I Come Here Every Night To Work

[Natalie Denisov]

"Why?" Natalie asks again. "I don't understand."

[Shari]

Shari doesn't say anything. Instead her skin ripples and shifts, pink fading into green, hair rolling out into pitch-black as ears grow into points that poke out from it and the skin of her chin folds.

[Natalie Denisov]

It's possibly an effect of Natalie's surprise that causes all the locks on the briefing room's doors to thud home. "Um... okay... You're not just messing with me, are you?"

[Shari]

The locks snapping shut make Shari jump. She'd figured something like this was coming, but that didn't prepare her entirely for when it did.

"No..." she says meekly. "We're called Skrull. We... They are conquerors. For the glory of Kly'bn the Eternal and Sl'gur't the Many."

[Natalie Denisov]

"So why are you here?" Natalie asks, "Were you lying to me about losing your memories?" She obviously hurt on some level, but she's not afraid.

[Shari]

"I wasn't. We have... we have a ritual. It brings your mind in tune with your shape and if you let yourself sink into it deep enough you start to become that person more and more. There's... more to it than that but my memories was the price I paid for betraying the glory of conquest. For being granted exile." she says, sinking into one of the chairs and looking at the ground. "I didn't mean to lie..."

[Natalie Denisov]

"You just had no choice but to hide," Natalie says quietly. "I have to tell the Headmistress about this, but I think we can make a case."

[Shari]

"Wait, no! No no no! You can't tell anybody! They're never going to believe me! Not with her here. They can't trust me. They shouldn't trust me! I... it... they're just going to put me in the cell next to her..."

[Natalie Denisov]

"Then what do you want me to do? Cause this is kind of a big deal."

[Shari]

""You talk to machines, yeah? You can just... make all the recordings from here disappear. I'll be gone in the morning, nobody has to know."

[Natalie Denisov]

"I can quarantine the recordings, but that'll raise a ton of questions. And if you leave, I'll have one less friend here."

[Shari]

That, at least, makes her hesitate. "I... I can't stay here. I don't belong. I don't... really belong anywhere anymore, but if they find out about me it'll only get worse..."

[Natalie Denisov]

"I know what that's like, but if anywhere's likely to understand you, it's this place."

[Shari]

"They'll think it's a trick."

[Natalie Denisov]

"I'll stick up for you," she says, "And they know me."

[Shari]

"But I could be lieing to you! It's what we do! Not that... I am, it just..." she sighs. "How could you possibly trust anything I say..."

[Natalie Denisov]

"Because I've had enough people I thought were friends turn on me, so I know what it looks like," she says, "This doesn't feel like that."

[Shari]

"They'll lock me up. I just... I know it... They'll put me next to her and she's gonna lie to them about how I'm part of their plan once she realizes who I am and then I'll be stuck in a cell forever!" she says, starting to panic for real now, glancing back and forth between all the locked doors.

[Natalie Denisov]

All the locks click open, "I think you should stay. I think if you tell your story, they'll understand. They're probably the only people who will. But if you want to run, I can give you an hour head start. But if you run, you will never gain their trust ever."

[Shari]

Shari looks over at the door for a long minute or three. In an hour she could disappear, easy. All she had to do was abandon everybody here and forever cement it into their heads that she was guilty of something. Being on the run wasn't so bad, right? Then why was the prospect of doing it forever so terrible? She could even write down everything that could possibly help them deal with her fellow Skrulls and maybe they'd even manage to stop them. Regardless of their plans there's only six of them and they were weaker for their existence having been revealed. If she ran she might actually be able to outrun them for real. But only if her friends fought them. Her friends... The first thing that'd happened after she'd realized who she really was had been Sam and being hugged by the fellow shapeshifter despite the fact that she must have seen at least glimpses of her family in her mind. And now Natalie was willing to take the blame for letting her run.

It doesn't make any sense to her. All she's ever known is strife, deceit and vague promises of a glory that never came. You don't just trust people. How could you? Doesn't Natalie know that's how you wake up with a knife buried in your back or a plasma bolt in your head? Instead what these people know is... pizza, music and hugs while they stare down threats they don't even fully understand. Even Cam, awkward as he might be in some things, didn't even hesitate to make sure she had a place to sleep.

She slowly gets up, shaking a little before almost falling forward into Natalie, arms wrapped around the red-head.

[Natalie Denisov]

Natalie hugs her back tightly, "Good decision. I'll get the Headmistress to come talk to us. She's... a little strange, but I think I can make her understand."

Her mind wanders briefly as she jots off an e-mail:

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Headmistress,
I need you in the briefing room. I have an ally to help us figure out this shapeshifting alien thing.

Natalie

[Ashlie Minamida]

Ashlie's presence blooms inside the computer terminal almost immediately and Natalie might feel her stretch out through the surveillance system as her face appears on one of the computer screens. To most people it would jsut seem like she was Face-timing in, but at least here at the Point it's very clear that Ashlie's attention brings with it a much larger presence that saturates the room. It's probably for the best that most people aren't aware she's looking at them from a dozen lenses at any given moment.

"This is certainly an... unexpected development." she says as she rapidly processes the security footage.

[Shari]

Shari, clearly not having expected this sudden a response, flinches and almost instinctively shifts into a mousey, brown-haired girl that's almost painfully generic.

[Natalie Denisov]

Natalie rests a hand on Shari's shoulder, squeezing it gently, "She didn't have to reveal herself and she chose not to leave. I think you should hear her out."

[Shari]

Shari hesitatingly turns green again and takes a careful step towards the screen. "So... yeah. I know you have no reason to trust me or to believe anything I tell you. And if there's one thing you should know about our people it's that you shouldn't... Anything 'Mandy' has told you is useless. Deception and infiltration is how our people conquered hundreds of worlds. We're exceptionally good at it. Good enough that when our scout ship crashed here they decided they would be able to do it on their own. It would mean great honor would await them back home. I ran because--"

[Ashlie Minamida]

"I know. I've seen the security footage of what you told Natalie. You're the student Cam entered into the system, aren't you?"

[Shari]

Shari nods, although she seems confused as to how Ashlie's already seen all of that. Unless she'd been watching the entire time? Some infiltrator she is.

"Yes, ma'am. I didn't even know who I was myself at the time and he helped me out. Please don't punish him for that?"

[Ashlie Minamida]

Ashlie chuckles at that. Or at least the image on the screen does. The rest of the program Natalie can sense doesn't. It lacks that capability, really. It might not be an act, but it's still a somewhat deliberate choice and almost makes her presence feel more alien than the actual flesh and blood one she's talking to.

"I should commend him, really. Unwittingly or not, he offered an olive branch and made friends with the enemy. One we weren't even quite aware existed. I will admit, I did not expect him of all people to represent a message of compassion and inclusion. And you too, Natalie, very well done. Shari, if you would, I have countless questions for you, but many of those can wait. What's most important right now is how we proceed from here. I understand wanting to keep this a secret, but even in the short term it will cause larger problems. At the very least those on the lookout for the others should know, both so they don't chase a dead-end and because they need to know anything at all you can tell them that would help us determine if we have been infiltrated."

[Natalie Denisov]

Natalie smiles at the praise, "I can handle Tosh. He and I went to the Institute together and I think I can explain this to him and calm him down when he freaks out."

[Shari]

"I'll...try. Telling people. It's scary, cause I'm surrounded by bunch of weirdo aliens." she tries to muster enough bravado for a stupid joke. "But I don't know how much help I'll be. The deeper we allow ourselves to sink into the ritual, the more we truly become that person. Their body, their powers. Their mind if need be."

[Natalie Denisov]

"If it would help you feel better, I'd be willing to switch rooms and room with you, provided the Headmistress agrees," Natalie offers.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"We can talk more in depth later, even if it doesn't help us directly I would appreciate it. But for now, there is a place for you here. You're right that it's hard to trust you entirely, so I'm sure you'll understand I won't grant you access to everything immediately, but that is true for all students. Very few are allowed everywhere in the Point. If you want your official dorm room to be elsewhere I can arrange that, but for now get some sleep in the one you do have."

[Natalie Denisov]

"I'll walk you back to the dorms," Natalie says to Shari even as she opens a connection to Ashlie.

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If you need something, let me know.

[Shari]

Shari nods, looking like she's trying pretty hard to keep it together. She does shift back into a human shape, but it takes a moment. She seems distracted and for a bit she struggles to put all the bits in the right places.

"I... I'll have to talk to my roommate. If Will wants to kick me out I might take you up on that offer..." she says as they walk out.

[Ashlie Minamida]

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>> I will send her a new student ID shortly.
>> It's going to contain a tracker.
>> Just as a security measure, of course.

[Natalie Denisov]

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You mean you don't have inactive trackers in all the student IDs already? :D

"He'll be fine, I'm sure, but I'll stay with you while you talk to him if you want me to," she says, putting a friendly arm around Shari.

[Shari]

"That... that'd be nice."

[Ashlie Minamida]

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>> Contrary to what some people might have you believe, I do not strive to keep everyone under constant surveillance.
>> Do not tell the Americans. It's better if the Major thinks I see everything.

[Natalie Denisov]

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Your secret is safe with me. Speaking of surveillance, could you look at my storage space? Someone dumped some design files on my storage space with my username attached to them. They're cool, but I didn't put them there, so I'm curious where they came from.

"We'll get it figured out, Shari," Natalie reassures her.

[Ashlie Minamida]

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>> I'll take a look.
>> I'll be in the workshops tomorrow if you want to go over it with me then.