Title: any suggestions?
By: Kameka
Rating: hmmmm G?
Disclaimers: The characters that you are familiar with in the movies (or the books) are not mine; original characters (and the plot) are, please ask before you use them.
Notes: This is unfinished so far and, frankly, I have no idea where it's going. I'm also not particularly working on it (that I know of) so updates may be slow, if they come at all. You've been warned… read at your own risk!
Summary: not a clue yet – will let you know when I figure it out.
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"Zenon, com for you!"
She sighed and sat up on her bed, reaching for the com device and turning it on. It immediately buzzed to life, the space station's logo disappearing to reveal an unfamiliar background and little else, not a person in sight. "Hello?" What was this, some prank communication?
Just as she was about to hang up a familiar dyed-blonde spike-covered head popped into view, brilliant white teeth reflecting the light as he directed a wide grin towards his screen, towards her. The grin, which had graced numerous posters, electronic and paper magazine covers, and publicity photos, was just as familiar as the blonde spikes and the man who wore both with such ease.
"Protozoa!"
"Of course it's me, darling, who else did you think it was?"
Zenon Kar glared at the Brit on the other end of the line, tamping down any pleasure and that flip of her heart and stomach that his 'darling' had produced because she knew that it was just his way. "You don't think that other people can com me? Or would want to," she challenged, blue eyes flashing a warning not to say the wrong thing.
"Now, Zenon" the rock-star soothed, "did I say anything of the sort?"
The blonde teenager sighed as she flopped back down to lay prone on her bed. "No, you didn't," she admitted. "I'm just in a viral to the extreme mood," she halfheartedly explained by way of apology.
"I never would have guessed, love," he responded with a rueful chuckle.
Zenon's pretty face was marred by a scowl at Protozoa's normal sarcasm but she quickly smoothed it into its' normal look, not wanting to take her mood out on the singer. "Okay, okay," she said with a small laugh, nothing particularly great or loud but a large improvement over sighing, "I get it: I deserve to be shoved into the sewage compactor and sealed in for days."
The Brit shook his head, blonde spikes not moving at all because of the magic of the super-hold gel he used. "Zenon, Zenon, Zenon," he sighed, "I wouldn't go that far. An hour, at most," he told her with a decisive nod of his head. "Or would you prefer cleaning the cafeteria equipment with a toothbrush?"
Zenon gasped in practiced shock, one hand to her chest as the other held the handheld communication device above her. "You would do that to me?" When he just started laughing, Zenon joined in, and the real laughter went a long way towards improving the girl's mood. "How do you know about such menial labor, anyhow?" she questioned with interest.
"Uh-uh," he shook his head and wagged a finger at her image. "I'm not telling you any secrets like that."
Both of them laughed for another few moments before they quieted. "Why did you call, Zoa? Not that you aren't welcome to call anytime you want," she hastily added, "it's just kind of unusual for you to. Lately, at least."
"I know, I've been pretty silent; not because I didn't want to talk to you," he explained, "but Microbe's been spending a lot of time in the studio recording our next chip."
"Oh! Is it as good as your others?"
"You have to ask that, darling?" He adopted a wounded expression as he watched her and, pushing things a bit too far, reached up to wipe an imaginary tear from his tanned cheek, the movement causing Zenon to begin laughing again. "It's extremely good," he sternly told her before flashing another hearty grin her way. "And it's also why I'm calling."
Zenon sat back up, extremely interested in what Microbe's latest album chip had to do with her. Knowing that Zoa wouldn't respond to any prodding, she just barely managed to restrain herself from firing off a million questions that wouldn't get answered.
Sure enough, once Protozoa had gathered his thoughts and there was a suitable time for the un-asked question-filled excitement to build, he began to speak in his accented voice. "It's like this, Zenon: Microbe is, oh, three-fourths of the way recording the next chip. The hold up, unfortunately," he flashed a cheeky smile at her, "is me. I've lost my inspiration once again," he mourned with a small sigh. When Zenon said nothing, he shrugged and continued. "I know that Earth isn't your favorite planet, darling, but I was hoping that you could come down."
"You want me to go to Earth," she repeated quietly.
"You helped me before," he reminded her. "I thought that maybe you could come down, we could hang out, you can hang with Microbe, teach them to play poker, and get a taste of the life of a famous rock-star in exchange for helping me with the rest of the songs on the album. You can even get in on our vids," he threw in as added enticement.
"I-I," she trailed off.
"Zenon Kar speechless!" Protozoa crowed with a clap of his hands. "I believe that's a first, love!" When she still said nothing, he quieted. "You do have to ask your parents," he reminded her.
"Parents. Good idea; Mom may go nova, especially if I ask about going alone. Do you mind if I com you back?"
"Not at all, darling," he answered before proceeding to give her the information she needed to get access to his personal com. In addition to that, he gave her his assistants' information and informed her that the pair would have strict orders to put her in touch with him no matter when it was. Just before they rung off, he tapped the screen in front of him. "If your mum doesn't like you coming to Earth alone," he said with a shrug, "you can see if one or more of your buds will travel with you. What's a few more people?" he asked the air before turning off the connection.
Zenon sat on her bed and stared at the screen where Protozoa's image had been a moment ago, being replaced by the familiar station logo, an image of the station in the center of the screen and flanked on either side by the normal military insignia and a double helix DNA symbol. "Cetus-a-petus!" She quickly turned off the com unit and jumped up from her bed, racing the short distance to the door and almost crashing into it before it slid smoothly open to allow her entrance into her family's main living quarters. "Mom? Dad?" she called for them before spying her father sitting in a comfortable chair reading a data pad, reports from work no doubt. Her mother came out of the master bedroom and joined them as Zenon perched excitedly on the arm of the sofa.
"My, you're in a better mood," Astrid Kar remarked with a small smile.
"Yep," she agreed with a nod, "that viral mood was sucked out of me like space sucks air." When her father, Mark, laughed at the phrase and her mother simply rolled her eyes, Zenon slid down to sit on the nearest cushion, her legs off the floor and her arms wrapped around her knees.
"I take it that has something to do with Protozoa calling," Mark teased with a glint in his eye.
"Yeah. Mom, Dad," she started before abruptly shaking her head and beginning to pace the quarters she had grown up in, too energized to sit still, "what would you say if I asked you if I could have permission to go down to Earth?"
"You…want to go down to Earth," Astrid repeated faintly, her mind immediately supplying all of the planet-bound dangers that her daughter could be exposed to. Before she could get too wrapped up in the memories, her eyes narrowed. "Why?"
Pausing to look at her parental units, Zenon decided that honesty was definitely the best policy in this case. "Protozoa invited me to go down and help him with his song writing; he's been having trouble. He'd make sure nothing bad would happen to me. You know him, Mom, you've trusted him," she reminded them.
"We've met," her father acknowledged, "but trusting him on the space station while we're around and trusting him with our daughter on Earth while we're still in space is another thing entirely!"
Zenon rolled her eyes at the typical-as-of-late overprotective bearing that her father had. It was odd, she'd long since decided, that he was overprotective when it came to guys but not about all of the trouble and circumstances she could get into around the station. "I can invite some friends," she told them, "so I won't be alone down there. I'll com you every single day," she promised, "twice a day! I bet Aunt Judy will let us stay at the house; she and Commander Plank kept it, right?"
"Absolutely not!" her mother gasped as images of what Zenon, Nebula, and anyone else she invited down could get into while alone in a house with no adults, on a planet that they hadn't spent a lot of time on. "If we allow you to go," she softened her tone at Zenon's stricken look, "you will not stay alone in Judy's house."
"Oh," Zenon answered meekly, knowing that the battle was partially won.
"What about your school work?"
Zenon dismissed it with a wave of one hand. "I can totally get the assignments and do them on Earth." She watched as her parents exchanged glances.
"Who were you thinking about asking to go with?"
"Nebula," the young woman answered promptly. "Maybe Margie."
Astrid and her husband once more exchanged glances before sighing. "Would it be possible for us to talk to Protozoa before we decide?"
Zenon gave a huge smile and leapt for the main vid screen in the quarters, one of the larger ones that were installed in every one living quarters. Quickly following the instructions that Protozoa had left, she commed through and was soon greeted by his smiling face.
"Zenon! That was fast!"
"Um, not quite there yet," she admitted as she nibbled at her lower lip. "My parents wanted to talk to you before they decided," she explained.
"Well, put them on, love," he answered with an expansive gesture before greeting the Kars as they moved into view of the screen.
Zenon shifted away and leant against one of the walls, chewing on her thumbnail as she paid more attention to her parents' body language instead of the actual words being spoken. It seemed to her that barely any time had passed before her parents were signing off and they turned to her.
"You promise you'll keep com us every single day?" her mother questioned, getting answered by a single nod. "Then if you can talk the Wades into letting Nebula go with… Or General Hammond into allowing Margie to go… you have our permission."
Zenon jumped away from the wall and wrapped her parents in an enthusiastic hug. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She gave both of them quick kisses before darting into the hallway, on her way to finding her best friend.
*
TBC? Thoughts? Anything?