synopsychic | (backdated to just before the Jaunt started)

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(backdated to just before the Jaunt started)

[Not long after her and Armin's little experiment, Zatanna's voice rang out over the psychic network. Somehow managing to sound sure yet hesitant at the same time. Confident in the fact that what she had to say was proven true, but wary because...well...]

Okay, I can't really think of an easy way to say this, so I'm just going to come out and say it.

The Trump tatoos? They're emitting off some kind of low-level psychic energy. Like an imprint. We tested two different tattoos, and they're both giving off the same energy. Different signatures--which I guess kind of makes sense, since they came from two different Trumps--but...well...

I don't know exactly what this means yet, but I thought everyone should know.

[There is a lengthy pause, like she wanted to add more to it but couldn't quite find the words. Until, eventually, a little softer:]

Robin?

If you can hear me, I wanted to ask you something too.

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We're not all marked yet.

Give it time.

That was the implication. Eventually, we'll all be in someone's hand.

[...it was, wasn't it?]

[Though she supposed being the one to echo it back, even if was just in her mind, helped to really cement the notion.]

So what do we do about it?

Determine the implications. I don't know much about the magical end of things - can you set some spell to monitor the marks and show you what truly happens when they're triggered?

[If there was any mental equivalent of opening her mouth, only for no sound to come out, that was her initial reaction.]

[Not because she hadn't considered something similar. But because she was hesitant to admit that she wasn't even sure she could. If they were back in her world, maybe. She knew the rules of magic there. But here?]

I...can't guarantee the spell would hold.

Every Jaunt we go to messes with my magic. Same with certain part of Liminal Space. Temporary spells are fine, but long term....

[Not something she was willing to risk other people over.]

Not something that would be reliable, then, or guaranteed not to backfire.

[There's something akin to a psychic sigh.]

It did seem like a long shot - but we need more information before we can decide on a course of action. And letting someone attempt to use their mark to see if it can be employed from our end seemed like a horrible idea.

[No kidding. Armin was still too paranoid to even give the Trumps a heads up that they'd been working together on this, fearful of the consequences.]

[There was no way he would let anyone risk an attempt like the one Sabetha was suggesting.]

That's why I wanted to let everyone else know.

I figured somebody has to have an idea we could use. There's enough of us around, right?

But none with expertise in this sort of magic, I'd wager.

[There's a moment's pause, then:]

Were you nearby for the light display on the beach?

[Have the mental equivalent of a shrug. In some ways, she kind of hoped not; it was more than a little terrifying to think that she would be the closest to an "expert" they had around here. Too much weight of responsibility on her shoulders, not enough confidence to meet expectations.]

What, you mean the bonfires?

Well, that answers that.

One of the Trumps took it upon herself to remove the Yellow Sign from the last manifestation of Liminal Space. I'd though perhaps the energies expended there might have been a useful point of comparison.

It's...possible?

I wouldn't know for certain until I felt it myself. It could be the same signature, but a completely different kind of energy. Do you know which Trump did it? Or even a guess?

If the type of energy differs by purpose, that might still be worth knowing...particularly if psychic and liminal effects are distinct.

It was the High Priestess. What we don't know is why.

[...of course it was.]

The...High Priestess.

That's--She's the one who marked me. Back during the Digital Jaunt. You know, with the lightcycles and the Towers.

...Curious. So more than just the four we saw had their hands in that. No wonder it was so bizarre.

No kidding.

The details are still kind of fuzzy, but they actually fought over which one of them better deserved to mark me at the time.

[...okay, that might have sounded a little arrogant, but it was true.]

Like, some of them...I guess you could say they "own" certain Jaunts, but the others are sneaking in and messing around with them too. Sometimes, the owner is cool with that. Sometimes, they're not.

Little surprise, if they're truly in competition - refusing to interfere would put anyone doing so at a disadvantage.

It also means they're not afraid to blatantly cheat.

For whatever that might mean for us in the future.

This started with our abductions. fairness was never in the cards.

It could have been?

[She new the argument sounded weak, but work with her.]

I mean, not for us, obviously, but among each other. If this is all a game, then there has to be something vaguely resembling rules, right? Or at least guidelines. Otherwise, how will they ever figure out which one of them wins?

Whoever's still standing at the end?

[It's only mostly flippant. What had happened to SAGE might have been an anomaly, but she's not so willing as some to believe so without compelling evidence.]

Even if they do have rules, a set of rules is inherently breakable. The higher the stakes, the more likely it is that someone will break them. Being the one who refuses to do so is a disadvantage.

[...maybe yes, maybe no; have a telepathic shrug in response.]

In other words, anything goes.

So why not use that to our advantage? [Somehow. Once she figured out exactly what that meant for them.]

It could end in disaster. Then again, so could all of this.

Oh, good. Then we're probably screwed no matter what.

Me? I'd really rather go down fighting.

If we just follow the current, certainly.

It's not a bad choice, if you must choose a way to go out.

[Admittedly, it wasn't the first time she'd thought of a similar decision. Or the first time she was potentially willing to sacrifice herself for the sake of those dear to her.]

Wouldn't have it any other way, really.

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(backdated to just before the Jaunt started)

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