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Post by cherryproductions on Apr 18, 2010 8:33:44 GMT -5
"True, but can you legally prove that I'm your kid in this time period?" Cora shot back.
"Morning everyone." Mira said. Cora gave a slight nod, shutting up and standing still like she was always this shy, little child that couldn't speak in front of people.
Mira arched an eyebrow in questioning. Cora just shook her head and stepped closer to the two of them. O-kay. Something was definitely up here.
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Post by Blacksteel on Apr 18, 2010 9:39:46 GMT -5
“I like my coffee strong,” Liz admitted. “And I’m liable to drink three or four cups just to wake up—and that’s not counting the rest of the day.”
Her eyes drifted between Erin and Warp, and she suddenly felt very self-conscious and uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure whether it was being among strangers that was making her feel this way or because of the relationship between the two. Couples had never bothered her before...
She was almost thankful for a distraction when the airlock slid open, revealing Buzz, a blue-skinned redhead—Mira, if Liz remembered correctly—and a younger blue-skinned girl—Cora. Seeing all the non-humans in photos and vids was one thing, but in the flesh it was entirely something else. They didn’t look alien to Liz—just different in skin pigmentation, which wasn’t even something that Liz had ever been concerned about. She had seen far stranger-looking beings in her time.
She wanted to apologise to Buzz, but wasn’t sure whether she ought to do so now or later in private. He might not want to let others know about the dispute. And besides, she didn’t know how to talk to the other two females, either. Liz had never felt comfortable in front of strangers. In that, she was a lot like Abe, though more assertive than him. If Liz knew what had to be done she could take charge, but she’d usually just sit back with Abe and let Hellboy work his charm. He had always been more comfortable with his identity than she and Abe, and that was something Liz was beginning to realise she really missed about him.
She merely nodded in greeting, then drained the rest of her coffee, wanting to do something with her hands to ease the awkwardness she felt.
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Post by Warp Darkmatter on Apr 18, 2010 15:35:36 GMT -5
"You mean you didn't get the "Pick-on-Erin Day" memo?! Wow, Erin, you're falling out of the loop here." Warp smiled as he swallowed another mouthful of coffee and gave Liz a wink to let her know he was still playing.
"Morning, Buzz. Hey, did you know that you look about as bad as I feel?" He pretended that he was sharing a recently discovered fact that would change history.
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Post by Skyfire on Apr 18, 2010 16:29:33 GMT -5
Erin sighed and continued braiding. “Nobody ever tells me anything,” she shot back evenly. “Story of my life.”
She waved at Mira and Cora as they entered the room. “Morning, guys!”
***
“I’ll figure something out,” Buzz nodded confidently. Nope, he wasn’t about to lose to a sixteen-year-old girl – no way, no how.
He raised an eyebrow at Cora’s sudden… shyness? Hold that cruiser – Cora, shy? What the galaxy?
He glared at Warp. “Hey, did you know that I can make you look about as bad as you feel?” he countered, folding his arms. “’Cause right now, I am tempted.”
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Post by cherryproductions on Apr 18, 2010 17:21:59 GMT -5
"That sounds like a challenge." Cora emphasized cheerily. She was having too much fun with this. In minutes she might have her father red in the face. Which wouldn't be a first, considering they'd have an argument about something once a week.
She was a very persistent, bull-headed teenage girl.
*
Something didn't seem right. This new time-traveler lady that showed up, Liz was it? She...something about her seemed wrong. Very very wrong. Almost like....
"She shouldn't be here." Cora whispered under her breath. It was so soft, so unclear that not even the person standing not even a foot away from her could hear her.
"Umm, Mira would you like some coffee? How about you Buzz? Erin, Warp?"
"Uh, no hon, I'm good." Mira gently nudged her daughter in the arm. "What's up? You seem nervous about something."
Cora shook her head again, not really wanting to explain. Maybe it was a time-traveler thing. Seeing another one might be causing some mixed signals toward her.
If so, then why didn't she feel weird around Erin?
Because she belongs here and this lady doesn't. Cora knew for a fact that she never saw or heard about this lady before in the future. Her parents, especially Dad, told stories about their past adventures with the team and not once did a Liz--or Hellboy for that matter--ever show up in the conversations.
Something was wrong here.
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Post by Warp Darkmatter on Apr 18, 2010 19:23:17 GMT -5
"Maybe you should get out more." Warp chuckled.
"Nah, you don't have to. Erin's coffee will take care of that." This was one of those rare days were Warp knew he couldn't push his luck with Buzz. The last thing they needed was a full-blown argument. "I'll probably be turning all white and stuff in minute."
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Post by Skyfire on Apr 19, 2010 6:08:41 GMT -5
“You want a challenge, I’ll give you a challenge,” Buzz shot back, then proceeded to mutter under his breath.
***
Erin gave him a steady glare that very clearly said “You’re-pushing-it-you’re-pushing-it-sooo-hard.”
***
Buzz frowned pensively at the brief exchange between Mira and Cora, tucking it away for later. Something important was going on – he could sense it.
***
Then again, it was out of the frying pan and into the fire.
“That does it!” Erin hooked her foot around one leg of Warp’s chair and literally pulled it out from under him.
“Erin!” Buzz exclaimed in a tone that said he wasn’t sure whether to scold or laugh.
She leaned over to smile sweetly at Warp. “Hi, darling.”
At that moment, Booster and XR appeared, the Jo-Adian pulling the grumbling ‘bot into the room. Buzz raised an eyebrow at them. “Good morning, you two. XR, what’s your problem?”
“He was interfacing with The Desk,” Booster explained. XR just continued to mutter unintelligibly.
Erin turned to them. “I would say ‘that’s cute,’ only the thought of what robot interfacing is the equivalent of scares me.”
“Eeerin!” Buzz protested.
“Sorry!”
“Oh brother,” XR finally said, jerking his arm out of Booster’s grip. “Sooo… oh hey, it’s the new girl!” He wheeled over to Liz, putting on his most charming smile – which, all things considered, was actually pretty cute. “Morning, there, ma’am. Ranger XR Nebula –” he snapped off a salute – “at your service.”
Buzz face-palmed and shook his head. Erin tried to contain her sudden urge to giggle. Booster just had a weary look on his face – out of Team Lightyear, he was the one who’d seen the most of XR’s Casanova attempts.
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Post by Blacksteel on Apr 19, 2010 6:47:24 GMT -5
((History’s being rewritten, that’s what!))
Warp was apparently quite the trickster, Liz decided, pushing her now-empty coffee cup to the side. It was kind of cute the way he and Erin bantered. Almost like a married couple—which, shethought, mentally slapping herself, they were.
If Liz thought the room had been crowded before, it was nothing compared to when a large red humanoid alien entered, pushing a robot inside with him. Not this was decidedly different. If Liz had to decide on what the large alien reminded her of, she’d say something between a dinosaur and a warthog, perhaps. She couldn’t recall his name, even from the vids, but she remembered that he and the robot were in Buzz’s team.
Speaking of which, the robot soon whirred forwards towards Liz with the cheekiest smile you ever saw, introducing itself to her. She’d felt everyone’s eyes on her already, but this took the cake. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her. She hated being the centre of attention.
But now that she couldn’t avoid a confrontation, she really had no idea how to treat a—well, a robot. They’d only just started being developed when she left—not counting all the harbinger-like robots she’d previously encountered. No, robots like Bicentennial Man and Artificial Intelligence were still years and years away, but this little guy here? Nothing like she’d expected for the future, which was why XR’s flirting attempts simply went right over her head.
“Thanks,” she said slowly, trying not to stare too much at him. But she couldn’t help it—it was an actual robot. “I guess introducing myself would be rather pointless, huh, seeing as you all already know who I am?”
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Post by Skyfire on Apr 19, 2010 6:57:50 GMT -5
“Yep,” XR nodded, not missing a beat, “you’re the ho –”
“XR!!” Buzz and Erin said together.
“Ahem, the gal from Erin’s time who’s gonna help us with Hellboy,” XR finished. “Liz Sherman, right?” He held out his hand.
“And I’m Booster,” Booster added helpfully.
XR leaned in with a stage whisper: “And don’t ask for his last name – you’ll never believe it.”
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Post by Blacksteel on Apr 19, 2010 7:05:01 GMT -5
Liz quirked a brow. “The ‘hot one’?” she guessed, after Erin and Buzz snapped at him. She exhaled and shrugged. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one a lot.”
She shook XR’s hand. “That’s right,” she said, nodding at Booster in greeting as well.
Don’t ask for his last name? “Why? What’s so bad about it?” she asked XR curiously.
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Post by Skyfire on Apr 19, 2010 7:09:50 GMT -5
“Well, actually, I was gonna say ‘hot chick’…” XR muttered, having the decency to look sheepish.
“Not bad – just weird,” he replied.
“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with my name!” Booster defended, eyebrows knitted together. “It’s Munchapper.”
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Post by Warp Darkmatter on Apr 19, 2010 9:31:40 GMT -5
One moment everything was fine, the next, Warp found himself scrambling to find his balance without spilling his scolding hot coffee. He only managed to keep the coffee in his mug.
"Just laugh, Buzz. It might do you some good." Honestly, how could the man stand to be such a stiff so much of the time?
Warp stood, retrieved his chair and smirking said, "Can't touch this, cupcake."
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Post by cherryproductions on Apr 19, 2010 15:52:57 GMT -5
"I'll take it as it comes!"
Mira looked between the two, trying not to laugh. This was going to be a recurring thing between father and daughter in the future, she could tell. It was not hard to tell were Cora got her stubbornness from.
*
"I think I'll grab myself some then." Cora said uncharacteristically. Mira watched her walk off down the hall, moving slowly and rubbing her arms. This was a sudden change of pace from how she acted not even two minutes ago.
Weird.
Mira didn't care what excuse the girl gave her, something was definitely up.
"Buzz, real quick. Somethings wrong with Cora. She seems more open toward you, so talk to her and see what's up. She's not going to talk to me."
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Post by Skyfire on Apr 20, 2010 5:53:09 GMT -5
“You’ll get it, then.”
***
Buzz shot a glare at Warp. “No thanks – good mood’s gone.”
Erin raised a challenging eyebrow. “I can do a lot more than touch, hotshot.”
Buzz glanced at their daughter heading down the hall, then nodded at Mira. “Will do.” He gave Mira’s hand a brief squeeze. “I’m sure it’ll be okay.”
He turned back to the rest of the group. “I’ll be back, all right? I’ve gotta go check up on something.”
Erin twisted around and glanced mildly at her brother. “All right, mi hermano. Mira ‘n’ I’ll keep an eye on the boys, right, Mira?”
Buzz laughed slightly. “You do that.”
He stepped back out of the room and jogged after Cora. “Cora?” He caught up with her. “Cora, there’s coffee back in the lounge – you didn’t need to leave to get some.”
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Post by Warp Darkmatter on Apr 20, 2010 6:12:26 GMT -5
"Well you'd better hurry up and get it back. Heaven knows nothing we do will do today quite right with you in a bad mood, and today we need things to be perfect." Warp shot back as gently as he could.
He didn't know what had put Buzz out of sorts because no one had told him, and he wasn't about to ask. Whatever it was, it had to be less significant than what they were trying to accomplish. A sympathetic look crossed his features before he turned back to Erin.
"You really think you're up for that right now?" Warp matched Erin's challenge. He had four hours of sleep and something that resembled breakfast under his belt. He had a small upper hand.
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