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The person standing outside the Baxter Building definitely doesn't belong in this part of town. She looks out of place, even among the fans and gawkers lining the streets. She's small and shabby, she's got a very heavy, bulky duffel bag on her back, and she looks anxious. That, in and of itself, is enough to draw the attention of a police officer trying to keep people in line.
"Hey, miss." He stalks toward her and Lucy, instinctively, ducks away. "You! Stop!"
The press of the crowd is too much and Lucy runs smack into a gaggle of Johnny Storm fans in their Catholic school uniforms, fresh from catechism class. She knocks over a pair of babbling thirteen-year-olds and, while she's trying to help them back up, is snagged by the long arm — well, the short, pudgy, Irish arm — of the law.
"Just what are you up to, missy? What's in that bag?"
"Look, I just need to see the Storms," she says, as she's being hauled off. "They're part of that Act-F thing, I need to talk to them!" This is not going well. "Please, I need to…"
"Give me a hand with this one!" The officer blows his whistle and Lucy winces. "Got another loonie here!"
"I'm not crazy!" Lucy isn't feeling that convinced, now that she's put her plan in perspective. "Please, just let me…"
*
The crowd outside the building isn't entirely new. In fact, the Baxter Building frequently has the attention of reporters. The Storms step out from the glass door, and Sue absently tugs a few stray hairs away from her face with her left hand before turning to face her brother. A cheeky smile tugs at her lips as reporters talk over each other in a barrage of questions directed at the younger of the two. That is, until a very significant piece of jewelry catches the light.
"Miss Storm," not Doctor, never Doctor, "that seems like a significant piece of jewelry on a significant finger — "
Sue's lips part wordlessly and her eyes flit towards her brother as she attempts to find some dignity. It's fortunate, in its own way, that a police whistle catches her attention, meriting a very sheepish, and polite, "Excuse me. Duty calls~" as she disappears from sight — floating above the crowd unbeknownst to anyone.
The familiar bend of the air around her, however, likely leaves little question for Little Brother as to the direction Big Sis.
She finds visibility again as her feet make purchase with the ground and she lifts a hand towards the officer. "It's… it's okay." She manages a soft smile, edged with just a trace of delight at avoiding the questions that would likely follow the first, "We're okay, officer. She…" a pensive look is cast towards Lucy "…has an appointment." Her eyebrows lift.
*
Walking alongside his sister, Johnny — for once — actually seems a bit subdued in the face of all this attention, his hands buried deep in the pockets of a coat he doesn't really need to be wearing. He's a walking space heater, it isn't like the November chill is a problem for him.
Still, he manages to smile when appropriate, even as he politely brushes most of the questions aimed his way aside. Most of them.
"Mister Storm! Is it true the man you apprehended was Loki of Asgard?"
"If he was, he sure couldn't take a punch," Johnny replies, then shakes his head. "No, it's hard to say. The guy was a shapeshi— "
He cuts off abruptly and gives his sister an odd look, starting to raise a finger. <Hey, hey! You're not going to make me tell them, are you?> he calls after her, making a face as she flees from the Jewelry Question. He is abandoned. Aish.
*
"No, we…" Lucy starts to say, her natural honesty surfacing before she can stifle it. "I'm early. I'm sorry, Ms. Storm."
"If you say so, Miss Storm," the officer says reluctantly. He knows when he's being played but he also knows when to let something go. You don't make it as a New York cop without letting a few things slide for the right people. "Sorry, Miss…"
"West. Lucy West." Lucy manages a smile but her grip on the strap of her duffel bag is white-knuckled. "Do you think we could talk somewhere less public, Ms. Storm? I didn't know who else to go to. I hate to bother you but you were on the news and all."
*
"Of course, officer. We've always helped those that need us around here," she manages a tight smile towards the policeman. For Lucy, Sue ticks her head back towards the Baxter Building, "Let's go upstairs, if you're willing, Miss West." There's a pause, "And call me Sue. Or Seo, if you'd rather." She leads the way back through the throng of reporters, silently keeping her head down as she moves.
<Joon, you don't have to tell them anything~> she virtually sings as she passes her brother once again. <Besides, I don't plan to deal with the press until things are more set.> Like dates. And plans.
Slowly she guides Lucy through the glass doors towards the elevator, giving some distance between the women and the reporters. "So. Miss West… what brings you to our doorstep?" Sue presses the button to call the elevator.
*
When he sees Sue making her way back towards the doors, Johnny just blinks owlishly, already shifting to follow her (and their new plus-one) back inside. <Weren't we going out?> he asks lightly, rubbing the back of his head.
Not that he's complaining about escaping the press. For once, Johnny seems happier once the Baxter Building's closed doors are between him and the cameras. He gives Lucy a curious looking over before he flashes a smile, a bit easier now that they're inside.
*
"You remember that thing about the…space…space ship? Isn't that the weirdest thing to say? Space ship. Anyway. That ship that crashed in the city?" Lucy bounces on her toes, nervously. "I was there. And. There's some other stuff. But, first, I just want to know what you know about that whole thing. Because I'm trying to get over this telling people everything business. Sharing is good. Giving everything away, not so much."
*
Seo squints at Lucy with the kind of discernment a scientist would someone proposing a theory. "I'm… not entirely sure what you're getting at, Miss West?" because she's not. Just the same, however, Lucy seems to think whatever she has to share is important, so Sue isn't about to turn her away. "I take it you're here because of our work with Act-F?" and not for random help from the Fantastic Four — because either was possible. "What we know is limited. Extremely limited." Telling, but extremely vague.
*
"But we did hear about it," Johnny puts in helpfully, giving his sister a very light elbow in the ribs as he offers Lucy an encouraging smile. "You were there? That must've been a… a thing. Glad you're okay," he says warmly. When the elevator dings and opens its doors, he waves the pair in ahead of himself, then follows.
*
"It was a thing. Crashed right in the intersection." Lucy steps in the elevator and then turns to face them both. "What would have happened if there were aliens on the ship? I didn't see anyone get out but if there were? What are…what are you people doing with aliens?" She leans against the elevator rail and whatever's in her bag clunks metallically.
*
Sue's eyes squint at the question and she offers Joon a sneak glance before allowing her gaze to slide back to Lucy. "Welllll," the word is drawn out as she considers. "To be honest, I believe our intentions and General Ross's intentions are not one-in-ti-same." Her lips curve upwards. "So. It would be contingent on whether the aliens were hostile or hurting anyone. Peaceful first contact, I think, would be our goal."
*
"I can't speak for anybody else, but the only alien I've encountered so far has been… y'know." Johnny makes a bit of a face as he pokes a button to send the elevator up, then settles in to wait. "Dead. I'd like to think we'd try talking first," he murmurs, nodding towards Sue in agreement.
*
"Okay. Good to know." Lucy fidgets. The last thing she wants is to be coming out while they're in the elevator. "I just think I could help you. On a couple fronts. For one thing, that ship that crashed, it was being chased by other ships. Smaller ones. And they got destroyed. Mostly. I have the pieces of one, what's left, in my bag. It wasn't a lot — there were a few other bits I couldn't carry, but I buried them. They were just metal. But I thought you should have it. It's not radioactive, don't worry. I checked. I can give it to you when we're…not in an elevator."
*
Sue's head cants to the side at Lucy's revelation. "That… is most helpful. And wonderfully helpful." Her gaze sweeps towards Johnny, "Thank you, Miss West. This is most helpful! We really appreciate and require the assistance." Her lips curve upwards. The elevator dings and the door opens, allowing the group to enter into the living area of the Fantastic Four residence..
*
It's not radioactive. She checked. Johnny's expression is a bit odd when the elevator doors open and he hangs back a moment, trying to work through whatever his train of thought has become before he follows the two women out. "We should probably go collect the rest, I guess, huh?" he murmurs thoughtfully, already shrugging out of his jacket.
*
"I buried it in Liberty Park," Lucy says. She lifts the duffle bag off and offers it to Johnny. "I'll mark it on a map for you. I'd like the bag back, please. But that's not all." She waits for Johnny to take the bag before she paces into the apartment.
"There's something else." Lucy wrings her hands anxiously. "And I hope you were telling the truth."
*
Sue eyes Lucy several beats, and in sensing the girl's anxiety, trails to the kitchen to put the kettle on. "We should have tea. Can I get you anything to eat? We have muffins — one of our neighbours made them. I'm told they're quite good…" She manages an easy smile and nods at the girl. "Well, it would be helpful if you'd willing to come with us to uncover the rest, yes?" she looks over her shoulder at Johnny for support.
*
"Sure, sure," Johnny replies easily, accepting the bag from Lucy. "I'll go put this stuff in the lab so you can have your bag right back, how 'bout that?" he asks, glancing between the two. "Then we can worry about a map or taking a trip out together, whichever is easiest." Of course, Lucy's not that there's more means that he isn't actually wandering off just yet. He just tilts his head at her, trying very hard not to look a little amused at her nerves. He's not an idiot. "Relax. We don't bite," he promises.
*
"I want to help you. Not…not just you you. But this task force thing you're doing. It's important to me. Protecting Earth from aliens. This is my home and I know there are a lot of things out there." Lucy ignores the offer of tea and muffins and plunges on so that she can get this over with. "I know it sounds crazy because I'm only eighteen and I'm nobody but I promise you I can help."
"I didn't know how much it mattered until I saw that ship crash, and the other ones chasing it. They could have killed so many people and they didn't even care. That's why I ran that one down." Lucy nods to where Johnny has taken the pieces, then turns back to Sue. She's wide-eyed and sincere in a way it's difficult to be if you aren't that young. "I feel…responsible, I guess. And I'm not going to stop trying to help, so I might as well help your task force. Because I'm an alien. And I really hope this qualifies as peaceful."
*
Well. That was unexpected.
Staring at the kettle a few beats, Sue contemplates the information. Her brain attempts to process the information, and, after a few moments, she manages a vague nod. It's at that same time that the kettle begins to whistle. The water is ready for the tea. Lovely. She finds her sea legs and carefully pours water into the kettle and places a few muffins (that thankfully for everyone, she did not make) onto a plate.
The plate is sat out on the table followed by cups, cream, and sugar, along with spoons to stir the tea. The pot is set out and Sue manages to shoot Lucy a smile. "Well," she offers softly, "I think you should come sit down and tell us more about yourself and your story." And then, following this, she adds, "I do think that qualifies as peaceful. So. Let's have a conversation." She motions towards the table and tea elements.
Because first contact should be made over tea.
*
The cute blonde is an alien. Of course she is, why wouldn't she be. Johnny just slowly tiiiiiilts his head from one side to the other as he studies Lucy, the duffle bag full of debris still in hand as he rolls this new information around in his head. The kettle's whistling doesn't even make him so much as bat an eyelash.
The verdict? "Huh." Very eloquent, Johnny, thank you for your insight.
"I'll go stash this in the lab," Johnny adds a bit more usefully, nodding towards the table before he starts moving further inside. "I'll be right back. With your bag." As he passes Lucy, he adds in a low voice, "The muffins are safe, she didn't cook them," as if this is vitally important information.
*
"I know I sound crazy. I'm not a mutant. I've been like this all my life." Lucy twists the bracelet off before she sits down. She lights up with a rainbow aura the moment the bracelet is off and she sets it on the table in front of her. It's a circle, unbroken, but somehow she managed to get it open and take it off. "My parents gave me that when I was a baby. I wore it all my life until I started questioning, learned how to take it off. I thought I was human until then."
Lucy waits for Sue to pour the tea and takes a muffin, breaking off a piece and tasting it cautiously. Hm. Good. "I didn't know I was an alien until I met another one who told me what kind I was. Where I was from. I didn't have any reason not to believe him, what he had to say made sense."
*
Sue pours tea into three cups, evidently everyone is having tea whether or not they request it. She brings her own cup of tea to her lips and takes a slow drink. She assumes silence for several beats as Lucy turns rainbow'd and explains her story. Slowly, Sue's jaw works around the words that she so wishes to express, but hey don't come easily.
And then, perhaps unexpectedly even to herself, Seo reaches out to squeeze the girl's shoulder. "That must've been… terrifying. Amazing, but terrifying." She swallows hard and her expression softens, "We know something about terrifying revelations. I take it… you've embraced more of that side since?"
*
In the time it takes Johnny to drop the debris off in the lab and return with an empty satchel, the cute blonde has vanished and been replaced by The Amazing Technicolor Dream Girl. At least when he comes back into the room, he's behind her — maybe she won't see the way he startles. Aish.
Slowly, Johnny makes his way towards the table, setting the empty bag down next to Lucy's seat before claiming a chair for himself. He's just. Gonna. Drink his tea. Now. Quietly.
*
"I keep using it. Which is kind of a problem because I should be keeping my head down — that's a story for later, maybe. But I can't not help people." Lucy takes a sip of tea. "I feel odd because people assume I'm a mutant when I'm not. And I wasn't really sure where I fit in, or what I could do, and then when that ship crashed and it was obviously shot down by those others chasing it, I just knew. Some things are more our responsibility than others. And that, that felt like my job."
Lucy leans forward as she speaks, eyes on Sue's face. "I don't know if you've ever felt that before. The moment you know something is your job to do. But that was my moment. Who else should be protecting this planet from things out there in space but someone who's from there themselves? I didn't even know there was a place to report things like that, but I kept the pieces anyway, and when I found out there was that task force? I want to help."
*
Lucy's thoughts are given another vague nod and Sue finds silence again. Sue casts the young woman a very small smile, "Yes. I have felt that," She waves towards her brother "We have felt that. We felt called to do what we do. We're not perfect, we don't have it easy, but we have intention. We have purpose. We are meant to advocate for people like us, and to help the world in which we live."
Sue's eyes train on the tea. "Well then, it seems that we need to get you into Act-F, Miss West." Her gaze shifts towards Joon, "I feel like we may have some pull." Probably.
*
Johnny just eyes Sue sideways, his tea held loosely in both hands, and there is — of all things — a twinkle in the younger Storm's eye. "Oh, yes. We felt called to do what we do," he says in a far-too-innocent voice, before he takes a looooooong drink from his glass. This is maybe not the most appropriate time to be needling your sister, Johnny. Drink your tea.
He lowers his cup and nods once, quietly clearing his throat. "I mean, probably? I do worry that they might be weirdly paranoid about… about aliens joining. Which is stupid," Johnny says firmly, waving his hand. "If someone wants to help, that's all I care about."
*
"I know they might be uncertain about letting me in. But I don't want to join you just because I want to keep people like me out. It's because we're already here. And some of us are living ordinary little lives in ordinary little apartments and whoever's in charge of sorting us out from the ones who want to ruin things? They need to know us." Lucy's glow grows brighter as she speaks, rainbows trail off of her hair and from her fingertips as she gestures along with her words. "Some of us might come in peace, literally. And some of us might be refugees. I don't even know my own story but I know that's true because we're just people even if we're not human. And someone should be there to remind your task force of that."
*
<Don't be cheeky, it's not becoming,> Sue offers pleasantly towards her brother. <Besides, she needs support. Sometimes support means… being supportive>. She takes a long sip of her tea and she ponders something. "I see the conundrum. There's already great distrust for anyone not of this earth at this moment. Perhaps it would be wise that we leverage you in and we have you share your story once physically there. Or… maybe I can try to convince General Ross — " she frowns. "The man has the personality of a paramecium."
*
"Let me meet him. The general." Lucy sparkles with enthusiasm. Literally. "If he's going to say no, he's going to say no. I've already done it once, protecting people from aliens. And from things in the Hellmouth. Just let me meet him and maybe he'll say yes. If he says no, at least I don't have to hide what I am from you all."
*