{I am a nightmare and you are a miracle

[myheadisaprison]

PSL with quickgenius

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{Cast a shadow in my direction

[youcouldbeagod]

Reverb has been assigned...babysitting duty to the new little capture. He's not exactly happy about it, but he doesn't put up a fuss because Zoom doesn't take well to people who complain about their orders. And he isn't exactly looking to be made an example of any time soon. So, he keeps his mouth shut, sucks it up and goes down to the basement to be a good little soldier and see what all the fuss is about.

He's not sure why Zoom has taken her. She's just a girl. Young and brilliant, sure, but he didn't think she had much use in the grand scheme of the other man's plans. But hey, he's not judging. He knows Zoom has his reasons and he'll leave it at that.

At least, where his...boss is concerned. If he gets a little mouthy with her, well, what's she going to do about it?

He walks over to where she's strung up like some prize to be displayed, arms folded across his chest as he comes to a stop just in front of her, an unimpressed air about him. "What's so special about you anyway?"

[quickgenius]

Jesse is terrified, and angry, and worried. Has been since she woke up in Zoom’s lair, tied up in a cage. He’d come to her college, left ruins in his wake. All for her. Just to take her. To hurt her dad. To use her against her dad. She’s leverage. But he’s going to come for her. He’s going to save her. (She regrets the last thing she said to him, regrets that she’d left him angry.) She’s been frantically tugging at her bonds, trying desperately to free herself (not that it matters, even without the leather straps holding her in place there’s still the cage but she keeps trying anyway) when she hears footsteps, and she goes still, the way something hunted goes still, watching with wide eyes, terrified and defiant all at once.

It’s not him, it’s not Zoom making his way into the basement. He works for him, though, once of the metahumans who had sworn themselves to his cause. Reverb. And she lifts her chin, jaw clenched, as he comes to a stop in front of her. “NOTHING,” she retorts sharply, giving a hard tug on her bonds. “Nothing is special about me. Just let me go!” He won’t, she knows better, but she can’t help but try.

Maybe he’ll surprise her.

[youcouldbeagod]

He watches her struggle against her restraints to no avail. Of course. Why do they always do that? Don't they know they'll never win? It's sad, really, the things people try even when they know they'll fail.

He squints slightly as she shouts at him, "Now, now, don't sell yourself so short." He steps closer to her cage, tilting his head slightly in consideration as he watches her from behind his goggles. They rarely come off, she'll notice once she's been here long enough. "I'm sure you're good at something." A smirk stretches across his lips with those words.

[quickgenius]

She has to do something, even if it’s useless. There could be a weak point that if she uses enough leverage on she might loosen a hand. Or the ropes are weaker than they look. It would be something. Anything. Her hands curl tightly around her bonds.

She doesn’t like the way he’s looking at her, the consideration that’s in the tilt of his head. The way she can’t see his eyes behind his goggles. “I’m good at everything,” she retorts sharply, unable to stop herself. She’s terrified and she has nothing but her mind, her words, to use to defend herself. “Just not going to do anything to help you. Or your BOSS.”

[youcouldbeagod]

"Are you?" He gives a facial shrug, "could've fooled me." He chuckles softly, looking her over again. "Well, don't you worry, littlest Wells. He'll break you down eventually. He always does." There's the tiniest hint in those words, if she catches it at all, but he certainly won't be explaining it freely.

[quickgenius]

She lifts a shoulder in a shrug, as best she can. “Everyone has bad days.” And she has nothing to defend herself against a speedster. No matter how intelligent and skilled she is, she’s still only human. Brow furrowing, she tilts her head, studying him curiously. Thoughtfully. She’s not sure she’s hearing what she thinks she’s hearing in his words. But she’s catching... something.

A hint.

Is that what happened to him? Is that why he’s working for Zoom? She wants to ask questions, wants to try and learn more, confirm her suspicions. Distract herself from the panic and fear almost choking her. But she knows better, knows he’s not going to tell her anything so freely. So she doesn’t. “Doesn’t matter. My dad WILL come for me.” He will. He has to.

[youcouldbeagod]

"Some worse than others, I guess." He smirks at his own joke. Her day was about as bad as it got.

He doesn't seem to notice she picked up on anything at all. Or maybe he let that piece slip because he wanted her to find it. Either way his features are made of stone and don't move. "What would you do if he didn't?"

[quickgenius]

She doesn’t, glowering at him instead. Acting braver and less afraid than she feels. Not that it’s believable, probably. But she tries. All she can do is try. Her dad will come for her. He has to come for her.

Exhaling softly, she takes a moment before she answers his question. Still challenging, still faking confidence and bravery. She doesn’t even know why he’s talking to her. She’s just... bait. A tool for Zoom to try and use. She doesn’t know why he let that slip, either. What did Zoom do to him? What’s Zoom going to do to me? “Survive.” She looks at him afraid and stubborn all at once. “Find my own way out.” Or try.

[youcouldbeagod]

He smirks slightly. "Well, you've got fight, I'll give you that." That would make her time here interesting, at least. May take her longer to break, but it'll happen, he has no doubt. Even the strongest of people fall apart with the right buttons pressed long enough.

[quickgenius]

She lifts her chin. “Of course I do.” She’s her father’s daughter, after all. It doesn’t stop her from being terrified, doesn’t stop her from being painfully aware of just how bad her situation is. But she can’t do anything else. She’s using what she has available to her.

The fact that Zoom’s going to try and break her, hurt her, all to get at her dad, to hurt him, terrifies her.

{flies with a broken wing

[quickgenius]

The lair is silent, now, except for her. Every breath Jesse takes ends in a pained almost-whimper as she tries desperately to find a comfortable position in her cage. She’s still tied up, although she’s almost thankful for the ropes right now. They’re supporting her, keeping her on her feet as she breathes through the pain, blinking back tears at the agonizing throb in her left shoulder.

Zoom wanted answers she didn’t have, information she didn’t have, and he hadn’t stopped until she was screaming, sobbing, desperate to end the pain. She doesn’t know why her dad went to the other Earth. She doesn’t know anything. But it didn’t stop him from thrusting his hand into her shoulder, the lightning he gave off burning her but nothing in comparison to the pain of him breaking something in her.

She didn’t think she could be more scared. She was wrong.

[youcouldbeagod]

Reverb wanders down to the cell he'd come to frequent every now and again. The Wells daughter is a feisty one and he likes that about her. She's kind of fun to tease and taunt and he's sort of made it a game in his downtime from missions handed out by Zoom to go talk to her.

He hears the whimpers of pain before she actually comes into view. Something about the way she barely looks like she can hold herself up hits him in weirdly. But he ignores it, leaning casually against the wall closest to her cage. "Guess you've seen better days," he says smoothly.

[quickgenius]

She flinches at the sound of his footsteps, curling in on herself a little as best she can. Protecting herself. Choking back her pained whimpers. She can’t... she doesn’t want to see him. Doesn’t want him to see her. She wants to go home. She wants her dad. She can’t do it, can’t trade barbs with him right now. She can’t do anything.

Dull, pain-filled eyes briefly flicker to him, and then away, as she remains silent. Withdrawn.

[youcouldbeagod]

“What, no feisty quip? No sarcastic comment?” He tsks softly and shakes his head. “I’m disappointed, littlest Wells. I thought you could hang, but…” He makes a vague sweeping motion with one hand in her direction. “I guess I was wrong.”

[youcouldbeagod]

“Do you think you have what it takes, though?” He asks, genuine in his curiosity as he surveys her. “I mean, to survive it all, in the end? He won’t go easy on you just because you’re a girl or something silly like that.” He had certainly not been easy on little frosty, after all.

[quickgenius]

Dull, pain-filled eyes lift back to him, and she curls in on herself a little more. “Because I care about your disappointment,” she retorts, voice low, angry and tired and hurting. She’s tired of being an amusement to him. Tired of being a thing in a cage for him to poke with verbal sticks for his entertainment. She’s just tired. “Go back to your master and leave me alone.” Please.

[quickgenius]

"I'm a Wells. Of course I do." Bold talk, for someone tied up in a cage, but she knows her dad. How she takes after him. And her mom. She’ll survive. Long enough to affect her own escape. Or for her dad to rescue her. She lifts her chin a little, eyes blazing. “Like he didn’t go easy on you?” It’s a stab in the dark, but given what was implied before… it’s worth a try.

A little bit of information gathering. She hopes.

[youcouldbeagod]

"Such bravado for the girl in cage." He moves closer, so he's right in front of her cell, smirk deepening. "But your daddy didn't stop him, did he? And he's nowhere to be found now. I wonder where he could have gone off to that was more important than you?"

Being as close as he is now, she has more of a chance to notice the very subtle shift in him, though mostly it's hidden behind his goggles. There are reasons he's rarely seen without them. "You're right. He did torture me. Tortured all of his followers. But I'm his top soldier, do you really think I'm so easily shaken, sweetheart?"

[youcouldbeagod]

He's about to make another quip when she whips out that word--master--and all its implications with it and it strikes a chord in him, something deep and personal, and in an instant he's at the cage's edge, slamming on the side of the box she's locked away inside. "I'm no one's slave!"

[quickgenius]

She hadn’t meant to touch a nerve, honestly she hadn’t. But she has, and he’s slamming his hands on the side of her cage and the sound, the reverberation of the force he’s using, his anger, hits her right in the fight or flight instincts and she can’t help but react, flinging herself desperately away from him with the memory of Zoom and what he’s done to her razor sharp in her head.

All she can do is try and get away. Escape.

But she can’t go very far, the ropes lashing her wrists to the top of her cage holding her in place and the force of her movement yanks at her arms, yanks at her collarbone and shoulder and she screams, everything going white and pain-filled.

[quickgenius]

“He knows better than to take on an opponent before he’s prepared.” Her dad isn’t a metahuman. He can’t go up against a speedster, not one like Zoom, without being ready. He has warning, yes, but no way to fight back. Not against this. Not against Zoom.

Is he wearing them to hide? It’s the weirdest thought but she can’t help having it; he’s so close she can’t help but notice the subtle shift in him at her words, but not nearly as much as she would have without the goggles he’s wearing. She tilts her head and looks at him. “If I was looking to try and shake you, no. But I wasn’t. I was just... looking for information. To learn.” To try and prepare herself for what Zoom’s going to do to her, too, of course. But mostly the learning.

[youcouldbeagod]

She can't see it, and he's glad, but behind his goggles his eyes are a little wider as she cries out. He remembers the pain of torture at Zoom's hand, he's had his fair share of reprimands since coming into the position he holds currently. But despite the mild shock of the scream, there still is no sympathy for her. Insulting him? The last thing she should have done. She may not have asked for this, but it was the hand she was dealt, she really ought to have handled it with more grace than this.

"Don't ever speak to me that way again." his voice is barely more than a growl and his hands drop back to his sides again as he steps back from her cell. He's the picture of collected again, and if one were to come on the scene, it would all look quite disproportionate, the level of fear and pain evident in Jesse against the too-calm demeanor of the meta in front of her.

[youcouldbeagod]

"Or perhaps he's admitted defeat." Not likely, if what he knew of the man was anything to go by. He was nothing else if not equal parts stubborn and arrogant. Still. He did seem to have just disappeared without a trace and throwing the seed of doubt in her mind seemed as good a plan as any other just then.

He hums softly in a brief, positive sort of way and nods a bit, "Yeah, you like that, don't you? Learning. Understanding things you didn't before." He smirks. "But what makes you think I would give you any information?"