Disclaimer: I do not own the Justice League/ JLU

Pyschotic

Deception

Jay sidled up to Flash as he piled his plate high with pasta at the canteen buffet. She held her tray in front of her, having thrown on a boxed drink and some salad leaves to make it look like she was actually there to eat. This was the easy part, the hard bit was figuring out a way to start a conversation with Flash. It didn't help that up until now she'd shown nothing but hostility to the guy, so how was she supposed to make it seem like she was just starting up a casual conversation? He'd have to be an idiot to not figure out she was up to something.

Oh I have an idea! Let me take over for a bit…

Jay gave a mental shrug and surrendered control of the body. This was one thing she would rather not have to do anyway.

Jay shook her head and stretched her shoulders back as she took control, getting accustomed to having the body. She really ought to do this more often; she got so out of practice between times. Having the body was never that big a deal for her, not being a control freak like her sensible self, but still she ought to be a bit more comfortable in it. She was just so used to being able to think her own thing and not have to worry about mundane things, like walking.

Speaking of which, Flash just headed for a table.

Whipping her head around Jay took note of which direction Flash was heading, while blindly reaching out and scooping the first thing she saw onto her plate. Quickly picking her tray back up she hurried after Flash. To her relief he was having a loner day and had settled himself down on an empty table. She picked up the pace before someone else joined him and ruined her carefully made plan.

Carefully made? You thought it up three seconds ago!

I believe it has been slightly longer than three seconds.

Psychotic, while you may be technically right, the concept I was going for was that this is not a well-thought out plan.

Mentally executing a snobbish head toss worthy of a princess, Jay refrained from explaining herself to the voices in her head. Focusing on Flash's table, she took a deep breath as she approached, plucked up her courage, pasted a smile on her face and then walked right up to the table and pulled out the chair right next to Flash.

"You don't mind if I sit here, do you?" Jay asked in her most cheerfully friendly voice.

The look Flash gave her was comical. Caught with a forkful of pasta halfway to his mouth he stared up at her in disbelief, his jaw hanging open. A piece of pasta fell off the fork and landed with a splat back on his plate. Jay just stayed where she was, her expectant smile fixed firmly in place.

"Uh… sure." Flash finally collected himself and shuffled his tray a little to make room for her.

Jay grinned her thanks, put her tray on the table and settled into the chair. "I know this must be pretty weird, but I thought I'd come over and say hi while the other Jay is AWOL for a while."

This statement didn't appear to put Flash at his ease, instead causing a confused frown to appear on his brow. Nevertheless Jay powered on.

"I just wanted to let you know that all of us in here don't have it in for you!" Jay paused to let him absorb that. "It's just, you know, my sensible self – she's a bit screwed up in the head, if you know what I mean."

From the look on Flash's face, he was thinking that her sensible self wasn't the only one who was a little screwed up, but he was too polite to say anything.

Polite? Flash? He's probably just trying desperately to catch up with the conversation.

"So, uh, just to prove there's no hard feelings on my part… I really hope you're not going to hold a little misplaced anger against all of us?" Jay did her best to look lovable.

You sicken me.

"And it isn't really Psychotic's fault that she kind of went all, like, psycho. It's all just the magic- it's a little messed up. Ok, it's a lot messed up, but you know Psych's coming along really well. She's almost normal these days. Although she doesn't have a sense of humour that's worth squat- I mean seriously. She can't take a joke at all."

My sense of humour may not be up to your exacting standards but, unless I'm mistaken, it is impossible to find out information if you are doing all the talking.

Psychotic has a point you know. Stop babbling and ask some probing questions or something!

"And Psychotic's no good at building rapport with people. No social skills at all, but you can't really blame her, she's been buried away for so long. Now the other me, she has no excuse! You'd think she'd have learnt by now how a conversation is supposed to go!"

It's supposed to go "I said then he said" not "I did all the talking and didn't let anyone else get a word in edgewise"! Would you please stop not-so-subtly telling us off and find out what the hell the Flash was doing at our old house last night?

Jay smiled beatifically at Flash and recapped what she'd just said. It would probably help if she'd link all of that to something that made a little bit of sense. Flash was looking rather bowled over at the moment.

"What I'm trying to say," – a look of relief suffused Flash's features at the prospect of getting some sort of translation – "is that I'd like to be friends. And you shouldn't pay too much attention to the other me, because she's got unresolved issues." Jay smiled expectantly at Flash.

Flash shifted in his seat and set his fork down, having not moved it from the moment Jay had started talking. It gave him a second to figure out what had just happened. As he understood it, Jay wanted to be friends. In fact, that's about all he'd understood. Well, who was he to complain if a pretty girl wanted to be friends? As the thought went through his mind, he turned his most charming grin on Jay.

"Hey, I'm always happy to make a new friend!" Flash offered his right hand for a handshake to signal his sincerity. Jay happily shook his hand, unable to suppress a little laugh of relief. It would have been mortifying if her plan hadn't worked.

Having shaken hands, they both turned back to their plates and ate a few bites.

Well genius, now what?

I'm working on it.

Jay cleared her throat. Flash looked up expectantly. Jay smiled her friendly smile at him. Flash smiled back. Jay tried desperately to think of something to say, but came up blank. Flash tried desperately to think of something to say, but came up blank. Slightly embarrassed they both turned back to their plates of food and continued eating.

Oh yeah, this conversation is just flowing. Like a river, seriously, it's beautiful to watch.

You know, all this sarcasm is really not helping. And I'd like to see you get even this far.

I do not feel arguing will help at this stage. Perhaps suggestions for conversational topics? I understand the weather is considered a universally accepted subject?

"So, the weather's been pretty… um…" Jay trailed off, realizing that actually she hadn't been planetside in about a month, and that really there wasn't any weather to speak of up on the Watchtower. "It's been interesting to watch." She finished lamely.

Nice save. Not.

"Well, it hasn't been so great down in Central City." Flash answered, clearly relieved to have any excuse to break the awkward silence. "It's been really miserable and cloudy. It'd be nice to just have some rain and get it over with!"

Jay nodded agreement. Unfortunately she couldn't think what to respond to that so she just smiled and went back to her plate. Silence fell like a ton of bricks.

'Silence fell like a ton of bricks'? I do not believe I have heard that phrase before.

The way this silence is falling, Psychotic, I'd say the simile is apt. 

Jay cringed at the commentary in her head. They didn't have to be so damn unhelpful!

Aha! I got it! I know how to save this! Let me take over!

Jay gladly gave up control to her sensible self, relieved to be out of that conversation. So maybe her plan hadn't gone as well as she'd hoped… she'd gotten them this far! Really, how much more did they want from her?

Jay stiffened slightly as she took control, moving every so subtly away from Flash while at the same time hoping he didn't notice her slight change in attitude. She didn't think she could achieve quite the bubbly cheerfulness of her other self, but for the sake of keeping him from being suspicious, she'd have to try…

"It wasn't that cloudy last night though, was it?" She asked in a high pitched sing-song voice.

I do NOT sound like that!

Evidently Flash agreed because he gave Jay the most you-are-crazy look she'd ever received in her life. And considering this was her, that was saying a lot. She could feel the blush tinting her cheeks, and sent up a prayer of thanks for having skin dark enough to hide it. Luckily Flash seemed happy to go with the conversation.

"Yeah, we had an hour or two of clear skies in certain parts of the city last night." He answered, obviously a little curious as to how she would know such a thing.

I'm thinking that maybe telling him we were watching via satellite isn't a good way forward.

"It was rather dull on night watch last night. I was looking up weather patterns for a while." Jay offered the explanation hoping it didn't make her sound too weird.

We passed weird about ten minutes ago, and we're still accelerating. I'd give up on seeming normal if I were you.

Flash relaxed with this explanation. Possibly because Jay had given up trying to sound all chirpy and just reverted to her normal voice hoping he didn't know her well enough to tell the difference between her other self and her.

"It made a nice change." Flash went back to eating as he talked, his voice settling in to the easy tone of a man used to being liked. A shot of jealousy went through Jay, but she squelched it before it could mess things up. "It's the only time I went out. Kind of a bonus when you're the fastest man alive- you can get out and be back before the rain starts up again!" He said this with a mischievous grin which sent a little flutter through Jay. The corners of her lips quirked into a quiet smile which she couldn't help.

You might want to smile a bit more actually. It's going to be really obvious you're not me if you don't!

Jay clenched her teeth at the reminder. She'd forgotten that she was supposed to be her other self. Widening her smile, she asked her next question. "You're so lucky having a city to go back to, even if the 

weather does suck. I mean I was stuck up here watching the weather! It would have been nice to have any kind of errand to run!"

"Oh I wasn't running errands!" Flash laughed across at Jay, who's only thought was 'snap'.

"Oh?" Jay raised her eyebrows in what she hoped was a manner that depicted that she was interested in what he was doing for purely innocent reasons. "Did you have some trouble down in Central City last night?" All innocent, as if she didn't already know the answer.

"Well, I wouldn't say trouble. Actually, I'd been meaning to ask you about something."

Ok, I bow down to your superior interrogation skills.

"Sure." Jay smiled invitingly at Flash. "Anything you want to know. We are friends after all!" And if her teeth gritted a little over the word 'friends', well, he'd never know.

Flash revived that charming grin. Jay gritted her teeth a little harder. She was not going to fall for that smile…

Eh? What? Hold up. Fall for that smile?

Can we concentrate on the matter at hand, please?

"Yeah, I was in your old neighbourhood last night. Actually not so much in your neighbourhood as actually in your old house…" Flash paused to see how she'd take this information. Jay just cocked her head. "There was someone there and he didn't exactly fit in. I mean, I could be wrong, but I'm assuming you didn't regularly have hired guns running around the place when you lived there?"

"Hired guns?" Jay tried to look appropriately alarmed. "Where was old Maggie Lawrence?"

"That's the thing. She wasn't there, but this guy had obviously been rooting around in her stuff. I took him down to the police station, but he didn't have anything on him and we couldn't get any information out of him. Do you know if there was something in that house that someone would be after?"

Jay shrugged. "It was just a rundown old house when I was living there. I guess I could tell you if anything was missing, but I'd have to see the place to know for sure…" Jay left that incredibly leading statement unfinished.

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Top points for Flash, he sure knew how to take a hint. "How about I meet you at the teleport deck in an hour and we'll go down and check it out?"

Jay nodded agreement. "That's fine. I'll see you in the control room in an hour!" Jay collected her cutlery and stood up, since she'd just about finished her food anyway, and this seemed as good a time as any to make a graceful exit.

No social skills, huh? She thought as she headed out of the canteen. I'd like to have seen you do better! 

Nothing but disgruntled silence filled her mind. Jay smiled the smile of the recently triumphant and headed to her room to change.