mysterzie: (✧look in the mirror‚ at yourself)
Æ̶a̶̶̶rȯn [i'm 12 and what is this] ([personal profile] mysterzie) wrote in [community profile] diversified2015-01-10 10:29 pm

This is what you want, to belong. [ psl ]

WHO "Aaron" ([personal profile] mysterzie), Jason Marks ([personal profile] blackjackofall)
WHAT Meet cute little shit.
WHEN 2013.
WHERE Las Vegas, Nevada.
WHY because Leo is a terrible father what

Things were coming up red tonight. Color was better than none, and that philosophy was serving Aaron well. They weren't always hits, but the roulettes were hot and he had little doubt that it was thanks to the pretty ladies who insisted on blowing on his chips before he'd lay them down. Whether it was because they had a power or were just that lucky, he didn't care. It was fun. This face was a good one, respectable and handsome and adult and everything Aaron needed to be virtually invisible to have a good time.

Laughter and cries of despair were common, but Aaron was attracting quite the crowd. He wasn't cheating (not yet, anyway, the slots would come later) but it seemed like his run of luck wasn't going unnoticed. That was okay. If he started to get in trouble, he would just pop out and let the poor dealer sap deal with the aftermath. Aaron really didn't like dealers and that was what made it so easy to use their faces to get away with whatever he wanted.

"One more time?" he asked, a playful grin spread across his face while he lifted a chip to his shoulder. "I'm thinking... Red 14."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-11 04:37 am (UTC)(link)
It was the crowd that drew his attention. He had used a mix of his shadows and illusions to get away from the agents that tended to play babysitter despite the fact that they didn't really care if he went off to play a few games between appointments with people who needed to swap out their powers for something less dangerous or more useful. Sometimes he just wanted anonymity and being alone and under the cover of his illusions helped. Right now, he was under the guise of a young woman, mid-twenties and nicely dressed, but not provocative enough to catch anybody's attention immediately. He made his way to the crowd, politely getting people to move out of the way.

Finally he got to the table and saw something that unsettled him greatly. That was his face--well, not exactly, but close enough to count--sitting at the table and playing the roulette. Thankfully his expression didn't reveal anything and he sat down next to the face thief, setting his own chips down on the table. "I'll place a bet. Red 21," he said softly as he looked over at the person pretending to be him. "Let's see how I fare against your luck."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-11 04:55 am (UTC)(link)
Jace couldn't help but smile at the situation. Here he was gambling with someone that had stolen his face and he didn't exactly want to stop the game by turning off his illusion and pulling out his badge just yet. He wanted to see how this played out and what exactly what this person was up to by borrowing his face.

"How about we up the ante?" If they were going to play this game, then Jace was going to have a little fun of his own while pretending to be a bored and lonely woman. "Loser has to pay for the meal."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-11 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
"Winner picks the restaurant," he conceded easily. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he was going to win, what with him being a card shark and all. With his powers, he could just as easily cheat as roulette as he could the cards and slots. so this was easy enough for him to rig. "You have a name, handsome?"

The bets were all taken and the wheel started to spin, the ball bouncing around it a bit and Jace focused most of his attention on the ball. Casinos might be bright, but there were still shadows and and he was going to use them to drop the ball on his square and win the bet without anybody ever noticing.
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-11 07:11 am (UTC)(link)
Relying on luck was something Jace hated and why he ended up becoming a card shark instead of a regular gambler. Casinos had everything stacked in their favor and the only way to make money was to cheat and it was something he did well. Besides, he never won enough to cause trouble with the casinos and the men in charge loved to see a dealer around since it always meant there'd be money spent.

"Jay," he answered, his tone slightly distracted as he watched the wheel and he focused on the shadows as it took hold of the ball as it started to slow down too until wheel and then ball stopped, the ball neatly slipping itself onto 21, just like Jace had wanted.
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-11 09:53 am (UTC)(link)
He merely gave Aaron a small, knowing grin as he picked up the chips he had won and then laughed softly at Aaron's words. "Oh don't worry," he said with an amused tone. "I promise I'll be gentle."

The crowd was starting to thin out now that it seemed like the two were going to leave and no longer give them any entertainment. Jace took a moment to count his chips and seeming satisfied, looked over at Aaron. "How about we go put these away and you can treat me to a nice dinner? Like I said, I'll be gentle with you."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-12 03:50 am (UTC)(link)
Jace didn't take the offered hand. After all, he was a strong independent woman who didn't need no man and was really only stringing this guy along until he could get him somewhere less crowded. Thankfully that wasn't going to take long as Jace was already leading Aaron away from the crowds. Before they got to the counter to turn chips back into money, Jace turned to Aaron and smiled.

"Oh, I know a place, but I have to ask you something first." He shifted his illusion back to his normal appearance, grinning. "You know it's a felony to impersonate a federal officer, right?"
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-12 08:19 am (UTC)(link)
At first, there wasn't really a reaction when Aaron teleported away. It took a moment of the gear whirring away in his head for him to finally realize what had happened to him. He had found a teleporter. A teleporter with his face. And it was the one everyone knew and Jace ran a hand through his hair as it all went together in his mind.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered as he looked around. "I found a rogue dealer."


Of course, luck was either good or bad because even after that, Jace was going to run into Aaron again, though not on purpose. He was in a liquor store this time, wanting to get something to enjoy for the evening. His regeneration was a pain in the ass and ruined the buzz alcohol gave outside of large quantities, so he had to stock up. Ditching his babysitters once again, Jace had decided to have his illusions off and go with his natural forever young face, hiding in the shadows of the store and avoiding being noticed by anyone. Grabbing a couple bottles of the strongest stuff he could find, he heads to the counter, hat obscuring his face and he startles when he sees a very familiar face at the counter buying something.

"You've got to be kidding me."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-12 04:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"Out of all the liquor stores in the country, you have to walk into this one," Jace replied slightly dramatically as his tipped his hat back and let the shadows recede. He was no longer trying to hide, so it didn't make sense to keep it up when he didn't need it. Placing his assortment of liquor on the counter, he pulled out his wallet to hand him a credit card and the ID that matched his current face. "You still owe me dinner, by the way."

The guy behind the counter looked at the ID and then to Jace and frowned. "You bullshitting me? There's no way you were born in '74. You trying to give me a fake ID?"

With a sigh, Jace pulled out his badge and slammed it against the counter, looking at the guy with no small amount of annoyance. "Here's some other ID for you, meathead. It's called cellular regeneration and it means I make a very young forty year old dealer, so if you think a government agent's gonna be scamming you, then why don't you take it up with my superiors?"
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-12 04:55 pm (UTC)(link)
The guy behind the counter didn't argue with the badge and rang up Jace's purchases without much fuss, giving the ID and credit card back when he was done with them. Jace put them and the badge away and waited for his booze to be bagged up. Once that was done, he grabbed them and finally turned back to Aaron and shrugged.

"We leave the facility at twenty, stay in one area for a couple of years to get experience, and then we're allowed to be mobile afterwards," he said easily. "Guys like him never see a dealer unless they're over twenty-one, so it's usually safe to figure that if we flash a badge, we're legal."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-12 05:12 pm (UTC)(link)
"It's not too long, when you think about it. Twelve years or so in the facility compared to the rest of your life? Not too bad of a trade off, if you ask me." Jace had his own reasons for not actively pursuing Aaron, most of which involved him not giving a shit about hunting down and catching rogues. That wasn't his job and he wasn't going to get involved with it if he didn't have to. Besides, he had better things to do with his time.

"Not tonight, sadly. I've got a date with these lovely bottles of booze tonight and I plan to get shitfaced," Jace responded with a grin. "Let's say you owe my dinner in the future because knowing my luck, I'll run into you again."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-13 03:55 am (UTC)(link)
Twelve years was a lot to a ten year old, but not so much to the man now in his mid-fifties. Besides, the leash Jace was trapped on now was far better than the cage he was forced to live in during his childhood. He wouldn't share the truth about the facility because Aaron hadn't called him out on it, which meant that he hadn't been there because after all, nobody's escaped from the facility and Jace knows that far better than anyone. "My bodyguards? Oh, they keep their distance most of the time and they have a tracking device in me if they get too worried."

Hey, he already had plans for the evening and he wasn't going to back out just to deal with a rogue dealer, even if it meant dinner. "Next time, dinner. Then we're even until the next time you decided to bet against me."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-13 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
"They think I'm going to run off. This way, if I do, they'll find me," he said with a shrug. Everyone thought that Jace's cellular regeneration was far weaker than it was, so they had no idea that he could just remove it without any lasting damage, but he was going to stay on his leash until he had everything ready to escape and live his life the way he wanted to until he died, whenever that was going to be.

Jace let out a sharp laugh of amusement, looking over at Aaron to see if he was being serious. "Not if you keep betting on games you won't."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-14 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
"No, just the ones who kept trying to break out of the training facility." He sounded proud of that fact, far more than anyone would ever expect him to be, but Jace does hold the record of getting the furthest in escaping than anybody else could claim and he was going to flaunt that when he could.

There was a shrug from Jace in response. Games were Jace's area of expertise, even without cheating with his magic. "Guess you'll just have to figure that one out on your own."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-14 05:59 am (UTC)(link)
"Actually, only a couple. I learned pretty quick that it was easier to bide my time until I graduated." Jace was not going to mention that it was better to sit through the training than fail to escape and be punished severely for it. That'd probably only confirm to Aaron that he did the right thing by going rogue.

"That'd be wonderful, actually," he said with some amusement. "Seeing somebody else with my face creeps me out, if I have to be perfectly honest."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-15 08:17 am (UTC)(link)
Unlike last time, when Aaron leaves, Jace continues on his way without issue. He already reported him once before and it didn't really matter if he did it again because hopefully they'd never see each other again. Besides, it was time for him to get drunk and he wasn't going to waste precious time caring about some rogue dealer that wasn't any of his business.

It was another night and another city and Jace was at the club enjoying the lights and sounds and everything. His babysitters left him alone when he was out clubbing, preferring to stay in their hotel room and watch his tracker instead of joining in. Their loss. Jace was currently sitting at the bar dealing with a couple, a man and a woman, that he was trying to convince to come back with him for the night. So far, they seemed willing. It was always a pain in the ass to choose between either gender, so whenever the opportunity arrived for a threesome, Jace took it.
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-15 08:30 am (UTC)(link)
There was a familiar face in the crowd and he knew it as one of the other dealers. Not somebody he was too personally acquainted with, but well enough to recognize her and from the words she was saying, it was definitely someone else. He frowned and looked at her, his companions leaning against him while he did.

"Maybe you should stop stalking me," he pointed out, looking definitely annoyed by her. "At least you're not using my face this time."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-15 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
No matter what, Jace wasn't going to let Erin ruin his fun. He turned his attention back to the couple and murmured a few things to them before the woman moved to kneel under the table and her companion started to kiss Jace's neck. Letting out a sigh, he finally turned back to Erin, looking at her as if she had no right to be there and she technically didn't.

"Why would I want to stalk you? I have better things to do with my life than follow you around," he responded somewhat distractedly. "And you wish, don't you? But no, I think I'll pass."
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-16 03:04 am (UTC)(link)
When Jace wasn't on the clock, he usually was found in a corner of the lobby of whatever hotel he was staying at, playing solitaire as he waiting for people to approach him with the request for a power. Erin's arrival didn't make him look up and instead Jace merely gathered his cards and started to shuffle them as he gestured for her to sit down across from her. Finally, he looked up and studied her, appearing calm and professional as he started to deal out cards between them.

"I am," he said gently, his focus split between both her and the cards. It was comfortable, something Jace had done many times in his life and was going to do more in the future. "What would you like to discuss with me?"
blackjackofall: (pic#)

[personal profile] blackjackofall 2015-01-16 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
"Everyone's looking for something specific," Jace pointed out and once they both had five cards in front of them, he placed the deck in between them and flipped over his five cards. They look like normal playing cards, but with Jace, it was never as simple as it seemed. "You might even be lucky and I could have what you want."

Picking up the King of Spades, he showed it to Erin. "I only deal with people who can pass a test. In this card you'll see something that is unique only to you. Your desires, your fears, possibly the truth about yourself, I don't know. I've never seen what's on it. Only you will know the answer, but whether you pass the test is up to my discretion." Once he was done talking, he activated an illusion on it, showing to her whatever she either wanted or needed to see.