Andy Strucker (imnotfenris) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2020-02-25 10:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !complete, !completed gdoc, lorna dane (tiredofhiding), ~2020 february, ~~andy strucker (imnotfenris) |
« Who: Andy Strucker and Lorna Dane
« What: Andy has arrived, has been given the spiel, and is still confused
« When: Sunday afternoon
« Where: Somewhere in Madison Valley
« Content Warnings: Andy may swear some.
Andy was frustrated. He had stepped into the portal that the somehow alive Blink had created and jumped into and had gone from the darkness to the light suddenly. Only Blink was not there and neither was anyone else. He was alone, in the middle of some town in the middle of nowhere, and no one was even looking at him twice despite him having appeared from midair.
The following hour was frustrating. People approached him and gave him things, and tried to tell him about the town, but their story was even more insane than his life, and after yelling, and not agreeing to go with them to some welcome center, he had run away.
Now, he was wandering the town and so confused. How did anyone live in this town? It was peaceful, and small, and…. Boring.
Why was he here?
***
Lorna couldn’t believe how Dawn was almost a year old. The thought had hit her this morning hard and it had been on her mind most of the day. It felt like just yesterday when this town almost got torn apart because of her having the baby in the stroller, but that wasn’t the case. Only thing hurt more was the fact Marcos had been here and now he was gone. He wasn’t going to be here for their daughter’s first birthday or any of her other stuff.
Needing to get her mind off all that, she had decided to take a trip to the store to pick up some things. Nothing major just some stuff to get her mind off of everything like ice cream. Part of her wanted alcohol; however, she didn’t need that in her system since she wanted to wait a little bit longer before going back to drinking even a tiny bit. Nope, ice cream was going to be her choice for the evening. Heading back to the apartment, Lorna sighed as she saw Dawn drop her toy once again.
“Dawn, what did I say about holding on to your toys? Now you won’t get this until we’re home and I can wash it.” Lorna told her daughter who wasn’t even paying any attention as her focus was on some other toy that had come along for the ride this afternoon.
***
He heard that voice and his head snapped around. “Lorna?” And Dawn? He headed for them, right away. Lorna had been his hero, his friend, and his sometimes crush. And they had been through a lot of shit together. And the idea that she was stuck here too was both horrifying but also, he felt guiltily, relieving.
“Lorna? Is that you?”
He came to a halt at her side and peered down at Dawn as he smiled instinctively, then looked at Lorna, drinking her in.
***
Her name caused her to raise her head upward, knowing that voice. As great as it was to have someone from her world, the last person she wanted here was Andy. The kid had enough going on in his life, and he didn’t need to deal with this place and the shit that went down here. A very small part of her was glad to see him, know he was safe, and to have someone from their world even if it was a kid. They had gotten close with joining the Inner Circle and she saw him like family, like a younger brother she had never had.
“Andy, when did you get here? Are you okay?”
A confused look on her face for only a moment before shifting it slightly to a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, it’s me,” she almost asked if Marcos was okay. If he was alive after dealing with Max, but what if he didn’t know about that? What if he was behind or ahead? Lorna wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear he was gone or not, deciding for the moment to keep her mouth shut until she knew what he knew and that he was okay.
***
“Today. I am, if confused. Very confused. When did you get here? And Dawn, too?”
So much confused him. What was going on? Why now? Everything had seemed to be settling down finally? Sort of. Ish.
Not really, but a little.
He stopped just short of her and Dawn, lifting the toy and holding it out, almost disbelieving still that she was here. He shook his head. His hair was starting to lose the dye a little, because of where they had been, but he was hoping this new place had hair dye. He didn’t like the brown of his hair normally. He jerked his thoughts back to her and smiled.
“I’m glad to see you. The people who greeted me were… weird. Also possibly crazy.”
***
Okay, Lorna was just glad she hadn’t somehow missed him on the network without paying much attention. Then again she was pretty sure somehow she would’ve ended up with word on someone from her world was around, but she wasn’t completely sure. At least he hadn’t been on his own long without her realizing it, which was all that mattered at the moment. “Chill for a moment and we’ll take this step by step. You want to keep a clear head no matter how confusing everything might be,” she told him, knowing even with his training and the control he had, it could be set back by his emotions getting the best of him. It happened to any of their kind and that was the last they needed.
“I’ve been here for well over a year and Dawn was born here, which she’ll be a year next month,” she told him, looking down at Dawn who was looking at him for the moment. Her little hand was waving like she did with anyone who came in her view whether she knew them or not. “Thanks,” she said, taking the toy from him and placing it up at the top of the stroller so it was in her view and to remind her to wash it back at the apartment.
His comment about the welcome group caused her to smirk before raising an eyebrow. “You know better with the crazy term, Andy.” Yes, she knew it fit, but she hated that word, especially if it was used in her direction. “But yeah, they can be an odd bunch. I don’t think they know how they come off. Walk with me and tell me what they said so I know what I need to go over in more detail vs not.” She knew if they stayed in one spot for long, then Dawn would start to get restless and Lorna wasn’t wanting to deal with that while Andy was confused.
***
At her words, he nodded, and it was almost like he was back at the Inner Circle compound or the new resistance base, and closing his eyes, taking a long breath. As the breath came out again, calm slid over him, almost like a blanket, shielding him, and he nodded, eyes opening, and he grinned.
"I guess, no matter how old I get or how much I learn, you will still have something to remind me, and teach me, about being me." He nodded, once more calm, despite the situation. When he had been in the worst of it, this advice had still helped, back there. And it helped now.
Her words still shocked him, and he gaped at her. "But... that's... how?"
He stared at her, then nodded again, pulling in a breath, confused, and completely unsure now if he was awake or dreaming. "I'm beginning to wonder if I'm dreaming, because this is... wrong."
But as an afterthought, he reached into a pocket and pulled out the waterless hand sanitizer he carried as second nature now and held it out to her after squirting some on his hands. Time around a pregnant woman and then a baby, as little time as that had been, had trained it into him. He also had a spare diaper and wet wipes in his jacket pockets, but shhhh.
He started walking with her, and spoke. "They said we are in Madison Valley, Indiana, and that we are stuck under some kind of dome or force that won't let us out, no matter what. They asked how old I was and if I had powers, though they said it like... like it was unnatural. It made me feel weird, for a moment, and that was when I booked it. Oh, and first thing, they handed me these."
He held out the smartphone, laptop, debit card, and keys that he had gotten, and then stuffed them into his pockets, except the laptop which went back under one arm.
"It's weird. In a way, I feel like I did when I first found out I had powers and was... well, uprooted."
***
Lorna couldn’t help but smirk since no matter what Andy was still a kid; however, she knew all too well about wanting to grow up quicker than anything. While her Aunt had been great, Lorna wasn’t always the easiest to deal with since she wanted to cause problems for various reasons. Growing up in a small town wasn’t at all fun, especially for someone like her where everyone knew her as the freak. “You’re still a kid, Andy. You got plenty of stuff to still learn both as a mutant and not before you’re ready to ignore advice. Give it a few more years, then you can decide to ignore and do what you want.”
Though if she was being honest, Lorna hoped that didn’t happen. Not the aging thing, but the ignoring part of her comment. He was powerful and that could be dangerous, especially if he ever lost control. Lorna had lost control of her abilities while pregnant so no matter how trained someone was it could still happen to even the best mutants. The idea of the kid being in danger and her not watching out for him was a big concern since now she knew what the Inner Circle was up to and had dragged him into the mess.
Hearing how this was wrong caused Lorna to laugh softly, shaking her head. “Kid, you haven’t seen anything yet with this place. What’s so wrong with this place? You need to be a bit more specific so I can fill in the blanks or whatever.” Lorna was slightly impressed with the kid on what he had pulled out, putting her hands out for him before rubbing her hands together so the stuff was over her hands. Then she returned back to pushing the stroller, a little slower so the two could talk and Dawn was busy doing her own thing without being all still to where she might get frustrated with not moving.
Okay, so he got a good part of the crap thrown at the newbies on this place. “Yeah, well, first off here you’re more free to be yourself since people here know I’m a mutant and there are others like us,” which she was going to need to get ahead of since she didn’t need anyone jumping on his last name or anything like that. She’ll need to do that once back at the apartment. “Everything is true about the dome, being stuck here, and all that. Parts they left out is time froze for you back home so you won’t miss anything and I guess you return back to the point you came from,” she glanced over at him to see his reaction. Though if he was ahead of her in the timeline, then he’d probably believe it a bit better.
“Oh, and the best part,” her tone screamed sarcasm at that part, “of this place is all the fu...messed up crap this place can pull.” Lorna had caught herself before the actual curse had fully left her lips so that had to count for something. “Once you get used to it, you’ll find it isn’t so bad around here since it’s different than back home in so many ways.” She knew she’d need to ask about the guardian soon, but for now she was trying to explain the place.
***
He grumbled at her words, but he also smiled at her, shaking his head. "Lorna, I may not always listen to everyone, but you? I always listen to you." He might not do what she said, but he would listen. he respected her a lot, more than pretty much anyone he knew. She made him smile, and gave him hope, all too often when things looked dark. She even made him feel better after some of the terrible things that he had seen and done.
He nodded at her. "You've always had my back and proven I can trust you. I will listen."
He listened to her and sighed. "The wrong? Well, what you said about when and where you were... and having Dawn here? I am from at least months in your future. If that is true, then something weirder than weird is going on. Time travel is real?" he was a little flabbergasted, okay? Tie travel was even weirder than powers, alright?
"The future... you were back there, and you had Dawn there..." He glanced at her. "I was there when you had her." For him, it had been a moment of being able to give back to her. And losing that moment felt like a gut punch. She didn't know, not that and not so much else that had happened to them individually and apart.
He walked alongside her, hands shoved in his pockets to stop them from trembling and taking long breaths. He would not freak out, dam,n it. But this sucked.
"So, wait, you came here, but I am from your future, and you were there.. so does that mean you will eventually go home?" That was confusing.
"Like what kind of crap?" He was a little bit amused that she had avoided cursing really in front of him. Was she going parental on him?
***
“I’ll take it since it’s better than what I give most people,” she admitted. While she had tried more than anything to listen to Marcos, she knew she didn’t always do it. Though she tried more with him than anyone, but it wasn’t who she was. Lorna was the type of person that saw what needed to be done her way and did it. Though maybe that was the problem and now why everything had gone to hell back home to where she wasn’t even sure if she’d see Dawn again. Right now though her focus was on Andy and getting him settled since now she had a little more in her plate to deal with. “I’ll always have your back and I know I can trust you to have mine. I wouldn’t count on just anyone so consider yourself lucky.”
Andy knew her so it wasn’t that big of a shocker how she didn’t trust just anyone. But he had been there when Dawn was born. She had seen him try to stand up to the other members since Lorna wasn’t going to let them risk her baby. Marcos also knew that since they had talked about it after her new set of memories since she wanted him to know their daughter had people watching out for her no matter what.
Lorna listened and she realized what was messing with him, thinking over how to word it since no matter what the whole thing was a mess. “Dawn was born in both, which I know is super complicated so let me explain. Cause Marcos was also here for a bit though he was sent back recently and I know he had been on a different timeline from me,” she told him, glancing over to see he was slightly on edge. Lorna was hoping this would help him a bit, leaning a bit on the stroller so she could still push while talking with her hands.
“When I first showed up here which has been over a year now, the last thing I knew was I left with you and the others to join the Inner Circle. We had just walked out the door on the Underground. So I was pregnant and I ended up giving birth here, which was a wild ride for the people of this town,” she paused so that could all sink in so he knew where her first set of memories came from. “The start of this year, I was sent back home while Marcos was here, thankfully because he had Dawn in his care, but I was sent back and went through a lot of things back home. I gave birth to Dawn again, gave her up, and all that, but then I showed up back here. So there is always a chance I can go back home for more memories, you can go home, and we could also be stuck here for a while.” Lorna was hoping this was making sense since time travel never was her thing. She didn’t read comics like most of the kids did in the Underground, but he was a smart kid so she was sure he’d realize what she was saying.
Lorna would’ve been amused if she knew he thought she wasn’t cursing cause of him. Most of the kids around this town had heard her swear a time or two, but she was trying to cut back on it for Dawn. “Well, we had future kids visit some that are possible and some that aren’t,” that had been a thrilling good time with her kid that would never happen with her friend around here.
She tried to think of all the things they had gone through while around here, “Had a whole loss of memories so we weren’t ourselves another fun time.” That one Lorna hated more than anything only because of what she had been like, “pod people, strange weather, and I know I’m forgetting other things. Plus side there are plenty of parties, portals to some fun places, and you can do the normal teenager lifestyle.” That had to be a plus, right?
***
Andy chuckled, knowing that was true. Lorna was,.... spirited was one word for it,. and he loved how she acted. Maybe most would not say so, but he did. Lorna was part mentor, part big sister, and part crush, and all the time, he saw someone he could look up to and admire. What others might see as downsides to her, he saw as awesome parts of the whole.
he nodded as he grinned at her. He nodded as she spoke. "I trust you and I know I can. You've proven that long ago."
At her words, he winced, and rubbed his face, listening, and chuckling as he walked along beside her. "That sounds super complicated." But he got it, mostly. He thought. Time travel and space travel. Oof. And paradoxes? Something like that.
"Future kids? Wow! That sounds... freaking weird." Okay, he could try the not cursing thing too, ish. Freaking didn't count, right? Right. But he smiled at her and kind of blinked a lot.
"That all sounds wild. And... I... think I will just look for a job." He was not fond of parties, or 'teenager things'. In his experience back home, those had involved bullies and pain. A party was how his powers had manifested, well, the party and the bullies who had attacked him, anyway. Even the thought of them made him wince, an old pain in his head making him rub his forehead. He wouldn't freak out, damn it. Deep breaths, deep breaths, he could do this. But his voice was still a little high as he asked her the important question.
"I don't have to go to the parties, right? or school?"
***
Lorna wasn’t at all surprised that he trusted her, but she didn’t feel like she deserved it. She was the one who got him into the mess with the Inner Circle only to find out the whole thing was a lie. It could even be put on her the whole thing with Rebecca since she should have caught on a lot sooner about the girl being a mess since Lorna knew what that was like. Though she’d leave it alone since it wasn’t like she could put him in that much trouble here compared to back home.
“Tell me about it. It’s a mess in your head with various memories, but you learn to deal with it.” Or try to, but she knew some of the blame was on the fact she lost Marcos not long after returning with new memories. A small laugh left her lips at his comment, nodding. “Yeah, tell me about it. Not only did I have Dawn a bit older, but I had another one and it was weird,” and even though she knew her and Kenny wouldn’t ever have kids together, she was glad it was with a friend rather than some random person here.
Andy wasn’t her kid; however, she also knew how this place was along with how she knew Andy. “Did this place give you a guardian? Because if not, I’ll let you stay with me,” she offered but the choice was down to him. “You can look for a job since I know some of the kids do part time stuff.” Lorna knew his story on where and how his powers broke out. The where wasn’t a big secret considering the news, but she heard the reason while the family was around the Underground. She wasn’t surprised by the question; however, she also had to be a good guardian for the kid.
“You do have to go to school, but it isn’t like one you know. There are a few mutants who go to the school and they are quite more noticeable about it than you are, which I’ll reach out to him and ask him to show you around. As for the parties, you don’t have to, but they are not like normal ones. You can always try one out and then leave if it gets too much though that’s up to you. School is happening though.” That one was final since she knew his mom would want him to be normal to a certain degree and while normal was never for them, he was attending a normal school.
***
*(Warnings for ptsd-like reactions/flashbacks.)
For Andy, it was simple. She had supported him,and given him hope, when all the world was either ell,ing him what6 to do or ignoring his wishes,. And instead, she had treated him with respect, and given him a chance to learn and grow and not just hide. She had given him respect that no one else had ever treated him with.
Sure, she had occasionally told him what to do, or pushed him to grow up, but she had not done it meanly. the way she had done it had felt like she was treating him like an adult, almost and expected better of him, and that had, for him,been the ticket. That had made him push himself to be better, smarter, stronger, and more mature. He had not always achieved it, but still, it was because of her that he had gotten anywhere at all.
He didn't blame her for anything., She had been taken in too, and he blamed the assholes who did it, not her. To him, that he was not alone in being fooled was not a bad thing. it meant thjat it was noty just him being dumb. Something his dad had told him had stuck for once; ‘Anyone can get fooled by liars. And it is the liars not the ones lied to who are in the wrong.’
Listening to her now, she made him feel like he was back there with her again, only better. She made him laugh too.
"As long as I am not alone, I will figure it out." He nodded to her. She was someone he could trust, and so he was very much glad to be with her here. Yes, he would miss the others, but this was, he hoped, not going to be bad.
Her words made him wince a little. "It sounds like you had a bit of a rough time,sometimes." He shook his head, eyes on her, walking with her, wishing he could have been there for her. At her question, he shook his head. "They did not, yet. And really?" That made him smile, perking up. Mind you, he had been planning on staying with her anyway, no matter what, but it helped that she offered first. He might be a little stubborn sometimes. A bit.
"I will get a job, too and help out, I promise."
He winced again at her last words, and he felt his shoulders tense, but he nodded reluctantly. He had not been back to school since the day everything had gone to hell, and the idea of going back made him tremble.
He did not even hear most of what she said after that. He felt his heart start pounding faster and he felt warm and cold in waves. He could feel his hands shaking a little as he tried not to let it happen, but it was, anyway. It was like suddenly all he could see or hear, despite how long it had been, was that shower room, and being shoved and hit, and his ears seemed to ring and fill with the sounds of that day, his cheeks going alternately pale and flushed, remembered pain hitting him again, his breath coming faster suddenly, shallower.
***
No matter what Lorna was always going to feel that guilt. It was hard to ever get her to feel bad or even guilty about her choices since she owned them like with the airplane, but this was different. He was a kid and while she knew he was capable of making his own choices, she should’ve been watching out for him better. Not letting Reeve and two of the triplets getting into his head. Instead, she had been caught up in her own shit. If it hadn’t been for him, Dawn wouldn’t even have a mother since Rebecca was going to kill them.
“No, you won’t be alone. Whether I’m going through whatever the hell this place tosses at the town or not, you’ll most likely have others dealing with it. I haven’t heard yet of one person dealing with something while others are fine. You also know I’ll be here to help you with whatever,” and she meant that. Whether she was his guardian or not, if he needed her, then she’d be behind him. “Trust me, this place and rough times is easier to deal with than back home. Yes, it can be a mind screw, especially with some of the crap it pulls,” and oh, she wasn’t wrong with that. The future kids were whatever since only one that was going to happen was Dawn. The drama whatever that was had been the nightmare. Between trying to kill a man, Marcos being like her Clyde to her Bonnie….well the whole thing had been a wild time.
The smile caused her to nod with a smirk. “Yeah, I’ll need to do some house hunting, but Dawn can be moved into my room since she’s still tiny. Tonight you’ll sleep on the couch and tomorrow we’ll go bed shopping so you can get a bed of your own, alright? Since I want to clean up the room a bit so it’s yours until I can find a place to move us all into.” Lorna had always planned on getting a house at some point considering she wanted Dawn to have the backyard and the normal lifestyle, she just hadn’t planned on doing it so soon. Or more she had been avoiding it, hoping maybe Marcos would come back and they could do it together. Though now she knew she had to go through with what she had been planning. So now she’d need to start working on that part of the process.
“Fine, but you don’t need to help out. Use the money for fun things you may want to do like movies, comics, or whatever you want. I’m the adult, not you,” though Lorna knew the kid was determined so she’d let it be for the moment. Once he had a job, they’d revisit the topic, but for now she’d let it go.
Lorna had glanced over to him and saw the change in his body language causing her to raise an eyebrow with a hint of worry on her face. “Andy? Andy!” She nudged him to bring him back to reality, knowing it was probably the whole thing about school. She knew trauma since she had it with the mental places such as the one they broke Rebecca out of and knew what that could do to a person. “How about I make you a deal? You try school for….,” she tried to think of a reasonable time, “a month. If at the end of the month, you can’t do it because of everything, we’ll revisit the topic and figure something else out, okay? If I thought the school was horrible I wouldn’t make you go, but I know quite a few of the kids around here who go and have no problem with it. If this girl I had made friends with was still around, she’d be helping you out, but I know you’ll be fine.” And she really believed that since she knew of some of the ones who went who had no problem. Though she was willing to make a deal so he’d try while hoping it went well. “And we can take it slow the first week where if you’re starting to feel trapped, then you can leave?”
It was a fair trade or so she thought, hoping he’d agree. “For now though, how about we head back to the apartment, order some pizza, and then work on getting your room semi-set up?”
***
Well, Andy believed in her. She had given him gifts he could never repay and he would always owe her in his mind. And she would always have his loyalty. He nodded to himself. Whatever it took, he would be there for her.
"I know. Doubting you will never cross my mind." And it wouldn't. Andy believed in her. She had inspired him and still was, even here. He smiled as she spoke, listening.
He listened and smiled warmly as she spoke. "That sounds good to me." She sounded like she had a plan, and had it together and he was glad to see it. She had always been the put-together person. And it assured him that together, they could do anything.
The nudge and her voice made him take a long breath, and he felt the shivers slowly get better, his heartbeat slowed down and his breathing seemed to slowly even out as he listened to the sound of her voice, not even really knowing what she had said. All he knew was that he was not alone, and that she had his back. He found himself feeling faint, but okay, and slowly, he nodded. Slowly, he felt like he could think again.
He spoke without trying to figure out any of it, he spoke just to speak, and just to let her know he was okay. He spoke, because he needed to, and he smiled at her as he nodded.
"I'm in, all the way." He had no idea what he was agreeing with, or to, but he was in. She was there and he was not alone and that was enough for him.
He nodded and stood up better, then nodded to her.
"Let's go home."
FIN!