OPEN

[khajidont]

WHO: JAIME REYES and OPEN to any visitors or fellow jailbirds!
WHERE: Prison!
WHEN: May 30th - whenever the possessed criminals get released!
WHAT: Jaime's just one more person who's fallen victim to Yomiel's little crime-spree, and he's pretty unhappy about it. Pay him a visit, come and pry, or commiserate over shared fates.
WARNINGS: None for now!



[As it turns out, "a ghost possessed me and made me break into your building" isn't an excuse that flies in the face of some very unhappy looking policemen. Jaime hadn't really thought it would, but not only is it the truth, but it's the only thing he could come up with. For all intents and purposes, it looks as if he intentionally broke into a government building, trashed a window, got into their files, turned off the power to the entire building and trashed one of their offices just for kicks - and in all fairness, he only did three of those things, but he thinks it's quite understandable, given the circumstances.

When it comes to dangerous criminals, Jaime doesn't fit the bill, and he knows it. He's about as intimidating as a damp paper towel, and he hasn't given anyone any reason to believe that he's anything but another teenaged imPort, one that's probably a little more normal than the rest. What he doesn't realize is that his current appearance doesn't help his case much - he's got the beginnings of a shiner and a few more bruises here and there, courtesy of Yomiel, and he's more angry than he is upset or scared.

The really sobering thing about all this - beyond the fact that yeah, it's pretty chilling to lose control of your own body - is that he doesn't know what to do, or who to call. At home, he knows exactly where he'd go. He has friends and family to turn to, connections to the cape community to ask for help, the Teen Titans to notice his absence, and one seriously magical sort-of girlfriend to ask about ghostly possessions. Here, he's made acquaintances here and there, but nobody he can think of calling from inside a jail cell. The only person he could think of was Booster, and as it turns out, he's nowhere to be found.

Jaime leans back in the slab-like seating afforded to them and sighs. In the absence of anyone telling him not to, he prods irritably at his bruised eye, wishing it wouldn't be too suspicious to use the Scarab to just heal the thing overnight.

This sucks.]

Comments

Morning of the 31st

[beenwaitinglong]

[Coincidences were like burned coffee beans. A few add flavor... too many become overpowering and the only thing you can notice in the blend. And there have been far too many coincidences around here lately.

Too many Imports getting arrested for uncharacteristic crimes. Too many suspects who didn't remember anything about what happened, or at least were using that as their excuse. Far, far too many similarities between their stories.

He and Trite Wright had been pursuing this on the side, sort of a little hobby. Back then, he'd said something profound-- that unless they got to the bottom of things, there would be more Cameron Sutters in Heropa. Maybe Wright had a knack for prophecy.

Jaime will be escorted into the visitor's room, where the man in the glowing mask is already waiting for him in a chair, a stack of papers in his hands.]

Mr. Reyes. My name is Mr. Godot. I'll be the public defender in charge of your case, unless you hire a private attorney between now and your trial.

Have a seat. Let's chat.

[khajidont]

[Everything about this entire experience has been utterly surreal. Despite working amicably alongside the police for quite some time now, the processes behind-the-scenes have remained a total mystery to Jaime, and being escorted to see his lawyer still feels like something out of a movie. It's not a movie, however, and no movie that Jaime's ever seen has featured a lawyer dressed quite like this. What is that thing...?

He hovers reluctantly in the entrance of the room for a moment before finally shuffling forward and awkwardly sitting in the chair across from him.]

Um. Hi.

[Jaime's hands fidget nervously in his lap as he resists the temptation to peer over at that stack of papers. He figures he ought to be launching into his story by now, but he has no idea what the protocol for this is, so instead he just sits there and waits for Godot to take the lead.]

[beenwaitinglong]

As your attorney, it's important that you understand I represent your best interests. If there's any part of this you don't understand or have questions about, feel free to ask.

[At least Godot doesn't seem very tense. His whole demeanor is laid-back and calm, and there's a serene smile on his face seemingly permanently.

That, and the cup of coffee he seems to be enjoying so well.]

So before we get into the sticky part- you might as well tell me a little about yourself.

[khajidont]

[Jaime has plenty of questions, but none of them are ones he's willing to voice, not yet. The main question on his mind is how do you expect to get me out of this one? He's no lawyer, but he figures that even the best lawyers would have a hard time putting a case together out of something like this.]

Okay.

[He figures that Godot's just going through the pleasantries, but when it comes to talking about himself in this sort of situation, he has to admit that he's at something of a loss.]

What did you want to know?

Anytime after June 2nd

[hoboagogo]

[While Shinjiro was familiar enough with stations and holding cells-- jail was a whole different matter. And while he hadn't been there long, it didn't take him long to keep his head down and listen around, trailing some bullshitting back and forth between inmates to something that sounded all-too-familiar:

Some teenage import targeting a government building. Claims of mental innocence. (Guards and inmates are only human, after all, and scarce as the info is, it's still gossiped and joked quietly, just as his own crime was.) Enough to string together some faint hopes that there would be something to it besides just some shitty vandal or whatever.

So in the time they're allowed to meander (though hardly freely, always under some kind of watch) he approaches the small cell he'd been directed to. And whatever he was expecting, it sure as hell wasn't one of his housemates.]

--Shit, you here too? [The surprise overrides any cool, no-fucks-given attitude he might have pretended to have, brows creasing in the middle as he stands up a bit straighter.]

[khajidont]

Shinjiro?

[Jaime gapes openly at Shinjiro before rising to his feet and walking towards the guy. Shinjiro's not someone that Jaime would describe as wholesome, but he's not the type of seedy he expects to see in prison. Truth be told, he reminds Jaime of the Posse; he probably doesn't tread on the right side of the law one hundred percent of the time, but he's probably not doing anything that terrible either.

He regards Shinjiro with a healthy amount of disbelief, half-expecting this to be some sort of joke. What were the chances of this happening?]

What are you doing here?

[hoboagogo]

[A quick gesture of the hand, as though to affirm that yes, it is indeed him. It's weird to see Jaime here-- the studious, dentistry-intern kid whose cereal he occasionally lifted. The guy was just-- Not a bad kid.

And whole weird-- it's a bit relieving, too. Helps diffuse some of those worries about his own sanity.]

Servin' time, same as you, looks like. [A shoulder rolls, falling back into his typical aloof demeanor once the surprise wears down. When he speaks, it's dry and neutral as ever-- but there's a faint tone to it to indicate that he's half-joking.] Gotta say, I didn't think you'd be the type.

May 30th

[handwringing]

[Elsa's been here a few days, and frankly she's looking for anything to distract her from her own miserable existence in her cell. She's been moved to her own for the safety of other prisoners as she keeps coating the walls and floor in a thin layer of ice, flakes swirling in the air. She's starting to get tired of explaining to every new shift of guards that no, she really can't do anything about it.

She could try to escape, but where would that get her? The whole exercise seems pointless, so she can only sit quietly and await her fate.

The boy, at least, is something of a distraction.]

Rubbing at it like that will only make it worse.

[khajidont]

[Jaime's hand falls away from his face almost automatically at Elsa's interjection, and he grimaces as he says,] Yeah, I know.

[That certainly hasn't stopped him from doing it in the first place. Once he looks up, the first thing that would usually catch his attention is that Elsa really doesn't resemble any criminal that Jaime's ever seen, but he's duly distracted by the sheen of ice that surrounds the surface around her.]

Whoa. Are... you okay?

[He's pretty sure she's not doing that on purpose, or else she'd be doing something, anything beyond just sitting there, as trapped as he is.]

[handwringing]

[She winces a little, glancing around at it.]

Yes. That... don't worry about it.

[She sits up a little straighter, tugging on her gloves even though they're already pulled up as far as they will go.]

So... what are you in for?

[She can't believe she's having this conversation.]

[lyingheart]

[ Jaime really makes one of the few counts for why Annie stops by the jail, trying to understand why these seemingly good hearted people she's run into are now all sporting crime sprees and jail sentences. It doesn't make any sense at all. It's out of character, which doesn't mean it's false, but she'd like - prefer - to know.

Especially when he hadn't seemed the sort at all. ]

This is hardly where I expected I'd ever find you.

[ He's not the only one. Annie calmly looks down the line of cells, considering the others of the imPorts locked away. There's a pattern... but she doesn't recognize anything other than the absurdity of it. Being here at all makes her skin crawl. ]

What's going on?

[khajidont]

[Despite Jaime's rich resources - the network via their communicators and the internet via the Scarab - he hasn't actually reached out to call anyone. The very simple reason behind that is that he couldn't think of anyone he could actually make that phone call to; the most he could hope for out of anyone is a sense of camaraderie in the face of all this.

Without having been expecting visitors, the fact that the sound of Annie's approaching footsteps stop in front of his cell comes as a surprise. It takes him a moment to reconcile Annie's presence here, in jail, with their first meeting on the roof of a building in Nonah.]

I never expected to be here either, [he says, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, a wry, humourless twist to his mouth.]

I got arrested for a B&E. [A beat.] I didn't do it.

so sorry to be late with this fae!

[lyingheart]

[ She watches him, observing his body posture and expression. ]

B&E? [ She hasn't heard that phrasing before. Hm. ] So what happened?

June 8, morning. let me know if this is okay!

[dragony]

[ It hadn't even been a full day for Ruka, since everything went to hell. Questioning had been a perfunctory expenditure of twenty minutes; she'd waived the need for a lawyer for that first round, and through their questions had learned the full scope of the crime she'd committed. Knowing all the details had made her sick, throat full enough of bile to dissolve metal, but her answer didn't change.

She didn't sleep, either.

But even accused murderers have to eat. In the morning, it's easier to move suspects in shifts to a small, secure cafeteria than it is to bring food to detainment cells. Ruka is brought in later on, after some others have already come and departed; her head hangs low, loose green hair obscuring her face, and she doesn't bother looking up to see where she's being led, or what items are placed on her tray, or across from which teen boy she's made to sit.

Ruka doesn't look at Jaime at all, and she doesn't touch her food. She barely even moves, and so wrapped up in her own thoughts, she looks as though she may as well still be asleep. ]

yes, absolutely!

[khajidont]

[By the time Ruka's been processed, Jaime's been in jail for quite some time now. He knows that his crime hadn't been too serious, but there are plenty of reasons for him to still be in here: the mysterious nature of his crime, the fact that he's an imPort, the fact that he's an imPort minor with no legal guardian in sight... the list goes on and on.

For better or for worse, he's been getting used to it. It's not as bad as it could be; the Scarab lets him go on the internet with the guards none the wiser, and though he feels his brain cells withering away with each passing day, it's a better way of passing the time than staring at the wall. Just barely. What the Scarab can't do anything about is the food.

It's awful. He's almost tempted not to eat the stuff, but he's not getting anything else anytime soon, so once he's let loose into the cafeteria and given his mandatory plate full of sludge, he dutifully sits down to push it around his plate for ten minutes. Today, however, he's got company.

And no offense to his aforesaid company, but she's not looking so hot. He's tried to keep to himself most of the time, but this girl looks about as young as he is, and he's too soft to just let the silence linger.]

It's pretty bad, I know, [he says, not unkindly.] But you should eat it anyway, if you can.

kya

[dragony]

[ The familiar voice shakes Ruka from her thoughts, and there's a slight jolt to her shoulders as if physically nudged into waking. Her head lifts, and her mouth opens for retort—something easy and snide, harmless in deflection, born from long familiarity—but the moment Ruka's single eye takes in Jaime's appearance, the words transform into only an exhale, the way a flame dissipates into smoke.

He's so young. He's no older than her, or if he is, only barely, but that's so much younger than she expected to see.

Ruka ducks her head, hiding once more behind the curtain of green hair. She hopes he pegs whatever surprise she felt for being spoken to, not its source, and when she takes up a spoon with delicate motions, she hopes he doesn't ask why she's here. ]

... Yeah. [ Her voice is rough, quiet, from a long night of crying. ] I suppose so...

this is super late I DO WHAT I WANT

[hackitude]

[Skye had been doing what she did best-- digging around for suspicious activity. And it sure does strike her as suspicious indeed when she comes across the record of Jaime's arrest in one of her sweeps. She likes to think she's not that bad at reading people. Sure, she'd only met the guy once, but there wasn't a single thing about him that seemed criminal.

And that was how she found herself down at the prison during visiting hours, requesting to see Jaime Reyes-- the first time. She gets turned away at the front desk because she isn't on his approved visitor's list. Dumbass, she thinks to herself. She goes back during visiting hours again, a few days later-- this time, prepared. She hacked into the prison system and added herself onto the list. Much better.

She's led through to the visitor's room, where she sits on a chair at a table and waits. At some point, she gets out her communicator and starts playing Snake to keep herself occupied.]

NO ONE IS LATE HERE everyone is right on time

[khajidont]

[All things considered, it would be pretty tricky to get onto Jaime's approved visitors list; there's nobody on there in the first place. The only people he has to notify of his incarceration here are his roommates, and lo and behold, one of his roommates is actually in here with him.

Still, once a guard fetches him and gruffly informs him that he's got a visitor, he wisely chooses to keep his mouth shut and follows obediently behind him. Whether or not he actually wants to see whoever it is that's come to see him is irrelevant when all he wants is to stretch his legs in a way that doesn't amount in walking repeatedly in circles.

Needless to say, Skye hadn't even registered on the list of people he'd expect to come and visit him.]

Skye?

[He'd probably stand in the doorway and stare a little longer, but he can practically feel the guard's eyes boring into the back of his neck, spurring him to hurriedly take the seat across from her. Even when he's comfortably seated, he looks woefully out of place here and more than a little uncomfortable.]

Hi, [he says, but manages to make even that simple greeting sound like a question.]

good

[hackitude]

[Skye gives him a casual wave as he sits down-- she doesn't want to seem too formal or unfamiliar with the kid. Hacking people's iPods to change their tunes is one thing, but she's pretty sure that this could get her thrown in jail herself if she's found out. Still, she's not overly worried.]

Yo. I heard you got laid up here. Gotta say, I couldn't quite believe it. You don't really look like the type. And yet... it really is you.

[symbionic]

[This is the thing he never learned teaching in Philly, that he never hoped he'd have to confront. When things happen to students, they call all the faculty in, brief them on it, knowing that the other kids will certainly know and certainly want to talk about it. And the thing is- Flash knows that kid. Yeah he's not on the football team or anything, but they'd talked, and he'd seemed like an upright kind of teenager. Not the sort of person who'd do something like this at all.

So maybe it's not...typical, for a teacher to go visit their student in jail. But this is a weird situation to be in even without the jail part; two ordinary guys, drafted into being superheroes (while secretly harboring alien entities within their persons). It can hardly get any stranger at this point.

Besides, he's a teacher. Coach. That's what they're supposed to do. Even if working it in around visiting hours and football practices and does-Valeria-have-a-responsible-adult-watching-her scheduling concerns. Even if he's not even expected and they talked one single time.]

[khajidont]

[Jaime had only spoken to Flash the one time, but he sure knows of him. He's too busy to join the football team even if he wanted to - between school, his internship and going out as the Blue Beetle, it's go-go-go, all day every day - but he's buddies with a few people that are. He's walked by the football field more than a few times, seeing his friends off.

He can almost see a teacher coming to see what's up, or to give him a piece of their mind on the merits of acting responsibly and hard times and blah blah blah. Flash coming down to see him isn't a possibility that's crossed his mind.

But lo and behold, there he is.]

Mr. Thompson? What are you doing here?

[The bruising might make him look slightly more criminal, if you include getting hit in the face as criminal behaviour, but otherwise, he certainly doesn't look as if he belongs here. Traci likes to call him 'wholesome', which isn't something that anyone wants their girlfriend to call them, but unfortunately for him, it fits.]

[symbionic]

[It really, really does though. Flash would at least expect to see...something, stereotypical as that sounds. Then again, he'd thought Norman Osborn was an upstanding guy, which proves that looks aren't everything. Given what he knows about the man now...

He didn't come to lecture. If asked, it'd be difficult to articulate exactly why he's there, except that it'd seemed like the right thing to do. Flash knows that prison isn't for the faint of heart, and if he'd been a kid, when he'd been accused of being Hobgoblin, Flash doesn't know what would have happened.]

Came to see how you were holding up. If you were doing ok.

June 5th, I hope this is okay!

[youbastard]

[Ellie had kept to herself almost completely since she'd been brought in. In fact, she'd kept to herself so much that she hadn't even noticed that anyone she'd recognized had been brought in. Jail was not a fantastic place for a very inexperienced empath, let alone one that had the kind of issues Ellie had. Keeping to herself and shutting everything out seemed like the best solution.

At least it had at first. It turned out though that the longer she kept to herself, the more time she spent thinking about the fact that she couldn't quite remember what had happened. Which eventually lead her to wondering if this had been what people influenced by the Marker felt like back home. That was the thought that made her realize she couldn't just keep completely to herself. Which was what lead her to actually looking around the small cafeteria that she was being given a short meal in.

The last person she'd expected to see here was Jaime. She couldn't hide the surprise from her expression or her voice.]

Jaime? What are you doing here?

It is absolutely okay!

[khajidont]

[Just because Jaime lacks the resources and the freedom to pursue the ghost in his typical fashion doesn't mean that he hasn't been putting his mind to work, trying to figure out the whys and hows of his possession. With that in mind, he really shouldn't be surprised to see anyone in here anymore; if the ghost can get at him, at his roomie, at the young woman housed in the cell across from his, he can get to anyone.

It's still a surprise to see Ellie here. It's a weird word to use for someone who's older than he is, but she's just sweet. She looks like she belongs here about as much as he does.]

Ellie? [He parrots right back at her, boggling.] I, um...

[As common as their stories may be becoming, it never seems to get less awkward to explain.]

It's kind of a long story.

<3

[youbastard]

[She tries to force something that might resemble a smile, but it really just ends up being awkward and less than even halfhearted.]

Well, it's not like I have anywhere to go. [It was probably a terrible attempt at a joke.]