Timeline X, Chapter Seven: Liberty Loud
2062
Liberty peeked her head around the corner, and sure enough, Lissandra Mercer and Bethany Kira Chang were coming back from the training room. Lissandra sniffed the air and detected the albino girl's presence behind the corner, ruining her jump scare. "Liberty, enough of your games!"
"Her again?" Bethany rolled her head back, closing her eyes. "She's becoming unbearable every single day."
"Was it my hair?" Liberty inquired from the corner, now showing her whole head. "Good afternoon, Primers! What will we do today, I wonder?"
"Weeeeee-" Lissandra waved a finger between her and Liberty back and forth, "-Aren't going to do anything, Chang here and I are just taking a little snack break."
"Awww, I love snacks!" Liberty threw her arms in the air like she didn't care. "Can we get some Cheetos?"
"Where- Where the fuck is-?" Bethany slapped a hand over Lissandra's mouth. "Mmmmf?"
"Liberty, did you get bored again?" Bethany approached the young woman slowly, applying her hands on the American's shoulders. "Need something to do?"
The bottom lip of Liberty's face presented a weakness when it trembled, which Bethany sww and picked up on. "Y-yes- No- I mean..." She stuttered a little too hard before giving in, her head dropping downwards, face and body radiating a sort of sadness and disappointment. "I didn't wanna feel alone again-"
Bethany granted some mercy and hugged her, something that Lissandra wouldn't even try. "You're not alone, you've got your mom. Why don't you go around looking for her?"
"My mom..." Liberty grit her teeth. "Right."
"I'll be sure to snack you some puffs," Bethany promised, walking away with the blonde in the red hat. "See you in a bit."
Liberty watched the pair leave, still feeling broken up and alone.
Now
She ran away from her foes, retreating for the time being. The chip- she came so close to having it, and it was at hand... And she lost it. She lost the device, and it hurt her like crazy, making her so oddly uncomfortable and pain-stricken. Her chest burned with that familiar anger, her head going lightheaded. No... I can't accept this...
The further she got, the more darker the woods became, leaving her to only be able to hear the crunching and thumping her feet made as she bolted away. C-curse you, Alex. Curse you to high hell.
She heard the three clone girls somewhere around, naturally deciding to follow them one soft doorstep at a time, forcing herself to swallow her hellish cackling. At least she knew where Alex's destination was, meaning there was indeed time to regain what she lost before Alex delivered the package. In the meantime, she had to find some allies, and quickly.
Finding the middle three clones after moving about stealthily, Liberty moved in to mold them into her new minions. Liby was tired of running, leaving Lupa to guard center while Lacy helped the Luan clone recover. Lupa stood in between Liberty and the clones when she appeared behind a tree. "And who might you be? You with them?"
"Them, who?" Liberty threw a thumb over her shoulder. "Have you seen them? They're all fighting each other-"
"Cut the bullshit, I saw you lying on the ground-" Lupa stepped back. "You're with one of them, I just can't tell which side yet, but it doesn't matter. Lynn, take Luan out of here!"
"B-but-" Lacy thought only to help Lupa. "I can't just leave you-"
"GO!"
"No, don't you dare!" Liberty tried to halt. "I'm not here to fight!" She meant as she said and withdrew her large knife, relieving herself it to show Lupa. "See? I-"
Lupa had already called upon the darker forces from the supernatural realm to grant her the telekinetic upgrade. The survival knife floated upwards, right in front of Liberty. It stood firmly up, flatly facing the tine traveler. "Liar," was the coldest reply Lupa had ever spoken as of yet, one of the darker moments of the Lucy clone's short life as of yet. Lupa motioned the knife to slash Liberty's throat. Liberty choked and gagged on her blood, loosely attempting to cover up the large slash with both hands. She fell on a knee, being weakened and horrified.
"Hugguhhhhh-" Liberty's hands became engulfed in her own blood, satisfying Lupa in the meantime. The knife was dropped, Liberty was mortally wounded, and Lupa was in the clear. The Lucy clone wasted no time in returning to her escape. "Wait-"
Lupa gasped, halted by Liberty's faint yelp.
The throat-slit albino was still moving to Lupa. "What- How are you-?"
"Regenerative properties prevent me from dying from physically sustained injuries," Liberty explained. "We both have this in common if you weren't made aware."
"Horseshit-" Lupa believed.
"Test it out on yourself if you don't believe me-" Liberty wiped off the blood from her neck. "That really hurt, by the way!"
"What are you, anyway?" Lupa asked, her cold eyes narrowing at Liberty. "A regular person would have died."
"Which makes me beyond!" The time traveler clapped for herself, grinning like a trap-happy girl. "There is no harm in telling you, so I'll be open, no bullshit- But I don't have much time before I'm caught up to."
"Start talking, then," Lupa snarled.
2062
Liberty barely did anything in her own room. She sat on the edge of her bed and swung around her legs in a random pattern, waiting for her mother to come back to her. The mother she had wasn't exactly the best one in the whole world, but Liberty was open to having quality time with her- and funny enough, it was just her out of the two. And if anything, it hurt Liberty.
Mother was away on some damn task for the Prime Federation, leaving - disregarding, actually- Liberty. Bethany and Lissandra made it clear they didn't want to associate with her, and in Laika Letenko's own eyes, Liberty was just an amateur, a rookie undeserving of a glance by the current Primers' line-up. In other words, Liberty didn't get a free pass for being related to the fourth and fifth Primer.
How long would it take until she earned her chance to prove her authenticity as a soldier fit for the top dogs her mother was integrated into. Her place, it belonged with the Primers, she very well believed it that she began stating it as fact. Fight with mother, find her place in mother's-
No, I will prove myself- I will, I can be just as good as any of them! Blood will see it!
In that very moment, a special guest intruded on her as she had her moment of confidence. Dylan Blood, the aging man of pale skin and black baggy eyes, almost one skin tone away from a full-fledged zombie, knocked on the wall just outside. "I've come to personally check up on you."
Liberty stood up quickly to salute the brain behind the Prime Federation. "Sir!"
"Stand down, my girl," Dylan eased, signalling her to sit back down. "How have you been feeling?"
"Calm, I guess," Liberty lied. "I'm pretty great."
"That's not what I've been told."
Liberty's fake smile began to fade. "Sorry, what?"
"Liberty..." Dylan took his seat next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder as if she were his daughter. "The Primers have a direct comms channel to me, this is how I pick up on issues within my own faction. Chang and Mercer told me you've been feeling quite... Bored, as they've worded."
"B-bored?" Liberty winced. "I'm- I don't get bored, sir, you have provided for me and my mother, and I cannot express my gratitude-"
"Liberty, I realize this, but..." He coughed to clear his throat. "Tell me, do you feel the need to go out? What is it that troubles you?"
"Nothing-" another lie from her lips.
"You're here all alone, practically doing nothing, and you want to tell me you're not bored?"
"...Clearly I didn't think this through," Liberty peeped.
"No need to hide from me, I can do my best to accommodate you, to resolve this conflict- Whatever this is-"
Liberty then blurted it all out on the table so easily- Not so easily, it had been inside her for too long, and right away, she exploded. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck, it's her! She's an elite! She runs with the original Primer trio, and look at me! You, you're the motherfucker!" Liberty thought to grab Dylan by the collar of his long-sleeve shirt. "Fuck you for not tossing me into your elite squad when you know I qualify!"
"Yes, I understand your concerns, and you are right, you automatically qualified to be a Primer, Liberty. I wish this of you, but-"
"BUT WHAT?!"
Dylan formed a great smile, revealing his teeth. "I had to see you want it, Liberty. That was the only way you would be given the trial."
"T-trial?" Liberty let go of him, calming down, anger dissipating. "What trial?"
"This day was bound to come, so I took the... Liberty-"
"Why, though?" She rolled her eyes.
"-To include you in a very special mission." He pulled out a folded paper and opened it in front of her face. The picture of the SCX chip took up most of the page. "I need this device, unfortunately it's been destroyed or perhaps it went missing- The point is, I want it and I have the means to acquire it."
"The S-C-X..." Liberty scanned the page. "What does this thing do?"
"It controls every virtual network., so imagine this in the hands of the Prime Federation."
"Oh, that sounds cool!" Liberty scratched her head. "Uhhh, but if it's gone, how could you get it?"
"Time travel, of course!"
"T-t-t- I'm sorry, what?"
Now
"So basically I'm doing an errand for my superior to show them all!" Liberty grinned. "My mother will see! I can finally make her see!"
"Talk about family issues..." Lupa heard enough, but still wondered about much of what Liberty had revealed. A time traveler sent by some agency, based on implication, called the Prime Federation. "So, humanity perfected it, did they?"
"Hey, I'm not fucking with you at all, I just..." She went quiet and hummed. "I need your help, at the very least, yours."
"And then what, you fuck off back to your own time?"
Liberty nodded. "Of course, I come back with the prize and take my rightful place among the elites."
"I want my back scratched for this..." Lupa requested. "Tell me, what can you offer that I don't already have?"
"Safety."
2062
"Before this new era, it had already been created by a science corporation that is defunct today. My forces raided all facilities, which later became the multiple Prime Federation facilities around."
"Th-there's so much you're telling me, sir."
"That's because I trust you," he firmly said, displaying his trust in her. "Here, come with me so that I may show you the time machine as I begin to debrief you on the situation."
Liberty followed him close behind, being escorted to one of the high-clearance rooms that not even she had access to yet, but if she were a Primer...
This was it, this was one step closer to the dream of hers. There could not be anything more pleasant in the world- and then when he explained the cons, the world tried to wind it back, stripping her away from her joy.
"You're not the only person who will be looking for the chip," Dylan casually revealed to her like it was nothing. "There is someone else. So, if you want to be a Primer, you bring it back to me on my desk. It's as simple as that."
"Huh, okay..." Liberty nodded in acceptance. "I've got competition, that's fair. A Domicile member, perhaps?"
"Critical information cannot be provided at this moment, you'll have to make due with what I've supplied, and that is so you can hone your adaptability to any situation, that's the Primer way."
"An enemy I won't know I have until I face them..." Liberty gave it a thought. "And... You're sending me into uncharted territory in the past... Wouldn't that mean changing the timeline?"
"Well..." Dylan Blood proved to be a true mind-blower. "From history, the device was reported to have gone missing, so maybe it went missing because I had you go back and take it."
"What-? Oh..." Liberty giggled. "Nice! I'm in!"
Now
"Safety?"
Liberty turned back once she heard the faint sound of bushes snd leaves rustling, as did Lupa. "I'll take you all into the future, just you three. Hide you from this era, where they're all just going to hunt you."
"Hunt us?" Lupa shook her head in disbelief. "That's what I'm used to, but I still have questions. Lynn and Luan there, why do they look... You know, younger?"
"They're like that because they're not those two," Liberty dropped, "And you're not Lucy Loud. The five of you who just came out of those chambers, you're all-"
"C-clones?" Lupa had somehow made the connection faster than her original counterpart.
"Hahahaha, smartypants!"
"It only adds more..." Lupa groaned. "How much do you know about the real Lucy?"
"Nothing at all, they've said she was a myth, yet here you are, proving that she never died in the fire."
"No, she didn't," Lupa confirmed. "But no way anyone could have ever known that before meeting me, so... How is it possible I exist?"
"You mean you don't know?" Liberty exhaled sharply. "Prime Fed's got a pool on you. They've all had different ideas on how you were created, the details were lost in the wind."
"A pool on that?" Lupa smirked. "Let me guess, you placed a bet, didn't you?"
"Maybe I did," Liberty teased. "I wanted a bunch of snacks and candy and I laid it all out there."
"And what was your guess, hmmm?"
Liberty scratched her cheek. "I figured Lucy's DNA was extracted beforehand. I heard stories that Lisa Loud was a genius totally in love with science and stuff."
"Lisa..." Lupa found the name familiar. "Oh, that Lisa..."
Luna, on the prowl among the woods, pounced from the dark and tackled Lupa down, roaring right into her face in the lizard form she barely got a handle on. The force of Luna's strike had sent Liberty spinning back, caught by Lynn from behind. "Ahh!"
"Don't resist!" Lynn put Liberty in a headlock, straining Liberty tightly. "You're coming with us!"
"Who is this us you speak of?" Liberty forced out. Realizing she was still in command. "ALL UNITS, ASSEMBLE TO MY POSITION!"
"What did you just do?!" Lynn held Liberty tighter. "What-?"
"Lynn, I hear rumbling!" Luna called out, still holding Lupa down. "She called for someone!"
"Or something..." Lynn gulped. "What's that, huh?!"
Meli, floating through the air twenty feet above ground, had come to Liberty's aid, knocking down all trees in her path with both hands. Darcy was just behind her, also managing her way out of the other fight. Lupa and Liberty were both let go aa Lynn and Luna faced the two incoming girls.
"They with you?" Lupa asked.
"They are now," Liberty squealed with pride. "They're our allies."
Luna squinted to recognize them as Meli and Darcy of the X-Elites. "No way-"
D-damn it, I lost the boy- Chad's exclusion from the three made her realize that he had been beaten, leaving it down to these two plus Lupa. "You two, attack these two brunettes- Kill them if necessary!"
"K-Kill-" Lynn stuttered.
"I don't like this, dude!" Luna added, keeping her eyes locked on Meli's movements. "Those are usually our back-up!"
Lupa one-upped the telekinetic pheno, roaring through the air to engage her. "You're not the only one who can do that!"
"Are you kidding me with that?!" Lynn grunted. "I wish I could fly!"
"Wish granted!" Alex, having snuck around Luna and Lynn, grabbed Lynn by her shoulders and tossed her backwards into the air.
"Lynn!" Luna was next to go down with another strong punch delivered by Alex, leaving her susceptible for a gut kick Darcy came to land. Luna wrapped her tail around one of Darcy's arms before she took the blow, and ended up flying away from Darcy. This in turn also set Darcy to be tugged into imbalance, taking a face full of dirt. Luna was quick to unravel her tail from the latter's limb and seize her neck, dracting Darcy to claw upon the helmet she wore. It malfunctioned, breaking away so easily before Luna's eyes. "Wait- These helmets-!"
Liberty stomped on a foot to shout at Lupa. "Disengage, I just said she's with me! Meli, do not engage your attacker!"
Lupa punched and bludgeoned through Meli's helmet, breaking it away. "There can only be one of us!"
"H-how did I lose control-?!" Liberty turned to see Lynn and Luna fight off Darcy, landing blows onto her helmet that broke her away from Liberty's mind control. "Wait, no! Stop!"
Lupa succeeded in breaking Meli free,but left her to fall when the removal had left her unconscious. It felt good for Lupa to know she reigned superior of the two. "Sorry, but I had to test these powers."
Alex grabbed Liberty, folding her arm back and pinning her down. "You've had your chance, now it's over! You're over, and I've won!"
Lincoln, Lori and Dylan had finally caught up to Alex, coming across Lupa, Liberty, Lynn and Luna. Meli and Darcy were well down and out for the count. Alex threw Liberty into a tree relatively easily as her Primer Prisoner allies joined up on her. Lupa floated back down to Liberty's side. Lynn and Luna maintained their distance from hoth groups, the three parties forming into a triangular shape of tense hostility.
"The third one-" Liberty stammered. "Where-?"
"Lincoln killed him, snapped his neck like a twig," Alex revealed. "You've lost-"
"Lincoln-" Luna cut in. "All of you, stand down now or you'll face greater consequences. You're already wanted by the whole network-"
"I don't think they care, Lunes," Lynn whispered.
"We can take those three, I don't know about that one-"
"Is it me, or do we keep coming across more strangers by the hour?"
Lupa lifted Liberty off the ground, along with her. "I'm getting rather tired."
"Another telekinetic?!" Luna and Lynn looked on in wonder before Lupa knocked everyone down to the ground with a wave of her left hand.
"Th-thanks..." Liberty still desired the chip, but not like this. Not as unprepared as she realized she was, and not with the stripping of her minions. "Tomorrow, a new battle! Do you hear me, Alex?! Tomorrow, a new battle!"
"You know the chick in the suit?"
"Know her?" Liberty let out a snorting snicker. "It's more than that. That woman- She's my biological mother."
AN: Alex and Liberty have a special connection, but their relationship is a bumpy one at that. More to come.