didn't know why she was here; she didn't know why she'd left the last place, didn't know if it was on purpose or by accident, if it was her choice or theirs, if it was the labyrinth's choice. And now, here she was, in a place she neither knew nor understood nor desired, trapped again with someone blaming and yelling, asking not only the impossible of her but the unfathomably terrifying. Go back into the labyrinth? Poe wished, every second with every fibre, that the labyrinth had never even existed - and this girl, this stranger, demanded of her to simply open it up - open herself up - and let her walk its paths in search of non-specific 'out'. For all Poe knew, the labyrinth was 'out', and that thought was more horrifying than any other.

"I can't." She answered, her voice smooth and calm and low, despite the steady stream of tears from her eyes as she sat up, turning around to face Quinn and her accusing finger. "It's not a place. It's not conjured. We didn't get here through a labyrinth. We got here through me, through my head! And I... I just want to sleep. Just for a bit." She faltered, unable to project strength any longer. "_{Please... I can't go back in there...}".

[Qia]

_{Interacts with Natsumi (@Kuro)}

---

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant!" Sophia exclaimed; her eyes wide as she hastily shook her head in response to Natsumi's misinterpretation. "I'm just trying to understand why my parents sent me here and what this place is really about."

As her gaze settled on the movie's opening credits, Sophia found her thoughts drifting to her parents. Their unwavering support and encouragement had always driven her to embrace her abilities and believe in the good she could do. Yet, a twinge of sadness tugged at her heart, for they didn't seem to fully grasp the weight of their expectations or the depth of her failure.

Perhaps that's why they had sent her to the Aegis Centre. They must have realized their mistake.

Seeking solace in her friend's presence, Sophia glanced at Natsumi, a vulnerable expression on her face. "Don't get me wrong, I love them more than anything. But sometimes I wish I could just be a normal teenager, you know?"

Before Natsumi could respond, a sudden knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Sophia's curiosity was piqued as she exchanged a quick, questioning glance with her roommate, silently wondering who could be on the other side.

“It’s dinner time folks. Time to get moving,” A voice said from the other side.

Sophia's shoulders slumped. The promise of answers from their conversation would have to wait, and she couldn't help but feel a tinge of frustration at the interruption. Nonetheless, she forced a small smile as she turned to Natsumi. "Maybe we'll get a chance to watch the movie later?”

[Skai]

H A V E N B A R N E S

---

Haven's nose was still wrinkled in memory of the plane as she heard the door to the girl's ward open. The expression quickly vanished, her eyes moving towards the door. Down the hallway, the guard stopped after a few paces, knocked, announced dinner, and began to repeat the action every few seconds.

Haven pushed herself up onto her knees, her wings slowly tucking behind her. The muscles in her back groaned at the movement, and yet she didn't have to force them to move. The moment of rest had been appreciated, however small a moment it had been.

"They're coming to get us for dinner now." Haven murmured as she moved to swing her legs off of the bed. By the time her boots touched the ground, the guard had reached their door and repeated her command.

Haven could hear the others filing into the hallway now. Despite being able to collect herself in the peace of her and Zee's room, she could feel herself growing anxious about returning to another potentially chaotic mix of people. Her first instinct was to reach for her jacket, and yet she didn't make the move. Yeah, she could keep them safe underneath it. Away from any wandering eyes or anxious hands. (She hoped that Fritz would have a private dinner tonight. No ill will towards him, but she wasn't sure she wanted him near her again today. ) Yet putting the jacket on felt a lot like hiding. Wasn't the point of coming here, to surround herself with people like her, that she didn't have to hide?

Haven pressed her lips together, the thought giving her the strength to rejoin Ju-V's little society with determination. She left her backpack sitting at the end of the bed and moved towards the door. She hadn't gone a moment without it in so long that it felt odd.

"Do you want to sit with me?" She asked Zelda as she reached for the handle. She pushed down on it, opening their quiet space up to the shuffle of others outside.

Before her determination was lost, Haven moved into the hallway. She slipped into an open spot in the line, careful not to get too close to anyone, and followed the group through Ju-V's facility, Zelda hopefully in tow behind her.

It wasn't long before they reached a set of two open doors, leading into what looked like a school cafeteria she'd seen in movies before. It wasn't as colorful or filled with banners and posters as the movies had, but it was close enough. What really caught her attention was that the tables seemed glued to the floor. Their matching -backless, thank the heavens- seats were also cemented into the floor as well. No one was throwing a chair or tossing a table at anyone in here.

The boys were entering from the opposite side, and moving towards the same food line as they were. Haven searched the faces, seeing the new Ju-Vies mixed in with the ones they met in the recreation room earlier. She didn't get to find Wes or Fritz before she found the line in front of her had stopped to let the first in line grab their dinner.

She turned her head forward, peering around the girl in front of her to try to get a glimpse at what was on the menu tonight. She'd eaten an absolutely delicious breakfast sandwich at the airport before her flight. The type of sandwich with the croissant bread that Haven hadn't had in years.

Usually with her metabolism she would have been hungry again by midday, but her stomach hadn't made a single complaint. Not until she laid her eyes on the food being served on plastic trays. She moved her hand to her stomach, now counting down the moment that she could get a bite of it. She was used to canned food, or processed fast food paid by stolen wallets, so she didn't really care what it tasted like. Even if food hadn't tasted the same since she hit puberty. The stress of the day must have kept the hunger at bay, but now it came back in full force.

"Looks like we're having some kind of frozen TV dinner, but maybe a little better made," Haven said to who she assumed was Zee behind her. She turned her head behind her to look, but quickly realized it wasn't Zee at all.