Kate Danvers | Otherworld (katedanvers) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2021-01-09 20:25:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !complete, !completed gdoc, !log, nick sorrentino (werewolf_nicky), ~2021 january, ~~~~~ kate danvers (katedanvers) |
Who: Nick Sorrentino & Kate Danvers
What: Nick’s arrival
Where: Main Street/Hinkles
When: Saturday late afternoon
Warnings: nope
Status: complete
Nick grabbed his clothes and ran a hand over his face. It didn’t matter how many years he changed, the pain never ceased. In fact, if someone was to ask him for the honest truth, the pain seemed to be increasing a bit the last couple years. He might have looked early 30’s, but that age had definitely come and gone. He stretched out his arms, and started getting dressed. He had just finished putting on his jeans, grateful it was a Saturday, and…
Wait. He looked around confused. This…this was most definitely not the edge of Jeremy’s property. Not unless Jeremy’s property suddenly housed a school, with a track…and the time was suddenly much later in the day.
Nick, glancing at his wrist, remembered his watch was on the bathroom counter. So, if he wanted the time, he was definitely going to need to go somewhere that wasn’t the start line for the 100 yard dash. The sun had gone down, so he figured it had to be… maybe 8?
“Okay, Nick, think this through. You had breakfast with the boys this morning. You were at Jeremy’s for Pack business.” Nick had to admit, he was a wee bit confused…and hungry. He had been looking forward to a late lunch. Hunting mice in wolf form was great, but he really had been looking forward to some burgers.
He started walking towards a fence. He was glad for a $20 in his pocket, because buying a burger or five might need to happen. Fuck, he was hungry. He sniffed the air and headed in the direction that seemed to say “FOOD, NICK!! FOOOOOOOD!” Perhaps he might run into a person who could help answer some questions? Up ahead he saw a girl walking with a blond ponytail. Not caring if he came across as creepy at this point, he ran up to her.
“Excuse me?” She turned to look at him and he couldn’t help feeling she looked familiar.
***
Kate had just finished her shift at Crawdaddy and decided to pick up Hinkles before heading home. She should probably figure out who all was at the house first so she knew how much to buy, so she stopped on the sidewalk, pulling out her phone, when all of her senses suddenly went on high alert and she turned to figure out what was setting them off.
“Uncle Nick?” she said, blinking in shock. This was definitely not the same Nick that had left Madison Valley a year ago so she didn’t expect him to remember this place. Of course, depending on when he was from, he might have no clue who she was. Oh well, if he didn’t know her yet, he’d at least be able to smell that she was a werewolf.
***
Nick took a step back. “Uncle Nick?” he thought. Who was this girl? The only niece he knew couldn’t form words yet. She was definitely a wolf. He smelled that almost immediately. And something about her reminded him of Elena.
“Kate?” he asked, tentatively. Even if he was wrong, she obviously knew him.
***
“Yeah, let me guess, last you knew, I was like five, right?” Kate guessed. That was the point that a lot of people from their world seemed to arrive from, so she figured it was as good a guess as any. She was relieved that this was her Uncle Nick, from her universe, and not the one that used to be here. That would be far too difficult for her to deal with.
She grinned. “I was on my way to get burgers. Come on and I can fill you in.”
***
“Not really. You haven’t even started speaking yet. You’re more like five MONTHS old.” Nick didn’t mention his mission to find burgers. No sense in mentioning that, when they could both hear his stomach gurgling.
“And yeah, that sounds great. Also...is there a place I can get a shirt?” Nick was starting to feel a little chilled and awkward being only in jeans. Not that he was ashamed of his body, but he did tend to go into town fully clothed.
***
Okay, her being a baby was surprising. That meant he was from further back than Adam and Kristof, though she didn’t think that would matter so much since at least he’d know everyone. Of course, it meant that her poor mom was still the only one left from that weirdo alternate version of their universe. Still, she knew Elena would be happy to see him.
“Yeah, uh, let me text Logan and see if he can meet us here,” she said, shrugging off her hoodie and handing it to him. “In the meantime, you can wear this.” She’d be fine in just a t-shirt until her brother could join them. The hoodie might be a snug fit, but at least he wouldn’t be shirtless. “If he can’t, I’m sure I can find someone else to bring you something. And then you can go shopping later.”
***
Nick felt a bit odd wearing his niece’s hoodie, but since it sorta fit, he went with it. As long as he didn’t move his arms at all, his torso might even kinds stay covered.
“Logan is here? That’s great for you two. Is he...the same age?” Nick had zero idea how this world (world? Was it a new world?) worked and hoped the question wasn’t rude. Wait, were others here? Was his father? And, Nick SUPER hoped he was assuming the correct Logan, and not the Logan who had died years prior. The Logan for whom Logan was named was a bit more than he could handle until he ate something...or had a drink or two. God, he hoped alcohol existed here.
“So uh Kate...you mentioned burgers?”
***
Kate nodded. “Yeah, we just turned 17 a couple months ago,” she said. “It’s January 2021 here, by the way. So, welcome to the future.” She felt a little bit bad that she was likely breaking his brain, but if she didn’t, someone else would, so at least she was familiar. Sort of.
“Yeah, Hinkles is right here,” she said, taking a few steps and then pushing open the door to the diner. “They have the best burgers. They’re sliders and so, so good. And you can order a werewolf special and they’ll give you a ton.”
One of the best things about living in Madison Valley was being able to be open about what they were, though she realized it would probably shock Nick to hear her speak so openly about it.
***
“Happy belated birthday!” Nick exclaimed. He suddenly couldn’t decide if he wanted shots of vodka, aspirin or a super long nap. And then it dawned oh him...
“Sorry. They have a werewolf special? Like, tongue in cheek?” Although truthfully he was so hungry, he didn’t think he cared if the whole restaurant knew who he was, as long as the pitchforks happened AFTER the sliders.
As they sat down, Nick asked, “Do they also serve alcohol here?”
***
“At Hinkles? No, sorry,” Kate said. “There are a ton of bars and clubs around though. And, yes, we come here a lot. They like us. Also, there are a bunch of werewolves in town that aren’t like us and aren’t from our world.”
She really had a lot to explain to him and she hoped that she wouldn’t break him too badly.
“So this place is very weird,” she said. “It’s basically an alternate universe. And we’re stuck here. There’s a dome over the whole town. No one understands how any of it works, but it’s been happening for like seven and a half years.” She’d refrain from sharing her personal history for the moment. That would be a lot. “I’m sorry. I know that I’m throwing a lot at you.”
***
“That’s fine. Alcohol can wait more than the sliders. This...is a lot to digest. Other werewolves? Like mutts? Or completely different?” Also, he couldn’t help thinking, a server arriving would be FANTASTIC.
He took a moment to actually gaze at his almost adult niece. She looked healthy.
“Kate, does this place take...money? All I have on me is a $20 that I forgot in my pocket.” Nick really did want to eat, but he wasn’t about to order something if he couldn’t pay.
***
Before their server came over, Kate pulled out her phone to shoot a text to the Pack, letting them know what was going on. “Huh?” she asked, looking up at his questions. “Oh, uh, yeah, don’t worry, I have my card. Someone from the welcoming committee should find you soon, they’ll give you a phone and a card with a thousand bucks. They’ll also offer you an apartment, but I assume you’re going to want to live with us at the Pack house. It’s not Stonehaven, but it’s pretty cool.”
She didn’t get to answer his questions about werewolves before the server came to take their order. After placing it, she put her phone down and gave Nick her full attention again. “Not Mutts. Werewolves from different universes. Some of them are controlled by the moon, like the old legends. And some of them don’t Change completely. It’s actually kind of neat learning about them.” In some ways, she was a huge nerd, just like her father.
***
Nick took a minute to digest everything she was saying. Werewolves from other universes. “Where the hell had he ended up, that had werewolves from other universes and a track that almost every school in America (or probably the world) had?” Nick mused to himself. He couldn’t even be sure he had mused out loud or in his head.
“There’s a welcoming committee with an apartment and money? Wait. There’s a Pack house?” He took a breather as the server brought over the food. Nick had to admit the server wasn’t bad looking. And then remembered he was sitting with his niece...his adult niece.
“Wow! You weren’t kidding. These sliders are DELISH!” He knew he was saying a lot all at once, but there was a lot of information being thrown in his direction.
***
Kate laughed. “Eat and then I’ll take you to the house so you can meet everyone. Mom’s here and she’s Alpha, but she’s from a slightly different version of our universe so she’s a little different from what you’re used to,” she said. “And she has a face twin, Kitty, who is awesome.”
She dug into a burger herself after making sure the server knew that she needed a large take out order as well.
***
Nick was anxious to meet everyone, although he didn’t know what to make of a slightly different Elena. If Jeremy wasn’t here, then Elena as Alpha made sense. As long as nobody tried to fucking make him alpha, he was happy. He considered what he was getting himself into, as he inhaled his fourth slider. The servings here were no joke.
“Who else is here? Like, is it just a few werewolves? And...a different universe?” He inhaled his last slider and, ever worried about appearance, excused himself to the washroom to clean his hands, while Kate waited for the take out order.
Hands washed, he walked back. “Ready?” he asked Kate. He had to admit he felt a bit nervous, which was not a feeling he was used to nor did he like.
***
“There’s a bunch of people here from home,” Kate said. “Jaime, Sean, Adam, Kristof. Savannah, but she’s only like 12.” Which was still weird as hell for her, though she imagined it wasn’t as weird for Nick as her being a teenager. “And a bunch of people from other places. Witches, superheroes, werecoyotes, all sorts of things.”
When he went to wash his hands, she checked her phone again, responded to some messages, and then smiled when he returned. It was obvious he was nervous and she couldn’t blame him at all.
“Soon as my takeout order is ready,” she said. “Should be any minute.”
In the meantime, a man in a suit walked in and looked around. Kate realized he was from the welcoming committee and waved him over so he could give Nick his welcome packet.
***
Nick thought about this for a second, as the man in a suit walked over to them. Savannah as a twelve year old wasn’t as surprising as he thought, given who he was talking to at the moment.
“Wait, is Kristof still a ghost? And is this Jamie, from a time where she’s Jeremy’s girlfriend?”
Nick proceeded to shake hands with the man in the suit.
***
The man in the suit gave him a packet containing a debit card, a phone, and keys, along with information on which apartment was his and then, assuming Kate had the explanations under control, quickly left.
“They aren’t the most welcoming,” she said as she watched him leave. “Yes, Jaime is Jeremy’s girlfriend. And no, Kristof isn’t a ghost. I’m not exactly sure how that works.” There was a lot around here that didn’t make sense.
The server came by then with several large bags of food and Kate slipped her an extra tip before standing up so they could head out. “Okay, let’s go,” she said. “By the way, no comment on my car.” She didn’t want to explain the origin of why she drove a pepto-bismal pink Volkswagen bug just yet.
***
Nick was kind of glad he had his own keys to his own apartment. He felt like an escape might be key...or a place to bring home a friend with benefits? Not that sex was forefront in his mind at the moment, but one couldn’t be sure what the future held.
“Well at least Jamie knows who I am. Kristof...I have no idea. He could? Maybe?” Nick quickly recovered upon seeing the car. It was...a sight. But he had promised.
Nick looked at the card he was handed. “Well...something tells me this won’t let me take you or your mom shopping on Fifth Ave.” He was already missing his basically unlimited card.
***
Kate grinned. “Well, since there’s no Fifth Avenue here, that doesn’t matter,” she said. “But, yeah, you’ll have to get a job at some point. There’s a design firm here in town.” It was where the other Nick had worked. Speaking of, she should probably warn him. “They all know you,” she said. “Uh, there are also some other people who might recognize your name. Up until about a year ago, there was another version of you in town from the same weirdo universe as Mom.”
She definitely wasn’t going to tell him about her past with that version of him. That was way too much.
***
Nick considered her words and siad, “Okay. A design firm sounds like a good place to start looking for a job.” Inwardly Nick groaned. A benefit of working for his dad meant...well he had never needed to look for a job. Not that it was beneath him, but, well, it wasn’t really a thing he looked forward to. And, truth be told, it had only been recently that he had even started going to work.
“Another...version of...me?” Nick was not ready for that. He wasn’t even sure he was ready for a strange version of Elena, even if she was part of the Pack and one of his best friends. Fuck, he hoped they were super close in the strange universe too.
“Okay, full stop. How many ‘weird’ versions of us are there?”
***
“It’s hard to say,” she said. “Because with people coming from different points in time, there may be other universal differences we just haven’t discovered yet. Mom’s universe is on a different timeline than ours.” And had some pretty significant differences, like Antonio dying, that she also wasn’t going to tell Nick. Maybe later.
They got settled in her car and Kate tried not to laugh at how ridiculous he looked in her passenger seat. “I know it’s hard to believe, but you’ll actually get used to all the weird,” she said.
***
Nick had a few questions, but decided perhaps he should see who was at the house and get to know them. He also definitely was in need of a shower at this point and made a promise to Kate about cleaning her hoodie before returning it.
God, he had never understood alcohol being called liquid courage before now.
“Kate, I don’t think I should ever ride in this car again,” as she parked the car and he tried to remove himself. How he had stuffed himself in the car, he had no idea.