Focus on the Family

[Laurie Collins]

[[har-de-har title puns...anyway either a one shot or someone is perfectly welcome to wander in and talk to a rather pole-axed Laurie]]

One: You can’t run from yourself. Two: You can’t leave the past behind. Three: Those who cannot remember history are doomed to repeat it. Four: The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion…no that’s not a cliché, that’s a quote, damn. Three and tapped. Laurie sighs and draws her legs up onto the chair she’s sitting in until she can rest her chin on her knees. It had been a favorite pose at sixteen and it’s one she hasn’t quite outgrown even at thirty-six. Not even a week on base, where she’ll apparently be in lockdown for the foreseeable future, and she’s already resorting to hiding out in one of the computer labs (one of the last places she would have headed at sixteen) and composing lists of applicable clichés to take up time. It’ll be easier once the anachronisms are gone, she decides, the idea that Warren and the rest will fail to get them back home not having occurred to her, especially since she’d skipped out on the planning meetings so far, it doesn’t matter what any of the regulars think. They at least understand that things change. No messy encounters. Because it’s uncomfortable confrontations she doesn’t want, of course, nothing to do with how it’ll make her feel, nothing to do with the awakening of memories and emotions that had prodded her into the inexplicable decision to spend the foreseeable future on lockdown where they seemingly haven’t gotten the memo about edible food or hot showers or clothes that fit.

For a moment she lets herself imagine walking back into her apartment tonight, taking a hot shower, changing into the favorite pair of soft pajamas she’d bought last year with the agency’s clothes discount, ordering Chinese, and watching one of the movies saved on her television…and knowing all the while that Sam’s rotting in a containment camp. Yeah, great image. She sighs and gets to her feet, hoping a walk around the base will clear her head, and reaches the door only to stop an inch away from bumping into…herself.

“Um, hi, I just…” she shakes her head and starts to step around the girl with a dismissive, “Not now.” But she’s quicker than Laurie remembers being at that age and before she can make an escape the younger version is stepping into her path. “Wait! Just, please, just a second, I have to…I know you don’t want to talk to, um, whatever personal pronoun applies here, but I need to know what you’re-I’m- doing.” Laurie blinks, a bit blown away by the rapid-fire pleading, but recovers quickly enough and shakes her head. “Nothing.” She answers curtly and, she thinks, truthfully. As of now she’s pretty much permanently unemployed after all. She does another quick duck around her younger self and is almost away when the girl calls after her “But Drake said-“ which stops her in her tracks. The younger Laurie falters, surprised at actually succeeding, but manages to plow on stumblingly, trying to regain any momentum she’d managed earlier- “He said, you, um, you were…well he didn’t say what you were doing exactly but apparently it made me the last person who should judge him and I…” she takes a deep breath then blurts out, “Did you…was Washington our fault?”

After that little speech laughter is almost definitely the last thing the younger Laurie expected and that’s confirmed by the look on her face as her older counterpart suddenly bursts into peals of it, leaning against the nearest wall and putting her head in her hands. “Son of a bitch…” she whispers between gasps, raising her head from her hands and shaking it slowly as she gets herself under control. Only Drake would put prostitution higher on the…Totem Pole of Evil or whatever little device he has in his head…than torture and murder. “You think we caused Washington? You think we even could?” she asks, advancing a couple steps towards her younger self who retreats, suddenly looking a little nervous, “The most interesting thing I do with my mutation is give someone an orgasm from across the room. Helps when a client wants to get off to a mutant but doesn’t actually want to touch one. Washington’s a bit out of my league.” And the younger Laurie knows herself well enough, even in this strange scenario, to know from the way she says it that the woman absolutely believes it to be the truth. That, however, is rather swallowed up in dawning realization. “You…I’m…”
---------
Primer’s wanderings haven’t ceased since his conversation with Bob but they’ve changed purpose. Then it had been boredom that had driven him out of his room to find some entertainment, now it’s something uncomfortably close to anxiety. From what he’s managed to gather the effects of the cure gas he’d inhaled while being picked up should be wearing off any day now and he still isn’t certain how this new Brotherhood will react. Watch him more carefully? Try to track his power use somehow? Attempt to cure him again? He has at least two of his people, two very effective ones, here with him in that case but they’re outnumbered and he still isn’t certain what the effect of her little field trip with his daughter has been on Rahne’s loyalty. Then there’s the deplorable standard of living on this base, much worse than the atmospheric grunge Magneto had enjoyed. He’s still meticulously clean-shaven and the clothing he’s been loaned is much better kept since he’s been given charge of it than most anyone else’s on base but he’s still looking distinctly frayed around the edges, and the knowledge of that is just one more factor in the claustrophobic mix of emotions that’s sent him out of his room to wander the corridors of the base, more on edge than he’s been in a long time.

Luckily he hasn’t been wandering long when he hears two familiar voices- or rather two versions of one familiar voice- conversing softly around a corner. He raises his eyebrows slightly as he listens to their conversation. He’d cornered this timeline’s version of Vanisher earlier, the other mutant still remembered the old days with some degree of fondness and had been willing enough to pass on anything he knew about the future incarnation of his daughter, so he has more context than the younger girl but the bit about her and the Washington incident is surprising. Either she’s even more self-centered than most teenagers or there’s evidence it could have been someone other than a psychic…in which case shouldn’t Drake be here shouting and flailing at me again? In any case this should at least be occupying…

“You…I’m…”
“A whore?” the new voice makes the younger Laurie jump and almost trip over herself as she spins around to face it, scared but, realizing that she’s cornered, trying to look defiant while her older counterpart just turns slowly and stares rather inscrutably. Primer laughs as he emerges fully from around the corner, ignoring the girl and looking past her to the older version, only four years younger than himself in this timeline and curiously unruffled. “When I got it out of Vanisher I wasn’t particularly shocked. The perpetual victim as always, because what’s a whore but someone who doesn’t have ability to be anything else? You always were nothing but a cipher and when they were gone so were you. Just a leftover shell.” he’s testing, working his words into the places he thinks might unhinge the bland face she’s turning towards him, featureless as plastic, might pry it up and reveal the fear he knows must be underneath. Always was always will be. The girl, he knows without looking, has already faded back into a corner, is already judging her odds of escaping without being noticed. “It does take a special kind of non-entity to survive the mutant apocalypse doesn’t it? You and the cockroaches hiding in the cracks.” The woman just stares at him for a moment more, then turns away and starts, wordlessly, in the opposite direction. “Exactly what I would have expected from Gail’s daughter.” He says softly and for the second time in one conversation Laurie stops midway through her exit.

“You’re right about me.” She says calmly, turning around slowly and meeting his gaze so directly that for a moment he almost breaks eye-contact first out of sheer surprise. “But it’s probably got a lot more to do with being your daughter than hers.” For a moment she looks more like Gail than he ever saw in the teenaged version and that keeps him silent long enough for her to go on. “I might have been intimidated by you at sixteen, maybe my mother was too, but we both learned. You watch a lot of very small men trying to cast a shadow in my line of work and after awhile you realize you’re all alike, human or mutant. You think your pheromones make you superior? They’re all you have. I was fine without them once and she never needed them. And,” she grins now, the first expression that’s shown on her face during the conversation, “you’ll never stop thinking about her. When she died I hadn’t heard her so much as mention you in the last four years.”

He can feel anger, the absence of his pheromones, the way she’s looking at him, and the loss of control, boiling up behind the impulse to move forward and wipe the grin off her face in one quick strike. His hand twitches with intent, but at the last moment he manages to still it, smiling wryly and shaking his head instead, body pantomiming composure even as he seethes. “A nice little speech.” His voice is automatic as well. I underestimated her then... No matter how pathetic she’s still my daughter. he turns dismissively away to punctuate his words and faces the younger Laurie who swallows audibly at the way he’s looking at her, like he’s seeing her for the first time, …but I have time to correct that. And he strides briskly out of the room.
----

An instant after Primer walks out her older self takes off in the opposite direction without a word, leaving Laurie standing in the middle of the room with her jaw practically hanging open. “…shit.”

[Warren Worthington III]

Warren runs his hands anxiously through his hair as he makes his way from his office to the base’s communications center. He’d been worried enough when the Moscow Brotherhood fell off the grid, but now he can’t seem to get in touch with London, either. Is this all connected? Jake, Illyana, the invasion of anachronisms? It sounds paranoid, but the situation is extreme enough that paranoia seems an entirely appropriate response.

> " …right about me. But it’s probably got a lot more to do with being your daughter than hers. "

He stops short as Laurie’s voice drifts down the hall. Normally he tunes out other people’s conversations in a space this crowded, otherwise with his enhanced hearing he would be constantly distracted and never get anything done. But having Laurie here after all those years of her refusing to have any part of the Brotherhood is still something of a novelty, and her voice catches his attention… especially given the tone of it.

So he listens to her speech, figuring out pretty quickly who she must be talking to, and a small smile plays on his lips as he imagines Primer’s reaction. This, I have to see! Unfortunately, by the time he finds the room they’re in they’ve both left, leaving Laurie the Younger looking dazed.

> "Shit"

"Yeah, I guess that pretty much sums it up." It’s weird seeing Laurie the Younger again… of course, it’s weird seeing all of them, and weirder seeing Josh than all of them put together. If anything, Laurie is actually one of the easier anachronisms for him to deal with; they’d never been all that close back in the day.

"This has got to be unbelievably weird for you, huh? Seeing yourself at your mom’s age, dealing with your dad… " he stops short for a second, trying to remember precisely a series of events more than two decades old, "Come to think of it, did you even know, yet, before ending up here? I can’t remember – oh, right, of course you did, that’s why we rescued Gail in the first place. "

He shakes his head, realizing he’s being more than a little thoughtless in his rambling narration of the trauma-points of her life. "Sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

[Laurie Collins]

"Yeah, I guess that pretty much sums it up."

Laurie jumps about a foot and claps her hand over her mouth, “Sorry! I didn’t mean to-” she pauses and then lets out a shaky laugh, “Actually, I guess you…really don’t care if I swear do you?” she realizes aloud, blushing and subsiding eagerly back into silence as he goes on, realizing ruefully that this non-aging makes it far too easy to think that this is her Civics teacher instead of…the leader of the Brotherhood apparently. Which just does not stop being weird.

"This has got to be unbelievably weird for you, huh? Seeing yourself at your mom’s age, dealing with your dad… Come to think of it, did you even know, yet, before ending up here? I can’t remember – oh, right, of course you did, that’s why we rescued Gail in the first place. "

She’s not at all sure how to react to that besides nodding rather dazedly along as he hits all the talking-points, but luckily he’s gone on before she has to- "Sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Which is another thing she’s not at all sure how to react to since she’s never been all that comfortable around Mr. Worthington even without him suddenly being twenty years older and the leader of the Brotherhood, a position that definitely gives him more important things to worry about than some teenager who’s apparently never going to amount to much anyway. Wow. And the self-pity kicks in right on schedule… she thinks, with another sudden surge of the irritation that’s been flashing so incongruously up in her since her return from the camps. And maybe after that little episode I know why she realizes, I’ve kept myself from becoming him by never hurting anyone, never doing anything “wrong” and apparently it works. It also apparently turns me into someone who bails on almost everyone she’s ever cared about when they need her because she can’t make a decision, and then turns into a hooker. Psychopath or hooker, great, excellent options. She realizes she’s been lost in her own thoughts a few moments too long to be inconspicuous and shakes her head quickly. “Um, if we ever find a way to get home could you send me back with an excused note for the oral report we’ve got next week in Civics? Because I’m pretty sure if the um…future…doesn’t kill me that might just do it.” She jokes weakly, shoving her hands into the pockets of the frayed pants she’d been loaned and staring at the floor.

[Warren Worthington III]

> " Sorry! I didn’t mean to- Actually, I guess you…really don’t care if I swear do you? "

Warren smiles thinly. "In all honesty, I don’t think I ever did care. Though I probably was more inclined to pretend to, back when I was supposed to be a teacher. Now that was a laugh," he mutters bitterly.

> " Um, if we ever find a way to get home could you send me back with an excused note for the oral report we’ve got next week in Civics? Because I’m pretty sure if the um…future…doesn’t kill me that might just do it. "

He pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to remember that far back. “What was the assignment, again? Though I guess it doesn’t matter. Will you settle for a postponement?”

[Laurie Collins]

"In all honesty, I don’t think I ever did care. Though I probably was more inclined to pretend to, back when I was supposed to be a teacher. Now that was a laugh,"

Laurie’s taken aback by that, both the words and the bitterness behind them, and has to remind herself again that just because Mr. Worthington doesn’t age doesn’t mean he hasn’t changed just as much as any of the rest of them. “It was?” she asks before she can stop her puzzlement getting the best of her. It’s probably not the best job around and he isn’t…wasn’t…in school for it or anything but he’s never seemed like he hates it and he’s definitely not going too easy on the homework or anything.

“What was the assignment, again? Though I guess it doesn’t matter. Will you settle for a postponement?”

“Well I guess I get one anyway, don’t I? Extension by way of…time travel. But, um, the assignment, it’s, well, we have to pick a bill that’s been introduced recently and defend or argue against it like we were in Congress. Then we have to defend our position in a Q&A. So public speaking and putting out my opinion always fun for me.” She mutters, then shrugs slightly and quirks her lips up a bit, realizing that was perhaps more explanation than he cared to hear but she's still rather dazed from…well there’s very little not to be dazed and confused about right now... and contents herself with being happy speech is going mostly coherently right now.

[Warren Worthington III]

> " Now that was a laugh "
> " It was? "

Yeah, he thinks, I actually thought I could make a difference, teaching mutant kids how to work the political system. I actually thought there were enough decent humans to make a difference. Thought I could make the world safe for… for everyone. Except it turned out we were just one crisis away from mutants being hunted down like rats.

> " pick a bill that’s been introduced recently and defend or argue against it like we were in Congress. Then we have to defend our position in a Q&A. So public speaking and putting out my opinion – always fun for me. "

Gods… the stuff I used to care about. "I’ll tell you what, Laurie. When you get back, never mind the postponement, or the project. Drop the class. Spend the time learning something you can actually use when it all goes to hell. Is Logan still giving self-defense classes? Do that. Or have Drake do it – he got pretty good towards the end there. Or Bernie’s tactics class. Demolitions, maybe. If I – I mean, if your Warren gives you flak about it, you tell him I said he’s wasting your time and his. Got it?"

[Laurie Collins]

"I’ll tell you what, Laurie. When you get back, never mind the postponement, or the project. Drop the class. Spend the time learning something you can actually use when it all goes to hell. Is Logan still giving self-defense classes? Do that. Or have Drake do it – he got pretty good towards the end there. Or Bernie’s tactics class. Demolitions, maybe. If I – I mean, if your Warren gives you flak about it, you tell him I said he’s wasting your time and his. Got it?"

Laurie actually takes a step backwards at that, looking decidedly unnerved. This is why I rarely make jokes. It just doesn’t work out well for anyone involved. “Um…I…” she stammers, “It’s, um, a graduation requirement, I think? And I don’t think Demolitions would be a good idea, I mean Michael Staten was my lab partner last year and he used to call me ‘shakes’ because I would get nervous and spill things or mess up our earthworm dissection and I just really don’t think anyone who was ever nicknamed because of shaky hands should enter into, um, explosives.” She manages to stop herself there and sort of winces apologetically at Warren for the babbling, “Sorry, it’s been an unnerving past few…five minutes. But if we manage to get back then we’ll fix it won’t we? We’ll find a way to stop Washington and no one has to die or turn into some weird evil version of themselves or…any of it.” And while the experience of the camps and being “in charge” together with the revelations about her own moral choices or lack thereof that have been building up has been making her surprisingly unflinching over the past couple days on base she’s still sixteen and no one changes overnight and at the moment she looks nervous and hopeful rather than confident in any of those assertions.

[Warren Worthington III]

> " [..] I just really don’t think anyone who was ever nicknamed because of shaky hands should enter into, um, explosives. "

Warren barely notices her words – it’s the pervasive anxiety in her tone that captures his attention, reminds him of what it used to be like. Back then, before everything went to hell, there was room for indulging that sort of fear. We only stopped being so afraid when there was something concrete to be afraid of. The irony is acrid and cold, like battery acid on his tongue.

He could tell her she has force herself past that fear, that otherwise she’ll spend the rest of her life hiding. She had so much potential… But he knows better. He used to spend a lot of time telling people things… telling them what to do, what to think, how to vote, where to donate their money. It took him a long time to learn that it’s not what you tell people that matters.

> " [..] We’ll find a way to stop Washington and no one has to die or turn into some weird evil version of themselves or…any of it. "

And it won’t matter, he replies in the privacy of his mind, because you won’t learn a thing from it. You’ll keep on doing what you were doing, and someday there’ll be some other crisis you don’t stop, and it will all happen just the same.

But he recognizes the darkness of his thoughts, the leaden feeling in his limbs, and knows it’s just his depression talking. It’s been a reliable companion for a long, long time, and in a perverse way he’s learned to draw inspiration from it… it’s the one enemy he’s determined never to lose to.

So he doesn’t share any of his private thoughts. He’s gotten very good at that over the years, and he’s learned how important it is that the team leader seem confident and in control. So he puts the smile back on, the same smile he gave Sam when sending him on the mission that got him captured, and lets his shoulders and his wings fall into a position of confidence, so natural-seeming he almost fools himself, and he nods.

"You’re right, of course. Now that we know the target, it’s just a matter of getting your team in position to do something about it. Which, if you’ll excuse me, I should get back to working on. Good talking to you." He takes a few steps towards the hall, then stops and adds over his shoulder "Oh, and, as far as ‘Shakes’ goes… if you get a chance, ask Jade how she learned to fly. "

[Laurie Collins]

Laurie’s watching him intently and when he relaxes into a position of easy confidence, the one she’s seen at his press-conferences and a variation of the way the Warren in her time walks around the front of the classroom talking to them about how they’re going to change the world, she lets her mouth quirk up into a small smile as things shift just a little bit back to how she thinks they’re supposed to be. When he speaks, sure and confirming and steady, it widens into a relieved grin because he’s sure, at least he looks sure, and why would he lie? It’ll be okay. We’ll have time, they’ll fix the world and I’ll fix me and I’ll make sure my mom and Matthew are okay whatever happens because I’ll be ready. It’ll all be okay. But she can feel herself shutting away other thoughts, other ideas of what could happen, and when you can feel yourself blocking them you’re not doing a good enough job and her grin falters a little at the last second. Why can’t I just trust him?

She shakes herself out of it as he turns back and speaks over his shoulder. "Oh, and, as far as ‘Shakes’ goes… if you get a chance, ask Jade how she learned to fly. "


“Um, okay. I will.” She starts out of the room as well, preparing to head back to her temporary room in the opposite direction but pausing before she gets through the doorway. “Thanks.” She adds, smiling at him tentatively before taking off down the hall.