Lu and Reep | Backdated to May 4th
May. 7th, 2019 07:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ax_mainThe Lus get a surprise visit from their extraterrestrial older sibling. It's actually a lot more domestic than it sounds.
This wasn't Reep's first visit to the school his sister had been enrolled in after her kidnapping. Far from it. That incident had thrown his cautious--some might have even called it paranoid--personality into overdrive, and he wasn't about to risk losing track of any part of Lu again anytime soon. So he'd put his enhanced shapeshifting powers to good use, visiting Xavier's in a variety of forms: a fly, a crow, a spider, a bat, a mouse. That last shape had had not one but two very nearly disastrous encounters with a playful cat, one old and spry, the other still practically a kitten.
What kind of school allowed pets, anyway? As if the students didn't have enough distractions. Reep was beginning to suspect this was less a institution of secondary education and more of an overwrought clubhouse for genetically divergent humans.
His discomfort with that was still something he was working through. The Skrulls, even their Durlan offshoots, had very particular prejudices where mutants were concerned. On Durla, that had led to a widespread self-loathing among the survivors, in addition to all the other hardships they'd faced after their colony's decimation. But this was Lu. For her sake, Reep would learn how to be better. More like their father.
In the shape of a thrush, he lighted on the sill of the window he knew to be his sister's, at a time when he was relatively certain she would be in and her purple-skinned roommate would not. He then tapped insistently on the glass with his tiny beak to get her attention.
Someone else noticing a thrush on their windowsill tapping on their window might be amazed at the sight. They might wonder what would bring a bird to their window, and what it might see inside that it was attempting to reach.
Lu just rolled her eyes, got to her feet, and opened the window.
"Y'know, you could just knock on the door," she pointed out as she let the bird inside and waited for it to change into her brother. "Professor Xavier said you could come visit."
The small bird flitted inside and then quickly began to expand, stretching and elongating into Reep's preferred female form. True, he'd been told he could visit, but he had decided a girl visiting another girl's room would draw less attention, on the off chance they were discovered. She stretched once to ease the stiffness in her forelimbs, then sat heavily on the edge of Lu's bed. "I prefer to check on you in my own way," Reep told her. "Coming in through the front door invites too much attention. We've attracted enough of that as it is."
Lu plopped down on the bed and sighed. "Really? I don't draw all that much attention here. My powers really aren't that exciting, and I mean, Natasha Stark's a student here now. By comparison? I don't exactly stand out." Not that she ever had - Nat drew all the attention when she was present. Lu didn't hold it against her. Some people just did, and some didn't. Only one of her had the knack, and even she didn't compare to the Stark heiress.
"I really don't care about Natasha Stark, or Shinobi Shaw, or Warren Worthington, or Nolan Ross," Reep returned, poking Lu in the side. "They can draw as much or as little attention as they want. I'm only concerned for my sister. Exciting or not, your powers make you a target to some people. Being our father's daughter makes you a target. I don't like you being here all by yourself. You could at least let me know who kidnapped you so I could," her fingertips elongated into serrated knives of solid bone, "tie up loose ends."
"Shinobi and I took care of it already," she pointed out, squirming away from her finger to avoid being poked more. "And I'm not a target here, and I haven't really been going much of anywhere else. Much. You worry waaay too much, Reep. I'm fine. Besides," she pointed out practically, "if you didn't want me here alone, it's not like you couldn't have enrolled."
"Don't," she said, holding up a hand. "This is a human school. I like humans. But I'm not going to pretend to be part of persecuted minority, even for you. If nothing else, Dad would frown the hell out of me until graduation. I'm not like them. I'll support them, since they support you, but that's the best I can do." Reep's eyes shifted to yellow-on-gold briefly, and he wrapped his arms around Lu. "I'm trying very hard to respect the struggle, when my every instinct is just to murder everybody who threatens you, simply for being who you are. Try to be patient with me, sister."
"I'm being patient, you're just being silly," Lu pointed out, her lips quirking up in an amused smile as she snuggled in against Reep. "And you wouldn't have to pretend. I mean, there's already a kid here who's a Skrull, from what I've heard? And a girl from another dimension." She frowned, considering that. "Though to be fair, I think she was a mutant there, too? But still. There's a mix. It's not a mutants-only party."
"What?" Reep shifted into his male form suddenly. "There's another Skrull here? Who?" He held his sister close, his back breaking out in curving spines and the hand that was not holding her hooking into scythelike claws in a semiconscious defensive gesture. "Have you spoken to it? Does it know about me, or about Dad?"
"No, I haven't - or at least, not beyond 'hi" in the hallway - and no, of course he doesn't. Do you honestly think I'd say anything?" Lu pulled back, obviously hurt.
"I'm sorry," Reep said, immediately shifting back into female form, spines and claws disappearing. "I'm sorry, Lu. Of course I don't think you'd say anything. It's just ... I worry. I worry more knowing there's another Skrull in your proximity. That could be very dangerous. But you're smart and capable. Just ... take care of yourself. And I'll always be close. Though between you and Dad, it's a lot to keep track of."
Lu sighed, and reached out to rest a hand on Reep's shoulder. "I can take care of myself," she assured her. "You know that. Just take care of Dad, ok? C'mon," she quirked a smile, "I'm in school. It's really pretty awesome. And Shinobi's here, and Warren, and Nolan - and oh my god, you need to meet Nolan's boyfriend, he's adorable. I'll introduce you one of these days. You'd like him."
Reep wrinkled her nose. "Shinobi being here is half the reason I worry. But of course I'll look after Dad. He's too busy fighting his Green crusade to look after himself." She rested her hand on Lu's, and stared at the far wall. "I'd like to meet your friends," she said. "And, no, not just because I want to vet them. If you like them, they can't be all bad. I'd like to make some more amicable contacts, if possible. Friends, maybe. It'd be nice."
"You could use some," Lu agreed, her smile tilting as she turned her hand and squeezed Reep's. "But sure. If you stick around, Clarice will show up sooner or later. Or we can go find Shawn. Oh, remember that yin/yang bracelet I bought off Etsy? The purple and orange one? That's his store, and he makes all his own merch. We really should introduce him to Dad."
"Why don't you invite them over, some night?" she asked. "I'm sure Dad would be happy to meet your friends, and especially your friends with marketable talent. I mean, you know how he is." Her tone was fond, if just a touch exasperated. "He does have a soft spot for creative types."
"He does." Lu shrugged and dropped her hands to her lap. "And I don't know. I guess I wasn't sure he'd want me bringing people home. I mean, he likes his privacy." It had never come up before, mostly because she'd really never had anyone to bring home before.
"We do," Reep agreed, stretching into the form of a Bengal Tiger and folding protectively around Lu. "But he wants to know the people important to you. I want to know the people important to you. We're family, and we don't want you to ever think you have to hide us from your friends."
"Honestly, you know most of my friends," Lu snuggled back against the tiger, not blinking an eye at the change of forms. It was Cham; it was what he did. "And I don't have any problem with introducing anyone to either of you." She smiled, a little. "I just wasn't sure you'd want me to do it at home. Especially since you keep popping in here anyway."
"You weren't supposed to notice that," Reep said, a touch ruefully. "I suppose I was a little too obvious. But I was concerned. It's an older brother's prerogative," the tiger concluded, perhaps a touch defensively, resting a massive paw against Lu's leg. "But yeah, why not bring some of your friends home? Dad and I will be on our best, most-human behavior." He paused. "Dad misses you. I do, too. Come home for a night. Bring your friends. I'll sing the Mulan soundtrack for you."
"I'll hold you to that, you know." Lu grinned and ruffled the fur on top of the tiger's head. "Possibly with a special encore performance of "I'll Make a Man Out of You." Which had always been her favorite. Reflection was pretty, but way too serious for Disney movies. She liked the lighthearted songs better.
Reep gave a proper, tiger-ly chuff at the feeling of fingertips running through the soft fur at the top of his head. "Possibly," he allowed. "We'll see how the night goes. I'll need some way to show off, if I'm going to be stuck in a human body the whole time."
Lu rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Y'know, there are worse fates."
"You say that because shapeshifting isn't your thing," the tiger-Reep rumbled. "Between my singing voice and that, I know which one I think is usually more impressive." He shifted, and just managed to avoid kneading at the bed with his massive claws as he settled. It probably wouldn't go over too well if he reduced Lu's sleeping space to scraps of torn fabric and loose wads of stuffing. "Having you home again still makes it worthwhile, though."
Lu sighed. "It's not like I haven't been home at all," she pointed out. "I was home for all of Winter break except New Years."
"It's not the same," he protested, rolling onto his back to avoid the temptation presented by the mattress and contracting back into his preferred human female form. "I mean, I'm glad you have a place where you can learn about your," her tongue hitched on the word, "mutation, but home just doesn't feel the same with just me and Dad." She couldn't bring herself to come out and say it, but she was lonely. R.J. spent a lot of time working, though he made a point of spending time with his family as often as possible. And Reep didn't have any close friends--any friends at all, really--at her expensive private school in the city. She was far too cautious for that. Perhaps that was as much the reason she found herself spying on the mansion grounds as concern for her sister. Home was ... so quiet, now.
"Maybe I should just come home." Lu considered it slowly. Reep was unhappy with her gone; that much was obvious. And while their dad kept insisting he thought it was a wonderful opportunity for her, she was sure he missed her, too. "I mean, it's not like I really need to learn anything about my mutation. I've got it under control." It had just been kind of nice to actually go to school with other people, but that was just being selfish.
It was tempting, so tempting, to take that idea and run with it. Reep didn't like being on her own as often as she was these days--it reminded her too much of a time she wanted to forget, back on the devastated world of Durla. But that wouldn't be fair. Lu deserved to have something as close to a normal human experience as possible, and this seemed to be it. "No," she said slowly, shaking her head. "No. Whether you're in control again isn't really the point, right? And this place is still safer than home--I've seen enough to know that much. Even after Dad tripled security, you're better off here."
"Y'know, I wasn't kidnapped from the middle of the living room or anything. I just wasn't paying enough attention." Lu rolled her eyes and smiled a little. "Besides, I miss you, too. And dad. It wouldn't be a hardship. I'd still see pretty much everyone." At parties. And business meetings. It wouldn't be the same, but it would be okay.
"Maybe," Reep said, sitting up and putting a hand over Lu's. "Let's think about it, and make a decision when we've given ourselves some time, okay? Maybe I can come by more often. Not as bugs or birds or whatever. As me."
"That'd be nice." Lu smiled and turned her hand over so she could squeeze his. "I could actually show you around and everything." She grinned, a little. "And I'm sure Shinobi'd be thrilled to see you."
Reep stuck her tongue out, though the expression fell short of being genuinely aghast at the idea. "We'll see," she hedged. Shinobi was a bit much for her, at the best of times. Times being what they were, she wasn't entirely sure she could maintain the necessary control not to transform into something particularly horrifying, just to wipe the smug look off his face. It was bound to be worse, now that he had rescuing Lu to hold over her. Reep still harbored some suspicions Shaw or his father had been involved in that, somehow, but most of the evidence she'd turned up so far had been circumstantial, easily dismissed as coincidence.
Still. Made Shinobi worth keeping an eye on, just in case. "I wouldn't mind meeting some of your other friends, though. What are they like?"
"Well, you've met Nolan," Lu said, waving that aside. "Warren, too - I mean, Warren is Warren, no matter where he is; he just has wings you didn't used to see at meetings. Shawn - Shawn is hilarious. He's just...totally over the top, but not like Shinobi - completely and totally in his own way." She grinned and leaned back on her hands. "And Clarice is just the sweetest. You really have to meet her - I couldn't have ended up with a better roommate unless you'd decided to come, too."
"I'm not that sweet," Reep pointed out, mouth twisting up wryly. "But I'd still like to come by--officially come by, I mean. You have a day that works for you? Also, a gender or ethnic group or ... well, you know. I could be anybody. Who do you wanna have visit?"
"My brother." Lu gave him a look. "I get that you won't want to come as yourself, but at least come as the self Shinobi and the others recognize in case they're around? I want to be able to introduce you to people without things getting weird."
"Ugh," Reep griped, rolling her eyes. "Do you have to be such a mono-form about everything? Why not let Purple pick. Purple doesn't mind the weird." Not that much, anyway. "You'd think weird would score me some credibility, trying to earn points at mutant high."
Lu rolled her eyes and grinned. "Purple would encourage the weird, just to see everyone's reactions. But fine. If you want me to tell everyone you're a Durlan shapeshifter - or even a mutant one - come in whateeever form you want."
"As funny as that would be," Reep acknowledged, shaking her head, "I don't want to give Dad a heart attack. Super-handsome and intelligent older brother it is."
"Pretty sure I said you should come as yourself," Lu observed drily, her lips quirking in amusement.
"Har har," she returned sarcastically, casually slugging Lu in the arm. "You're hilarious. Maybe I'll show up as a fourth you. That'd be confusing enough to make for some decent revenge. Blue Lu? Magenta? Maybe a nice mauve. Nothing looks good in mauve."
"I look pretty good in mauve, actually," Lu countered, mostly just on principle. She wrinkled her nose at Reep, then smiled. "But fine. I'll introduce everyone to my reasonably handsome and intelligent older brother. That way I won't be lying to anyone. Fair?"
"Fairer than I expected," she admitted. "You sure they're feeding you enough here? You usually put up more of a fight. Or is Orange piping up more than usual today?"
Lu stuck her tongue out at her, then grinned sheepishly. "Actually, Purple's off somewhere, so I'm off balance."
"Figures," Reep huffed with a dramatic sigh that was entirely inauthentic. "Why don't you split all the way, then? Twice the sister-reunion for me to enjoy. And I want to make sure Orange is doing okay. She's not the biggest fan of new places. Or people."
"Actually, I'm doing okay?" Orange said as she appeared next to her nearly identical self. "I mean, the first few weeks were kind of rough? But it hasn't been bad, since then." She smiled at Reep warmly. "Not that I don't miss you and Dad? Because I do, lots."
Reep grinned at the response, that way Orange had of making her statements sound like questions instead. As if she were asking for permission to feel however it was she felt. It was endearing, but it also worried her. When Reep was around to keep an eye on the most naturally timid of the triplets, it was fine, but she wasn't sure she would ever not worry about somebody at the school trying to take advantage of that, someday. Still, she reached over to ruffle the other girl's hair affectionately. "We miss you, too, Sis," she reassured her. "But I'm glad to see you doing better than I expected. You all sharing the same pool of friends? Or is there anybody you get along with in particular?"
"Oh, mostly in common," she said, squirming her head out from under Reep's hand with a smile intended to let her know that she really didn't mind, at all. "I like Nolan a lot, but he's not really around much - I mean, he's got his business and everything? So that's really not surprising. I spend a lot of time with Shinobi, though - and before you say it," she held up a hand to warn Reep against that, "that isn't a bad thing. I like Shinobi."
Their shapeshifting sibling made a face at that, clearly not thrilled. But also not willing to express exactly how much that didn't thrill him to Orange. "Hey, I like Shinobi just fine. Shinobi goes out of his way to make himself likable. I just don't trust him, is all. Those are two totally separate and unrelated things." He dearly hoped she would keep that in mind.
"So, where's Purple gotten off to, then? I assume causing trouble somewhere, since that's been her main hobby for as long as I've known her."
"She's got a danger room session, I think," Neutral answered. She rolled her eyes and smiled. "At least she's channeling her trouble causing?"
"And for the record, Shinobi's very trustworthy," Orange pointed out, giving Reep a look of disappointment. "You just don't look beneath the act."
"Don't give me that look," Reep protested, practically withering in the face of it. She had tried looking beneath the act ... and only found more act. And more and more, so much so that she couldn't begin to guess who the Shaw boy actually was, underneath all those layers of deliberately complicated artifice. She doubted he even knew, anymore. But that was considerably less important than apologizing to his sister. "I will try to give him a chance, if you want. Just remember that working against my instincts is hard."
And as soon as she said it, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "'Danger Room'? What is a 'Danger Room', and why am I just finding out about it now? And why is my other sister there?"
"Because she likes to be? Don't give me that look," Neutral retorted with a grin. "And stop worrying. It's what everyone calls the powers training room. It's got different difficulty levels, and if she's there by herself, she really can't do any sims that will result in anything worse than a scraped knee. Kind of like a gym with holograms. After classes are over you can use it to run sims."
"Sometimes we all go?" Orange supplied. "But we didn't feel like it today, and she did."
"Holograms," Reep echoed, not bothering to stifle the look of terror that passed over her face at the thought of Orange in a simulation with difficulty levels and the potential for real, if minor, injuries. That was an argument she suspected she wouldn't win, at least not today--and at least now she knew. They could talk about it more another time. When she'd had a chance to enumerate all the reasons it was such a terrible idea. Maybe enlist their dad's help, if she needed to play dirty. "That seems kinda high-tech." The "for this planet" was omitted, but very heavily implied.
"It really is," Neutral agreed, catching his implication. "I've wondered about that, some. Though I've heard rumors that the guy who runs the Brotherhood helped build some of it. And who really knows much of anything about Eric Lenscherr, really?"
Orange wrinkled her nose. "I really don't want to, personally. He was creepy that time he was on TV."
"Wasn't an interview that inspired much confidence in the viewing public, for sure," Reep agreed, giving Orange a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "But if he was involved with this place at some point, then maybe somebody should make a point of finding out some things about him." The technical sophistication required to construct a holographic powers-training facility that wouldn't be either demolished within a week or so ridden with glitches as to be near-useless was intriguing, she couldn't help but be intrigued. And it might end up being simpler than sniffing around the school directly.
"Well, there's a challenge for you, then," Neutral teased. "You can take a break from trying to figure out what the Professor is up to, and work on Magneto instead."
"That's not nice," Orange complained at her, frowning. "You know she's doing it for us."
"Which doesn't make it not-paranoid," Neutral countered.
"Call it what you want," Reep harrumphed, with perhaps a touch of injured pride. "I'm going to do whatever I have to make sure none of you ever gets put into danger again. That's what older brothers are for." She looked down suddenly, belatedly remembering the form she had adopted. "Even when they're older sisters, at the moment," she added.
Orange giggled, and Neutral snaked an arm around Reep and hugged her. "You're sweet. Silly, but sweet." She grinned. "Not the best time to tell you we're thinking about joining X-Force then, huh?" Not that there would be a good time? But it was probably pretty much the worst.
Sputtering for a moment with sheer incomprehension, Reep rested a hand on her sister's shoulder. "You're not," she said. "You can't be. Why?" Her tone grew increasingly desperate. "I'll tell Dad!"
"Well, you can, but we were going to anyway," Orange pointed out.
"He'll agree with us, though," Neutral pointed out. "The universe doesn't like it if you take more than you give." Okay, it probably wasn't fair to pull that out, considering it was one of their dad's favorite sayings, but she figured it was true. She'd been really, really lucky, both in having a grandmother who'd loved her and in having been found and taken in by her dad. It was time to pay it forward.
Reep was quiet for a moment, considering. She could probably bring their father around to her way of thinking ... but it would definitely take some persuasion, and probably appeals to old feelings of guilt. And that wouldn't be fair, to Dad or to Lu. The internal struggle went on for a few uncomfortable moments before Reep finally visibly deflated, a visible concession of defeat. "Fine," she said. "But ... is there anything I can do to help? It's not like I can let you just go out there into danger again without being around to back you up, if I can."
"Well, you can relax," Neutral suggested, and gave her a hug. "I haven't even signed up yet, and even after I do, I'm going to have to do a lot of training before I ever get to go on missions or anything."
"But y'know, we can take care of ourselves?" Orange pointed out, and smiled just a little. Because she wasn't 100% sure she could, really - but that was why there were three of them, and why they'd have teammates.
"Okay." Reep didn't sound convinced, slouched in Neutral's hug, but she didn't argue any further. Clearly, Lu had made up her mind about this and ... well, she supposed it would be good for them to do some of that kind of training. This part of Earth was fairly soft, in terms of its inherent day-to-day hazards, and Reep knew from experience that, as generous as the universe could be, it also had moments of absolute intolerance for those who'd made no effort to give themselves the tools they needed to survive. "But I reserve the right to continue to check on you. Sibling prerogative."
"Because if I argued that, you'd stop," Neutral teased. She gave Reep one last hug and pulled back, grinning. "Same to you, though. Who knows what kind of trouble you've been getting into without me?"
"Oooh, I do!" Orange volunteered, raising her hand. "I asked Dad."
Well, at least Neutral realized there were some points Reep absolutely would not concede--even if this place didn't still strike her as a little shady, she would have still made a point of checking on her sisters. Natural curiosity and a compulsion not to let her family too far out of sight, she supposed. But Orange's enthusiastic assertion immediately derailed that train of thought, and caused a very human-looking blush to suffuse Reep's cheeks.
"No fair!" she insisted immediately. "Dad's been on this planet too long. It only counts as trouble if you get caught!" Which Reep almost never did. At least, not by the locals.
"What did she do?" Neutral asked Orange, but the latter pursed her lips and shook her head. "Nuh uh. She's right here, she can tell you herself."
"I may have rigged the air bags of the vice-principal's Prius with a glitter bomb and tied the trigger to the ignition," Reep admitted grudgingly. "But the important part is that nobody could prove it was me." Not that it had mattered to their dad. Still worth it, even taking into consideration the earful she'd gotten afterward.
Both Lu's clamped hands over their mouths, one in dismay and one to suppress laughter.
"Oh, you didn't!" Orange objected. "Poor Mrs. Vandenburg!" Because that one she hadn't heard about from their dad.
"No, that was awesome! Please tell me you used the ultra fine glitter?" After all, she'd never been overly fond of Mrs. Vandenburg, and it wasn't as if she'd been hurt or anything. As pranks went, it was pretty much perfect.
"She's fine!" Reep protested to Orange. "She just ... you know. Sparkled. For, like, two weeks." She tried to look apologetic, but couldn't help the smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. It wasn't like Vandenburg didn't have it coming, the old battleaxe. She shrugged. "Anyway, Dad suspended my allowance until further notice for that one." Not that it was much of a punishment. Her life now was still infinitely more comfortable than it had been on Durla, extra spending money or not.
Orange continued to look just a bit skeptical, but Neutral laughed outright. "Aww, poor you," she teased. "You never spend it all anyway. What'd Mrs. Vandenburg do this time, anyway? Or did you just want to test out your new glitter bomb theory?"
"Three months detention," Reep said indignantly. Then grudgingly added, "For sealing the school mascot in his costume at Homecoming. And adding fireworks to the bonfire."
"That's the one Dad told me about," Orange explained with just a touch of a smug expression.
"Ouch. Poor mascot guy." Neutral winced. "I've heard those suits get really smelly after a while."
"You heard right," Reep nodded. "But it's his own fault, volunteering for something that demeaning. Anyway, it was the most exciting Homecoming that stuffy old private school ever had. And they've got me to thank for it."
"You're awful," Neutral replied with a shake of her head, without sounding as if she thought she was awful at all. "That poor -"
"You guys will never - oh, hey Sis!" Purple exclaimed as she burst into the room and grinned at Cham on the bed. "Do you have any of the fireworks left from Homecoming? Because I need some of those."
Orance winced and turned to Reep. "She really, really doesn't," she added, shaking her head.
Reep patted Orange reassuringly on the head, while simultaneously turning to the recently arrived Purple and mouthing "I do," behind her other hand. "So," she went on, "why didn't you tell me about this training-murder-dungeon where you have apparently been while you could have been entertaining your awesome older sibling with school stories? You totally missed out on the tiger thing."
"Hey, you've seen your older sibling as a tiger once? It totally loses its novelty," Purple tossed back. She tossed the bag with her sweaty workout clothes in the general direction of her hamper and plopped down in a chair with a grin. "And seriously, murder dungeon? It's like the Star Trek holodeck, not the Hunger Games." She paused. "Though programming it for the Hunger Games would be seriously kick ass. I really need to try that."
"If she ever tries to do Hunger Games in your murder-dungeon," Reep told Orange and Neutral, "I am going to drag her back home by the scruff of the neck in tiger-form. I am not even joking."
This wasn't Reep's first visit to the school his sister had been enrolled in after her kidnapping. Far from it. That incident had thrown his cautious--some might have even called it paranoid--personality into overdrive, and he wasn't about to risk losing track of any part of Lu again anytime soon. So he'd put his enhanced shapeshifting powers to good use, visiting Xavier's in a variety of forms: a fly, a crow, a spider, a bat, a mouse. That last shape had had not one but two very nearly disastrous encounters with a playful cat, one old and spry, the other still practically a kitten.
What kind of school allowed pets, anyway? As if the students didn't have enough distractions. Reep was beginning to suspect this was less a institution of secondary education and more of an overwrought clubhouse for genetically divergent humans.
His discomfort with that was still something he was working through. The Skrulls, even their Durlan offshoots, had very particular prejudices where mutants were concerned. On Durla, that had led to a widespread self-loathing among the survivors, in addition to all the other hardships they'd faced after their colony's decimation. But this was Lu. For her sake, Reep would learn how to be better. More like their father.
In the shape of a thrush, he lighted on the sill of the window he knew to be his sister's, at a time when he was relatively certain she would be in and her purple-skinned roommate would not. He then tapped insistently on the glass with his tiny beak to get her attention.
Someone else noticing a thrush on their windowsill tapping on their window might be amazed at the sight. They might wonder what would bring a bird to their window, and what it might see inside that it was attempting to reach.
Lu just rolled her eyes, got to her feet, and opened the window.
"Y'know, you could just knock on the door," she pointed out as she let the bird inside and waited for it to change into her brother. "Professor Xavier said you could come visit."
The small bird flitted inside and then quickly began to expand, stretching and elongating into Reep's preferred female form. True, he'd been told he could visit, but he had decided a girl visiting another girl's room would draw less attention, on the off chance they were discovered. She stretched once to ease the stiffness in her forelimbs, then sat heavily on the edge of Lu's bed. "I prefer to check on you in my own way," Reep told her. "Coming in through the front door invites too much attention. We've attracted enough of that as it is."
Lu plopped down on the bed and sighed. "Really? I don't draw all that much attention here. My powers really aren't that exciting, and I mean, Natasha Stark's a student here now. By comparison? I don't exactly stand out." Not that she ever had - Nat drew all the attention when she was present. Lu didn't hold it against her. Some people just did, and some didn't. Only one of her had the knack, and even she didn't compare to the Stark heiress.
"I really don't care about Natasha Stark, or Shinobi Shaw, or Warren Worthington, or Nolan Ross," Reep returned, poking Lu in the side. "They can draw as much or as little attention as they want. I'm only concerned for my sister. Exciting or not, your powers make you a target to some people. Being our father's daughter makes you a target. I don't like you being here all by yourself. You could at least let me know who kidnapped you so I could," her fingertips elongated into serrated knives of solid bone, "tie up loose ends."
"Shinobi and I took care of it already," she pointed out, squirming away from her finger to avoid being poked more. "And I'm not a target here, and I haven't really been going much of anywhere else. Much. You worry waaay too much, Reep. I'm fine. Besides," she pointed out practically, "if you didn't want me here alone, it's not like you couldn't have enrolled."
"Don't," she said, holding up a hand. "This is a human school. I like humans. But I'm not going to pretend to be part of persecuted minority, even for you. If nothing else, Dad would frown the hell out of me until graduation. I'm not like them. I'll support them, since they support you, but that's the best I can do." Reep's eyes shifted to yellow-on-gold briefly, and he wrapped his arms around Lu. "I'm trying very hard to respect the struggle, when my every instinct is just to murder everybody who threatens you, simply for being who you are. Try to be patient with me, sister."
"I'm being patient, you're just being silly," Lu pointed out, her lips quirking up in an amused smile as she snuggled in against Reep. "And you wouldn't have to pretend. I mean, there's already a kid here who's a Skrull, from what I've heard? And a girl from another dimension." She frowned, considering that. "Though to be fair, I think she was a mutant there, too? But still. There's a mix. It's not a mutants-only party."
"What?" Reep shifted into his male form suddenly. "There's another Skrull here? Who?" He held his sister close, his back breaking out in curving spines and the hand that was not holding her hooking into scythelike claws in a semiconscious defensive gesture. "Have you spoken to it? Does it know about me, or about Dad?"
"No, I haven't - or at least, not beyond 'hi" in the hallway - and no, of course he doesn't. Do you honestly think I'd say anything?" Lu pulled back, obviously hurt.
"I'm sorry," Reep said, immediately shifting back into female form, spines and claws disappearing. "I'm sorry, Lu. Of course I don't think you'd say anything. It's just ... I worry. I worry more knowing there's another Skrull in your proximity. That could be very dangerous. But you're smart and capable. Just ... take care of yourself. And I'll always be close. Though between you and Dad, it's a lot to keep track of."
Lu sighed, and reached out to rest a hand on Reep's shoulder. "I can take care of myself," she assured her. "You know that. Just take care of Dad, ok? C'mon," she quirked a smile, "I'm in school. It's really pretty awesome. And Shinobi's here, and Warren, and Nolan - and oh my god, you need to meet Nolan's boyfriend, he's adorable. I'll introduce you one of these days. You'd like him."
Reep wrinkled her nose. "Shinobi being here is half the reason I worry. But of course I'll look after Dad. He's too busy fighting his Green crusade to look after himself." She rested her hand on Lu's, and stared at the far wall. "I'd like to meet your friends," she said. "And, no, not just because I want to vet them. If you like them, they can't be all bad. I'd like to make some more amicable contacts, if possible. Friends, maybe. It'd be nice."
"You could use some," Lu agreed, her smile tilting as she turned her hand and squeezed Reep's. "But sure. If you stick around, Clarice will show up sooner or later. Or we can go find Shawn. Oh, remember that yin/yang bracelet I bought off Etsy? The purple and orange one? That's his store, and he makes all his own merch. We really should introduce him to Dad."
"Why don't you invite them over, some night?" she asked. "I'm sure Dad would be happy to meet your friends, and especially your friends with marketable talent. I mean, you know how he is." Her tone was fond, if just a touch exasperated. "He does have a soft spot for creative types."
"He does." Lu shrugged and dropped her hands to her lap. "And I don't know. I guess I wasn't sure he'd want me bringing people home. I mean, he likes his privacy." It had never come up before, mostly because she'd really never had anyone to bring home before.
"We do," Reep agreed, stretching into the form of a Bengal Tiger and folding protectively around Lu. "But he wants to know the people important to you. I want to know the people important to you. We're family, and we don't want you to ever think you have to hide us from your friends."
"Honestly, you know most of my friends," Lu snuggled back against the tiger, not blinking an eye at the change of forms. It was Cham; it was what he did. "And I don't have any problem with introducing anyone to either of you." She smiled, a little. "I just wasn't sure you'd want me to do it at home. Especially since you keep popping in here anyway."
"You weren't supposed to notice that," Reep said, a touch ruefully. "I suppose I was a little too obvious. But I was concerned. It's an older brother's prerogative," the tiger concluded, perhaps a touch defensively, resting a massive paw against Lu's leg. "But yeah, why not bring some of your friends home? Dad and I will be on our best, most-human behavior." He paused. "Dad misses you. I do, too. Come home for a night. Bring your friends. I'll sing the Mulan soundtrack for you."
"I'll hold you to that, you know." Lu grinned and ruffled the fur on top of the tiger's head. "Possibly with a special encore performance of "I'll Make a Man Out of You." Which had always been her favorite. Reflection was pretty, but way too serious for Disney movies. She liked the lighthearted songs better.
Reep gave a proper, tiger-ly chuff at the feeling of fingertips running through the soft fur at the top of his head. "Possibly," he allowed. "We'll see how the night goes. I'll need some way to show off, if I'm going to be stuck in a human body the whole time."
Lu rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Y'know, there are worse fates."
"You say that because shapeshifting isn't your thing," the tiger-Reep rumbled. "Between my singing voice and that, I know which one I think is usually more impressive." He shifted, and just managed to avoid kneading at the bed with his massive claws as he settled. It probably wouldn't go over too well if he reduced Lu's sleeping space to scraps of torn fabric and loose wads of stuffing. "Having you home again still makes it worthwhile, though."
Lu sighed. "It's not like I haven't been home at all," she pointed out. "I was home for all of Winter break except New Years."
"It's not the same," he protested, rolling onto his back to avoid the temptation presented by the mattress and contracting back into his preferred human female form. "I mean, I'm glad you have a place where you can learn about your," her tongue hitched on the word, "mutation, but home just doesn't feel the same with just me and Dad." She couldn't bring herself to come out and say it, but she was lonely. R.J. spent a lot of time working, though he made a point of spending time with his family as often as possible. And Reep didn't have any close friends--any friends at all, really--at her expensive private school in the city. She was far too cautious for that. Perhaps that was as much the reason she found herself spying on the mansion grounds as concern for her sister. Home was ... so quiet, now.
"Maybe I should just come home." Lu considered it slowly. Reep was unhappy with her gone; that much was obvious. And while their dad kept insisting he thought it was a wonderful opportunity for her, she was sure he missed her, too. "I mean, it's not like I really need to learn anything about my mutation. I've got it under control." It had just been kind of nice to actually go to school with other people, but that was just being selfish.
It was tempting, so tempting, to take that idea and run with it. Reep didn't like being on her own as often as she was these days--it reminded her too much of a time she wanted to forget, back on the devastated world of Durla. But that wouldn't be fair. Lu deserved to have something as close to a normal human experience as possible, and this seemed to be it. "No," she said slowly, shaking her head. "No. Whether you're in control again isn't really the point, right? And this place is still safer than home--I've seen enough to know that much. Even after Dad tripled security, you're better off here."
"Y'know, I wasn't kidnapped from the middle of the living room or anything. I just wasn't paying enough attention." Lu rolled her eyes and smiled a little. "Besides, I miss you, too. And dad. It wouldn't be a hardship. I'd still see pretty much everyone." At parties. And business meetings. It wouldn't be the same, but it would be okay.
"Maybe," Reep said, sitting up and putting a hand over Lu's. "Let's think about it, and make a decision when we've given ourselves some time, okay? Maybe I can come by more often. Not as bugs or birds or whatever. As me."
"That'd be nice." Lu smiled and turned her hand over so she could squeeze his. "I could actually show you around and everything." She grinned, a little. "And I'm sure Shinobi'd be thrilled to see you."
Reep stuck her tongue out, though the expression fell short of being genuinely aghast at the idea. "We'll see," she hedged. Shinobi was a bit much for her, at the best of times. Times being what they were, she wasn't entirely sure she could maintain the necessary control not to transform into something particularly horrifying, just to wipe the smug look off his face. It was bound to be worse, now that he had rescuing Lu to hold over her. Reep still harbored some suspicions Shaw or his father had been involved in that, somehow, but most of the evidence she'd turned up so far had been circumstantial, easily dismissed as coincidence.
Still. Made Shinobi worth keeping an eye on, just in case. "I wouldn't mind meeting some of your other friends, though. What are they like?"
"Well, you've met Nolan," Lu said, waving that aside. "Warren, too - I mean, Warren is Warren, no matter where he is; he just has wings you didn't used to see at meetings. Shawn - Shawn is hilarious. He's just...totally over the top, but not like Shinobi - completely and totally in his own way." She grinned and leaned back on her hands. "And Clarice is just the sweetest. You really have to meet her - I couldn't have ended up with a better roommate unless you'd decided to come, too."
"I'm not that sweet," Reep pointed out, mouth twisting up wryly. "But I'd still like to come by--officially come by, I mean. You have a day that works for you? Also, a gender or ethnic group or ... well, you know. I could be anybody. Who do you wanna have visit?"
"My brother." Lu gave him a look. "I get that you won't want to come as yourself, but at least come as the self Shinobi and the others recognize in case they're around? I want to be able to introduce you to people without things getting weird."
"Ugh," Reep griped, rolling her eyes. "Do you have to be such a mono-form about everything? Why not let Purple pick. Purple doesn't mind the weird." Not that much, anyway. "You'd think weird would score me some credibility, trying to earn points at mutant high."
Lu rolled her eyes and grinned. "Purple would encourage the weird, just to see everyone's reactions. But fine. If you want me to tell everyone you're a Durlan shapeshifter - or even a mutant one - come in whateeever form you want."
"As funny as that would be," Reep acknowledged, shaking her head, "I don't want to give Dad a heart attack. Super-handsome and intelligent older brother it is."
"Pretty sure I said you should come as yourself," Lu observed drily, her lips quirking in amusement.
"Har har," she returned sarcastically, casually slugging Lu in the arm. "You're hilarious. Maybe I'll show up as a fourth you. That'd be confusing enough to make for some decent revenge. Blue Lu? Magenta? Maybe a nice mauve. Nothing looks good in mauve."
"I look pretty good in mauve, actually," Lu countered, mostly just on principle. She wrinkled her nose at Reep, then smiled. "But fine. I'll introduce everyone to my reasonably handsome and intelligent older brother. That way I won't be lying to anyone. Fair?"
"Fairer than I expected," she admitted. "You sure they're feeding you enough here? You usually put up more of a fight. Or is Orange piping up more than usual today?"
Lu stuck her tongue out at her, then grinned sheepishly. "Actually, Purple's off somewhere, so I'm off balance."
"Figures," Reep huffed with a dramatic sigh that was entirely inauthentic. "Why don't you split all the way, then? Twice the sister-reunion for me to enjoy. And I want to make sure Orange is doing okay. She's not the biggest fan of new places. Or people."
"Actually, I'm doing okay?" Orange said as she appeared next to her nearly identical self. "I mean, the first few weeks were kind of rough? But it hasn't been bad, since then." She smiled at Reep warmly. "Not that I don't miss you and Dad? Because I do, lots."
Reep grinned at the response, that way Orange had of making her statements sound like questions instead. As if she were asking for permission to feel however it was she felt. It was endearing, but it also worried her. When Reep was around to keep an eye on the most naturally timid of the triplets, it was fine, but she wasn't sure she would ever not worry about somebody at the school trying to take advantage of that, someday. Still, she reached over to ruffle the other girl's hair affectionately. "We miss you, too, Sis," she reassured her. "But I'm glad to see you doing better than I expected. You all sharing the same pool of friends? Or is there anybody you get along with in particular?"
"Oh, mostly in common," she said, squirming her head out from under Reep's hand with a smile intended to let her know that she really didn't mind, at all. "I like Nolan a lot, but he's not really around much - I mean, he's got his business and everything? So that's really not surprising. I spend a lot of time with Shinobi, though - and before you say it," she held up a hand to warn Reep against that, "that isn't a bad thing. I like Shinobi."
Their shapeshifting sibling made a face at that, clearly not thrilled. But also not willing to express exactly how much that didn't thrill him to Orange. "Hey, I like Shinobi just fine. Shinobi goes out of his way to make himself likable. I just don't trust him, is all. Those are two totally separate and unrelated things." He dearly hoped she would keep that in mind.
"So, where's Purple gotten off to, then? I assume causing trouble somewhere, since that's been her main hobby for as long as I've known her."
"She's got a danger room session, I think," Neutral answered. She rolled her eyes and smiled. "At least she's channeling her trouble causing?"
"And for the record, Shinobi's very trustworthy," Orange pointed out, giving Reep a look of disappointment. "You just don't look beneath the act."
"Don't give me that look," Reep protested, practically withering in the face of it. She had tried looking beneath the act ... and only found more act. And more and more, so much so that she couldn't begin to guess who the Shaw boy actually was, underneath all those layers of deliberately complicated artifice. She doubted he even knew, anymore. But that was considerably less important than apologizing to his sister. "I will try to give him a chance, if you want. Just remember that working against my instincts is hard."
And as soon as she said it, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "'Danger Room'? What is a 'Danger Room', and why am I just finding out about it now? And why is my other sister there?"
"Because she likes to be? Don't give me that look," Neutral retorted with a grin. "And stop worrying. It's what everyone calls the powers training room. It's got different difficulty levels, and if she's there by herself, she really can't do any sims that will result in anything worse than a scraped knee. Kind of like a gym with holograms. After classes are over you can use it to run sims."
"Sometimes we all go?" Orange supplied. "But we didn't feel like it today, and she did."
"Holograms," Reep echoed, not bothering to stifle the look of terror that passed over her face at the thought of Orange in a simulation with difficulty levels and the potential for real, if minor, injuries. That was an argument she suspected she wouldn't win, at least not today--and at least now she knew. They could talk about it more another time. When she'd had a chance to enumerate all the reasons it was such a terrible idea. Maybe enlist their dad's help, if she needed to play dirty. "That seems kinda high-tech." The "for this planet" was omitted, but very heavily implied.
"It really is," Neutral agreed, catching his implication. "I've wondered about that, some. Though I've heard rumors that the guy who runs the Brotherhood helped build some of it. And who really knows much of anything about Eric Lenscherr, really?"
Orange wrinkled her nose. "I really don't want to, personally. He was creepy that time he was on TV."
"Wasn't an interview that inspired much confidence in the viewing public, for sure," Reep agreed, giving Orange a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "But if he was involved with this place at some point, then maybe somebody should make a point of finding out some things about him." The technical sophistication required to construct a holographic powers-training facility that wouldn't be either demolished within a week or so ridden with glitches as to be near-useless was intriguing, she couldn't help but be intrigued. And it might end up being simpler than sniffing around the school directly.
"Well, there's a challenge for you, then," Neutral teased. "You can take a break from trying to figure out what the Professor is up to, and work on Magneto instead."
"That's not nice," Orange complained at her, frowning. "You know she's doing it for us."
"Which doesn't make it not-paranoid," Neutral countered.
"Call it what you want," Reep harrumphed, with perhaps a touch of injured pride. "I'm going to do whatever I have to make sure none of you ever gets put into danger again. That's what older brothers are for." She looked down suddenly, belatedly remembering the form she had adopted. "Even when they're older sisters, at the moment," she added.
Orange giggled, and Neutral snaked an arm around Reep and hugged her. "You're sweet. Silly, but sweet." She grinned. "Not the best time to tell you we're thinking about joining X-Force then, huh?" Not that there would be a good time? But it was probably pretty much the worst.
Sputtering for a moment with sheer incomprehension, Reep rested a hand on her sister's shoulder. "You're not," she said. "You can't be. Why?" Her tone grew increasingly desperate. "I'll tell Dad!"
"Well, you can, but we were going to anyway," Orange pointed out.
"He'll agree with us, though," Neutral pointed out. "The universe doesn't like it if you take more than you give." Okay, it probably wasn't fair to pull that out, considering it was one of their dad's favorite sayings, but she figured it was true. She'd been really, really lucky, both in having a grandmother who'd loved her and in having been found and taken in by her dad. It was time to pay it forward.
Reep was quiet for a moment, considering. She could probably bring their father around to her way of thinking ... but it would definitely take some persuasion, and probably appeals to old feelings of guilt. And that wouldn't be fair, to Dad or to Lu. The internal struggle went on for a few uncomfortable moments before Reep finally visibly deflated, a visible concession of defeat. "Fine," she said. "But ... is there anything I can do to help? It's not like I can let you just go out there into danger again without being around to back you up, if I can."
"Well, you can relax," Neutral suggested, and gave her a hug. "I haven't even signed up yet, and even after I do, I'm going to have to do a lot of training before I ever get to go on missions or anything."
"But y'know, we can take care of ourselves?" Orange pointed out, and smiled just a little. Because she wasn't 100% sure she could, really - but that was why there were three of them, and why they'd have teammates.
"Okay." Reep didn't sound convinced, slouched in Neutral's hug, but she didn't argue any further. Clearly, Lu had made up her mind about this and ... well, she supposed it would be good for them to do some of that kind of training. This part of Earth was fairly soft, in terms of its inherent day-to-day hazards, and Reep knew from experience that, as generous as the universe could be, it also had moments of absolute intolerance for those who'd made no effort to give themselves the tools they needed to survive. "But I reserve the right to continue to check on you. Sibling prerogative."
"Because if I argued that, you'd stop," Neutral teased. She gave Reep one last hug and pulled back, grinning. "Same to you, though. Who knows what kind of trouble you've been getting into without me?"
"Oooh, I do!" Orange volunteered, raising her hand. "I asked Dad."
Well, at least Neutral realized there were some points Reep absolutely would not concede--even if this place didn't still strike her as a little shady, she would have still made a point of checking on her sisters. Natural curiosity and a compulsion not to let her family too far out of sight, she supposed. But Orange's enthusiastic assertion immediately derailed that train of thought, and caused a very human-looking blush to suffuse Reep's cheeks.
"No fair!" she insisted immediately. "Dad's been on this planet too long. It only counts as trouble if you get caught!" Which Reep almost never did. At least, not by the locals.
"What did she do?" Neutral asked Orange, but the latter pursed her lips and shook her head. "Nuh uh. She's right here, she can tell you herself."
"I may have rigged the air bags of the vice-principal's Prius with a glitter bomb and tied the trigger to the ignition," Reep admitted grudgingly. "But the important part is that nobody could prove it was me." Not that it had mattered to their dad. Still worth it, even taking into consideration the earful she'd gotten afterward.
Both Lu's clamped hands over their mouths, one in dismay and one to suppress laughter.
"Oh, you didn't!" Orange objected. "Poor Mrs. Vandenburg!" Because that one she hadn't heard about from their dad.
"No, that was awesome! Please tell me you used the ultra fine glitter?" After all, she'd never been overly fond of Mrs. Vandenburg, and it wasn't as if she'd been hurt or anything. As pranks went, it was pretty much perfect.
"She's fine!" Reep protested to Orange. "She just ... you know. Sparkled. For, like, two weeks." She tried to look apologetic, but couldn't help the smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. It wasn't like Vandenburg didn't have it coming, the old battleaxe. She shrugged. "Anyway, Dad suspended my allowance until further notice for that one." Not that it was much of a punishment. Her life now was still infinitely more comfortable than it had been on Durla, extra spending money or not.
Orange continued to look just a bit skeptical, but Neutral laughed outright. "Aww, poor you," she teased. "You never spend it all anyway. What'd Mrs. Vandenburg do this time, anyway? Or did you just want to test out your new glitter bomb theory?"
"Three months detention," Reep said indignantly. Then grudgingly added, "For sealing the school mascot in his costume at Homecoming. And adding fireworks to the bonfire."
"That's the one Dad told me about," Orange explained with just a touch of a smug expression.
"Ouch. Poor mascot guy." Neutral winced. "I've heard those suits get really smelly after a while."
"You heard right," Reep nodded. "But it's his own fault, volunteering for something that demeaning. Anyway, it was the most exciting Homecoming that stuffy old private school ever had. And they've got me to thank for it."
"You're awful," Neutral replied with a shake of her head, without sounding as if she thought she was awful at all. "That poor -"
"You guys will never - oh, hey Sis!" Purple exclaimed as she burst into the room and grinned at Cham on the bed. "Do you have any of the fireworks left from Homecoming? Because I need some of those."
Orance winced and turned to Reep. "She really, really doesn't," she added, shaking her head.
Reep patted Orange reassuringly on the head, while simultaneously turning to the recently arrived Purple and mouthing "I do," behind her other hand. "So," she went on, "why didn't you tell me about this training-murder-dungeon where you have apparently been while you could have been entertaining your awesome older sibling with school stories? You totally missed out on the tiger thing."
"Hey, you've seen your older sibling as a tiger once? It totally loses its novelty," Purple tossed back. She tossed the bag with her sweaty workout clothes in the general direction of her hamper and plopped down in a chair with a grin. "And seriously, murder dungeon? It's like the Star Trek holodeck, not the Hunger Games." She paused. "Though programming it for the Hunger Games would be seriously kick ass. I really need to try that."
"If she ever tries to do Hunger Games in your murder-dungeon," Reep told Orange and Neutral, "I am going to drag her back home by the scruff of the neck in tiger-form. I am not even joking."
