Christian was adding a small piece of green to the eyes of his dragon mural when there was a knock at his door. There was a moment before it opened.
"Wayne," he looked surprised as the man entered.
"A follow up on the Disney saga, or were you wanting something else?"
Wayne
"Good afternoon, Christian," Wayne said. "I've taken the miberty of organising a little... meeting. Would you please come with me?"
He had been in this business far too long to simply blindly trust a known enemy of the YIRAAS' word.
Christian
Christian frowned a little, before putting his paintbrush down. He covered the paints so that they wouldn't dry before his return.
"Meeting?" he looked curious, if a little apprehensive.
But he followed anyway.
Wayne
Wayne didn't answer his query, but led him to another section of the centre. He escorted Christian to a glass room, with a guard powered with Null on duty.
"Please, have a seat," Wayne said, indicating the chair.
Christian
Christian gave him an odd look, before taking a seat where indicated.
He took the chance to look around. The room had been set up in two halves, and he was seated in front of a glass window looking into the other. Now he really felt like he was in prison and just getting visitors.
The chair on the other side was empty, so he folded his arms and waited.
Avery
"You can go in now," a man said to Avery.
Avery looked at him and nodded, then pushed the door open.
She strode confidentally over to the seat across from Christian, and slid into it, lifting her head slightly and quirking an eyebrow.
"Hey there," she said.
Christian
It took a moment for Christian to realise who she was, but as soon as he did he was up from his seat and backing off.
"Wayne...?" he began, turning to realise that he'd already left the room.
He glanced at the Null guard, before going over to the door and knocking on it.
"Wayne?!" he exclaimed.
The hell he wanted to spend much time in the same room as his father's killer. Especially when the last time he'd seen her he'd been impersonating her brother with intent to kill another.
Avery
Avery relaxed back in her chair and smiled a little. For once, it was nice not to feel like the victim.
"Scream all you like, they're not going to take you away from me, so you better get used to seeing this smiling face for awhile," Avie said, smiling to illustrate her point.
Christian
Christian turned to stare at her for a moment.
"Well this is tense," he said out loud.
He glared back at the door before folding his arms across his chest indignantly.
"What do you want?" he demanded.
Avery
"Just your charming company," Avery replied sarcastically.
"Why the hell do you think I'm here? YIRAAS need me to get into your head, peaches."
Christian
Christian's eyes widened.
"What?" he almost cursed.
He looked toward the guard, then toward the mirror he was sure some smug doctors were standing behind.
"Does Tanya know about this?!" he called out.
Avery
"Listen, I don't want to be here anymore than you want me to," Avery started.
"It doesn't particularly thrill me that you helped kidnap me, posed as Taylor and now are apparently BFF with him. And as much as you may be surprised, I'm not exactly thrilled that I killed him. Just so we clear that up."
Christian
Christian stared at her again, surprised at her revelation.
"Who asked you to come?" his eyes narrowed, "whose decision was this?"
Avery
"Oh, who's do you think?" Avery asked him, sitting back in her chair.
"I don't need to tell you that you haven't exactly been on any agents christmas card list. And just to let you know, because I feel like we should be on even ground..."
She paused, eyes narrowed slightly.
"I'm all about equal footing, you see. But I don't believe Tanya knows about this. Or maybe she does, I don't know. Only 14, I get told nothing."
Christian
Christian hesitated again, somewhat sizing her up. Not even sure if she was already in his head, he moved over to the chair again.
He pulled it back from the window about a metre before sitting down again.
"I don't believe she does," he said finally, "or I would have heard about it before now."
Avery
"I'll be honest, I'm not exactly jumping for joy that she doesn't know. She's my mentor, my second mom, I guess, and it feels lousy to be here without her blessing, so to speak."
Avery looked him square in the eye.
"But I have my reasons for wanting to see you. Most of which have nothing to do with the YIRAAS."
Christian
Christian just looked confused.
"Like what?" he asked.
"What could you possibly gain?"
Avery
"Nothing that you'd really care about."
Avery wasn't exactly going to go about laying all her cards onto the table.
"So, you're not curious why they asked ME, of all telepaths to get into your head? After all, conflict of interest. They don't know I won't just kill you."
Christian
"I know why they chose you," Christian shook his head.
"Craig wouldn't have chosen you if you weren't powerful. And I have a telepathic shield that not even Tanya can get through."
He considered her last statement.
"And I guess they simply trust you a lot more than I could right now."
Avery
"I won't kill you," Avery said, leaning forward a bit.
She let her presence slide into Christian's mind slowly, carefully, so sneakily he wouldn't even feel it.
"I never asked to be powerful. Too much responsibility, I guess. Too dangerous."
Christian
"Who do you know that actually likes having their own power?" Christian pointed out.
"No one wants what they've got. But granted they probably wouldn't want anything else instead either."
Avery
"I don't know, invisibility would've been neat. The amount of times I could've pushed Jess down the stairs and pretended it wasn't me... I digress."
Avery rubbed at her eye.
"So... why did you change your mind about my family? You and Taylor... what happ..."
She stopped speaking, sorting through various memories.
Christian
Christian glanced over at the guard again.
"I'm not really sure," he frowned a little, not knowing exactly how much she knew about Steel's involvement or anything.
"I guess... a lot of things can happen under a single chance."
Avery
"You knew I'd kill him," Avery said, her eyes flashing with anger.
"You knew."
Christian
Christian gulped slightly.
"Yeah, I knew," he confirmed.
"Lucious Holding was holding me against my will so that I couldn't stop it. By the time I got out it was too late."
He fell silent and looked away as he remembered, forcing himself not to get emotional.
Avery
"I sort of wish you had been able to stop me."
Avery looked at her own feet for a moment.
"I wanted payback, but not that."
Christian
"Then our definitions of payback are very different," Christian said.
"But I understand. I do know others like that."
Avery
"So... this is why they won't let Tanya do this."
Avery looked at him, eyes flashing golden every so often.
Christian
Christian frowned.
"Because she couldn't?" he raised his eyebrows.
"Are you having fun in there?"
Avery
"No trust also."
Avery dug a little further.
"You're his clone."
Christian
Christian nodded slightly.
"You didn't know," he almost crooned.
"Though I'm not entirely."
He glanced over at the guard again, trying to decide how much to say on the matter.
"Isaac's involved as well," he added.
Avery
"Involved in what?" Avery almost snapped, but she forced her voice to be civil.
She shouldn't be mad, after all, she had her own secrets from her brothers.
"You're..."
Christian
"Involved in me," Christian held back a chuckle.
"He's the reason I have telekinesis. The reason my eyes are slowly turning brown. The reason my blood is a cocktail."
He shrugged.
"I don't see how it could be any more degrading for you to find out than it would for me or them."
Avery
Avery pressed forward, gently touching the wall in his mind. She slid back a bit and bit her lip, weaving telepathic energy into a ball, intricate spider webs forming together.
"So why the turn around? I would've thought you'd boot me from your mind. Not that you actually could, but I did expect some resistance. I'm not exactly your favourite Hanson, after all."
She paused.
"Which is surprising, because you've met the whole family."
Christian
Christian flinched a little, letting his arms fall to his lap.
"I've had a lot of time to myself in the past two years," he said finally, "there's been a lot of internal conflict, as you can probably see. Your brother has helped, and Tanya of course. You tell me why the turnaround when I was spending most of my time with the likes of Spook, Blakesley and Lucious."
Avery
Avery pushed her telepathic energy against the shield, weaving into the cracks that had formed.
"Would you have killed me, had you gotten to me before I got to him?"
Christian
"Of course not," Christian scorned.
"I had no reason to. And besides, you're Taylor's sister."
Avery
Avery pressed against the shield a little more, finding the hole she'd made.
"You... saved the kids."
Christian
Christian raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"What kids?" he shrugged.
Avery
"Oh honey, you can't hide stuff from me," Avery said sweetly.
She pushed through the hole she'd made, telepathic energy swirling gold through his mind.
Christian
"No, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Christian shrugged.
"Want to shed some light on the situation? Honey?"
Avery
Avery shrugged.
"I can see it, Christian."
Christian
Christian considered a moment, then he leant forward.
"Can you tell how old I was?" he frowned.
Avery
Avery was silent for a moment.
"Three."
Christian
Christian's eyes lowered, searching the floor. After some time, he pulled his chair in to the window and leant over the small desk toward her.
"Don't laugh, but I have a big favour to ask you," he began in a soft voice.
"Mr. Thomas?" came the guard's voice, indicating for him to speak up.
Avery
Avery smiled slightly.
"Think it. I'll hear," she whispered.
Christian
Christian grit his teeth before leaning back a little.
Take a closer look, he offered, see what really happened and what became of it. Then give me your word you won't tell anyone for obvious reasons.
He looked up at her expectantly.
Avery
"I can't make promises I don't know I'll keep."
Avery closed her eyes, concentrating and sifted through the various memories in his mind.
She stopped suddenley and her eyes flew open.
"Oh. OH!"
Christian
I don't so much care if he finds me again, Christian thought carefully, debating whether or not he should say something out loud.
But Emily and Sheldon's lives at the very least depend on as few people knowing about it as possible. And if I can get the others out, I will. Only Tanya, Wayne, Taylor and Isaac know.
"What?" he finally said aloud, "something adult? How old are you, anyway?"
Avery
"I get that," Avery thought back. "I won't say anything."
Avery rubbed her eyes.
"15. I'll let you in on something, the act itself doesn't gross me out as... well, recently been there and done that and I swear to God, if you somehow get a message to Taylor telling him that, I will come back for you. But what does bother me is that you look like Tay, so seeing you doing it, makes me think it's Tay. And that is so not cool."
Christian
Christian's eyebrows rose, wondering exactly what she was looking at.
"That is gross," he screwed up his face.
"And well, you seem older. I guess because you're a telepath. And I have no contact with Taylor yet."
Avery
"Good, let's keep it that way for awhile."
Avery broke down the shield fully, and then slid through his mind.
Christian
"It's not as if I have much of a choice," Christian shrugged.
He turned again to look at the mirror, before turning back and giving it the bird carelessly.
Avery
Avery nodded slightly, still digging through his brain. She managed to keep her facial expression neutral, so he wouldn't know what she was seeing and how it was weirding her out.
Tanya and him? Ike and him? Tay? Oh it was just too weird for words. Why had she agreed to this? She couldn't turn him in now. Not after seeing all this stuff.
Christian
"You know," Christian began, "silence isn't that reassuring. Especially under these conditions."
He put his hand down and tapped his fingers on his lap.
Avery
"Sorry, I was just focusing," Avery replied absently.
She didn't even know if she could tell anyone anything she saw in here. She couldn't. Because Tanya and Taylor and Ike were involved.
Christian
Christian crossed his legs and folded his arms again.
"Maybe if I knew exactly what you were looking for, I'd be able to help you out," he offered.
He turned to the mirror.
"Like I already offered them," he emphasised.
Avery
"I'm meant to unlock the shield for them," Avery said to him.
"Which I've done, but there's things here that I don't think they should know."
Christian
"Great," Christian sighed, rubbing his forehead.
So what exactly are you going to do? he asked.
Avery
Avery smiled at him.
"So, dyed my hair purple," she said out loud, so no one would be suspicious that she wasn't talking.
"I'm going to give you a shield. My own. And being a Grandmaster, they won't be able to break it."
Christian
Christian's eyebrows immediately rose.
"I ah..." he struggled for something to say.
"I dyed mine black. I can't really picture you with purple hair."
He gave her an odd look.
Any particular reason?
Avery
"Yeah, it's sorta fading. I'm gonna do it again soon," Avery replied.
She started weaving the walls of the shield up.
"There's things in here that affect my family if it all gets out."
Christian
Christian nodded, then pulled a face.
"What kind of purple?" he asked, "deep purple? Lilac? Magenta?"
Understood. Thanks anyway.
Avery
"Magenta," Avery said, bringing a hand up to scratch her nose.
She narrowed her eyes slightly, causing the telepathic energy she was weaving to form a spidery wall in his mind.
"Not a problem... just a few more tweaks... I can put an alarm system in your head, if you want," she offered.
Christian
"Interesting choice."
What do you mean? he frowned a little.
Avery
"Just needed a change, I think, something to stop being so... blonde," Avery said, shrugging.
She concentrated on pulling the shield together.
"It's something I've created. Basically, it sits in the entrance of your mind and it prevents unwanted telepaths from entering. This is more for me, but say you're asleep and aren't awake enough to defend yourself... this will basically do the job for you while you're waking up. It'll let off a sort of beacon to alert you, and if the telepath continues to enter, it'll attack," she explained.
Christian
Christian's eyes lit up slightly.
"Fair enough."
I like the sound of it. Could you?
Avery
"I'm thinking maybe getting like some cool coloured streaks too," Avery said.
She nodded slightly.
"Sure, I'll hide it, but promise me if anyone from the YIRAAS finds it, you'll have to deny me doing it. Say Craig did it, please," Avery nearly begged.
She knew how much trouble she could get into, if someone discovered this.
"Basically, it only activates if you're trying to force someone from your head, or an unfriendly presence is there without permission and you're asleep or something. Luckily, no one has even heard of this device before, because I invented it. And the people who know that are now you, me and Tanya. And she's not likely to turn me in for this. I'm also just powerful enought o not leave my mark with my telepathic energy. I'm able to do things anonymously, perks of getting stronger, I guess."
Christian
Christian nodded, simply staring at her.
"Sounds cool," he said nonchalantly.
I'll say Craig did it, he promised, and Tanya probably will too.
Avery
"Meh, you gotta do something crazy, right?" Avery said with a shrug. "Thinking about a tongue ring too, but they look a bit trashy. Even though the nose ring doesn't exactly help my image."
She focused on bringing her energy into a circular motion, letting it spread out to sharp edges. Basically, Christian would be seeing a bright star in his mind. Or rather, would be thinking about it.
"Thank you," she said sincerley. "I can access the alarm system from wherever I am and fix it if something happens or tweak it, as I learn more about my powers."
Christian
"And hey, you can picture your brother with an eyebrow ring now," Christian smirked.
Just let me get one thing straight, he thought quickly, this is purely for your brothers' and Tanya's benefit, right?
Avery
"It's still weird," Avery said, grinning.
"Yes. As much as I want it to be for you, I can't say that it is."
Christian
Don't take this the wrong way, but it's a good thing, Christian insisted.
"I bet it would be," he said out loud, "forgive me, but your brother's kind of a wuss."
Avery
"It's almost done..."
Avery laughed.
"You don't have to tell me. I grew up with him."
Christian
Christian chuckled, starting to pick paint from his hands.
"He did surprise me a few times though," he said thoughtfully, "well... once. And that was only because he needed help."
Avery
"You should've seen him cover in fear whenever Mom and Dad yelled at him for being mean to me," Avery said, a slight tone of satisfaction in her voice.
Christian
Christian tilted his head back and chuckled as he looked at the ceiling.
"And to think he survived through Blakesley's clutches when he's that bad outside," he said.
Avery
"I guess he toughens up when he needs to," Avery grinned. "But still, nothing makes a grown man shake more than Diana Hanson yelling."
She nodded, completing the Star Blade in his mind.
Christian
"She was sick when I was there, wasn't she?" Christian remembered.
"That was one of the main reasons I got away with it from memory..."
Avery
"Yeah, it wasn't a great time," Avery recalled.
"Jess was acting up, and Mom didn't know what was going on really. I felt really bad for her."
"Done," she said to him.
Christian
Christian nodded.
"I'm sorry for putting you through that," he said sincerely.
Avery
Avery gave him a smile, the first real one of the whole ordeal.
"It's ok."
She withdrew her prescence from his mind.
Christian
Christian sighed and twiddled his thumbs.
"So now what?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
Avery
"Now I tell them I couldn't break through," she said.
Avery looked around.
"Which is true."
"Sorta. Ok well it's not. But you know."
Christian
Christian clanced toward the guard again before standing from the chair.
"Well not to rain on the parade, but thank God for that," he grinned, slipping into the act already.
He gave the mirror a smirk.
Avery
"You're a real asshole, you know that?" Avery shot back, her eyes smiling though.
She pushed her chair back.
"I'd love to say this was fun, but it wasn't, so I won't."
She got up from her position and headed for the door.
"Catch ya."
Christian
Goodbye.
Christian turned his back to the glass and folded his arms, waiting for someone to open the door.
The Null guard came across to unlock it, and after taking some time to get it open Christian finally stepped through with a glare on his face.