(Untitled)

[acts_of_gord]

They're about two days away from the assault on the dead zone gene worm, and Gordon still hasn't figured out his exit plan. True, they could go with what worked for Shephard, or they could try an alternative variant, but he'd like to have something a little more reliable lined up if possible. He needs time to brainstorm, so he's slipped off to

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[walking_napalm]

Liz slows (in passing on her way to the bar) to read the sign on the table, and she begins to smile a little bit by the time she reaches 'organisms.'

"I've got somebody I could send your way," she says, paused there with her mug of coffee in her hand. Today is an unassuming-looking day -- a loose black skirt, black tights, a black sweater, and black combat boots.

[acts_of_gord]

Gordon, for his part, is in his usual downtime clothing- a grey and white Black Mesa T-shirt, a pair of faded jeans, and a crowbar hanging from his belt. He looks up and nods. "I wouldn't mind hearing from them," he says. "Any kind of voice of experience would be good."

[walking_napalm]

"He's a voice of experience, all right," she says wryly. "He kind of makes a habit of it. Hellboy. Big red lunk in a trench coat with horns and a tail. You won't be able to miss him."

[acts_of_gord]

"I think I've seen him around," Gordon says. "What planet is he from, or is it another dimension?"

What? Either one's a legitimate question, especially given what happened to Gordon's world.

[walking_napalm]

"Earth," Liz says firmly.

Beat.

"Mostly."

(By way of another dimension.)

"We live in Jersey."

[acts_of_gord]

"My condolences," Gordon says automatically. He went to school on the Eastern Seaboard, and New Jersey... well, it was one of those things. "Then again, I shouldn't say that, considering how things are back home. All right, I'll keep an eye out for him. Would you mind sending him my way if you see him first? My name's Gordon Freeman."

[walking_napalm]

Liz cracks a broader smile at 'condolences.' "I'll tell him," she promises. "I'm Liz, by the way. If context helps, we're field agents with the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense."

[acts_of_gord]

"That explains some of it," Gordon agrees. "In my case, I'm... well. My Earth was pretty normal up until May of 2001, when the first alien invasion happened. It's sixteen years after the second one now. The enemy's using enormous bio-engineered constructs against us, and the only known vulnerable spots are all in the interior."

[walking_napalm]

Liz's general plan to offer up her boyfriend's expertise and then gracefully skedaddle to the bar has officially been upended; it's hard to slide out of a conversation without feeling like a jerk after someone has just disclosed an alien invasion. Twice.

Also, it's kind of interesting.

"Wow," she says, her eyebrows firmly raised. "That puts even our world to shame when it comes to 'weird.' "

She hesitates half a second, then she asks, "Do you mind...?" as she places her hand on the back of a chair at his table.

[acts_of_gord]

"Go ahead," Gordon says, gesturing. "I'll get your first drink, if you want. Preference?"

[walking_napalm]

"--Oh," she says, a little startled by the offer, as she sits down. She tilts her mostly-empty mug as she sets it on the table. "Just a refill on this would be good; black coffee. Thanks."

[acts_of_gord]

Gordon nods and signals one of the wait-rats. "Coffee for her, coffee and sugar for me," he says. "Thanks."

As the rat runs off he says, "Didn't mean to distract you from anything. I figure this is the least I could do."

[walking_napalm]

"You're not interrupting anything more pressing than reading the tabloids," Liz says dryly. "So no worries on that front. But thanks; I appreciate it.

"Your world was really invaded by aliens twice?"

Twice just seems so unlucky.

[acts_of_gord]

"Unfortunately, yes," Gordon says. "Not so much from other planets as other dimensions, though. The first invasion happened because of a teleportation experiment that went wrong, and wound up tearing spacetime very badly. Things just started pouring in. And from what I understand, the second one essentially happened because a bigger, nastier group of aliens noticed the effects of the first, and decided Earth looked like a good target for their expansionist activities."