Lucy's room, TC
"Hey, buddy, how ya holding up?" Alec asks Xander, who looks at him like he's just realized he's there.
"All right... god, it's so hard seeing her this way. I just want her back." he says, his voice cracking a little. Alec pats his arm, and Max gives him a quick Max-style hug - one that is short, and not really worth being called a hug.
"Max, Alec, you guys better come down to HQ. Someone's looking for Lucy, and Mole's about to kill him." Luke says cheerfully over the com, his voice filtering through the static into the now seemingly-crowded room.
Max and Alec look at Xander, who's concern for his girl shows clearly on his face. "Sandeman?" he asks softly, and Lucy's hand twitches in his. His eyes go wide, and he grins at the mere thought of her waking up.
"We'll go take care of it. If it's him, we'll get him security clearance so Mole doesn't really kill him, and we'll be back pretty soon." Alec tells Xander, who nods dumbly as they exit the room, Alec's arm keeping Max close to him.
"Ok, Luce, your grandfather's here. He's coming in a minute, so if you wake up, you can see him." he tells her, receiving a slight movement from her head, but nothing else. "Ok, it's progress..."
HQ
"No way in hell you're seeing her, buddy. You could be some crazy psycho who's trying to kill her, and we don't even know if she wants you here, assuming you're even good. No way." Mole says gruffly to the old man as Max and Alec walk into the room, still in the same almost sickeningly sweet (to those of us who aren't all in love), couple-y pose.
"I am her grandfather, and I need to see her. I need to give her a surprise-" he tries to explain, but Mole interrupts.
"Would that surprise be a bullet in the head, perhaps?" he almost yells, and Alec rolls his eyes at the lizard's protectiveness of Lucy. Though, it does show his not-too-often-seen human side. Then again, when you're a 5'9 lizard, how much of a human side do you really have?
"No! She's my granddaughter, I would never think to do that. Please, allow us to see her." he says, exasperated at the lizard-man's bullheadedness. "I knew I shouldn't have made you so stubborn." he says, pinching the bridge of his nose as Max intervenes, stepping out of Alec's arms and into the fray.
"Mole, he's alright. Lucy does know him, I swear." Max says, blocking Sandeman from Mole's line of sight, just in case looks really can kill.
"Fine, but what about her?" he asks, pointing to a girl who's standing behind Sandeman, and dressed in what looks ridiculously close to a Halloween-costumed vampire.
"She's the surprise for Lucy- her sister." Sandeman says, and Max and Alec gape at her. She adjusts her skirt self-consciously.
"Um, hi." she says quietly, not liking having almost everyone in Headquarters staring at her.
Alec recovers first, closing Max's mouth for her and shaking his head as to clear it from the thought-fog. "Wait, wait wait. Uh, Lucy's family was brutally murdered. And unless she really is a vampire, then that isn't her sister." he says, and Lucy's supposed sister looks up, then goes back to chipping off her black nail polish with a sneer..
"Oh, contraire. The Familiars kidnapped her when she was 5 and put her in an orphanage where they could keep track of her." he explains, staring proudly at his granddaughter. She flashes him a quick smile- Lucy's smile, to be exact. Max gives her a once-over, trying to decide if Sandeman's claim is true or not. She has long, black hair,and hazel eyes, but other than that, is almost identical to Lucy. Sure, this girl has fuller lips and is a bit skinnier, but other than mild differences, there's no telling them apart.
"Yeah, but why didn't they kill her? Um, no offense." Alec hastily adds, and the girl shrugs.
"You see-" Sandeman starts, but the girl interrupts him.
"Wait. I want to tell this part, if that's ok. God knows that I need an opportunity to redeem myself from this Halloween costume." she tells her grandfather, rolling her eyes as she pulls the top up. He nods, and she turns back to Alec, Max, and the small crowd who've gathered. "Any of you physics buffs?" she asks, and a few hands go up. She nods. "Well, then you know that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, right?" she asks, and a couple people in the crowd nod.
"Well, my grandfather is a mutant. Lucy and I are the reactions to that. She is the equal one, meaning that she has the power to stop the Coming, and I am the opposite reaction- yup, that's right, those loonies needed me to start the Coming. And y'all know how much bad guys like these stupid getups." she sighs, tugging down the skirt that's trying to ride up to her chest, and is digging underneath that sadistic corset of hers. "God, I feel like I'm in a demented comic book."
"Oh, sorry. Got sidetracked." she apologizes, and Max and Alec smile at each other, noticing that both Lucy and her sister have the tendency to ramble. "Anyway, any questions?" she asks, and no one answers. "Good. Now can I go see my sister? We need to catch up."
"This way." Max says, motioning them to follow and ignoring the death glare that Mole sends her way. The girl follows Max, as does Sandeman. As soon as Max is out of his glare-zone, he turns to Lucy's sister, who rolls her eyes. "Yeah, right. I'm glad you want to keep my sister safe and all, but why in hell would I want to kill my twin?" she asks him, and he gapes at her. Not many people talk back to giant, very grumpy lizard-men.
Alec just smirks, happy to have one more person who isn't scared of Mole. Can always use some more of those...wait! Twin? Lucy never said that....
They head over to the Med Center, Lucy's sister and grandfather in tow. Lucy's sister looks around nervously, twisting her hands in a nervous habit and keeping her eyes to the ground. Alec studies her, noticing how apprehensive about seeing Lucy she is.
He continues to study her, and suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and she turns around. "Look, I know I'm Lucy's twin, and big surprise for you. But can you stop staring at me?" she asks, slightly irritated. Then her gaze turns frightful, and she mumbles a "Sorry."
"It's fine. I was staring at you. It's just...well, we thought that Lucy's whole family had died." he explains, and her eyes harden a bit, a mask going up.
"Yeah, me too." she says, and turns around, walking quickly to catch up with her grandfather. Alec just stands there, his mouth slightly open, until Max motions for him to catch up.
Lucy's room, Med Center
The door swings open, and Xander looks up, startled to see a girl who looks almost exactly like Lucy following Max and Alec. An old man follows, leaning slightly on a cane with the Manticore symbol on it. Xander stares at it, and the old man covers the symbol with his palm.
The girl just stares at Lucy, her stomach wrenching almost painfully at seeing her twin sister in a coma. She walks up to her, and Xander backs away so that she can get in. The room fades away to her, and she takes her sister's hand. "Um, hi LuceBear." she tells Lucy, using their childhood nicknames for each other. "It's HollDoll. I know, you probably think I'm decomposing in a ditch somewhere, but I'm right here. The Familiars were the ones who took me. I thought you were dead." she tells Luce, her voice cracking a little with emotion. "Just wake up, okay? Please...I need you here." she tells her, a tear escaping and falling down her cheek.
She backs away, running into Max's shoulder, her eyes never leaving Lucy's face. "Excuse me." she whispers, bolting away with speed that some transgenics would envy. Max and Alec try to run after her, but she's already gone by the time they get outside. What the hell
Holly runs down the hallway, turning into the nearest stairwell and climbing up the stairs, needing height to help keep her thoughts straight. Her hand grips the dusty rail tightly, and she hurries to the top of the building in hopes that she won't be followed.
The door's metal, and slightly rusted. She kicks it hard, and it swings open easily. Well, good way to get rid of my anger. she muses, moving to the edge of the building and looking over the city. Half-finished buildings covered in graffiti litter the skyline, but the Space Needle stands out above the rest, the once pride and joy of the city now dark and slightly decomposing, but still just as dominant on the horizon.
She closes her eyes, letting the wind whip her skirt around wildly, just trying to gain some sense of being calm. She takes a deep breath and sits down, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them and trying desperately to hide from the world that's only hurt her. And she's doing a pretty good job...then she hears the footsteps.
"Hey, are you all right?" Holly stands up, brushing herself off and turning her gaze to where the voice came from. A boy about her age (that is to say 16 or 17) stands there, his light brown hair being blown every which way, blue eyes full of concern. She sighs, and lifts her eyes to meet his.
"Not especially." she tells him, trying to laugh it off. "But then again, fate hates me, so no big surprise there." She sits down, and continues to stare out at the city, willing him to go away. But he doesn't. He sits down next to her, determined to stay until he's sure she's alright.
"I'm John. And you are?" he says, trying to place where he's seen her before.
"Holly. I'm Lucy's sister, that's probably why I look familiar, if I do." she says, cringing at the word "familiar" "Ok, I am never going to use that word again." she promises, making a face.
"Yeah, not a lot of people liked the Familiars. But they're dead, so I guess it doesn't really matter." he muses, shrugging it off. She looks at him, a slow smile spreading across her face in realization.
"I always knew that Mrs. Hagen would get hers." she says, explaining further at his confused look. "She was this total bitch at the orph...where I used to live." she corrects herself, and he nods, not really buying her story but letting it slide.
"Yeah, bad guys suck." he says, and she nods, nothing making more sense to her than that statement. He looks at her, smirking playfully. "But at least the hero always gets the girl." he says, and she swats him on the shoulder. "Hey, I was just kidding!" he protests, and she grins.
"Sexist." she says, sticking out her tongue in false-anger, but really just glad to have someone to talk to instead of having to think about all the shit in her life. "Then again, you are male, and a prisoner of your genes, so maybe I'll let this one slide." she tells him, staring again into the city as memories of her childhood come floating to the surface of her memory.
"Thanks." he says, and, seeing the hurt on her face, moves a little closer, hoping that his body heat will somehow be of comfort to her in the cold air. "So, you never did tell me what's wrong."
"Everything." she groans, "I just found out that the family I was kidnapped from and told had died in a car accident didn't really die when I was five...they were killed only a short time ago. I could've still been with them." she says, hitting the ground with her fist, ignoring the blood that comes to her knuckles. "My twin, Luce, who I have spent 11 years mourning, is alive and well, but she's in a coma, and I'm scared that she won't wake up. Oh, did I mention I'm the Key that starts the Coming?" she cries, and John's eyes widen. "I told the Familiars that they didn't have to kill me to end the world, but they would've, but then my estranged, in-hiding grandfather who made all the transgenics saved me. Ugh, and don't even get me started on this outfit." she finishes, looking with disgust at her outfit.
"I'm sure I can find some clothes for you to wear." he says, and the smile that he gets is more rewarding than any of the hostage-situations he's ever ended, all put together.
"That would be great. But, um, we should probably find my grandfather. He's a worrier." she explains, shrugging as she gets up.
"They're probably still with your sister. You ready to see her again?" he asks, and she shakes her head no. "Understandable. I don't think I'd be ready for it, either. Come on," he says, and they walk down the stairs, back to the room that Holly just fled.
And so life goes, trying to grasp new concepts while trying not to forget the past. Quite a predicament. But that's what makes it so worthwhile- the challenge, the fact that it's not always easy. In fact, it almost never is.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
So, whatcha think? Like it, hate it? Was it a good twist, or predictable? Tell me!!! please review, and tell me what you want to see, and I'll try to incorporate it into my story! And keep on reading, guys! You make this worthwhile...you rock my socks!
Luv ya forever,
molly jeane :D