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ch: trustinjust

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[A certain someone is back in Wankerville. Not that he knows he's 'back' just yet. Much has happened since the last time he was here, if one could even say he was here at all. He was a different person then. He's a different person now. About a year and a half have passed, but it feels like a lifetime. He's Lex Luster Jr., though he no longer has a passport to prove it. The only identity he legally has is Sam-Sara Bardo's, because Interpol takes the protection program very seriously and so should he. Not that he's wearing Sam-Sara's mask or even his clothing. His appearance, from the thick woolen sweater with long sleeves to his favorite scarf, is very much Lex.

The memories from before are so vague that they don't reach him through the initial panic.

The first thought that strikes him is that he's not supposed to be here. Not out in the open. Not like this. He doesn't have anything to cover his face- what if someone recognizes him- what if they think he broke his house arrest agreement again? He didn't mean to! He doesn't know why he's here at all, or how. What if this was the last straw? What if they decide to overturn the penal committee's suggestion for real this time? What if they lock him away for good, or finally subject him to that long overdue execution? That's so unfair! He didn't choose to leave the house! He didn't choose to leave Benny-

-Benny. Shit shit shit. Is he okay? Does he know what happened? Did someone attack him in order to move Lex from the house? Why go through so much trouble and then leave him in some abandoned village in the first place? Is he even near L.A. anymore? What is going on?-

His immediate reaction to the reeling train of thought that he can't control or make sense of is to hide. To find somewhere safe and regain his composure there. Phantom or no Phantom, hiding is his first answer to everything. Hiding is that one instinct he's had since childhood that never left- not once. Hide and then wait to be found by someone trustworthy, no matter how long it takes. No matter how agonizing it is to feel alone and abandoned.

Once he can actually get his feet to move, he sprints towards the nearest house to yank the door open. Somehow, the fact that it's unlocked doesn't strike him as odd at all. It seems almost natural for it to be open to anyone. He darts inside and slams the door shut behind himself again, then allows his knees to buckle. He hits the ground with a thud. After all the training Benny's been putting him through, he'd been doing so well with controlling his emotional instability. He'd made such great progress. With the way he's hyperventilating into his hands, all that progress sure feels insignificant.]

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Friends... You really think that's what it was?

[The memories are still a bit of a blur, but one thing's for certain: the Phantom had no friends, nor did 'Bobby Fulbright'. Bobby could claim to be someone's friend- could claim to care about them and act accordingly, but is that really worth something without genuine trust?]

Um... yeah? Of course I do! Sure, you had secrets... and probably an issue or two [because people wearing different faces isn't exactly normal] but we were partners when we needed to work together, and I've valued you as a friend for a while!

[Then again, she's not without her issues either. After all, she's been desperately clinging to people while at the same time trying to keep them away, all because she's afraid of what she might do if she loses control. A potential omnicidal maniac isn't good company, but at the same time she hates being alone...]

[He ends up laughing into his hands. A brief stream of hoarse, bitter chuckling. The way she said that, it was like listening to the real Bobby Fulbright. Working together for a common goal and being friends isn't the same thing, but it's hard to tell the difference for some people, isn't it?]

I don't know... if I should feel gratitude or guilt. [Apparently he's feeling neither of those things and instead settled on bitter amusement. Emotions suck, sometimes.]

Why's that? [Hands on hips.] You know, I'd settle for you just feeling better. Or we could always talk about it...

It's a long story.

[He rubs at his eyes one last time, then finally moves his hands away from his face. There's still a grimace tugging at his lips. It's not an actual smile, but at least it's conveying real emotions, making it a far cry from the deadpans that used to grace his face.]

And I think... that introductions are long overdue. My name is Alexander. ...Lex.

Lex, huh...?

[Fortunately, she (for once) has enough true smiles for both of them, her own deepening into a grin.]

Cute name.

[Wow that remark isn't making his grimace any more genuine. Lex is his name, yes, but he's still only Junior. Lex Sr. didn't think he was cute, nor was he cute himself.]

If you say so...

Of course I say so! [She laughs for a moment before her expression softens again.] ...it's nice to finally know your name.

[Haha... Hah... That sentiment is very familiar to him.]

It is, isn't it? Names are important, I think. [Identity is important.]

Yeah, really important. [Says the girl who took the last name of a super villain because he became more of a father to her than her biological one, but doesn't that just prove the point more in a way?] You didn't seem to think so when I saw you last, though. Must be part of that "long story" you mentioned, eh?

Yes, it is. I wouldn't even know where to begin telling it, to be honest. [So he's going to avoid doing so.

Besides, he's got other things on his mind. Now that the memories from before are finally trickling back in, he realizes that it wasn't just Tori who was here in Wankerville with him. He ran into a little girl at one point and then there was one more person. Someone he actively avoided because he didn't know that person and refused to show his real face. Only now does he realize what a big mistake that was. ...Or maybe it was for the best back then, because the Phantom wouldn't have thought highly of Ben Volent.

He draws a deep breath and swallows. Apprehension is rising, as he knows the question he's about to ask might not give him the answer he wants to hear.]

... When I was here before, there was someone else. Black hair, glasses, always dressed in a suit... Is he still around?

...huh? You mean Benny?

[She looks thoughtful for a moment.]

Yeah, I think he's still here. I mean, he was the last time I checked.

[The first thing to rush through him is relief, because thank god. Now he can spend all his time with Benny and not have to worry about being without his handler who actually knows what he's doing.

He's just about to get up from his chair when he realizes it might not be that easy. If he was here from an earlier point in time before, it might be the same for Benny. There was a point in time- almost a year, even- where Benny knew what he looked like and legitimately wanted him dead.

...Shit.]

...Good. That's... That's good. [He... thinks?]

I didn't know that you knew him that well! [Did they meet when Lex was disguising himself? When Benny said that "Bobby" was one of his clients, did he really mean Lex? There's a lot of questions that could be asked, here.] I mean, I knew you two were probably from the same world, but...

[There's a "probably" there because there's always that possibility of an alternate version of the same world, and she damn well knows that.]

I didn't know him that well before. A lot can happen in less than two years.

[And Benny wasn't even around for most of the first year. It's kind of sad how fast Lex's life was turned upside-down, and then upside-down yet again.]

...yeah. Don't I know it...

[Holding her arm and looking away, because it's only been a little over two years since the Riddler disappeared. A little over two years since she's had to start fighting the little voice that urges her to put everyone out of their misery.]

...but, heh. It sounds like you know him pretty well now.

Edited 2015-06-29 15:53 (UTC)

Yeah. Yeah, I do. [In several ways. Even the 'fourth heir' thing is something he's glad he found out about, in hindsight.]

The two of you friends, then? [That's a logical conclusion to come to, isn't it?]

Something like that. [Long story, long story.]

... Are you? [It wouldn't be surprising. Benny's the sort of person who can make friends with just about anybody.]

Eh? Well, I guess we are. We did some serious bonding over cats! [There are few things that are better to bond over than cute animals.] Oh, right! He took in some kittens a while back.

[Kittens. That's right, he was playing with kittens here, wasn't he? The Phantom hadn't cared one bit, but... hnnnghhhh Lex really wants to pet some kittens. ........Because it's therapeutic. Yes.]

Heh, is that so...? How are they doing? [Are they still tiny and fluffy or did he miss it?!]

I think they're doing all right! They should be way past the age where you can determine if they're boys or girls, too. I guess I should ask Benny if he took me up on using the name I thought up, haha...

[Because cookie-themed names are best names, what are you talking about...]

[Hnnnnghhhhh dammit now he really wants to go see the kittens.]

Oh? Which name would that be?

It's Nilla!

[Make fun of her, Lex. She dares you.]

[Why would he make fun of that? It's ten times more of a name than Shoe.]

... That's cute.

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