Welcome To The Year 2010

Participants:

kaylee2_icon.gif valerie_icon.gif

Scene Title Welcome To The Year 2010
Synopsis Usually you welcome in a year in January. When time travel's involved, sometimes it happens in the middle of October. Kaylee returns "home" with Valerie following her trip back in time.
Date October 14, 2010

Grand Central Terminal


When the darkness of Grand Central surrounds them, Kaylee's knees give out in relief and she drops heavily to sit on the ground, feet tucked under her. "Oh thank you Hiro!" She says loudly as if she were saying that to God instead. She's just that thankful.

It really dawns on her then, "We made it…" Kaylee almost feels faint from another wave of relief. It has her digging out her cellphone, thought she doesn't use it yet. As strong as the urge is to call Joseph and tell him she's alive, it's only clutched in her hands, as she shuffles over closer to Valerie. "You okay?" She asks, eyes checking her kid sister over for injuries.

"That, my dear sister, was Hiro Nakamura. He's a time traveler. He is why I was there and why we are here now. He just saved our lives." Taking a look around her finally, Kaylee realizes when they are. Spotting the colorful mural of fish.

"Welcome to the year 2010, Valerie."

"I— I thought we were just outrunning an explosion?" Valerie speaks in a pained voice, as she looks down at the old dust and then up at the fish mural. That wasn't there before— she's fairly sure. The debris that had been falling all around them, the bigger pieces have been worked around, or moved, making it look very different from the crumbling scary underground that they'd been in. There's no sign of any of the people that had been killed, or the trains that had crashed.

"I— you took me to the future? Where's dad?" she asks, still sitting on the floor. "What happened? Why does it look like this?" There may be a kind of happiness here and there, but it isn't something that she's used to. "I need to go back home. I need to tell dad I'm okay. He thinks you didn't show up— I wasn't where I was supposed to be!" She followed the instructions, but apparently she didn't understand what they would mean.

"I guess we failed and Hiro saved us." Kaylee explains straightening to her full height and offering a hand down to the smallest Ray. "And it looks this way, because this is four years after a man named Sylar blew up like an atom bomb in the middle of Midtown. Killing countless people. you were almost one of them"

The telepath can't help but feel sorry for Valerie, this was going to be a huge shock to the system. "I believe you were there for a reason, if you knew our dad — " and there is a hint of jealousy there " — then you know he doesn't do things without a reason. He knows your okay, and knew you would be there. I —" Kaylee glances away with a pained look.

"But we can't go back without risking time again. It could change now." It's explained softly, gaze reluctantly returning to her sister. "I'm sorry."

The poor girl's thoughts seem to repeat what she's hearing over again in her head, as if she doesn't quite grasp what's going on with it. Someone blew up. Her sister spoke freely about her ability…

"I don't really know him that well," Valerie says quietly, a little bit of a lie on he tongue. The thoughts reflect the lie back, but it doesn't seem as if she's doing it on purpose, so much as trying to protect her emotional state. "I wasn't supposed to be in the subway station, I was supposed to be near your campus— I was supposed to meet you there. I didn't quite follow his instructions…" But from the sound of her thoughts, she didn't understand the importance of meeting her where she was supposed to.

"Someone blew up in Midtown— and you're a telepath, you know a time traveler…" Special abilities doesn't surprise her— she must know what their dad can do. But the amount of special abilities does seem to. "I didn't think it was very common."

"The evolved are plentiful in this day and age." Kaylee explains, gently, phone still clutched in her hands. "After Sylar exploded, specials were exposed to the world. It's — it's not a happy fun place." A humorless tug of her lips in one corner, seems rueful at best, as she admits the state of affairs.

"Grand Central is a safe house. Evolved hide here from the government, i am a part of a huge network that protects people like me… not unlike the under ground railroad." A hand lifts to forestall questions, obviously the eldest sister isn't done. "While we are known, we are looked at in fear. Forced to register like sex offenders and carry cards that start what we are and how dangerous." Kaylee watches Valerie's face and monitors her thoughts. "It's a very different and somewhat scary place, but a lot of people are like us. So we don't suffer this alone

"My best friends, my boyfriend… I am surrounded by people with abilities." Kaylee smiles gently. "So… here and now, it's fairly common."

The thoughts don't have to show how she feels about that. Valerie's face does. Her nose wrinkles up like she's in pain, or smelling something bad, and her forehead creases. Those dimples on her cheeks show up in many expressions, and they're not pleased in this one. It's pretty obvious that she finds the very idea horrible, even without being a telepath.

Disgusted at the treatment of people like them in this day and age, horrified at the government taking notes from the worst times in history— And maybe also a little bothered by it being so common place. She'd always thought it was so unique.

"I'm not sure I'm going to like it here," she adds outloud, as her thoughts suddenly drift into worry. What about my condition? How am I going to see a doctor and get medicine if they'll lock me up…

But a second later, her thought hits a road block. Dad.

"Where's dad?"

"That's — " Kaylee starts and then stops, pain on her own features. "It's complicated." She decides is the best way to explain it. "He's in a coma," comes shortly after, followed with a reluctant, "in the hands of the government… or a group affiliated with it.

"That's all I know really, I've never met him except in dreams, or other peoples memories." There is a soft sigh, "That here nor there… right now what matters is you're alive." Kaylee's lips press together briefly in thought, "We'll figure what to do about your condition. There are some medical people within the group, maybe at least get your medication." A concenred look is given to her sister then, before she continues, "I can ask Joseph, as one of the group's leaders, he might be able to point us in the right direction."

Finally, Kaylee looks at the phone in her hand. "Speaking of… I should call and tell him I'm back. He's got to be worried sick." She gives Valerie a soft smile, "Pretty sure, he'll be happy to meet you."

"He's in a coma?" Valerie repeats outloud as she starts to stand, as if she might want to try to get to him. In the hands of the government. A government that makes people carry cards and register like sex offenders— ew. I could go see him if he wasn't in a coma…

The worry is there, bright, but she pays attention to the rest. A boyfriend, the phone in her hand. Four years changed cellphones quite a bit, so she can't help but stare at it in surprise, before she looks up. "Sure, I'd like to meet him. He's a leader? Are you one too?" she adds after a moment. It seems her sister must be. She knows time travelers!

As she looks down at the cellphone, the fancy four years into the future cellphone, she recalls something. "Do you think I could have my charm back? I mean, I guess it's all broken and stuff, but…"

"Me a leader?" The concept amuses Kaylee way too much, "I am no role model that's for sure. I made a lot of bad choices in my life. That… however is a tale for another time." The request for he charm, however, is meet with a short nod and the retrieval of it.

The sad broken thing, swings from between her ling fingers and is offered over to Valerie, as Kaylee says softly, "It sure served it's purpose, but I agree, it belongs with it's owner." She gives the smaller woman a sheepish smile, "I've carried it since I found it."

"Don't worry about dad — or attempt to find him, just yet. I mean — we can worry, but just know there are plenty of people that plan to get him back." It's hard to explain all of it, the life she leads is such a tangled web. "I know some one else that we'll go talk to once, your settled." Richard might get a bit of a kick meeting the youngest Ray kid.

Her thumb slides over the screen of the iphone, and she starts to search for the familiar number for one Joseph Sumter.

"Dad gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday," Valerie says, holding it in her hand once she has it back, looking from it to the fancy phone that moves with a touch. It distracts her from her thoughts, as she looks down and realizes how much she's left behind. Her purse, her cellphone, all her tutors— everything is four years ago…

But now she has something she'd never really had before…

The charm is tucked away into the pocket of her dusty jeans. "I was born on St. Patrick's Day, so clovers are easy to find around my birthday— he probably just grabbed the first thing he could find," she says, something in her voice seems to be dismissing it. But at the same time, it meant more to her than her attempt to dismiss it might show.

"Do you think your friends will like me?" One thing never changes, even in girls with abnormal upbringings. Everyone wants to be liked.

Looking up from her phone, Kaylee gives her sister a bright smile — something that over time she'll learn is easy for the taller girl — and comments, "If they don't, I'll be surprised. Of course, with every group, there are the ones that won't like you… I've got plenty of those."

She gives Valerie a wink, before she pushes the call button and tucks the phone to her ear. Teeth catch at Kaylee's bottom lip as she waits with gitty excitement as the phone buzzed. There is a slightly downcast look when the voice mail picks up, "Maybe he's away from the phone." She murmurs waiting for the beep.

"Joseph!" Kaylee quips happily, eyes closing as she concentrates on what she says. "I'm okay! I'm alive, we're both alive" The words tumble out in a hurry, "We're okay, at Grand Central.' Eyes slide open again and there is a shine to Kaylee's eyes, emotions coloring her words, "I got my sister out, she's okay. Hiro and I did it. She's okay and here with me. I — I want you to meet her." She wipes at the inner corner of her eye, trying to keep the tears from falling. "Gonna stay here with her for a bit to let her rest, then I'll bring her home. I just… I just didn't want you to worry." There is a pause, before she adds,

"I —" What she wants to say fails her, instead she manages a "I'll see you soon."

Kaylee gives a little sniff as she ends the call. "Come on, let go into the main room, there are couches and some cots for you to rest on and probably some food, nothing fancy tho."

"Did you think you wouldn't be okay?" Valerie asks, seeming surprised at the show of emotion, the tears. "And you still came back to meet me?" That's the surprising part, it would seem. Someone she'd never met, risking injury, death, or getting trapped in a collapsing subway terminal, still taking the chance, despite all odds.

While she moves beside her sister, even leaning against her a bit, she rubs her hands over her own dirty face— not because of tears. She has plenty of reasons to cry, but no tears are falling. Instead, she says something pointed, and even serious, "For someone who claimed she's not a good role model, you're certainly better than most."


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