1963-11-10 - Back to the Future
Summary: Billy meets Karolina and Akihiro and they give him some much-needed education on what its not OK to say in 1963
Related: None
Theme Song: None
akihiro billy karolina 


A huge portion of Time Square is cordoned off by police. There's not a lot for them to guard, though. There's mostly a hole. It's the mother of all holes. You can see the sewer tunnels gaping darkly down there, there's water that's seeped up to pool in the very deepest nooks and crannies, and it really…smells. There's some rotting flesh smell mingled with burnt rubber and asphalt and the tang of raw sewage.

None of that is stopping people from gawking though. There's a small crowd here — the people come and go but the numbers remain about the same — trying to spot something in the hole, picking up little bits of metal and fused glass, passing them around. Someone has a geiger counter out and is sweeping the perimeter, someone else is trying to sneak a metal detector past police. A fire truck lurks off to the side just in case of a natural gas leak or worse.

Lucy is back to survey the scene and to see if there's any evidence of who might have shown up with the spacecraft.

"Hey, do you know if anyone was in the thing?" she asks a random bystander.

*

Akihiro has partially disconnected.

*

Akihiro cuts through the crowd, whistling the tune to 'Walk Like a Man', coming up beside Lucy to push up on his toes and look into the hole. "Wonder if they found my legs yet. Getting about tired of buying pants and shoes." Doesn't seem like it's going to stop him from getting into trouble though.

*

High above, Aether floats. He looks down upon the hole with a frown: nothing is *right*, nothing at all. Even Times Square is wrong, and it's extra wrong because its got a giant freaking hole in it. Dressed in black with a deep red hood and cape, that cape floats in the dark sky, and the hood mostly casts shadows over his face. Not to mention no one is looking up right now, right? Well, time to investigate.

There is a very brief, exactly Billy-sized hole that is sliced into reality and he falls through it, only to appear in the blink of an eye behind the crowd. Tucking his hands down into his pockets, "So. A spaceship. This is when it happens, this is when the world finds out about the aliens. The timing is… weird." He just arrived from the future, and a spaceship lands? That's creepy! But who is he talking to? Oh, the same random bystander that Lucy was talking to— which makes his eyes scan over her curiously.

*

"That was you? That was so…" Lucy looks Akihiro over. "Gross. It was really gross. It's good that you're okay but maybe you want to keep a low profile?"

Lucy doesn't wait for a response, she startles as soon as she catches sight of something overhead. It's black, it's flappy, it might be a vampire. She skitters aside a couple steps, then the thing is gone. Right when she thinks she's crazy — she is tired — then someone she didn't see before starts talking and she lets out a little 'meep'! before giving Billy a very accusatory look. "Because the vampires and demons got boring of something."

Lucy's usual perkiness is considerably dulled these days. She's looking wan and tired after last night's fight.

*

"This is me keeping a low profile." Akihiro says, lifting his shoulders in a slight shrug. "And it's not like I asked them to shoot me. I mean, normally I kinda do. But not this time." He doesn't seem too worried about any of it, attention shifting to Billy. "See, I could be doing stuff like that."

*

Pushing his hood back reveals a very not-pale probably-not-vampire young man, and its enough to give Lucy a 'what-did-I-do' look with a tilt of his head and a single dimple showing. Just the one, though: accusatory looks don't get the full set of dimples. "Wait, vampires and demons?" Billy blinks, having absolutely no idea what it is she's talking about. Which shouldn't at all be possible. He looks over to Akihiro and regards the young man a moment before doing an up-nod by way of greeting. "Doing stuff like…? I'm still getting…" He hesitates, "Adjusted."

*

Lucy is not having it. "Adjusted?" She rolls her eyes dramatically. "Are you another alien? Seriously?" she hisses. "You shouldn't be here if you are."

Hypocrisy is not usually a problem for Lucy. Maybe it's running out of steam and crashing last night that's got her cranky. The bruising is something else. Honestly, she's kind of had her fill, not that she didn't like Noh-Varr and Nova. But this is getting silly. And possibly risky. If it's not aliens it's demons or vampires or whatever Laura is or Jono.

"And you are the least-no-profile ever," she goes on, turning on Akihiro, keeping her voice low. "You don't say things like 'I wonder if they found my legs yet' out loud like that! Oh my God. Seriously."

She's one to talk about keeping a low profile, but she's not really recognizable as long as she's got the bracelet on. No one's going to make the connection between that rainbow streak and her.

*

"Maybe I should fly around and shoot some ships out of the sky then." Akihiro bites back, his good mood fading rather quickly. "I didn't even get to do anything here, you and the Devil took care of the ships." He reaches up to pinch at the bridge of his nose.

"Seem pretty adjusted to me. Took me a little while to get controlling my claws down though, so I guess I can't judge too much." The teen takes a few steps forward, propping up on his toes again to look into the wreckage. "And I just want my boots back. They can keep the fucking legs."

*

Billy stares at Lucy for a long moment, and then he can't help but grin a full-powered set of dimples at her, "An alien? What, no. Look." he gestures, "I'm as human as anyone. I'm just not from … around here." He pauses, and adds after a moment, "Or, around now." Whatever that means. He blinks at Akihiro a moment, "Wait, what do you mean 'found my legs yet'?" He eyes Aki's legs, "They're right there." He really has no idea what the heck is going on, and the bewilderment on his face shows it.

*

"He means he got them blown off last night and could you not mention the thing about the," Lucy makes a flying motion with her hand as she snaps at Akihiro — it may be quiet but it's a snap. "No one saw me do that, okay? And it sucked. Ugh, if you want your boots, we'll find your boots. Let's see." She looks around.

"You came from over there, and went that way and the ship was…" Then she realizes what she's proposing and where the police tapes are. "I bet they took them to the morgue. I don't think they'd be here if they were even in one piece."

*

"Yeah, probably." Akihiro decides, deflating slightly. "Oh well. And sorry about snapping. It's been a long month." He reaches up to rub at his temples, huffing quietly.

"Damn spaceships started firing on the one that crashed. Hit close to me, took my legs off and fucked my face up. But I'm a genuine freak of nature, so I grew a new pair and my face straightened out." The teen fills Billy in, though that probably just raises more questions. "And, what do you mean around now?"

*

Billy blinks a moment, and stares at Akihiro's legs: he knows about mutants, sure. There's mutants where he's from, but he hadn't expected to find one so.. openly here. Not that he's super dooper hiding his strangeness, either. He looks between Akihiro and Lucy, cocking a brow at the flying motion, "Oh." That dramatically intelligent response is followed by a moment of hesitation, "Well, I'm not from now. I'm from… later. I don't belong now. I belong then. Though something messed up my memory and I don't remember specifically which later it is I'm from." If that explanation makes any sense at all. "I'm kind of stuck and don't have a Delorean handy." And since Deloreans won't even exist for ten years, he might be making even less sense.

*

"This year has been bullshit," Lucy grouches at Akihiro. "Don't worry about it And apparently other years have been shitty, as well." She takes Billy's explanation in stride.

"I don't know what a Delorean is but maybe you'll find one?" she says to Billy. "Do you have a place to stay?"

*

"Tell me about it doll." Akihiro nods slowly a few times. "The last eighteen years have been shitty, I'm just glad I don't have to worry about any more weapon projects. Well, I hope I don't have to worry about any more."

It seems to take him a little bit to actually get an idea at what Billy is talking about. "Two things. One, are you saying you're from the future, and two, what the fuck is a Delorean?"

*

"Oh, yeah." Billy nods his head quickly to Lucy, "My whole life got transplanted, but I'm the only one who remembers. My parents now dress like hippies…" Hippies don't even exist yet, "…but Dad is a doctor— Mom's a nurse now, she's supposed to be a psychiatrist." He's so… open about it. There's a sigh, complete with frown dimples, "So I still have my room in our house. Its just… all different. Not to mention, 1963 kinda sucks. Man, people are assholes in this year. Everyone's a racist, a sexist, a homophobe. They're all crazy." Pause: "Present company excepted."

That said, he flashes a quick grin at Akihiro and nods, "It's from Back To The Future, a movie! Guy takes up his Delorean— a type of car— and turns it into a time machine and visits the past. Kinda gets stuck until he can figure out how to get an energy source to get back. Great movie." Pause, "Doesn't exist yet." A quick nod then, "Don't ask me exactly when, though. My memory is… half-wiped."

*

Doll. Lucy gives Akihiro a narrow look but lets it pass. "That is really….weird," she admits. "I don't even know what would make that happen." She looks like she's actually kind of thinking about how that would work, then she shakes her head. "What's a homophobe?" Racist and sexist she can work out.

*

"Like that all over the place, not just here. Trust me, I'm Japanese. Doesn't mean it's right.. But I don't see it changing anytime soon." Akihiro doesn't seem to be following what's happening too well. But when in doubt, fake it. "If we keep getting attacked by aliens and demons, it won't really matter. Probably end up living in the woods."

*

"Someone who doesn't like gay people." Billy hesitates a moment after answering Lucy, unsure if that word means anything here and now so adds a clarification, "Homosexuals." He clearly doesn't like that word, it makes his nose wrinkle, but he shakes his head, "Anyways, I have a working theory about how it happened— I did it. Not on purpose. Something… interfered with what I was doing, and it cracked reality and snapped me back to this point, somehow. It just didn't successfully write me *into* reality here, but it did get my parents written in."

He nods to Akihiro, frowning again, "It gets better. It doesn't completely go away, but a lot of it does. Eventually. I… don't know how long it will take, though."

*

"Oh. Those people. The homophobes, I mean. That's a useful word." Lucy's expression is pure sourness. "I mean, it's really most people who are that. I can't imagine being from a place — time — when you have to have a word for it other than just regular people." She tilts her head, thinking on that, and the sourness fades into a kind of tired wistfulness. "Are you trying to get back?" she asks Billy, once she remembers they're still in conversation.

*

"Yeah, hard pressed to meet anybody that is fine with that. I don't care personally. I have claws and grow limbs back. Not exactly in a position to judge anybody else." There's the sunshine and rainbows Akihiro is known for. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Not like I'm going to die of old age anytime soon. I just hope I wasn't some sort of dashing serial killer whenever you're from." Even though he's technically a dashing serial killer now.

*

Billy nods his head emphatically, "If I can figure out how, because my friends and more importantly my boyfriend did *not* get transplanted back, so … half my life is like…gone." His expression looks pained, but he shrugs. He blinks at Akihiro a moment, "Uh, if you are a serial killer then, uhh, I haven't heard of you, I don't think. I don't remember any serial killers with claws. But! My memory is really… fragmented." He really needs to get a grip on what NOT to share in 1963, but he's only been here a short while, so!

*

"Your…" Lucy's eyes get very wide and she looks stricken. "You can't say that here," she whispers, stepping closer to Billy. That idea that you can say it anywhere — even in the distant future — is almost painful in contrast to the present reality. "About your… your "friend". You can tell people you're a mutant or whatever before you can say that. Okay?"

*

Akihiro reaches up to pinch at the bridge of his nose again. "Kid," even though he's no older, "I like you. You seem like good people. But you will end up getting stabbed thirty-six times in the chest if you say that in the wrong company. I take it you don't heal as quickly as I do, so you might wanna avoid that."

*

Billy frowns. He looks between Lucy and Akihiro, and he sighs, rubbing at his face, looking both pained and weary. "Right. Everyone's a homophobe. Forgot about that." That said, he shakes his head, "I don't think I'm a mutant. I'm different. The Doctor said I'm a reality manipulator." And then without any real notice, bands of pure force wrap around the three of them and they are suddenly soaring up into the sky. It doesn't last long and he's depositing them on a nearby roof: with no people around to overhear him say bad things. "I don't entirely know what it means. I can just do stuff. But, I'm not defenseless." He lifts a hand, and electricity cascades down his arm to gather in a bright glowing ball of light in his palm.

*

"The flip side of not-defenseless usually means hurting someone. So guess it's best not to say anything out of turn." Lucy perches on top of an air duct, looking as miserable as a wet cat. "Though freaking them out or getting away is always good. Changing reality sounds pretty…heavy." She thumps her heels very lightly, swinging her feet. "I hope you do get back." The idea of having no Laura is awful. "You should get to be with your friend again. Boyfriend," she says, almost as though she's trying it out.

*

Akihiro does not look happy about suddenly being flying. And he looks like he just might say something about it, at least until that electricity sparks to life. He actually flinches away so hard he falls smack onto his ass, eyes shutting tightly. It isn't exactly easy to put Daken in a spot where he starts to hyperventilate, but Billy just did it with no effort. Take notes Phobos.

*

"He said I like… change it and force it into the shape I want it to be. But I don't *think* of it like that. If I want to fly, I fly. If I want to throw lightning, I throw lightning. I just do it. I learned to fly when I fell off my roof and missed the ground." Billy grins with a flash of his dimples, even though no one's getting that reference for a couple decades. "I'm Aether, by the way. Well, that's my codename." He blinks at Akihiro for a moment, "I wouldn't hurt you." he assures, "I don't *hurt* anyone but like… monsters. And people who hurt other people, I guess." The lightning, it just … vanishes. It doesn't ground or go into him or anything like that. It's simply no longer there. Looking back to Lucy, "It's just… magic. But yeah. Thanks. I hope so too."

*

"Hey, it's okay." Lucy hops down and goes to put an arm around Akihiro. "It's gone." She gives him a little squeeze, then helps him up. She's ridiculously strong for someone so skinny.

"I shouldn't stay here long," Lucy says, biting her lip. "I just came to check things out, see if there was any radiation to worry about, that kind of thing. And, I have to get back to Laura. We're over in Mutant Town. Byrne House. I'm Lucy. The landlady, Mama Mae, she knows us. You can come say hi some time."

*

"Don't do that." Akihiro says quietly. "Just.. Yeah." He actually manages to calm down a touch. Though that catches his attention, brows furrowing. "I know it's a bit of a stretch, but that wouldn't happen to be the Laura that kicked my ass a few times and shares my particular skillset?" He lifts his fist, adamantium claws tearing out from between his knuckles.

"And sorry." he tacks on once more, specifically at Billy now. "I just have a rough history with electricity. I can handle anything else, but that's just too much."

*

The claws? They make Billy blink, and back up a bit. "That looks like it hurts. Also eww." He shivers, but there is a nod for Lucy, "Mutant Town? Byrne House. Gotcha. Well. Does anyone need a ride back downstairs?" He thumb-points to the ground beneath them, even as he begins hovering over the ground without really even thinking about it.

*

"That's her. Us." Lucy waves at Akihiro and Billy. "No thanks, I'm going to stick to the roofs until I'm further out. But thanks." She sets off at a jog across the roofs, leaps from one to another, and is soon out of sight.

*

"Then I'll be paying you a visit too." Akihiro lets the claws sink back into his fist, nodding slightly at Billy. "It does. But you can't let pain stop you." He heads back across the rooftop, "I'll get down on my own. Trying to keep a low profile, hate to have to kill anybody else this week."

*

For his part, Billy gives a slight nod to them both, and then— he doesn't fly away. He simply disappears. It's like space and time just wrapped around him and gave him a hug: and once the arms closed, he's gone.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License