The Miscreant League

[Silent_Wolf]

"Yeah. You do it though, I haven't gotten down twisting things yet. I still have trouble with doorknobs." She flexed her fingers.

[Sarah_K_O_M]

Dale went off and got the ouija board. He brought it back. "Should we get Aly in on this too?"

[Silent_Wolf]

"Not right now. She's still not in a good state. And Star can't hold Azhdeha off forever."

[Sarah_K_O_M]

"Good point." Dale said. He sat down the bed and started poking the buttons. "Childhood stuff, do you reckon?"

[Silent_Wolf]

"Most definitely." Jadzia grabbed a chair to sit in. She was quiet for a little bit, before she said, "Y'know, I always heard a reference to the Hand of Midnight, when I was still workin' there. Never thought it was him though."

[Sarah_K_O_M]

A blurry image appeared on the ouija board screen then focoused.

It showed a young sandy blond haired boy sitting in a chair, his tops of his feet just about touching the ground. He was sitting incredibly still, the only signs of movement were when his eyes blinked. He had a earpiece in one ear.

Two people walked into frame. One was a woman in a labcoat, the other a man in a suit. The woman had blonde hair tied back and a nametag reading 'Clementine'.

"This is C's newest?"

"No, not the newest, but one of his favourites and our most promising. This is Cipher A0. He's still being developed, but personally I am quite proud of his progress."

"He looks braindead." the man said.

"That's because, for all intents and purposes, he is. A-Zero's own personality has been kept free of stimulus and overwritten by four personas of our choosing."

"You can do that?"

"Yes. Well, possibly." she amended. "It's a work in progress, and he's our first. Provided things go well with this one. This is not an exact science after all."

"Wonder what poor b*stard's child you lot stole."

"Oh, C himself and I provided the child. We are quite dedicated." she said with pride.

"So I can see. He's for infiltration then?"

"Yes. Infiltration and covert assassination. His personas enable him to fit into multiple countries. Only the French persona, Alfie, is consciously aware of the Malus, so that means that the rest cannot betray us if caught. If Alfie was caught we would simply change the persona."

"You can do that?"

"Yes. It is, quite frankly, amazing. He reacts only to C's voice. C couldn't be here today but he left me voice-recordings. Allow me to demonstrate." she said, holding up a small remote with five buttons, She pressed the first one.

The boy shivered then looked around. He started speaking in French. She pressed another button and he slid into German. She repeated it twice with the English and Italian personas then pressed the fifth button. The boy's face went blank again.

The man stared. "Wow."

[Silent_Wolf]

Jadzia was freaked out. "Oh my god."

[Sarah_K_O_M]

The picture changed. Now it showed the Clementine lady leaning against a white wall, talking into the phone. She had a bag besides her.

"Look, C, I just don't think we'll get any results from this. I know some of the others have said he's moved without instruction but I haven't seen it. I just don't think anything is there. Okay. Okay. Right. Look, I'll try if you're, but I really doubt it. Fine. See you later." she hung up then walked into a room nearby.

The room, like everything else there, was gleaming white. The same child was there, just a little bit older, sitting at a table that had nothing on it. She walked over and put a sheet of paper in front of them then took a kid's painting set out of the bag, opening it up and started pouring out the colours into their small pots. The little boy blinked then reached out his hand as she started pouring out the orange paint. Clementine jerked and split the paint down her coat.

She cursed, wiping at it with her hands, only making the stain worse. "Oh for God's sake," she muttered. She dabbed at it with her sleeve then looked up to see the kid staring at her curiously.

"It's.... It's paint. Orange paint." she said, feeling foolish for even trying to explain anything to him. He looked confused. She rubbed some of the orange and the red paint between her fingers, holding them out to him. "See? Paint. Two different colours of it. You use it to make drawings. That's what I want you to do. Pick any colour you want. This is orange, this is red. That's blue, green and yellow in those pots."

The little boy just stared. She sighed and stuck her finger in the paint and daubed it on the paper, leaving a orange spot, then tapped him on the forehead, leaving a spot of paint. and smiled.

“There, like that.”

He put his hands to his forehead, smearing the paint onto his hands. He looked at them in awe then smeared it on her face in return. He laughed suddenly. Clementine looked visibly shocked.

[Miranda_]

Star was struggling with Azhdeha. He was singleminded about going after and killing Orange, and she knew that she could not stop him from much longer.

Azhdeha looked at Star impassively. "There is no point in delaying like this. I will go after the traitor and lay his bones in the dust."

Star replied, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice, "We have to wait til Dale and Jadzia are finished with their search of his room. There might be important information there that we need."

"I won't wait forever. A traitor deserves death, as painful and drawn out as I can make it."

[Silent_Wolf]

Jadzia blinked. "... That's just strange."

Alvin's voice came over the speaker. "Azhdeha, Star, report to nav room NOW." She sounded extremely agitated.