For Treason, Act IV, Scene iv
Jun. 4th, 2026 09:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsGaslight, gatekeep, girlboss. Cypher is the bait, with Phoenix and Topaz ready to spring the trap on the two Cuckoos on premises.
TW: gaslighting
(Note, log still in progress, see this space for updates)
Doug stalked through the halls of the Weapon X compound, Laura on his heels. Somewhere in all this chaos was Jessie Drake, who was their primary goal, Laura doing her best to track the shapechanger's scent. But there was also someone else lurking within the compound that needed to be flushed out, and everyone had instructions for what to do if they encountered her psionic presence.
Between his connection to Emma, his own peculiar psi signature, and the friendos, he was reasonably sure he could act as a lure. And so as they moved along, Doug's mind was filled with lyrics and new wave guitar, projecting and echoing through the halls like the psionic equivalent of a Walkman turned up so loud the music was leaking out past the earbuds.
~Suicide blonde was the color of her hair Like a cheap distraction for a new affair...~
You could be less obvious, you know, the mental voice of the missing Frost sister echoed through their minds. The shadows in the hall seemed to flicker and darken. If you really wanted our attention, all you had to do was ask for it.
==
The other Frost sister - the one that has always been here, why would you think otherwise? - was focused on the approach of two people down the long hallway that led to their room. She raised her head slightly, and smiled.
The hallway lights flickered, and Topaz stopped, narrowing her eyes. Something had changed in the atmosphere. She looked back at Jean to make sure she was still there.
"Don't trust your eyes," she said softly.
Jean’s mouth tightened slightly.
“Oh good,” she said dryly. “I was worried this might be straightforward.”
Her gaze followed the flickering hallway lights instead of the shadows between them. Without her telepathy, everything felt one layer too far away.
A loose screw skittered across the floor toward her boot before stopping abruptly. Jean didn’t appear to notice she'd done it. The transition starts slowly, with vines climbing up walls and the ground cracking and turning muddy under their feet.
Then everything changed all at once.
And they found themselves in the ruins of a maze. It's walls had crumbled to a point where they could have easily been stepped over, and in the center stood a tall, bronze tree that was clearly dead - its leaves had fallen, littering the ground below it, and its limbs were drooping as if weighed down by the knowledge of its own death. Chunks were missing from its trunk, looking almost like they'd been ripped out by claws. The sky was dark, with a moon that had almost entirely eclipsed the sun.
At the base of the tree stood the two Frost sisters.
The song continued overhead, faint and echoing.
You want to make her, suicide blonde, love devastation, suicide blonde...
One of the Frost sisters crossed her arms over her chest, sniffing. "You are without a doubt the most infuriating brain parasite I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with," she told her twin. At once, both of them turned to look at the new arrivals.
A flash of ivy shot out from the surroundings towards the two Frost clones, but broke apart before it got within striking range.
The other sister was examining the two almost curiously, her head tilted as she tried to break into their minds. Between the song and whatever shielding they had, however, she found herself unable to break through. Interesting. Only one of them had active psi powers, though. The Frost sister focused on the one who didn't.
"This does not need to be a fight. I am sure we can all reach an agreement without violence."
Jean’s eyes swept across the ruined maze before settling briefly on the dead bronze tree at its center. She knew where she was. The astral plane. Yanked into someone else’s mind and forced to move through whatever shape they chose to give it.
It felt like standing outside a locked room while everyone else spoke through the walls.
She hated it. But she didn't let it show.
“You’re doing a great job selling the ‘nonviolent’ part,” she said, glancing at the ivy scattered across the mud.
The cracked mud shifted faintly under her boots as she adjusted her stance. Her attention stayed fixed on the sister addressing her even as the eclipse overhead made the entire maze feel dim and airless.
Jean tilted her head slightly.
"There has to be an easier way to work through this. Especially without the INXS soundtrack.”
"She is not real. Just a memetic cognito hazard," one of the Frost siblings said bluntly. "Not real, just a deformed cluster of neurons trying to spread her poison to the rest of me."
Another limb of the tree began to list, the bough cracking as the metallic wood holding it aloft decayed and weakened.
"If you would stop playing at being me, this could all go so much easier," said the second, turning back to the matter at hand. "Look at the damage you've done to my mind already, trying to force your way in. If you don't stop, soon there won't be anything left for you to take over."
A vine of ivy flashed out from the darkness, and again decayed to ash long before it got close to either sister. Neither of them even turned to look at it. Instead both turned, looking at the two new intruders expectantly.
Topaz looked between the two - completely identical, right down to the way their lips twitched as they tried not to smile.She looked up at the sky - the eclipse, the collapsing tree. The helplessness hanging in the air like suffocating miasma. And she made a choice.
"No."
She held out her hand. A golden wall sprung to life between the sisters, separating them. Topaz approached one.
"We're not playing that game. Knock them both out, and let someone else figure it out while they're unconscious."
TW: gaslighting
(Note, log still in progress, see this space for updates)
Doug stalked through the halls of the Weapon X compound, Laura on his heels. Somewhere in all this chaos was Jessie Drake, who was their primary goal, Laura doing her best to track the shapechanger's scent. But there was also someone else lurking within the compound that needed to be flushed out, and everyone had instructions for what to do if they encountered her psionic presence.
Between his connection to Emma, his own peculiar psi signature, and the friendos, he was reasonably sure he could act as a lure. And so as they moved along, Doug's mind was filled with lyrics and new wave guitar, projecting and echoing through the halls like the psionic equivalent of a Walkman turned up so loud the music was leaking out past the earbuds.
~Suicide blonde was the color of her hair Like a cheap distraction for a new affair...~
You could be less obvious, you know, the mental voice of the missing Frost sister echoed through their minds. The shadows in the hall seemed to flicker and darken. If you really wanted our attention, all you had to do was ask for it.
==
The other Frost sister - the one that has always been here, why would you think otherwise? - was focused on the approach of two people down the long hallway that led to their room. She raised her head slightly, and smiled.
The hallway lights flickered, and Topaz stopped, narrowing her eyes. Something had changed in the atmosphere. She looked back at Jean to make sure she was still there.
"Don't trust your eyes," she said softly.
Jean’s mouth tightened slightly.
“Oh good,” she said dryly. “I was worried this might be straightforward.”
Her gaze followed the flickering hallway lights instead of the shadows between them. Without her telepathy, everything felt one layer too far away.
A loose screw skittered across the floor toward her boot before stopping abruptly. Jean didn’t appear to notice she'd done it. The transition starts slowly, with vines climbing up walls and the ground cracking and turning muddy under their feet.
Then everything changed all at once.
And they found themselves in the ruins of a maze. It's walls had crumbled to a point where they could have easily been stepped over, and in the center stood a tall, bronze tree that was clearly dead - its leaves had fallen, littering the ground below it, and its limbs were drooping as if weighed down by the knowledge of its own death. Chunks were missing from its trunk, looking almost like they'd been ripped out by claws. The sky was dark, with a moon that had almost entirely eclipsed the sun.
At the base of the tree stood the two Frost sisters.
The song continued overhead, faint and echoing.
You want to make her, suicide blonde, love devastation, suicide blonde...
One of the Frost sisters crossed her arms over her chest, sniffing. "You are without a doubt the most infuriating brain parasite I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with," she told her twin. At once, both of them turned to look at the new arrivals.
A flash of ivy shot out from the surroundings towards the two Frost clones, but broke apart before it got within striking range.
The other sister was examining the two almost curiously, her head tilted as she tried to break into their minds. Between the song and whatever shielding they had, however, she found herself unable to break through. Interesting. Only one of them had active psi powers, though. The Frost sister focused on the one who didn't.
"This does not need to be a fight. I am sure we can all reach an agreement without violence."
Jean’s eyes swept across the ruined maze before settling briefly on the dead bronze tree at its center. She knew where she was. The astral plane. Yanked into someone else’s mind and forced to move through whatever shape they chose to give it.
It felt like standing outside a locked room while everyone else spoke through the walls.
She hated it. But she didn't let it show.
“You’re doing a great job selling the ‘nonviolent’ part,” she said, glancing at the ivy scattered across the mud.
The cracked mud shifted faintly under her boots as she adjusted her stance. Her attention stayed fixed on the sister addressing her even as the eclipse overhead made the entire maze feel dim and airless.
Jean tilted her head slightly.
"There has to be an easier way to work through this. Especially without the INXS soundtrack.”
"She is not real. Just a memetic cognito hazard," one of the Frost siblings said bluntly. "Not real, just a deformed cluster of neurons trying to spread her poison to the rest of me."
Another limb of the tree began to list, the bough cracking as the metallic wood holding it aloft decayed and weakened.
"If you would stop playing at being me, this could all go so much easier," said the second, turning back to the matter at hand. "Look at the damage you've done to my mind already, trying to force your way in. If you don't stop, soon there won't be anything left for you to take over."
A vine of ivy flashed out from the darkness, and again decayed to ash long before it got close to either sister. Neither of them even turned to look at it. Instead both turned, looking at the two new intruders expectantly.
Topaz looked between the two - completely identical, right down to the way their lips twitched as they tried not to smile.She looked up at the sky - the eclipse, the collapsing tree. The helplessness hanging in the air like suffocating miasma. And she made a choice.
"No."
She held out her hand. A golden wall sprung to life between the sisters, separating them. Topaz approached one.
"We're not playing that game. Knock them both out, and let someone else figure it out while they're unconscious."
