Extraterrestrial Visitor (Open)

[lila_cheney]

It wasn't that Lila had purposely been avoiding anyone X. She led a busy life, as did her friends on the various teams. Their paths didn't cross very often.

But after escaping deathtraps on Halloween with her ex's sister and Guido's teammate, she'd been thinking about those friends - and missing them terribly. Her Dyson Sphere was a lovely bit

Comments

[amazon_guthrie]

Grumpy Guthrie alert!

Liz tromped in the direction of the nearest door, holding a book she didn't plan on reading. But people usually left you alone if they thought you were reading and she really wanted to be left alone.

Stupid Jay. Stupid school. Stupid boys.

[lila_cheney]

Lila burst through the door, hollering for Sam. He didn't appear, but she did spy another Guthrie. Grabbing the girl by the shoulders (what was this one's name? There were so many); she demanded "are you alright? What happened in Kentucky?"

[amazon_guthrie]

Liz jerked back in surprised, eyes widening momentarily before they narrowed into a darker scowl than before.

"Bunch of idiots showed up and blew up the house with us in it. And then them and the Purifiers tried to kill us." They tried to shoot Lucy and Lewis and Susie and they lit Jay on fire and they--

Liz pulled out of Lila's grip. "Then the X-Men came and rescued us."

[lila_cheney]

Liz was pulled back for a brief hug and quickly released. It was obvious the girl was in a foul mood, but Lila couldn't contain her relief. "'s horrible, that is. But you're good now, right?" She looked at Liz in concern. Just because she isn't dating Sam anymore doesn't mean she doesn't care. "The family all okay? Where's everyone now?"

Realizing that Liz was probably on her way outside, she shot a glance at the door. "You probably don't want to go out there. Shatterstar and a girl with claws were looking murderous when I left them."

[amazon_guthrie]

Liz hugged back awkwardly.

"Everyone's okay. Lucy and Lewis got powers now, so they're here with me and Sammy and Paige and Jeb and Mel and--" return of the grumpy Gurthrie face, "--Jay. Momma and Joelle and Susie are gettin' a new farm here in New York. It ain't all finished yet, but it's supposed to be comin' along real nice."

Honestly, she'd rather be on the farm.

[lila_cheney]

"Joelle mentioned she was staying here when we got kidnapped on Halloween. I thought she was just visiting, though. I'm glad you're all alright." Lila smiled at the younger girl.

"More mutant Guthries? What can those two do? And-" she noted Lizzie's grimace when Jay was mentioned "-what else is new?"

[amazon_guthrie]

"Lucy's got force field bubbles. She can't use 'em to fly or nothin', but she can roll around in it like a hamster ball. And Lewis is real smart now, he can fix anythin' he gets his hands on," Liz said with a touch of pride for her little siblings. "And Jay's just bein' a jerk, so Ah ain't talkin' to him."

She wasn't going to talk about what had happened to Jay when he'd gone out to the mosque, because then she'd want to hit things and hug Jay and cry, and she was mad at him! How dare he get married and not tell anyone? They were family and you didn't keep that kind of thing from family! Why hadn't he told anyone?

Liz's free hand curled into a fist and she breathed out, trying to vent her annoyance so that she didn't wind up growing again. It wasn't Lila's fault that Jay didn't think he could trust Liz anymore was keeping stuff from his family.

[lila_cheney]

Lila chuckled at the mental image of the mutant hamster ball. "Do you think Lewis could program my DVR? I hate missing shows when I'm off-planet."

She briefly considered retrieving her bags from outside, deciding to leave them rather than risk running into any self-appointed security guards. Lila nudged Liz in the direction of the cafeteria. "Come grab a bite with me, catch me up on what's going on," she suggested as they began to walk. "You can tell me all about why your brother's a jerk on the way there."

[amazon_guthrie]

"He probably could. They're still workin' out exactly what he can do, Ah think, but he's a whiz with electronics." Liz paused and smirked a little. "And locks. Can't forget the locks."

Liz followed Lila, a little reluctantly. "A lot of stuff's happened, and most of it ain't good." Even the good stuff had bad stuff attached. Nobody's dead only came up for discussion when there was a risk that someone had died.

Stupid, stupid, stupid Purifiers.

[lila_cheney]

She smirked at that, remembering her own lock-picking days, but didn't comment. People tended to get testy when reminded she was a former thief.

Lila grabbed some snacks from the lunch line and led Liz to one of the smaller tables. Sliding a bottle of lemonade across to Liz, she commanded, "lay it on me, kiddo. I want to know everything I missed." Something was obviously bothering the girl, and Lila was determined to help if she could.

[amazon_guthrie]

Lewis kept using his lock-picking skills to get into places he shouldn't. You'd think that a body'd know better than to break into a place called "the Danger Room", honestly.

Liz took a swig of the lemonade. "You been around on Earth much lately? Because lots of stuff has happened and it's all tied together."

She was only stalling a little.

[lila_cheney]

"Been touring in the Carina Dwarf galaxy," she answered with a shake of her head. "Go ahead and start at the beginning."

Spill it, Lizzie.

[amazon_guthrie]

Just as long as Lila remembered that she did ask. In spite of the warning signs.

Liz sighed heavily and scrubbed a hand over her face.

"The people in town called in Purifiers and blew up our house on Momma's birthday," she began. "Lucy manifested when they tried to shoot her and Lewis and Suzie. The X-Men came and rescued us and brought us all back here. After Momma got all the insurance stuff taken care of, she and Joelle and Suzie all went to start building a new farm up here in New York. Lewis stayed here because he and Lucy nearly got themselves killed tryin' to keep him here, but then Dr. McCoy started sayin' that he had powers and stuff, so Ah guess it was gonna happen anyway."

And it only went downhill from there.

"This one guy, Kevin, got powers that just dissolve pretty much anythin' he touches, and he accidentally...he accidentally touched his dad, so a bunch of people got all in a uproar about that, even though it weren't his fault at all. And there were all these anti-mutant commercials and some fu-- stupid people

[lila_cheney]

Lila listened with a growing sense of dismay. It was one thing to be told a friend's home had been destroyed, another to hear the first-hand account of how it'd happened. Amazed at how much she'd missed during her time off Earth, she absorbed it all, staying quiet through Liz's diatribe. Until she got to the part about Jay.

Gasping in horror, she covered Liz's fisted hands with her own. "Is he-" she choked back the rest of the sentence. Liz had said earlier that everyone was alright now. Lila closed her eyes, shaking her head and collecting herself.

Peering concernedly at Liz, she squeezed her hands in reassurance - though exactly who was being reassured was unclear. "Are you okay?" Obviously asking about more than just Lizzie's physical health.

[amazon_guthrie]

"He got found before he died," Liz continued. "They got him all fixed up all right, but his healin' factor ain't workin' no more."

She pulled her hand back, wrapping both arms around her torso and scowling down at the tabletop.

"'m fine," she muttered. "Everyone's okay."

[lila_cheney]

It's hard to believe Liz's words when she looks anything but okay.

Lila watched the teen in concern. She'd hoped to help by getting the girl to talk, but obviously she'd missed the mark. Way to go, Lila, she thought ruefully. Once again, my impetuous nature leads to trouble. Sorry now that she'd made Liz fill her in, she grasped for a way to salvage the conversation.

"Er, anything good happen while I was gone?" It's a lame attempt at humor, and she knows it. But if it helps steer the conversation back to happier, healthier things, she can endure feeling awkward.