She looks at a random stranger.
Lost his job.
And another.
Cheating on his wife.
And another.
Part of the Empire, but only out of necessity.
And another.
Hits his son.
And another.
Just went through a divorce, lost everything.
This is one of the things Lisa likes to do on her listless days.
Watching the facade that everyone puts on crack before her eyes.
Ever since she got her powers, Lisa now sees the world in one color. Everyone is selfish, she had realized, and she is no exception.
But it's different for her, her power makes it easier to do so, especially when she can read the intentions of people so clearly.
How does one continue to trust people when your powers might as well be mind reading? Seeing what people think, extrapolating information with just a few choice words.
She has been made too aware that people do not care about people, especially in this world of superheroes and villains.
A brief glance unveils a secret.
Too easy.
Too tempting.
Too burdensome.
In a way, you could say the migraines she gets as side effects for overusing her power is a small mercy.
As if saying. "Why don't you close your eyes for a bit and look, instead of see."
But Lisa can't afford such laxness.
Not in Brockton bay.
After getting recruited at gun point, she has played various scenarios in her head about how that day could have went, but at the end of the day, the what-ifs do not matter anymore.
Perhaps having her freedom shackled is karma for what happened to her brother.
Her sin.
She shakes her head as if banishing that line of thought.
As Lisa continues her people watching from where she sits in the balcony of the coffee shop, just letting the day drift by as she catches the whiffs of secrets that people think they hide so well.
"Still the same as ever, Lady Wilbourn." A voice comments from opposite her.
Lisa would not consider herself a strong girl but if there is one thing she was confident in, it's her ability to spot trouble.
And the young man sitting in front of her— who she didn't realize was there until he spoke— screamed trouble.
Instead of getting nervous by this supposed unknown individual, Lisa gives her signature smirk instead as she responds.
"Eli…"
Wearing an obviously expensive matte black suit, it fits his muscular but lean build nicely, in the left chest area, an emblem is displayed, engraved on it is the symbol of the Sephirah in gold, he wears black brogues. Beside him on his seat lays a black long overcoat and off to the side on the table lays a black top hat, while leaning against the table is an ornate purple walking stick.
Purple eyes that shines with intelligence studies Lisa's intently.
"Or should I call you, Mystique, like most people do?"
He smiles at that and looks down on the cup before him, stirring it.
Coffee. Just like he likes it. Coffee wasn't ordered, coffee isn't from the shop. […]
"Don't trouble yourself with such formalities, Lady Wilbourn. I am known by many names, some I hardly care about, and most forgotten. So you can call me whatever pleases you."
Eli is not his real name. Has a lot of names. Speech suggests gentlemanly inclination. Has lived for a long time. He is […]
Oh, so it wasn't an act then, good to have confirmation on that. And lived for a long time? Didn't powers start appearing around 30 years ago? Well, she guesses 30 years could be considered a long time ago, although the person in front of her looks younger than that.
"Eli, then…" She settles on. "Sending a girl a letter in this age. How old school." She smirks tracing a finger against a black envelope which has the same Sephirah symbol, on the table in front of her. She had found it earlier that morning in her apartment, it's content simply read:
「 For whom does the bell tolls for, Lady Wilbourn? 」 With a signature name below it.
He chuckled in such a composed manner that Lisa would have believed it was deliberate if her power didn't tell her otherwise.
"I am a man with a certain love for aesthetics. I hope my preferences didn't cause you any trouble." He says as he holds up his cup of coffee, looking at her.
Real eye color. Unnatural fair skin. Aware of the […]
Brief images of「 The smell of [...] Claws passing [...] Blood […] Screaming. Despair 」flash through her mind.
"Well, apart from the fact that you know where I live and can somehow send a letter without ever stepping in, I guess it's all peachy. Although I usually wait till the third date before letting a guy inside my home."
She attempts to tease, hoping he would let his guard down and let something slip even though she knows that would not be likely.
Mystique was given that name due to how mysterious he is, even by strangers standards. He always seems to know a lot about everything but there is nothing substantial about him. Every group in the Bay is aware of him but there is one thing that makes him stand out.
You don't meet him, he meets you.
Even though he does not wear a mask, not the PRT nor any group has ever been able to hold a meeting or conversation with him even with how sought after he is.
"Oh? I didn't peg you as the flirty type, Lady Wilbourn." He says as he takes a sip off his cup.
"Also, can you stop with the Lady stuff? It makes me feel old, just call me Lisa since you know who I am already." She says.
Aware of who you are, and who you were. Is not here to threaten you. Curious about you. Knows about the […]
"Oh, my apologies. Then Dame Lisa." Her brow twitched at that.
Messing with you. Finds your reactions amusing. Aware of your ability. Knows you can read him. Purposely putting on airs. Knows about the […]
"Just. Lisa." She says. "So? Is there a reason you sought me out? To be honest, I've always been curious about you, even more so than usual."
"Please stop it Lisa, I might be old but even I would blush from such a line that looks like it came straight out of a dating simulation game."
Her face reddens a bit in embarrassment at that. Damn Alec and his stupid games, she would find a way to piss him off when she gets back to the loft.
"Come on. I can tell you know what I'm talking about." She whines.
"Hahahaha." Lisa doesn't know how he manages to sound refined even while laughing. Her power says it's natural. "Forgive me Lisa, I have a bad habit of teasing people, and I can't seem to help it when it comes to you."
A bad habit but not one he hates. Only teases people that catches his eyes. You have caught his eyes. Wonders why you are […]
Well, not ominous at all.
"So? This letter." She points at it. "And this meeting." She points at him. "What do they mean? What do you want?" She asks. Try as she may, her power literally goes silent when she looks at the letter, but she understands the contents too painfully, even though she doesn't want to, she understands and it scares her.
"Lisa…" With the mention of her name, a chill hung onto the air, one even Lisa could feel. The man in front of her, having dropped his cup of coffee looks at her, his eyes seemed to glow a bit as he looked right into her soul. "How long do you plan to look away, Lisa?"
At the same time Lisa feels her heart grip as a look of fear crosses her face, the lights in the coffee shop flickers on and off as a waitress drops a tray of tea cups which shatter as they hit the ground.
"What's happening with the light?"
"Hey? Are you okay?"
"I-I don't know what happened, a cold just ran through me all of a sudden."
Ignoring the voices from the background, Lisa looks at her shaking hands and grips them as she ignores the observations from her power as well.
"Y-you're wrong." She doesn't know what he is wrong about or why but he is wrong. "I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine." She is fine. Nothing is wrong with her.
"Then why do you look away? Don't you hear it?" Amidst the bustling sounds of day, Lisa can perfectly hear the sounds of bells in the background. The same sound she has been hearing for a few days now. "Whom does the bell tolls for Lisa?"
She looks at the man in front of her who is looking at her passively as she abruptly stands from her seat, shaking her head furiously, denying something.
"Nonononononono. No!" With that last yell, she runs out on him.
◇◇◇
Watching Lisa storm off the shops, the one called Eli sighs.
"Look at that, you broke her." He looks toward the voice in front of him, sitting where Lisa had just been. Curly black hair with green eyes, a bowl of ice cream on her hands.
"Give her some credit."
"I don't think I am physically capable of that."
He snorts.
"After 4 months, you still do not plan on letting the jokes rest huh?"
She laughs lazily. "Nope." She says popping the p.
Standing from his seat, he wears his overcoat, his hat and picks his walking stick. "I guess, I'll watch over her for a bit." He says. "What will you be doing in the meantime?"
"Me? Hmmm. Dunno. Maybe I'll check in on dad."
"Well then, I'll see you later, T." He says, then with a tip of his hat, he disappears.
"Show off." She says.
◇◇◇
「 The smell of burning meat. The heat from flames. Guttural cries. Claws passing through flesh. Sadistic laughter. 」
These are the images that flashes through Lisa's mind as she runs through the streets of Brockton bay.
People ignore her and she somehow manages not to hit anyone as she runs.
She doesn't know how long she has been running for but since she's not out of breath, it couldn't have been that long?
After running some more, she finally comes to a stop in an alleyway.
The place looks awfully familiar, but why did she come here?
"How long do you plan to look away, Lisa?"
She balls her fists.
What do you mean look away?! There is nothing to see in the first place!
She yells in her mind.
But maybe. Just maybe.
She cuts a corner with deliberate steps and comes to a stop before a keep off tape, but it's a PRT version.
Hopping over it, she continues walking further, deliberately or unconsciously holding back her power's observations.
She stops walking as she looks at the ground, there are footsteps that looks like they melted through the asphalt but that is not what catches her attention.
White paints that signify where a person had died mars the ground. Lisa falls to her knees at that.
She knows.
She knows dammit. But it was much better to think it wasn't true. That it didn't happen. That it was a bad dream. That it was a lie.
That she didn't see Alec being ripped in two.
That she didn't see Rachel burning along with her dogs, trying to protect her 'Pack'.
That she didn't see Brian being clawed through.
That she didn't see Lung laughing as he did it.
She knows, dammit.
Tears streak her face. So why? Why had she being the only one that survived? Lisa thinks everyone is selfish and her teammates are… were no exceptions. But in a way, they were selfish for the wrong reasons.
Alec was running from his family.
Rachel wanted to take care of her dogs.
Brian wanted to protect his sister.
Even though their relationship was not the best, these were the people Lisa had grown close to.
So why?
It hurts.
How foolish were they? Wasn't this supposed to be a game of cops and robbers?
They steal and they run and they never push enough to get caught.
So why?
"Why did you guys decide to die?"
She cries.
◇◇◇
By the time Lisa had gotten into a better state of mind to leave the area, it was already evening.
Walking back through the alleyway she quickly starts thinking of what to do, there is no doubt that Coil will be coming for her soon, so she has to get as far away as possible.
What are her options?
She remembers earlier.
She had left the letter from Eli in the restaurant when she stormed off, she wonders how she would contact him now.
Thinking about the letter, she realizes something.
Bell tolls in the background.
The name of the sender had been 'A-Lie'.
Why didn't he use 'Eli' instead of 'A-Lie?'
Bell tolls in the background.
She cuts the corner and almost runs into someone.
"Oh sorr—"
Bell tolls in the background.
The person who she had almost run into ignores her as if she wasn't even there.
A cold sweat runs down her spine.
Bell tolls in the background.
With shaky footsteps and bated breaths, Lisa walks towards the front of the shop beside her.
Bell tolls in the background.
With a horror filled face, she stares at her reflection.
The bell tolls louder.
But.
There is no reflection.
Lisa thinks she is the only survivor.
Lisa didn't survive.
Lisa… is dead.