capeandcowllogs | it's submission that they want

Entry tags:

it's submission that they want

WHO: MIRROR MASTER and YOU
WHERE: Various locations in the City; jewelry stores, antique shops, art dealerships, etc. (Specify!)
WHEN: July 22 - 30
WARNINGS: Possibly violence
SUMMARY: Sassy Scot seeks Superhero! See here.
FORMAT: Whatever!

It was easy to get bored around here, particularly for the non-gainfully employed individual such as Evan McCulloch. Not that he didn't have "jobs", but "jobs" weren't the same as the fun of knocking Flash around Keystone City. Without the rest of the Rogues -- not just Captain Cold, but Trickster, the wee Boomerang boy, and even Piper -- there was even fewer things to keep him busy. He liked a challenge; that was the fun of being a super-villain, a Rogue, wasn't it? Robbing a store had never been so simple. Too simple, after a while.

It was time to be proactive and stop waiting for the Flash to arrive. He'd find someone else to spend his time on, possibly exclusively -- for now. He hated to offer his goods (maybe) in payment for his auditions, but there was no point in testing a hero if they were just going to run to the cops first thing. Now was there?

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[Then came the game of rooting out the Rogue. It could have been an easy task in a matter of waiting at the right moment at the right store. But waiting took time, and that was letting the enemy come to you in a place where he'd probably mapped out all possible exit points. Or maybe he didn't but, still, Quentin wasn't willing to just sit around on his hands and wait for the prey to come to him. He was going to root out Evan with a simple yet challenging system.

Find the psyche with the numbers 6125806. It wasn't tasking because of memorization issues. (Quentin fully expected Evan to disregard the numbers.) Instead, it was an issue of so many subconscious psyches on the telepathic stereo. Mundane thoughts that people weren't aware of, ranging from a variety of different things. The numbers were such a thing. Floating around out there.

It took some time to sift through so many minds in the hustle and bustle of the city but, eventually his shuffling paid off and he managed to pinpoint Evan. With relative ease, he creeps into the other's mind and loudly announces himself telepathically.]

Hello, Mirror Lassie.

[ Evan snaps to attention when the voice -- well, something like it -- shouts in his brain, and his hand is already on his gun. He can't see Quentin, not yet, but he flips a switch on the Mirror gun, readying several panels he's laid out over the street, the surrounding buildings, and a couple of surround blocks, all made to look like the same block and buildings repeated. He disappears into one of the mirrors to wait. He's been preparing, because there's no way this will be another Pied Piper incident. He thinks back: ]

Ready or not!

I knew you'd say that.

[He smirks, slowly busying himself in Evan's mind to map it out. To a psychic, each mind was different and typically reflected the owner and his or her's fantasies or even their dream life style. And secrets, memories, and thoughts were housed in their own dorms. Unlocked and unguarded, they could be easily invaded upon. But, such information was not what Quentin wanted. Quentin wanted to play the mastermind.]

Did anyone ever tell you that your mind is easy stuff?

Aw, you're off your head. And dinnae go nosying aboot too much, we're for a rammy, not a peepshow.

[ It's good, really, because Evan has more secrets than he likes to admit. The annoyance only encourages him to make his set up more elaborate; the panels alternate which blocks they reflect now, so it'd appear a bit like someone is suddenly in one location, than another. It's enough for a start. If he moves the panels around later he can set up a good maze in moments. He takes out his Mirror pack, seeing if he can glimpse where Quentin is via the reflection of a window, or a rear view mirror somewhere. ]

Snooping is stealth work, you of all the people should grasp that. But I've never been the one to abide by moral standards for telepathy. I like seeing ideas... planting ideas... the kind of stuff dream's are made of.

[While he's carefully skirting around in Evan's mind, Quentin's physical body moves. He'd figured if he took the care to avoid mirrors, he'd manage to avoid Evan all together and he would have an easy target practice for himself. But, he was off by a long shot as he passes a window of a store front. It's easy to spot him, regardless, look for the smug little punk with the bring pink hair and the t-shirt that reads "Keep Calm, Trust a Teenager."]

[ Evan smirked to himself as Quentin strolled by the window, allowing Evan to track his movement from there to his own location, fortressed by the block of hidden mirrors projecting forth whatever Evan wanted them to. The locations still alternated periodically but the "people" milling across them continued walking as if nothing was wrong, a few of them happening to look identical to Quentin in appearance. He'd see how that went over once Quentin got closer.

It's lucky that all this comes naturally enough to Evan by now he barely has to think about his work. But it's the stuff he doesn't want to think about that's the hardest not to, knowing someone's snooping through his head. Ironic how that worked. ]

Dreams, eh? Dinnae fall too far down into Wonderland while you're at it, laddie.

[His surroundings were something that he didn't take much notice in. At least in attention to the features of the physical plane. Most of his concentration going into the communication connection as well as the little construct he'd been devising just underneath Evan's thoughts. Quentin took a great deal of consideration in the details of the mental maze. Dead ends, fears, an array of intricate detail to make the experience most unpleasant and most of all-- unforgettable.

Funny how, both of them had mazes on the mind.]

Nah. Not fictional ideas, anyone can get caught up in fiction fantasies.

[ Evan narrowed his eyes at the pocket mirror, still waiting. He hated his work not being noticed, but he could be patient -- he wanted to raise the stakes, anyway. He'd let the mirror walls close in to trap the kid, and then even if he didn't notice he'd still be in the heart of Evan's playground. He clicked the lever on his gun again, watching the trap unfold, and noticing the thin film of sweat his fingers left behind on the trigger.

He wasn't nervous, but there was a sense of both anticipation and foreboding he couldn't deny. He didn't know if he could keep up not thinking about everything he didn't want to think about, or if he was really succeeding as it was. His mind kept drifting to blood. ]

I'm nae talking aboot pure fantasy. What are ya looking for?

Is this the whole game, lad?

[ When Quentin's finally close enough, one of Evan's arms will reach from one of the enclosing mirror panels and tap his shoulder. ]

Howzitgaun?

[It's the kind of reality reminder that jerks him back to his surroundings. Immediately he spins around, confused that Evan was apparently closer than he'd anticipated. It's only then that he's quick to notice the changes, leaving him baffled with more questions. And he glares because he didn't like being played like a fool.]

Look over there!

[Whether or not Evan actually looks, Quentin attempts to dart away from the other and attack Evan's psyche. Even if he didn't look (there was nothing behind him), he might have felt something like ants or spiders crawling across his skin. A diversion at the most.]

Oh you know, ingredients for our little game.

[ Evan shuddered, rubbing and swatting at his arm. He glanced at his hands but there was nothing there. He hisses through a grin, letting the mirrors warp their surroundings, making street or alley appear where there's just wall, hiding all reality from sight. Evan appears out of one of Quentin's reflections, leaning his upper body out of the window panel. He'll swing his arm out to try to shove Quentin toward what appears like, but isn't, an open manhole. ]

I'm nae spooked that easily, lad. Mirror tricks, just like mine.

Just mind the rabbit holes, then. Ya nae want to know what's down at the bottom.

[ He thought briefly of London, and snow. ]

Then it isn't real, right? It's all a fake.

[He's shoved, staggering until he's teetering on the edge of the manhole. But he also tries to reach out to Evan, to grab a hold of the offending arm and pull him into this trip. The mirror tricks is the only statement he needs to confirm reality's been warped. At least his reality. Reality or not, he wasn't going to be the kid who let others push him around.

He promptly returns it with a ticking clock. A countdown to his own big attack on Evan's mental soundness, followed by ghosting feel of a hand on Evan's shoulder.]

Do you have an obsession with Alice in Wonderland, Mirror Lassie? Better answer fast because- tick, tock, tick, tock- the clock is ticking.

Hard to tell, isn't it? It's all about how ya see the world.

[ He gets pulled, falling out, and when the rest of his body falls out of the mirror it turns into glass. Another Evan waves to Quentin from his left, and another at his right. They look exactly alike, but the real Evan is standing behind Quentin, within the reflected manhole. He's glad for the moment to be out of sight. He can already feel his heart rate accelerating, children, rocks, gunshots, a bathtub full of blood and a mirror streaked with fingerprints flash in his head before he can force them not to. ]

It's nae an obsess-- ah, dammit! No, that's not it!

[ He reaches for Quentin's ankles to pull him through the manhole, which would send them both through it and out another mirror set up along a storefront, some feet up from the ground. ]

But reality's much more flexible on the other side of the looking glass, aye?

Everything's fake-

[The smirk is wiped clean off his face as he's pulled down the manhole, landing in front of the storefront with his arms shielding his face. He'd just recovered from a broken nose, didn't need the same thing happening twice because of shiny things like glass and diamonds.

Though the increased pulse of the heart and the flashing images didn't go unnoticed by Quentin. In fact, he replayed them back to Evan, taunting the other by parroting them with a more crisp detail.]

Seems to me like you've got yourself a bit of a problem there. A memory resurfacing perhaps? Maybe if I dig the scab deeper, we'll find us something there eh? Didn't say nothin about childhood trauma. Only love.

It's as real as anything else ya can see. [ But he loses focus again, grinding his teeth against each image. It didn't even cross his mind to bring his past up before. ] Urgh-- leave it alone. It no bother now, aye?

[ When he falls from the first mirror, he disappears into another one. He sees himself as a child, standing by a river, hitting another child with a rock until the boy falls backwards and doesn't surface above the water. Evan flicks the lever on his Mirror gun again so that a projection clone that look like Quentin this time will climb out one window with a large shard of glass in hand held out like a weapon. Like the Evan clones though, if hit hard enough it'll break like glass. ]

Speaking of scabbing.

No. This is way more fun then what I originally intended. But don't worry, nothing is of waste here.

[Because he was hiding away little reminders in his own maze construct. A child by a river at a dead end, a trail of blood... personal red herrings for Evan. Though the memories also serve as a distraction to create the interactive memory maze.]

Ah... fuck.

[The shard of glass is what concerns him, and he's quick to pat himself down. Seeking for a suitable weapon. He didn't carry such and found only a permanent marker. Not to be defeated, Quentin quickly thinks on the situation.]

Let's see. Mirror Master, mastery of mirrors. [He glimpses at the window.] Windows, and reflections. Take that away and what do you get?

[Dust. A weapon and some dust. That's what his conclusions come to.]

[ The reflections indeed only work if they can reflect. Evan breathes hard, trying to focus. Better to channel this frustration into fighting the kid, he can't fall in right now with no way out. Can't get trapped. He thinks maybe if he focuses on his constructs his mind will finally settle down, though he feels cold all over. Another image: himself as a younger man holding a sniper rifle, his birth father's dead body on the street below, Evan's first and last real glimpse of him. He narrows his eyes and watches Quentin and clone Quentin, hovering behind them and watching with a definitely spiteful grin. ]

Ya think he'll go down that easy? Hate to break it to ya, but there's more where he came from. Mirrors and light, anything that reflects is my toy.

[ And another clone, lacking a shard of glass, will make his agenda trying to trap Quentin in one of the mirrors. ]

[Act fast. Quentin ducks down, yanking on the lace of his boots to untie them in one fluid motion before squeezing out of his boot. A weapon. It could work. As long as he's able to retrieve the shoe as quickly as he throws it because if it does work, Quentin knows Evan will do anything to get it away from him. Without any hesitation, he hurls the boot at the clone with the glass shard before chasing after said shoe. Neutralize the one's with weapons first, worry about the other ones later.]

If it's yours it's probably piss poor quality.

[Not true technically, but the memories were definitely piling up the more he poked and prodded the other.]

My gizmos are pure dead brilliant pieces o' work, laddie. I could turn this city into something that would give even a surrealist nightmares.

[ Not only does the boot hit the glass shard, but it shatters the clone's hand up to the wrist. Of course, one hand or not he's not giving up; the clone will attempt punches, or grabs, or kicks, anything that might land while the other hovers around as back-up. Evan's finger pulls the trigger on his Mirror gun again, washing the area with light; when it fades, everything looks upside down. ]

How's that reality feeling for ya now?

[ He can barely manage to think straight, and he says everything aloud now so that there's less chance of him broadcasting more than just words at Quentin. He doesn't even care if Quentin knows any of it, not as much as he doesn't want to think about it. To deal with it. Christ's sakes, what was the need? If he doesn't keep it together he can't very well keep his tricks up, and that's most important. ]

Christ, christ, bloody jesus shite christ almighty, this is not the bloody time.

I hadn't noticed.

[Quentin doesn't panic, he's used to the sudden reality changes or expects them from Evan by now. But even upside down, he still puts up a fight on the physical spectrum of things by ducking down from the clone to retrieve his boot. Which he then turns into a pseudo boxing glove.

Most of it is just a show, to lead Evan on for a bigger fall in his confidence and ego, something Quentin always aims for when directly confronting someone. It worked with Bullseye, among others. There was no reason it couldn't work on the Mirror Master.]

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall~.

[By the time he got around to it, he was going to leave Evan trapped inside his own mind... with a way out of course. But only after overcoming some difficulties.]

[ Evan watches with rapt attention, breathing slowly and rubbing his eyes periodically. Any other day he'd have a dozen new strategies at work by now, a melee of clones or a Salvador Dali-esque Wonderland or some other twisted visual mindfuck in front of him, but he couldn't concentrate at all, could feel something behind his eyeballs. Touching his gun he saw his rifle firing, way back in London. ]

Dammit. What'd ya do? I've nae been-- aw, right, let him have it, then!

[ He decides to focus, again, on the clone's attempts to pull Quentin into the mirror and trap him there rather than his mind's scrambling. Then Evan himself can have the pleasure of breaking the glass in with his foot and that helps relax his otherwise panicked brain. The clones change appearance, from Quentin to Evan, and Evan himself stands up to join them. He throws a punch at Quentin's face. ]

But you'll notice this, eh?

[Quentin flinches and then winces when the fist collides into his face. Dazed from the punch, he struggles to fight back while hissing insults at Evan under his breath. Nothing coherent though as he tries to swing the boot in the many Evan's directions.]

SON OF A BITCH! You'll pay for that!

[Without the distractions and with Quentin himself being momentarily distracted, Evan can probably sense some significant change behind his thoughts. If he tires to look behind the subconscious, perhaps he could see what Quentin was up to all this time.]

Nae so smug now, are ya?

[ Evan grins viciously, stepping forward quickly to throw another punch at Quentin while one of the clones tries to hold him in place. The boot hits Evan's chin and he staggers back a step, exhaling but still grinning --

Then his eyes widen a bit and he touches his temple. His mind feels different, and though he hasn't grasped exactly what Quentin has been attempting he can grasp something of the nature of it. The intent. The smile flies off his face and is replaced with a snarl as he grabs for Quentin's shirt collar. ]

Oh ya wee bastard! Ya think ya can play with my head like a dollhouse? Know what I'm thinking of doin' to yours?

Edited 2012-07-24 04:52 (UTC)

[Quentin's turn to smirk at Evan's realization. It's a little too soon, he wanted to spring it on the other as a surprise but, the reaction was well worth it. Even as Evan grabbed the collar of his shirt, he's still smiling cooly.]

Of course! I can do whatever I want, your mind is as good as mine now. And don't kid yourself, your thoughts are as crystal clear as liquid water.

[Now's the chance, he quickly starts planting subtle suggestions that perhaps Evan can't move at all inside the other's mind. Lost complete function and will of his limbs. Slowly, bringing the other down so that he was aware of only his mind. Drawling it out before encouraging Evan to sleep]

Nighty, night. You're in my domain now. Marvelous, isn't it?

[The teen unveils his elaborate maze to Evan, showcasing all of it's dark and grimy glory.]

[ His eyes widen again, muscles tensing a little as his mind begins to succumb to suggestion. He manages to let go of Quentin, trying to fling him backward so that one of the clones could take care of him, but their movements slow and jerk as his do and when he's out, they'll disappear. ]

No, cut that out! Gonnae no' dae that! Wait!

[ He sinks to his knees, clutching as his face desperately. Because threats are easier than bemoaning that he can't seem to move, and that he's slowly, groggily losing consciousness right there. He hates mind control so much. ]

You perfect wee bastard, Christ, disnae matter that you're a kid, I should have... killed ya anyway...

[With ease, Quentin brushes himself off before kneeling to Evan's eye level to grab him by the chin. His face is a telltale sign of smug victory, even with the death threat. Quentin even views the later as a compliment to his skill.]

Thanks.

[Now with the other knocked out, he slowly stands back up and places his index finger to his temple. Locking down Evan's consciousness, which only took a milisecond of his time.]

Don't worry, all you have to do is play by my rules and you'll escape soon enough. Reach the end of the maze and you won't die.

[Well, Evan wouldn't die regardless. Maybe he'd be in a coma for a day or two if he didn't figure out the end of the maze quick enough. But, Quentin had it built so that time was much slower in Evan's mind. One minute would seem like days to Evan.]

The rules play you, just as much as you play them. It was nice playing with you, McCulloch.

Piece o' cake. Ya think I dinnae know a few things about mazes, lad? I'll-- find ya-- so dinnae sleep so easy.

[ But the aggression is mostly lost from his tone, before it quiets completely and he crumples unconscious on the ground. He fully intends to make do on tracking Quentin down later if he remembers, not to kill him but to at least take him down a few pegs... but. For now, it's Wonderland time. Dammit Quentin. ]

Wouldn't dream of it.

[Quentin really isn't all that scared, to be quiet honest. Even more so when he takes out his permanent marker from his jacket pocket and doodles on the ground next to Evan an omega sign with a large x beneath it. His symbol. After a satisfying nod, he slips his boot back on and laces them up before heading out. Calling back over his shoulder despite the words being lost on the Mirror Master.]

Have fun!

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