diversified | just like everybody else does. [ psl ]

Entry tags:

just like everybody else does. [ psl ]

WHO Chris Halliwell (

aggrandize), Nicholas Rush (

waxwingedflight).
WHAT MAGICOPS
WHEN Late 2020s according to Charmed timeline.
WHERE Victim's apartment.
WHY because Leo is a terrible dad ~~wait what~~

I'll fill this in later, let's just transfer our comments for now.

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Where he was safe from Rush's gaze, Chris rolled his eyes. The kitchen appeared normal, but already Chris was beginning to see a pattern in the way utensils were organized in their open-air racks and the row of spices and ingredients lined up along the countertop. He started to check through drawers and cabinets, pantry and refrigerator, and came up with a definite answer: Clarisse Huntington had definitely been a practicing witch. Judging by the range of her stock, she hadn't been very dangerous but she had been very active in using what she had. He was going to have to go check the Halliwells' Book in order to double-check what all of Clarisse's ingredients could be used for to see if it would give any more hints, but this was a good start.

Almost absently, Chris called back, "Doesn't mean I can't check up on you. We're a team, right?" Even if it didn't seem like it yet, Chris was definitely trying to get himself into the mindset of caring about his partner and keeping an eye on him. They were going to need at least that much cooperation to get anywhere.

When Chris spoke again, Rush let out a loud sigh of annoyance at it. Hiding his magic from him meant that there was going to be problems like this, but normally his partners learned towards not talking to him instead of actively trying to engage him in conversation. The topic wasn't exactly endearing Chris to Rush either and he didn't even respond to what he said. They might be considered a team on paper, but Rush didn't think that at all and had no plans to change his opinion on it. Chris was just a temporary assignment, after all, and soon he'd be off with a more permanent partner after he finally gets him trained well enough to be set loose on the real cases.

Getting his focus back, Rush returns to searching once more, hopping from one set of mortal eyes to another until he could tell he was close to something both magical and evil. It was hard to tell what exactly he was since that wasn't Rush's expertise, but that wasn't important right now. Taking another moment to collect himself and prepare for a hasty retreat, Rush switched from the current mortal's eyes he was using to the evil being's eyes instead.

There was a silence after that statement and Chris set down the disguised jar of ground newt toes harder than was strictly necessary. Of course he had gotten the hardass partner right off the bat. That part hadn't surprised him, but would it kill the guy to be a little more welcoming? It wasn't like Chris had chosen this assignment, either. He searched a little bit more before he trudged out of the kitchen and glanced up and down the hall.

"What room are you in, anyway?" Might as well not cross paths for whatever good it would do them. Now all he wanted was for Eli to contact them back, and for them to be able to separate ways so Chris could get on with the more private part of his investigation.

There he was. Rush looked through his eyes and saw that he was looking at the stolen book. He has seen quite a few grimoires and book of shadows over his lifetime to be able to distinguish the two and this one definitely fell into the latter category. That was a witch's book and no demon nor warlock would have one on hand unless they stole it. With that confirmed, Rush was about to switch to a nearby mortal to figure out the general area that he was at, but it was at that moment when Chris spoke again, snapping his concentration. He scrambled to get himself focused before he was noticed, but when he saw his target looking around, he knew it was too late.

His vision changed and Rush scrambled back up into standing to step back. He was looking at himself through the killer's eyes and he barely had the chance to turn off his power to see the demon before he was grabbed and thrown through the door and across the hall into a wall on the other side. A groan escaped from him as he pulled himself up into standing and he glanced around to see Chris and let out a soft huff in place of a laugh. So much for keeping this a secret.

Again with the lack of response and Chris rolled his eyes. Just as he was about to take another step, there was a loud crash that answered his earlier question and posed several more. His first instinct to draw his gun was a new one, but one that he knew better than to doubt while he rushed to the scene of the disturbance. His finger wasn't on the trigger yet, but he was damn close as soon as he saw someone clearly demonic stalking out of the room behind Rush.

There was no time to question or think. Old instincts rapidly took over and he flicked the barrel of his gun to telekinetically toss the demon back into the room. He holstered it, rushed to his partner's side, and grabbed his arm to usher him into motion. "What the hell did you do?!" he asked. There was no way Rush had summoned the demon as a guileless mortal and demons wouldn't usually make return calls if they had gotten what they were looking for in the first place.

He only allowed Chris to touch him for a moment before he yanked his arm away from his grasp and started to head towards the front door. Taking out his gun, he looked back at Chris, annoyance clear from his expression. "I got distracted," he answered angrily. Normally, he didn't have much problems spying on a demon, but then again, he didn't have a partner who wouldn't leave him alone long enough to peek. "Which I have you to thank for."

If he was a better person, he probably wouldn't be so harsh about what happened. After all, it wasn't something Chris knew about beforehand, but Rush was looking for any excuse to pin everything on him and have a reason to keep him from being his partner for any longer than he had to be. With his free hand, he reached to grab Chris' shoulder and sighed. "Now would be a wonderful time for you to get us out of here, don't you think?"

Chris let himself be brushed off and followed behind Rush quickly. When they got to the door, he gave an irritated look and opened his mouth to retort — there had been no way for Chris to know what Rush had been doing or that he had even been capable of it in the first place. Where did Rush get off trying to pin all this on him? The fact that Rush clearly knew what he'd gotten into made him even more annoyed because his partner was magic and Chris was an idiot and of course he couldn't even have the decency of being lulled into a false sense of security before fate pulled the rug out from under him.

"Out of here, huh?" he asked. Rush clearly had an idea of who he was dealing with, for which Chris couldn't entirely blame him. If his partner was magic, then there was always a chance that the name Halliwell was known to him. Not every witch knew the Charmed Ones' family name, but it wasn't uncommon either. Nor was it uncommon to know that the sons in the family were part-whitelighter. As he could hear the demon tromping through the house toward them, Chris orbed away.

They reappeared on the highest crossbeam of the Golden Gate Bridge. Chris shrugged Rush's hand off his shoulder as soon as they appeared and turned to face him, just as annoyed and irritated now as he had been before. "What were you doing? At what point would it ever be a good idea to summon a demon back to the scene of the crime like that?!"

When they reappeared elsewhere, Rush didn't seem all that thrown off by the method of transportation nor where they ended up. He looked down at the bridge below while he holstered his gun, no longer needing to have it out since they left the demon behind in Colorado. There wasn't an immediate answer from Rush as he looked around and took in the view, wanting to see how Chris would handle having to wait a moment. It might be petty, sure, but he didn't care right now.

"It wasn't my intention to summon the demon, but instead merely locate where our specific one was hiding the book," he answered calmly, finally taking his attention away from the view to look back at Chris. So what he had heard about the sons being part-whitelighter was true. That just made it all the more reason for Rush to get him transferred to be somebody else's partner instead. He was getting a headache just thinking about having to deal with a Halliwell. "My power is that I can see through the eyes of any being, whether mortal or magical, as if looking through my own. The downside is that I have a very strict time limit in which I can use it without being noticed by anything with magical capabilities. Which was a problem when you distracted me."

Chris crossed his arms and studied Rush. It wasn't very impassive, but it was hard to get a read on him beyond annoyed, so at least there was that. There were a lot of unanswered (and unasked) questions floating around in what Rush wasn't saying, but there wasn't very much that Chris could do to force them out without treading some morally dubious ground. At least Rush was being forthright about what he had done, and it was making a lot of sense to Chris.

"Psychooptics," he said. "I've met some people who can do that. Not... recently, but I have. It's a pretty rare power." Chris reached out and pointed, fingers mere inches from poking Rush in the chest. "So don't go trying to pin that one on me. You obviously knew who I was, but kept your own powers a secret and expect me to cater to you, anyway? Hell no."

"Rare, but effectively useless if I can't use it without getting caught by who I'm using it on," Rush responded without showing much in the way of emotion. His power was actually a bit of a sore subject with him, being something that couldn't protect him like the more offensive powers some witches and warlocks had. He cleared his throat and stepped away, keeping his distance from him. Rush really wasn't very fond of any contact and preferred to stay away so it wouldn't happen.

"No, I was testing you like I test all the witches that end up working in our precinct. I didn't expect you to distract me like that, but it's not something that will happen again," he said in way of an explanation and a promise. "I don't use my power very often outside of these tests. It's not very helpful when it leaves me blind and virtually helpless."

Chris didn't follow Rush moving away. Partially because they were on a restricted and actually dangerous space up there on the Bridge, but also because he wasn't going to be a complete and total dick about it. They still had to work together, after all, and now Chris was more determined than ever to make sure the demon was caught and vanquished. However they were going to explain it back at the precinct was another matter but he could worry about that later.

"Other witches at the precinct?" asked Chris. Damn, he really had landed in the middle of something, hadn't he? Shaking his head, he commented, "Helpless, but also really good bait."

He was definitely thankful that Chris wasn't going to try getting close again at least until they left to return home. Explaining it to the precinct, though, was something Rush excelled at and wasn't something on his mind at the moment. Right now, his thoughts were more on finding the demon and vanquishing it before it succeeded in doing whatever it was planning with that poor witch's book.

"Not all witches can or want to protect innocents through magical means, Christopher," responded Rush with a slight shrug. His expression changed to confusion when Chris said the last bit. Was he really saying what he thought he was saying? That would definitely be a new one for Rush, especially since this kid was supposedly the son of a Charmed One. "Are you suggesting that I be used as bait so that you can vanquish the demon?"

Yeah, witches didn't always want to resort to purely magical lives. For most, that even went pretty well. Unfortunately for Chris, it was near-impossible for a Halliwell to extricate themselves from their magical destiny and do something completely removed. He turned and paced to the other side of the beam, looking out over the bridge to the city. He came here pretty often to hang out and think. Since Leo's wings had been clipped when Chris was only a baby, it had pretty much become Chris's spot alone. Wyatt was, perplexingly enough, not too good with heights. No matter how often Chris came to the Bridge however... he hadn't been back home in a long time. The manor wasn't really somewhere he could idly stop in anymore for much the same reason as his current predicament. He sighed, then turned to regard Rush once more.

"Introduce me later," he said. It was partially a request and partially a promise. Even if Rush didn't want to give out names, Chris was going to get in on that ground floor. When Rush had to clarify what Chris had obviously been getting at, he bristled, hackles rising in affront. "You'd be perfectly safe. I've vanquished plenty of demons before, this one won't be any different."

"Once you pass the test, I will." Rush doesn't say anymore on the subject and instead lets out a sigh as he runs his hand through his hair and looks out towards the open water. This wasn't the optimal way for this case to have gone, but it was something he could work with in at least some way. Well, when they get back to Colorado and vanquish the demon stealing witches' books.

There was definitely something off about Chris' response and he had to turn back and look over at Chris, confusion evident on his face. He didn't have any doubts about Chris' ability, but it seemed that Chris thought otherwise. "I'm not doubting your abilities in vanquishing demons. I don't like the idea that I'm going to be bait."

Yeah, that earned a scoff. As if Chris wasn't going to pass whatever test Rush had set up. He had already found out that Rush was magic and they were currently on the tail of a demon with an unknown agenda. Not hard to finish up and pass whatever qualifications Rush was putting on his skill.

"It's the same thing," Chris argued. The phrase I'm not doubting your abilities didn't seem to sink in at all, his attention focusing instead on the idea that Rush apparently wouldn't want to run through as bait when Chris could pull it off easily. Chris wouldn't let his reluctant partner be in any danger, so what was there to dislike about the idea? Even if he didn't understand the reasoning, that was no reason Chris was going to back down from fighting about it. "You'll be fine."

The test was more than just him finding these things out, but how he dealt with this information and where he was going to go from there. Thus far, it was still inconclusive how Rush was going to fall when it came to passing or failing him on it, but they still had the rest of the case for him to decide on what to do. That is, if they could figure out a plan that both of them could agree on.

"It's nothing like that," Rush responded with annoyance in his tone. There was definitely something seriously wrong with him if he didn't seem to notice the fact that he had outright stated that he didn't doubt his abilities. Honestly, why would he have a reason to doubt him? Chris was the son of a Charmed One and not only that, a whitelighter, so of course he wasn't going to be awful at vanquishing demons and generally fighting evil. Perhaps being good didn't stop him from having to deal with normal insecurities. "I really am not fond of being used as bait. It reminds me that I'm weak."

"Weak?" Chris repeated, clearly confused and maybe somewhat affronted. Of course, Chris wasn't a weakling when compared to anyone outside of his family but it had always been a sore spot as the child to come after the Twice Blessed who had only a fraction of the same power. Weak was something for innocents and those who refused to care for themselves besides. It wasn't something Chris thought much about when in contrast to strength of character. That Rush considered himself weak after the show he had given back at the victim's house only further to baffle him; thankfully it was enough to knock him off the idea that Rush was somehow disregarding Chris's abilities.

The assertion still didn't make any sense the longer he sat on it. Rush was magical and clearly had one of the most advanced understandings of his own power that Chris had ever seen. "You found the demon in, like, ten minutes without an actual lead on the guy," Chris said easily. "Far as I know about that kind of power, there's nothing telepathic involved. Just moving like you were hopping between eyes, right? How did you even find him?"

"Not everyone shares the same opinion as to what constitutes strength and weakness. My family thought that my power was useless and raised me to believe as such," he explained calmly. It was obvious that he was treating this fact and to Rush, that has been the truth for his entire life. It was only after he had left that he found a way to not be weak and help innocents like he truly wanted to.

"It's difficult to explain, but I can tell whether the eyes I will use are mortal or magical and good or evil. What I did today to find the demon we were looking for was process of elimination. Hop from one mortal to the next until I find someone evil and then take a quick look to see. I was lucky to see him with the book, otherwise I would have never found him," Rush said. Explaining his power was difficult, especially to someone who didn't have a power similar to his own. If Chris needed a better explanation, he'd give him one, but for now, that would have to work.

Chris rolled his eyes a bit at the explanation, but at least he wasn't outright making fun of it. Rush's power was something rare and it had a definite amount of use if he could make it work with such finesse no matter the method that was used in order to achieve that. That Chris might have been jealous was something he wouldn't admit to; his own powers were good enough for him, thanks, even if he did sometimes wonder what it would be like to have more or be able to use something else. Wyatt certainly had the plethora to choose from, after all.

"Bait or no bait," Chris said, hand coming up to forestall any complaints Rush might have had, "do you think you could find him again now that you know which eyes are his? How does that work, finding someone you've already seen through?"

Eye rolling he can deal with, but being made fun of wasn't something he could handle well, so he was definitely glad that Chris decided against it. Rush didn't think Chris could ever really understand just how badly he had been treated just because his power wasn't offensive like the majority of his family's powers tended to be. This was something he was used to though, so he wasn't going to continue on the topic of how he thought of his own power and stick to what it did.

"Yes, that's not a problem," Rush stated with a lazy wave of his hand. "Once I've seen through a person's eyes, I can find them without issue. Everyone sees things a little bit differently, after all, and I can remember those differences to find them once more."

Nodding thoughtfully, Chris looked back out over the bay. "All right," he concluded. "Then we've basically got him on speed-dial for later. Right now I want to figure out what kind of magic Clarisse's family must have practiced that a demon would want to steal their book. Whatever she was into, she was good at keeping it to a low profile."

That was the rub. Their only clue currently laid in the hands of the demon and they needed to get it back for themselves before they could properly assess the threat. Aside from that, demons generally didn't practice spellcasting on their own so that added the possibility that the demon had been working for or with someone else who had a more sensible interest in the book. "What exactly did you see when you were in his eyes, anyway?"

There was definitely a change in Rush when the topic went back to the case and no longer focusing on himself. It was obvious that he did enjoy his work and Rush pulled out his notepad to flip it open to an older entry that he hadn't written today. "I can see about finding any family friends who could help enlighten us. You can follow your own leads to see if you can get anywhere from another angle."

He closed his eyes and sighed as he thought back to when he was seeing through the demon's eyes. It was obvious that he wasn't using his magic, but closing his eyes helped block out everything else so he could focus on his memories better. "The book, obviously. He was in a room somewhere on the north side of town, possibly a cheap hotel or apartment he's using as a place to stay."

Chris walked a few steps around to peer over Rush's shoulder. It always helped him to see things laid out for himself rather than be told about it, even better if he could manage both. He was a very practical person in that way, needing to see the work and the specifics for himself rather than always take it at someone's word. "I just got this case. Mind if I take a look at your notes, see what you've got before I go follow some rabbit trail?"

He had to admit, that was pretty impressive. Chris turned his attention from the pages to Rush himself. "You could tell all that just by being in his eyes for a few seconds? That's pretty good."

Chris could stare all he'd like, but he wasn't going to make any sense of the notes. While his handwriting was legible, the language he wrote it in was Scottish Gaelic, something that Chris wasn't likely to understand and Rush was obviously aware of that because he snorted in amusement as he glanced over to Chris. "I'll have to translate them for you first before you could use them. That I can do on the way back to the precinct," he responded easily. That way, he could censor out what he had written down about Chris in them for the test without him ever knowing.

"There's more to it than that, but that's something to discuss another time," Rush said as he shut his notepad and put it away. "When we are in a safer location, I would like to use my power on you."

Damn. Other languages. Those were definitely a weak point of Chris's and he wasn't very happy that Rush had already foiled him possibly without even intending to. That would just figure, wouldn't it? "I figured I would just orb us there," he said with a shrug while he stepped away. No use looking over Rush's shoulder now, and especially no use in hiding his capabilities now that the cat was out of the bag. "Not much time for translating that way."

At that declaration, Chris paused and eyed Rush. What would the point of that be if they were in a safe place, presumably together? He couldn't really read Rush and that was annoying. Not that Chris was the greatest judge of character, but he had a knack for getting the feeling of what he was walking into at the least. Rush was kind of stonewalling him that way. "Why?"

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