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Post by luscen on Jul 1, 2021 7:06:11 GMT -6
Casmir didn't bother responding verbally to Amato, though he did spare the Italian an annoyed glance. His more immediate concern was with Sara and the phantom figure just ahead of her; "Aaron" didn't quite seem right, the air of... wrongness about the scarred Agent setting off the more basal instincts of Casmir's brain, making the skin between his shoulder blades itch. This wasn't the real Aaron Telmore- there was no way he could have gotten down here that fast, and yet there was no visual indication of something being out of sorts... Was his Eye unable to discern the truth of this matter, or could his brain simply not register it, like it hadn't originally with Rhys?
Putting the conundrum aside for now, the Hunter recalled what Sara had told him, earlier: about how she could obtain "samples" from things just by skin-to-skin contact. Were there things that were dangerous for her to touch? Did this "Aaron" even have a physical form to touch? What if he did, and the nature of his reality was somehow incompatible with Sara's tactile response, seeing as she was from this dimension? What could that do to her genetic matrix? He didn't know, and he didn't want to risk her empathy leading to something tragic happening, especially not before he could confirm with her that the Flashbulb in the interrogation room was, in fact, hers.
Casmir found he had to work to unclench his jaw, at that particular thought.
"Gmork," he said quietly, discreetly clenching the tracking charm in his fist while moving closer to the Gold. "What's that your friend on the other line said? Something about Aaron meeting himself being impossible?" He saw Koji move up and place a hand on Sara's arm, but the angle of his head and the way he moved his mouth made it impossible to figure out what the Gensai said to her. Something to do with this specter of Aaron, perhaps? Either way, Koji's familiarity with how to deal with lip-readers was quite evident.
Just then Amato called to someone the Hunter hadn't noticed, and Casmir looked over to see a short black man with glasses and a wide smile, who greeted the Medium cheerfully. The Hunter's brows lowered slightly, wondering what someone so chipper was doing, here. At the mention of this man, Simon, being a werewolf, however, Casmir discretely opened the silver phial of his tracking charm, taking the crystal out and examining it- it was pulsing steadily; the pale, greenish glow of sickly moonlight matching the aura Casmir could see around Simon's stocky frame, the faint shape of dog ears and a tail marking him as a lycanthrope.
"Looks like we've found our third party..." Casmir muttered, giving Cassius a look. "Can you catch me up to speed on what's happening, here?"
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Post by jarahamee on Jul 6, 2021 1:02:06 GMT -6
Agent Lucidus had not failed to notice the Hunter’s entrance, admittedly out of the side of his eye as he stood behind Sara, and she felt his mood shift. As he was hailed, he gave Casmir a sidewise look, his footing adjusting smoothly as his body turned. It was both effortless and a little bit unsettling to those who knew what they were looking at.
“To close this reality, we have to make something impossible, or perhaps, highly improbable happen. In addition, we have to find out who this phenomenon was centered around, and resolve the problems that may have made it happen. I assume those people are Telmore, Dr. Summers, and Dust.”
His dark eyes burned with their own fervent intensity, but with what emotion? It was difficult to discern.
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Post by tsukikoko on Jul 12, 2021 17:14:59 GMT -6
Koji's touch upon her arm made the shifter startle with surprise, her mouth opening in a small, rounded shape as she turned her gaze to him. In honesty, with this version of Aaron taking up so much of her attention, she'd near forgotten the Genasi was there.
"Ah- o'course, ya reet..." she flashed a small, but genuinely grateful smile in his direction, "thank you luv, I just-" The sentence trailed off. Even as her expression had creased into affection for Koji stepping in on her behalf, Sara's viridescent gaze nevertheless kept flickering back to the agent's raised hand. Conflicted distress was evident in her eyes, even through her clear gratitude at being warned of her own tendency to emotionally leap before she looked. Even knowing this wasn't her Aaron, that the events he was seeing weren't those of this reality, still she felt the urge to help him. Somehow.
Movement at her back, Cassius' adjusted stance and the sudden shift in mood, made the hairs upon the back of her neck stand up. For the first time since reaching the morgue, she noticed too a familiar gruff voice, also originating from behind her. The shifter swallowed slightly, not daring to turn around lest she give something away.
Or, if she admitted it to herself, was it because she couldn't bring herself to turn away from Aaron's pained visage.
It was his flickering gaze, searching for reassurance she wasn't sure she could give, that truly did the shifter in. Something indescribable lodged in her throat, made breathing abruptly more difficult as her chest tightened. Cassius' words, hollow and distant-sounding though they were, still managed to reach her; could she be part of the problem? They'd had their difficulties lately, it was true... Would offering comfort now, even to a different version of the agent, help at all?
"'E's 'urtin'..." she whispered to the Genasi, unable to look away. The hand previously raised ended up threading through her own fiery hair, occupying themselves so as not to close that small, final gap. "'Ard tah know 'ow tah 'elp most the time, ya know? We divvint talk enough, or per'aps I ain't askin', or sayin', the reet things, like." It was hard to tell if Sara was speaking to Koji, or to the Aaron in front of her, with these admissions. "But then, 'alf the time, what can ya say aside from 'it's bloody shite'? Christ... it's-" Again, she seemed uncertain how to proceed. The shifter's hand emerged from the red of her hair and, with a soft exhale, she reached forward to close that physical gap, voice emerging as a whisper both heartfelt and apologetic. Again, it was hard to say who she was addressing, given the circumstances.
"I'm sorry."
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Post by Sharei on Jul 14, 2021 12:01:33 GMT -6
Koji's gaze flickered to Aaron briefly, then down, acknowledging Sara's words for the truth that they were. What did you say? He'd tried to get the agent to open up but sometimes the man just stonewalled him. You wouldn't think it of him, but Aaron had a remarkable ability to stop listening if what you were saying was something he didn't want to hear. Like Sara - like all of them, really - Aaron had turned stubbornness into a superpower.
The Genasi's gaze moved to the group assembled near the door. He hadn't failed to notice Casmir, and the man's mere presence seemed to spoil the ex-asset's mood. He watched the hunter, face pulling into a scowl that rivaled the ones he'd been using on Lin, and his whole demeanor shifted from supportive back to confrontational. But whatever it was that Koji was waiting for, he didn't seem to get it. His shoulders relaxed, though the scowl hadn't gone. Neither of the two times he'd met the hunter had left particularly favorable impressions.
"We should go back to the others," Koji said and wheeled himself toward the door.
Instead of picking a fight when he got there, however, he picked up the letter still resting in his lap and wordlessly began to read it.
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Post by qhostqrowls on Jul 31, 2021 8:39:49 GMT -6
"Yeah, that's also all I could think of." Faolan nodded at Simons suggestion of having the Aaron's meet, half listening to the agents as they talked amongst themselves. Telmore had been stuck in questioning all morning, and he imagined the man would be keen to get out sooner rather than later. "This proves that he's all good, so I don't see why there'd be any issues with getting him down here?"
He looked shyly to Amato for confirmation. The man was leagues less intimidating than Ruiz, but he still felt out of place among the agents. Even Simon had been one once.
Koji was scowling, he noticed belatedly, at the blond man. The surgeon watched the Genasi and not-Aaron in his peripherals nervously. The corridor felt crowded, the morgue still vaugley ominous.
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Post by MP on Aug 9, 2021 23:12:08 GMT -6
Amato and Ruiz groaned simultaneously at Simon's joke. But just like that, the worst of the tension eased. Todd smiled apologetically.
"Yeah, not to be weird. I ask because we picked up werewolf readings - not Agent Lucidus either - at the - " The slightest hesitation as he glanced at Sara. "The crime scene. At about 1620. Our hunter associate here tracked it back to the building, and it looks like your signature's a match."
Nora, finally letting Aaron out of her peripherals, frowned at her partner.
"Todd, unless he can run thirty miles a minute, that's impossible. They called me from the morgue a few minutes before. There's no way." She arched an eyebrow at Simon. "You can't, right?"
It was hard to tell from her tone whether she was joking or not. She sidestepped Aaron and stopped at Todd's shoulder. They considered Simon together. Ruiz huffed out a breath.
"I still think they've got something though," she said. "Two Aarons sounds impossible enough. Maybe our Aaron can pop the fake. If you've got to clear up the werewolf stuff," she nodded at Casmir's talisman, "I'll head upstairs and see if they'll agree. Doc, Simon - you want to come with? Your idea, your pitch and all. The opinion from medical would help."
The conversation continued back and forth over Aaron's head, but it was Sara who'd last reached out to him, and he only had eyes for her.
"I'm sorry too," he said quietly. "It's not your fault. We couldn't know. We just -" He swallowed hard and looked away. After a moment, he composed himself.
"I'm just dropping this off." His hand turned ever so slightly. A small invitation, not quite daring to reach out fully. "Did you want to go in?"
Only, "this" was already in Koji's hand. It was Aaron's careful handwriting and Aaron's blunt tone, more words than the agent ever said in person. The paper was creased to the point of softness, one corner bent, clearly opened and reworked many times.
Dear Koji,
I know how much this means to you. I'm not asking you to let that go. Just to take care of yourself and do things right. Don't take LES files, don't get into fieldwork, keep your record spotless and get a clean start. I know it's frustrating with your qualifications. But this is federal jurisdiction and you can't be caught digging around. Right now your conditioning makes it too dangerous to confront Zramek operatives even if you were authorized. For now, just trust us to do our jobs and focus on getting yourself situated.
When we've both had time to cool off, if you're open to it, I'd like to talk about what we can do about your involvement going forward. I won't try to block you. I just don't want this to be at your expense. I hope you trust that when you are cleared, you'll have whatever support I can give.
Sincerely, Aaron
P.S. I never did thank you for stopping that second shot. So thanks. (Don't do it again though.)
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Post by beastly on Aug 10, 2021 6:50:04 GMT -6
Simon was pleased to have lightened some of the heaviness of the situation, it made him feel less like imminent destruction was around the corner. Still, in times like these you could roll with it and try and smile, or let it drag you into the existential dread that comes with the natural world breaking down around you because reality is fucked.
Simon stuck his hands in his pockets, listening to Amato's explanation. His eyebrows shot up, then furrowed at the explanation, and he took a healthy step away from Casmir, trying to look casual about it. "Your, uh, hunter buddy huh." Just what every werewolf loves to hear, a hunter tracking them. So, they were working with hunters now, he tried to keep his expression from turning into a glare at the man. He had several concerns about letting this guy run around, but kept quiet. They must have needed him, and they must be relatively sure he wasn't a threat to supers in the building at the moment. Considering the place was crawling with law enforcement, though, he rationally knew there wasn't much to worry about. Still, he didn't like it.
Simon observed the agents appraisal, and a dry smirk took place on his lips. He gestured to his decidedly non-athletic figure. He was a werewolf, not a greyhound.
"Nah. No running for me. That's... weird. I've been here since early morning. Certainly wasn't sniffing around out there," He eyed Casmir, " There's other moonshifters working here... is it, like... personal?" Maybe it was messed up from all the time space shenanigans. Maybe it was just a mistake.
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Post by jarahamee on Aug 10, 2021 23:16:30 GMT -6
Cassius huffed softly when they spoke of werewolves. He himself was no true werewolf, just a human with a pact, but Beast appreciated the nod in his direction. No, this was a matter of Groves being in two places at once, a rift in reality that involved him somehow. How, he was not sure, and he doubted Groves knew either.
He looked over his shoulder at Groves. It was specifically him, because he had some kind of tie to the events. The two of them had been connected somehow. He had felt it, in all its wrongness. He addressed Ruiz and Amato;
“No, I think he is connected to the impossible events, but in what way, I am not sure.”
The scarred soldier watched the interplay of events between FalseTelmore, Dust, and Dr. Summers. Guilt, unsettled affairs tied them all together, but what and why, he was not sure of. While he knew all three of them reasonably well, he did not know enough of their relations understand these kinds of intricacies. So it was true.
Sarkany had been on point about that.
“I think it does have to do with something guilt-inducing, involving Dust, Dr. Summers, and Telmore. Resolving that here, with those three, may resolve it, but I imagine, the real Telmore meeting the false one would also resolve this impossible loop.”
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Post by Sharei on Aug 17, 2021 18:57:08 GMT -6
Koji read the letter once, then a second time to commit the words to memory. A flutter of emotion passed over the Genasi's eyes when he folded the paper into quarters, but that was the only outward indication of its contents. This was something too private to share with the others.
The Genasi took a steadying breath. Tucked the paper into his pocket.
"There are a lot of... unresolved emotions surrounding my abduction," he said finally. "Between Aaron and I. If this is happening because of us, that might be contributing to it."
Koji glanced at the group, each in turn. He'd been in the morgue when they'd had the conversation about what was actually happening in there.
"But I feel like I'm missing something. Anyone want to fill me in?"
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Post by qhostqrowls on Sept 18, 2021 21:00:25 GMT -6
Faolan side-eyed Simon at the Hunter revelation, mirroring his expression of subtle disdain for the few seconds their eyes met. Having a Hunter in the WDSA HQ felt wrong, to say the least, but there must have been good reason for him to be involved with the investigation.
"Sure thing, I'll come with." Faolan nodded at Ruiz's suggestion, relived to have an out of a situation that was seeming to get more complicated and emotional by the second. Best to leave them to it and not feel like an intruder on a private conversation.
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Post by tsukikoko on Oct 18, 2021 1:59:28 GMT -6
The sight of that empty hand, the spoken implication that it should hold something and did to 'him', set of that prickle in the back of Sara's skull; of the inherent uncanny wrongness present.
Yet, there was still her empathic need to help him, too.
The shifter glanced in the direction Koji had left, the direction in which a group of people stood in the corridor. Words drifted to her, of how guilt around her might be a root cause. Her expression creased into a pained one, eyes downturned, only to release a sad sigh and smile gently at the 'other-Aaron'.
"Aye luv," she reached out and let the very tips of her fingers brush the agent's palm, unable to ignore those unsure invitations he'd been giving her all this time. "I'll come in with ya, like."
If nothing else, maybe she could ease this... anomaly, or at least stop it... progressing? She wasn't really sure how these things worked, but if she was associated with it, or had been a cause, she had to try to help too.
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Post by luscen on Oct 22, 2021 8:20:09 GMT -6
Casmir had been careful to keep a close eye on both Sara and the Agents he stood amongst outside of the morgue. The short one with the glasses and the big smile had taken a step away from him upon hearing of the blonde's occupation, the edges of his mouth tightening in an effort to avoid seeming rude. Nevertheless, sharpened eyes gazed at Casmir warily, but for his part the taller man simply kept his hands in his pockets, gazing back calmly at the werewolf from the corner of his mismatched eyes.
At Koji's question, those eyes slid over to regard Agent Lucidus, standing on the other side of the Hunter. His frame was solid, and while he simply seemed to be standing at ease, Casmir could tell that the Gold would have no trouble putting himself between the door and the blonde, should he feel it necessary. "I'd tell you," the scarred man replied, closing his eyes and giving a half-shrug. "But I'm not sure what the chain of custody is, yet. You're probably better off getting the details from the suit in charge of this whole thing." It wasn't an attempt at being flippant; Casmir knew he had to cooperate with these people if he was going to succeed in stopping Atol. And while this wasn't truly relevant to that goal, the Hunter decided to treat it as something of a trust-building exercise. If he could follow protocol, even if only just, then that might make it easier for them to cooperate with him. Give and take was the name of the game, here.
'That was all there is to it,' Casmir thought to himself, focusing his attention back on Sara. His shoulders tensed slightly when he saw the redhead brush her fingertips across the Anomaly's gloved palm. 'Bloody woman!' He growled, though he kept his expression stoic. Was she bound and determined to blow herself out of existence because of her damned empathy?
"About that doctor's suggestion," He said, somehow managing to keep his voice calm. "What makes you think it's going to work?" he turned slightly to look at Koji- outside of Sara, the Gensai seemed to know the Glowworm best. Perhaps he'd be able to answer the question to Casmir's satisfaction. "For any normal person, I'm sure that'd suffice. But the-" he slipped, his mouth twitching slightly before continuing.
"But Telmore is a Field Agent. Has he never encountered any shapeshifters that have tried to assume his form to confuse him? Doppelgängers, Boggarts, Empusa? What about jinxes or hexes that fashion a simulacrum? How do we know he won't assume this is just some sort of trick, making it more difficult to create this so-called 'impossibility?'"
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Post by MP on Oct 30, 2021 16:01:22 GMT -6
[Faolan and Simon]
"Well sure. So we're gonna brief him," Ruiz said. "And with three of us plus an expert - if you want along, Simon - he'll get the picture."
"Plus he already heard about the body," Todd added brightly.
"So it's no problem. We'll have him down in a few." Ruiz finished, ushering her team out through the door. "Hoo boy," she said, stretching a little as they left the hallway. "Who's ready for some fresh air and live company, right? Let me just make a call."
She might not be a psychic, but the agent still seemed glad to get away from the undercurrent of tension between the remaining investigators. Even while on the phone, she walked more briskly than before, powerwalking from the elevator, the hallway, and finally up to interrogations. A massive reptilian agent was already loitering by the wall, massive arms folded against his chest. He sat up as he saw them, nostrils flaring.
"They're still going in there?" Ruiz looked irritated as Lin nodded. "I'll talk to them. Got to get the specialist in on it too. What was the number again? You know, the portal guy with the teeth?"
Lin perked up and scrawled a number on his little chalkboard. Ruiz nodded and dialed.
"Thank you, mijo. You guys wait for Aaron, alright?"
All sweetness melted from her expression as she strolled for the monitoring room and shut the door behind her. Her voice drifted through the walls a minute later, a distinctly ungentle sound. A few minutes later, the door to the interrogation room opened. A grim-faced federal agent stepped out, followed a few seconds later by Aaron himself. He stopped when he saw them, looking from Lin to Faolan to Simon.
"Hi..." he said uncertainly.
Ruiz and an unfortunate agent followed behind them. Despite the former care to keep to an undertone, it was clear she was just getting started.
[Cassius]
"Oh!"
Sarkany's voice sounded in the receiver. He sounded surprised. Confused, even.
"Officer, there's a, hm. This phone is acting up. Little symbols on the front. Red is bad, yes? What am I looking a-"
The call cut off abruptly.
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Post by beastly on Oct 31, 2021 16:49:22 GMT -6
The werewolf eyed the Hunter. What was his relationship to Aaron, anyway? How did he tie in? There was something in the way he said his name. Well. Worst case, anyway, was that they get Aaron down here and it didn't work.
Simon went along with Ruiz and Fao, nodding as Ruiz spoke. He was glad to have the scent of death out of his nose.
When they arrived at interrogations, Simon gave a small wave at the big guy, nodding again as Ruiz went off to speak to those in charge. Simon decided then that he definitely liked her, she was someone who got things done.
He brightened some when he saw Aaron, the real one. Alive. He'd been horrified to see his friend dead, and seeing him alive honestly brought a little emotion to his chest. He couldn't imagine the day the guy was having. He looked a little unsure of what was happening now. Which was fair.
"Hey, buddy."
Simon paused, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He wasn't sure how to put this delicately, he didn't want to just launch into 'hey pal, glad you're alive, we need you to talk to your formerly dead self to fix a reality problem'.
"You doin okay?...Considering, I mean? We got some good news, sorta. It's weird news. We think we know how to resolve this whole, uh, situation."
He glanced at Fao, hoping for a little back up in explaining what was up.
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Post by jarahamee on Oct 31, 2021 17:50:27 GMT -6
Cassius squinted in annoyance. Sarkany’s phone ran out of batteries. He supposed that was it with tying things to reality. He looked at the others in the room, and wondered who else was outside he could call, grumbling.
He went down his mental list quickly, and settled on Agent Cazadorscuro. She wouldn’t appreciate the call, but at least it would be work related. Now how could he explain the situation? Underexplaining it would be best, he decided.
“This is Cassius. Listen, I need you to stay on the line with me for now.”
She made an impatient sound, but didn’t ask further questions, only details of their guest’s situation. A good thing he was right there next to them.
The group would have to wait until the real Agent Telmore met with his doppleganger. At least Dr. Summer’s contact with the anomaly hadn’t caused any ill-effects thus far. Thus far. He imagined, the longer it was in existence, the worse all these things would become.
“There may be some other ways to resolve this, if direct contact does not work.”
He frowned at the others gathered around Not-Telmore.
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