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Who: Charlie Bradbury and all you crazy kids out there!
Where: Mostly the library, but she can be found in the kitchen stocking up on snacks, too.
When: 9/17 and on
Rating: pg?
Summary: Charlie is trying to brain up riddle things and keep herself busy and useful. The mirrors are coming and shenaningans are afoot! This is a catch all for the event, so any mirrors come her way!
The Story:

One Charlie Bradbury has practically moved into a corner of the library.

Her presence is obvious, even when she isn't curled up in one of those super comfy chairs with a book in her lap. There's not a whole lot in these books that can help her with the riddle set before them, but at least it's something. Keeping her brain busy usually helps in the sudden epiphany department, and that's exactly what she's hoping for.

There are breaks, naturally. Food runs to the kitchen, since pulling food out of a closet still seems real strange when she thinks about it. Plus, she doesn't really trust the closets - she's pretty sure they're mad at her.

Which is silly, but whatever. Being paranoid keeps her safe.

Ish.

Point is, Charlie has now moved into the library and she's working hard. There are at least three notebooks full of scribbles, ideas she's struck with that she needs to get down to run across someone else. Riddles could be fun, but in this case it was a little more dire. She's not sure if that's a good motivator, or if it has her so nervous she's just screwing up all over the place.

It's possible anyone who walks through those library doors are going to be accosted by one energetic redhead who is on a mission.

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Had it not been for the string of messages that showed up in the resistance notebook, Castiel may not have even realized that Mirrors had infiltrated their ranks. Once he's aware of it, he has an easier time telling Real apart from Mirror. It takes slightly more concentration on his part -- Mirrors don't stand out the way that a monster in human form would -- but now he has every plan to be vigilant.

At least his own Mirror shouldn't be causing much trouble for those who've been sent to the other side. It's possible that a blank slate could be tainted or darkened, true, but Castiel shared a headspace with his Mirror and never got the impression that would happen.

With the sword on the line, it's absolutely vital that they solve this riddle, but no one has managed it so far. The Duchess proves to be just as infuriating as always, it seems. This is far from Castiel's area of expertise, and he's already grown frustrated.

The library isn't likely to offer any help, yet it will provide a somewhat quiet space for him to think. Which is how Castiel ends up wandering into the massive room, though he has no idea where to start with his riddle-solving process.

James' Mirror remembers the previous riddle. More specifically, he remembers the consequences of guessing the riddle incorrectly - horrible beasts were unleashed. It isn't so much that he cares about unleashing them, really. He can handle himself just fine and have whatever it is on the ground in a curse or two. However, it's different this time because the answer to the riddle is a location and not a word. He refuses to walk blindly into a trap.

He's certain his Mirror peers will be more prone to charging in recklessly, so he takes the opposite approach, and silently slips into the library. He walks slowly among the stacks, reading titles carefully. Eventually, he takes an old battered copy of Goethe's Theory of Colours and another on secret codes.

Even at a glance, it's easy to tell this James is different. He does not even try to pretend that he is anything like the "Real" James - he simply does not have the emotional range to do so. While the Real James would be rushing and frantic to find the Vorpal Sword, he is eerily calm and composed. There is no urgency, no fear of consequence, nothing at all in his face.

He does not seek out anyone and he has a very deliberate way of moving through the room, as though he would prefer to be invisible. Once he has his books, he seats himself at a table to comb through them. Interestingly, he picks the same table (and even the same chair) that the Real James usually takes in the library.

Something that Raven has come to realize in the past few years is that the longer she maintains an illusion (in this case, the pretty blonde body that everyone's seeing her in so far), the hungrier she gets. She's ecstatic, then, to find out that the dining room here will give her whatever it is she wants -- she's chowing down in the kitchen on a large plate of what looks like chili-cheese fries when Charlie walks in. It felt weird to be sitting in the dining room all alone.

Rather than looking embarrassed, she just lets her eyes fix on the woman who's walked in and tries for a genuine half-smile. It works, mostly because Charlie's sort of cute. Whatever, she'll take it.

Raven lifts a hand up in a silent wave, continuing to chew her mouthful of food. No need to be rude, right?

Half of Natasha's own teammates have moved into the library to work on this riddle, so Natasha's been swinging by occasionally to check up on them. Especially since she's trying to figure out who's the real version and the mirror version for half of them. Some are more obvious than others but that doesn't mean she's not still keeping an eye on her friends. Just in case. This entire thing has her a little on edge, understandably.

Still, it doesn't keep her from swinging by around lunchtime with a large platter of sandwiches for the bunch that's exiled themselves in here to research. She knows how her teammates work. They start going all genius and forget they still have human requirements like food and sleep.

"Anyone hungry?"

Charlie makes it a point to peek at whoever walks through those doors. She hasn't quite mastered the art of figuring out who is a mirror and who isn't, unless they happen to look or carry themselves drastically different.

This is why she approaches cautiously, eyeing Castiel before speaking up from behind a bookcase.

Yes, she's hiding behind a bookcase with just her head sticking out.

"Psst." It's a library, after all - gotta keep quiet. "Are you...you?"

Charlie catches sight of him while she's got her nose buried in a book, dropping it immediately to go catch up with James. Any differences aren't noted at first, instead there's just relief that she can have someone to bounce ideas off of.

"Hey, Mr. All Powerful and Most Awesome Wizard." Her greeting is cheerful until she really takes a look at him, coming to a halt. There's definitely something off, something she can't quite put a finger on but it's just not right. Quick, backpedal Bradbury.

"I was just - gonna grab something to drink! You want?"

Smooth.

Charlie smiles back, making a beeline right to one of the cabinets to grab some snacks. All this riddle solving (or lack thereof) is draining her something fierce, and she needs some refueling.

"Gotta say, those look awesome." She glances over her shoulder, eyeing the chili cheese fries with interest. "Do you think it would be considered good brain food?"

Even if it isn't, she's tempted to make her own plate.

There are times where Charlie forgets that she's actually sharing the library with the Avengers - at least, until one of them talks a little too loudly, or something like that. Then she sits there full of nervous energy because it's the Avengers, but she doesn't want to be that weirdo who stalks the superheroes.

She does make it a point to walk by on occasion, and this is one of those times.

"Can anyone get in on the sandwich action?" She asks, pushing herself up on her tiptoes as she eyes the platter. All this research is making her famished, personally.

"I brought plenty," Natasha answers with a friendly smile as she glances over her shoulder in the direction of the redhead, waving her over. "Come help yourself. I know how these guys get and I figured it wouldn't be a far leap of logic to imagine at least a few of the rest of you would be along the same lines."

"How goes the researching?"

It could be how stiffly he sits, or perhaps how he reads much more attentively. Nothing distracts him, and he doesn't have the wide emotional range that the Real James does. The Real James, when reading, would probably have changed expression a dozen times by now - either from the content itself or the places his thoughts drift to when boredom starts to set in. Everything is cold and automatic with his Mirror, and done because it needs to be done.

"No."

He caught a glimpse of red hair, and thought for a second he might have had the misfortune of meeting Lily (any version of her, really), but when he does finally turn his attention to her he finds he was mistaken. It doesn't make him any happier to see her though, and her playful greeting didn't make any impact whatsoever - not even a twinge of a smile.

There's no recognition on his face though. He's never caught James talking to her, and she isn't from James' world so he doesn't know her by default in any way, but she must know the Real James, given how she greeted him. Knowing he is incapable of replicating the Real James' emotions and excitable mannerisms, he doesn't try.

"...Who are you?"

All right, definitely more friendly than the person that she ran into on the way to the dining hall. That's kind of a relief, even if it puts her half on-edge. What if this girl is a "mirror", whatever that meant? As far as she understood it, she'd have to know the girl's original version to figure that much out.

Ah well. She'll just make sure that she's within flinging distance of the door and play it from there. She finishes with her mouthful of salty goodness and laughs.

"I'm not much good with nutrition -- but cheese and chili both have protein in them, right? That's supposed to be good for the brain, so I say yes." She pauses.

"What's got your brain working so hard, anyway? Whatever's going on here that us new people got thrown into without a paddle? I feel like I'm canoeing in a circle." Did that metaphor even make sense...?

The voice causes his head to snap up, and when Castiel glances over he finds Charlie. He narrows his eyes and doesn't respond for a moment as he takes the necessary time to sense her, but she's just as he remembers: human and real.

With a nod, he moves over to her, not quite understanding why she thinks that shielding herself behind a bookshelf would make any difference if a Mirror wished to harm her. Hopefully Dean and Sam have given her at least some combat skills by now.

"Yes," Castiel says, without much care put into lowering his voice. He knows that won't be good enough, though, so he sighs and rolls his eyes. "How would you like me to prove it to you?"

Charlie is quick to go over and snatch herself a sandwich with a thankful smile. It was hard to keep food in mind when they feel like they're on a huge deadline, with no end date in sight.

"Thanks." She puts off on taking a bite just yet, fiddling with the sandwich as she talks. "It's slow going for me. I'm really good with puzzles and stuff in games, but this is a whole new level of hard."

Talk about Twilight Zone. She knew the mirrors were carbon copies, physically at least, but this guy looks just like James. A ruder version, if anything.

"Uh, Charlie. I'm guessing you hail from the mirrorside, right?" Might as well ask, since playing it smooth didn't work out so great for her a minute ago. She cautiously approaches, making an effort to still keep her distance. Not that it would matter, if this guy can cast magic, too. Running wouldn't do jack.

Charlie's actions can't be rationalized when she's paranoid. She takes a step away from the bookcase, looking him over with suspicious eyes before nodding.

"Okay. What did we talk about when we first met here?" Oh, wait, she's been here several times. "This time around, not the others."

That should be easy enough - she doesn't remember any mirrors around while they had that conversation.

Quinn isn't the puzzle sort - she's not good at figuring them out and they frustrate her. After hearing about what was happening Quinn had tried keeping away from any mirrors, covering up the one in her room from behind. She felt bad not being able to help, at least not with the puzzle, and that was why Quinn was now going to the library, a little notebook in her pocket. If she couldn't help sort out the puzzle maybe she could help the people who were working on it. People still needed to eat, or have a drink, and she could help them by getting them something, to let them keep working. Or to give them a break.

The redhead is one of the first people that Quinn sports, starting by sweeping through the left hand side of the library. It's not really strange that the girl looks pretty comfy with her book - to research this long you'd probably need to be to want to keep on going. She looks busy, and Quinn could always come back later, but maybe she could at least drop something off to help her keep busy.

"Hey. I know you're busy I just wanted to know if you needed anything." Does she even have a bottle of water with her?

"I was hoping you'd say that." Charlie only needed some kind of confirmation, even if it's not the healthiest snack. She's on a time crunch here, health can take a back burner.

"Well, the Duchess made an appearance and gave us this crazy riddle." She begins to rummage around in the fridge and cabinets, pulling out all the necessary ingredients for the world's most awesome plate of chili cheese fries. "Mirrors started popping over here, which only means they're after the sword, too."

Not that any of this will make sense to someone new, and she throws an apologetic smile Raven's way. "It's kinda messy, guess you were lucky to come in right about now, huh?"

"Well, then you have more patience for it than I do," Natasha chuckled, shaking her head. "Some things I'm decent at figuring out but this... just sounds like nonsense. Then again, this is Wonderland. I suppose that's to be expected."

"Lucky, sure. I guess I'm just going to try and keep myself from getting sloppily murdered before I hit the double digits of this place." She takes another few bites of the fries she's eating thoughtfully while she watches Charlie move around, half-smiling.

"So let me guess, you're trying to solve the riddle before the Mirrors and get the sword so you can kill -- something. Wouldn't anyone having the sword be a good thing? Although I'm guessing these Mirrors don't exactly want to play nice."

She stands, shifting to offer Charlie her hand.

"Raven."

He just raises an eyebrow at her. What a stupid question.

"I do, and I'm assuming you don't if you have to ask," he says.

It's just simple logic, though the lack of tone does make it come across as incredibly rude. He doesn't particularly care though. She's just some Real Thing he's never heard of. She doesn't seem like a threat, but if she was he would have pulled out his wand and sent her flying across the room by now.

So no, she isn't dangerous, but she is a nuisance. He had been trying to read in peace, after all.

It's a simple enough test, and while it could be argued that Mirrors have some of their memories from home, it's doubtful that would be the case for anything that happened here in Wonderland.

For that reason, Castiel doesn't hesitate to answer. "We discussed how you knew me -- due of the book series written by Carver Edlund -- who is actually Chuck Shurley."

That's hardly private information anymore, so he doesn't hesitate to mention it. "You explained that extra, unpublished chapters had been placed on the internet."

Charlie looks up, blinking in an effort to get her eyes to focus. In truth, she'd been staring at the same line of words for god knows how long. It was all starting to blur together.

"A break is what I needed, for real." She smiles, setting the book down in her lap. "Hard to keep that kind of thing in mind when I'm going crazy picking apart this riddle. Unreal, right?"

"I dunno if it's patience, or if I'm that stubborn. Probably 50/50." Charlie shrugs a bit, smiling. It's a headache trying to figure the thing out, but at least it's something to do that feels like they're getting somewhere. She is not down with the Duchess keeping the sword, that's for sure.

"I just can't get it to make sense. I'm sure there's plenty of super smart peeps working on it that are further than I am. But hey, the more eyes on the thing the quicker it should be solved, right?" She takes a bite then, chewing thoughtfully as she glances over the others in the library. Nobody's had a miraculous Eureka! moment yet, but she's expecting it. Too many smartys in one place.

"The mirrors have a rep, that's true. Not all of them are diabolical evil masterminds, but some are pushing it. Mostly, they're just crazy loyal to the Queen of Hearts, who I guess is the Big Bad here."

Charlie, for all that she's gotten experience with hunting, is still a bit of a chicken sometimes. When it comes to temperamental monarchs in a crazy land, she's way more of a chicken. She approaches Raven, reaching out to shake her hand with a grin. "Charlie. I've been here about nine-ish months. Don't know an exact number, but time gets away from me here."

That whole no job thing really messes with time management here. "Anyway, we need the sword to kill the Jabberwocky. Did you ever read the books back home? Or, did you even have them? People come from all sorts of places, like other planet sorts of places."

Wow, she is definitely not a fan of mirrorside James. She looks put out for a second, tempted to give him the what for, but keeps herself in check. Not a good idea to antagonize, and Dean had said steering clear was a good idea.

She can't help but be curious enough to stick around to bug him a little more, though. Hopefully he won't kill her or something, since that would suck a million.

"Nope, I'm all real and such." She's tempted to ask about her own mirror, but obviously he hasn't come across her since he'd at least recognize her face. "Gotta ask, what's it like on the other side?"

She half expects him to tell her to bugger off or something along those lines, but hey. At least she's trying, getting her investigation on and everything.

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