The truth outs

Iris looked up at the Queen Consolidated building, arms firmly crossed. The name of the building had changed, unsurprisingly - it hadn't been Queen Consolidated for a long time. Still, Eva used the older name so easily that Iris found herself thinking of it as such.

"What kinds of things are we looking for?" Iris said. "What does it look like?"

"Anything that mentions dimensions, or quantum states," Eva said.

Eva was a few steps ahead, still vibrating with eagerness; Iris liked seeing that happiness on her. If they found the right equipment to actually escape this place...

There were some things to puzzle out, certainly, but she was looking on the bright side just then. If nothing else, she was glad Eva had gone from gloomily convinced that nothing here would work, to actually seeming to anticipate success. Still, even being inside with the relative warmth of the office building as opposed to the outside air, it was hard for Iris to not feel a bit on edge.

She followed Ava's lead, up to the more secure labs in the building. They had to take the staircase rather than the elevator, but otherwise security was minimal given that even if any alarms triggered, there were no guards to come complaing.

Though Iris still eyed the occasional security camera nervously. She had one arm crossed over her breasts, and fidgeted a little, adjusting it at each camera they passed.

"Those aren't, like, actually recording are they?" Iris said.

"I don't know," Eva said. She shrugged.

"You don't know? I was expecting a no," Iris said.

It was less than easy to shuffle forwards with a hand over her core, though she tried it for a few seconds, nerves playing up again.

"Iris," Eva said. "The only people who're ever going to be able to watch the tapes are you and me. You've seen you, and I've seen you."

"Still," Iris said. "Little weird knowing that recordings are just out there, if anyone else ends up in this dimension."

Eva flinched. Okay, blithely mentioning the possibility of others being exiled here wasn't the most tactful thing to do to the person who'd lost five years of her life to it.

"Sorry," Iris said. "Hey, we could be getting out soon, right? Sure we can do something to make sure no one else is stuck here. At the very least we could keep an eye on this place."

She moved closer, resting a hand on Eva's lower back, trying to be comforting; she was fairly resigned to the fact that hiding her core was never practical, never feeling natural. At least crossing an arm felt like something she could casually do.

Surprisingly, Eva was shaking. Iris frowned.

"Eva? Are you okay?" Iris said. "I didn't mean..."

"It's okay," Eva said quickly. She hesitated. "Won't just be me that gets out of here, you know? I don't want you trapped here either. I don't want anyone to be."

"I know," Iris said. "We're getting out together, right?"

Eva paused, almost imperceptibly.

"Right," Eva said. "We should split up. Cover more ground."

"I don't know if I'd recognize what we need," Iris said.

"Make a note of anything that looks relevant, and show me after," Eva said. "I'll just... I'll go this way, you go that way."

"Er, sure," Iris nodded.

Eva wanted some time alone, maybe? Iris wasn't sure - still, Eva had more than earned her share of eccentricities. If she needed space sometimes, so be it. Nodding, Iris went where Eva had gestured.

The labs were lain out annoyingly. Rather than separate areas displaying any potentially useful tech, there were drawers full of unclear stuff, assorted junk. Honestly, Iris wouldn't have guessed that a firm like this one would have been developing any equipment capable of affecting other dimensions, that avenue didn't seem commercial enough, but if Eva thought it might...

Iris shrugged off her doubts. Eva knew best.

And even if it was empty hope, it was better than nothing. Iris peered into a drawer, taking stock of the labels. So much of it seemed mundane.

When at last she passed something even vaguely relevant - and admittedly her bar at that point was low enough that just the word 'quantum' being included was enough - Iris was half-tempted to run back to Eva and ask. She wasn't nearly as hopeful as she had been coming into this place.

Actually, that was a good point in itself. How would Eva be holding up, if her luck was as bad as Iris's? She'd been so pessimistic before they'd come here, if that attitude resurfaced...

Iris turned around, retracing her steps. She still flushed a bit at being naked in the middle of a research lab, but she tried to be more goal-oriented. Find Eva, make sure she was doing okay, mention what she'd seen.

She made it back, turned, then frowned - the corridor Eva had gone down didn't look like it led to more labs. Iris frowned. Maybe it looped around?

Hesitantly, Iris stepped in.

"You're ready? Okay. One moment."

She heard a muffled voice. Iris frowned, then slowly moved closer - bare feet on the carpeted floor didn't make much sound. Almost unintentionally, she snuck towards the closed door, the other side of which was a voice.

Then she heard the sound of a car honk, of all things, over the top of frantic panting. Iris jumped, freezing in place - there shouldn't be moving cars here. That meant people, which meant... Quickly, Iris clutched at her bare body a little more nervously, paranoid about being seen. She tried to cover up everything, even if it made the next few steps feel more awkward.

"Er, Eva?" Iris said.

She nudged the door open, and froze at what she saw.

There was Eva, yes, sat awkwardly, legs apart, almost perched on a chair that she'd brought in. She was leaning forwards, intently watching a bathroom mirror.

And on that mirror, rather than anything being reflected, was a street. A street in the real world, with cars going by, and- and Iris herself, completely naked, even more desperately trying to cover up and squealing as anyone walked by. She sprinted, the mirror's view giving an all too good view of her butt, before Eva waved her hand and the view shifted to show the flustered duplicate's front, as she sought cover behind a car.

For a moment, Iris tried to justify what she saw. Eva could manipulate what she saw through mirrors, and Iris knew her double had been having streaking incidents.

Maybe this was just that? Eva had come in here, realized she could look, and... well she was attracted to Iris, the last few nights had more than proved that, so maybe she'd just watch?

Which didn't explain the voices. And didn't explain the duplicate looking right into the mirror.

"Do I need to keep doing this?" she said.

"Yes. Yes. Keep on. It's important," Eva said, staring so intently she seemed to be oblivious to Iris's arrival.

"Y-yes," Iris's double said.

Responding. Actually responding.

Iris faltered. And then the door closed, bumping into her, cold metal hitting her skin and, on top of her current bafflement, eliciting a squeak. Iris froze: Eva whirled around.

And she seemed as unsure of how to react as Iris. On instinct, she waved her hand; the view of Iris's double didn't fade, though she stopped looking at the mirror, apparently no longer being able to see Eva.

"She's- she listens to you?" Iris said, staring.

It was hard to know where to look. A million, contradictory things were whirling in her mind when it came to Eva, confusion and care and sympathy and shock, and looking at the nude brunette did nothing to resolve any of it. She was wide-eyed, awkwardly sat, rocking slightly and lost for words.

Though the sight behind her drew Iris's gaze just as much - her body, accurate in every detail, exposed completely by someone out in... she didn't even know those streets. She had an arm over her breasts, a hand between her legs, though the view they had right now was from behind her and made it clear just how inadequate that cover was.

She was half-crouching, trying to keep behind a car, clearly flustered - and Iris didn't think it was faked - but nevertheless journeying on. She ducked and darted over to the next car, then yelped as someone walked past her on the same side of the street and ran sideways onto a footpath.

The view played on, Iris's naked double running outside, sometimes trying to hide behind cars, or trees, quivering and flustered and yet making no effort to find clothing.

It was hard enough to look away, and harder still to find the words to speak.

"Eva?" Iris said, eventually.

Her eyes were still glued to the display in the mirror, cheeks burning. It was still her body, every inch of it, paraded around for all Central City to see. And not the empty city in this dimension, but the real one, surrounded by strangers and people she knew.

"I... I was going to tell you. When it was all done,," Eva said.

She faltered. Iris bit her lip as her double started running down an open stretch of sidewalk, without even the pretense of cover to shelter behind.

"You control her?" Iris said.

"She listens to me," Eva said. "I... needed agents in the real world, to be sure I could escape."

"Agents? She's naked!"

"I- I thought it... efficient," Eva said. She blushed a little. "A distraction. I... don't know why, it just seemed best."

Despite herself, Iris felt a familiar, faint flicker of sympathy. Eva not knowing how to interact with people, let alone deal with feelings involving other people, wasn't a new theme. Isolation would do that. This place would do that.

Though still...

The duplicate yelped as a car honked, still trying to cover up with her hands - that failed as she tripped on a small set of steps, grabbing a building wall to catch her balance. Iris's face was hot just from watching.

"You're escaping?" Iris said. "Why are we here? I thought..."

"It stopped you getting in the way," Eva said. She hesitated again. "Sorry, I... it felt best. Still. And it's not just me, you're free too, I promise. I just..."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Iris said. "If you'd have just said. Eva, you've been alone here for so long, I'd want to help you. Of course I would."

"It isn't that easy!" Eva said, a note of desperation in her voice. "I had to be certain. Nothing getting in the way, nothing stopping any step, nothing making me hesitate. It's been so long. I needed... I need certainty."

It was rare for such emotion to slip into Eva's tone, rare for her voice to become any more than soft; even after this, Iris couldn't help but feel bad for her. Who knew what kind of a toll this place would take on her after a few years?

Iris took a slow step forwards. She reached out, placatingly, to Eva, neglecting to cover herself for a moment. Some things felt more important.

"Eva," Iris said, quietly.

"I'll be back for you," Eva said, quietly. "I promise."

Iris froze.

"What?" Iris said.

The duplicate in the mirror ran headfirst into a stranger, expression looking mortified as she darted past them. Iris did her utmost to focus on Eva, for all kinds of reasons.

"Back for me?" Iris said.

"I can't take you. Not yet, not while there's still work to do," Eva said. "But you've been... These have been the best days that I've been trapped in here, and maybe even before all that. I'll be as quick as I can."

Eyes wide, Iris took a step closer; Eva waved her hand, and in an instant the reflection changed. Gone was the nude Iris double, who'd just made it to a corner shop. Instead, there was a more ordinary room, and someone that looked like Singh, though Iris suspected they were a duplicate too.

The reflection looked... different, somehow. And when Eva jumped at the mirror, it wasn't as smooth a transition as it had been to enter the realm. She fell through, as though through treacle, bare legs kicking against the air for a few seconds. She didn't burn when she reached the real world though; she was _solid, _really present in a way she couldn't have been without whatever she'd had her duplicates doing.

Eva quickly stood, lifting a hand so that the mirror Iris ran into was just that: just a mirror, and no kind of portal.

Still, Eva looked back at her, all her powers intact. Her expression, for a moment genuinely wondering and glad, fell when she saw Iris.

Iris, meanwhile, renewed crossing her arms, Singh's eyes on her giving her a whole new feeling of embarrassment. No one else had seen her like this, and she'd been flustered enough.

"It's good to be free," Eva murmured. She looked back at Iris. "Please, just give me a few days."

"Eva?" Iris said.

Eva waved her hand, and soon Iris could just see her own reflection - she adjusted her arm, a dark brown nipple peering into view over her elbow, face burning.

Iris swallowed. Alone in the mirrorverse.

What had just happened?