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Lorna exited the book store with a bag of books for the incoming semester. Her hair was tucked up beneath a woolen cap, though brown wisps could still be found. She had taken once more to dying the green locks away. Though given the incident she'd had in mutant town, she partly considered a return to her natural color. Before she thought better of it, especially given the general mood of the populace at large. Better to hide.
It was bitterly cold, winter had come and snow remained frozen on the streets. Lorna tugged her scarf up and over her chin as she burrowed further into her coat. Green eyes scanned the sidewalk briefly, before she joined the crush of humanity on her way back to the bus stop. Better to take the bus than try to drive in the city , much less try to find parking.
*
When it came to the city, running was always a little tricky. It meant weaving in and out of traffic - automotive and otherwise - but mercifully thanks to the speeds that Tommy could run at? It wasn't really that much of a problem. It was something that the boy could deal with, and it was still the best way to get around.
Hope might disagree, deciding that the rooftops were better… but that was still a skill she needed to share with the boy who's powers she borrowed.
He was planning on just making a run to the store. Pick up a couple things they wanted. At least until a familiar brunette comes into sight. He has to come to a stop in an alleyway up ahead, but quickly jogs (normal speed) out of it and towards her, waving a hand. "Hey, Lorna, LORNA! Over here!"
*
A blink, and Lorna twists around at the sound of her name being called. She starts in the wrong direction at first, before spotting Tommy as he jogged over to her, hand waving. She stepped off to the side, out of the pacing steps of humanity that went about the city's sidewalks. A smile pulling at her lips as she stamped on her toes to warm them up slightly.
"Hey Tommy, how are you? It's been a while." She shifted her grip on her textbooks.
"I hope the holidays were okay?"
*
"It has! I was a little hurt, giving you my number like that and never getting a call." There's a bit of a wink there — it's natural for him to be playful. Not the easiest to turn off. "I've been… uh. A little weird. Strange might be the best way to put it. It's not all bad, though."
It's easy to move along to the side with her, and his head inclines just slightly. "Holidays were good. Decided to take your advice, and it hasn't bit me in the ass yet." A grin to that, "But we'll see how it plays out in the end." There's a glance over to the books she's carrying, and lips purse to consider. Well. If she's related, showing off isn't going to kill him. But there's the million dollar question that comes first. "Do you know a chick named Wanda Maximoff, by any chance?"
*
Lorna blushed slightly and she glanced side long at him as he teased lightly about not calling him back. "Well to be fair, I uhm.. I was out of the country. There wasn't exactly a phone to call from.." Attilan was most certainly out of the country, and while she was sure they had some kind of communication thing it likely didn't make phone calls to New York.
"Things have been pretty crazy.." She laughed lightly, and glanced down at her books. "And the Spring Semester is starting up next week and man. I thought High School was tough! But college is another ballpark all together." She grinned and started forward again.
His question in regards to Wanda had her head tilting to the side and she puzzled over the question. "Well, kind of? I mean, I've run into her a few times. We chatted. She seems nice. Even if she doesn't understand English exactly right all the time."
*
"Oh, well, I guess if you're going to run away from me, running out of the /country/ gives you a bit of an excuse." …he can't help himself. Playful banter is just part and and parcel of who the boy is.
"Not exactly encouragement to go, that. I mean, with all the things I've got on my plate…" and the ability to run like his and potentially make money off of it? A higher education isn't primary in his concerns right now. It's not the escape from Frank's and Mary's it would've been the last time they talked, so some of the appeal has worn. "Good for you, though, and hope it goes well."
'Kind of' is iffy. Doesn't understand English, though? That narrows it down quite a bit. "That's her." he falls into line beside her, crinkling his nose a bit. Not that it mattered /too/ much at this point, but… it's the fact that she was right, apparently. "Where are you headed? There's something we kinda gotta chat about, and on the streets like this might not be the best place."
*
His banter earned another laugh, that Lorna smothered behind a hand. "Yeah, well, my ta-er my father asked me to go so I really couldn't say no. And it was nice, to see places that I'd never been to. So there's that." She grinned, continuing down the street toward the bus stop that was visible up ahead.
"I'm headed first to get a bus, then a ride back to the Frost Institute. It's where I'm going to school." She gestured to the bag of books in her arms.
"Kinda hard to walk very far with a mountain of textbooks on physics and what not." She did have a rather sizable stack.
*
The change in terms causes a bit of a raised brow — there's some curiosity as to what brought that about, but he decides letting it slide is probably the wisest for now. "Hey, nothing wrong with that, right? I mean, you wanted to try and get closer to him anyways, and if you can see some exotic locales in the meantime, more power to you. Where'd you go, like, Hawaii?" …isn't that part of the country? Sometimes he really doesn't think as quickly as he should.
"Cool. Well, whatever you do, hold on tight to those books."
Why the warning? Because theres a sudden stop from him. A stretch of the legs… and he's going to try and make a run /at/ her. Intending to scoop her up into his arms in the blink of an eye and use the momentum to carry both her and the books. If he's successful? By the time she blinks, they'll be standing on campus at the Frost Academy.
"Uh. Didn't know /where/ you needed to go here, but, here you go?" is offered lamely upon arrival. Secret #1, revealed! …not the hardest thing to do, to get Tommy Shepherd to show off.
*
A small smile follows, "Yeah I wanted to spend time with him.. I didn't really get to though. I mean, I kinda of did? He was mostly with his girlfriend. Which don't get me wrong, I totally understand.. it's just .. I dunno.." She sighed, her smile faltering briefly, before it flickered back to life and she laughed. "Not Hawaii, no. That's technically in the country—"
Further response was cut off though as he tells her to hold onto her books and then suddenly, between one heart beat and the next, she's decidedly not on the street she'd been on before.
A stunned expression crosses her face, her lips falling open as she gaped. Then the forces that had just been on her body catch up and she staggered briefly. "W-woah.."
*
"I know, right? Uh, by the way. Mutant. Fastest man alive. Probably shouldn't tell your friends, but it's okay to be amazed. I get that alot." …it should be no surprise that he's grinning from ear to ear, like the cat that ate the canary. Ego, he's not short on — but to be fair, it's something he can back up.
"Now that I've got your attention, you wanna drop off those books? Just, uh, point where we're headed and tell me the room number. I'll do the rest." He's not kidding. It'll take another blink of the eye for them to get there - though he'll leave her /outside/ the door she wants to go into. Because he doesn't have the key and while he /could/ blow up the lock? She might not care for that. … and he might blow more than the lot. Schools and Tommy don't have a good history.
"Sucks that you didn't get one-on-one time with him. I mean, at least you don't have to worry about his girlfriend being your age or something, right?" A pause. "Hawaii's nice, though, you should see it sometime…"
*
Lorna blinked, rubbing her eyes as she glanced back to Tommy, her eyebrows lifting up to pinch. "Uhm." A beat, "It's probably better if we.. uh.. walk the normal way.." Her voice was a little unsure, but she glanced around the campus and back to Tommy briefly before starting forward again.
"You're not the only mutant here, and you don't go to school here.. and uhm.. there are kind of rules about that sort of thing. So.." She kept her voice down, "It's better if we just walk.. Okay? My dorm is just the next building over." She nodded toward it, fishing out a key from her pocket.
Her green eyes narrowed faintly in thought as she walked, avoiding slick bits of ice and puddles. "I dunno how old Miss Crystal is, but it's complicated. I mean.. like," She exhaled a heavy breath. "My father is in his thirties, but.. I guess.. I'm eighteen and I dunno how old she.. but I don't think she's too much older than I am. I mean.. I think she's in her twenties at least.."
*
Shrug, "Hey, if you wanna move slow-mo, that's up to you. If not… I can't say rules were ever exactly my speed." There's a pun there, and it's the kind that already has him grinning. He likes a good pun, what can he say?
Still, he'll play along for now, hands are tucked into his pockets and legs swing wide with each step; he /could/ move faster, he's just /not,/ and he knows it.
"Man. What is it with all these twelve year olds gettin' busy?" Tommy opines, crinkling his nose a bit. Granted, it's a guess on Lorna's part… and not true on Strange's part, but it's funnier this way, so this is the way he goes with. "I mean, I didn't even start dating until I…. well. Okay. I guess I can see it." Self-deprecating humor is as good as any other kind.
*
Tommy's comments earn a raised eyebrow and she stepped inside the building. It was new, well kept and fashionable to the point that it looked almost out of a flier about America's colleges. Still, Lorna navigated it with practiced ease, turning and taking the stairwell up to the second floor where her dorm resided. "My father came out of Auschwitz when he was young, it was a survivor's thing. I guess. At least that's what the histories and first person accounts state that I've found. Something to do with wanting to prove that you're alive. I dunno. I'm the result." She shrugged, stopping before a door and unlocking it, with a wave of her hand rather than the key.
"Illyana?" She called, ducking into the room and not finding her roommate present.
*
The name 'Auschwitz' is infamous enough that it makes Tommy stop cold. There's a frown that catches his lips at the thought, and a nod that carries just a bit of solemnness with it. "I guess I can see that. Hell. I've done crazy stuff to feel alive without /that/ kind of trauma behind it, so if /that/ had happened… yea, I can imagine I'd do all kinds of crazy stuff if that were the case." Pause. "Not a bad result all things considered, though. I'm sure he's happy to have you."
Once he's welcomed into the dorm, Tommy walks in and flops down into the nearest available chair. Green eyes turn to look towards the brunette, and a thoughtful look crosses his features. "So. You ready to hear something pretty crazy?"
*
Lorna set down the books with a thump, kicks off her boots, covered in snow as they were, her jacket and mittens following. Before she perched on her bed, a coverlet of bright floral print, and purple throws. It was clear what side of the room was her's—it was covered with clippings from magazines, albums, books and other assorted nick-knacks. While Illyana's was mostly bare and simple.
"Yeah.. I guess. I mean he said he was sorry for how I came about.. but not sorry for me. So, I guess he's happy to have me." She shrugged, smiling faintly as she reached up and tossed off her hat.
"Soo, what's this about crazy? Cause I'll have you know that my tolerance on that stuff is totally higher than most people's."
*
For his part? Tommy's not taking off his jacket; as the teen's decided he hasn't quite warmed back up enough in order to do that — and he's not entirely sure how long he's going to be staying, either.
"Definitely sounds like the family thing is working out for you. That's good… and, uh, it kinda leads into my next point." A pause. How to put this without sounding crazy, high tolerance or not?
"We can't date. For one, I've got a girlfriend now," Hey, go him! "…and for two? Uh… apparently we're kinda related. That Wanda chick I was talking about? She's… kinda my mom, apparently. She says you're related. Some sorta cousin or something, and I'm not into that." Pause. "Sorry." He knows it's devastating!
*
A sloooow blink, and Lorna's brows furrowed. "Uhm.. excuse me? What? Date you?" She refrains from laughing, even though she stared at him for a long time before responding. And then she was leaning forward.
"So she's your mom? Woah.. okay. So she's way older than I first though.." She bit her lower lip, "I mean, she showed up with this magic and all and claimed we were related. My tata wasn't happy about it, in fact he kind of dragged me away from her over it. Uh.. you know how I said Auschwitz before? There's no one else in my family—that's it. They didn't come out alive. So she says we're related and all, but I'm not sure how?" She tilted her head.
"And listen, I totally get magic, okay? My roommate can do it and she's Queen of another Dimension. It's messy. Believe me. But this? I mean, I dunno how I can be related to Wanda, especially if she's old enough to have had a kid.. Like I said.. my ta-my father, he's in his early thirties.."
*
"Yep. Sorry. Not gonna happen. When you're ready, I might be able to set you up with someone," Maybe that Teddy guy if he doesn't turn out to be Billy's type. Wouldn't /that/ be a lark?
"Actually, she's not that old at all. I told you it was crazy." Tommy points out, waving a hand slightly. "You see, /I'm/ not from here. I'm kinda from the future. Apparently my brother — he does the crazy magic stuff too — and Wanda ended up doing some crazy magical thing that brought him and I back in time to now. I don't understand all of it — I do the fast, not the magic — but apparently they do, and it doesn't look like there's any going back so…" Shrug.
"Yeah, I know you were talking about Auschwitz — and that might be part of the reason you guys all got separated? I mean, nothing like genocide to make people run for the hills. She didn't say /how/ we're related, so you could be like a… distant cousin or something, but still." At least /Hope/ isn't related to him.
*
Lorna didn't seem all that broken up about not having a date, nor that confused about time travel. She'd met a different version of Hope briefly, different time. It was messy.
"Okay, so, you're from the future because Wanda did a magic thing, and your brother did something else and you can't get back. Right?" She arched a brow and then frowned faintly.
"I get all of that. It makes sense. But my father was very clear. He didn't have siblings. His parents, my grandparents died in Aushwitz when he was young. He has no other family. From what I understand, it's just him and me." She grimaced, looking down at her hands.
"And we only figured it out because of a blood test after our powers went all wonky around the other. It was really odd." She bit her lower lip again, and glanced toward Tommy.
"So I get that you're Wanda's kid from the future.. I just.. I dunno how we could be related. Are you sure?"
*
"Did his parents have siblings? Did theirs? Wanda didn't say she was like, your sister or anything." Tommy points out, waggling a finger at Lorna. "Just that you were relatives, and that as a result I was too."
There's a pause, and a single eyebrow arches a bit. "Blood tests… you mean, like DNA testing and stuff? They have that back here?" 1963-Tommy never heard about that. 2000-something Tommy occasionally watched talk shows to find out that you ARE the father!, where the tests ran like water.
"I can't honestly say I'm sure about anything these days, other than I can run really fast, and this isn't the time I'm supposed to be in." Pause. "But I figured you should know. Maybe you and her can get together and do one of those blood test thingies if you're curious — I could give you her address, if you're interested."
*
A blink, and then Lorna shrugged lightly. "I dunno? I mean.. my father said that that was it. That we don't have other family. I guess it's possible? I just.. I don't get it at all." She grabbed a pillow and sat back with a heavy sigh.
"And I wasn't gonna push. He told me about that kinda after we found out we were related. And I dunno if other people have access to that kind of technology? Miss Moira did the testing, she's got a PhD and stuff, and had access to a lab and everything." She shrugged. "She said that we shared half the genetic markers that make him by dad. So.." She shrugged again.
"She could do the test for Wanda I guess? I mean, I dunno.. it's complicated."
*
Into the leather jacket his hands go, out come a pen and a strip of paper — Lorna might recognize it as another of the papers that he pre-writes with his own info — that part is scribbled out, then he writes down a different address, along with the name 'Wanda Maximoff'. This is then handed over to her.
"Sounds like the kind of thing that you'd be interested in finding out about, so talking to this Moira lady about it might be something for you to do… then you can get to know even more family than you already do, since you're definitely the family type and all."
A bit of a shrug to that, and he stretches out his limbs a bit. Either getting comfortable, or ready to go.
*
Lorna leans forward, and takes the offered slip of paper, her brows furrowing. "I dunno. I.. I mean I'll ask my father. It seems pretty awkward to not talk to him about it. You know?" She exhales, and glances at Tommy again.
"Also, you have no idea how complicated that whole thing is. I mean, like seriously. I told you he's dating, right? Miss Crystal is a princess, a for real serious princess." She glanced at the paper and tucked into her skirt pocket.
"I love my tata, seriously, I do. But do you have any idea what it's like? Hey, my father is dating a Princess! Gosh."
*
"I suppose." Family isn't a big thing for Tommy — he grew up with a pretty awful one, so checking with family first isn't all that important to him. "But if he says no… /you/ still have the information to make your own decision too. Always remember that you're your own person; family doesn't make you who you are."
At least he hopes not. He would hate to be anything like Frank.
"Don't get me started on how complicated these things are. I mean, I thought Wanda was just some girl on the streets when I first ran into her." That didn't go all that well. "…and now the girl I /am/ dating? Also a time traveller, which works pretty well, right? Well… apparently she's from a future that's even /farther/ than mine. I feel so low-tech compared to her sometimes."
*
Lorna shrugged, tucking brown curls behind her ears. "I know. But this sort of involve him too. My father.. he values family. A lot. And I wouldn't want to deny him the chance to find out if we had more. You know?" Her brows pinched and she hugged her pillow closer.
His tale of the girl he was dating earned a raised brow. "I spent my vacation off school helping my father to overthrow the King that disposed his brother, who is my dad's girlfriend's cousin? Also said disposed King has been stalking me from time to time with bad pick up lines? Oh. And my roommate is Queen of another dimension. And got drunk at a bar and teleported the club and everyone there to Rio?" She arched a brow.
"Trust me. I get crazy."
