Disclaimer: This drabble contains copious amounts of Duke Devlin. Women with heart conditions are advised not to look directly at Duke Devlin. This also applies to women without heart conditions. He's very pretty. See? See how pretty he is? He's very pretty. I'd like to run my fingers through his hair. And I'm just a disclaimer. Anyway, without further ado, enjoy your angst-filled sentences.

(Any appearing members of the Society belong to their respective owners)

Dream of Mirrors

I...have NO clue why I've never done one of these before...but since nobody ELSE in the Society had done one at the time...I decided, 'Hey, why not?' I will FREELY admit I had WAAAY too much fun writing this.

BTW, if you don't know what the Anti-Cliché and Mary Sue Elimination Society is...shame on you.

Have you ever felt the future is the past, but you don't know how?
A reflected dream of a captured time, is it really now, is it really happening?
I only dream in black and white, I only dream because I'm alive
I only dream in black and white, please save me from myself
-Iron Maiden, Dream of Mirrors

Ben

Tall:Ben had always been proud of his height, it made it easier to literally stare people down in arguments. It didn't help much when it came to Cristoph, though.

Walking:One of the many reasons Ben loved the Library Arcanum was because he could walk and walk and walk and never get anywhere.

Damp:Ben hated the way his curly hair flattened if it became even slightly damp, it made him look ridiculous.

Damage:Ben didn't even know where or how to begin to repair the damage he'd caused...if that was even possible.

Symphony: Ben could feel the maniacal laughter welling up inside of him as Death Metal Bahamut annihilated the world around him. Now this was a Symphony of Destruction.

Why:He hated that word. It forced people to come up with reasons. Ben never needed a reason.

Injury:He didn't enjoy them, but they were a part of life living with Shirley.

Melody:Feeling Bahamut's strings gently vibrating under his nimble fingers made him smile in a way nothing else could.

Wedding: The first thing that popped into Ben's head when he heard Michael and Claire's announcement was in image of Lily in a white dress.

Courage: Ben had always believed that there was a big difference between being a coward and not being stupid. His pursuers rarely shared the same ideology.

Vital:He soon learned there was no such thing, thanks to Shirley.

Lily

Generous:Lily never would've thought of herself as generous with her time. She had plenty of it now that Ben was hoarding his the way he did.

Beautiful:As a Sue, the word 'Beautiful' was bandied about so much that it became so many meaningless syllables in Lily's ears. Only hearing it from Ben's lipsgave it new meaning.

Frustrated:Lily could never bring herself to feel angry with Ben, despair came more naturally to her.

Distorted:The paradise the Library had once seemed had distorted for Lily, the happiness that once existed becoming nothing more than will-o-the-wisps, unable to be grasped, only able to be brushed.

Lie:Ben had never lied to her, but maybe Lily was lying to herself?

Suspicion:She never suspected Ben was capable of being unfaithful to her. Jess, on the other hand...

Imperfect:Another piece of the puzzle that was humanity fell into place for Lily when she realized that being imperfect was just another challenge...and she relished challenges.

Trendy:Being created in one of the most fashion-obsessed video game fandoms ever had imbued Lily with an innate sense of style. Unfourtnately, it was totally lost on her boyfriend who virtually never wore anything other than white T-shirts, much to her annoyance.

Why:She would've given anything and everything just to know the answer to that one question.

Sympathy:Sympathy was the last thing Lily wanted. All she really wanted was for Ben to look at her again.

Virus:Lily felt cold fear flood her system when she learned she might have the flu.

Social:As much as she hated to admit it, she had made new friends and gotten to know old ones better now that Ben never seemed to have any time for her.

Avak

Sneeze:Valerie couldn't keep herself from laughing when Avak came running to her, scared out of his mind after the first time he sneezed.

Gentle:Avak was extra gentle after he crushed the first egg on accident, he didn't want to give Rhia any reason to regret letting him help.

Party:Avak whimpered and clutched his head, curled up in the fetal position, decideding at that moment he never wanted to go to a 'party' ever again.

Tough:Valerie had a hard enough time getting Avak to calm down enough to let her stick him with a needle, only to have to deal with his unusually tough skin.

Used:Avak never seemed to grasp the fact that he was being used, and even if he had, would he even care?

Normality:Considering how Avak had never known anything but the Society, Valerie couldn't help but wonder how he'd react to normality.

Stare:Avak's stare would've unnerved most people, but Lily quickly grew accustomed to it. It was harmless, after all...

Silence:The Agents on Guard duty never could figure out why the Sues were so subdued when Avak was on duty with them.

Textbook:Avak had to lie down to process all the new information he'd learned after he discovered his first encyclopedia.

Presence:Avak was so quiet Ben often wondered if he hadn't given him the wrong body type when creating him.

Fear:Avak was unsure why Jess scared him so much...and he wasn't sure he wanted to find out, either.

Shirley

Annoyed:For Shirley, annoyed was relatively calm, it was only when she was awake that the level escalated.

Toasted:To Shirley, toasted Aorta was nothing short of blissful, especially if she could get at it while her victim was still conscious.

Shame:It seemed that Ben had no shame. Terror, Shirley decided, was the next best thing.

Soul:Since Shirley was a part of Ben, it often made people wonder if he was hiding something from them.

Documentation:She took one look at the paperwork and decided she'd finally discovered the perfect midnight snack. It wasn't like anyone was going to complain, after all.

Mangle:Maiming, destruction, evisceration, mutilating, she mastered them all the way an artisan mastered his tools.

Pursuit:She didn't enjoy chasing her prey, but it was a part of life living with Ben.

Feminist:To call Shirley a feminist would be like calling a rabbit vegetarian.

Wood:Half the Rookies fainted when they saw what she did to the loudmouth who apparently thought innuendo was the height of comedy genius.

Physiology:Even Adrian was at a loss about how Shirley got around.

Torn:By the time Shirley made up her mind about whether or not to tear into Avak for referring to Abraxis as his 'axe', he'd already fled.