(ooc: Happens concurrently to these two X-Mission Threads.)

Delta 7 sat in the corner of the holding cell, knees to his chess, arms constricted around his legs. Nighttime. The lights were always browned-out and there were fewer agents at nighttime. Presently he occupied the far corner of his cell, where he could watch the door from a safe distance.

He'd been assigned to a Kappa agent he hadn't met before, for a high-stakes bag-and-tag. Delta 7 was helping with tracking, but there'd been complications... it took longer than it was supposed to. He'd reverted forms. His mind was wiped clean.

They would try again tomorrow. He was taken to the nearest facility, just outside of the booming metropolis of New York, and put in a nondescript underground area that was adjacent to the main laboratory. Where Delta 7 was being held was more secure than the laboratory, enclosed in at least a solid foot of steel and behind numerous doors only operable by card-key access. 

Delta 7 roused himself from the corner, padding to past the metal sink/toilet combo on his way to the door. Along the way, anyone else might have side-eyed themselves in the 11 x 17" polished, stainless steel mirror that hung on the wall, but Delta 7 had no such interests. He wanted to see if there were guards.

Almost imperceptibly, he leaned towards the window, eyes sweeping the hall. There was one. No designation. Not an agent. Probably on a contract. He leaned the other way. Security camera. He padded back across the room and, like a defeated apex predator in a zoo, he made the return to his corner of the cell.

>>”And… we’re on,”

Becca's mission plans were always expertly orchestrated. Jesse's wife was a great leader; even if members of the team did not always agree with her, they had to admit that she was precise, and she cared about every single team member as if they were family.

And some of them were family.

Jesse did not say anything, of course, before the mission began. Becca was in full planning and leadership mode, and Jesse knew to leave her alone when her mind was all occupied with getting everyone in position, and getting the mission going just at the right time, and at the right place. If their track record was any indication, they were going to have to start improving soon enough... but a good start was half the battle.

Which is why Jesse kept her worries to herself. The kid was going into battle, but she was stuck with surveillance. Again.

It was the only thing she could do now for the team. Jesse, taking on the small frame of a tomboy, settled in the closest reflecting surface to the facility, hoping to keep an ear on their communication channel, and an eye on her teammates. She knew that surveillance was important. But times like this also made her feel more trapped than she usually did. And she usually felt plenty trapped.

>>"Impact, heads up. One more combatant is in the hallway leading to your outside position. You may want to be ready if they decide to investigate any noise."

Jesse rolled her eyes at the new intel. They knew precious little about the inside of the facility, as as far as she could tell with her powers, the place was full of blind spots - long hallways and rooms completely devoid of any reflecting surface. Intel was spotty at best.

"I'll go do a quick sweep, in case they have other surprises." she said into the comm, before she slipped out of the mirror, and into the nearest reflecting surface inside the facility.

Jesse moved quickly from surface to surface, not lingering long enough to be noticed by anyone. Most spaces she saw were empty... that is, until she got to the lower levels. From one mirror to the next, she was looking at some kind of a cell. With a kid in it.

"Sh*t." she muttered to herself as she peered into the cell from the mirror above the sink. This was... definitely not good.

It was a hiss of sound-- a voice, barely a murmur. But, in the impenetrable silence of the cell, it was undeniable. Delta 7, who was sinking back into a seating position, tensed at the sound. Was it the guard? There was no protocol against standing by the door.

The child crouched in the corner, ready to spring-- and saw... nothing. Delta 7's gaze swept over the room. Door was locked. There was no guard. Slowly, Delta 7 rose, keeping his shoulder to the wall. He walked silently, his eyes trained-on the door. His irises had turned black with tension and fear.

His stance was one of someone with training in hand-to-hand combat, of one ready to lunge. He had the element of surprise working to his advantage-- no one expected a child to know advanced martial arts.

"Who's there?" he rasped. His voice was harsh from disuse. The Kappa operative he'd been given to was not a kind one-- they barked orders and expected Seven to hold their tongue, do as he was told. The child remained on the balls of his feet, ready to spring.

>>"Who's there?"

A kid. They had a f**** kid in a f**** cell. Jesse watched as he moved around, cautious and clearly worried that whoever spoke in the room would want to do them harm. She could also tell from his eyes that he was a mutant. The team expected to find something like this (even though they hoped they would not) at the facility... but expecting was one thing, and finding was quite another.

The kid already heard her, and knew she was there. Jesse waved from the mirror, lowering her voice as she glance towards the window on the door. Whoever was keeping the kid here probably liked to check on him sometimes.

"Over here." she told him "Hey. What's your name?"

>> "Over here."

Delta 7’s attention snapped towards the toilet. There was no denying it, he’d heard a voice. He edged forward, to where he could see the polished, stainless steel mirror. Someone was there, waving at him. The boy dropped his fists, looking behind him, looking around. There was definitely someone there, but there was no one in here. Just him. Intrigued, the child shuffled across the room, closer to the mirror.

>> "Hey. What's your name?"

“My name?” he echoed. Sometimes, he was given names for missions—but since he’d failed the mission, he’d forgotten his assigned-name. His designation, however… “Delta Seven. Or just Seven.”

Delta 7’s gaze flickered over the person in the mirror, checking over his shoulder once again to see if they were there. Nope. He wasn’t supposed to ask questions. Only answer them. What if this person was a SUPER, and then he’d get in trouble for insubordination? The last thing Delta 7 wanted was to incur more punishment—he was already in-trouble for delaying the mission, as it was.

“Wh-who are you?” Delta 7 replied, “Do you have a designation?”

Maybe they were a newer Delta? Delta 7 lightly poked at the cool surface of the mirror, as if to nudge the person in their shoulder.

“Why are you in there?”

Delta 7 was altogether too calm for a hostage. He knew his position. This was his life. If anything, he was curious about the person who was in his cell, but also wasn’t. The black fear bled out of his irises, giving way to the swirling yellow-orange of confusion and teal curiosity.

The kid reacted pretty much the way Jesse expected him to. He checked if anyone was standing in the room behind him, and then approached hesitantly, distrust clear in his body language and his strange eyes. But no matter how cautious, he was still a kid.

>>“My name? Delta Seven. Or just Seven.”

That... was not a real name. Not one a parent would give their kid, unless they were some kind of weird military fans. Jesse bit back a frown as Seven introduced himself. Kids with numbers. Not. Good.

>>“Wh-who are you? Do you have a designation?”

"Mirage." she nodded, using her X-team name. That was probably not what he meant by designation, but it was a codename none the less, and less likely to be tracked than Jesse's own.

The kid poked at the mirror. Jesse didn't feel it, but she put a hand up against the glass from her side anyway.

>>“Why are you in there?”

"I'm a mutant." Jesse supplied, suspecting the kid was, too "My powers allow me to live in the mirror world. Why are you in there?"

>> "Mirage."

"Mirage," the child echoed. That was not a designation he was expecting. She was not a SUPER. The child's eyes pinched slightly, scrutinizing the woman in the mirror. He was relieved,  hopeful, scared, and curious, and each of these emotions flickered through his eyes.

>> "I'm a mutant. My powers allow me to live in the mirror world. Why are you in there?"

"Mirage, are you from the outside?" Seven breathed, pressing his hand flat against the mirror, against Mirage's hand, his brow stitching. It wasn't safe here, not for her. His expression was forlorn. He thinned his lips, gaze cutting towards the door.

"I... I'm from the inside," Seven murmured, rubbing his head, "I'm not allowed to stay outside when a mission lasts more than a day. Most Delta's aren't."

He surveyed Mirage carefully, "Can you... take other people in the mirror world?"

>>"Mirage... Mirage, are you from the outside?"

Jesse could see the emotions shifting through the boy's eyes. He was clearly not used to seeing someone walk into the mirror... but even more than that, he was not used to visitors from the outside. The way he said outside meant that there was also an inside, and Jesse guessed the latter referred to this place he was locked in. Inside a facility that was not kind to mutants. She could only guess how long the kid must have been in here, to talk about the place like that.

"Yes. I'm from the outside."

>>"I... I'm from the inside. I'm not allowed to stay outside when a mission lasts more than a day. Most Delta's aren't."

Delta. Mission. They were not only keeping the kid, locked up in a basement... they were using him. Jesse's hand curled into a fist. Bastards.

>>"Can you... take other people in the mirror world?"

Jesse winced at the question. She wished she could. She used to; it was great for missions, and especially great for helping people escape prisons like this. But she couldn't. Not anymore.

"I... I can't. I'm sorry." she sighed, putting one hand on the glass "I can't leave the mirrors. But I can find another way, to get you out... You'll need to help me do it, though. Can you tell me what this place is?"

>> "I... I can't. I'm sorry. I can't leave the mirrors."

Seven frowned at that, balling and un-balling his fists, clenching his teeth. How could a way out be so close, and yet so far. He couldn't lift his gaze, and he couldn't bring himself to put his hand back up to the glass. He looked down in the sink, the expression on his face fallen.

>> "But I can find another way, to get you out... You'll need to help me do it, though. Can you tell me what this place is?"

The child shook his head.

"How would I know?" he mumbled, lifting his gaze once more, "It's not the place I'm usually kept. But it has to be SUPER, because they're keeping me here. And the guard in the hall looks the same."

His gaze dropped again. His eyes were blurring, which meant that tears were probably welling-up. This is what happened when he reverted forms. He cried over stupid things. He cried period. It would be different once they reprogrammed him. Once they reprogrammed him, he wouldn't see people in mirrors that probably weren't even there. Once they reprogrammed him, he'd only cry if he was told to...

"I can tell you what they do inside the place I'm normally kept, though," Seven offered. What did it matter? They probably weren't really here anyways...

Jesse could see the disappointment in the kid's eyes, and her heart sank. She was trapped in the mirrors, and he was trapped in a cell, and as close as they were to each other, neither could cross over. The feeling of helplessness hit her like a wave once again.

>>"How would I know? It's not the place I'm usually kept. But it has to be SUPER, because they're keeping me here. And the guard in the hall looks the same."

SUPER. This was a SUPER facility, and they were keeping a damn kid in it, locked up. Jesse hoped the two teams would come through. The kid didn't even know where he was. Or what his name was.

>>"I can tell you what they do inside the place I'm normally kept, though,"

"Good." Jesse nodded. She had to focus on things she could do in this moment, or else she was going to start trying to break down the glass. "Tell me everything you know. We can help you get out. Anything you can tell me will help."

>> "Good. Tell me everything you know. We can help you get out. Anything you can tell me will help."

"We?" the child lifted his gaze again, touching a clenched fist to the mirror, his eyes searching Mirage's, "There are others?"

The faintest glimmer of hopeful yellow-green wove its way through Delta 7's eyes. Mirage might not be able to reach them, but if there were others... maybe... maybe they could.

"There are other places like this!" Seven said, his voice raising above a whisper. He was crying now, but his voice was resolute and betrayed no weakneses. Anything he could tell Mirage would help, so he had to tell her everything he remembered, "We look for people like us, who can do things. Bad people. And we shoot them with these guns... but they don't die! It's a bag-and-tag." He didn't know the full extent of what that meant. It's just the term that Kappa's or superior Delta's threw around.

"And sometimes there are people they want, so I find them," Delta 7 said, "With my powers. And then... well, then they take them. And they do bad things. I think they do, anyways."

He was too young to really understand and besides, it wasn't as though SUPER detailed what they were going to do to Delta 7 when they kidnapped him. They just did it... the holes in his memory also didn't help.

"They did bad things to me," Delta 7 confided, "That's how I know. They did bad things to me, and sometimes they still do. They hurt me."

Seven's expression hardened, his eyes staring past Mirage, toward the reflected corner of the room, "They strap you down and poke and prod and zap you. They make it so you don't remember anything and do only what they tell you to. They hit you. They make you mean. They make you fight... that's what they made me do, anyways."

>>"We? There are others?"

The boy looked so hopeful Jesse caught her breath. Maybe it had been a mistake, telling him there was a chance, but she could not take it back now. And his question was valid. Where were the others?...

He was crying now, but words came flooding out. Things he knew. Things that they needed to know, and maybe use, to burn this whole place down.

>>"There are other places like this! We look for people like us, who can do things. Bad people. And we shoot them with these guns... but they don't die! It's a bag-and-tag. And sometimes there are people they want, so I find them. With my powers. And then... well, then they take them. And they do bad things. I think they do, anyways."

Jesse's eyes narrowed, and she dug her nails into her palm as she listened. Focus on the information. Pity is useless. She had been in bad situations before too, and the last thing she wanted was someone else crying over her.
The place sounded... bad. Exactly like the worst nightmare of mutants. Capturing, tagging, kidnapping... and using a child to do all that, because of his powers. Powers were despised, but sued none the less. It made Jesse feel sick.

>>"They did bad things to me. That's how I know. They did bad things to me, and sometimes they still do. They hurt me. They strap you down and poke and prod and zap you. They make it so you don't remember anything and do only what they tell you to. They hit you. They make you mean. They make you fight... that's what they made me do, anyways."

"Bastards." Jesse said with a frown, leaning her forehead against the mirror from the inside "Okay, kid, listen. We'll get you out, okay? I don't know when... but we will. It is what we do. There are... others out there, like us. Not everyone is running scared." she looked at the boy "Can you tell me anything about the other places? Or the place where you normally are? Anything like, what you see from a window, or how many floors there are, or how long it takes to get there?..."

Delta 7's ears perked at the unfamiliar word that Mirage hissed.

>> "Okay, kid, listen. We'll get you out, okay? I don't know when... but we will. It is what we do. There are... others out there, like us. Not everyone is running scared."

Delta 7 nodded his head slowly, touching his hand to the mirror. He knew he forgot things-- he knew, because when he tried to wander back in his memories, it was muddy at-best before he hit a wall. Hopefully he could hold onto this memory, though-- that there were people out there, like Mirage, who would look for him. Who would get him out.

>> "Can you tell me anything about the other places? Or the place where you normally are? Anything like, what you see from a window, or how many floors there are, or how long it takes to get there?..."

Delta 7 waded his way through his recollections of the other place, the place where he usually lived.

"There are lots of trees, and we have to drive to get to the buildings. There are no windows, but there are a lot of floors." Implying that it was mostly underground.

"We go down small roads through lots of trees, then big roads." Highways or freeways, as some with more worldly schema might say. "I get morning rations before leaving, usually, leave after requisitioning. The sun is usually diagonal when we leave. I usually get midday rations upon arrival, and the sun is directly above." It could be assumed that it was between three to five hours away.

What made Delta 7 an asset to SUPER was likely what also made him dangerous. Despite his lack of real-world knowledge, his observational skills were one of his strongest suits.

Jesse put her hand on the glass from the inside, matching the kid's smaller hand with her own. It was something she had done with Becca countless times since being trapped in the mirrors... but it did not make her feel any less trapped. She swallowed the frustration, focusing on what the kid was saying instead.

>>"There are lots of trees, and we have to drive to get to the buildings. There are no windows, but there are a lot of floors."

A damn underground facility. No surprise there. Jesse nodded encouragingly.

>>"We go down small roads through lots of trees, then big roads. I get morning rations before leaving, usually, leave after requisitioning. The sun is usually diagonal when we leave. I usually get midday rations upon arrival, and the sun is directly above."

Three to five hours. At least they got a radius of some sort. It was information Becca could use.

"That's good." Jesse nodded "Good work. We can use that. We'll find you." she paused, not sure what else to say, but not wanting to leave just yet "I move through mirrors. If you have a mirror, or any surface that reflects well, I can find you." she looked at the kid "What are your powers, exactly?..."

>> "That's good. Good work. We can use that. We'll find you. I move through mirrors. If you have a mirror, or any surface that reflects well, I can find you."

Delta 7 nodded. At some point, his tears had dried. They could use that. They could find him. She could move through mirrors and find him. He could get out of there. Something about the way Mirage murmured that gave Delta 7 hope. It wasn’t that they “could” find him. They “would” find him. They’d get him out of this place. Away from the monsters.

>> "What are your powers, exactly?..."

Delta 7 tapped the mirror contemplatively, before backing away from the mirror. He cast a scrutinizing stare at Mirage, and extended his arms. Short, dark hair—pale skin—pale eyes… the tendrils of his skin began to move, stretching slightly. Thankfully, the mark had been female, so that form was familiar. The tendrils slithered until they found a female form, similar to Mirage’s but not-quite-right.

“It’s not perfect,” the doppelganger mumbled, their voice unaltered, “But if I had something that belonged to you, no one could tell us apart. And I can ask questions of the things… learn more about a person… find them.”

His mutation considered, it was apparent as to why they kept Delta 7. He was a tool. Delta 7’s attention slipped, as did the form. Shifting without an item was like holding your breath. It was easy to let go.