Log: Tandy and Adrienne: Reunion
Mar. 31st, 2015 12:13 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsTandy comes home and the first thing she does is go and see Adrienne.
Still dressed in her Asgardian attire Tandy entered Garrison's suite. It had been only a few hours since Tandy had been back on Midgard after the little ice problem in Las Vegas and arrived at the Mansion less than 30 minutes. She made a mental note to get something shiny for Clarice. Had she really only been got for a few months? Looking around she didn't see the one she was seeking so she closed the door heavily hoping to draw her out to the open.
"I think I changed my mind," Adrienne called out from the bedroom in a joking tone when she heard the door close. "I don't think I want Chinese now." Her footfalls could be heard as she headed towards the front door. They'd just returned from Europe and between jet lag and their last day off and the fact that today was her fortieth birthday, were still acting like they were on vacation. "Can you get some Indian instead? I'm feeling-" She stopped short, stunned. And only slightly due to the fact that she was in a matching set of lacy red underwear.
Her goofy smile faded and her face darkened at the sight of the strangely dressed person who looked exactly like Tandy. The whole 'new people with the same names as your dead friends' thing was rough, but it was a shitty situation made slightly better by the fact that the... replacement people were unrecognizable. It hurt less that way, which was a small comfort. But this was just cruel. This one looked exactly like Tandy, aside from the weird 'Extra from Vikings TV Show' garb.
"You're in the wrong suite, newbie," she muttered coldly, making a conscious effort to keep her face emotionless. She showed no sign of embarrassment at her attire. "I don't know who gave you this entry code, but this one's occupied. I suggest you try next door." She stood with her hands on her hips to make sure the person actually left.
Tandy expected this kind of reaction but she didn't move as tears started to form. "Mr. K gave me the key. Gave me the okay to see you because it has been four years...or a few months. Midgard and Asgard are in two totally different time zones. It is really good to see you again. "
"''Midgard and Asgard are in two totally different time zones?'" Adrienne quoted, reacting as if this new chick had just told her she had three heads. "Seriously? Look, if your parents dropped you on your head as a child or whatever and you think you're some Norse god then I feel sorry for you, but snap the fuck out of it. This is like a sick fucking joke you're playing on me now, coming in here like this." She waved a hand at the look-alike, indicating the girl's face but assuming the girl would think she meant the costume. Which was fine by Adrienne. Let her think Adrienne had a trauma when it came to Viking costumes. "Just get lost, okay? You're in the wrong room."
"No. You knew my mother. Don't think she carried me much as a kid. And not a joke. I didn't die in that explosion. Paige had a deal to fulfill and that is how I was saved. Molly, Ty and me." She lifted her hands up in defense. "Alright-alright. I'll leave. But first, just give Sir Names-a-lot snuggles for me."
Adrienne frowned. This had to be a joke, right? It couldn't be real. Tandy- her Tandy- couldn't really be here. "Tandy died in the explosion," she answered dumbly, wondering how this alternate Tandy knew about the explosion in the first place, and why the world hadn't been ripped apart because she did. "My Tandy died." She sounded slightly annoyed. "I have an order in with the finest masonry company in the city to make a monument for my Tandy. It's very expensive and pretty and everyone will cry when they see it. You can't be my Tandy."
"Really? You are going to build me..." Tandy had to look away. This was tougher than she thought. "Here." Tandy pulled out a necklace with the charms that Julian had gotten her for Christmas,the ring that Adrienne had given to her for her last birthday, and the stone that once belonged to Sue. "Read it. I had this on me when the school was attacked by the evil us."
Still shell-shocked and confused, Adrienne reached out her hand obediently and let the jewelry fall into it. Her confusion vanished as she Read, replaced by a wave of a half-dozen other emotions hitting her all at once. It was all real. It was all true. Tandy, her Tandy, was real.
Normally she jumped around on timelines, fast-forwarding or rewinding to the interesting or relevant points. She would cheat, storing an object's history from beginning to end but then dissecting it in her head later, piece by piece, if that was what was called for.
But not this time. This time she meticulously followed every minute of the jewelry's history from the explosion in the lab until now. Luckily, it was all instantaneous to her. She became a witness to the entire four years Tandy spent in Asgard in the blink of an eye.
It showed the final moments of Tandy fighting against the Dark Phoenix and as the explosion was rebounded back to them, saw the fear on her face that it was her final breath until it stopped. Bunnihilde appeared to come and collect Paige. The scene changed to the three teens in Odin's hall. It was Freya who showed the most compassion and eventually won over Odin's heart to spare the teens, as they had barely begun to live.
She watched as Molly went with Sif, Tyrone went with the night goddess and Tandy was placed in the care of Odin's other son, Baldr. It showed how Tandy finally broke down and started to cry after being dismissed and Baldr never judged her, in fact he only seem to allow her to grieve. He was kind and gentle and in the end he finally made Tandy smile again.
It showed Baldr training Tandy in swordmenship, some magic, teaching her how to control her light dagger and even teaching her languages. Tandy would often make references of movies and was amused that it would confuse the god. As Tandy grew older her clothing began to change, from soft linen to the armor she was wearing now. She was seen talking to strange creatures in a strange tongue with Baldr always nearby. It showed her in Battle, injured, and Baldr would carry her back to safety. There would be times when she would catch glimpse of Molly and Tyrone but never for long. It finally showed Tandy picking up Adrienne's favorite color in a gem and Tandy tucking it away in her inner pockets.
It changed again and this time Tandy was standing near Molly and Tyrone, both older looking, they were given orders to track down Ice Giants that had attacked a Dwavern city. The trio engaging and working as a team until Loki appearing and banishing them back to Earth and landing in Las Vegas. They battled one ice giant and was tracking down another when they ran into Scott, Clarice, Rogue and Angel. It showed the last fight with the magical one and all of them eventually working as a team. At the end their service was concluded. They were free to stay in Midgard. And then Tandy was brought to the Mansion where Mr. K told her where she could find Adrienne and then she was here.
"Sorry if it is a bit much. Four years is a long time." Tandy whispered as she looked at Adrienne, hoping she didn't make things worse.
"It's shorter when it only feels like a couple months," Adrienne responded, still in the same stunned tone, as if she were so busy thinking her mouth was just saying things she had no control over. Four years. Four years. But it was impossible to process the time, possibly due to the instantaneous nature of the Reading. She tried telling herself that Tandy had been gone four years, but it didn't mean anything. It was just a number. Even going through the Reading day by day, even trying to think of a span of time in her own life four years long, she wasn't able to fathom it. To her it was just a couple months. Maybe that was the way of it- that people only measured their own time, but couldn't measure other peoples'. Or maybe it was just because Adrienne was selfish. Whatever the reason, four years didn't seem like anything more than nine weeks to her.
The swirling mess of thoughts in her head clarified suddenly, like an almost physical sensation of a hive of bees suddenly dropping dead, leaving her with only a single thought. She blinked a couple times, then said slowly, "you're really you. And you're here. You're back. You're not dead. Holy shit. I mean... holy shit." Her voice broke as tears sprung to her eyes. She closed the space between herself and Tandy in a couple long strides and hit Tandy with a hug so strong she made Tandy stagger back a step. "And you're a viking!" she added with a watery laugh.
Tandy nodded at Adrienne to confirm that it was really her. It was like a bow on a present when she felt Adrienne's arms around her. She was finally home and this time she didn't hold back her own tears. "Almost. Sorry if I smell, I didn't have my favorite shampoos with me. Oh I missed you so much. I was so worried, not sure what happened. I feel like I have missed so much but only a few months have really gone by? Really?"
"Nine weeks, five days, nine hours and forty-something minutes," Adrienne responded, eyes squeezed shut to keep the tears at bay. She just stood for what felt like ages trying not to break down completely. When she felt like the worst of the temptation had passed, she started sniffing Tandy's shoulder. "Christ, you smell awful," she admitted, laughing once again. "Someone get this girl some Pantene and some Amouage, stat." Her laughter stopped her from speaking again, and she wondered if this was what being giddy felt like. "I guess you smell like an almost-viking," she murmured when she stopped laughing, still sounding as if she was in disbelief. She was still holding on to Tandy, not able to let herself let go.
"Who is counting right?" Tandy smirked a bit. "I'll be taking a very long shower and then bath after this." She would have to go and find Julian and then Su- no, she remembered. She remembered seeing her friend who sacrificed herself to save them. Taking a deep breath in and then out, "I didn't have time for a bath after my last battle. So many stories to tell you about Asgard. Oh..." Tandy moved a bit and reached into her inner fur cloak and pulled out a very tiny gem of Adrienne's favorite color. "It reminded me of you and thought I would keep it and give it to you, kind of like hoping I would one day return back. Sorry it is a bit dirty. Also consider it a birthday gift. I mean it is your birthday right?"
Adrienne cuffed Tandy upside the head. "Hey! Don't smirk at me for counting the minutes I thought you were dead, you ungrateful little- ooo! Shiny!" She plucked the tiny pink gem out of Tandy's hand and held it up to the light, still oblivious to the fact that she was in her underwear. "It's beautiful. Thank you. I think I'll get it set in a bracelet." She went to put it in her pocket and then remembered she was in her underwear, so she sauntered over to her handbag and put it in one of the pockets there. "It's my birthday, yeah," she murmured, as if she'd only just remembered the fact. "As far as birthday presents go, I don't think I'm gonna get a better one than you being back." She clamped her mouth shut before she started crying again.
"Sadly I didn't have time to get a bow for my hair. Otherwise I would had totally done it up. Just wanted to see you before the rest of the chaos sets in." Tandy gave Adrienne another hug. "Please don't cry. If you cry, I'll cry, then you'll cry more...and it will be a complete circle all over again."
Adrienne tousled the aforementioned blonde hair and bit the inside of her cheek. "I'm not gonna cry again. Breaking the circle. Promise," she announced, holding on tightly for the hug.
"Sooooo..." she continued awkwardly. Now that the shock had worn off, maybe it was time to get some of the unpleasantness out of the way so they could move past it. Like the fact Tandy didn't exactly have a suite anymore. "The X-Men debriefed you on... everything, right? The universe being... stitched or whatever the hell it was? How we can't tell anyone who wasn't involved in the attack by the Phoenix?"
"I can't really say anything. I light a candle on the year anniversary when I was brought to Asgard. In a way to honor the dead and the unknown." Tandy was pleased that that Adrienne liked it. "It really sparkles when the sunlight hits it." Tandy was unfazed by Adrienne lack of clothing, she did live with the woman for two years.
"They did. They also said there will be people I will recognize but they won't be the same. So who should I look out for? Did Julian survive?"
"He did, yeah," Adrienne assured her with a nod. "He was injured, like most of us were." Thankfully her panties were covering the scar on her ass that Garrison swore looked like a dollar sign. "But he survived." She sat down on the couch, gesturing for Tandy to sit next to her. "But... Clint. Namor. Miles. Sue. They didn't make it." She gave that a minute to sink in. There were so many more, but Tandy already knew about some of the early days casualties, like Matt and Sharon and Yvette, and Adrienne tried to keep the list down to those closest to Tandy, for now.
She sighed, focusing on something random across the room as she continued. "And now there are... people here. People who call themselvesMatt and Warren and Jean and Wanda. But they're... not like they were," she said in a cautionary tone, as if warning Tandy not to get too close to them. "They look kind of different. They had different pasts. They have different personalities. I mean, why would they be the same, right? The people we knew died. These are... weird copies." It was clear Adrienne was nowhere near coming to terms with the people she'd lost in her life, and nowhere near being comfortable around the people she'd taken to calling 'transplants'. "But, I mean, really, it's their world. We moved. Changed universes or... something. We're the ones that don't belong here." She sighed again. "At least you're... back. You are... back, right? Or is there a mead hall and a spit-roasting pig waiting for you in Asgard somewhere?" she smiled to try and lighten the mood, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Tandy felt a relief to know Julian survived. "I knew about Sue." She whispered. "I saw...her die." She took back her necklace and nestled next to the charms was the one that Sue always wore. "Sad about the others." She would have to have her own moment of silence now that she had names to those she grieved for.
"It might be weird to see a copy of them. And yes I am back. My services to Asgard was completed and I am no longer obligated to return back to Asgard. I mean I could but next time I'll take you with me."
Adrienne laughed again. It was a relief to her that Tandy had taken the news without crying or anything. She didn't seem to need much comfort right now. "I'd love to see some Norse gods since I'm sure they're all really hot, but I don't know if the whole 'aging four years in a couple months' thing is going to work for me, to be honest with you. I've already started dropping hints that if anyone acknowledges my fortieth birthday, I'll kill them. So, aging rapidly? Not really my thing." She paused as the orange cat bounded into the room and launched itself into Tandy's lap. "Looks like someone missed you," she muttered, almost sounding jealous.
"And we're not copies of anyone they lost," she added, circling back to the other topic that needed to be addressed. She kept her tone lighter than the stony frigidity she'd used when Tandy first came in the room, but she didn't exactly sound happy, either. "They didn't lose us. We just... replaced their versions. Their versions didn't die. They don't know anyone's different. The Jean that's here now isn't mourning for us the way Summers, Kane, Cecelia, me... everyone's mourning the Jean we lost. They just go around, living their lives all la-dee-dah with no idea how painful it is for us to have to be around them, using the same names and looking similar and all this shit. So no. I don't trust them. At all. But... they've all been pretty nice so far. For strangers," she admitted.
Tandy took off her sword and shield and leaned it against the wall before taking off the golden armor that was given to her by Baldr. She was soon just dressed in a shirt and pants made from leather and wool. "Oh better. Some of the gods are okay to look at, I will admit. But there are also other races. Goblins are no joke." She then took a seat on the couch as Sir Names-A-Lot came jumping up onto her lap. "Probably smells the dogs on me." She lifted the cat and rubbed her face into his body. "I missed him too."
"Wait, Doctor G died?" Tandy had to ask looking up at Adrienne. "I'll keep that in mind when I come across them. So no talking about them whatsoever right?"
"No talking about the versions we lost," Adrienne clarified as she poked at Tandy's armour with suspicious fingers. She didn't address Tandy's comment about Jean's death. It hurt too much to talk about it. "We can talk about the new ones all we want, anywhere we want." She gave Tandy a malicious grin as she said it, as indication that she'd been doing exactly that.
Still exploring the new clothing, she picked up the sword and unsheathed it. "Badass." The brunette smiled again, but it was her usual smile this time, not the malicious one. "This'll work well the next time we go to Barney's for a sale. Which... we may have to do really soon," she admitted sheepishly. "There's not a lot of your stuff left." Unable to sit still any longer, she went into Kane's bedroom and came out with an armful of her own clothing. "You can wear these for now. Your uncle and I gave most of your stuff to his charity when we thought you... were gone. I kept some stuff I really liked," she assured Tandy quickly, dumping the clothes onto the couch next to her (former, if she was really twenty-three now) ward and beginning to sort through them. She'd gathered up a pair of jeans, a pair of sweats, a tank top, a t-shirt, her Yale hoodie, and the pair of baseball-player pyjamas Emma had given her two Christmases ago, along with a new package of socks and underwear she'd bought in Paris during her trip with Kane but then forgot about and never opened.
"I kept your favourite hoodie," she continued cheerfully. "That blue sundress I really liked you in. Your Star Wars Vans. The pyjamas with the sushi on them. They're at my penthouse. I keep your stuff there, even though Kane and I moved in here together a few weeks ago. Oh! And your Monty Python Killer Rabbit slippers."
Tandy nodded at Adrienne's assessment of her weaponry. "A bit yea. Took me ages to even lift it properly without my arms tiring. I think there is still blood from the ice giant still on it." She continued to pet the cat as Adrienne disappeared back into the room and came back out with clothing. "Oh my goodness..." She moved the cat and stood up to look at the clothing. "It is fine." She said when mention of some of her clothing was already donated. It wasn't like she couldn't get more.
"Real clothing. Mind if I take a quick shower?"
"Not if you don't mind if I sit outside the door and ask you questions the entire time," Adrienne grinned.
"I can handle that." Tandy picked up the jeans and the tank top. "Is this weird that I am actually looking forward to a real shower?"
Adrienne shook her head. "Not at all. It would be weird if you weren't looking forward to a real shower and, like, wanted people do dump buckets of water over your head out on the grounds or something."
"Nah. I had enough of that kind of showering to last a life time." She paused for a moment and looked at Adrienne. "Does everyone still think I am 18? Shit - I didn't think about paper work." Rubbing her head.
"Uhh, no, sweetie. No one thinks you're eighteen. Everyone thinks you're dead," Adrienne reminded her gently. "You apparently went missing on New Year's Eve, and were presumed dead. Now that you're not, I'm guessing your age is kinda superfluous. Doug can tweak your documents. Besides. Most of the people around here have no knowledge of you, or any of us. Kind of a clean slate for us all. You could even be whoever you wanna be, if you wanna be someone new. I've been telling people I own a camel farm in Egypt."
"So, everything I had before is sold or given to my next of kin? Or who I named my beneficiary? There is no Tandy Bowen of this world?" How was she going to fit in?
"It's cool," Adrienne assured her, touching her shoulder sympathetically. "We'll figure it all out. Doug can make Tandy Bowen get older in the record banks of the world again, and then you resurface and go from 'missing and presumed dead' to 'alive'.
"And yeah," she continued. "I did what you asked in... in your will. The will hasn't been read officially or anything," she explained, because explaining business-y things was what she did, "but I... found it. So I did... most of what you asked. Well, the merger of with Meridian hasn't been finalized yet but the wheels are in motion. Like I said before, most of your stuff was given to your uncle's charity. But the castle's in my name now, so I can transfer that back to you. Along with the rest of your accounts. Even though being... twenty-two- oh wow you can live the Taylor Swift song now-" she segued unintentionally, "you could still be my ward... like, my heir, or whatever. I mean, if you wanted. Since I'm not ever going to have kids of my own, I mean. If you wanted," she repeated.
Tandy smirked at Adrienne, "Good. I am sorry that I made you worry. If I could I would had send a message - kind of hard when you are in a different place and time. And I would be honored to be your ward, your heir or whatever. Besides, how many people can say that their ward has been trained in the art of swordplay?"
"Historically?" Adrienne grinned, "probably lots. But recently? I'm probably pretty special in that way." She pulled Tandy in for another hug, held her for a moment, savoured said moment, and then let her go. "And hey, I've been working on my archery. Maybe we could joining a LARPing group together. That's what it's called, right? LARPing?"
Tandy closed her eyes as her head laid on Adrienne's shoulder as she was pulled into a new hug. "We could go LARPing, I kind of lived it for four years. Nothing says 'I am a real Dungeoner than going up against a bunch of Goblins. And their speech language is way hard. I am pretty sure that we would kick their ass."
"We kick everyone's ass," Adrienne responded proudly. "And how is it you know Goblin language?" she asked curiously. She had seen Tandy learn it, and many other languages, in her Reading, but wanted to hear Tandy talk about it, and everything else, in her own words.
"Balder taught me. Along with other ones. He is more of the diplomatic type - rather talk things over than fight. But when you get him to fight - boy does he fight." Tandy walked towards the bathroom. "I still have the scar from the one incident when we were ambushed by goblins. I have stories to tell you that will last years."
Adrienne followed her towards the bathroom and, as promised, sat in the hallway next to the door. "As long as you stick around for years to tell them, I'm cool with that," she responded, breath hitching once again at the overwhelming emotions she felt over Tandy being back.
Still dressed in her Asgardian attire Tandy entered Garrison's suite. It had been only a few hours since Tandy had been back on Midgard after the little ice problem in Las Vegas and arrived at the Mansion less than 30 minutes. She made a mental note to get something shiny for Clarice. Had she really only been got for a few months? Looking around she didn't see the one she was seeking so she closed the door heavily hoping to draw her out to the open.
"I think I changed my mind," Adrienne called out from the bedroom in a joking tone when she heard the door close. "I don't think I want Chinese now." Her footfalls could be heard as she headed towards the front door. They'd just returned from Europe and between jet lag and their last day off and the fact that today was her fortieth birthday, were still acting like they were on vacation. "Can you get some Indian instead? I'm feeling-" She stopped short, stunned. And only slightly due to the fact that she was in a matching set of lacy red underwear.
Her goofy smile faded and her face darkened at the sight of the strangely dressed person who looked exactly like Tandy. The whole 'new people with the same names as your dead friends' thing was rough, but it was a shitty situation made slightly better by the fact that the... replacement people were unrecognizable. It hurt less that way, which was a small comfort. But this was just cruel. This one looked exactly like Tandy, aside from the weird 'Extra from Vikings TV Show' garb.
"You're in the wrong suite, newbie," she muttered coldly, making a conscious effort to keep her face emotionless. She showed no sign of embarrassment at her attire. "I don't know who gave you this entry code, but this one's occupied. I suggest you try next door." She stood with her hands on her hips to make sure the person actually left.
Tandy expected this kind of reaction but she didn't move as tears started to form. "Mr. K gave me the key. Gave me the okay to see you because it has been four years...or a few months. Midgard and Asgard are in two totally different time zones. It is really good to see you again. "
"''Midgard and Asgard are in two totally different time zones?'" Adrienne quoted, reacting as if this new chick had just told her she had three heads. "Seriously? Look, if your parents dropped you on your head as a child or whatever and you think you're some Norse god then I feel sorry for you, but snap the fuck out of it. This is like a sick fucking joke you're playing on me now, coming in here like this." She waved a hand at the look-alike, indicating the girl's face but assuming the girl would think she meant the costume. Which was fine by Adrienne. Let her think Adrienne had a trauma when it came to Viking costumes. "Just get lost, okay? You're in the wrong room."
"No. You knew my mother. Don't think she carried me much as a kid. And not a joke. I didn't die in that explosion. Paige had a deal to fulfill and that is how I was saved. Molly, Ty and me." She lifted her hands up in defense. "Alright-alright. I'll leave. But first, just give Sir Names-a-lot snuggles for me."
Adrienne frowned. This had to be a joke, right? It couldn't be real. Tandy- her Tandy- couldn't really be here. "Tandy died in the explosion," she answered dumbly, wondering how this alternate Tandy knew about the explosion in the first place, and why the world hadn't been ripped apart because she did. "My Tandy died." She sounded slightly annoyed. "I have an order in with the finest masonry company in the city to make a monument for my Tandy. It's very expensive and pretty and everyone will cry when they see it. You can't be my Tandy."
"Really? You are going to build me..." Tandy had to look away. This was tougher than she thought. "Here." Tandy pulled out a necklace with the charms that Julian had gotten her for Christmas,the ring that Adrienne had given to her for her last birthday, and the stone that once belonged to Sue. "Read it. I had this on me when the school was attacked by the evil us."
Still shell-shocked and confused, Adrienne reached out her hand obediently and let the jewelry fall into it. Her confusion vanished as she Read, replaced by a wave of a half-dozen other emotions hitting her all at once. It was all real. It was all true. Tandy, her Tandy, was real.
Normally she jumped around on timelines, fast-forwarding or rewinding to the interesting or relevant points. She would cheat, storing an object's history from beginning to end but then dissecting it in her head later, piece by piece, if that was what was called for.
But not this time. This time she meticulously followed every minute of the jewelry's history from the explosion in the lab until now. Luckily, it was all instantaneous to her. She became a witness to the entire four years Tandy spent in Asgard in the blink of an eye.
It showed the final moments of Tandy fighting against the Dark Phoenix and as the explosion was rebounded back to them, saw the fear on her face that it was her final breath until it stopped. Bunnihilde appeared to come and collect Paige. The scene changed to the three teens in Odin's hall. It was Freya who showed the most compassion and eventually won over Odin's heart to spare the teens, as they had barely begun to live.
She watched as Molly went with Sif, Tyrone went with the night goddess and Tandy was placed in the care of Odin's other son, Baldr. It showed how Tandy finally broke down and started to cry after being dismissed and Baldr never judged her, in fact he only seem to allow her to grieve. He was kind and gentle and in the end he finally made Tandy smile again.
It showed Baldr training Tandy in swordmenship, some magic, teaching her how to control her light dagger and even teaching her languages. Tandy would often make references of movies and was amused that it would confuse the god. As Tandy grew older her clothing began to change, from soft linen to the armor she was wearing now. She was seen talking to strange creatures in a strange tongue with Baldr always nearby. It showed her in Battle, injured, and Baldr would carry her back to safety. There would be times when she would catch glimpse of Molly and Tyrone but never for long. It finally showed Tandy picking up Adrienne's favorite color in a gem and Tandy tucking it away in her inner pockets.
It changed again and this time Tandy was standing near Molly and Tyrone, both older looking, they were given orders to track down Ice Giants that had attacked a Dwavern city. The trio engaging and working as a team until Loki appearing and banishing them back to Earth and landing in Las Vegas. They battled one ice giant and was tracking down another when they ran into Scott, Clarice, Rogue and Angel. It showed the last fight with the magical one and all of them eventually working as a team. At the end their service was concluded. They were free to stay in Midgard. And then Tandy was brought to the Mansion where Mr. K told her where she could find Adrienne and then she was here.
"Sorry if it is a bit much. Four years is a long time." Tandy whispered as she looked at Adrienne, hoping she didn't make things worse.
"It's shorter when it only feels like a couple months," Adrienne responded, still in the same stunned tone, as if she were so busy thinking her mouth was just saying things she had no control over. Four years. Four years. But it was impossible to process the time, possibly due to the instantaneous nature of the Reading. She tried telling herself that Tandy had been gone four years, but it didn't mean anything. It was just a number. Even going through the Reading day by day, even trying to think of a span of time in her own life four years long, she wasn't able to fathom it. To her it was just a couple months. Maybe that was the way of it- that people only measured their own time, but couldn't measure other peoples'. Or maybe it was just because Adrienne was selfish. Whatever the reason, four years didn't seem like anything more than nine weeks to her.
The swirling mess of thoughts in her head clarified suddenly, like an almost physical sensation of a hive of bees suddenly dropping dead, leaving her with only a single thought. She blinked a couple times, then said slowly, "you're really you. And you're here. You're back. You're not dead. Holy shit. I mean... holy shit." Her voice broke as tears sprung to her eyes. She closed the space between herself and Tandy in a couple long strides and hit Tandy with a hug so strong she made Tandy stagger back a step. "And you're a viking!" she added with a watery laugh.
Tandy nodded at Adrienne to confirm that it was really her. It was like a bow on a present when she felt Adrienne's arms around her. She was finally home and this time she didn't hold back her own tears. "Almost. Sorry if I smell, I didn't have my favorite shampoos with me. Oh I missed you so much. I was so worried, not sure what happened. I feel like I have missed so much but only a few months have really gone by? Really?"
"Nine weeks, five days, nine hours and forty-something minutes," Adrienne responded, eyes squeezed shut to keep the tears at bay. She just stood for what felt like ages trying not to break down completely. When she felt like the worst of the temptation had passed, she started sniffing Tandy's shoulder. "Christ, you smell awful," she admitted, laughing once again. "Someone get this girl some Pantene and some Amouage, stat." Her laughter stopped her from speaking again, and she wondered if this was what being giddy felt like. "I guess you smell like an almost-viking," she murmured when she stopped laughing, still sounding as if she was in disbelief. She was still holding on to Tandy, not able to let herself let go.
"Who is counting right?" Tandy smirked a bit. "I'll be taking a very long shower and then bath after this." She would have to go and find Julian and then Su- no, she remembered. She remembered seeing her friend who sacrificed herself to save them. Taking a deep breath in and then out, "I didn't have time for a bath after my last battle. So many stories to tell you about Asgard. Oh..." Tandy moved a bit and reached into her inner fur cloak and pulled out a very tiny gem of Adrienne's favorite color. "It reminded me of you and thought I would keep it and give it to you, kind of like hoping I would one day return back. Sorry it is a bit dirty. Also consider it a birthday gift. I mean it is your birthday right?"
Adrienne cuffed Tandy upside the head. "Hey! Don't smirk at me for counting the minutes I thought you were dead, you ungrateful little- ooo! Shiny!" She plucked the tiny pink gem out of Tandy's hand and held it up to the light, still oblivious to the fact that she was in her underwear. "It's beautiful. Thank you. I think I'll get it set in a bracelet." She went to put it in her pocket and then remembered she was in her underwear, so she sauntered over to her handbag and put it in one of the pockets there. "It's my birthday, yeah," she murmured, as if she'd only just remembered the fact. "As far as birthday presents go, I don't think I'm gonna get a better one than you being back." She clamped her mouth shut before she started crying again.
"Sadly I didn't have time to get a bow for my hair. Otherwise I would had totally done it up. Just wanted to see you before the rest of the chaos sets in." Tandy gave Adrienne another hug. "Please don't cry. If you cry, I'll cry, then you'll cry more...and it will be a complete circle all over again."
Adrienne tousled the aforementioned blonde hair and bit the inside of her cheek. "I'm not gonna cry again. Breaking the circle. Promise," she announced, holding on tightly for the hug.
"Sooooo..." she continued awkwardly. Now that the shock had worn off, maybe it was time to get some of the unpleasantness out of the way so they could move past it. Like the fact Tandy didn't exactly have a suite anymore. "The X-Men debriefed you on... everything, right? The universe being... stitched or whatever the hell it was? How we can't tell anyone who wasn't involved in the attack by the Phoenix?"
"I can't really say anything. I light a candle on the year anniversary when I was brought to Asgard. In a way to honor the dead and the unknown." Tandy was pleased that that Adrienne liked it. "It really sparkles when the sunlight hits it." Tandy was unfazed by Adrienne lack of clothing, she did live with the woman for two years.
"They did. They also said there will be people I will recognize but they won't be the same. So who should I look out for? Did Julian survive?"
"He did, yeah," Adrienne assured her with a nod. "He was injured, like most of us were." Thankfully her panties were covering the scar on her ass that Garrison swore looked like a dollar sign. "But he survived." She sat down on the couch, gesturing for Tandy to sit next to her. "But... Clint. Namor. Miles. Sue. They didn't make it." She gave that a minute to sink in. There were so many more, but Tandy already knew about some of the early days casualties, like Matt and Sharon and Yvette, and Adrienne tried to keep the list down to those closest to Tandy, for now.
She sighed, focusing on something random across the room as she continued. "And now there are... people here. People who call themselvesMatt and Warren and Jean and Wanda. But they're... not like they were," she said in a cautionary tone, as if warning Tandy not to get too close to them. "They look kind of different. They had different pasts. They have different personalities. I mean, why would they be the same, right? The people we knew died. These are... weird copies." It was clear Adrienne was nowhere near coming to terms with the people she'd lost in her life, and nowhere near being comfortable around the people she'd taken to calling 'transplants'. "But, I mean, really, it's their world. We moved. Changed universes or... something. We're the ones that don't belong here." She sighed again. "At least you're... back. You are... back, right? Or is there a mead hall and a spit-roasting pig waiting for you in Asgard somewhere?" she smiled to try and lighten the mood, but it didn't reach her eyes.
Tandy felt a relief to know Julian survived. "I knew about Sue." She whispered. "I saw...her die." She took back her necklace and nestled next to the charms was the one that Sue always wore. "Sad about the others." She would have to have her own moment of silence now that she had names to those she grieved for.
"It might be weird to see a copy of them. And yes I am back. My services to Asgard was completed and I am no longer obligated to return back to Asgard. I mean I could but next time I'll take you with me."
Adrienne laughed again. It was a relief to her that Tandy had taken the news without crying or anything. She didn't seem to need much comfort right now. "I'd love to see some Norse gods since I'm sure they're all really hot, but I don't know if the whole 'aging four years in a couple months' thing is going to work for me, to be honest with you. I've already started dropping hints that if anyone acknowledges my fortieth birthday, I'll kill them. So, aging rapidly? Not really my thing." She paused as the orange cat bounded into the room and launched itself into Tandy's lap. "Looks like someone missed you," she muttered, almost sounding jealous.
"And we're not copies of anyone they lost," she added, circling back to the other topic that needed to be addressed. She kept her tone lighter than the stony frigidity she'd used when Tandy first came in the room, but she didn't exactly sound happy, either. "They didn't lose us. We just... replaced their versions. Their versions didn't die. They don't know anyone's different. The Jean that's here now isn't mourning for us the way Summers, Kane, Cecelia, me... everyone's mourning the Jean we lost. They just go around, living their lives all la-dee-dah with no idea how painful it is for us to have to be around them, using the same names and looking similar and all this shit. So no. I don't trust them. At all. But... they've all been pretty nice so far. For strangers," she admitted.
Tandy took off her sword and shield and leaned it against the wall before taking off the golden armor that was given to her by Baldr. She was soon just dressed in a shirt and pants made from leather and wool. "Oh better. Some of the gods are okay to look at, I will admit. But there are also other races. Goblins are no joke." She then took a seat on the couch as Sir Names-A-Lot came jumping up onto her lap. "Probably smells the dogs on me." She lifted the cat and rubbed her face into his body. "I missed him too."
"Wait, Doctor G died?" Tandy had to ask looking up at Adrienne. "I'll keep that in mind when I come across them. So no talking about them whatsoever right?"
"No talking about the versions we lost," Adrienne clarified as she poked at Tandy's armour with suspicious fingers. She didn't address Tandy's comment about Jean's death. It hurt too much to talk about it. "We can talk about the new ones all we want, anywhere we want." She gave Tandy a malicious grin as she said it, as indication that she'd been doing exactly that.
Still exploring the new clothing, she picked up the sword and unsheathed it. "Badass." The brunette smiled again, but it was her usual smile this time, not the malicious one. "This'll work well the next time we go to Barney's for a sale. Which... we may have to do really soon," she admitted sheepishly. "There's not a lot of your stuff left." Unable to sit still any longer, she went into Kane's bedroom and came out with an armful of her own clothing. "You can wear these for now. Your uncle and I gave most of your stuff to his charity when we thought you... were gone. I kept some stuff I really liked," she assured Tandy quickly, dumping the clothes onto the couch next to her (former, if she was really twenty-three now) ward and beginning to sort through them. She'd gathered up a pair of jeans, a pair of sweats, a tank top, a t-shirt, her Yale hoodie, and the pair of baseball-player pyjamas Emma had given her two Christmases ago, along with a new package of socks and underwear she'd bought in Paris during her trip with Kane but then forgot about and never opened.
"I kept your favourite hoodie," she continued cheerfully. "That blue sundress I really liked you in. Your Star Wars Vans. The pyjamas with the sushi on them. They're at my penthouse. I keep your stuff there, even though Kane and I moved in here together a few weeks ago. Oh! And your Monty Python Killer Rabbit slippers."
Tandy nodded at Adrienne's assessment of her weaponry. "A bit yea. Took me ages to even lift it properly without my arms tiring. I think there is still blood from the ice giant still on it." She continued to pet the cat as Adrienne disappeared back into the room and came back out with clothing. "Oh my goodness..." She moved the cat and stood up to look at the clothing. "It is fine." She said when mention of some of her clothing was already donated. It wasn't like she couldn't get more.
"Real clothing. Mind if I take a quick shower?"
"Not if you don't mind if I sit outside the door and ask you questions the entire time," Adrienne grinned.
"I can handle that." Tandy picked up the jeans and the tank top. "Is this weird that I am actually looking forward to a real shower?"
Adrienne shook her head. "Not at all. It would be weird if you weren't looking forward to a real shower and, like, wanted people do dump buckets of water over your head out on the grounds or something."
"Nah. I had enough of that kind of showering to last a life time." She paused for a moment and looked at Adrienne. "Does everyone still think I am 18? Shit - I didn't think about paper work." Rubbing her head.
"Uhh, no, sweetie. No one thinks you're eighteen. Everyone thinks you're dead," Adrienne reminded her gently. "You apparently went missing on New Year's Eve, and were presumed dead. Now that you're not, I'm guessing your age is kinda superfluous. Doug can tweak your documents. Besides. Most of the people around here have no knowledge of you, or any of us. Kind of a clean slate for us all. You could even be whoever you wanna be, if you wanna be someone new. I've been telling people I own a camel farm in Egypt."
"So, everything I had before is sold or given to my next of kin? Or who I named my beneficiary? There is no Tandy Bowen of this world?" How was she going to fit in?
"It's cool," Adrienne assured her, touching her shoulder sympathetically. "We'll figure it all out. Doug can make Tandy Bowen get older in the record banks of the world again, and then you resurface and go from 'missing and presumed dead' to 'alive'.
"And yeah," she continued. "I did what you asked in... in your will. The will hasn't been read officially or anything," she explained, because explaining business-y things was what she did, "but I... found it. So I did... most of what you asked. Well, the merger of with Meridian hasn't been finalized yet but the wheels are in motion. Like I said before, most of your stuff was given to your uncle's charity. But the castle's in my name now, so I can transfer that back to you. Along with the rest of your accounts. Even though being... twenty-two- oh wow you can live the Taylor Swift song now-" she segued unintentionally, "you could still be my ward... like, my heir, or whatever. I mean, if you wanted. Since I'm not ever going to have kids of my own, I mean. If you wanted," she repeated.
Tandy smirked at Adrienne, "Good. I am sorry that I made you worry. If I could I would had send a message - kind of hard when you are in a different place and time. And I would be honored to be your ward, your heir or whatever. Besides, how many people can say that their ward has been trained in the art of swordplay?"
"Historically?" Adrienne grinned, "probably lots. But recently? I'm probably pretty special in that way." She pulled Tandy in for another hug, held her for a moment, savoured said moment, and then let her go. "And hey, I've been working on my archery. Maybe we could joining a LARPing group together. That's what it's called, right? LARPing?"
Tandy closed her eyes as her head laid on Adrienne's shoulder as she was pulled into a new hug. "We could go LARPing, I kind of lived it for four years. Nothing says 'I am a real Dungeoner than going up against a bunch of Goblins. And their speech language is way hard. I am pretty sure that we would kick their ass."
"We kick everyone's ass," Adrienne responded proudly. "And how is it you know Goblin language?" she asked curiously. She had seen Tandy learn it, and many other languages, in her Reading, but wanted to hear Tandy talk about it, and everything else, in her own words.
"Balder taught me. Along with other ones. He is more of the diplomatic type - rather talk things over than fight. But when you get him to fight - boy does he fight." Tandy walked towards the bathroom. "I still have the scar from the one incident when we were ambushed by goblins. I have stories to tell you that will last years."
Adrienne followed her towards the bathroom and, as promised, sat in the hallway next to the door. "As long as you stick around for years to tell them, I'm cool with that," she responded, breath hitching once again at the overwhelming emotions she felt over Tandy being back.
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