ic But Not Forgotten (IC)

[Thevshi]

North Bay, Freedom City, New Jersey

Friday May 3, 2024.

2:04 PM

 

Lulu Beaumont's Uber pulled up in front of the Harrows' North Bay mansion. The redheaded young woman had just returned from an extended trip with Danger International as part of a humanitarian aid project in sub-Saharan Africa. She had been out of the country for about three weeks and given how busy things had been she had only a little contact with anyone back in the States.

 

There had been a couple text messages with Megan during that time, one of which indicated that she and Robert had something important to share with Lulu when she got back to Freedom City, but had not otherwise elaborated on what Megan meant. Of course, it was not too big a surprise to Lulu that there could be things going on with Megan, Robert or Lawernce that they would not want to openly talk about in text messages.

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

Lulu was still dressed for travel when she arrived at home, which was truly what the Harrows' house had become. Veronica's fashion sense had finally rubbed off on her, so khaki shorts and a lightweight blouse in pale blue were the order of the day. Once she was inside, she slipped off her light hiking boots, set her carry-on bags down by the door, and padded towards the kitchen in her stocking feet.

 

"Hey y'all, ah'm home! Customs was a nightmare, but somehow ah survived!"

 

She fetched herself a glass from the cupboard, poured herself a tall glass of milk, and began rummaging around in search of cookies.

Edited June 13 by Heritage

[Thevshi]

NPC/Lynn

 

Finding some cookies was not too difficult for Lulu. When she had first moved in to live with the Harrows, Megan had kept the cookies in an upper cabinet. But after Lawrence had outgrown both her and Lulu, there had not really been a point to that any longer.

 

The Southern redhead had just taken bite from a cookie when she heard someone enter the kitchen and a young female voice she did not recognize called out. "Lulu!"

 

Then there was a rather familiar *WOOSH* of air, and Lulu found herself being hugged tightly by a teenage girl just slightly shorter than her.

 

But almost as quickly as the girl had moved to hug Lulu, she released the redheaded young woman and took a few steps back. The expression on her face was a mixture of happiness (that was quickly fading), embarrassment and sadness. "I…I'm so sorry. We haven't actually met…here. But…you look just like I remember you at this age." She said in an apologetic, and slightly disappointed, tone.

 

Now that she was able to get a clear look at the teenage girl, Lulu saw she seemed about fifteen, maybe sixteen, and was a dead-ringer for Megan. Same blonde hair, same nose, slightly different cheeks. But then there were the eyes, she had the same bright blue eyes as Megan (and Lawrence), that seemed almost to burst with energy.

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

"Oof!" 

 

The sudden hug caught the telepath completely off-guard, and her brain struggled to comprehend everything that was going on. Something told her that this was what Megan and Robert wanted to talk to her about!

 

"Alright now, just...gimme a second to process all this."

 

She held out one hand, fingers spread as she attempted to figure everything out.

 

"Ah'm gonna take a wild shot in the dark here, and guess you're...from another dimension, like a parallel world of some kind? An' on that world, we know each other; in fact, we're real close. How mah doin' so far?"

Edited June 13 by Heritage

[Thevshi]

NPC/Lynn

 

The blonde teen went quiet as Lulu took a moment to work out what could be going on. She then gave a small nod when Lulu put out her theory. "That's is pretty much it exactly." She seemed somewhat relieved that Lulu was taking everything in easy strides.

"I'm Lynn, Lynn Conners" She then continued. "In….my timeline, my family took you in as a foster child when you came up to Claremont, just like happened here as I understand it." As Lynn spoke more, Lulu noted that she had a fully American accent, with a bit of hint of a Jersey accent to it. "I was only four when you joined our family, but it wasn't long before you became a big sister to me and Lawrence."

 

As she spoke, Lynn's expression seemed to darken some, overcoming what had been excitement and happiness. A tear ran down one of her cheeks as the blonde teen turned away slightly to wipe it. "I'm sorry….it…just felt so good to see you. I forgot that you wouldn't know me."

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

Lulu nodded as Lynn filled in the details, her brain still struggling to make sense of it all.

 

"Alright, okay...that all makes sense. An' don't apologize for how you feel; 'cause this whole superhero thing? Is nuts!"

 

She smiled and shook her head, chuckling slightly.

 

"Ah mean, ah don't know how any of us keep from goin' crazy! So many different worlds an' timelines to keep track of; its enough to make your head spin!"

 

Then Lulu stepped forward, and gently took Lynn's hands in her own, a sympathetic smile on her face.

 

"An' ah betcha, once ah get to know you a bit better? That you an' ah will be thick as thieves."

 

She gave the younger girl's hands a quick squeeze.

Edited October 17 by Heritage

[Thevshi]

NPC/Lynn

 

Lynn gave a small smile as Lulu commented about how crazy the whole superhero thing could be at times. When Lulu took her hands and gave them a squeeze, Lynn gave one in return, a faint, but hopeful smile coming to her face. "I certainly hope so."

 

She paused a moment then added. "Adjusting has been…rough." She said with a downcast expression. "It was 2030 when…I left my timeline." Lynn almost choked up a bit at the end of the sentence and had, for a moment, struggled with what to say. "So even if there are people I knew here in this timeline, they are six years younger."

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

Lulu frowned slightly as she studied Lynn very carefully; she didn't need telepathy to read people, at least enough to sense when they were upset.

 

"Is there somethin' else goin' on? Ah keep gettin' the sense that ah'm missin' a lot of the picture."

 

Fetching her cookie and glass of milk from the counter, she indicated the living room with a jerk of her head.

 

"How 'bout we have a seat and talk a spell? Get to know each other a little better?"

Edited October 18 by Heritage

[Thevshi]

Slipstream

 

Lynn bit her lip nervously as Lulu asked if there was more to the story. "Y…yes." She managed to say weakly, clearly pained by the admission. The blonde teen followed Lulu as the Southern redhead lead the way into the living room, a large spacious room with a pair of leather sofas that faced each other across a glass coffee table.

The teenage took a seat at one end of the sofa Lulu selected, taking a deep breath as she seemed somewhat apprehensive of the coming conversation. "I probably have something of an unfair advantage, having known you, well, my timelines version of you, for years. Though…I have been learning that there can often be differences with things here, even when things seem so similar."

 

"Like, here my moth…this timelines Megan Howell didn't marry my father, only dated him for a couple months."

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer 

 

Lulu nodded thoughtfully as she munched on her cookie and took a sip of her milk. "Is zare- sorrah." The telepath swallowed her mouthful of cookie before continuing. "Is there a significant departure from our timeline on your world? We seem to get a lot of refugees here, folks escapin' an Earth that's been invaded by aliens or had a zombie outbreak or some such nightmare."

 

She leaned foward, one hand reaching out to rest on the sofa before her. Her whole body radiated empathy and concern.

 

"Anythin' like that happen to you, Lynn?"

[Thevshi]

Slipstream

 

Lynn's entire body seemed to tense at Lulu’s question and her expression saddened even further. "Yes…yes, something like that happened to me." She replied quietly.

There was a brief pause, as she seemed to prepare herself to continue. "My….my timeline is gone, destroyed."

 

Tears started to run down Lynn's cheek. "I understand you have been told about Collapse? From what everyone can tell, my brother…the Lawrence of my timeline…merged with Collapse and destroyed my timeline. I was barely able to escape."

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

Almost without thinking, Lulu stepped forward and gave Lynn a hug, holding the teen tightly. Lulu's hugs often transcended physical touch, including a deeper telepathic component, like being wrapped in a warm psychic blanket, and this hug was no exception.

 

"Ah'm sorry you had to live through that, darlin'! Ah can't imagine what that's like!"

 

Finally, the telepath let go and retuned to her seat, but Lynn still felt a residual effect, like a bellyful of hot cocoa on a winter's day.

 

"Can ah get you anythin', sweetheart? Do you wanna talk about it, or would you rather change the subject?"

[Thevshi]

Slipstream

 

Lynn did not try to pull away when Lulu moved over to give her a hug, instead, the blonde teen seemed to almost let herself collapse into the hug, sobbing as the Southern girl held her. The sixteen-year-old hugged Lulu back tightly for a few moments before letting go as the older redhead did.

 

Sitting back, Lynn brushed away tears, as she took a deep breath. "No..I am fine." She replied when Lulu asked if she could get her anything. "It…it is hard to talk about. I have started therapy to help, but it still is so..fresh, I guess is the best way to explain it."

 

"I am still trying to….come to terms with everything, everyone, I knew being gone." She said, tears running down her cheeks again.
 

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer

 

Lulu nodded vigorously when Lynn mentioned therapy. "Oh yeah, that's so important! An' remember, you gotta find the right therapist for you! If you ever feel like it ain't workin' out, like you're not connectin', there ain't no shame in switchin' therapists. It took me a few tries to find a good fit, but now ah got me a good'un! Me an' Sherri got good rapport, and it's helped me a lot."

 

The redhead raised up a cautionary hand. "Also, don't rule out meds, at least not entirely. Ah was on a lot of meds when ah came to Fr3edom, but now ah'm down to two, an' one of those is just 'as needed'."

 

Lulu sighed as her eyes wandered around the impressive building they both now called home. "The good news is, you got good people here; Megan is the best, and you got your classmates back at Claremont. You're not alone in this." She smiled, with tears in the corners of her eyes. "And now, you've got me!"

Edited November 14 by Heritage

[Thevshi]

Slipstream

 

Lynn whipped more tears from her eyes as Lulu talked about her own experiences with therapy. The blonde teen gave a faint half-smile and a somewhat self-deprecating laugh when the Southern redhead mentioned medications. "Oh, I am on plenty. Don’t think I would be able to function at all without them."

 

When Lulu mentioned the support Lynn had, the teenager gave a small nod, though looked slightly downcast. "Yeah…she seems so much like my mother." She responded. "I mean, there are differences, but…deep down they seem so similar in core values."

 

She then let out a deep sigh. "This…is not quite how I expected to be starting at Claremont. I…" She seemed about to choke up again but got past it to continue, "had a group of friends that I was going to start with. Now..I won't know anyone."

 

But then Lynn seemed to brighten up more as Lulu mentioned she was there as well, and the blonde teen had another faint smile. "That…means a lot Lulu, thank you."
 

[Heritage]

Crystal-Gazer 

 

Lulu sighed, and then moved over to sit beside Lynn; the two of them had a lot in common, but ultimately the young speedster's traumas were her own, and always would be.

 

"Look...nothin's gonna replace everythin' or everyone you've lost. And ah can't imagine how confusin' it's gotta be to have reminders of who you lost all aroun' you; kinda the same but never the same, know what ah mean? Ah think in some ways it's gonna make it harder to process everythin'." 

 

She sighed again and threw up her hands.

 

"Ah wish ah could give you some advice on how to navigate all this, 'cause it's gonna be hard; for a long time, most likely. Ah guess if ah could impart any wisdom at all, it would be to say...it's alright to be not okay. 'Cause there's gonna be days you just can't deal with people, and you have my permission to, pardon mah French, tell everyone to f### off and be alone, if you need to. And the good people in your life will respect that and give you space."

 

Lulu put an arm around Lynn's shoulder, and gestured with her free hand, to take in the rest of the world.

 

"And anyone who doesn't, who makes you feel guilty or ashamed for not feelin' one hundred percent all the time, or says 'just turn that frown upside down'? Well, they can kiss mah ass, you hear me? And tell 'em ah said so!"