A Carceral Conundrum

Daystar
Junior Member

Posts: 82

A Carceral Conundrum Mar 4, 2022 3:34:20 GMT

Post by Daystar on Mar 4, 2022 3:34:20 GMT

So she'd never even had a room of her own. Alex was still wary of the so-called 'Perfect Soldier,' but in that moment, she wanted little more than to find the people who'd done this to her, and put her fist through their faces. Righteous anger wasn't what Lyra needed right now, though- it was empathy.

"Well, there's usually a bed," Alex said, glancing back at Cassidy with a bit of a bewildered look in her eyes. It was such a basic question, yet she was still having a hard time answering, maybe because the answer seemed so self-evident to her. "Somewhere to put your clothes, like a wardrobe or a dresser... a desk, maybe... and then you can put up pretty much whatever you want. Posters, decorations, potted plants... look, how 'bout I just show you?"

It seemed exceedingly unlikely that Lyra would appreciate being touched by anyone, but navigating the Empyrean with a blindfold on would be difficult. Hopefully her Shadow could make an appearance to guide her, or maybe Cassidy could help. Either way, Daystar would head back towards the gravity-lift, making sure that Lyra was able follow her in, and then get out at the appropriate floor, several levels above the cell block. This was where the bedrooms were located. Many of them had been previously inhabited by former members of the Society of Superheroes, but several had never been slept in, and it seemed best to put Lyra in one of those.

Before they went in, Alex would take Cassidy aside, and briefly set up another sound-suppression field, so Lyra wouldn't be able to hear her.

"Is it safe to take that blindfold off? Feels like it's gonna be hard for her to appreciate having her own room if she can't see it."

Daystar.

Cassidy
Senior Member

Posts: 516

A Carceral Conundrum Mar 4, 2022 4:18:36 GMT

Post by Cassidy on Mar 4, 2022 4:18:36 GMT

Apologize later. Not now.

That was a running theme in his life right now, wasn't it? And yet, Cassidy begrudged himself to maybe at least try, after this was over. After all, he began to figure as he watched the interaction before him, Daystar could be much kinder than him, at least right now. Maybe it came from the fact she was invulnerable. Maybe it was because she didn't see Lyra to be as terrible as some of the other really messed-up evils of the world. It made him think. It always made him think. What anger did he feel now that was from him, from what he saw right before his eyes and something he saw so many times before, and whatever had been left by that thing that had ahold of him? Maybe it was all him. Maybe he couldn't let go of the past. Forgive and forget and such. After all, that's what started this, right?

He stared at his gloves and his web-shooters for a moment before perking up at Lyra's question. Wouldn't they keep her in a room with a bed? Or perhaps not. If they cared at all for the wellbeing of their soldier, maybe Lyra would have been a bit more hesitant to try and escape. Instead, all there was but seething hate and contempt towards that organization.

Wasn't he supposed to be a helping hand? Putting the "friendly" in friendly neighborhood? No one, not even himself, was telling him to hold onto the suspicion forever, to hold that hate. Sure, he could play the skeptic, the investigator, the man with a plan. Always thinking, always in his head. But he had to listen to his heart to. Always. It's what separated him from them. Right now, Lyra was the little guy or woman he had to watch out for, even if what she did was terrible. Everyone deserved a second chance. Hers would take time due to therapy.

She would get help, Cassidy. It just took time. So get it together.

"A bedroom is basically your pad. Your world away from the world. The one safest place you can count on. No one else is allowed in unless you want someone in there. And usually those are friends or loved ones."

Working off of what Daystar said, Cassidy continued, motioning with his hands as he talked, "You can decorate your room with your favorite pop culture, media, hobbies, games, and other stuff in the form of small statues or figurines, posters, music CDs, and books. If . . . "

He groaned into one hand. If he did not end up regretting this, he would take it as a sign of a miracle.

". . . if you would like, we can figure out how to decorate your room or show you some of that pop culture. Movies. Books. But it comes with a few ground rules. Both in regards to your new place and for the outside world at large. You can't do the stuff you did last time for one, but we'll discuss all that later."

He followed the pair, letting Alex take the lead as he walked along the ceiling upside down, keeping pace and not feeling any of the sensations associated with the rush of blood. The perks of having an altered circulatory system that was equal parts spider and equal parts human. He stopped as Daystar pulled him aside.

The blindfold? I assumed she had abilities like mine or could see through it. She fought Shadow with enough agility and coordination that one of those should be case unless . . .

"Hm," Cassidy hummed before settling on an idea.

"We're about to find out. And don't worry. I won't tick her off again."

He stepped out of the field.

"Hey, Lyra? You want some new clothes? Those things are tattered, and I do not need the displeasure of seeing you indecent. How about we get you something that works for now and maybe a pair of sunglasses for your eyes? I don't know why you keep them covered, but you're going to get an eye infection at this rate with those dirty old rags, 'Perfect Soldier' or not."

He crossed his arms, upside down, and waited for any response while turning quickly to Daystar for a moment. A briefest of a smiling smirk swept across his face for a moment.

"Daystar probably has something, right Daystar? Maybe a Hello Kitty shirt or something."

Last Edit: Mar 4, 2022 4:20:38 GMT by Cassidy

JasmineNooby
Member

Posts: 136

A Carceral Conundrum Mar 5, 2022 0:06:45 GMT

Post by JasmineNooby on Mar 5, 2022 0:06:45 GMT

Lyra listened with innocent intent. She nodded along with their words, tilting her head to the side at the mention of movies and different cultures. It wasn’t as if she kept from them, but she was never directly allowed to see them. Music and books were the only exceptions.

This demons voice seemed a little soft, much more calm as she listened to the person in front of her:

“So I can put books in there? I’ve read about them but I’ve never seen one… so people just put whatever they feel like in there?”

She placed both arms behind her back as she followed Daystar with ease, at first she didn’t want to listen to Spider-Bite as he did touch her horns but she was far too interested in wanting to hear more… so she gave in and listened, he offered her something that she didn’t know how to answer at first. It was clear what was normal to her was not to them.

So all the demon did was nod slowly.

The first time Lyra had been awake and inside the lift, it interested her. She traced the edges, looking around and then standing back up a little away from the two. All in all she was getting frustrated at her clothes and as Spider-Bite was speaking about her clothes she was already unbuttoning her shirt. Lyra had no idea about decency and indecency - it didn’t matter at the agency.

She pulled her arms through and dropped the dress shirt into her arms. Her entire torso, arms and back were covered in scars alike. Massive slashes and cuts, bite marks and scratches. The two that stood out the most were the gnarly indents of massive bite marks on her left side of her abdomen and the large, once more torn bite marks on her right forearm. Her chest was bound in bandages, wrapped neatly and cleanly. On her lower back was a dark brown leather belt which stretched across her abdomen, behind that there were 10 blades, all clean and sheathed with care. Four throwing daggers were on each side, and in the centre of the belt were two knives, one crescent blade and one straight blade. Her broken shackles hung by her sides and around her ankles, rattling raggedly as she walked. Lyra listened to Spider-Bite talk with caution.

“This?”

She pointed at the bandage across her eyes,

“Oh the Agency gave it to me because my eyes scared them. I keep the bandage clean to avoid anything nasty…”

She looked at the two of them, tilting her head the tiniest bit to the left as the demon debated taking it off. It took her a few minutes while the elevator continued going up, eventually she unwrapped it, loosely wrapping it around her neck as she looked at them with her right eye a crimson red, and her left an abyssal black. Though as Lyra blinked slowly, that red returned to its original heavenly blue,

“Is that better? I can see through it, so it isn’t a hindrance. Everyone is normally scared of my eyes so they covered them while they took me.”

She spoke about it so smoothly, as if it was such a small insignificant event, then the girls ears twitched as the elevator came to a holt, talking while following Daystar through the new area, she was gazing over everything, taking in every and any detail she could - this was evident.

“At the village I was just given whatever was there, the Agency did the same by giving me oversized shirts but comfortable… leggings? Yeah that’s what they’re called.”

By this point it was clear that Satan’s Shadow would not be resurfacing. Lyra was just being able to talk more clearly and with a relatively stable mind. Him showing himself or trying to talk to her or the other two would tick her off.

While they walked, Lyra had her hands behind her back with the shirt held in them, the only sounds coming from her were the shackles being heavily dragged… She had no footsteps.

Subject 01

Aster Achillea

Cassidy
Senior Member

Posts: 516

A Carceral Conundrum Mar 5, 2022 3:57:20 GMT

Post by Cassidy on Mar 5, 2022 3:57:20 GMT

Crawling along the side of the gravity elevator, keeping pace with Lyra and Daystar as they headed for the section of the Empyrean containing bedrooms, before a small phrase entered his ears and pricked the back of his mind. He turned his head, shifting his body to get a better look but still crawling all the same.

"Yeah, tha-aaaaAAAAHHH, nope! Nope!"

His lenses widened before slapping one of his hands over them, shutting his eyes as the lenses followed suit, completely closing. Not squinting tightly, not letting a sliver of even a bit of white lens through. Completely closed. He turned around, still covering his face. While in that brief second, Cassidy noticed all the scars, all the injuries, and could remember them clearly with the brief glance.

But those bandage dressings? Cassidy was not sure if that left a lot to the imagination. And right now? He was trying very hard not to think too hard about that. Just fantastic he had to have the equivalent, if not completely, of a perfect memory and super-fast reflexes.

You've got to be kidding me? What did I just say? What did I just say?

He had to hold his tongue from blurting those words out, instead opting to keep himself turned away the entire time before everyone reached the floor, where he just leaped forth and launched himself to attach to the ceiling once again, keeping himself turned away from both Lyra and Daystar. What would the two want him to do? Maybe, just maybe, Spider-Bite might not have cared or just rolled with it or found a way to get Lyra to cover up. But there? In close proximity? With such suddeness?

Who could blame the boy scout Cassidy from taking the reigns and choosing to just not deal with that situation?

"Daystar. Find her some clothes. Please."

Lyra began talking about her eyes and the cloth around her eyes being used to hide them. Cassidy had only one response.

"While I'd love to see your eyes and add onto the list of things I call the Agency wusses for, like being afraid of a pair of eyeballs, you need new clothes. Now. Go follow Daystar. I'm going to stay here and stare into space. Like a cool superhero."

Spider-Bite did just that, walking over to the nearest window and opting to stare out into space. What else was planning to catch him off guard today? He shook his head and just began taking out a phone, searching for a playlist to play while he waited. Maybe a song about space or the moon. There were a few of those.

Last Edit: Mar 5, 2022 4:00:22 GMT by Cassidy

Daystar
Junior Member

Posts: 82

A Carceral Conundrum Mar 6, 2022 23:21:45 GMT

Post by Daystar on Mar 6, 2022 23:21:45 GMT

"Clothes. Right. Yeah."

If Alex's words came out sounding stilted, it was likely a result of her astonishment at the extent of Lyra's scarring. She wasn't staring, exactly, but even a quick glance had given her an idea of exactly how deep some of those wounds must have gone. For better or for worse, the Solar Sentinel herself didn't bear any physical reminders of her past defeats and traumas, as any such scars simply faded away after a while, a side effect of her physical malleability. But even if that wasn't the case, she'd still have far fewer markings than the 'Perfect Soldier' did.

Before she could dwell on that much more, Alex zipped off down the hall, and up to her room one floor above. Swiftly rummaging through her own wardrobe, she produced an inoffensive white t-shirt, and returned to where Lyra was waiting, as fast as she could- which was pretty fast. The shirt was probably a little too large, owing in differences between their bodies, but it would serve well enough for the time being. Alex could go procure some better options later, after they had Satan's Daughter safely contained.

"Here," Daystar said, presenting Lyra with the shirt, her eyes lingering on the younger woman's scarred body for just a moment before she, too, averted her eyes. "And, uh, for the record, it's typically considered inappropriate to... expose yourself like that, at least in mixed company."

Her eyes flickered over to Cassidy as she spoke. He was playing the part of a true gentleman, which was hardly a surprise given his heroic disposition. Once Lyra had put the shirt on, Alex would signal to him that it was safe to turn back around.

"Okay. Let's check out your room."

With a wave of her hand, the Solar Sentinel opened the door to the unoccupied quarters, allowing the three of them to enter. It wasn't exactly fully-furnished, mainly consisting of a bed with a plain white sheet and blanket, an empty wooden dresser, and a generic metal desk with drawers. All of the furniture was bolted to the floor, to prevent it from floating away when the station's artificial gravity was disabled. Nothing too special, aside from the general fact that it was in space, but it would probably be a pretty big step up from wherever the Agency had kept her until now.

"So... what do you think? Are you willing to stay here until Spider-Bite and I can deal with the Agency? It should be safe for you to go back to Earth after that."

Probably straight into some kind of secure psychiatric institution, but Lyra didn't need to know that. Not yet, at least.

Daystar.

JasmineNooby
Member

Posts: 136

A Carceral Conundrum Mar 7, 2022 1:33:20 GMT

Post by JasmineNooby on Mar 7, 2022 1:33:20 GMT

Lyra watched as Daystar presented this plain white shirt. With Spider-Bite and Daystar's reactions combined she was a little confused. No one else reacted like this so why did they? Everything was feeling strange and in the back of her mind this low gurgling sound kept nagging at her neck.

It was frustrating.

Lyra took it in-hand with the other dress shirt she had stolen. Listening to Daystar's words as she threw the shirt over her head, unhooking the back as it got stuck on the handles of her blades. Lyra forgot about the slight burning sensation in her palm as occasional parts of this white shirt got smeared with blood. Before she replied to Daystar's question she became once more immersed in the traces, her pupils relaxing and dilating as she watched these pretty yellows wisp around the person in front of her.

Her quiet voice responded after a few seconds:

“Oh, the Agency never really cared about what was ‘inappropriate’, neither did back home.”

Her voice didn’t really carry much emotion for the Agency or her Home. It was a miracle her voice wasn’t bounding off of itself in how empty it sounded.

As this new door opened Lyras eyes glided across the room. She took in all of its furniture and simply tilted her head. She was weary about walking in and was choosing to stay outside of the door. From looking at her, it was clear she was more distracted about the Traces roaming around Daystar than the room itself, but she occasionally snapped back into staring at the place that had been revealed to her.

This demon spoke once more in these empty tones,

“It’s different. There’s no outside and there’s stuff inside.”

The ‘stuff’ she was referring to would be the furniture… yet the ‘no outside’ may seem a little confusing. Minutes ticked by before Lyra cautiously stepped into the room, she immediately watched the door and whoever would be closest to it. She was waiting for that slam, a tick of a lock and an eerie tinny sound of someone else's voice echoing into this new area.

But she still looked around.

Holding this red uncomfortable shirt while sitting in the white one which drowned her skinny frame. Lyra eventually walked over towards the bed, poking it while her head instinctively tilted to the left, she looked towards the two with an eyebrow raised,

“Why is it bouncy? What is it made of? So this is what a ‘bed’ is?”

While saying the word ‘bed’, she made bunny ears with her hands, touching it once more with her uninjured hand before continuing, slowly becoming more intrigued:

“So this is what they meant by a ‘bedroom’. It is quite literally a room with a bed, and then other stuff. It’s weird. It’s strange and there’s other stuff here which you could easily hide in.”

Odd phrasing but her mind was processing everything while debating how to respond to the latter end of Daystars words,

“Staying here? Dealing with the Agency? You won’t really be able to find them. They are actively going after me so they’ll show up if I’m back on Earth-”

Lyra had yet to notice that they were in space, but she continued anyway,

“It would be easier to send their Perfect Soldier back at them. Either way I’ll fight them eventually so it would make more sense to use me as a lure for them to come out of the shadows. Most of their soldiers use tranquilisers as they are forbidden from causing devastating damage to me. That does exclude breaking of limbs but if you really wanted to pull them out you can just use me and their specialists would appear, allowing you to take them and interrogate them. In the end, it wouldn’t really be safe. There are bidders for who gets ownership of me. Not like I wouldn’t be able to kill them.”

Devastating Damage? With those scars? What did she classify as devastating damage? This girl was talking so fluidly about ripping them out of the dark and destroying them, it just rolled off of her tongue like casual conversation. It was clear she had possibly thought about killing them over and over and how she would enjoy it. All of this was her normal. It was her daily life. What she was experiencing now was abnormality.

She paused after she traced her hand along the wooden dresser, looking back at the two of them,

“It’s nice though. It’s the picture perfect of descriptions in books.”

This sentence sounded a little less empty. But she didn’t sit down on anything and was very much aware of any movement going on. Lyra was focused on making sure that door wouldn’t lock close.

Subject 01

Aster Achillea

Cassidy
Senior Member

Posts: 516

A Carceral Conundrum Mar 7, 2022 2:23:44 GMT

Post by Cassidy on Mar 7, 2022 2:23:44 GMT

It seems Daystar had found something for Lyra to wear, signaling him it was okay to turn around. A bit of hesitance took him, waiting a few moments, before fulling turning around. Lyra seemed properly dressed with a new shirt. One that had new blood on it. Something was not right. Why was that the case? His eyes widened. For all her abilities, for being a so-called "Perfect Soldier", did she not have regenerative abilities? Could she not heal faster like Kore or even himself? Of course, the scars should have been the first clue. And these Agency idiots did not bother to teach her the basics of being dressed? Fantastic. Just perfect. All the more for Cassidy to deal with and be upset at the Agency for. Why not? It's not he had enough problems already.

In fact, the name itself "The Agency" sounded super unoriginal and boring. In conclusion, these were morons that managed to stay hidden for so long with luck alone. Well, their luck had run out. Spider-Bite was on the case.

But first, he needed to take care of Lyra's bleeding problem. He listened, nodding a few times at what she said, as he began firing his web-shooters, knitting together something. There were a few things he disagreed with, something that needed to be said and said now. But right now, he finished crafting together a bandage out of the pseudo-silk, one that could be wrapped around Lyra's limb and adhere. Similar to real silk, it held medicinal properties such as being a disinfectant as well as helping the body clot blood around a wound and help stop bleeding. He took that all into account when making the web formula.

Now, he walked into the room, holding one hand out with the silk bandage and his other hand open, ready to see if she at all trusted him to try and wrap her wounds for her. Cassidy paid careful to his sixth sense. If she lashed out, he should have early warning and be able to leap away or restrain her somehow. To be perfectly honest, he was feeling like he should opt for the former.

Let's see how well she responds to kindness.

"Mind if I dress your wound?"

His lenses did not change in at all, just staring blankly. Underneath, Cassidy's eyes only narrowed slightly, just waiting. If she chose to just take the wrapping, he would let her and simply just wait off the side. If she chose to accept his offer, he would begin wrapping up the bandage around the wound.

Either way, he spoke.

"We're not using you as bait for the Agency. Only as a last resort. And we're not going to send you to fight or kill them. Your days as a weapon or a soldier or whatever they intended for you are over starting today. And, depending on what books you've read, your life will hopefully be a bit more like them."

He gave a curt nod, accentuating his point.

"You don't have to be a killer anymore, and you shouldn't. You can live a normal life. A better life. But it's your choice if you want something more than what you have now, to understand-," Cassidy gestured to the room, "-to understand more of what's out there to offer. To have it be a part of your life."

Not sure how much of that would get through her head, and honestly? He didn't expect much. Not like he could undo however long the Agency had to alter her mind, her very mental state. That would take regular sessions of psychoanalytical therapy and kindness. Time he did not have. It was time better spent on focusing on the Agency and occasionally helping Lyra adjust or understand. All he could do. Everything else was left to whoever chose to help her and her own decisions.

Daystar
Junior Member

Posts: 82

A Carceral Conundrum Mar 11, 2022 3:49:43 GMT

Post by Daystar on Mar 11, 2022 3:49:43 GMT

Initially, Alex wanted to interrupt when Cassidy ruled out using Lyra as bait. It seemed like a fairly reasonable solution, considering they were clearly not easy people to track down. And it wasn't like she'd be in much real danger. For one, they were clearly intending to capture her alive, and for another Alex intended to be right there beside her when it happened. With her ability to suppress sound waves, and absorb photons so as to become effectively invisible, she could shadow Satan's Daughter without anybody knowing she was there. Then, when the Agency's hired killers showed their faces, she'd show her own, and make them talk.

Fortunately, Spider-Bite qualified his words before Alex had to. She had no desire to put Lyra in harm's way, not given the abuse she'd clearly suffered in the past. But it would have been a mistake to discard that as a potential avenue so early.

"We can try some other stuff first," the Solar Sentinel offered, eyes tracking Lyra cautiously as she explored her new residence. "Maybe we could make a hologram of you, and see if they'd go after it... though I can't imagine it would be that easy to fool them."

Doc's holographic avatar wasn't exactly the pinnacle of realism, even if it was color-corrected not to be pure blue. Anybody looking through thermal goggles would be able to tell right away it wasn't a real person, for instance. And making a humanlike android wasn't exactly in Alex's budget. Maybe if she contacted someone who specialized in that field- but who was there to call? Doc probably had the phone number of that Mango girl on file somewhere, from when she'd been a member of the SOS. As Alex recalled, she'd started some sort of small business with her friends after the team dissolved. Although on the other hand, she probably wouldn't be thrilled to hear from the person who'd moved into her team's old headquarters.

"Might be a good idea to talk to that guy you mentioned, since he's going after them too. See if he has any leads."

Much as Alex was used to code-names and the like, she had a hard time bringing herself to call anybody 'Psi' like it was their actual name. Had he just really liked that one Korean rap song? Had the Agency given him that name? But if that was the case, why did Lyra have a perfectly normal, human name? Those probably weren't the big questions she'd be asking him when they met, though.

"If nothing else works, we might have to do what you suggested... but you aren't gonna have to fight them, okay? You're done with all that stuff. I'm sure they told you that it's what you were made for, but that doesn't have to define you."

That was... ironic, coming from Daystar. She'd been remade into an instrument of cosmic will without her consent. Her very existence was defined by the compulsion to help people, to save them, to protect the human species from threats it was incapable of dealing with. Yet here she was, telling someone else that they didn't have to be defined by what they had been created to do. The difference, of course, was that Alex had been made to do something good, and even if that meant she was denied an ordinary life, it was ultimately for the best. Lyra, on the other hand, had been warped into a weapon by people who had evil intent. Her sense of right and wrong had been perverted... or perhaps she'd simply had it cut out of her entirely. That would have to change.

"Maybe while you're up here we can work on figuring out what else you'd rather be."

Daystar.

JasmineNooby
Member

Posts: 136

A Carceral Conundrum Mar 11, 2022 15:24:20 GMT

Post by JasmineNooby on Mar 11, 2022 15:24:20 GMT

Spider-Bite offered something. He offered to cover the wound she had inflicted on herself. The one problem was she did not trust him, or what he was offering. Lyra stared at the hand in front of her, her eyes analysing the bandage before she took it and bandaged her own hand. She nodded blankly as a thank you. Lyra understood that was a common thing to do. But she was weary. She didn't trust him, she wouldn't hesitate to throw a blade either - after all he touched her horns and seems to think she dislikes killing or fighting.

So the girl questioned him.

"Why not take the chance to use me as bait?"

Her tones changed to something more serious, something she had maybe been hiding, or maybe it was the ever growing headache. Lyra then looked at Daystar:

"I'm not trying to live by whatever they tried to define me as. I never did. All I did was endure what they put me through and played their game."

This voice was Lyras, it was more her true voice. The one which did hold that scarily high perception and intelligence,

"I prefer to move around, I enjoy what I do."

She then looked at Spider-Bite before he'd be able to interrupt her,

"Define normal to me."

The demon raised her eyebrows slightly. Her fingers traced the desk once more until she sat herself on the floor against the side of the bed, this demon was feeling dizzy and beginning to feel like she was burning up,

"What you are trying to tell me is normal is completely crazy to my ears. I understand how you live, I get that you have different ideologies to me. I understand that you two probably have different morals but she was the only one you could 'entrust' me to. You made the right choice."

Lyra pulled her knees up, she continued to look at Spider-Bite,

"I wouldn't hurt Daystar. She's cool, her traces are far nicer and I want to know why, I want to know more. She's different-"

The Subject glanced at Daystar quickly,

"- I don't mean that in a bad way, you just remind me of someone. And your traces are very pretty."

Her voice softened as those words left her mouth, but it returned once her eyes were back facing the Hero,

"Now, before you mock me, I do understand what you are saying. I hear you loud and clear. But-"

Lyra quickly pulled a blade out from behind her, balancing it on the tip of her index finger,

"You are holding someone to your morals and that shouldn't be done. Not with people who haven't, and cannot live up to those. I would push further but I'm not going to. It wouldn't get us anywhere-"

Lyra was clearly going to say more but her headache had been turning into a migraine. Swiftly, she threw the blade up and caught up, returning it to its sheath before cradling her head in her hands. She leaned back against the bed before sighing, muttering quietly,

"What the hell did you do to me…"

Subject 01

Aster Achillea