Rachel Berry Ishii☆ (sg_rachel) wrote in supergleerpg, @ 2011-10-08 22:14:00 |
|
|||
Narrative and then Thread: Rachel and the Future
Who: Rachel, Future!Dave, Abigail, Jaime, Santana (all as interpreted by Erin), almost everyone has cameo of some kind
When: 10/4 (backdated), late night; May 31, 2015, midday
Where: The middle of New York
What: Rachel time travels, and gets major spoilers.
Blinking against the light suddenly shining in her eyes, Rachel tried to take in her surroundings, attempting to get her eyes to focus. How did she even get outside? The last thing she remembered was lying on the couch in the basement, attempting to memorize her lines for the musical. Shelby had said that she wanted everyone off-book by the end of next week, so naturally, Rachel needed to be completely script-free by next practice. She would prove herself the consummate professional that she knew she could be. She’d been having trouble, though, because her thoughts had kept drifting to that weekend, at the abandoned hospital. This… powers thing was much bigger than she’d ever imagined, and it was a little bit overwhelming. How had this happened? What were they going to do? It would be one thing if they all had complete control over their powers, but that was the opposite of true. Sam had put a guy in a coma, Puck had burned down their school’s gym, and she…
Wait. If this was the last thing she remembered…
Oh no oh no oh no… Rachel thought as her gaze drifted around her. She’d recognize that skyline anywhere. She wasn’t just outside, she was in New York. Near 5th Avenue, if she was correct about the landmarks. Letting her gaze drift down at herself, she rolled her eyes. Of course. Not only was she in a completely different state (the state containing the greatest city in the world, but that was a moot point), she was in a completely different state in her pajamas. And she was barefoot, which was frankly unsanitary. Ew.
Fortunately, it had been a little chilly in the house the night before and her dad was very sensitive to the heat, so she had grabbed his light trench and slipped it on to keep warm. She still wore it, so she wasn’t completely exposed in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world. Unfortunately, it was approximately 90 degrees out at the moment, and she was already sweating profusely. Plus, the coat was a little long on her, so she was pretty sure she resembled a mentally ill streaker. Fantastic.
Sighing heavily, she began walking down the sidewalk aimlessly, allowing people to walk quickly around her as she tried to formulate a way to figure out exactly when she was, and why. It was strange to be so certain after one questionable trip through her own timeline that what she was experiencing was time travel, but the feeling was almost… instinctual. She really had no doubt at all.
So caught up in her thoughts, she was unaware she had slowed down to almost a stop as she made her way down the sidewalk. Before she knew it, she felt a rough shoulder bump from behind as a man in an expensive-looking suit and carrying a newspaper walked quickly around her.
Oh! Newspaper!
She followed him as quickly as she could, trying to be inconspicuous but at the same time trying to get a glance at the top of the paper, where the date was undoubtedly printed. If she could just get a little closer…
“Okay, what the hell?” the man said, stopping abruptly and turning to her. He took a step back to put some distance between them, took in her attire, and rolled his eyes, sighing. “Look, I’m sorry but I don’t have any change on me. And don’t bother trying to pick pocket me, I don’t carry a wallet.” He looked at her expectantly, obviously wanting her to turn around and head the direction she came.
Rachel blinked, confused. Did he think she was homeless there was no way she looked that bad! And she knew for a fact that she still smelled fresh from the shower she had taken right before she had settled onto the couch. Still, even though she felt like counseling him on his presumptuousness, she took the opportunity to instead get a good look at the paper in his hand.
May 31st, 2015. Just a few years into the future.
She looked back up at the man smiling, “Oh, I’m not homeless. I just was trying to place your cologne. Sorry to have bothered you.” With that, she took off down the street, not waiting for his reaction.
So. She was four years in the future, in her pajamas, and walking aimlessly in one of the biggest cities in the nation. What exactly was she supposed to—
“Rachel!” She turned at the sound of her name, and was surprised to see a familiar face jogging towards her, carrying a large bouquet of roses.
“Jamie?” He smiled widely at her, slowing down to a walk as he made his way closer to her. Behind him trailed someone with much less enthusiasm. From a distance, whoever it was looked just like Jamie, and Rachel felt a bit guilty for her inadvertent racism.
But as they drew near her, she realized that no – that was most definitely Jamie, except blonder. And much angrier, judging by the scowl. What in the world?
“I’m glad I caught you before you went in,” he said, drawing her attention back to his warm, smiling face. She couldn’t help but return the action; it was practically her instinctive reaction to his smiles by now. “I’m so sorry I can’t stay for the meet-up, but I promise I’ll make it up to you tonight.” He handed her the roses, before letting his smile turn mischievous.
“We’ll go somewhere special. Maybe the moon?”
The what? He was dead serious, though; she could tell. She couldn’t do anything but blink rapidly at him, startled.
Laughing at the strange look, he brought her into a close hug, and kissed her on the cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed at the action, and she allowed herself a second to enjoy the feel of being close to him. Just as she was beginning to wonder why exactly Jamie – her friend - was causing her to feel this way, he pulled away, whispering hushed “knock ‘em dead” into her ear and walking away with an apologetic smile.
The blond Jamie followed, but slower, taking the time to shoot a very contemptuous glare her way that made it clear that Rachel was not to be anywhere near him. Whoa. Was that… the evil version of Jamie? Did she do something to anger him?
This day was so strange.
Deciding she needed to get somewhere familiar, Rachel picked up her pace, tightened her grip on the roses, and took on the familiar purposeful stride that was practically second nature by now.
“Hello, Rachel!”
She knew that voice. She knew that voice very well. Melodic, confident, and very trained, it seemed like an answer to her prayers.
Just as she expected, she turned to her right and saw… Well, herself standing between two storefronts, garment bag thrown over her shoulder and envelope in her hand. This Rachel’s hair was shorter, just barely longer than shoulder length, and she wore dark, almost black jeans with a ruffled purple top that seemed to fall directly in-between Rachel’s style and Kurt’s opinion on what Rachel’s style should be. Her smile was wide and excited, and by the time Rachel reached her, she was practically bouncing.
“Welcome, little me!” The other Rachel hugged her tightly, somehow managing to not maim either one with her wildly flailing garment bag. As she pulled back, she grabbed her younger self by her shoulders and took a good glance at her, taking her in completely. As her eyes flitted over the girl’s attire, though, she couldn’t stop her amused chuckle. “Thankfully I came prepared. I picked out a dress that I think will fit you very nicely. I also brought matching shoes,” she said, glancing down at Rachel’s feet. “I would prefer to not contract tetanus before I even turn 18.” She pulled a pair of burgundy flats out of a zipper on the front of the bag, folded it over her arm, and sat the shoes on top of it. “I considered just giving you a dress we already owned, but I decided that it would unwise, as then we would have two copies of the same dress floating through time. Therefore, new dress!” She gestured excitedly to the still-closed bag.
“Wait, why would you have to guess?” Rachel asked, looking at her older self curiously. “Didn’t you experience this once before, and therefore should know exactly what decisions you need to make?”
The older woman got a serious look on her face then, clearly going into ‘wise mentor’ mode. “I’m glad you asked, younger me. It just so happens that I don’t actually remember speaking with myself.” At Rachel’s confused look, she continued. “I remember this trip, and almost everything that happened. I remember details about everyone’s future and particular experiences, meeting older versions of people that I already knew, and I even consciously remember that I met myself. However, I don’t remember any details of our conversation, what my future self looked like, or anything of the sort. That part of my trip is all very fuzzy.” She looked contemplative as she continued on, “Sam thinks that it has to do with meeting myself. It’s a paradoxical event, and thus the memory wipe is the universe’s way of protecting time itself from collapsing. It all seems very dramatic, and so I’m rather inclined to believe his theory.”
“So I’m not going to remember any of this?” Rachel said, a bit petulantly. What was the point of this entire trip, then?
“Not this, no. The blackout only pertains to our direct communication, however, which is why that I have arranged for you to have an alternative guide to lead you through your journey. So, here!” She handed the younger Rachel the garment bag and the shows, taking the bouquet of roses from her. “I’m a regular customer at the deli next door. They should be fine with you changing in the bathroom. Hurry, though!” Rachel blinked. Was she always this excited? “We need to get going so that we can meet your guide!”
Rachel nodded, allowing herself to be ushered into the aforementioned deli. As she walked in, the man behind the counter nodded at her, smiling. She returned it nervously, continuing to the clearly marked restrooms in the back of the shop. She walked into the one-room stall, unzipping the garment bag. It was very much something she would wear now – a white dress with capped sleeves that looked like it would hit her about mid thigh. It had an empire waste that was decorated with a burgundy belt (that matched the shoes perfectly) that wrapped tightly around it. The dress itself had faux lace around the neckline and the ends, a clean design making the whole look come across as very classy. She wondered if she could keep it.
The walls in the bathroom didn’t quite make it all the way up to the ceiling, and so the TV was very clearly audible within the small room. It seemed to be on some kind of news channel, and she found herself caught up in the top story of the time.
”—don’t pretend to know what the jury is thinking, but the fact is that it doesn’t much matter – whether they decide on first or second degree, Judge Milikin is handing down the maximum sentence.”
“I agree. Milikin has been very active in his support of politicians pushing the anti-meta agenda, and I don’t see how his impartiality could possibly hold up in this particular case.
Frankly, I’m surprised the defense hasn’t asked for a recusal.”
“Well, quite frankly it’s an open and shut case. There’s not much they can do. The defense knows that their client killed this man – nobody’s denying that. They also know that he has a criminal history of violence that runs in his family, and that, aware of his own strength or not, he beat a man until his head caved in on itself. The only reason they’re even at trial, and that there wasn’t a plea is because his ability is particularly dangerous and the DA is determined to make an example of him. Fancy pro-bono, meta-only lawyer or not, Ramon Estrella is going to prison for a very, very long time. Most likely, the rest of his life.”
Rachel stopped pulling up the dress, her eyes widening at the name. Ramon Estrella? The bully that had tortured her all last year, and who was recently seen putting Fruit Loops into her locker? She knew he had a temper, but so did most of the jocks at the school. He was a bully, but he was one of many. If nothing else, she could admire how creative he was in his persecution. She could see him pinched for petty theft, maybe even something mildly serious, like grand theft auto. But murder? That seemed… insane. But apparently he was a not only a murderer, but a murderer with super strength. Clearly this… powers thing was bigger than she thought.
Thank you, David. Now, I have with me in the studio Blaine Anderson, the man who brought Mayor Tim Dillard’s dirty deeds in office to light, and currently the front runner in the mayoral recall election. If elected, he would be the youngest mayor New York City has ever seen, at just 21. Blaine, thank you for joining us.”
“Thank you, Janine.” Once again, Rachel was stunned. Sure, Blaine was charming, and very intelligent. But to be front runner for mayor of a city like New York while, presumably, still in college? This was insanity. Zipping up her pajamas and the coat into the garment bag, she walked out of the bathroom, stopping a moment to look at the television screen. Sure enough, Blaine was smiling winningly at the host of some news talk show. For her part, she seemed to be enthralled already.
“Before we talk about your election what are your thoughts on this trial, and what will be your position on metahumans when you’re in office?”
“Actually, I prefer to use the term ‘enhanced humans’ when referring to those with powers. ‘Metahuman’ is a term taken from a comic book. It just seems so… undignified, don’t you think?”
The woman seemed taken aback for just a moment, before blinking and once again smiling adoringly at Blaine. “You’re so right. So, what is your opinion on enhanced humans?”
She was curious to see what exactly Blaine would say to the woman, but was pulled away by the sound of her name. She rushed outside to meet her older self, expecting to be berated for taking so long, but surprised to see herself holding her phone flat on her hand, listening to a message.
“—so I won’t be going there again, thank goodness. Anyway, I know it’s really early over there, but I wanted to get this to you before you saw everyone this afternoon. Tell them all I said hi, and that I’m jealous of your amazing weather, because it’s been raining for three days straight here. Oh, and check your mail – I planned ahead and booked you tickets to visit London next spring, right after your graduation. Hopefully you’ll be in between shows. Call me this weekend and we’ll talk about it! Love you bunches! Bye!”
Rachel blinked. Was that... Abigail, her mini arch-nemesis? Of all the friends for her to have…
“I know what you’re thinking, but she’s a lovely girl, and really much more genuine than you realize. You should be nicer to her; she could use a friend. Much like you.” Older Rachel said, eyeing her knowingly. Placing her phone back in her pocket, she leaned down, pulling a bottle of water and two small white tablets from her purse. She stood up again, holding them out to her younger self. “Here, take these.” At Rachel’s confused look, she huffed. “It’s Tylenol. You have a fever.”
Now that she mentioned it, Rachel was still feeling rather warm and clammy, despite being out of the trench coat. Taking the medicine and the water, she smiled a silent “thank you,” before opening the water and swallowing the pills.
“Unfortunately, that particular symptom of time travel never quite went away. The farther I go in time, the worse it is. Dave has a theory as to why it happens, but I’m frankly more concerned with the fact that it happens at all.” Picking up the roses she had sat down, she moved into the traffic on the sidewalk, gesturing for Rachel to follow her. “Thankfully, the first time was very unusual, and that bad of a fever doesn’t reoccur often, or for quite some time.”
“Thank goodness. I would prefer not to pass out at school, if at all possible.” They made their way into a crosswalk, quickly making it to the other side of the street. Now that she was paying attention to her surroundings, she could see that they weren’t just nearCentral Park, they were practically on top of it. She could see it clearly, at the beginning of the next block. Was that where headed? How exciting.
They fell silent for a few minutes, younger Rachel taking in the sights, while older Rachel smelled the roses in her hand, playing with the petals with a soft smile. Finally, she broke the silence. “I must say, I never quite understood how it was that Jamie never noticed the Rachel he gave the flowers to was not the Rachel from his time. I mean after all, your hair is longer and you were wearing pajamas and a trench coat. The differences would be fairly apparent, you would think.
That brought up another question she had. “I realize that several things are different here, but why exactly does Jamie have an evil version of himself following him around?”
The older woman laughed loudly, shaking her head. “That’s not Jamie, that’s—” she cut herself off abruptly, hesitating. “Actually, memory wipe notwithstanding, I think he would prefer to tell you himself. Although, when you first meet… that person, I’m relatively certain that you will believe that the same description still applies.”
What a cryptic and wildly unhelpful thing to say, Rachel thought. Just as she opened her mouth to ask another question that had been plaguing her, she felt someone bump her from behind. Thinking nothing of it, she continued on, until she heard the accompanying voice.
“Oh, god. She’s here already? I swear, you need to send out mass warning texts or something. I had this huge plan to convince Pokey to blink me to Paris until it was all over. Now, I have to endure being around two of you and I don’t get to go to Louis Vuitton. God help us all.”
Before she could open her mouth to ask Santana what she was talking about, Rachel heard a different voice respond. “Wow, that was rude and I’m pretty sure it didn’t even make sense. So, doubly rude.” She and the other Rachel turned to see a blonde girl a little shorter than Santana come up beside her and take her hand. Santana, for her part, seemed sheepish – like she hadn’t expected the girl to even hear her.
“I would apologize for her, but she’s just going to offend you again in as second and she’ll hit me. So, no point. Hi, Rachel.” She said, addressing the older of the two girls standing in front of you. She then switched her gaze to the other one, pulling up the bag she had on her shoulder and then holding it out to her. “And you must be… Rachel’s frighteningly identical little sister, holy crap, you weren’t exaggerating.” She said quickly, turning back to Santana and giving her a startled look.
“I never exaggerate when it comes to Berry. I’m not sure that shit’s even possible.”
“Anyway, startling resemblances aside, it’s very nice to meet you. I’m Brooke.” She smiled widely, shaking Rachel’s hand and then moving back to Santana, snuggling closely.
Rachel took the time to really take in the changes in her teammate. Truth be told, there really weren't many – her hair was the same, she hadn’t gotten any taller, and she still held the air of being vaguely terrifying. At the same time, though, she seemed… happier. The messenger bag on her shoulder had a Barnard College logo embossed on it, and it was clearly full. She’d apparently done well for herself after all.
Not the mention the fact that she was holding the hands of another girl in public, and didn’t seem afraid to have said girl snuggle up to her. It was no secret around the Glee Club that Santana had a serious thing for Brittany, but it was also no secret that Santana worked very hard to make sure no one knew. That she was this comfortable in her skin was truly a miracle.
Santana then set her sights on the younger Rachel. “So, Hobbit—”
Older Rachel rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, Santana, I thought we’d grown past that—”
“—how are you liking it here so far? Did you find out anything good? Did Rachel tell you about the time she snuck into the Emp—”
“Santana! For goodness sakes, she has innocent ears. Can you please let her figure these things out herself?” Older Rachel gave her kind-of-friend a pointed look, clearly trying to convey a message and tell her to shut up at the same time.
“Like she’s going to remember this anyway.” Santana said, amused, but quieted nonetheless.
Rachel decided that it was time for her to speak up. “Santana, I am very proud to see that you have grown out of your late-teenage discomfort with your sexuality, and have blossomed into a happy, healthy young adult with a focus on the future, on your terms.”
Brooke looked ready to crack up. “She knew you in high school, huh?”
Santana just rolled her eyes, huffing. “God, I forgot how annoying you could be when you were being nice.” She just laughed at both Rachels’ slightly offended looks, before grabbing Brooke’s hand and walking them both backwards. “So, anyway, tell the gang I’ll show up eventually, but unlike the rest of you lucky bastards, we have finals tomorrow and so need to get cracking. There’s no fucking way I’m not getting into law school because of my fucking Humanities grade.”
“Try to do some actual studying in between ‘studying,’ please!” Older Rachel called using air quotes for emphasis and shaking her head at the mischievous grin Santana shot back at them. She once again started walking towards the park, picking up the pace slightly. “Honestly, I don’t know how she gets anything accomplished. It’s like productive procrastination is really her superpower. She managed to be in the top ten percent of our class without any AP classes and while cluttering her schedule with a language she already speaks. It’s extremely frustrating.”
“So, it’s really true, then? All of New Directions has superpowers of some kind?” It seemed a little strange to ask at this point, after all that had happened to her, but the entire situation was strange. She needed confirmation of some kind.
The brightness in the woman walking beside her seemed to dim a bit at her question. “Not just Glee. Lots of teens all over Lima. We didn’t realize how extensive it was until quite a while after they hit. Just – I know you’re not going to remember this, but I still think it’s important to mention: this is going to get very ugly. Not everyone’s going to – there’s more to this than just figuring out how to control our abilities. I saw you looking at the news cast about Ramon’s trial, and that’s just s fraction of what will happen. It’s just important that we stick together. That’s why we do this – have these meet-ups whenever possible. It’s to remember who your friends are.”
Rachel was quiet for awhile, not knowing what to say. She didn’t know very much about superheroes, and her power, as far as she was concerned wasn’t one to get excited over, but the knowledge that they could be so… dangerous really hit her. Clearly, they were already in over their heads. But still, even with this knowledge bouncing around in her head, she had one important question that had as of yet been unanswered. “Do we make it to Broadway?”
They turned into the front opening of Central Park, the older Rachel’s face breaking into a smile almost spontaneously. “I honestly can’t say, little me. But I am twenty years old, a junior at Tisch, and a supporting actress in a moderately successful off-off Broadway musical. I so far feel very accomplished.”
“Off-off?! But that wasn’t in the plan until I was 21!” Despite all of the knowledge she just received, she felt an overwhelming excitement hit her. “We’re already ahead of schedule. Clearly our talent and dedication paid off in a tremendous way.”
“Yes it did. It very much did.” They stopped just on the edge of a large clearing just a few hundred yards into the park, carefully observing the crowd of people milling about. Even with it being so full, she could see, just to the left, near the edge of the clearing, her group of friends gathered together.
Puck and Sam where huddled together near a tree, looking over what seemed to be a map and speaking in serious, hushed tones that were accompanied by wild gesticulations.
Artie, Finn, Mike, and Matt were in the middle of what seemed to be a very intense Ultimate Frisbee game, and were hopping over one another to get to the flying disc. They were each decked out in what seemed to be their school gear – Artie and Mike with logos she didn’t recognize, Finn wearing a USC Football jersey, and Matt wearing colors she remembered him telling her belonged to the University of Alabama: Huntsville. He was also wearing bright blue NASA sweatpants, rolled up to his knees to apparently allow him maximum height It was wild to see Artie playing with the rest of the guys in such a way. It was clear he had no trouble keeping up, and was enjoying himself immensely.
Underneath the tree, looking out at the game were Mercedes, Kurt, and a man she didn’t recognize. The man had his arm slung around Mercedes shoulder, obviously meaning to bring comfort to her in any way he could. Kurt had his hand resting on her knee, talking quickly and obviously trying his best to cheer her up. Mercedes herself was laughing slightly, but even from this distance, Rachel could see that her eyes were wet. Something had happened. She found her heart sink for her friend, the girl that was already having so much trouble. It seemed wrong, somehow, to come to the future and have her still be dealing with difficulties.
She was pulled from her thought by a hand on her shoulder. The older Rachel was smiling at her, gesturing for her to follow closer to the clearing.
They stopped once again, and the Older Rachel handed her younger self the envelope she’d been holding so tightly during their walk. “I made you a card, as a welcome. As it turns out, Hallmark does not have much audience for ‘Welcome to the Future Cards.’”
Rachel smiled widely, opening the envelope, pulling out the card, printed on bright yellow card stock. It was clearly made with effort. She felt herself get a little teary. She was just so thoughtful. “Thank you so much! This was just the souvenir I needed.” She frowned a bit at that thought. “Can I even take it back with me?”
“Oh! Yes. You can actually keep the dress as well, if you go to sleep holding it tonight.
Anything that you are holding, or that is wrapped around you when you travel -- which is always when you sleep – will go with you.” She grimaced slightly, then. “That actually has become… problematic in the past.” Rachel’s eyes widened at the implication. “It’s odd, though – I’ve never travelled with my blankets.”
Rachel shook her head at all of that information. Clearly, she still had a lot to learn.
Glancing back over at the clearing, she caught sight of two men walking near her, hand in hand. By the blond hair, she easily recognized Castor, and the other… was that Dave Karofsky?
Dave caught Older Rachel’s eye, holding up his finger to indicate that he’d be there in a moment. He turn to Cas, kissed him thoroughly on the lips, and continued walking toward them. Whoa. Clearly, he’d come to grips with his sexuality as well.
“Dave! It’s about time. Myself and I were getting restless.” The woman turned to her younger self. “I know he’ll take good care of you. I remember it. But make sure he follows the note cards! I worked very hard of those, and they will tell you all that you need to know.” She hugged Rachel tightly, before smiling widely and walking over to join the rest of her friends.
Rachel turned to Dave, scruffy faced and smiling, and placed her hands on her hips. “So you’re my guide?”