Project S.T.A.T.I.C. Part 5: The Asylum

The sound of loud music blaring could be heard down one of the corridors within Eclipse. While Jake, Jason, Beth, and Pam had taken the rooms on the eastern side of the club, Rebecca had taken the hallway on the west. She hadn’t done it because she wanted to distance herself from the others, but she knew that her presence was one that was tense at best. While a large part of her yearned to be close to Jake, she also understood that he needed time and that she was something of a trigger for him. Pamela was still her friend, but she’d taken Elizabeth as a lover and that girl still harbored many strong emotions towards her. Then there was Jason who perhaps had the most warranted case of holding a grudge. No, it was better for her to be away from them for the time being.

She sat up as the start of another day reared its head. One of the items that they’d found within the wreckage of the club had been a clock radio with an old disc player in it. While Rebecca wasn’t the most technologically gifted, she knew how to work the basics. A CD with a blank slate had been inside of the radio, and she’d taken to using it as her alarm morning after morning. The distorted guitar strums, thrumming bass lines, and heavy drum beats combined with the forceful lyrics suited her fine. It wasn’t quite the same as the music she remembered, but it somehow helped to compliment her moods as time went on. Still, what she wouldn’t have given to have been able to hear one of her old favorite songs from centuries ago.

Rebecca swung her legs over the edge of the bed and heaved a sigh of frustration. The song continued to play as one of her familiars approached her. Her wolf stalked forward and rubbed his head against her knee. She smiled as she reached out and scratched behind his ear. The raven canted its head to the side and stared at her from its perch on the edge of the mantle closeby. These two spiritual entities were two things that she had all but forgotten about until her return. The bond she’d once held with the natural world had been eclipsed by her lustful powers gained from Lilith and her Hellborn powers. Now, they were symbols of the woman she could become, the one she’d tried to abolish for years. They were also her greatest comfort in the wake of countless mistakes.

The track changed to the next one as she got to her feet. A thumping electronic beat that reminded her of something Jake might have shown her came on. She liked this one. It wasn’t the beat, but the lyrics that spoke to her. She could relate to the pleading story they told.

“I don't know what's right

I don't know what's wrong

Or which way's up

Cause I've been down so long

I don't know why 

but I know how

I feel like I'm stuck

Yeah I've been held down

But please forgive these souls

Who turn Diamonds into coal”

Rebecca stretched as got down on her hands and knees. She stretched out and let herself balance on her toes while resting her palms on the cold floor. She held the position while the song played through before letting herself go down and pushing herself back up. She relied more on magic than her physical strength, but she’d learned through her time at odds with Jake that she needed to be able to fight without her powers. It was more important now than ever considering that she was mortal. So this was what she did nearly every morning since returning to the world of the living.

“It just lights my fire

Fire

Can't put it out

You can't break me down

I don't know where 

I don't know when

I don't know how

Or where I've been

But I know I 

I've been trapped inside 

My head for so long

Lost inside my mind 

But please forgive these souls 

Who turn diamonds into coal”

Rebecca kept going until she could feel the burning in her arms begin to become too much. She pushed herself up and held the position again. Her eyes closed and she let the memories of her greatest mistakes and failures play. The people she’d hurt, pushed away, used, and broken in the name of a false title rushed behind her eyes. She’d broken more lives than she could count, but she’d paid the ultimate price in the end. At least, that was what was supposed to happen. Now she was alive and having to find a way to live with those mistakes. Even with her most heated feelings and emotions, she couldn’t help feeling remorse for things she’d done. Elizabeth was a prime example.

Rebecca bent her knees and pretended as though she were walking up a mountain. Elizabeth had been one of the primary detractors between her and Jake, or at least that was what she’d thought. She’d also been the woman that stole Pamela from her, nearly toppled her entire operation, and stole Jake from her not once but twice. They butted heads, argued, chided one another, and fought time and again even after she’d come back. There was still a part of her that was jealous and felt animosity towards her, but then she remembered those feelings of fear and terror that she’d given the young woman. She could remember Pamela telling her about the nightmares that she dealt with, and then the guilt came through and began to weigh her down. She hated these feelings, but she had to live with them.

“Even if the rain falls down it will be okay

Be okay

Even if the rain falls down it will be okay

Be okay

It just lights my fire

Fire

Can't put it out 

you can't break me down

It just lights my fire

Fire

Can't put it out

You can't break me down

It just lights my fire

Fire

Can't put it out

You can't break me down”

She finished her set as the song came to an end. Rebecca let the sweat run down her brow and looked around the room. In a better setting, she would have done more than such a basic workout, but that wasn’t the world they were living in. It was still early in the morning, though, and she could push herself further. The dull ache in her joints was a good reminder of the pain that she had caused. It wasn’t enough to make up for it all, but it was something she could keep as a reminder. However, she wasn’t going to give up. She was going to find a way to press on, wage this war, and win it so that the people she’d hurt could have a chance to live again. She wouldn’t let herself get held down any longer by the past.

Elsewhere, on the opposite end of the club, Beth was sitting on the edge of her and Pam’s bed. The two had been awake for a little while now, but their morning routine felt off. Sadly, this had been the norm over the last couple of days. “Are you still mad at me?” Beth asked as Pam put her coat on in front of her.

“I am not mad,” Pam sighed, referencing their argument from the other day, “I don't agree with your sentiment regarding saving that girl, but I am not angry. I just don't understand how someone as ruthless as you can be so forgiving with someone like that.”

“Pam, please,” Beth pouted from her spot on the edge of the bed, “You can do the whole looking in my mind thing if you want. Ingrid isn't bad, she's just hurt and misguided.”

“Yes, I am aware that you think she's some sort of victim in this show,” Pam rolled her eyes, “You may think that, but her choices say otherwise.”

“Once upon a time you chose to follow Goth,” Beth reminded her, “You changed, so why can’t she?”

Pam paused and shook her head, “I’m biased, okay? I will not hide that fact, Kitten. I’ve never hidden that side of me. I’m possessive and protective, and I worry that you’re going to let this misguided hope get you into trouble. She had her chance to atone, yet she’s choosing to side with the people that are waging war in your home. Forgive me for being skeptical.”

“What about Rebecca?” Beth countered, “She’s been obsessed with Jake for as long as I can remember, but suddenly we’re supposed to just accept that she’s a changed woman? She overthrew the entire fucking city, tried to kill me, used you, and tried to murder Jake, and yet we are supposed to just believe she can change? Where is the line, Pam?”

Pam turned around and closed her eyes. She didn’t have an argument to counter Beth’s. This had been an ongoing debate between them for nearly two days. Ever since Jason had returned and given them their update and revealed the correspondence between Ingrid, Amelia, and Anna  they’d been going back and forth. Their argument always ended in a similar standstill,  but neither woman was fully willing to commit to the other’s side. They would concede and try to meet in the middle, but that didn’t mean that they agreed. However, they’d overcome worse together, and they had more pressing matters to attend to in the wake of the destruction and devastation caused by Ingrid’s employers.

“As I said, I am biased,” Pam said, opening her eyes and looking into Beth’s, “I won’t hide that fact or shy away from it. The truth is that I don’t know where the line is. I will respect your wishes until she pushes me to the point of no return. I spared her once, but don’t expect me to do it again if she tries to take you from me.”

“You know I love you,” Beth said, meeting Pam’s gaze, “But I can take care of myself. There’s no reason for you to have to come to my aid.every time something goes wrong. I’m not asking you to like it, but I’m asking you to trust me, Pam. The last I checked, that was part of the backbone of what you and I have. Trust is the key to this thing working, right?”

Once again, Pam couldn’t argue or refute Beth’s point. She was silent for a moment before letting out an exasperated sigh and crossing the room to kneel in front of Beth. “I trust you,” she said, “I worry about you, but I do trust you. We can agree to disagree on things, can we not?”

Pam rested her hands on Beth’s knees as she looked deep into her sapphire eyes and Beth stared back into those amethyst pools. “Yeah,” Beth smiled leaning forward and resting her forehead against Pam’s, “I don’t know if Ingrid will listen to me, but I have to try. The thing is, that’s not on the table right now. I doubt she’s going to be at Jake’s house with Duchess and the twins.”

“One step at a time,” Pam smiled, planting a chaste kiss on Beth’s cheek before getting back to her feet and pulling Beth to hers, “We can cross that bridge when we come to it, I suppose.”

“As long as you’re not mad, I can live with that,” Beth sighed, getting to her feet and letting her mistress pull her into a loving embrace, “I know it’s all coming from a good place, but I do learn from my mistakes. I get better, stronger, and faster with every failure I have.”

“I know you do,” Pam nodded, letting Beth go and smiling down at her, “That growth is one of the many reasons that I love you as much as I do.”

Beth shook her head as she got up and grabbed the remaining pieces of her outfit. Her helmet had been lost prior to their jump between worlds, but she’d managed to assemble a makeshift hood and mask to wear in the meantime. It was made from a royal purple garment that she’d found hidden away in one of the many prop trunks in the club. Pam had gone through the trouble of sanitizing it for her to be safe, and the two of them had turned it into a basic mask. It didn’t have the capabilities that her old gear had, but it worked just as well as the one she’d wore when she and Jake had first taken up their masks. In a way, it was nostalgic of the person that she used to be.

“Do we have any updates on Sadie?” Beth asked, tightening her holsters on her shoulders and back.

“Not unless Jason has somehow gotten an update since last night,” Pam sighed, “My guess would be she’s still operating in the dark.”

“You still think that she’s not going to have switched sides in the midst of all this bullshit?” Beth asked, still skeptical of the smelly mercenary after their multiple bouts, “We were gone for over a year.”

“She took the contract from Rebecca,” Pam reminded her, having a slightly different view of the mercenary than either Beth or Jake, “The woman might be for sale, but she has her code and rules to follow. Once she accepts a contract, she’s going to see it through.”

“Yeah, a contract to guard a dead body that’s likely gone now that Jake is up and walking around again,” Beth pointed out, “What’s keeping her from taking a better deal with those dick-bags?”

“Aside from a distinct dislike for them?” Pam asked, “I suppose nothing, if you want to get down to the finer details. However, based solely on what we’ve seen since we’ve been back, as well as what Jason has told us, I don’t think that she’s working with them. That woman is arrogant, but her confidence isn’t without warrant. She has the skills to back up her ego, as much as I hate to admit that. If she were working with them, then we would have had a much more difficult time operating like we have been.”

“What makes you so sure?” Beth aske, sorting through her clips and checking to make sure they were fully loaded.

“You are quick to forget that I served as a lieutenant in a criminal organization, Kitten,” Pam reminded her.

“I haven’t forgotten, I just don’t see how that’s relevant,” Beth shrugged.

“Because it gives me insight into how people like the ones we face work,” Pam smirked, holding her hand out and conjuring a translucent map of the city, “Metropolis is a vast, concrete jungle, right? Given the size of it and what we’ve seen, it’s been restructured into a sort of class based layout. The workers live and obey, and the elite have their fair share of the wealth and the city. Commoners are locked into their respective districts just like we used to do with the slaves back in Citiville. However, this is on a far larger scale. Rather than have people or squads patrolling these areas, as well as the potential weak spots that we’ve found and exploited, they’re relying on automation and a few well-placed guards.”

“What’s your point here?” Beth asked, watching as the spectral map shifted as Pam walked her through everything she already knew.

“Someone like Sadie would have identified these weak spots months ago,” Pam pointed out, “They wouldn’t still be open for people like us to slip through the cracks so easily. Either they’d have been closed, or they would have highly trained patrols working to keep them under wraps. That’s another reason that I don’t think they have bought her loyalty. If she were working for them, then more than likely she’d be acting as a security counsel. Sadie’s talents are best suited to reinforcing defenses, training special squads, and safeguarding vulnerabilities. Considering that Duchess is operating with minimum security, we’ve seen little in the way of specialty training, and we haven’t been stopped or found, I think it’s safe to assume she’s still out there. She may not be working with us, but she isn’t actively working against us.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Beth admitted, tucking her spare magazines into her coat and grabbing her best knives, “It would be nice if she was working with us, but at least we don’t have to worry about her popping up and wrecking what little plan we’ve got.”

“We may yet find her before this is said and done,” Pam said, opening a portal to her holding area to retrieve her cloak, “Let’s be honest, none of us are certain what to expect anymore. This isn’t like the last time that we went to war. There are more uncertainties and variables at play here. There isn’t the clear hatred that was shared by all of us, we are missing allies, and our adversaries have been working behind the scenes for who knows how long. If the journal I found last year is any indication, they’ve been waiting since before Rebecca assumed control of Metropolis. Abigail, may that harlot still be suffering in Hell, seemed to be one of many puppets in their schemes.”

Beth winced at the mention of the sadistic matron from Ravenfalls. While the woman had been gone for quite some time, it did little to remove the scars that she’d left on her psyche. There weren’t many people out there that had managed to leave such an impression on her, but that monster had been one of them. To this day, the thought of her still made her skin crawl. “It’s best not to focus on that,” Beth frowned, grabbing her boots and lacing them up, “You’re not wrong, but it’s easy to get discouraged if we focus on that stuff. It’s like when I was going after you and Goth forever ago. If I’d have stopped to think about it, I might have given up. Instead, I chipped away at you all until I managed to get in for the killshot.”

“Which you proceeded to miss,” Pam pointed out.

“Which worked out in the long run, smartass,” Beth countered with a smirk, “If I hadn't lost, then I wouldn’t have gotten to know you. I wouldn’t know about my submissive side, we wouldn’t be together, I wouldn’t have rekindled my relationship with my aunt, and-”

“I know and agree, Kitten,” Pam cut her off, “As painful as it was, I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have changed anything about the way the last year and a half has gone. Dying was a small price to pay for the happiness that I have when we have time together.”

“I just wish we had more time where things weren’t going sideways,” Beth admitted, standing up as she finished tying her boots, “How do you feel about a date night after we get a minute to breathe?”

“It might be some time before we have that,” Pam said.

“We can make something out of nothing, Pam, you know that,” Beth argued, “We did it back when I was trapped living as a slave under Goth, so why can’t we do it here? It might not be much, but one night where it’s just the two of us after we get a moment away from some of these freaks. It can be after we manage to save our friends and family, but before we take on the sisters and their ivory tower.”

Pam couldn’t help but smile at Beth’s insistent optimism. It was true that they’d often had to carve out their special moments in the midst of rougher situations in the past. It would have been nice to have something close to normalcy between them, but it was doubtful that would happen before their final battle. Even then, there was more uncertainty when it came to fighting the Brunswick sisters than anyone wanted to admit. This gave them something to look forward to; a reason to fight and to win beyond their obligations. It wasn’t much, but it was something to hold onto.

“I think that’s more than fair,” Pam finally nodded in agreement, “As we’ve already agreed, one thing at a time, though. Let’s focus on taking back the manor before we go any further.”

“Then let’s go get something to eat before we make our move,” Beth smiled, tucking her mask into her coat and leading the way out of their bedroom.

Meanwhile, only a few doors down from Beth and Pam’s room, Jake had been lying awake for quite some time. He hadn’t slept much in the last couple of days despite his best efforts. Sure, he’d managed to sleep enough to stave off his exhaustion, but his sleep was often restless. Ashley was trying to help, but his dreams were often invaded by visions of Lilith, her demented daughters, or flashes of his time in Hell. He wasn’t angry about it, but it was admittedly frustrating. 

Jake had agreed to wait before they made their move, but that didn’t mean he was okay just sitting around. The first day he’d spent trying to rest and map out a layout of his home for all of them to use for their assault. After spending a couple hours drawing it out, he went over the ins and outs with Jason, Pam, Rebecca, and Beth to make sure they knew what they were getting into. Truthfully, it felt pointless to a degree, but he supposed it was better to be over prepared than under prepared if things took a turn for the worst. 

The next day, he’d worked with Beth to try to get the others ready for the inevitable fight against Heidi and Hannah. He could recount his fight with Amelia, but he couldn’t pinpoint her fighting style as anything more than a cross between brawling and wrestling. However, Heidi and Hannah were a deadly mix of martial arts and sadism. The two of them had fought under Alexis more times than he could count, and that meant that both he and Beth knew what to expect. The hardest part about them was that they fought as one person split between two bodies. Looking back, it was probably part of the reason that he and Beth had developed such a distinct synergy when fighting side-by-side.

He and Beth had gotten up early that morning to clear out a space for them to train in the main hall of the club. They’d spent the better part of the morning trying to replicate the way that the sisters fought. After several hours of training and fighting one on one with everyone, they’d reached a stand-still. There was only so much that they could show them without the twins being present. Still, it was enough for each of their friends to get a sense for the problems that came with fighting them one-on-one. Their best play was going to be sticking together and having someone watch the back of whoever was gaining the upper-hand against one of them. Even knowing that, it was still going to be a gamble as to whether or not they could pull off the win.

After a grueling training session, Jake had let the others talk him into returning to his room. He’d let them think that he was going to rest, but he had spent the bulk of his evening working out until dinner. He was pushing his body to the limits in hopes that it might earn him the respite that he knew he needed. Not only that, he was trying to punish himself for letting his city fall the way it had. His friends had risked life and limb to bring him back, but it had cost them more than he liked. It had nearly cost them their lives, and it was all because he had been careless on the battlefield. He didn’t see himself as worthy of such sacrifice, but that hadn’t stopped them from trying. 

It had been Rebecca that had come to see him and bring him dinner. His ex-lover was a welcomed sight, even if it was more than a little awkward between them. Somehow, despite everything that they’d been through, Jake couldn’t help feeling a slight sense of calm when she was around and talking with him. It was when she was silent that his anxiety started to creep in, but when she spoke in that marvelous accent with those ducelet tones it put him at ease. He was reminded of the moments when they had been alone in years past and her Goddess walls fell for brief moments. Those were the moments that he still questioned whether or not they were real or a lie, but they were special to him all the same.

Rebecca had seen through his facade and didn’t let him brush her off. She knew him as well, if not better, than Beth, and as a result she could see that he was hiding something behind his eyes. Her empathic abilities certainly helped, but he knew that it was more than that. She hadn’t insisted or barged in, but she offered to lend him her ear if he needed it. He’d turned her down as politely as he could; there wasn’t anything bothering him that he hadn’t already voiced with her. Yet, he’d invited her in to eat with him regardless.

The two of them talked strategy and battle plans for the upcoming assault and siege of his former home. He knew that she was aware that something was bothering him, but she never pressed him for an answer. Instead, she had chosen to ignore the obvious and focus on their discussion. She wasn’t the same arrogant woman that he remembered. It was moments like the ones last night when they’d talked that reminded him of just how different she was. The old Rebecca would have brushed off the fears and concerns with promises of wrath and power, but their talk last night was grounded in the real possibility that they might fail. She wasn’t above admitting her weaknesses unlike when she had been operating under the guise of the Goth Goddess that he’d known for so long.

They’d talked for hours that night about different outcomes, possibilities, and scenarios that could arise. Everything from potential ambushes to a swift victory had been discussed into the wee hours of the night. It wasn’t until the final moments before she left that she offered him a parting piece of advice. She told him that relying too much on one’s self was a dangerous thing, and that isolating himself would likely only result in hurting himself and others. It hadn’t been anything too profound, but even Ashley had admitted that there she was technically correct. With that said, she’d taken her leave and left him to try to get some sleep.

Today was the day of the assault, and the truth was that Jake was feeling ready and anxious as he thought about what was lurking around the corner. He and the others were going to storm the gates to his family home, but there was no telling what they were going to find when they got there. The fact that Amelia was operating with a skeleton crew of guards was perhaps the most troubling thing for him. Automation was fantastic, but it wasn’t something that made sense for Amelia to suddenly rely on. He’d been to her damn ranch, and he knew that she had a proverbial army at her fingertips even before the Brunswicks had made their move. So why weren’t those girls there at the ranch?

That alone hadn’t sat well with him, but he hadn’t brought that up to anyone just yet. It wasn’t something to be concerned about until the time came, but it was something he intended to look into as time went on. They were going to win this fight, he was going to make sure of that. There weren’t many things in life that Jake felt confident in these days, but this was one of them. The guilt he felt for what his friends had gone through to save him, what his city had endured, was overshadowed by anger. That anger bled into determination and a hard desire to win this fight at any cost. There was too much at stake for any of them to be able to afford another misstep.

Jake sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his bed. There was a knock at his door as he got to his feet. He recognized the mildly aggressive raps from the other side of the door. He walked over and cracked the door to greet Jason who was standing with his arms crossed, “What’s up, Jay?”

“I wanted to make sure that you were up,” Jason replied, “Today’s the big day, Blackridge.”

“Are you worried about me?” Jake smirked, “That’s touching, Jason, really.”

“Piss off, Blackridge,” Jason scoffed, “I need all of you at one hundred percent for what we’re about to do. Beth and Pam are ready to go, but you’ve been trying to kill yourself before the real battle begins. You’re a pain in my ass, but I need all hands on deck if we are going to stand a chance at winning this fight.”

“Ease up, it’s just a joke,” Jake sighed, “Don’t stress over me, I’m as ready as I can be. I’ve just got to get my gear together and I’ll be ready to roll. Have you talked to the others yet?”

“I’m not worried about Beth and Pam, and I talk to Goth as little as  possible,” Jason replied, “I was on my way to the armory and figured I’d check in with the weakest link in our chain.”

“I’m fine, Jason,” Jake shook his head, “I’ve been taking it easy over the last couple of days, excluding our training session yesterday. I’m as ready as I can be for everything we talked about. Go arm up and get what you need together. I’ll meet you in the armory and make sure we have everything we need.”

Jason nodded and frowned, “Alright, I’m trusting you, Blackridge. You might be a pain, but none of us can afford to lose a good man again. You might be an annoying little shit, but you and that costume are a symbol to people in this city. We need that symbolism now more than ever, the people in this city need that.”

Jason walked off shortly after and Jake shut the door. He and Jason didn’t always see eye to eye, but this was something that they agreed on. With that in mind, Jake walked over and opened the case he kept tucked underneath his bed. He ran his hand over the Kevlar suit. “Yeah, it’s time to get to work,” Jake sighed, grabbing pieces of his suit to get changed.