D and D

Dawnie leaned against the door jamb and stuffed another bite of strawberry crème IWA bar into her mouth. The flavor was on point for a change. It made her wonder if the scientists who came up with it liked strawberries.

She followed her brother with her eyes as he swept around the room, scooping up random items and putting them back. Practically the only place that wasn't under surveillance in this place was the storerooms. Go figure. Dawnie was sure that if it was Court or even Cisco, there'd be micro cameras hiding somewhere in here.

"How do these people survive? There's, like, no chocolate to be had here. If Mom went without chocolate for just one day," Don complained as he stopped next to her. He fished out an IWA bar from his pocket. From the color of the wrapper, it looked to be banana coconut. "I didn't even find cookies. What kind of commissary lacks cookies?"

"The kind that bakes their own?" Dawnie said, pushing herself upright. "If there's nothing to poison, then this is a bust."

"It's not really a bust. We found out that we," and Don gestured between himself and Dawnie with his half-eaten bar, "can easily get in here by ourselves. Carrying someone else is another matter altogether though."

Dawnie nodded. Their speed slowed down when they had passengers. It wasn't enough to bother them, but then they showed up on cameras more easily. For her it was an extra ten pounds but Don could carry twenty. As long as it was under that amount, they were good. It was a shame that Ella's records listed her weight at sixty-five. Dawnie wasn't sure if they'd be able to even phase her through a wall.

"Dawnie, it's going to be okay. Once we take care of this Ella mess, we'll work on us." Don grinned at her before polishing off the last bite of his bar. "I highly doubt that there's no solution out there waiting to be discovered."

"Optimistic," Dawnie muttered before swatting him on the shoulder.

A few seconds later, they were both gone from the storeroom.

*****

"So, how was it?" Lucy asked as they entered their little hideout.

Lucy tried to hide it, but she was worried about Ella and more than that. Even Dawnie could see between the lines. If they were interested in Ella, then what about the more high-profile of them? San had virtually disappeared into the underbelly of society at first chance, and Lucy's parents went on crime sprees like clockwork.

Even her mother would admit that if the government came after them, she would have to strategize.

And that was just them. There had been over a hundred children of various ages rescued from the creches. Dawnie didn't know where half of the older ones had gone to which made her skin crawl. The older ones had less restraint and no scruples.

"So, so," Dawnie replied. She resisted the urge to whip out an IWA bar. She'd noticed the increasing worry in San's and Lucy's eyes when she did. "We had no trouble with getting in, but maybe they never thought that we'd try?"

"You weren't even a blur on the camera," Court assured them from his position in front of his rig. "At least we know partially why they amped you two up so much."

Dawnie strolled over to the rig and watched a slow-motion replay of her and Don's visit to the base. There was just the smallest hint of movement, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it glimpse on one frame. She frowned at it and turned to look at Don. Don shrugged with a shake of his head.

She zipped over to him. The world suddenly seemed slow and peaceful, just how she liked it.

"We don't show at all on the surveillance. Is that normal?" She asked him, watching Lucy and Court out of the corners of her eyes. The two hadn't even registered her movement.

"This is so far out of my wheelhouse, Dawnie. I just know what they're calling this, not the causes or effects." Don pulled out a regular chocolate bar and scarfed it down, sticking the wrapper back in his pocket. "We're going way too fast if that's all the sign that we were there is. I'm going to have to take a peek at the research at Star Labs, and see what they have come up with."

"As long as you're not gone too long. I'll say that you went on a junk food run. Bring back some IWAs," Dawnie instructed. She nibbled on her lower lip. "I'm starting to really worry this time. The last time we were like this, they put us on Quell."

"Which didn't work for long," Don sighed.

"Or maybe it did because it's only now that it's becoming a problem again. Go. I'll cover." Dawnie gave him a light shove.

Don grinned at her and left. She watched him for a microsecond before returning to her previous position next to Court.

"So, that's the only sign that we were there?" Dawnie asked, peering closely at the monitor in question.

"Yes," Court slowly said. He frowned and looked around. "Didn't Don come in with you?"

"He had to go do something. He'll be back in a few minutes. Probably with more snacks," Dawnie replied, injecting a lot of false cheer into her voice.

As usual, it worked. It also helped that Dawnie was occasionally air-headed. Weird proclamations would routinely pop out without filter, making her despair just a little at times.

"Maybe he'll bring back some chocolate," Lucy said, turning her head to look at Dawnie.

Dawnie knew that look. Lucy hadn't been fooled. She knew something had happened; she just couldn't figure out what. Still, if she and Don were fast enough to elude digital surveillance, then being fast enough to have a quick conversation shouldn't be an issue.

"I'm sure he'll bring back some chocolate. Chocolate is, after all, what makes the world go round and is the fifth food group, right after gummi bears," Dawnie rattled off with a smile. She fought hard to not let it sound practiced. She'd found that people tended to believe first impressions, and she was always careful to make a bubble-headed first impression.

"I'm not stupid, Dawnie. Just don't try to keep going it alone, okay?" Lucy asked as she stood up and snagged her jacket. "Off to get drinks to go with these mythical snacks."

Dawnie watched her go with conflicted feelings.

"She's not wrong, Dawnie. We'll fix whatever's wrong with you after we deal with the Ella situation," Court muttered as he closed down the surveillance footage. "It'd just be so sad if we couldn't see that whole San-and-Dawnie dance to the end."

"What San-and-Dawnie dance?" Dawnie's eyes rounded in surprise. "There is no such dance that I'm aware of! And don't you dare say that in front of Don!"

"I'm sure Don's interested in seeing the end, too," Court laughed. He smiled up at Dawnie, irritating her just a little more. "It's interesting."

"You! Oh! No! I!" Dawnie finally shut her mouth and stalked to the now-vacant sofa. She plopped down, inhaling the soothing scent of Lucy's perfume. "I'm going to tell Lucy on you!"

She was irritated all over again when Court laughed.