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Lorna sighed as she shut the door to the Sanctum behind her and stepped out into New York City's lively bustle of late afternoon. She'd spent the past few days with Wanda, and had gone out with Julian once. It had been fun, but all things considered it was equally draining and stressful. It was better, the green haired mutant mused, to spend time away from boys well and truly.
The wind whipped up through the streets, lifting the scent of recent snow melt and tarmac up into the air as it warmed. Still, Lorna donned her winter coat for lack of a Springer jacket as of yet in her wardrobe and tucked her green hair up behind her hat as she walked. Her backpack hefted up on a shoulder as she adjusted her grip on a strap, heavy textbooks making her load cumbersome and awkward.
"Right, next block, bus station." She mused to herself as she stepped off the stairs and onto the sidewalk.
*
Something whizzes past.
Something very fast.
The wind created by the anomaly is enough to tug at Lorna's clothing and backpack, but not enough to remove any of it (thankfully). Several newspapers fly out of a nearby trashcan and across the street.
The silver and blue streak then doubles back, picking up said newspapers, and folds them into little origami shapes — various animals — leaving them on a bench not far from the Sanctum.
Then he stops (Pietro, that is). The elder Maximoff twin gives Lorna a look, followed by a grin, and dashes over to her. He is dressed for running (as always) and carries a backpack over his shoulder as well. It contrasts very much with his own attire, and even has someone else's name on it.
It is likely not his.
"Uh, hullo…S — Lorna," he tells her, almost using the word 'sister' but not quite game enough to try it out. "Are you visiting the Boyfriend?" That is his name for Strange.
Pietro glances a little nervously at the backpack on his shoulder.
*
A blink and Lorna nearly stumbles over herself as a breeze kicks up around her and past her, then whips around back. Her hands clap on her hat, securing it to her head and keeping her hair tucked back. A blush crosses her cheeks as it takes her an embarrassingly long moment to figure out it wasn't Tommy that spoke to her, but her elusive older brother, Pietro.
Green eyes lifted toward him, glancing over him and his backpack. Oh, the ways that the suitor-like boys in her life would react if they knew the speedsters in her life had such loose morals on 'laws'.
Still, he earned a smile from her and a shrug, "I've been spending time with the Doctor and Wanda, yeah. She said I needed time away from drama and to find my balance again.." Green eyebrows lifted as she considered him. "I haven't seen you around a lot." A pause.
"Okay, to be fair I've been kinda locked up in another dimension for a few weeks but still."
*
Pietro lifts his eyebrows.
"You too, huh? Wanda did that to us not long ago — lost us in another dimension." He lifts a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it with an expression of awkwardness on his face. "There were invisible sharks and vampire-whores… it was a fun place."
He glances at the backpack again, this time peeking inside with a frown on his face. "Hmm… So you got yourself free then? Is good, that. Trapped anywhere is not being fun…"
*
Lorna wrinkled her nose as she turned to fully face her half-brother, folding her arms over her middle as she tucked her coat back closer again. "Well, it wasn't Wanda's fault. I kinda dragged Tommy and everyone into a fight with an evil slug dude. He was awful. And well, Tommy got kidnapped at one point. So Billy and other and I went to save him.. I got caught. So then Tommy, and Billy and everyone else came to save me. It got messy. There were clones that melted and stuff.." She heaved a sigh.
"And well, Wanda suggested I take time to get over it. Cause well, there are times where I've got no memory and Mojo, well.. he had to make a clone from something of me.." She made a face, and glanced down, pushing her hair back.
"I thought I was gonna go crazy being locked up for weeks."
*
Pietro assumes a stricken face and nods his head vigorously. "I… this would be driving me mad also. I feel sorry for you — trapped is… no fun."
He goes quiet as other pedestrians walk by, engaged in their own conversations. Have a moment later, he ducks away in the blink of an eye… and when he returns he has exchanged a man's newspaper for a pornographic magazine… which the man's wife then notices in his hand.
Hee hee.
When Pietro returns, he looks inside the backpack again and frowns. "So… I see this cafe in the city — is run by a mutant — and some fellow shows up with his backpack, and then… leaves it there…"
He swallows and unhooks the backpack from his shoulder.
"Is ticking — the backpack — and I look inside and see this…" and the silver-haired man holds it out to Lorna so she can see the contents of the pack. It is a bomb.
"What should I do?" asks the speedster as if he were inquiring about dating-advice, or what car to buy.
*
Lorna looks at least used to a speedster's constant shifting, something she had either picked up from Wanda herself, or perhaps simply from being around Tommy. She didn't so much as make a face as he sped off and back in the time it took her to blink and realize what he'd done further down the sidewalk. Still, he as he starts talking about some cafe her brows climbed higher on her features.
The showing of the bomb however had her comically jumping, and dancing back a step or two. "OH MY GOD!" She clapped her hands on her lips as she glanced around and back sharply.
"Pietro! You, oh my god, it's a bomb. Oh my god." She she made a nervous sound at the back of her throat as she glanced around again.
"Get rid of it! Like throw it out some where out of the city away from anyone! Oh my gosh, how much time is left on it? Does it have a timer?" Her brows climbed higher if at all possible, and yet leaned closer toward it.
Then away once more, "I so can't do anything about that!"
*
"It has…" says Pietro as he peers inside the pack, seemingly not caring about the timer, or the consequences of having the thing explode. "Two minutes and thirty seven seconds…" He looks up brightly. "So we have time."
A brief pause.
"Why would someone want to blow up a cafe? I thought…" and the silver-haired fellow frowns deeply, very troubled. "I thought America was… different. This sort of thing is what I expected in Transia, Romania… Europe in general…" he waffles on, apparently not aware of the danger.
*
Lorna hopped from one foot to another, anxiety riding high in her expression. "Can you get rid of it? Please?" She hedged, her voice leaping in pitch as she eyed the bomb in his grasp, especially as he stated the under three minutes time left on it.
"And America really isn't that much better. I mean, sure it's better than say having a massive genocide of.. wait no, never mind." She muttered, her eyes rolling to the side as she considered her history. "America really isn't that much better at uhm, being as equal as it claims. There was a slaughter in mutant town not so long ago right here, in New York.."
She bit her lower lip, eyeing Pietro. "Can you, please, please, please put that thing somewhere that no one will get hurt? I'd feel a lot better if it was gone." She muttered pointing at the backpack.
*
"Gone," replies Pietro. "Yes. Of course. Hold that thought!"
The young man vanishes, running at full tilt toward the Sanctum Sanctorum. Up the walls he goes, launching himself into the air — at which point he hurls the backpack straight up, before allow himself to fall back down.
When he reappears at Lorna's side, there is an explosion in the sky high above them… which then showers the Sanctum in glitter. Pietro shrugs.
"I borrowed some things from a little girl's arts and crafts bag. Do you think the Doctor will mind?" Now that the Sanctum is glittered up… mind you, the wards would never have let the building come to any harm. It just looks slightly prettier.
Pietro's smirk turns into a frown. "I want to find the one who left the bomb in the cafe to begin with. People should be treating others like this — not here. I'm… sorry I scared you."
*
A breath of relief followed as he vanished, with the bomb in tow. Her shoulders slumping as she eased back, only to jump again and clap her hands over her mouth at the rather loud bang that followed the explosion as she released a high pitched sound of fear. Still, as.. glitter? Rains down onto the Sanctum she stares, her mouth falling open, to stare at the sparkling bits that covered the landscape now.
"Oh man, the Doctor is so not going to be amused.." She grinned, her figure staggering lightly in relief that the bomb was handled. A hand pressing up to cover her grin as Pietro apologized for having scared her.
"Not your fault. Just whoever left that behind's fault." She nodded in the direction of the exploded bomb and started walking, figuring that the speedster would happily follow along side her, or go beyond her and track back anyways.
"And yeah, I agree.. but mutants don't really get treated as American citizens. A lot of people really don't, actually.." She murmured, her brow furrowing.
*
The silver speedster puts his hands on his hips and surveys his handiwork — namely, the be-glittered Sanctum.
"I am thinking it's an improvement," says he aloud, grinning impishly. "Although… it may attract attention…." It already has; other passers-by have noticed, unleashed exclamations of horror and shock — one man screamed, only to be elbowed by his wife, who is even now hurrying away with her children.
Someone is at a payphone, calling the police. Pietro frowns. "Perhaps we should be going. Have you eaten? I haven't — not in the last hour. I'm famished."
*
Lorna glanced back at the screaming, panicked pedestrians and nodded. "I'm with you. Lets go get something to eat." She adjusted the straps on her backpack, and then glanced to him in expectation. Clearly, she expected to be carried about to where ever the speedster decided upon for food.
"I'm thinking waffles, I was going to eat on campus, but maybe we can find a diner. Does that sound good? Tommy always has us meet up at one a half dozen blocks over. I forget the name, but they've got some pretty good pies and things too. Also hot chocolate." Did she sound like she had a sweet tooth? Because she most assuredly had.
*
