no distance left to run

[ithaslasers]

WHO: Chase Stein (OU), Nico Minoru, Karolina Dean, Chase Stein (AU) and Victor Mancha
WHAT: An impromptu reunion
WHERE: ToC, Valley Motel, Room 103
WHEN: Backdated to a few days after Chase arrived, evening.
WARNINGS: Chases 8| And general Runaways wtfuckery.
SUMMARY: The Older Runaways find out that Chase has arrived in ToC. So they go pay him an

Comments

[witchsupreme]

[ this has become an unavoidable wrinkle in the plans that she'd thought she'd had so smoothed out, but Nico is unfortunately used to things not going her way. She has long since gotten accustomed to having to deal with things, having to factor in wiggle-room and space enough to roll with the inevitable punches. She hadn't wanted to let the rest of the gang know what she was planning to do in the desert, but then Chase had to show up.

And she couldn't not tell them he was there. So what should have been a solo magical adventure has turned into an awkward family vacation and she is not fucking pleased.

Their room in the Bins fades hot and fast, the motel room replacing it in a displacement of air. The spell is quick and efficient, so suddenly Chase has a room full of not-friends ]

[ofwisemen]

Fuck.

[ Teleporting is ridiculous, magical or otherwise. Useful, but... Pretty damn disorienting. He automatically moved to try and catch himself from the sensation that the ground had to have moved, but that just ended in his stepping awkwardly, fumbling. The cane did alright and he grabbed hold of Vic's shoulder to steady himself.

Damned if he was gonna fall over and whine right now. He was going to fucking kill whoever took his chair.

Oh, right. Greetings. ]

Hi.

[ Surly. He looks over at himself and... This is just too fucking weird. He'll look at Victor's shirt instead. Quite the fashionista, that manbot. ]

[cibervengador]

[ Victor steadies Chase the Elder with one hand, and then has to focus on re-orienting himself for a second. Teleporting always throws a bunch of processes out of whack. He squeezes his eyes shut and waits for the system warnings to clear out. Maybe if he waits long enough the awkwardness of this will pass too. ]

[wasaflowerchild]

[Karolina is hovering in the middle of the group, unsure of who to touch first, who needs a steadying hand the most. It's moments like that she tends to wish she had another four arms. She settles for wrapping her arms around her stomach, rising an inch or so off the ground.]

[ithaslasers]

[Chase is halfway through a swig of beer when they all suddenly appear in his room, and that makes him half sputter and half choke in surprise because hell, he wasn't expecting that.]

Can't you use a damn door? [this is directed at Nico, but Chase cannot stop staring at his older self. Why the fuck is there a cane? Glances were offered to Victor and Karolina too, but it's pretty obvious he is not ready for this conversation yet.]

[witchsupreme]

Doors are for losers.

[ wow, she did not expect this to be as hard as it suddenly is. He just looks so young. She can't help but glance between him and her Chase. ]

I shouldn't be surprised that the first thing you do is get beer.

[ofwisemen]

[ What're you lookin' at? Does he really look that rough? ]

What?

[ eeehfuck. Yeah. He probably does. He'll just be letting go of Victor and looking generally sour, and at anything else but himself. ]

aaaa I fail the most

[cibervengador]

[ Dios, this was a mistake. This was a ten-car pileup. Vic reaches a hand up to Karolina's shoulder to reassure them both. ]

Heard you were in one piece, dude, but you know us, never trusting the media.

[wasaflowerchild]

[At Victor's touch, Karolina drops back down to the floor. She wants to touch Chase, just a hand on his shoulder, or something like that, but this might be one of those moments where she should keep her distance.]

We just thought we should come see you.

[ithaslasers]

[He shoots Nico a scowl. How was he not surprised that they all came? He should've expected it, rather than thinking just Nico would come.]

It's been a bad fucking couple of days, sue me. [he pointedly takes another swing of the beer before he glances down the line at Victor and Karolina. It was obvious he didn't want to be seen by anyone, let alone his family from the future. He wasn't even looking at Chase.]

Yeah, well. Here I am. In one piece. [holds his arms out and looks at them all expectantly.]

I fail more than krafty

[witchsupreme]

Yeah. We know. This place blows in almost every conceivable way.

[ Nico crosses her arms over her chest, body language erring to the defensive just because she can't say what she wants to say easily. There are some things that she struggles to put into acceptable words. ]

Look. We're not here to police you, so don't be a little bitch. We came because you're one of us and we don't abandon our own in the middle of the desert, alternate universe or not.

S'good, y'all.

[ofwisemen]

[ Like he needs to be reminded the kind of day the younger self had been having. God. Chase rolls his eyes at that. In one piece. Here he is in one piece, like it was to be expected.

Little asshole. If he could've miraculously... Man, fuck that.

His irritation is pretty obvious on his face, but he's keeping his head down and trying hard to remember how messed up he was that day, why this fresher him doesn't completely deserve a pop to the mouth.

One piece. Kid oughta be luck he wasn't knee-deep in a coma. ]

[cibervengador]

[ for fuck's sake, someone was going to sprain something. Vic could feel the sparks crackling up in his chest. ]
So okay, this is fucked up and awkward, we all get that, let's try this again:

"It's good to see you, Chase, sorry you're stuck in this shit too, do you need anything?"

[wasaflowerchild]

[ Karolina put her hand on Chase's shoulder, quietly turning down her own sparkle, pulling the light inwards. ]

Are you okay here?

[ithaslasers]

[When Nico speaks, he shoots her a glare.]

Oh yeah? So what's Mol doing out here on her own, bein' looked after someone from the freaking X-Men, then, Nico?

[he crossed his arms, the beer still in one hand, and almost freezes when Karolina touches him. He really hadn't wanted to be seen by anyone, let alone be touched by them. It was way too much way too soon. He looks at both Victor and Karolina and gives a rough shrug.] As okay as being transported to an alternate universe where everyone is dicks can be.

[witchsupreme]

[ as quiet as Nico has gotten with age, sometimes it's easy to forget that she has a temper. She used to yell, but now she just seethes in a way that makes you wonder if something's going to implode ]

Do you want to know what she's doing out here, Chase? Because I'll spell it out for you. She's out here because she's safe here. She shouldn't be around us. We don't keep our heads down anymore---we get in the middle of shit that I will not see her involved in. Worthington is an airhead, but he has the moral obligation to protect another mutant and the powerset to pull it off. Her other roommate is Captain fucking America, so she's safe there.

Do you think I don't want her to be with us? Do you think I like that she has those two watching her? No. But we're doing what's best for her.