Iris took another sip of her coffee, letting the warmth calm her nerves. She knew she needed a plan, and the first step was to understand her current situation. She pulled out her camera, the one tool that had always provided her with some semblance of control, and began to discreetly take pictures of the café.
She didn't like to use her abilities like this, and was sure if this wasn't an emergency, the Foundation would definitely not like it either. But she was facing a major problem. She had no money to pay for the coffee with.
It wasn't like she had access to money back the SITE-019. There wasn't even a need for it. The Foundation gave its personnel many benefits, which she, too, was allowed to enjoy many of.
Life at the Foundation SITE wasn't bad, sure it lacked some freedom, but on the other hand she also didn't have to worry about many of the normal things people had to worry about, such as money.
SITE-019 had plenty of vending machines everywhere, but since they didn't require money, it might be better to call them dispensing machines rather than vending machines.
Even the shops around, well they also didn't need money, she could just wander on it, grab a basket and fill it with what she wanted, sure it wasn't like it had as big a selection as a real world shop, since everything in there was produced by the Foundation.
But it had plenty of snacks for her to enjoy, including plenty of big brands, the Foundation was truly massive, and it owned many businesses around the world. So they produced their own pretty much everything. Coca-Cola, chips, chocolates, you name it.
Now, however, she was in the real world, where nothing was free, and she was desperately trying to figure out how to navigate this sudden thrust into normal society. Which meant that she was expected to pay for this coffee.
But without money, she would have to earn some money quickly. Thankfully, she had noticed a rather large and filled tip jar and had just taken a picture of it.
She was considered an SCP precisely because of what she could do with pictures she took with her old Polaroid camera. For reasons unknown to both her and the Foundation, she could reach into the pictures and take things out.
This worked in the real world and with perspective; if she were to take a picture of the Statue of Liberty from afar, it would look small in the picture, and as such, she could reach into the picture, grab the statue, and take it, or crush it.
Her hand would be massive, so she really could do a lot of damage to small things in her pictures, so she wasn't allowed out much, or even to take pictures without permission. But, well, this was a big emergency, so she figured it would be okay.
So while making sure no one was watching the jar, she put her hand into the picture, and looked over at the jar, where her hand had suddenly just appeared. She then quickly reached into it, grabbed a few of the topmost bills, and pulled her hand out of the picture, now with cash in hand.
Iris tucked the money into her pocket and took another sip of her coffee, feeling a bit more at ease now that she had some cash to cover her immediate needs. She would still need to figure out a more sustainable way to get by, but at least she wasn't about to get thrown out of the café.
So with her immediate worries handled, she was now able to just sit back and think about her next step, which should be getting back in touch with the Foundation.
She didn't really have any easy way to do that; she had no phone nor any other means of communication. As far as she knew, there was no easy means of getting in touch with the Foundation, with them being so secretive and all.
She considered her options. Wandering around aimlessly in the hopes of stumbling across something or someone connected to the Foundation was hardly a strategy.
She could try and create a commotion, using her ability to draw attention. But she couldn't be sure that it would be the Foundation that responded first, if it was instead the GOC then she would be in big trouble.
Lost in her thoughts, Iris noticed a small internet café across the street. It wasn't ideal, but it could work. She finished her coffee and left a few bills on the table, enough to cover the drink but not much more, she was after all pretty broke.
Crossing the street, she entered the internet café. The place was quiet, with only a few patrons scattered around. She approached the counter and rented a computer for an hour, using some of the money she had taken from the tip jar.
Once she was seated, she quickly got to work. She figured that the Foundation surely had to be monitoring the internet, and as such, she went onto the biggest internet forum for the occult, some stupid Reddit thread, and started making her own topic.
Subject: Need Help With Strange Occurrence - Experts Needed
Hi everyone,
I'm reaching out because I'm in a bit of a situation and could use some advice from people who are knowledgeable about the supernatural or strange phenomena.
I recently encountered something very unusual and need to contact a group that deals with anomalies or unexplained events. Think along the lines of those stories about secret organizations that handle things that defy logic and reason.
I know this sounds vague, but I have to be careful. I'm looking for advice on what steps to take next. Has anyone here ever dealt with something really out of the ordinary and needed help from professionals?
Keywords to get the right kind of attention: SCP, containment, paranormal, supernatural, secret organization, anomaly.
Please, if you have any useful information or can point me in the right direction, let me know. Time is of the essence.
Thanks!
Iris reviewed her message, ensuring it was cryptic enough not to expose the Foundation but detailed enough to catch the attention of anyone monitoring for such keywords. She posted it and leaned back, hoping her message would reach the right eyes.
After that, it was all about waiting. Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long for them to react and send someone to her location to investigate. Then they did; she could explain who she was and hopefully get back to SITE-019 without problems.
It was almost funny how she was trying to get back to the people who had more or less kidnapped her and locked her up for life. But she knew the world was a dangerous place and that the Foundation would do its utmost to protect her.
They might not always be the good guys, but they were far better than other groups out there that might want to get their hands on her. And she doubted she would ever be able to go back to living a normal life anyway, so why even bother trying?
No, it was better to allow herself to be contained, to return to the Foundation, to the safety and comfort they provided to those who didn't cause any problems like herself. Plus, she really didn't want to have to get a job again.
No, the loss of freedom was more than made up for by the fact that she didn't have to work, that she could just read a good book and take it easy. The Foundation offered plenty of that kind of thing. Sure, they expected her to follow plenty of rules and such, but overall, it wasn't that bad.
She spent the rest of the hour she had rented the computer for to look around on the internet, something she wasn't allowed to do in containment, not without heavy restrictions at least.
She didn't know that there was apparently a real-life superhero about now, this Ironman. She figured that was something the Foundation would have been all over, but apparently, the fact that it was all tech and nothing anomalous had saved him.
Something that was frankly really impressive, to make that kind of mech armour, damn she wanted one herself, to just try and fly around just once. But she doubted she would ever be able to do that.
Still, she had some fun looking up all kinds of stuff about Ironman, this Tony Stark, someone she had never heard about before, but then again, she didn't care much for rich celebrities even before getting captured by the Foundation.
Still, she had to admit that he at least had a real pair of balls on him to dare and tell the world that he was a superhero; that never happened in the stories, and if it did, it never ended well.
But apparently, it wasn't a problem for Stark; maybe it was because of his money. She wasn't sure, but still, she found it all very impressive.
Once her hour was up, she left the place, and just wandered about for the next few hours, taking in the sights, exploring the place and taking a few pictures here and there.
Just enjoying what little time she had left out in the big wide world before it would be reduced to the areas of SITE-019 she was allowed to wander about in.
Eventually, all that walking about made her tied, and she took a break on a park bench, glad that the weather was nice since she only had indoor clothes on, no jacket or anything.
After about 10 minutes of just sitting there alone and enjoying watching people go by, another person sat down next to her.
Iris glanced over at the newcomer, a man in his mid-thirties with a casual demeanor. He wore a simple jacket and jeans, blending in with the everyday crowd. He didn't look directly at her, instead, he took a moment to settle in and gaze around the park.
"Nice day, isn't it?" he said, still not looking at her.
"Yeah, it is," Iris replied cautiously, not sure what to make of this stranger.
"Funny thing," he continued, "I was browsing the internet earlier and came across a rather interesting post. Something about strange occurrences and needing help from experts."
Iris's heart skipped a beat. She turned slightly to face him, trying to keep her expression neutral. "Oh? And what kind of help was being asked for?"
The man finally looked at her, his eyes sharp and knowing. "The kind that involves anomalies and secret organizations. Sounds a bit like something out of a movie, doesn't it?"
Iris swallowed hard, trying to gauge whether this man was friend or foe. "Maybe. Why do you ask?"
"Because I might know some people who can help with that sort of thing," he said, his voice low and steady. "But first, I need to know if you're the one who made that post."
Iris hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I did. I...I need to get back to the Foundation."
The man seemed almost surprised for a moment at her admission. Few knew about the Foundation, and fewer still would want the Foundation to know that they knew. "And why might that be?"
ris took a deep breath, considering her words carefully. "My name is Iris Thompson, and I'm known as SCP-105. The Foundation... they have me in containment because of my abilities."
The man, still calm and composed, raised an eyebrow. "SCP-105, you say? What kind of abilities are we talking about here?"
Iris hesitated for a moment, then decided to be honest. "I can manipulate objects in photographs. I can reach into pictures and interact with the things inside them. It's why they keep me under such close watch."
The man's expression remained unreadable, but he nodded slightly. "I see. That certainly qualifies as an anomaly. And how did you end up out here, Iris?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "One moment I was in my room at SITE-019, and the next, I was out in the city. I have no idea how it happened. But I need to get back before something goes wrong."
The man leaned back on the bench, contemplating her story. "Alright, Iris. I believe you. My name is Agent Miller; I'm with the Foundation; I will take you with me and report this to my supervisor; if what you say is true, we will have you back at SITE-019 soon."
A/N
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