All In Your Head [Keira and/or Collins]

[John]

John Allen Adams kept his mental shields firmly in place as he walked near the iron gates of Arkham Asylum. Far from letting his own thoughts leak out to any possible telepaths in the area, he certainly didn't want the thoughts of the insane creeping into his own head. There was enough pain, suffering, and concern lodged there without him having to question his own reality. Of course on the outside his face showed no strain. He had worked like this for years, training himself to remain apart from the others. He certainly hadn't become head of the ESPer division of SHIELD by allowing others to control him. His cold grey eyes swept the bleak landscape as the sun set behind the black buildings of Gotham, and his slightly heavy body swayed a little as his steps quickened. He did not want to be here long, not here at this site. There was too much pain here...for in addition to the insane, there was lost a little girl, age twelve. His Holly. Vanished near Arkham and never seen again.

John shook his head, his somewhat shaggy brown hair swinging, and he returned his focus to the world around him. There had been talk of a young girl around these parts, a strong telepath. Long story short, John was looking to inspect her ability and see if she could be useful to SHIELD. Not as a tool, of course, but a young agent in training. With the war over, the numbers of his division had been nearly ripped from the charts; telepaths had been targeted so much for their powers that there were dastardly few of them left. John had taken it on as his own duty to find new agents - and while he knew he was skewing young right now, young was what they needed. With the government in shambles, the old rules didn't apply. Time for a change.

He suspected the girl would be out here, and so he left his barriers up. He didn't need her divining who he was until he revealed it to her, and he didn't want to accidentally intrude on her thoughts either. Breaches of privacy were not the way to start a new working relationship.

[Ecks]

The mortifying and disturbing dreams, rumors, stories of Arkham were just like any other ghost story in the dark city, the bedtime stories that mingled very easily with Keira’s childhood fairytales. The sight of the old cracks in the asylum chased the cold out of her and gave the teen a fluttering warm feeling in her stomach that made its way to a very brief healthy glow in her face. Some fairytales do come true; the glint in her eyes was nothing less than a razorblade’s reflection. In her past she’d had colorful parents, one of them had eventually found his way into the asylum, but he didn’t last long, he eventually died. Funnily enough, it wasn’t long after Keira coming into her powers; a shadow of a smile caught the edge of her mouth. She had her happy ending and proved Arkham’s reputation all at once. What more could she want?

A vespa, a life, some hope, ginger, the big bad bat, a mom…her head went on ranting while Keira made sure her Cell was on vibrate. She dint feel like being disturbed while she was in her ‘happy place’, it usually only came around at night or when she got that much-wanted picture of whoever her latest ‘victim’ was. Small chills rose up in her fingertips as she played with the gate, walking by, with her batty-bag. Good moods and paranoia made an interesting mix. Sleep had come in periods the night before, more than usual, and the dreams had not been so horrible, to top it off, she’d woken up in her own bed. It seemed like a pleasant day.

Watch where you walk, Kei Kei. She did, the small voice had a point, it kept her from tripping and running into people, now it kept her from doing something silly. Glad for the hair hanging over her face haphazardly, the teen made an effort to keep her eyes purely silver, it was a strange coloring as it was, she didn’t need the little bit of joy tinting her eyes lilac, and dint feel like lying about contacts, lying went against her little code of ethics. “’Scuse me” Keira had a small smile lingering, starting an arc around the man in front of Arkham. That’s odd. She didn’t know many people-normal-that willingly visited. A little curiosity started to pull Keira’s mind to slow down, curiosity, and some tingles in her spine. To think, she would have missed out on her next possible target if she had stayed in school the entire day. Didn’t anyone teach you to not talk to strangers? Nope.

[Colonel Collins]

Instinct begets action, but how finely honed were his instincts? You could argue that you don't last working with the CIA cutthroats for so long without having finely tuned instincts. Or that you don't make it to the rank of Colonel, formerly General, without having finely tuned instincts. Anyone who knew anything about the military knew that was wrong. Even idiots could achieve what he'd achieved.

But his intuition rivaled that of a psychic's. He and his daughter had been living together for several months before the war broke out. Collins was called away to battle, this time with a regret. One regret that he couldn't remain at home to make sure his adopted little girl was safe. And maybe that she stayed out of trouble. But the war was virtually over, save for small pockets of resistance. So the Colonel came back home, hoping to surprise her.

When venturing outside the base and outside of combat zones, Marines were to wear their service uniforms. That's what the UCMJ stated anyway, but Collins had about the same idea about that as this Allen fellow probably had. Old rules shouldn't apply anymore. So he didn't bother changing. He wore the very same BDU he had on while on the battlefield. They were more comfortable anyway and he may be going back to the base in Gotham very soon.

Plus, martial law had been declared in some parts of the country. Potentially, any area was now a combat zone, so the rules didn't apply to what he had on anyway.

Anyway familiar with military uniforms would be able to tell he was a Marine. His uniform was the MCCUU, the digital camo, the tan, hot weather variant. It was dirty, along with his boonie hat and tan, rough cut boots. The USMC logo was across the left side of his chest and the insignia of the Corps on the front of his hat. A black eagle, his rank insignia, was pinned to each side of his collar and the name tag across the right side of his chest read Collins. To anyone who knew anything about it, his name, rank and branch of service was obvious.

His sleeves were neatly rolled up and his hands clasped behind his back, he strolled up through the Arkham gates. But why was he there? Instinct, of course. Finely tuned instinct. In the time he knew his daughter he got to know her pretty well. A dark and morbid child, but with her own unique and distinct charm and zest for life. If you could call it that. He hadn't been back in Gotham for little more than an hour. When he got home, she wasn't there. Intuition and common sense told him she wouldn't be in school or have left the city. Only the darkest and most morbid place in Gotham, though to be sure he drove by a couple of grave yards on his way here.

His vehicle, a Tumbler with a desert camo pattern, was parked neatly out of view. It wouldn't catch either of their eyes, though it did create a crowd of gawkers from where it was parked. He went the rest of the way on foot and sure enough there his wayward daughter was. And with some strange man.

He cast the man a hard look, placed his hands on his hips and cleared his throat loudly to get his attention and get him to turn around. And really, was the man about to ignore the Marine who looked built like an ape?

[John]

[not sure how much he can read off of her so I'll keep it vague for now]

A tingle in his mind was the only warning John had, and he looked around to find himself suddenly surrounded. In front of him was a beautiful young lady with haphazard hair and brilliantly silver eyes. A small pang went through him as he looked at her, and for a moment Holly's face drifted over hers, a pair of curious little eyes staring up at him in hope and worry. He blinked, his face creasing in minute pain, and then his own pale grey eyes narrowed in a smile. "Good evening, young lady," he said, trying to probe forward with his mind a little. Just enough for a surface reading. If she was another telepath he didn't want to just invade her privacy, but the scan was normal to him, an everyday occurrence to sense friend or foe.

Before he could go too indepth with it, however, a loud clearing of the throat behind him made him turn his head. A tall, strong-looking man stood before him with an angry and fierce look on his face. John's guard went up instantly - this man had the appearance of a mother bear, the ring of command even in the clearing of his throat. John placed himself in front of the girl, protecting her, and drew himself up to his full height. It didn't rival the other man, but John could be a formidable physical presence when he wanted, and as his eyes turned stony both in look and color, he began to pull on that. "Can I help you?" he asked.

[Ecks]

That curiosity in the messy haired teen became tainted with some fraction of annoyance. Young Lady, as good as its intentions were, it was something conditioned to make her mood wrinkle just a little at the corners. Its not his fault, Kei thanked her skills in upholding a smile while her mind kept some honesty to it, its not like he’s a mind…ah…the last place Keira wanted to feel that certain kind of chill was in front of the loony bin. She leaned back just a little bit, spine stiffening as she really summed up this person. She hated when she had to be mean to people that looked otherwise nice, but it kept the crazies in ice-cream trucks away. The smile remained, the support behind it soured, Keira’s eyes narrowing just a little. But that changed in no time at all.

Keira nearly squealed at the familiar paternal sight, but she had a little more dignity than that. At least she could pretend she did. She caught herself hastily, getting the sensation of pale purple beginning to shade in the grey irises of hers. Dignity was a tricky little thing indeed. Kei was glad and fretful of Codie being a ‘Normal’ person; it meant he’d never have to know that she really was more worried than she would have appeared at any given time, with him away and closer to that certain angel of death than she was. It was irksome. It didn’t stop the grin from spreading on her face. A deep bubbling urge to laugh began when the prying man took a step between Kei and the colonel, not only that, but the fact that that it was one of those times Codie had the maternal look to him. It would be impossible to not smile. Ignoring the possibly deranged and psychopathic man’s good intent, she casually made a beeline for her legal guardian as thought it was nothing more than school letting out.

Comfortably set in place, hands in her jean pockets instead, Kei set her eyes on this man that had the strange instinct to stop someone in army colors. Not that she was all for signing herself up right away, but she didn’t misbehave directly in front of the Colonel. With her defenses settled down, she didn’t hesitate to allow some of the ‘happy’ lilac coloring to slip into her eye coloring. If the spine stiffening chills had come from him, then there was hardly any point in pretending to be a Normal weird child. She disliked empaths with a vengeance, but other mind readers, she hardly had words for. Goosebumps began to rise on her skin; she blinked, and would not for quite a while. The tricky little smile was nothing less than a Cheshire grin now, with her mind all pleasantly buzzing. Maybe she should have said something to Codie, but he seemed guarded enough as It was at the moment.

[Colonel Collins]

The Vietnam War. Far before Colonel Collins' day. No, that was something the ageless Colonel Fury would know much more about. But he'd read a lot about that war, particularly those hippie bigot protesters. He found it outright sickening that humans could behave that way. His first thought was that the man who stood between him and his daughter was on the same level as a hippie. Maybe he thought a military man had no right near a child. But something about the man seemed to shoot down that hypothesis.

The way they held themselves. The way they walked and talked. Their sense of confidence and sometimes in your face humanity. And that infamous thousand yard stare. All ways in which one could diagnose another as someone with military experience. Or at the very least, some sort of government agent. And there was something about this man, some details about him, that clued Collins in on something.

Attention to details. That was one thing the military made sure to hammer into all their servicemen.

The way the man stood and held himself, indeed the very aura about him, it didn't speak civilian. It didn't speak military either. If he had to guess, it would be CIA agent or some other government agent. Maybe not someone who did field work but someone who dealt in the art of war. Or preparing for war, at least.

And there was that interest he took in the Colonel's daughter.

While he was busy trying to diagnose the man simply by what he'd observed, Kei seemed to ignore him for the moment and make straight for Collins. He glanced at her briefly and then back at the man. There was that urge to smirk and even reach his hand out and ruffle up her hair, but he knew better. Such public displays weren't him. They weren't Kei either, but he was still damn glad to see her. He didn't move though and his face remained the same. He might not've known Kei's full abilities, but he knew she could take care of herself. And he knew she wouldn't appreciate him trying to pretend he didn't think something was up with this strange fellow here.

The girl was safe, so it seemed. But that didn't stop Collins from wondering what the man's interest in her was. It wasn't as creepy as simple pedophilia. But there was something disturbing about him. And then came the how may I help you?.

"For starters, you can tell me what you're up to....and why you're so interested in her," he said, momentarily gesturing to Kei. "And how about identifying yourself? You already know who I am."

He suspected the man was familiar with uniforms. As such, all he'd need to do was look at the name tag, service tag, and rank insignia to know Collins' rank and proper term of address.

[John]

He'd apparently been trying too hard, because the girl's face began to turn empty and hollow. She kept her smile, but a guarded and protective look eased across her face, and before he could say anything to stop her, she made a beeline around him to stand next to the ape-like military man. John's eyes flickered with interest at the look exchanged between the two of them, and now he allowed his mind to slip out unwarranted and chase surface thoughts. Ah. Father and daughter. Or - not blood related, but in some form connected. And the father was definitely protective of her, as well as decidedly hostile towards him. John had no problem with that - he was nothing more than a man outside Arkham speaking to a little girl. He was well aware of the suspicion this probably caused, and decided to do his best to lighten the situation.

A slight twinkle came into his grey eyes and his lips softened into an almost smile, an attempt at comfort. It was mainly directed at the little girl as he inclined his head towards the man. "Colonel..." he squinted a little, "Collins. I am Agent John Adams of SHIELD." He held out his hand to shake. The man wanted to be in control of the situation, force John to look for his name, make the first move? That was fine. John would have the upper hand soon enough. "My interest in this..." he hesitated, remembering the look on her face. "This lady," he amended, forgoing the 'young', "is strictly professional." A second brush made him nod to himself. His guess had been right, this was the young mind reader he had heard about. "I would like to speak to her someplace other than here, if she is willing. You may, of course, come along."

[Ecks]

Any day, Kei would have been fine with the sentence being left off at ‘This…’, it brought an entirely new glitter of amusement to her smile that leaked into deeper lavender in her eyes. A suppressed look to Collins kept her eyes on John, glinting with the ‘normal’ cover of silver slipping away into more shades of purple, since discretion was beginning to seem useless. It took a shred of consciousness to ease the tension out of her spine and more to keep her mood light.

Heh. Going somewhere else to talk, what? ,there wasn’t enough privacy between minds, it would seem. Though, taking consideration of the Parental thing next to her, it did not seem likely he wouldn’t be tagging along, and since it would have been in poor manners to leave him out of the loop. Like passing notes in class in a code only some people knew. Yeah , there was her least favorite little voice again, Almost as rude as intruding on other’s thoughts , but, she had to admit, it had some reason to it at times. Keira’s smile twitched. It almost earned a name.

Kei had a tingle in her fingertips. Maybe not wholly good, but the day was certainly turning out to be interesting. She had a cynical streak to her, maybe more than just a streak that brought a swell of thoughts to the surface of her mind. The less than pretty thoughts that not only came from her, but from others, and other people, in Gotham, in the Asylum so close by, had some nightmares to make H.P. Lovecraft proud. Not the worst of her stock, just the fluffy things in comparison. Don’t peek into Pandora’s Box, her head tilted a fraction innocently. This was becoming vaguely reminiscent of when she’d met a certain Colonel.

With a shrug, Kei spoke up “I don’t mind.” Lack of faith in people, even the Sugary Gasoline scent of this Adams, could be put aside for a while. She had no blood on her hands to be guilty of. So to speak. There in lay one of the reasons she disliked other mind readers. They didn’t often have the same code of conducts she had. Even if she only applied the Codes to Normal people, some shred of self worth made an appearance when confronted. Talk never hurt, thoughts did. No objection came from her because wordless gears were shifting in her head, if it seemed a quick reply, it was only because it was thought out. There was reason to it, no matter how simple of a girl she could pass for when she seemed amused.

[Colonel Collins]

John Adams. And he used the address of Agent. Not Private or Sergeant. Not Lieutenant, Captain or Major. Agent. He didn't answer through a military chain of command. Collins knew damn well that Fury was head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and that the ageless war vet had the same rank as him. That would've meant Adams would've had to address Collins as Sir and honor any orders have gave him. But Adams wasn't military and Collins knew he probably only answered to Colonel Fury.

Now seem to come the ugly political business Collins thought he'd left behind. Back when working alongside the CIA, the Colonel had made many friends in very high places. Jason Wynn and the President were the only people he had to answer to. Wynn was gone though and Collins had been integrated back into the Marines. While working under Wynn though, Collins had learned a few tricks of the trade. Even though he and Fury shared the same rank, perhaps he could call in enough favors to get S.H.I.E.L.D. to leave his daughter alone.

For the first time, Collins regretted sending that hateful, nasty letter to the President. He regretted not still holding his rank of General. That kind of rank carried enough brass and muscle to make Fury his bitch. That kind of rank guaranteed that his daughter would be safe from S.H.I.E.L.D. and many others. But as a Colonel, the playing field was much more tilted against Collins. Adams may not have the power alone, but through Fury he could go over Collins' head and get to Kei.

All that weighed over in the Colonel's head as he took Agent Adams' hand and shook it. The offer to speak somewhere else did sound appealing. Maybe it'd be some place far away from prying eyes. That meant the Adams might have something planned for the Colonel to get him out of the way without there being any witnesses. But that also meant the Colonel could do away with Adams and leave no witnesses if he tried anything funny.

"She's okay with the idea," he said, letting go of the man's hand and gesturing toward Kei, intentionally neglecting to mention her name just in case. "Where to then?"