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Post by Moe on Oct 19, 2023 9:22:32 GMT -6
As Kelnar attacked his own troops, the drones began turning their attention away from the humans and to him. To them, he was a traitor who had just committed treason. To Kelnar, they were rogue and disobeying orders and he had to show them who the alpha was. Truth was, he was not the alpha. He was, in fact, the beta. He was a step down from their true commander, but the others did not respect him as such, including the true alpha. That was why Kelnar was sent to earth instead of the alpha surveying the planet, himself. Kelnar didn't know any of this, but the drones did. They continued to attack both the heroes and Kelnar; When one of them struck Kelnar, he stumbled back and almost into Mark.
That was when Mark used the opportunity, grabbing Kelnar's forearm and using it to force himself to stand back upright. "I said stop!" he shouted, causing time to freeze once more. This time, it wasn't on purpose. He was trying to conserve energy and not use his powers again, but the frustration of not being able to do anything to help caused him to lose control, again. This time, however, since he was using Kelnar as a prop, Kelnar entered the time bubble with him.
"This power..." Kelnar breathed, recognizing it. "Could you be-" he turned to Mark.
"Nope, don't care." Mark interrupted before he could say anything. He didn't care who this guy thought he was. "But since you're here, you seem to be on our side. What the heck is going on? Why are these guys attacking us, and you aren't?"
Kelnar nodded. "We are part of a group sent to earth to survey the land, to see what its resources are like and if its inhabitable for my people. My troops turned on me, attacking was not the plan. I'm taking care of it. They will learn to respect my command, as beta."
"No, no. No more killing." Mark insisted. "They'll never respect you as a leader, if you just kill them. They'll just fear you."
"That is how our species operates. We rule by fear. If our troops do not fear us, then they will step out of line." Kelnar tilted his head to the side, confused. "Did you not make us this way?" His ears twitched as he looked behind them, feeling time returning back to normal. He knew what that energy signature was, and exactly how to withdraw his troops.
"STOP FIGHTING!" Kelnar bellowed in a roar. "We are in the presence of The Divine!" he shouted, causing the rest of the troops to stop attacking the girls, and all turn to look at Kelnar kneeling in front of Hyper X. "I apologize, Holy One, if I had known you would be gracing us with your presence, I would have taken better care to make a good impression."
"Oh no." Mark backed away, holding his hands in front of him. "No no no, nope. No. Absolutely not. This is not going to be A Thing. I am not holy, I am not divine, and I am sure as hell not your god."
"The energy signatures were unmistakable. You are Time and Space. You are the creator of the universe. To know that you have not abandoned this planet, is relieving." Kelnar turned back to his troops, who stopped attacking once they realized what was happening. "Fall back!" he roared. "We shall return home and report that the gods are still watching over the planet!"
"Nooo..." Mark whined. As the surge of adrenaline began to wear off, he felt his vision fading again. He'd hoped that the problem had been resolved, as he wasn't going to be able to fight it anymore. He finally collapsed from the exhaustion and overuse of his powers, and completely blacked out.
Ikuki didn't get to him in time to keep him from hitting the ground, but she knelt beside him and held his head in her lap to keep him elevated. She looked over at Kelnar, who was confused as to what had happened. "He's not Time-Space." she explained. "Well, he is, but the god you know is long gone. He's the new Time-Space, and he's still learning."
"He may have a new body, but he is still the same god." Kelnar said. "I do apologize for my troops' behavior. I will relay the information to the others scattered about the city, and withdraw them. The information we've learned here will be invaluable. Tell Davis that I enjoyed learning about ducks, and I will revisit him again, soon. He was a pleasure to...'hang out' with." he said, trying to speak like a human would, again.
--------------------
The other group, meanwhile, wasn't fairing as well. The troops were still attacking, and everyone except for Genesis was doing quite well at fighting them off. All Genesis could do, was speak for Revelation. "Rev says don't hold back!" he shouted to Lux. "All you're doing is making them mad, if you're going to strike, make sure it's hard enough to make it stay down! ...Do we really have to be that violent?" he turned to his brother.
Revelation shot him a glare, and turned to grab the one that was focused on the kids. As it reeled back from the shock of being bitten by Joe, Rev took the opportunity and grabbed both its upper and lower jaws, and pulled them both open until the creature was split in half. He turned to glare at the kids and aggressively signed "Don't hold back!! Give these guys an inch, and you're dead!" He may have seemed like he was protecting them, but with his aggressive movements and being covered in blood from the creatures, it came off as terrifying and caused Genesis to step away from him a slight distance.
Revelation continued the violent onslaught, but as he picked one up by the throat, he heard a communication device go off, on the creature's belt.
Fall back. We are in the presence of The Divine. Our Creator knows we have returned.
This caused Revelation confusion, as the drones stopped attacking and did, indeed, fall back. The one Rev was still holding, seized the opportunity and kicked him in the face, causing him to drop the creature as he faltered backwards. He made a move forward to go after the creature, but Genesis grabbed onto his cloaked and held him back with as much force as he could. He wasn't strong enough to hold Revelation back, but the tug was enough to snap Rev out of his bloodlust just long enough to compose his thoughts.
"What just happened?" he signed, but it was directed at nobody specific.
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Post by Banshee on Oct 19, 2023 16:07:01 GMT -6
Taiko flinched when she witnessed Mark falling onto the ground unconscious. She flailed a bit before wearily looking to Finch. “What do we do? Did he die? Is he dead? What happened? Did he have a heart attack? Did his suit lock up? How are we-“
Annoyed with how Taiko was panicking, she firmly placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her from running around. Then when Taiko kept rambling on about what could’ve possibly went wrong with him, Finch clamped her hand over her mouth to shut her up. “Stop...Talking... You’re going to give everyone a brain aneurysm with your nonsense.”
Taiko stopped talking for a moment and stared up at her feathered friend. Finch then removed her hand from her mouth and immediately, Taiko began to ramble again. Which then was met with her hand covering her mouth once more. Taiko whined beneath it. Her panic still holding true to her mood.
“Davis?” Finch asked him. “Uh...We will give him your regards. Wherever the guy is...” She looked around and suddenly saw a pirate looking guy wandering in the parking lot. “I’m assuming that’s him. Taiko...Do me a favor and talk to him. Make sure he’s Davis.”
“ROGER!” She scrambled off in a hurry to go and bother him.
Finch sighed out of relief and turned to Ikuki. “Do you need me to help you bring him home? I don’t have much medical intellect but...I can at least, transport him. Or if I can get Taiko to breathe, she can turn dragon and fly him to the hub.”
- - - - - - -
Lux flinched when he was scolded about his lackluster hits on his enemy. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure how else he could apply such pressure to them. He was only ten and was actually smaller than the average. “O-Okay. I’m gonna try.” He frowned and swung again. But, it wasn’t good enough.
Josephine was giving it her all but she could only do so much before she started feeling the pain from using her flames too much. But before she could strike one last time, the drones decided to retreat. She lowered her fists and blinked, watching them skitter off and leave them behind without much thought. “Weird... What’s going on?”
“Damn it.” Lux hissed under his breath as he let his brother down, to allow him to transform back. “Ugh...I’m so damn annoyed.”
“You kept holding ba-“
“DON’T...Just don’t...” Hissed Lux as he turned away from his brother. He held his hands up before him, looking at how thin he was. Annoyed, he clenched his fists and let them shake from the fury he had. “I’m so damn small.”
“We’re only kids.” Nox reminded him.
“Well... GOOD! DON’T COME BACK HERE! OR...OR WE’RE GOING TO MESS YOU UP!” Josephine shouted at them as they retreated. “Punks.”
Lux watched as Rev signed. He then responded with a defeated; “I dunno. They probably thought we’re pathetic to fight against...or something.”
“Well, good. Then the stronger guys can handle them.” Nox said to him. “They were too tough for us-“
“Stop talking.” Lux hissed at him. “Gosh.”
“You stop being such a jerk.” Frowned Nox. “I know you desire to be stronger and everything but you’re going about it all wrong. You’re going to do more damage than good at this rate.”
“And since when were YOU a genius about this?”
Josephine rolled her eyes and stepped in between them. “Lux, knock it off. Nox...” She wanted to scold him too but in a way, she did agree with him. Lux was being a bit aggressive and nasty about his inability to handle the situation as he wished. She understood that there was a ton of things they needed to learn. So acting negatively like that, wasn’t needed.
So she simply pleaded to Nox, “...please...”
Nox huffed and looked away. “Did anyone understand what those things were saying at all? All I understood was growls and snarls.”
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Post by Moe on Oct 19, 2023 19:52:06 GMT -6
"He'll be okay, if the others are retreating them I'm sure we'll all meet back at the hub. I'm sure it's nothing Genesis can't fix." Ikuki said to Taiko. "At least, just enough to get him conscious again. Um, it would probably be best if you could fly him. Just don't tell him you're a dragon. He doesn't think dragons are real."
"I don't think this is over, just yet. This all has to be tied together. The robots, the circus, the aliens? Monsters? I don't even know what they are, but they recognized our gods. Ugh. I guess tell him that I'll meet him back at his place, I need to try and talk with someone, again." she said, referring to Apollo. It was a huge risk, but he was the only one that might have answers. "Also, I'm taking his bike."
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Revelation looked to the kids who were bickering, giving them an annoyed glance. "You are weak." he signed to Lux. "There's no shame in that, nobody starts out perfect. I just thought that you would have had a little more training before coming here."
"Rev!" Genesis butted in. "Don't be mean! They're just kids, don't be so hard on them!"
"They need training, or they're going to get themselves killed! Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing?" Rev's signing was getting faster-paced and more aggressive. He looked down and kicked aside one of the carcasses, and walked away. He looked back at Genesis and the kids, and shrugged as though asking if they were coming.
Genesis sighed, and followed. "I'm sorry that he's like this." he apologized. "He's not trying to be hard you because he thinks you're not any good. He's hard on you because he knows what your potential is. I know...I can read his thoughts."
Revelation turned around and shot his brother a glare. He was right, though. He saw a spark in Lux, and wanted to encourage him to ignite it. "You can all play detective, I'm going to the city council to get clearance to go to the Expanse. I don't feel like I belong in this city."
"No way! We need you here!" Genesis protested. Revelation kept moving forward and didn't say anything more. However, Genesis still heard what he was thinking, and he didn't like it one bit.
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Post by Banshee on Oct 19, 2023 20:18:02 GMT -6
“Oh? That's so strange that he doesn't believe in dragons.” Taiko said as she looked down at the sleeping man. “He's got-”
“Taiko, focus. We need you to bring him back to the hub. I will meet you there shortly but I have to go and make sure that my sister is fairing well against the enemies. IF they're still attacking the museum area.” She then turned to Ikuki. “Alright. Taiko will make sure that he gets there safely. She may have a brain the size of a peanut, but when it comes to safety, she's big on that.”
Without notice, Taiko quickly shape shifted into a dragon. Purple scales with a pink underbelly. Her wings were outstretched and she leaned her head downwards to allow Finch to put Mark on her back. Once he was strapped down and safe, she told Taiko to get going.
“I wish you the best of luck on your part.” She said to Ikuki. “We shall meet again.” And with that, Finch took off into the sky and headed towards the museum.
- - - - -
When Lux caught wind of what Rev felt about him, in a way, he felt defeated. He knew he was weak and useless. But to hear it from someone that's supposed to be mentoring him? It hurt. And he let his shoulders sink downwards as his mind wandered in the vicious circle that it always did. He felt terrible about himself.
Nox watched the sudden emotional change that his brother had and immediately felt bad. Then when Genesis spoke, his words quickly informed Nox on what was said via signaling. He frowned and stared at the other with annoyance. He knew that they needed to train but Lux was trying so hard to improve. And all he ever seemed to be doing was, failing.
Josephine reached over to Lux's shoulder and rested her hand on him. He didn't even respond to her touch, which made her quickly grow concerned over him. “Come on Lux. You'll get there. I know it.” She leaned into his view and tried to smile at him. But all she got for a response was a wry shrug and nothing more. She then frowned. “Come on. Don't let him get to you. Whatever he said. With a lot of training and lessons, you'll become something greater. I know it.”
“Thanks...” He said with a half-heart. Lux was feeling slightly less than how he felt earlier. But then Genesis apologized for his behavior. Rev was hard on him because he saw potential? He really thought Lux had something?
This was a thought that caused him to stop and think for a moment. If he was pushing hard on him, then that meant he could definitely become something that he's been fighting for. For ages. Perhaps he still had a chance? Perhaps he could become something greater. Better than Reese?
The fire started to burn in his heart again as he thought all of this over. And while he did that, Nox and Josephine were concerned for him. To them, he still looked deeply upset over it all. And then when it was mentioned that Rev was going to the Expanse, Lux immediately wanted to go. “Let me go with you-”
“NO.” Nox stood in between him and Rev. “You're NOT going to the Expanse.” He shoved Lux back. “You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. It's highly dangerous out there. You're going to die and I'm not going to let you do that. You're not going out there.”
“But Nox. I can-”
“Absolutely not.” He spat at his brother. “You do that and I swear, I will get Reese to come by and pick you back up. He will drag your butt back home and give you an ear-full. I am not going to let my brother, my twin, to go out there where you're just going to become easy pickings for some raider or something. I'm not letting you do it.” Nox stared at his brother, warning him that if Lux dared to cross him, he was going to get ruthless with him. And that was an action that was highly abnormal for Nox, as he was always so passive.
“And Joe, don't you dare encourage him.” He jetted his finger at her. “We're going back to the Hub where we can meet with Hyper X and the others. Got it?” He then turned to Genesis. “I'm sorry for my outburst. But I have to try and talk some sense into my brother. He's bound to get into trouble and he's not even close to becoming ready to do that.”
Josephine glanced over to Lux who seemed oddly quiet. She knew that those gears were turning in his head. The things that were mentioned, Rev having hopes in his abilities, the Expanse...everything just seemed too good for Lux to miss out on. She knew that he searched and had a drive to become better. And she had to admit, that she loved that about him. But then, there was also the line of walking dangerously. She then feared that, he was bound to do such a thing. But listening to everyone, she felt he wasn't going to budge.
Josephine's thoughts rang true. Lux had the thoughts about finding a way to keep up his training with Rev. And if that meant going into the Expanse, he was going to find a way out there. Even if he had to contact him at a later moment, he was going to do it. He needed to become stronger. He needed to learn how to survive in the field. Danger, was just a part of the game and he was going to win it.
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Post by Moe on Oct 20, 2023 17:57:54 GMT -6
Voices murmured and shapes blurred all around him, it felt exactly like when he had been stabbed just a few days before. He wasn't sure if he'd been hurt, just that he felt exhausted. He was also pretty sure he felt that his helmet had been taken off; Genesis knew who he was, but most of the hub didn't. All he could do was hope that he was in a room away from everyone else. He always trusted Genesis to keep his secret identity a secret, but he had also given Genesis permission to remove the helmet if the situation was deemed an absolute emergency. Although he could make out shapes, he was pretty sure his eyes weren't open. He could hear the distinct sound of Genesis' voice, but couldn't understand what he was saying.
"What do you mean you can't heal him??" Revelation signed.
"I mean I can't heal him!" Genesis panicked. "I don't know what's wrong! It's like he's used up all his energy, but it isn't his energy. Does that make any sense?" he looked to Revelation, who started to sign something. "Of course it doesn't make any sense!" Genesis said before anyone could answer. "So, I can't heal him because the energy he's been exerting isn't his own, and his body can't handle the amount of power it's putting out. Basically, I need a source and there is no source. Dude, what have you got yourself into?" he poked Mark's forehead.
"Hey." Ripley had reformed and had been watching the whole ordeal. Nobody paid him any mind, however, as they were used to all ignoring him. "Hey, guys? Kind of important." he waved in front of Gen and Rev's faces, only for Rev to swat him away.
"Huh. Sorry, dude. They're ignoring me." Ripley shrugged, as he looked over to a horrified ghost. "So like, come here often?"
"A-am I dead?" the spirit was clearly shaken, as he watched the others panic but unable to see him.
"Dude, can you not see yourself?" Ripley gestured to Mark's body that the others were freaking out over. "You're obviously still alive. I can see you breathing. Can you not see that? Geez, I thought you were a genius. You're in the spiritual plane, you dipshit. Aren't you some kind of god or something? Shouldn't you know this?"
"How did-"
"My guy, I've been a ghost for hundreds of years. I've learned the different kinds of spirits. You've got the regular human ghosts, that's me." Ripley pointed at himself. "Then you've got angel, demon, astral projection, that's you." he pointed at Mark's spirit. "Then there's the really powerful stuff. Like, really powerful. I've met Anubis in person, er, spirit. I recognize a god when I see one. And buddy, you've been keeping a lot of secrets."
"Please don't tell anyone..." Mark pleaded with him.
"Real talk." Ripley's tone suddenly became more serious than it had ever been. "I've seen a lot of shiz, around here. Like, a lot a lot. Because everybody thinks that just because they can't see me, I'm not around. And I've kept every last one of their secrets. I'm full of them. I'm basically a vault of secrets. But this one? Dude, you've got to tell them. I got filled in on the monster situation and Taiko mentioned the whole thing with you and their leader. Like it or not, you're directly connected to both, the robots and the creatures, and if you don't tell the others what's going on, they could end up getting hurt because you didn't give them all the details. You wanna know how I died? It's because I was double-crossed by a teammate. I'm pretty comfortable being the only ghost haunting this place, so you gotta start being honest with your team before I end up having to share space with more ghosts."
"I...I can't. If I tell them, then I'll have to accept it. I'm not ready to do that. I don't...want to be this. I'm going to watch everyone-"
"Everyone around you disappear? Every friend you make, leave? Family growing old and dying?" Ripley crossed his arm. "Yeah. I know the feeling. When I died, I had to watch my sister grow up without me. I watched her get married, have her own kids, and grow old. I watched her die and enter the spirit plane. She moved on, though. I didn't even get a chance to say I was there for her, the whole time. At least you'll get those chances. You'll have a chance to make a difference in peoples' lives, you'll be able to say goodbye when the time comes. So, get off your ass and stop feeling sorry for yourself." he grabbed Mark's spirit by the shoulders, and launched him back at his body.
Mark sat up as his spirit reconnected with his body, startling Genesis backwards and almost falling to the floor if Revelation hadn't caught him.
"TELL. THEM." Ripley said, making ghostly noises.
"T...tell us what?" Genesis got uncomfortably close to Mark's face. "WERE YOU DEAD??"
"No," Mark shoved Genesis out of his face. "Apparently I can project my mind into the astral plane, now."
"SPIRIT. WOoOOoOO." Ripley made ghostly noises in the background.
"I don't believe in souls. I do believe that I was having an out of body experience in which Ripley was the only one able to talk to me."
"Dude. Soul. Right here." Ripley gestured at himself.
"You're cursed. That's difference. Hey, does anyone have any iron?"
"Man, I thought we had a moment, back there. Pfft, screw this noise, I'm outta here. You're just like your dad, y'know that?" Ripley said before poofing out of existence.
That, of course, hit a nerve with Mark. He stared at where Ripley was, while his brain processed what he'd said. His expression quickly turned to anger as he yelled into the void; "I AM NOT LIKE MY DAD!"
"Whoah hey, dude, chill out." Genesis said, shoving Mark back on the bed. "You need to rest. You blacked out and hit the ground pretty hard. Had one heck of a nosebleed. Ripley's always talking crap, just ignore him."
"I'm not...." Mark repeated. "I'm not like my dad." he said again. His eyes didn't seem to focus on anything or anyone specific, and suddenly all the voices around him were distorted and his breathing began to get heavier as his hands shook. Suddenly, everything was a blur and his heavy breathing turned into panicked panting. "I'm...just...like him..." was the last thing he was able to say, as the panic attack suddenly took over every cognitive function.
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Post by Banshee on Oct 20, 2023 18:38:17 GMT -6
As Rev and Genesis worked on Mark, the three children decided that it would be best to exist in another room, elsewhere in the Hub. They wanted to make sure that they had all the room available to do whatever was needed to help him. And even though Nox would've loved to take the opportunity to learn about healing techniques and medicinal works, he felt that it was best to sit this one out. Because after all, he and the others, cared for Mark.
Sitting on the couch beside one another, Nox was busily talking to Taiko who was trying to provide entertainment. He was asking her questions about what it was like to be a dragon and how it felt to fly. Then he wanted to know where she came from and whether or not if she had family around town. And with the way Taiko spoke about everything, made it all the more fun. She included a lot of puns and humorous jokes that made Nox forget why he was waiting in the room, a few times.
On the other hand, the one who wasn't in the brightest of spirits was Lux. He was sitting in the furthest corner of the room, ignoring the talking and mumbling from other heroes that may have showed up during the wait. His eyes were fixed on looking out the window. His mind, stationed in his own self-deprecating thoughts. He hated how weak he was. It burned and stung. And in a way, he was beginning to wonder if Reese was right.
”Dang it, Lux. Pay attention!” Reese said with a sharp slap on the back of Lux's head. “I keep trying to tell you things and you insist on ignoring me. You're never going to amount to anything at this rate. Why aren't you akin to your brother and me? Learn what one is teaching you and stop being so obdurate!”
Angered, Lux threw down his sword and snapped at his brother. “Stop comparing me to Nox! Just because we're identical twins, doesn't mean that I'm going to be as amazing and fantastic as he is. And all you're doing is making me hate you more.”
Reese frowned at him but continued to fight Lux on the topic. “Your future team are all going to be killed because of your incapability of heedfully aurally perceiving those around you. Learn from your mistakes. Utilize what you fail at as a edification. This is why Nox is fairing better than you are. It's because he's endeavoring to learn while you're just in it for the fame.”
Lux growled in annoyance. “Again! Stop. Comparing. Me.”
“Then start paying attention, you miscreant. I am attempting to help you learn how to hone your skills and all you've ever done was treat me with dissonance. Is this what our parents would've wished us to be like? Do you relish having spats with me and feeling better about yourself?”
“You know nothing about me. And stop acting like you even care about me.” Lux was nearing tears at this moment. He was so done dealing with his brother. And when he spoke, there was a lot of hurt emotion in his voice. “I'm never going to be like Nox. Just...stop wasting time...”
“I am only wasting my time if you persist on being a joke.”
“I hate you so much.” Lux hissed before running off, leaving his brother alone in the training room.
His thoughts broke when Josephine poked his shoulder. Lux glanced over to her and gave her a wry smile. But she didn't buy his fib and proceeded to sit down beside him and lean into his shoulder. This caused him to roll his eyes at her, annoyed that she wouldn't leave him alone.
“Are you okay?”
“Worried about Hyper X.” He said to her. Although it wasn't a lie, it wasn't the whole truth either. But he didn't want to get involved with explaining everything to her. As it would lead him into needing to talk a bit more.
“You're the most gloomy one in here. So I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I'm fine.” He said in a short tone. However, there was a small pause before he finally said, a bit softer in tone; “Thank you for asking...”
She smiled at him. “You know...You're kinda lucky. I mean, you guys get to work with Hyper X! He's actually pretty cool. I love his armor.” Josephine then leaned away from him. “I can tell he really enjoys having you guys around. It's...kinda nice to have someone who cares about you. Y'know?”
“What do you mean? Davis cares about you.”
“I know he does but...I'll be honest? He sucks at fighting. I always have to save him and be strong for him because all he wants to do is run.” She sighed. “Taiko said that he even befriended the lizard king guy that was in charge of the attacks or something. I think she got it mixed up but yeah... He befriended an enemy...”
“Well, I suppose that's not all bad. Right? At least he left without hurting more of us.” He then sighed. “Do you think we'll ever get as cool as these other heroes?” He pointed to the others within the room. “They're so unique and cool. Some of them don't even look like they got hurt.”
“Davis told me that everyone is born different. And that it doesn't matter who or what we are. What we do is what matters in the world. And the world is pretty crappy.” She then smirked at him. “Like they said, you have some guts. I agree with them! I think you're pretty cool.”
“Thanks. You are too.” He smirked.
“Stop being so sad though. When Hyper X wakes up and sees you so sad, he's going to be sad.” She punched him in the arm. “Things will get better...” Then she stopped for a moment as she realized what she was saying. Her face wrinkled. “Oh goodness. I've only known my Father for a year and I'm already sounding like him. Ugh.”
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Post by Moe on Oct 20, 2023 19:24:34 GMT -6
Revelation had left the room, to give Mark some space. He was freaking out and Rev didn't know how to help with that. He sat on a loveseat adjacent to the kids, and signed "He's freaking out. When did he start having panic attacks?"
Genesis was also freaking out, trying to get Mark to calm down, but everything he did only seemed to make things worse. "Oh my god okay just try to control your breathing and I'll go call somebody. Just tell me who I can call that can help." Genesis panicked. "Alex? Your mom? Rach-no, not her. Ugh, Nathan could help but nobody knows where he's at. Okay I'm gonna call your sister, just stay here!" he rushed out and into the living room, since he didn't have a cell phone and could only use the landline phone.
Mark, meanwhile, did not register anything Genesis was saying. He could hear every breath he took with intensity, which caused him to panic even more. He wobbled to his feet and stumbled into the bathroom and leaned over the sink, staring intensely into the mirror. His reflection was a blur, but he couldn't tell if it was from the panic attack or because he didn't know who he was, anymore.
"I'm in control of my own life." he spoke quietly and through quick breaths. He smashed his fist into the mirror, hoping that the blurred vision of his reflection was just from the severe anxiety. Instead, he just broke the mirror. It wasn't enough for any pieces to fall and didn't make much of a noise, but it was enough that he could pull a shard from the mirror and stare at it, with intense focus.
"I'm in charge of my own fate." he gritted his teeth, gripping the piece of glass. He yanked off one of the arm pieces of his suit, and pressed the glass to his bare arm. "Nobody else can tell me how I'm supposed to live my life." he closed his eyes tightly, but heard a voice in the back of his head. It was the voice of the woman he'd met in his first dream, Ananke, or Ananke's granddaughter.
"Don't do it."
"You can't tell me what to do. You're not in charge of my life, I am!" he yelled out at the voice.
"You can't die, all you'll do is make the others freak out."
"I don't care!" he said, anger turning into tears. "I don't care about anything! I never asked for this! I don't want this!" he sobbed, pressing the glass hard enough into his arm to cause it to bleed, but not deep enough to cause severe damage. The sadness suddenly became overwhelming, and he felt he couldn't do anything anymore. He dropped the glass and collapsed onto the floor, leaning his back against the wall. "I can't do this." he completely broke down, in tears. "I can't... I never wanted to be a leader...I never wanted anyone to look up to me...everyone expects so much of me and I can't take anymore pressure..."
He kept talking, hoping the voice of Fate would continue to talk to him, but there was only silence. She no longer spoke to him now that he wasn't on the verge of doing something stupid, leaving him alone with his thoughts once more.
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Post by Banshee on Oct 20, 2023 19:57:47 GMT -6
When Genesis quickly left the operation room and entered the main room, he was in a frantic. Nox, Lux, Josephine, and Taiko all watched him as he skittered across the floor over to another room. Probably making a call of some sort. Rev on the other hand, sat across from the kids and hand signed to them. However, Lux didn't get a chance to even explain what Rev was saying because Taiko instantly began to talk.
Nox went to get up and go check on him, but Taiko kept him from moving. “Wait. Uh, what if he's naked?”
“Who? Wait, why would he be naked?”
“Hyper X. What if he's in the middle of an operation and things got messy?” Taiko flailed. “So much blood and guts everywhere? Doctors have to work on a naked person to get things fixed, you know.”
“I understand what doctors do, Taiko. I'm not that stupid.” Said Nox as he tried to break out from her grasp. “Please let go of me.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Josephine asked as she stared at the dragon. “You're cracked.”
“No, like what if he's a mad doctor or something and he's trying to be all Science guy? Or maybe, there's an alien in his chest and is trying to jump out and suck your eyes from your face? What if it tries to plant eggs into your body so they can burst out from your chest later? I mean, he was a lizard man!”
“Taiko...I don't understand where you're getting at.” Nox said to her. “All he did was move to call someone. Maybe there's something going on and he just needs help or something? Rev was trying to say something but-”
She then leaned into Nox's face and asked; “What if he's calling the Lizard Men to come pick up their babies? What if he doesn't want you to see his naked body? Do you even know what he looks like under that armor?”
“Sh-Sheesh, can you stop talking?” Nox whined as he tried to get away from her face. “You must be really on some sort of hallucinogenic drug. I'd suggest seeing a shrink or something. Or at least, lay off the drugs.”
Lux rolled his eyes as he didn't want anything to do with the conversation at hand. He saw what Rev had to say and simply rose from his seat while Taiko was creeping out the others. Her conspiracy theories may all be just pulled out from various materials of novels or terrible movies. Either way, he was going to investigate it himself. After all, he was going to take Rev's word.
The guy was having a panic attack.
Lux managed to sneak out of the room and headed into the operation room. At first, he didn't see Mark at all and began to wonder if he had broken through a window or ran off somewhere within the building. But then he heard something inside of the bathroom. Someone was in it and he was going to investigate to see if it was Mark.
Slowly, he walked over to the door and calmly knocked on it. “Hey?” He said in a weary but calm matter. “Mark?” Lux wanted to ask him if it was okay for him to slip into the room. But he felt that Mark would've opposed the idea.
So he poked his head into the room to see Mark on the ground, huddling himself in a sobbing mess. Not being familiar with dealing with another person having a panic attack, Lux decided to stay back and allow him some space. As he figured that crowding him would cause Mark to break down even more. And that was the last thing he wanted him to do.
“Hey? Mark?” He called out to him softly, an attempt to get his attention without causing alarm or surprise.
Lux thought for a moment as he wanted to try and approach this as carefully as possible. He then decided to sit down onto the floor. The thought was, trying to get to the same level as Mark so there wasn't any sort of intimidation factor or any thought of him being better. Lux was simply trying to help him and all of these actions were simply, coming to mind as he went.
“Breathe. One. Two. Breathe. One. Two.” Lux was attempting to do breathing exercises with him. He wasn't sure if that was an appropriate move or not, but he figured to try it. “Hey, if you need to talk, I'm here for you. Okay? Please let me be your ears...” He stopped for a moment as that didn't come out right.
“I-mean, uh...I'm all ears...” He scratched the back of his head, feeling like an idiot for messing that up.
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Post by Moe on Oct 20, 2023 20:30:49 GMT -6
Genesis was finding it hard to concentrate on calling Alex, with all the bickering going on next to him. Right as the phone rang Genesis happened to turn around and yell, "Oh my god he's not naked!"
"What the absolute fucking shit fuck?" Alex answered the phone.
"ALEX. I am so sorry Taiko is...um. Being Taiko. Uh." he lowered his voice to that the others couldn't hear him. "Mark is having a severe panic attack. I can't get him out of it. He started freaking out about your dad and then he just went into full panic attack mode."
"Shit." Alex cursed. "I'm watching Tiffany, and Ikuki's in some kind of trance. Can you get him back home without him freaking out?"
Mark, meanwhile, was oblivious to the conversation and didn't even notice when Lux walked in. It startled him a bit when he finally noticed Lux sitting next to him, speaking to him. He quickly tried to kick the bloodied glass to the side and hid his cut arm, hoping Lux didn't see either. After Lux had sat down next to him, he found himself breathing in time with him.
"I'm sorry..." he finally managed to speak, although his voice was quiet and he wasn't sure if he'd made a sound or just mouthed the words. He wiped the tears from his face, as he tried to keep pacing his breathing. "You weren't...supposed to see me like this...I'm supposed to be the strong one..." he sniffled. "I'm the one everyone looks up to. What kind of example am I setting?"
"I keep getting told that I should be responsible. That they know what I'm going through. That I can use this power for the greater good. That it's my fate to be a hero. But what about what I want? Shouldn't I get a say, in my own fate?" he sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. "Sorry to drop all of this on you. You don't deserve it. You and Nox are kids. You deserve to just be kids, not deal with the pressures of being heroes."
He took a few more minutes to pace his breathing back to normal, and once he did, his hands finally stopped shaking and his vision wasn't blurry, although his head hurt quite a lot. "Thank you, Lux. You're good at this kind of stuff. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you're not good enough. Strength isn't always physical." he gave Lux half a smile, as he gathered his strength to set his hand on Lux's shoulder.
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Post by Banshee on Oct 20, 2023 20:54:12 GMT -6
“Okay...so maybe he's not naked. But is he afraid?”
“For the love of the Cosmos, shut up.” Josephine groaned. “You make no sense. And Genesis said that he's not naked. So get over it.”
“Can you please let me go?” Nox whined as he tried to break from the dragon's claws. He pushed and pushed but she just kept holding onto him like he was some sort of plush toy. “Taiko, you need to get off the drugs.”
“What if he has mind control happening?”
“SHUT. UP.” Josephine jumped on the couch and grabbed a cushion. She then hurled the thing at Taiko's face, smacking her hard. “Go outside and run laps. Go kiss a lamp post. We don't care. None of us are trying to think that Genesis is working with the Lizard Men or whether or not he's naked. We don't care. We just want him to be okay and that he's probably asking for help. So get over it. You stupid flying dingus.”
Nox was froze as the pillow nearly struck him on the back of the head. However, Taiko still seemed to have a death grip on his scarf and he was afraid of pulling away from it. As he didn't want to tear it apart. “Please, don't kill me...”
Lux waited for Mark to settle down and dared not to speak more than he needed. He was also trying to do his best with ignoring the ruckus out in the other room. Other heroes were most likely conversing with one another. But one voice he could definitely hear was, Josephine screaming at Taiko over something. And so, he did end up getting off the floor to shut the door, to mute the sounds even more before sitting back in his spot.
He then paused for a moment to let Mark speak on about his reasons for breaking down. Lux looked down at his own feet, taking in everything he possibly could so that he could be someone that Mark could rely on with talking about problems like this. He wanted to make sure that he understood what he was saying, all without the help of his brother. Which he knew would've gathered everything up within a second and managed to convert the whole conversation into some crazy theory or...whatever.
Mark explained and blame himself for not being strong when he needed to be. Lux waited for Mark to finish his first batch of reasons before he responded with a shake of his head. “Mark, I don't think any less of you. Everyone has a breaking point now and again. Even people as old as a dinosaur have those moments. And sometimes? All it takes is to have someone sit down and listen. And don't worry about me.” He smiled at him. “I came in here, knowing that you were having a moment. Whatever comes from it, is to be expected. I think?” He shrugged.
“I know we're just kids. But we've been placed in situations that forced us to grow up...” He then smiled at him. “But I want to let you know, that Nox and I greatly appreciate the opportunities you, and the others, have given us. We finally got to experience what it's like to be a kid. Watching movies, playing games, working on projects. Jokes and laughs. Even telling me to...manger du cul. (Eat ass)... It's all been fun, and I don't want you to forget that we've had a blast being here with you.”
But there was another pause as Mark told him something that struck hard into his own heart. Being strong, wasn't always about physical strength. It was also the emotional portion, reasoning. Lux never realized that he was even capable of such a thing. And hearing that come from Mark, really made him snap into a reality, that he didn't realize was there. Perhaps there was more to him than, even he, knew?
As much as he wanted to feed off of it, he knew that this moment wasn't about himself. It was about trying to figure out what was going on in Mark's head. But there was one particular thing that Mark mentioned. That Lux wasn't sure if anyone had ever dared or cared to even ask.
“Well...I know that Nox and I do have the desire to become heroes in our futures. We want to fight for what's right, protect those who need it. We both have a lot of learning to do. And if this is one of the things we both will have to overcome? Then so be it.” He smirked. “But there's something more important that I need to ask. And that is... What is it that you want out of your life? What do you want?”
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Post by Moe on Oct 20, 2023 21:35:59 GMT -6
Lux's words yanked at Mark’s heart, causing him to tear up again. This time, in a good way. He saw them as little brothers and he didn't know where his head would be at, if they hadn't come into his life when they did. Ikuki had worked her way into his heart as well, and he couldn't help but think of her, too. All three of them made him happy.
When Lux asked what he wanted, it took him aback. Nobody had ever asked him that, before. It took him a minute to come up with an answer, since he wasn't prepared for it.
"Um." He scratched the back of his head, thinking. Not that he didn't know, just that he didn't know how to answer a question that's never been asked. "I guess I just want to be normal. Marry a nice guy or girl, have a big family, make a difference and help people in normal ways. I want to spend holidays with my family, I want to not have to worry about whether I can make it to my kids' school events because there's a villain attack in town. I want to relax at the end of the day and not have to deal with leftover problems my dad left for me. I just want to be normal." He repeated, his tone seeming to get more serious and frustrated.
"But I can't. I never can. Everybody looks to me to lead them, and I can't let everyone down. Sometimes what we want, doesn't matter. Sometimes you have to just suck it up and do what's expected of you. Even if it means being something I'm not."
"You and Nox are like the little brothers I never had. I have to stay strong, for you. And Tiffany... I've got to be a better father to her, than mine ever was to me. She's going to look up to me, too. And so is my niece. What I want doesn't matter, I have to stay strong for Alex, Mom, Nathan, the heroes here...Ikuki..." he trailed off, blushing as he spoke her name, although he didn't realize it.
"Wait, where is Ikuki? She didn't get hurt, did she??" He scrambled to stand up, though it took some effort. Though his mind was on her and he was weak and could barely stand, he still stretched his hand out for Lux to help him up off the floor. He didn't care that it was the arm he'd cut into, and very likely had already blanked out even doing it.
"Thank you for talking with me. I needed that. But I need to suck it up and be the leader everyone expects me to be."
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Post by Banshee on Oct 20, 2023 23:23:50 GMT -6
Taiko leaned into Nox and whispered rather loudly; “They are listening to us as we speak.”
Nox frowned at her, not wanting to deal with her anymore. But he was still strapped within her claws like a fly on a gluey sheet. He couldn’t back away. He couldn’t swat at her. All he could do was be stared at while the dragon girl stuck her face into his, leaning in on him like a creep. He could even smell something funny on her breath but he tried to pay no mind to it.
“Don’t you hear them?”
This was the point where Nox finally had enough of her shenanigans. And he decided to open up to a page within his brother’s book. Mess with her back. He leaned into her and said; “The walls are sentient enough to tell us the secrets that they know. I hear them speak to me as if they were a person.” He held his hand up to his ear. “Words. I hear words. Groans and growls. They’re telling you that pineapples are actually a remote to control those who eat them. Have you had a pineapple today?”
Her eyes widened in fright as she shoved him away from her. “OH NO! I ATE A PINEAPPLE!” She flailed a bit. “Things are going to melt before my eyes. My soul will become sold to the interloper that traveled into our world to devour our souls like the jelly blobs that we are!” She slapped her hands against her cheeks.
“They want your melons.” Nox said to her, not knowing what the slang term for them were. He was just trying to egg her on so that she could go outside and freak everyone else out. “Save the melons!”
“THOSE ARE MY HONEYDEW! YOU BETTER NOT EAT THEM!” She screamed as she dashed out through the doorway. Someone walking in was nearly trampled over from her antics. And all they could do was stare at them.
“Good grief.” Nox sighed as he adjusted his scarf around his neck. He looked to Josephine and Rev. “I had to pull a trick from my brother’s book and mess with her back. I just wanted to get her off of me so I didn’t choke.”
“Fine with me. I like it.” Josephine laughed.
As for Lux, he listened to Mark answer his question. At first, Lux wasn’t surprised that Mark wanted to have a normal life and had goals of what he wanted to do with his future family. He smiled at him, even. It was all something completely normal for anyone to want. Just being surrounded by people who loved you for who you were, was a nice thought. And he too, wished that he could achieve something like that one day.
But his smile quickly faded as Mark implied that he couldn’t. He had to throw it all away and just suck it up. Because everyone relied too heavily on him. Wanted so much from him. Expected even more. Lux felt a little bad about that but he did his best to not show any emotional display for him. He wasn’t sure on how much that would’ve influenced Mark’s actions, but he did want to try and approach everything as neutral as possible. He wanted Mark to speak.
“Well...” Lux said as he rubbed the back of his head. “You know...” He took a deep sigh, as he was struggling to figure out how to properly word it all. “I’m not amazing at this sort of thing... But I’ll tell you what this old lady told me. She was even the one who taught me sign language... I was having a hard time dealing with Reese and his...constantly mean attitude towards me. I was getting burnt out because I couldn’t do things that I wanted. I feared that I was going to be in trouble or make him mad. And so...she pulled me to the side, one day, and asked me how I felt. After I told her what was going on, she then said to me that sometimes...you need to look after yourself. You are important too.”
He rubbed the back of his head again. His mind was racing all over the place, like rats in a cage looking for the next piece of cheese. All of this was new to him, he never once thought about talking to someone about emotional problems. Never once had he thought he would be the one stable enough to help. But in truth? He didn’t mind it. Lux wanted to help Mark as much as Mark wanted to help him and his brother.
What Lux didn’t realize, was that he was actually a pretty sweet kid. He never noticed how much he meant to others. Which in a nutshell, was a problem he had about his own self worth. Had he realized any of this sooner, he would’ve been struggling a lot less with all of the hangups he had of his own. Mark, to him, was someone very important. A hero. A figure to look up to.
Lux let out a small chuckle. “You talk about wanting to do your own thing, enjoying life as you wished. Having a normal life. Which is totally normal for everyone. But you know the wild thing about all of this is? You may have God powers or Time-whichever you want to call it...But you can still do things, you know?”
He got a little flustered for a moment as he scrambled to find words to really help push his point through. But he frowned as his mind seemed to have locked up and prevented him from explaining himself further. He let out an irritated sigh. “Dang it...I was going to say something on top of that but it’s gone.” He looked towards the side, defeated and annoyed with himself. “If...If I can think of what the other half was, I’ll tell you.” Lux turned back to Mark. “I meant it in a good way, but...my brain frazzled itself I think.”
He stopped for a moment and then added; “You’re like an older, cooler brother to Nox and me. We care a lot about what you feel. And if you need time to do the things you like? Then tell us. Let us try and be in control of a situation-and uh...I uh don’t really mean me and Nox. We’re just kids. We lack experience. I meant it like uh...someone with brains. Like uh...Genesis. Or...Ikuki or someone... Whatever. You know what I mean.” He laughed.
Then Mark began to worry about Ikuki and Lux flailed a bit. “Woah, calm down. She’s fine. Don’t worry. She’s in one piece and is completely okay. She was actually worried about you but had to take care of something. Probably beat up a lizard or something.” He shrugged. “Sit down and relax, please. You...are kind of hurt from everything.”
While Mark was sitting himself down, Lux moved over and said; “You know, I think you need one of these.” He then wrapped his arms around Mark, giving him a brotherly hug. “Sometimes, a hug is all you need to remind you, how important you are. That’s what Nox says to me, once in a while.”
He then snickered, reverting back to his Ikuki freak-out session. He then said “Je pense que tu l’aimes.” (I think you love her.)
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Post by Moe on Oct 21, 2023 16:48:48 GMT -6
"I'm fine, Genesis healed what he could." Mark said as he grabbed the arm piece of his suit that he'd taken off, putting it back over his arm. His mind was on so many things at once, that it took him aback when Lux stopped him from leaving. When he wrapped his arms around Mark in a hug, it almost made him tear up again. He froze it his tracks and threw his arms around Lux, too, trying to keep his emotions from spiraling again.
"You're a wise kid, Lux. I mean that. Anyone can be smart, but it takes someone really special to show this kind of wisdom. You are wise beyond your years, don't you ever let anyone tell you otherwise." he ruffled Lux's hair as he gave him a genuine smile. Of course, the emotional moment was ruined when Lux started snickering, and said something in French that caused Mark to blush.
"I DO NOT." he protested. "I...we haven't known each other that long! Or even gone on a date!" he stopped to think about the past couple of weeks. The slumber party, breakfast, working in the lab together, even making her a suit. "Oh my god. Have those all been dates?" he mumbled quietly to himself, before shaking the thoughts out of his head. "Nope nope nope, absolutely not, no. Nope. I can't start feeling feelings, now. There's...things about me, she doesn't know. It probably wouldn't work out. It never does. I can't let myself start feeling, again. I am walking away from this conversation."
As he walked out the door, he almost bumped into Genesis, who came in to tell him he'd called Alex. "Oh my god, you're okay!" Genesis breathed a sigh of relief. "I was gonna have Alex talk with you-"
"The fuck is going on? Is he still freaking out?" Alex's voice could be heard over the phone.
"I'm fine, Alejandra." Mark said, using her full name as he knew it made her mad. "Lux helped me through it. He's good at that kinda stuff." he smiled at Lux. "Though, I do have some questions when I get home."
"First off, fuck you. Second, you know I love hanging out with you and Tiff, but I got my own kid to take care of. Whatever questions you have are gonna have to be for another day."
"I was thinking...maybe...I need to talk to Mom..." Mark groaned, not wanting to admit that.
"Oh. Shit. Fuck, yeah, I'll let her know. You know she's gonna yell at you a lot, right?"
"Yeah, I know."
"Probably gonna get the chancla."
"I know."
"Maybe both chanclas."
"Goodbye, Alex." Mark hung up on her. "Okay, kiddo. We're going home. There's a lot we need to unpack, and a lot of it has to do with my dad. I have no idea what he's started or how he's tied to the robots or the creatures, but I can't help but feel like it's my fault. I know it isn't, but I'm still left having to deal with his sh-...garbage." he stopped himself from cursing. He grabbed his helmet and covered his face before leaving the room, to let Nox know they were leaving. "I'm sorry you both got involved in this, but I'm really glad I met you two."
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Post by Banshee on Oct 21, 2023 19:49:38 GMT -6
Lux smirked when everything was beginning to sit in Mark's brain. He was slowly realizing that he was having some unmistakable feelings for the woman. And although Lux was originally just messing with him at first, he too was seeing the closeness that Mark had with Ikuki.
After Mark was done with the conversation, Lux followed after him and witnessed the near bumping of Genesis. Who seemed frantic about Mark's state of mind. Lux could only snicker at them and stay in silence. He wanted to see how else Mark was going to handle everything else.
Then there was a woman speaking on the phone that Genesis was using. Although Lux had no idea who she was, he remained silent and allowed the adults to do their thing. He merely stood there, twiddling his thumbs, listening to how the other spoke. She was pretty blunt, he had to admit. And he wasn't sure on how he would react to her, if they'd meet in person.
Then when Mark finished the conversation, he mentioned unpacking a lot of garbage. Lux snickered, knowing what word he actually wanted to say. “Alright. I guess there's a lot more to be done. I'll get Nox ready and see what's going on with Davis.” He then skittered out into the room and met with the other two.
Upon seeing him return, Josephine immediately migrated over to his side and began asking him how things went. Nox followed in pursuit and sat on his other side. Lux then filled them both in with what was going on. Skipping over the emotional bits and personal comments. He didn't feel the need that everyone in the room needed to know.
“Wow, I'm impressed. You've managed to handle this without my help. Good job.” Nox smiled to him.
Lux smiled at him before asking Josephine; “Where's Davis?”
“He's on his way. I got a message from him saying that Finch is bringing him back. He's...probably going to be here soon. But uh...if you guys need to go... Don't let me hold you up! I'm sure we'll hang out again. And I hope that next time, we won't be attacked.”
Lux smiled at her for a moment. No words slipped from his mouth. But it took Nox to elbow him to stop staring at her as he noticed Josephine was getting a little uncomfortable with it. “Oh, sorry...”
When Mark apologized, Lux and Nox smiled at him together. “Don't worry! We enjoy being with you, regardless.”
“Let's get this show on the road!” Cheered Nox. “See ya Joe!”
“Bye guys! Have a safe trip home!” She waved to them.
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Post by Moe on Oct 21, 2023 20:52:04 GMT -6
Elsewhere, Ikuki was trying to meditate. She found it profoundly difficult to contact Apollo again, on her own. She couldn't focus, and her mind kept bouncing to so many different thoughts that she couldn't pinpoint a single one. She wished she'd waited for Mark. The whole process was interrupted anyway, as the basement door slammed open.
"HEY. WHAT'SYERNAME. MOM'S COMIN' OVER. MARK APPARENTLY DID SOMETHING STUPID, AGAIN." Alex yelled downstairs.
Ikuki grumbled, trying not to show her frustration. "My name is Ikuki." she shouted back, annoyed. Her annoyance turned to concern, quickly. "Is he back home? Is he okay?"
"On his way. I gotta dip out, I gotta kid to take care of, too. Be good to him, okay? I didn't get details on how far he took it, but he's done this shit before and I'm worried about him. I can't watch over him forever...but he trusts you. Just don't tell him that I told you. And for christ sake, tell him how you feel. Dude's oblivious as fuck." Alex smirked at Ikuki, as she closed the basement door.
"How I-oh, okay. She's gone." Ikuki didn't even have a chance to respond to anything. She didn't know how close Mark was, or anything about their mom. She suddenly felt like she was just thrown into this whole situation and all this drama, and while it was frustrating, she was happy to have met the family and the twins. Despite all the monsters and robots and family issues, she could tell they were good people and didn't regret anything. She'd just wished Chronos had at least warned her, before throwing her in the middle of it. By now, she could certainly understand why Mark hated his dad, so much.
Ikuki sighed, accepting that she was just part of things now, and headed back upstairs. Alex was gone, but another woman was there. The two startled each other, but Ikuki assumed it was their mother.
"¿¿Quién eres??" the older woman spoke. "¿Por qué estás en casa de mi hijo?"
"I...I'm sorry, I don't understand!" Ikuki didn't understand a word the woman was saying, but apparently Alex hadn't told her that she was staying with Mark. "I'm a friend of Mark's, I promise!"
"Oh no, él tampoco te dejó embarazada, ¿verdad?" the woman said something that sounded concerning, but all Ikuki could do was say the only Spanish she knew.
"Um. Si?" she replied, nervously. Judging by the woman's expression, this was the incorrect response. "I'm sorry, I don't know what you're saying!" she panicked, hoping Mark would be coming home, soon. "Wait, Mark and Alex speak English. Are you messing with me?"
The woman just stared down Ikuki, and raised a judgmental eyebrow at her. Before either of them had a chance to say anything, the front door clicked open and Mark trudged inside. "Oh. You got here fast." he said to his mom. "Uh, you two have met. That's good, I guess."
"¿Quién es esta puta?" his mom gestured to Ikuki.
"MOM. She's a FRIEND. Please, DO NOT start this, again!" Mark tried to suppress his anger toward her. "I didn't come here to argue, so can we please put the past behind us for ONE DAY? Ikuki is a friend, she's been staying with me, and so have they." he gestured to Lux and Nox. "I..." he tried his best to control his tone and not start and argument, but it was difficult. "Lo creas o no, tengo amigos. A veces se quedan en mi casa. Sé que piensas que soy muy desagradable, pero son buenas personas y me gusta pasar tiempo con ellos."
The back and forth continued, the bickering getting louder and more uncomfortable. It was unclear what they were arguing about, but they clearly had some unresolved issues.
"I don't suppose either of you know what they're saying?" Ikuki leaned over to the twins. "Ugh, if they get any louder, they're going to wake up Tiffany. Um, excuse me?" she tried interrupting them. "Guys. Please!" she stood in between Mark and his mother. "Tiffany is asleep."
That was enough to get them both to quiet down, though Mark was very visibly uncomfortable and upset. "There's nothing wrong with me." he said, angrily, before finally stepping aside. "I need...to get this stupid suit off. If you can talk to me without degrading and berating me, I have questions about Dad." he stomped off into the basement.
Ikuki felt awkward and uncomfortable, over the whole ordeal. She had no idea what they were arguing about or why he seemed estranged from his whole family.
"I am sorry for the outburst." his mom spoke in clear English, but a thick accent. "We haven't been on good terms, since Tiffany's mother. I'm worried about him. Once he gets close to people, he just pushes them away. He gets it in his head that they're going to leave, so he does something stupid, to make them leave."
Ikuki didn't know how to respond to that. It was just more drama, to her. But then the wheels began turning; "I KNEW you spoke English!" she called her out.
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