Jazz was silent from the moment she climbed up into her bed, and her breaths evened out soon after that. Cassie breathed deeply and kept her eyes shut, waiting an extra minute to be certain that Jazz was asleep. When she was finally sure that it was safe, Cassie opened her eyes and sat up a bit.

Cassie walked herself through the steps Jazz had taken to prank that boy earlier in the day. Step one was picturing her brother. That was easy. Then she imagined snaking a rope around his wrist and tying it tight.

This already made her feel like she was connected to her twin, so she shut her eyes once again. Furrowing her brow, Cassie tried first with-

Joshua, can you hear me? Josh?

Still, Cassie found herself back to a volume no one could possibly hear. Her thoughts were so dim that they would be hard to hear even if someone was trying to find them. It was harder to communicate with someone not in the room without outright yelling. And she couldn't yell, not without risking Jazz waking.

Cassie paused, thinking of all of the corrections Jazz had given her. If she could use those again, then she might be able to get through to her brother. Cassie frowned. The one that stood out as working for her was to talk out loud, but if she did that she would be giving herself away for she began.

Cassie hadn't been dorming with Jazz for long enough to tell whether she was a heavy sleeper. It wasn't worth the chance. So, tiptoeing as lightly as she could, Cassie headed over to the door to the hall. She would try to talk to Joshua from the bathroom between the vis-manip room and her own, and hope no one else came in.

After all, Cassie told herself as she walked swiftly to the bathroom, they were allowed to leave their room to go to the bathrooms at night. They just weren't allowed anywhere else. She wasn't breaking any rules. Cassie kept this at the top of her mind as she slid into the bathroom and turned on the lights. With the lights, several automatic fans flipped on as well, which caused her to wince for a second.

She relaxed after remembering that she had not been able to hear the noise of the fans in her room any time before, so it was likely that Jazz and the vis-manip girls couldn't either. Cassie hoped that was the case. She hoisted herself up onto the counter next to the sink, sitting down with her back leant against the wall. Then she started talking.

"Hey, Joshua. You're probably not going to know what's going on, but I need to talk to you." I need to tell you what's happening.

Cassie waited for few seconds, but didn't hear anything, no matter how convinced she was that she was doing it right. It was much harder to talk to Joshua, who she could not see, than Jazz when she was in front of her. Instead, Cassie felt everything tense up. Not her, but the person on the other end of the line. Joshua had heard, but he was putting up walls and trying to shove her out. Cassie clenched one fist and pushed through the walls, desperately vying for Joshua's attention. He was trying his best to ignite her.

Josh. It's me. Cassie. The girl frowned. Joshua was putting up quite a fight for someone who hadn't been trained. Or even had been trained a little, for Cassie sure didn't have much control over who mucked about in her head.

What's going on? I'm going crazy. Finally, Cassie could hear the words that Joshua was thinking. That was an improvement, at the very least. Now just to convince him that he was wrong.

Oh, shut up, Joshua. It's Cassie. You're not psychotic, just psychic. Cassie rolled her eyes as Joshua continued to freak out.

No, I think hearing voices means I am crazy. Also, now I'm talking to the voices. That probably means I'm even more crazy. Joshua thought back, though it sounded to Cassie like he was screaming for dear life. She guessed that was what Jazz had warned her not to do, and she finally understood why.

Cassie paused for a moment, throwing her head back in frustration and accidentally slamming it into the wall. She winced. Then she spoke evenly. Joshua, look. You know how I didn't get a counterpart assigned?

Cassie waited as Joshua seemed to relax, if only slightly. She breathed out as Joshua called back tentatively. Cass?

Then it was Cassie's turn to freeze in place, panicked. She scrambled off of the countertop and dashed across the bathroom towards one of the stalls. Cassie barely had time to pull the door shut before someone came walking into the bathroom. Cassie held her breath as she leaned forward and peered through the crack between the stall door and the wall.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Cassie screamed as she found herself looking at a grey-blue eye looking straight at her. She leaped backwards and stood on the toilet seat with her arms crossed in front of her warningly. Whoever was on the other side of the door shushed the terrified girl.

"Cassandra, shut up. You're gonna wake up the whole building, oh my god." Cassie froze and stood on her tiptoes to get a glimpse of the woman on the other side of the door. All she could see was a tangle of curly blonde hair.

"Jazz?" Cassie asked, slowly climbing down from her perch and unlocking the stall door. "Why'd you come in here?"

Cassie received first an exasperated look and then a sigh from the older girl. Jazz crossed her arms and looked Cassie up and down. The younger girl shrugged and mouthed 'what?' with a shrug.

"How about you tell me why you're in here?" Jazz suggested, Cassie flitting her gaze around the room. The truth wasn't an answer she wanted to give.

"Just going to the restroom," Cassie said, waving Jazz off a little too emphatically. The other girl didn't fall for it, and Cassie had a feeling that it wasn't just because she was psychic. Cassie wasn't the best liar under stressful situations.

Jazz groaned. "Quit lying to me, Cassandra."

Cassie glared up at Jazz. The older girl was calling her by her full name. If Cassie knew anything about adults (and almost-adults, for Jazz wasn't quite there yet), it was that when they changed from calling you a nickname to a full name it meant they were mad. Jazz seemed to be no exception.

"I couldn't sleep." Cassie tried again, hoping that Jazz would just give up.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. I just came in here to walk around." Jazz raised one eyebrow and looked over to where the younger girl had been hiding on top of a toilet. Cassie frowned. "You scared me."

The two stood off, neither of them talking for a moment. Cassie, meanwhile, was struggling with a problem that she had been dealing with since Jazz interrupted her. Joshua was still trying to talk to her. Although she really wanted to talk to her twin, Cassie did her best to shut out her brother's voice.

"Cassie, cut the lies. You aren't trained in psychic communications. I could hear you talking to someone. Somebody not at all trained." Jazz crossed her arms as she spoke. Cassie just tensed up and faced away from her mentor. "You might be able to talk, but you can't hide your words yet. Who were you talking to?"

Cassie breathed as deeply as she could, not wanting to betray the worry that was overcoming her. She shrugged. "Just one of my friends."

With that, Jazz shook her head and glared at Cassie, who stared back defiantly. "No, you were not talking to 'just one of your friends'. I am not ignorant, Cassandra. You need to stop lying to me, because I can tell when someone is talking to another psychic!"

Cassie backed off as Jazz shouted the last few words at her. She wasn't sure why Jazz was getting so mad, but it didn't look like there were any more roads to try to sneak down except the truth. Jazz continued to stare at Cassie, and the younger girl bit her lip. Jazz waited and waited for Cassie to speak. After another minute of angry silence, she finally did.

"My brother."

Cassie didn't say anything else for another lapse of silence. When she did finally continue, she was talking to the ground, her chin tucked to her chest timidly. Cassie barely noticed that she could no longer hear Joshua talking to her.

"I have a twin brother, Joshua. I don't know what happened that the Specialties Project didn't bring him in, but they didn't. He went off to his counterpart's house like all the other normal kids," Cassie said, almost whispering. "I think maybe it's because we have different last names but I don't know, really. I just know that I'm here and he's somewhere else. With some stand-up comedian on the west coast."

Jazz studied Cassie for a minute, and the younger girl finally looked up at her. Cassie crossed her arms, mimicking the taller woman appraising her. "Why didn't you tell me about your brother? Or Miss Benn? Why didn't you tell her? She talks to every kid who comes in here, I know that."

Cassie shrugged and answered, "I don't know who any of you people are. So I'm some weirdo who can talk with my brain. That doesn't mean that I trusted you. It doesn't mean I trust you now. I met you two days ago! I wasn't gonna tell anybody about Joshua and let him get kidnapped by some lady in black, too!"

Jazz didn't answer this time. Cassie gave her time, but the older girl just pursed her lips and frowned. In the end, Cassie finished her story with, "But I guess you'll be telling Miss Benn to go grab my brother."

Jazz frowned deeper at that, closing her eyes for a brief moment. "No. I won't. But you need to be careful. You heard about the Normal Initiative and what they do. I'm an idiot not to turn you in, I'm sure. Still, I know that I wouldn't want my sister caught up in any of this if she didn't want to be."

Cassie's mouth fell open when Jazz promised to keep Joshua a secret. "Just remember that if he wants to come and stay here, he can. And be careful, Cassie. Please. Be careful." With that, Jazz turned and left the room.

Cassie backed up a few paced so the bathroom wall was directly behind her, then she slid down its surface. There she sat, on the floor, for several motionless and soundless seconds. Then Cassie closed her eyes and reconnected to her brother. It was late, after all, and she would need to sleep soon.

Joshua? You there? Cassie called into the black between her and her twin. She sighed in relief when Joshua responded.

Cassie. What is going on? I was pretty sure this was a dream, but now I don't think it is. Joshua asked his question as though he was speaking with a ghost-he didn't seem to really believe that Cassie was there, though he was talking to her.

Okay, so I've got some major things to catch you up on. Cassie laughed as she began explaining the Specialties Project to her brother.

Joshua reacted much in the way that Cassie had to the proclamation of superpowers. Cassie, in turn, corrected him and said that they were not, in fact, superpowers. She told him about the kids there, and their specialties. The boy listened intently until Cassie brought up the idea of him coming to join her at the facility.

You could come and stay here, you know. I think they don't know you're my brother. If they did, they would let you come here and train, Cassie told Joshua. Though she could not see him, Cassie knew that Joshua was frowning.

Cass, are they going to let you go? Let you go back home and back to see Rachel and Mrs. Gilligan? Joshua's words stirred the same worry that had been in Cassie's mind her first day at the project.

I mean... I don't think so. Jazz-the other psychic-she had a twin that left, but somehow I don't think that they'd let a twelve year old out as readily as a seventeen year old, Cassie reasoned.

Then I don't think I ought to right now, Cassie. Philip, my counterpart, he's nice enough, and I don't think that it's a good idea to make super quick decisions.

Cassie snorted audibly at that. Oh, and you're one to talk. Still, she understood what Joshua meant. Honestly, she was glad that Joshua wanted to stay hidden for the moment. If nothing else, he would be one safety rope she could pull on if she needed to try and escape.

And if the project turned out to be as amazing a place as it was on the surface... Well, no one would stop Joshua from joining in later on. For the moment, stasis was best.

I can tell you what Jazz teaches me about the talking. Y'know, the whole psychic thing? Cassie suggested, not wanting to keep Joshua from learning to use his power. Honestly, it would be  terrible not to train someone in something so amazing when there were so many possibilities.

Sounds good. Joshua paused for a moment and, though Cassie wasn't sure how she could tell, yawned.

Cassie was thankful that Joshua had accepted the suggestion of her training him. It would get frustrating for him to sound like he was screaming all of the time. She certainly had room for improvement also, but Joshua's mental voice was half of the time completely shaky and the rest louder than a foghorn. She could resonate with what Jazz had been complaining about before.

Cassie managed to keep herself somewhere between a loud whisper and about the volume of someone talking on a phone in a busy room. At least, she was pretty sure she was somewhere in that range. If not, then she had more room for improvement than she had thought.

Listen, just don't try to talk to anybody or anything, Joshua. Hang out with your CP and go to the comedy club or whatever. Just hang low for the moment. Cassie knew that Joshua would listen to her. Even though he was a brat, he paid attention to Cassie's words when he thought they were important.

That was good, for there was a single thing that Cassie had omitted from her explanation to Joshua. Certainly not the most important detail, but equally so not the least. For the moment, Joshua would learn nothing about the Initiative. Cassie would tell him the next night. After all, learning that an organization of crazed scientists was trying to hunt you down was a heavy load to be dropped at 1:47 in the morning.

If he changed his mind then and wanted to join Cassie at the project, then at least he would have a day to process everything else before that bonus truth bomb. Cassie somewhat doubted that he would, though. Joshua liked having a certain element of freedom and being able to do whatever he wished.

That kind of freedom wasn't available in the basement of a specialties bunker in the middle of the countryside. Maybe Joshua would be willing to give up that freedom at some point later. Or maybe he would get it when he finally saw the playground they were given to practice in. Maybe once he met Jazz, Brie, Em, Skye, and the others. But Cassie guessed that it wouldn't be for while. She missed him, though.

Goodnight, Joshua.

'Night, Cass.