InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I own the Pina Colada song."

Adam Monroe (my__immortal) wrote in heroic_essence,
@ 2008-10-23 16:39:00

Entry tags:

adam monroe, elle bishop

today until eternity
WHO: Adam Monroe and Elle Bishop
WHAT: Bored out of his immortal mind.
WHEN: He's losing track.
WHERE: Basement of Hartsdale
WARNINGS: Diabolical plans and hotness within.

This day was much like the first. After a while, they just started blurring together and they'd continue to do so the longer Adam was trapped in the forsaken pit of Hartsdale. But he'd always be here, wouldn't he? Every day for the rest of humanity. Immortal and continuing through it all. And what a wretched humanity it was, too. Somewhere above him, it toiled away year after year, and for what? It was really terrible to think about, all this time going by and he could've been doing something, could've been aiding this feeling. People needed motivation, you see. Tragedy was the springboard for growth. Oh, he had seen it before--and would again. Mark his words, it was always the same. And who better to know than Adam. But those treacherous pigs wouldn't listen. So he'd bide his time...

Too bad it was so very, very boring.

Adam pushed off from the edge of his meager bed and slipped onto the room's chair, instead--though it hardly made a difference. It had been the same scenery for decades now and the immortal imagined that this sort of treatment would drive a lesser man insane. If he was honest with himself, he could admit that it was somewhat disturbing to think forward to a future where this continued. Where generations of Company assholes went by, eventually forgetting about their distinguished founder down here. But that's why he refused to think about that--imagined, instead, a future where his plans came to fruition--where that detestable Kaito was punished for sticking him in this cell. Where did he get off? Adam had... had valued them, molded them. But they turned on him. Why he didn't see it coming, he couldn't think, because it wasn't like his long history wasn't already littered with betrayals. In fact... the beginning of his reign as a god had been marked by one. The worst one of all.

For all the years that it had been, Adam still disliked remembering the very past. His original lifespan. He'd had feelings then, it had been different. But had been ripped out from under him all the same. Just like today... just like this boring cell where the walls were grey and the furniture was grey and the conversation was non-existant. Nobody much tried to come talk to him anymore. There had been reasoning at first, like they were trying to figure out in their feeble brains why he'd "do something like this". Well, that would work better if they listened. He'd certainly explained enough and not in difficult terms. He thought they were likely afraid of him. But they didn't have to be, he was only trying to help.... But they should be--because he would never forgive them!

Despite all of the thoughts he was rifling through, Adam remained outwardly calm. He dropped his chin onto the arms he had draped over the back of the chair. His head drifted lightly to the side as he stared ahead at the very grey wall and pictured the outdoors. Green, and trees, and maybe even a light drizzle. He didn't know what it was truly like outside, but that hardly mattered. The world could be what he made it, after all--in his little box, his cell of a home. He'd make it whatever he wanted to be...

Oh, what was today? There was no way to distinguish it.

This day was very much like the first.

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so_electric
2008-10-23 06:34 pm UTC (link)

Elle's life wasn't all that exciting either. Aside from the occasional assignment they tossed her way, she was stuck wandering these halls with absolutely nothing to do. Dad was always busy, and she didn't have any friends ( for obvious reasons ). Everyone here was usually just passing through: too busy to entertain some insignificant girl who was crazy anyway. Yeah, someone had actually said that. Luckily for that particular someone, she'd been summoned by her father and didn't have time to punish him for his extremely rude outburst - not that she'd forgotten. She might even have given the guy a jolt or two simply because she could. After that, she didn't hear him making any more negative comments about her.

Then again, she'd been reprimanded for her 'childish' behavior even after she'd explained why she did it. Whatever. Most of the time the higher-ups were too busy to notice, much less care.

When she got restless ( and dismissed from any semi-interesting business matters ), she'd wander the halls - much like now. What was she searching for? Anything to occupy her time. Ya know, it really sucked being so young and cooped up in this place all the time. Seriously, why couldn't she ever go out? Unless she was retrieving someone for the Company, she was to stay within these four walls. It was almost like she was a prisoner, yet she stayed anyway - never put up much of a fuss about it. Sure, it wasn't ideal, but it was better than the alternative. Truth was, she didn't know a whole lot about the real world or what it was like to live in it. She was curious, but she didn't dare disappoint daddy. He was all she had. This was all she had. This was her life: simple as that. Despite her tiny rebellions, she really did want her father's approval more than anything - except maybe his love. But what did she know about love?

Her pace slowed, and finally came to a halt, once she reached her destination.

So maybe Adam Monroe was a bad man who thought of himself as a god and tried to destroy the world, but he was also hot, witty, and most importantly ... always in the same place. He couldn't run off or get away, no matter how much he wanted to. So he could either talk to her and tolerate whatever she felt like doing to him, or he could sit in his cell and sulk in silence. It really made no difference to her. Well, sort of it did. She didn't like rejection, no matter who it was coming from, and she rarely took it well. But it was no biggie if some prisoner liked her or not.

The intriguing thing about Adam was that he'd been here twice as long as she had. How could he stand it?

After straightening her skirt, she shoved the door open and slipped inside, a cheerful bounce to her step as she sauntered a little farther into the interior of the room. Of course there were guards and security cameras out the wazoo, so she wasn't all that concerned about the door being left unlocked. Not that he'd be able to set one foot out the door without receiving a forceful shock that would knock him unconscious anyway. Surely he'd learned by now not to waste his time. Besides, she was here to keep him company. That was nice of her, right? Although really, it was mostly because she was bored.

He looked so ... sad - head on his arms, staring off into space. But that was sorta the point. He was being punished, supposedly because he was a very dangerous man. Huh. Guess you couldn't always tell about a person.

"Hey you. Whacha up to?" The obvious answer was 'not much,' but rationality sometimes flew right out the window with her - particularly when it was bound to get an interesting response either way. Ironically, it wasn't just about playing games. She was genuinely curious. Thing is, it was pretty hard to tell the difference with Elle.

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my__immortal
2008-10-24 12:16 pm UTC (link)

'Standing it' really had nothing to do with being here as long as there was someone stopping you from leaving once you were fed up. That was really sort of the point of a prison, wasn't it--to make a person wholly uncomfortable with his surroundings and yet unable to shuck them. See, the things human beings could do to each other were quite beautiful in their terrible nature. And due to be stopped by the one hand who understood the pattern and its unending curse. It all... just needed to stop. Adam wanted it to stop.

The door opened but the immortal didn't even twitch in his spot. Really, whatever he was imagining was going to be better than what was really happening right now. Which, it turned out, was Elle Bishop prancing into the room. Little Miss Eletricity. That she could be cheerful in this den of sin only proved a point. Possibly several of them all at once.

He'd attempted to charm her before--before he really knew her--and unfortunately whatever existed of Elle's affection got you nowhere, in the end. Except everywhere you didn't want to be. Her loyalty to the Company--or at least her wretched parent--was a sort of dopey unwavering quality. As was her aim when gunning you in the back. A quick heal, but a big pain nevertheless. Adam was a bit surprised that she was allowed down here at all--no favor that he owed his keeper. Elle was a very special kind of poisonous.

She asked him, inanely, what he was doing. What did it look like he as doing? "I'm thinking of redecorating," he drawled, still staring at the same wall unconcernedly, "What this place really needs is an accent wall." Preferably one with a giant Adam-sized hole in it. All these people with amazing abilities that he'd helped them find, and not a one of them in here with him, close enough to do anything. For being lying two-faced turncoats, they'd still all learned their lessons much too well.

Finally, he pushed away from the back of the chair, turning in it and acknowledging his cell's companion with a glance as his arms settled onto his knees. "Glad you're here, though, as I believe there's something you can do for me," he said, perfectly straight, "I'd like a nice stiff drink and a whore who isn't crazy." The implication was, of course, that Elle... was a whore. Had a certain poetry to it, but in the end it was part of an old song. Year in and year out, Adam found the time and the motivation to complain about the quality of the food services here. Namely--how they sometimes forgot about them altogether. If the Company was a house, then Adam was the fake plant in the corner. It was sort of a nice routine, but you never actually needed to water it because it wasn't going to die. Right. Something like that. Only... nobody ever stopped to consider how the fake plant felt about all this. After all, Adam really was dying. All the time, really, but he'd also starved to death a handful of an amount during the many years.

Elle's own father had ordered a few weeks in there to see if Adam would be more "reasonable" afterwards. At the end of four weeks, Adam had gotten a death-grip on Bob's neck before they'd pried him away. He hadn't seen the balding founder since. No, just the daughter. Huzzah for him, right?

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so_electric
2008-10-24 04:59 pm UTC (link)

She too turned to look at the wall, crossing her arms in front of her chest and striking a thoughtful pose as if she were actually considering what the place would look like if they changed things up a bit. The likelihood of that happening was slim to none, but it was kinda fun to think about. Maybe she should start doing that when she was stuck someplace with nothing to do but sit in silence and behave herself like a good little girl.

One thing you could say about Adam was that he was always full of good ideas - and a few not so good ideas which was why he'd ended up down here in the first place. Nobody was all that anxious to discuss Monroe's current predicament or how he'd ended up a prisoner instead of running the show, but she'd been warned by her father not to get suckered in to any of his schemes ... and she'd done a little snooping of her own. It's not like she cared or anything, but the more she was told not to do something, the more she wanted to do it. And the more she heard about how she should quit toying with Adam Monroe and keep her distance, the more she wanted be around him. Sometimes she did the opposite of what she was told - sorta like now. She wasn't supposed to be down here. Her dad probably didn't even know, and she'd like to keep it that way. But she just planned on popping in and out: no harm, no foul.

When he made his request ( more like demand ), her eyes narrowed, and she dropped her arms back down to her sides. A faint crackling noise came from the palm of her hand, making it very clear that she wasn't happy with his tone, nor did she appreciate being called names, but instead of sending a jolt Adam's way, she balled her hand into a fist, cutting off the electricity. After all, that's what he wanted, right: to get a reaction? Well, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. Now if she'd been convinced that that's how he truly felt, he might be on the floor right about now. Fortunately for him, she didn't believe him.

People used the word 'crazy' like they knew what they were talking about when they said it. Crazy was relative. Some people called him crazy for trying to wipe out humanity. So really, he didn't have a whole lot of room to talk. He just had no fear. It's not like they could do anything to him besides what they were already doing. Since there were no consequences, there was no fear. And since there was no fear, he could pretty much do and say whatever he pleased - which he did to an annoying extent. Though if she got tired of his derogative attitude towards her, she could just leave, and he could go back to pathetically sitting there, staring a hole in the wall while taking a mental stroll through la la land.

"I'm not a bartender." She gave him a look that basically translated into 'sucks for you,' before she side-stepped and took to leaning against the far wall. "And I don't think that other thing can be arranged either. This isn't a dating service." Sadly. Wouldn't it be cool if it was? It would allow her to meet interesting men who weren't their enemies or only here temporarily for some stupid scientific studies. A girl had needs, even her. But the truth of the matter was she wasn't fully aware of it: not the label it carried, anyway. They didn't really teach you about relationships here.

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so_electric
2008-10-24 05:09 pm UTC (link)

She wasn't that different from any other girl her age. Take her wardrobe, for example. She had literally jumped up and down when she was given a skirt with pockets. Who would've thunk it? But the most interesting part ( for Adam ) was not the pockets themselves, but what was inside them - though since he'd insulted her before she could even get comfortable, she was already reconsidering sharing what she had her fingers on.

Hmm. To share or not to share?

Elle withdrew not one, but two lollipops. Not the cheap kind either. These were the yummy flavored ones that you could supposedly suck on for days. It didn't take her that long to finish them, but they were sugary sweet and loaded with flavor - and she figured he didn't get offered candy ( or anything ) very often.

"You don't mind, do you?" She unwrapped one and stuck it in her mouth before waving the other one back and forth. "You want?" If she was trying to accomplish something here, there was no way to tell what it was. She certainly didn't expect a please or thank you, but if he chose to be rude and bitter and pass up what could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, he couldn't honestly say that they never gave him anything. He just didn't ask for it right. And that was his own personal choice. Regardless of what he might think, there were still plenty of options available to him.

Okay, so maybe not plenty, but if he were to plead his case, it was possible that Elle would pity him enough to at least feed him on a fairly regular basis. The possibility that he could starve to death never even crossed her mind. She just assumed that he didn't need to eat ... or that someone eventually fed him, and she just didn't pay attention. It's not like she was attached to his side.

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my__immortal
2008-12-29 03:05 pm UTC (link)

What everyone always failed to consider was that history was full of people with supposedly "bad ideas" that had turned out bringing around humanity's next big progress. And then there were those "good ideas" that everyone liked to shake their heads at now--as if they would've done better had they been there. All their Holocausts and their nuclear warfare and their petty campaigns. All of this negativity pointed at each other, it was disgusting. This is why they needed someone impartial and forever like Adam to see above the squabbling and know what had to be done to bring everyone together again. One great big disaster. No countries, no boundaries or races or creeds. Just all of humanity suffering together. It was really quite beautiful. But out of his reach. They were denying him his destiny, his purpose. And rotting in here was twice as cruel when he knew how close this redemption was. The Company had it, of course, the virus. They wouldn't let something like that to part very far from them, the clinging scrabbling bastards.

Adam watched Elle carefully at the familiar sound of sparking, at how she clenched her hand to put off the attack. If nothing else, it was constantly reassuring to know that he knew exactly how to put the noose around each of their necks. They may have thought they were so clever, getting the "better" of him. But, really, Adam still knew them. Their hopes, fears... their children. Dearly demented Elle. Had it been a "good idea" to make her an agent? To give her access to all the workings of the Company? Dull Bob. He never had quite the gumption to do anything but talk fiercely at you. Let's see how far that got him with a daughter. A crazy daughter. A crazy daughter who'd been trapped up in here almost as long as Adam, himself.

Hmm, that must make her... and that would mean... yes. Yes, Adam had spent as many years in this stinkhole as he'd ever had in his first life.

The truth was, she needed him more than he would ever need her. Adam had gotten bored already of trying the routine of responding to her idiosyncrasies. No, coming down here was her nasty habit, her need. So if she got tired of his derogative attitude towards her, then she could go back to pathetically tagging along after her father, hoping for a bone. And Godspeed to her, too.

But she remained. And so when she mentioned that the Company was not, in fact, catering to personal ads, he gave her a look that translated nicely into 'sucks for you'. He thought it went well with the one she'd been giving him first. Don't think he couldn't tell what she wanted. Not with the way she blindly crawled all over any male body close enough. And, yes, Adam had been part of that group. For a while. He'd had a taste, because men had needs, too, and turned her off before anything could happen. He didn't really need 'scorned' tagged onto her other flattering adjectives. Unfortunately, it was probably also why she still wandered down here. Adam couldn't quite imagine Bob doing the whole 'birds and bees' routine. Frankly, he didn't even want to try to think any harder on that one.

Whatever was going on, Elle looked to be making herself comfortable. She had also produced from her pocket some candy. Sugar. Yes. Exactly what your three-year-old fried brain needs. Still, he bobbed his head graciously when she asked if he minded. Her next question was cause for pause. Did he want one? Of course. Did he want hand-outs? ... Okay, well, yes, a little bit. Adam had lived long enough to know that there was nothing wrong with taking everything you could get. He didn't let a thing like ego get in the way. It just wasn't worth it. People spent a lot of time on their egos. In the end, they were only depriving themselves.

So, despite all his marks against her, Adam reached out a hand and beckoned, "Alright," he said, "let's see what you have." He was likely to spend another thirty years in this chair, no reason to get out of it now.

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so_electric
2008-12-29 07:31 pm UTC (link)

She perked up and flashed a broad smile before eagerly handing the unwrapped piece of candy over to him. What? Elle wasn't a stingy person. She wasn't necessarily a very giving one either, but if she had two, why wouldn't she share? Especially when she wanted something from Adam. No, not that something, although she wouldn't have any objections there. Maybe it was shallow, but she was crazy, right? According to everyone else. So naturally her thought process was a little fried. Hmm. She had been going someplace with this. Now if only she could remember where... Sometimes her brain got all fuzzy. It happened. She was used to it. So was anyone who knew her. They'd deal until something sparked inside that loopy head of hers.

Elle plopped herself down on the bed, bouncing up and down as the mattress adjusted to her flinging herself on top of it. It was fun! And noisy, sheesh. She wasn't that heavy. Maybe it was just old - kinda like Adam. He didn't look old though, not at all.

See, she wasn't nearly as interested in the lollipop as she was the other person in the room. That explained why after a few additional licks, she'd stopped sucking on hers. What it'd really been was a bribe. Adam would probably be stubborn and stupid and ruin what could be a potentially great moment for them, but it was his way. They'd done this same song and dance dozens of times. So what had changed? Maybe she had. Shut up! Really. Serious turning point here. You know, until the tide shifted again, which was bound to happen sooner or later. Knowing her, it'd probably be sooner.

"Ya know, I might have asked you this before, but why exactly are you in here? I mean, they really hate you." Sensitivity was not one of her strong suits, and why would it be? No one cared about her or her feelings. Compassion wasn't practiced or really ever learned, so one could say she lacked the skill to realize that what she was saying was rude until it left her mouth. Even then, a lot of times she didn't think anything of it, mostly just 'cause she didn't know any better. Besides, Adam had said plenty of meaner things to her. "Something about a virus, yadda, yadda, yadda, end of mankind ..." The part that'd been drilled into her skull repeatedly was the bottom line: Adam Monroe is a dangerous man.

On second thought, was she that interested in knowing the truth?

It didn't benefit her in any way to hear about some old unsettled score, though if he wanted to fill her in, she'd sit quietly like a good little girl and let him vent. If he didn't, no biggie. What she was really digging for pertained to something more recent, like um ... "What's the worst part about being stuck in here?" Yes, her questions changed like the wind, but so did her mood. No huge surprise that carrying on a conversation with her was hard, although if she could ever find a chatty companion, she wasn't such a bad listener.

So was she really this easy to sway from one direction to the next, or was part of it an act? She definitely wasn't faking most of it, but there were some things she felt that she didn't understand, and she couldn't talk to anyone here about it. She was too afraid of being a disappointment: being cast out on her own and left with nothing. Bennet had come close to doing just that when she hadn't wanted to destroy a man's life. Yeah, she was referring to Sylar. Gabriel had been a decent person until the Company had gotten a hold of him and turned him into a monster. She felt remorse for the role she'd played, but she couldn't admit that. It'd be seen as weak or disloyal to her mission as an agent. That, and Daddy would be upset.

Honestly, guilt wasn't a concept she was familiar with, so she didn't know how to deal with it.

Why did she think that Adam would be interested in hearing her woes when he had plenty of his own? Eh, he probably wouldn't. For now, she'd just pick his brain and see where their little chat would lead. If it led nowhere, maybe she could at least persuade him to come cozy up beside her on the bed.

Yes, even after he'd called her a crazy whore. One couldn't ever accuse her of holding a grudge.

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my__immortal
2009-01-03 01:31 am UTC (link)

Adam accepted the lollipop with only a slight grimace for her excitement. She invited herself all over his bed, as usual, while he carefully peeled away the plastic wrapping and stuck the whole candy in his mouth. Strawberry. Fake, factory-made flavoring meant to be strawberry, but still. The taste of fresh fruit was something that had been cruelly robbed from him for so long. He could just imagine all the things he'd get his hands on once he was out. And he would be out.

"I'm in here," he articulated strictly, "Because of smaller minds. Because people like your father think they know better, fear the good I can do." It may be pointless to try with someone like Elle, but Adam rarely gave up a chance to pontificate at length. Especially when he had nothing else to do. Now, he was not, as it may appear, in the practice of underestimating the use of Elle. He was constantly fishing for ways that everyone could be useful in their own way. He'd simply come to a complete dead-end as to how that would apply here. Thirty years had gone by without something coming up. And, despite his best hopes and dreams, there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Only the surety of having nothing else but your own vengeance to sit on for decades. Decades. What was the world even like, out there? Pathetic, of course. But there were other things, little things, that Adam still found himself curious about. Like alcohol. What was going on in the brewing of alcohol? He would very much like to know.

His sorry substitute lollipop would have to do for now. He sucked liberally on it while he considered what was going on with the girl-woman across the room. What was this--twenty questions of imprisonment? She'd been interested before, but not like this, and he would've thought that any inclination she had for questions would've burned away from all the scathing they'd done to each other previously. He, with his words and she, with the charring of his flesh. He might have to try a little harder next time.

But for now, company was company. Even Company company. I know, what was the world coming to?

So, instead of saying 'seeing you' or 'the way everyone ignores my do not disturb sign', Adam adjusted himself to be leaning against the room's table and laid one ankle over the other knee. The lollipop was braced lazily between two fingers and it bobbed there with each gesture he made. When he spoke, it was to complain about the-- "Most particularly awful view, if I may express my tastes. Can't say too many things for the meal plan, either. Decoration is lousy. Entertainment choices are worse. I've had the same book," he nodded at the mentioned reading material, "for longer than you've been alive."

He paused, artfully. A sort of shadow passed over his face before he cleared it. "But the worst thing, princess?" He considered. To impart a truth on her, or not? Oh, why not. "Is being stuck in here--and knowing who stuck me." Colleagues. Friends. It was always the truth that was the most painful, wasn't it. Your own nightmares could never do one justice to one terrible truth. She'd probably forget he even mentioned it tomorrow when she off hop-skipping her way to terrorizing some other individual. But here was Adam. And what reason was left to him in this awful room to not talk freely?

"I'm sure you can imagine," he added darkly, though his intense blue gaze was wandering harmlessly to the ceiling, "When someone you hold very close suddenly decides you can't be trusted. Locks you up, out, it doesn't matter. It always starts with one... little.... thing. A little secret. And before you know it--bam!" He shot the exclamation out, dropping his gaze to her and beginning to grin in the same moment, "Thrown away the key."

Adam enjoyed painting pretty stories, especially ones about himself. But what he liked even more was when he could impart one of those terrible truths back onto someone. He had enough for several lifetimes. There were so many bonds out there in the world that needed severing.

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so_electric
2009-01-03 05:27 am UTC (link)

Well that was vague. Good thing she already knew the summarized version. Somehow she didn't really get how wiping out humanity was doing good, but her definition of right and wrong was a little skewed. That line was easy to cross, and wow, she'd crossed it so many times she'd lost count - not that she'd been trying to keep score or anything. She did what she was told, simple as that. Only ... not so simple anymore. See, things had changed. Not her perse, but just the general feel of this place. Truthfully, it kinda creeped her out. Funny, right? Seeing as how she'd lived here forever under her father's ever-so-watchful eye. ( ... Okay. So maybe she was the one changing. ) Yeah, yeah. She'd been trained for this. And trained, and trained, and trained, and nothing she did was ever good enough for these people. Did she resent being looked down upon? Absolutely! What had she done about it? Nothing.

She'd almost gotten used to it. That would explain why Adam's belittling tone and complete disinterest in her didn't offend her so much anymore. Alright sure, she liked being the center of attention every now and then, but seriously, how often did that happen? Elle found herself wondering what most sane people would've asked themselves a long time ago: what was she doing here? What in her life did she have to look forward to? Nada. It didn't matter how many assignments they sent her out on or how well she did the job. There was always something for them to gripe about, and she didn't appreciate their constant negativity. So what if she wasn't perfect?

The difference in Elle's rage and Adam's was she didn't know what to do with it, or if she wanted to do anything at all. It was iffy from one day to the next whether she resented or loved her father more. Now, she might have a few mental issues, but she wasn't a complete idiot. She finally saw what was going on around here, and frankly, she didn't like it. But what was one girl to do about an entire system that was whack? They weren't going to change, and Elle wasn't sure she was capable of it.

So Adam didn't like the room decor, the food, or the entertainment. Basically, he hated his living arrangements, every last one of them. No surprise there. They were pretty crappy, but here came the kicker- oh, and don't think she hadn't smiled a little on the inside when he called her princess, even if it was just some cutesy nickname people used all the time when they didn't mean anything by it.

Elle jumped when he yelled 'bam!' Though the grin was a dead giveaway that he was so working her. And he'd had her drawn in too, hanging on his every word. After all, she could relate. It's not like she was always able to go skipping down the halls fraternizing with whomever she pleased. She'd been punished several times, locked up even more while they ran their tests. Sometimes she didn't even understand why she was in trouble or what they were doing to her, but it didn't matter. Her opinion didn't matter, and she wondered if someday even her own father wouldn't care about what she wanted. Unlike Adam, she still had a lot to lose, and so she was afraid whenever she saw the disappointment in her daddy's eyes. With that look came the fear that she would end up in the exact same predicament.

There wasn't really much to say to that. He could probably tell by her expression that yeah, she could easily imagine it, and for the briefest of moments, it almost appeared as if she was sympathizing with him - or feeling sorry for herself. Possibly both. Birds of a feather, and all that. To tell you the truth, it was a little scary to identify more with a prisoner than her coworkers or superiors.

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so_electric
2009-01-03 05:29 am UTC (link)

Her gaze had fallen to the lollipop she absentmindedly twirled 'round and 'round in her hand. Spinning ... everything was spinning out of control. Life wasn't supposed to be this complicated. It never had been before, and yet she'd finally reached that point where she was so freakin' fed up with everyone's condescending tone. The mistreatment had been a part of her world for so long, she should've been immune to it by now. She'd certainly come to accept it as 'normal.' What sucked was that she hadn't quite mastered the art of not caring, and she never, ever felt safe.

It was exhausting ... pretending to be happy all the time. But that was Elle! Young, stupid, and carefree. That's what they all thought anyway.

She stuck the ball of sugary sweetness she'd been piddling with into her mouth as she stood and strolled over to Adam, dropping carefully to her knees right in front of him before lifting both hands to drum on the leg that he'd crossed over the other. Why did she do this? Who knew. 'Cause she wanted to? What she wanted even more was to get a hold of those golden locks of his, so what'd she do? Just that: lifted a hand to run her fingers lightly through his hair. He'd probably stop her sooner or later, so instead of giving him the satisfaction, she quit on her own. One hand lifted to latch on to the stick of her sucker as she pulled it out of her mouth so she could speak, while the other was placed neatly in her lap.

Elle tilted her head and peered up at him when she presented her next question. ( Yep, another one. ) "What would you do to them if you got out?" The people who'd placed him in this cell, would he kill them? Was that the 'good' he spoke of? Was that the first step towards bettering the world? Seemed kinda counterproductive to her ... But there was a morbid sort of curiosity laced in her tone. No matter how angry she got, she couldn't ever harm her father - or let anyone else, though the rest of them she didn't care about in the slightest. It was a mutual feeling. They didn't care about her either. For some strange reason, loyalty existed in her book, at least when it came to matters of life and death.

What she didn't want was to keep ignoring the signs until it was too late.

Granted Adam had been betrayed by a group of formerly trusted companions, so he was likely to say or do anything to get even with them. Even knowing this, Elle honestly wanted to know what his freedom would mean for the rest of them: what it could symbolize.

Could Adam Monroe be her ticket out of here?

It was equally possible that he would stab her in the back faster than she could blink. Still, she couldn't shake a brief flicker of hope from flashing across her face.

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my__immortal
2009-02-04 03:32 pm UTC (link)

There was a grim flicker of satisfaction on Adam's face when she jumped at his exclamation, but it vanished just as fast into something more casual. He could tell that she was taking a good deal of this to heart and there began a gnawing at his stomach. He felt he was close to something, an opening for the first time in forever, but he pushed the feeling away in order to restrain himself from hoping. Hope. Never did anyone any good, that one. Hope was just a shorter, nicer way of saying 'setting yourself up for disappointment'. Adam knew because he had hoped once, a long long time ago; he had hoped to become something more. Well, it wasn't what they'd been expecting, but he had, hadn't he! He was greater than a man now-- a god figure, and a savior-- denied his true destiny. Denied by the very ones he sought to restore to sanity. Then they could all stop fighting and squabbling and betraying each other like the sick insects they were.

Like it did whenever he thought about his first past, Adam's face darkened. As much as he might pose otherwise, a couple of things still tugged at those black heartstrings. One of those was what he had almost become back there in Japan--it was the blind, stupid faith he'd had in someone he'd thought was his friend, only to have that crushed. Except, unlike a majority of the human race, instead of said tugging encouraging him to open up or, perhaps, feel at all bad about what he was planning on doing, Adam was able to creatively fuel all of that back into determination to end it all. He simply didn't know what else he could do with all the horror and hatred he had seen in his many, many years of living. The world wasn't getting better, it was getting worse. And only he could see that.

His angry, and somewhat typical, thoughts were interrupted briefly by the movement across the room. Elle was getting off his bed, so that was a plus. When he glanced away and glanced back, however, he noticed that she was approaching him, instead. There was a light eyebrow raise as she... well, she knelt in front of him. Just what were they teaching their agents these days? Luckily, his legs were crossed or he might have to bring something up in this position that had a one-hundred percent chance that she'd put him out for the evening and he'd wake up with one cheek still reforming. But she went ahead and jumped the line first by putting her fingers on him. Adam watched the whole procedure with a sort of idle bemusement until her hand came towards his face. His first instinct was to jerk backwards away from her but he contained the reaction, just staying completely still and watching her face as she put her hand into his hair.

For the briefest of moments, as her small hand caressed, he closed his eyes. He just... shut his eyes and forgot. Forgot that he was in a cell. That this was the enemy's daughter. That everyone he had ever cared about had faded, died, and destroyed him. He thought about the one time the sun had been shining and he was holding in his arms the woman he believed would be able to save him. But then the fingers drifted away and he opened his eyes and was left with the cold of reality. That woman was long gone, and no other had been able to sufficiently fill that spot. Except for those that had stabbed him in the back. That had come pretty darn close.

So, although he knew that he could more artistically answer Elle's question, reassure her with all his charm that things would be alright and she wouldn't be doing anything terrible by helping him... he could only sneer at her question. "Those that deserved it would face the full consequences of their actions," he replied evenly, despite his current expression.

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my__immortal
2009-02-04 03:33 pm UTC (link)

It wasn't until the strange look crossed her face that his softened. That was... hope, wasn't it? That doomed ridiculous feeling he'd just happened to have been thinking about. The world rarely shined down these kinds of coincidences for nothing. You made your own luck, yes, but you could still be fucked around. Which was vitally close to where Elle was right now sitting. He could sense it. He knew, after all, from experience.

"Honestly," he started the new lie out right, "I can't say I would want anything to do with them at all. It would be rather counterproductive of me to linger in the very place I'd been let out of. It's, in fact, very likely that none of them would see me ever again. Seems beneficial to everyone, really. They only seem to be stumbling around what to do with me, don't you think? They certainly don't want to use my blood to help. I wonder why that is..." He raised his shoulders in a shrug then kept lifting his arms till they were clasped behind his back and he could lean back.

"It's too bad," Adam concluded, "--how I'm never going to get out of this hellhole and all that pish-posh getting spouted." Despite that he had just gotten himself comfortable, the immortal shifted again, uncrossing his legs and relaxing them carefully on either side of Elle. He sat forward again, bracing an elbow on each knee so that they were now very close, indeed. "I do," he said, stretching a hand to run a finger very briefly against her chin, "wish you better luck in that regard."

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so_electric
2009-02-05 07:55 pm UTC (link)

Elle noticed the change in Adam's expression, but she didn't give why he suddenly looked so glum a lot of thought. All she could see in that very moment was someone just as jaded as she was. The details weren't important. Something had happened to him; she was convinced of it. Her father and the rest of that bunch had betrayed Adam, sure, but what about before then? Not that it mattered. The point she seemed to be selectively forgetting was that he had changed, and not for the better. When the world mistreated him, his solution was to eliminate the problem, aka mankind. Maybe she wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, but even she could see where that mentality was a little skewed, even if Adam wanted to slap a gigantic bow on it and tell everyone he was doing them a favor.

One of the many things that made her stick out like a sore thumb around here was that as angry as she was about the way she'd been treated, she still believed people could be saved. Elle believed that it was their responsibility to try and make a positive difference in people's lives first, then detain them if they had to. No one else in the Company would dare agree with her on that. Bennet had summed it all up in something he'd said to her once: 'we're not missionaries.' That was after he was ready to kick her to the curb in New York City because she'd actually sprouted a conscience.

Hmm ... a missionary. Maybe that's what she should've been, would've been, if she'd been given a choice.

... Which was silly. That wasn't even a real occupation anymore, was it? That's like something you'd find back in the old days. Plus she wasn't that saintly.

Adam was like ... like a lost puppy no one bothered to claim anymore. She knew the feeling. And that level of understanding connected her to him more than anyone else. He wouldn't get it. He wouldn't get her. No one ever did. At least he'd gotten quiet, and if she hadn't known any better, she'd say he enjoyed the hair caressing. As for her, well, it didn't take anything at all to encourage Elle - probably because she didn't care if you objected to her advances or not. But Adam certainly wasn't objecting. As a matter of fact, this could open the door to a whole new set of possibilities that could, if he let 'em, make him even happier ...

The mood was quickly killed when he gave his reply. Full consequences for their actions? Didn't sound very reassuring. Her disappointment obviously showed, because soon he was saying something else entirely. It's like his whole view had changed.

Eyes drifted downward when he leaned closer and grazed her chin with his finger. Seconds later, she was pressing her lips against his. Impulsive much? Nah. They were just so darn close, she couldn't resist. She didn't pounce all over him or anything though, and once she was finished getting a small taste, she withdrew and peered up at him, unable to hide the stars in her eyes. Once she caught her breath, she let him know real quick-like that she'd enjoyed the kiss. You know, in case he wanted to initiate the next one ... "That was nice." A big, goofy grin spread widely across her face.

Then, just like that, it faded. A dreamer she was. An idiot she was not.

"You're manipulating me." Having manipulated people a time or two herself ( alright, more than that ), it wasn't all that hard to identify ( once she got her head out of the clouds ) that that's what he was doing, especially considering who she was dealing with.

She'd been warned over and over again that he would do something like this: use her as a get-out-of-jail-free card. Elle didn't have a problem with that other than the fact that she didn't like being lied to. Unfortunately for Adam, she wasn't nearly as clueless as she pretended to be. "And here I thought we'd really been starting to get to know each other." She tossed her hair back and stood after fighting the temptation to give him a good shock or two for playing mind games with her. Would've served him right, that was for sure, but it was too expected. Too predictable. Also, maybe in some really twisted way, she needed to vent. He was the perfect candidate. Who would he tell? Better yet, who would listen?

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so_electric
2009-02-05 07:56 pm UTC (link)

"You know what? You're not the only one who's ever been betrayed by someone that you trust. My own father doesn't love me, and I have done everything he's ever asked me to do. And he still ..." She shook her head before shooting an aggravated glance off to the side. "You're just like the rest of them. You don't care about anyone but yourself. A few minutes ago you hated me, and now you're wishing me the best of luck? That's what I call overkill." Yep, she was irritated. Elle felt like she was constantly putting herself out there, and all anyone ever did was take advantage of her.

"I was so close to sympathizing with you, but that isn't even the funniest part. Want to know what is?" Well, didn't matter whether her did or didn't, because she was going to say it anyway. "I believed you." Apparently somewhere in there that'd changed, but at first, yeah. So ... not only was she angry about his underhanded move to advance his position, but she was angry at herself for being stupid enough to believe him.

Guess Daddy knew her better than she knew herself. She was a screw-up who couldn't ever do anything right. This had been her chance to reinvent herself ... to prove her independence and help someone who, regardless of what he'd done, had been punished long enough ( in her ever-changing opinion ). Okay, maybe she'd also thought of springing Adam now because she was upset about something she'd just learned about her father and his treatment of her, but she wasn't about to get into that. Besides, if she freed Monroe, he would owe her. So until she could figure out where to go or what to do, she'd be acting as a sort of second shadow - that is until the one she was following around got sick of her annoying presence and ditched her. The point was she'd been willing to take a huge risk for him, and he was spinning his own web of deceit.

"Forget it. I don't know why I bother." She lifted her arms and folded them stiffly across her chest, making it loud and clear that she was pissed. But when her gaze settled back on the sneaky, yet handsome smooth talker, her baby blues glistened when the lighting hit them a certain way. "Just, let's get one thing straight. I'm not my father, and you have no right to take what he did to you out on me."

Why couldn't anyone look at her and see her? They saw Bob's daughter, a Company girl, or some crazy person. Was that really all she was?

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my__immortal
2009-09-30 05:20 am UTC (link)

What? A person wasn't allowed to say something in the heat of the moment and then come to a better consideration? Seriously, it's like she had no long-term thinking skills at all sometimes.

Apparently, though, she did know a little something about 'heat of the moment' when she went in for that lip contact. You could barely call it anything else, just a small sampling, really. Adam hadn't managed to do much more than move his lips once when she was flitting backwards and getting all googly-eyed. Women, honestly. However, no man knew better than him how dangerous just one kiss could be, even such a short thing. It'd taken nearly the same amount of time for him to realize that the two people he'd depended on the most were betraying him. Right after he'd no less than performed every trial imaginable and gone in to save her no good of a father. What more could they have possibly wanted from him? He'd... he'd been trying. But, right, he wasn't thinking about that. They'd flipped the switch on his life that day with a kiss. He'd gone the rest of his long years not being so picky with his in return.

Then, just like that, sugary-sweet Elle flipped.

Oh, look, he was being accused of evil. Shucks. Day wasn't complete without one of those. They'd surely told her all about his naughty habits, how he wasn't to be listened to. But he knew sure as she was scowling at him now that it had worked. That was more refreshing than if she really had brought him something to drink. Well, almost. Because now she felt like it was time to play 'woe is me' theater and he had nothing to do but sit back in his chair and eye her skeptically. Since he still had that lollipop she was so kind as to give him, he also popped that back into his mouth, swirling it around with his tongue the way he hadn't gotten to do with her.

He appropriately raised a questioning eyebrow when she asked him what he knew. She barreled into some yammering that was not only predictable but it was tired and wrong. Rocking forward to generously point this out, he was waylaid by her definitely not being done talking, so he sat back again. The art of patience was his. He even managed to tilt his head slightly away when she said she'd believed him. One might easily mistake it as him feeling guilty. He corrected the angle of his gaze quickly enough, and was looking at her again when she concluded her rant. Clasping his hands together, he glanced at her clearly asking 'done? are you done?' Since she was glaring at him, he assumed so. He plucked the lollipop out of his mouth in preparation.

"First of all, precious," he began lightly, "Of course you're not the only who has been betrayed. The whole world is betrayed and betraying all the time. You say I only care about myself, but that isn't true. I've been myself for centuries, I got what I wanted and what was coming to me a long time ago. Overkill is saying you want to do good and then not doing it because you're scared. It's changing your mind at the last minute because of your petty issues. If they wanted a different plan, they could've just told me, you know."

Straightening, he peered about the tiny cell and its gray walls and artificial lighting. "Well, I guess they did." And woe to them that did. What right did Elle have to stand there and tell him not to do this one thing when he got out? They'd only brought it on themselves.

"I'll tell you why you bother," he continued, sounding almost aimless in his casualness, "Because underneath that hard candy shell, you still want it. You don't have passion for something unless you still can believe it'll get better." Twirling the lollipop between his fingers, he eyed the spinning color. It was just as artificial as everything else down here, in the end. He palmed the old wrapper and the candy at the same time, shoving the combined product into his pocket as he slid to his feet. It didn't take much to get up to her again, she ultimately hadn't backed off very far, even with all her projected disgust.

"So tell me," he posed, stopping so very right in front of her, putting them close again. His body was near to trapping her arms between them the way she had them crossed. And he leaned down, past her cheek and towards her ear. "Do I seem passionate?"

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so_electric
2009-10-01 02:58 am UTC (link)

So basically in the end, they'd both gotten screwed. Point taken. Still seemed like such a waste.

Elle lifted a curious brow when he started to hypothesize about why she continued to grace him with her presence despite has lack of enthusiasm for her company. In fact, he was usually downright insulting, but so was the story of her life. Fortunately for him, being treated like crap was her version of a normal life. Did she like it? Nope. Who would? But on the other hand, it probably didn't affect her as much as it should. Ya know, unless she was having a bad day and was looking for any ole' excuse to flip out. That happened sometimes, but no biggie. She rarely did any serious harm. Maybe that's why things never changed. She'd throw her tantrum, and when she was done, she stepped right back into her 'rightful place.' Personal freedom: what was that? Definitely something Elle knew nothing about, yet somehow every now and then she craved it.

She challengingly stared Adam down as she waited for his take on why she paid him these little visits, but even with the 'expect anything' mentality she'd picked up shortly after entering the room ( after discovering he was in as charming a mood as ever ), she was momentarily caught off-guard when he stood up and closed in the not-so-large gap that'd been between them. Um, was it really necessary to get this close to say whatever it was he was about to say?

... Oh. Now it was starting to make sense.

Honestly, Elle took great pleasure in toying with men, but they typically ended up ignoring her or going away and never giving her a second thought. They rarely reciprocated her maybe-a-little-too-forward affection either because they thought she was a little too clingy, simply weren't interested, or knew her personally. So it baffled her that Adam all of a sudden wanted a taste of whatever she was offering. It's not like she hadn't suggested it before. What? Now that he was making the first move, she was expected to just fall all over him and be oh-so-flattered because he was finally ready to consider crossing that line with her? Maybe he wasn't. Maybe he was trying to get her all hot and bothered just so he could laugh in her face - not that he really did a whole lot of laughing ... or had ever had trouble finding other things to ridicule her about.

Could it be that he was actually being sincere? Possibly. Although it also could be nothing more than the thrill of the chase. His options were severely limited. Then again, did she really care what his motives were? After all, in many ways she was just an ordinary girl with the same wants and needs as anyone else. What girl didn't want to be loved? Though love was way too strong a word for anything that might or might not happen between them. A little human contact with the opposite sex? The next best thing. Hey, she could settle: keep realistic expectations ( which basically translated into no expectations ).

As Adam leaned in, she allowed her eyes to come to a brief close, imagining what it would be like to find out the true answer to that question. It would be way more fun than speculating about it.

Arms that had almost become awkwardly pinned were unfolded and dropped down to her sides, mostly because she didn't know what else to do with them, though there was no denying that she wanted it - she wanted him, and her eyes probably said it all even if she wasn't too swift with shooting back a witty response. All that she could come up with was a meek, "Maybe, but I might need a little convincing. Care to show me?"

Even though she seemed to be waiting on him to make the first real move, she just couldn't resist. Before either of them knew it, both of her hands were sliding across his chest, then up around his shoulders as she expectantly ( and perhaps a little too eagerly ) looked up at him, trying like crazy to figure out what he was thinking and what he'd do next.

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