5/26 Issue: Funhouse of Horrors

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Slarti
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5/26 Issue: Funhouse of Horrors

Post by Slarti »

Timelined after Powerless.

Jamie: Fucking hell! Jamie stumbled into a mirrored wall and pushed himself away from it, turning slowly in a circle and staring at the many reflected versions of himself. One - figure out the how. Two - totally not weird to see that many Madroxi. Three - get the fuck out. He sucked in a deep breath and started studying the walls to try and look for a pattern to the mirrors. Maybe a path to another section...

Jean: Jean screamed. One minute, she was in that blank white room with Anna, with the woman trying to calm her down, yet again. Now... she was on her back, and she looked up into a riot of color. "What the fuck..."

Jamie: "Listen here, little twerp," he mumbled under his breath, "when I find you, you're dead meat." ...Like the dupe in the room? Ew. Right, so, "Maybe not meat. But you're still gonna pay." Ah ha! A hallway! Ohhh shit... Vertigo tunnel. These things suuuuucked.

Jean: She sat up, slowly, with a groan. This room was smaller than the one she'd been in, with bright, neon splashes of color on the wall. The floor was a black and white checkerboard. Jean forced herself to stand up and immediately regretted it when the walls moved. She screamed again, flailing.

Jamie: Jamie's ears perked up and he whipped his head around. Whooooa.... Bad idea in the vertigo tunnel. His eyes closed tight until he thought he would be safe to open them. It could just be a trap, after all. Take the time needed to get to the other side of this fuckity maze and everything will be fine. Dammit.

Jean: Backing away from the wall, which wasn't itself moving so much as there were... things... moving over the surface. Don't back up too far! She spun around and jumped when something skittered.

Jamie: Freedom! Phew! He looked over his shoulder at the vertigo tunnel and made a face before turning back around to see what was next. There wasn't any more screaming... So maybe it was just Arcade trolling him? But what if it wasn't, Jamie? "...Hello??"

Jean: The patterns on the walls lengthened into spiraling stripes and morphed into a streaking hallway. "What the fuck..." she whispered, but after another look around took the opening. Jean wasn't sure if she was losing her mind or if this was some sick joke.

Jean: Then, she heard his voice. "Noooo... nonono..."

Jamie: No? Nonono? Jean?! "JEAN?!" Jamie started barreling down hallways, trying to find a way to her, but felt like he was running in circles...

Jean: "...Jamie?" She wanted to believe, but she still had his literal blood on her hands and uniform. It had to be more cruelty from the asshole who'd taken them. Jean walked down the hall, tripping when the floor warped beneath her. "FUCK!"

Jamie: "JEAN!" He fell backwards when the floor rippled and he landed hard on his ass, and ended up bouncing when the floor popped back up. Two dupes sprang out of him and he gasped. Powers? All three of them stared at each other, stupefied for a brief moment before the dupes ran off in different directions. Shit.

Jean: Jean slammed into the wall, hearing Jamie scream her name again. "Fucking STOP! What the fuck do you want from me?! You already took him away fro-" Her voice caught when her powers returned in a rush. What?!

Jean: "Oh, fuck this!" Jean sent a teke blast at the floor, blowing tiles upward. The power went wild, collapsing the wall across from her outward and she heard a male yelp. "...oh God, Jamie?"

Jamie: Prime screamed and collapsed to his knees, clutching his head. "OUCH, DAMMIT!" The dupe who'd been seriously bonked was seeing stars and Jamie could feel them trying to circle his head, too. But there was something else, too. Jeannie?!

Jean: Jean's head jerked, sure she'd heard his voice from another direction. She hesitated until she heard a groan and waded through the debris, uncovering a moving lump of Jamie?! She felt him! Jean's throat felt tight and she tried to focus, but couldn't. As soon as she thought she was grasping his mind, the presence was gone again. "No!"

Jamie: Wait! Wait, come back! He reached out at the air in front of him, almost like he could catch that feeling and shove it back in his brain. "Jean! Come back!" Shit! He scrambled to his feet and took off running in one direction, hoping it was the right one, but the walls kept moving!

Jean: She could have sworn she'd felt him and she laughed, but it was hysterical. "Oh my God, Jean. You're losing it!" No, she'd already lost it, hadn't she? She went down on her knees and started moving sharp pieces of ... what was this place made out of? Plastic? Like, heavy plastic?

Jean: She uncovered his face and gasped. "Jamie!" This version was definitely alive, although stunned. Jean moved as much debris as she could from his body, checking him over as best as she could, then returned to his head, running her fingers through his hair. They came away bloody. "Fuck me." He groaned and she found herself with a bleeding Jamie in her lap for the second time today. "Wake up, baby, please..."

Jamie: The dupe groggily opened his eyes and saw a swimming Jean. "Ohai..." Nope. Sleepy now. "....obai." He closed his eyes and slipped back into unconscious land before the pain affected Prime.

Jamie: What was really affecting Prime, though, were the walls. And he had felt her. He knew he had... Jean?! Jamie closed his eyes tight and tried to root around in his head for that feeling again. When nothing came of it, he opened them and started running again, "Jean?!"

Jean: Jean frowned down at him. Okay, this one... She felt the back of his head again and leaned to look. He had a knot, but it didn't look life-threatening.

Jean: While she was trying to puzzle through this, she heard him again. Jean twisted to listen, cocking her head. "Jamie?!" Her voice came out high and hysterical and she couldn't care less.

Jamie: Prime froze in his tracks and spun in a 180. He was going in the wrong direction! "Jean!" Where?! How?! SHITBUCKETS! Jamie started pushing at the walls and trying to jump over hitching spots in the floor. Come on, there had to be some sort of weakness!

Jean: She didn't want to leave the injured Jamie in her lap, but... "Jamie! Where are you?" This time yelling made her cough.

Jamie: "I'm over here! Where are you?! I can't get through! Can you make it to me instead?" He started kicking and punching at the walls now, thankful that he wasn't popping out dupes with them, but frustrated that he couldn't link to Jean.

Jean: "I have... another you?" she called, so confused. Jean heard thuds and if he was hitting things was this really her Jamie? She petted the hair of the man in her lap and studied him. Dupe? "Do you have your powers?"

Jamie: "No!" He punched the wall harder, but it wasn't budging, so he moved into another area. Fuuuuck. More mirrors. "But this bastard likes to make me think I do. Do you?"

Jean: "No... I did, for a few seconds, but not long enough." Or a little too long for this Jamie. She winced. After a moment, she wriggled free and took off his jacket, putting it under his head. She started to walk toward the voice, and the pounding. "Jamie?!"

Jamie: "Jean!" She was getting closer! He put his hand flat on a mirror and stared at himself, but wished it was her, "I'm here, babe! I'm here! I'm not dead, I promise!"

Jean: She choked on a sob. His voice was louder and she felt her hopes rising. Wait... how did he know about that? If this was Jamie Prime, he'd felt it, but how did he know she knew? Fuck! "Jamie, please be real..." She moved closer to the wall and it seemed like his voice was coming from the other side. She looked up, but there was no climbing that, and she didn't have powers. Fuck! Tears leaked down her cheeks.

Jamie: "I'm real. Promise." The mirror warped and he saw her on the other side, just like he had when he was outside of the white room. "Jeannie... please don't cry." Could she see him too?

Jean: Jean set her hand on the wall. He sounded so close, and so real. "I-" She sniffed, trying to wipe away the tears with her other hand, but they kept coming anyway. "I saw you die," she whispered, leaning her forehead against the wall. She was so tired, so sick of trying to make sense of any of this.

Jamie: "No, you saw a dupe die..." Jamie leaned his forehead against hers, the wall between them. "I'll find a way to you and prove it's me. I'm Prime."

Jean: God, she wanted to believe him. Her stomach rebelled again and she pressed her hand against it. Yet another Jamie was passed out behind her and she glanced back at him. They all were always telling her they were the real Jamie, so who the fuck knew... Jean's breathing hitched and she sobbed, sliding down the wall.

Jamie: He frowned at her hand and leaned back to look between her face and her hand. "...Jeannie..." And down she went. Jamie sank to his knees and put both hands on the wall. "Jeannie, can you see me?" He took a deep breath, now may not be the time, but... "He made me watch you watch me die. You keep," he flailed one hand a bit and made a noise, not sure how to put it. "Holding your stomach..."

Jean: Uh. Yeah. Because she wanted to barf. Wait. Jean turned her face toward the wall and looked it over. It was... yet another obnoxiously neon wall. "I can't see- he made you watch?!” Her voice came out sharper when that registered and she sat up, placing both hands against the wall. "You can see me?"

Jamie: "I can see you, yeah! Can you not see me?! Is this another stupid trick where he makes me watch you but I can't comfort you?" Jamie glared at the ceiling, "FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE!"

Jean: That... sounded like Jamie, alright. She stared at the wall, willing herself to see something. "I can't see you..." She could definitely use some comforting. "...you saw everything?" Think! Was there any way she could test this? The mention of tricks made her think even more that this was another one.

Jamie: "I did... Babe, I'm so sorry. I was banging on the wall, trying to tell you it was a dupe, but the walls just absorbed the sound like they did on the inside." He pressed his forehead against the wall again, "I love you. Don't let him bring us down, okay? We'll figure this out."

Jean: She pulled her legs up and huddled against the wall, trying once again to stop her tears. "I love you." Jean swallowed, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the wall. "Could you hear me, too?" But the crazy would know what she'd said too, right? Shit. If it was a dupe, and this wasn't... "What did he do to you? To him? T-the dupe?"

Jamie: Jamie licked his lips and took a slow breath. "Do you really wanna know? Maybe it's best to tell you when we're out of here? When you can see me and touch me and know I'm okay..."

Jean: All of this sounded like Jamie, his voice strained with emotion, but she didn't like the evasiveness. She looked at the wall again and set her hand against it. "Please..." She wasn't sure if she was asking him to tell her or begging him to be real and alive and okay.

Jamie: "Jeannie..." He hesitated, wanting to shut her down, tell her no, but the look on her face... Jamie sighed and put his hand over hers. "There was an iron maiden to start... Robots dressed up like medieval executioners... What finally did me - the dupe - in, was the rack. Lots of stretching things that shouldn't be stretched. Dislocated joints that were popped back in, then stretched out again... I felt like I was drowning from the inside out..."

Jean: That matched up with what Anna had said, and his voice was... convincing. Jean closed her eyes and felt more tears spill over. He'd been through so much. Too much. "We have to get out of here." She wasn't getting anywhere by crying on the floor, so she slowly pushed herself to her feet.

Jamie: Jamie rose to his feet, too, keeping his hand over hers as they moved together. "We will, Jean. I promise. I have to ask you to marry me, remember?"

Jean: Jamie. It was really him. She froze, her brain stalling out for a moment as she nearly choked on a sob. "I'll say yes. I promise."

Jamie: "I know you will, babe," he smiled at her, even though she couldn't see it. "I'm more worried about getting the proposal perfect without any pig shit, than what you'll say."

Jean: Jean could hear his smile anyway, and returned it. This, at least, wasn't a trick, and she let herself feel a little hope for the first time. "You're washable."

Jamie: That made him laugh, "I'd hope so. If I'm not, then my life has been a lie. And also extremely gross." Jamie took one last look at Jean, then looked at his surroundings again. "Have you found any kind of exit yet? I keep going in circles..."

Jean: His laugh made her smile grow and she wiped at her face to dry her tears. She had to look terrible. "I blew a wall out?" Jean looked back over her shoulder at the dupe. "...sorry about that."

Jamie: "That was you?!" That made him laugh harder. "Jeannie, we've gotta stop meeting like that." As if on cue, the dupe groaned and stirred, rubbing at his head, "Wha' happen...?"

Jean: "I think he's awake... you're awake?" Jean shook her head and went over to the dupe, kneeling beside him and reaching for his hand. "You okay?"

Jamie: Jamie grabbed her hand and blinked at Jean, "Who are you?" ...Better question: "Who am I?!"

Jean: She winced. Fuck, she'd broken him. "That's a long story." This was gonna get real weird. "TLDR? Your name is Jamie, I'm Jean. I'm your girlfriend. Can you, like, sit up?" Jean did not want to leave another piece of Jamie behind.

Jamie: "Wow! How'd I score someone as pretty as you?! Am I an actor or something?" Waaait... What did he even look like? He frowned and sat up and when that went well, tried to stand, too. Nope. Too fast. Jamie let himself fall back on his behind. "Phew. What happened?"

Jean: Or something, definitely. "Just lucky, I guess." Jean ran her fingers through his hair again when he sat up and felt the knot. Ouch. She caught him as best as she could when he flopped. "A wall collapsed on you." He didn't need to know how, after all.

Jamie: "Oh. Well, that would explain the sore skull, then, I guess." He looked around and tried to stand, slower this time. It worked! "Tell me, Princess, what are we doing here?"

Jean: Jean tried to help him, but he seemed pretty steady. Then, it hit her. This was Jamie, standing here with her, alive. She swallowed and hugged him as tight as she dared.

Jamie: Jamie's eyes bugged and he flailed a bit at the surprise bear hug, but then he remembered she had said she was his girlfriend. Jean. Right. His features softened into a smile and he hugged her back, resting his cheek on the top of her head. It felt... normal. Ish.

Jean: She closed her eyes and ignored his flailing, then smiled when he returned the hug. This one was alive, and she was gonna keep him that way. "Okay, this is gonna sound weird, but we're... trapped. It's dangerous, and we have to find a way out."

Jamie: "Grrrreeaaaaat..." He made a hard 't' sound on the end of his word as he lifted his head and looked around. "Trapped... in a funhouse? That should be fun, though, right? Since it literally has the word 'fun' in the name?"

Jean: "Not so much." She let go and stepped back, keeping his hand, and led him back to the wall. "He's okay...ish. Any idea which way to go?" Jean really didn't want to leave Jamie, but... well, she wasn't?

Jamie: Jamie blinked at the wall, then looked down at Jean, and finally reached up to feel her forehead. "Are you sure I'm the one who's having issues?" Oh wait! He started looking closer at the wall, searching for a speaker of some kind, or a hidden camera.

Jean: Jean blinked at him, then cocked her head when he started studying the wall. "Pretty sure, but you never know..."

Jamie: Prime was busy pinching the bridge of his nose, but finally spoke up. "No, idiot. It's me. You. Me-you."

Jamie: The dupe screamed and jumped behind Jean, "Where did that come from?!"

Jamie: ".....Jeannie... what's wrong with me?"

Jean: Jean jumped too, spinning around and giving him an awkward pat. "It's... complicated. Let's just say he's your... twin brother?" Sure, let's go with that? She pitched her voice so Jamie could hear her. "He hit his head pretty hard."

Jamie: Oh great. That would be fun to absorb later. "Did you find the other one, too? Or just him?" Jamie looked around to see if he could see which way the dupe who was with Jean had gone, so he could meet up with them. But he didn't want to leave where he was since he could see her...

Jean: "No, just him." Jean was giving the dupe what she hoped was a reassuring smile as she called over to Jamie.

Jamie: Jamie grumbled nonsense under his breath while he was trying to decide what to do. "I'm sure I'll be fine... Right?" He made a face at Jean, even though she couldn't see him. "Or should I go find me?"

Jean: He was absolutely not helping the mental state of this poor dupe and she gave the wall an exasperated look. "I don't know? I... really don't want to get separated, but I don't think we have an option, and that's what this asshole wants..."

Jamie: "Well, I don't know that I can find my way to you without separating, either... But at least you can hear me right now even if you can't see me, like I can see you." He smiled softly at her, then noticed that his dupe was starting to slowly melt into himself in fear. "Dude! Chill out. We got this, okay? You can trust me."

Jean: Jean wished she could see him, giving the wall a smile, then realized she could. Sort of. She turned back to the dupe and saw him looking nervous. "Hey, it's okay," she said, voice soft, and reached out to take both his hands.

Jamie: The dupe swallowed hard and gave her a single nod. "I'm not sure why someone is saying I'm them and they're me, but... okay...?" He had to trust Jean, right? She was his girlfriend, after all. That was how it worked... right? "Um... How long have you been my girlfriend?"

Jamie: On the other side of the wall, Prime sighed and let his head thump heavily against the mirror.

Jean: "It's..." Yeah, there was no way she was springing the Madrox 101 on him, and the original wasn't helping with his sigh and thud. Also, she wasn't going into the dissection of their relationship. "A long time," she decided, squeezing his fingers and tilting her head to take him in. "It's been almost five years." All together, anyway.

Jamie: The dupe's eyes bugged a bit. Yeah, he should trust her, then. "Wow... so... I must be good in bed."

Jamie: Prime groaned and hit the wall, "Shut up, dummy!"

Jamie: The dupe jumped and leaned in close to whisper to Jean, "He doesn't sound very nice."

Jean: Jean giggled, unable to help it, and raised herself on her toes to throw her arms around his neck. "You're the best, babe." She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of him. "He has his moments," she laughed.

Jamie: Ooo. This was nice. And felt kind of familiar, too. Jamie hugged her back and snaked a hand down to goose her ass.

Jamie: Prime caught it and yelled from the other side of the wall. "Hey!"

Jamie: "...Seems like somebody's jealous," Jamie purred into Jean's ear.

Jean: She jumped and giggled again, his whisper sending a shiver down her spine. "It does, doesn't it?" Jean felt only a little guilty, but mostly she was just happy she'd gone from no Jamies to two. "Nothing to be jealous of, right?" she called.

Jamie: Prime growled under his breath. "I'm only jealous because it's that me doing it right now and not this me..." Dammit.

Jean: Jean decided to distract the Jamie she had from the puzzle box of Jamie Prime's statement with a quick but thorough kiss.

Jamie: The dupe was shocked, but pleasantly surprised, and quickly picked her up by the thighs while catching her mouth with his again.

Jamie: Prime was about ready to try to knock the wall down again, but it wouldn't do any good. Dammit.

Jean: Oh shit. On instinct, she wrapped her legs around his hips, melting against him and into his kiss while fighting a little battle with herself in her head. It was Jamie, but not the right one, but... it would be when she got them back together? Dammit, now she was thinking like him!

Jamie: Jamie walked her into the wall, pressing her back against it to leave his hands free to run down her sides and thighs. This felt... right. He knew what he was doing. Maybe memories would come back soon if he kept doing this. Worth a shot at least.

Jamie: Prime rolled his eyes and turned his back on them. "Right, so.... I'm going to go find my other dupe. You two have fun...."

Jean: Jean broke the kiss to tip her head back against the wall. "Be careful," she said, and well, well, her voice had betrayed her and gotten all breathy. "Please!" It came out pleading and she turned her head, pressing her cheek against the wall and moved her hand from his shoulder to do the same.

Jamie: Prime turned back at the sound of her voice and saw her reaching for him. He stepped back and pressed his hand against hers, "It should be me making you make those sounds. Not the other me. It'll be me soon, though. Promise."

Jean: And that was exactly what she wanted. She could only nod, her lips twitching a little in a smile, and hoped she didn't have to explain any of this to the Jamie mouthing her throat.

Jamie: Jamie Prime nodded to himself at her nod and turned to head off in search of his other self. Not that he could do much about it if he found him, now that their powers were back off...

Jamie: Dupe Jamie's fingers dug into Jean's hips and he growled low in his throat and gave her pulse point a nip. "I am good in bed."

Jean: Jean couldn't hear Jamie Prime anymore and she closed her eyes. He had to be okay. Her worry about one Jamie was swept away by the other and she groaned at his growl. "You really, really are..." Jean brought her hand back to his hair, avoiding the bump on his head. "Best I've ever had."

Jamie: "Let's see if I can top myself, then." Jamie whirled her away from the wall and lowered them both to the floor. He gave her a wolfish grin, "By being on top of you."

Jean: She laughed, again finding herself flat on her back in a funhouse from hell. Jean looked up at him and grinned, winding her arms around him and hooking her knees over his hips. "You never know, maybe I'll top you later, too."

Jamie: "Gimme everything you got, Jeannie." He bent down and swiped his nose against hers. "Don't hold back."
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