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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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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.

[Tori's eyes almost seem to twinkle when Lex says that. It's a childish sort of enthusiasm that is a rare feeling for her these days, but right now she can't help herself.]

You really think so? That's why I like it, too. It's just so adorable, which is why I thought it would fit so well for such a cute cat! [Beams.] It's strange how well those kind of names work for cats, but it's a good kind of strange, you know? Haha...!

[If Lex does not stop her, she will just keep gushing about the cute factor. Or just how cute the kittens are period. Tori adores cute.]

[By all means, Tori, keep gushing. It's a very good distraction from the surrealism of the situation and all the anxiety that's trying to build up inside of him. There's occasional flashes of vampires and animatronics and death, and while he's experienced plenty of nightmare fuel in his life even outside of nexuses, he'd very much like it to stop.]

So... You like cats?

Yeah. You could say I like a lot of animals, actually. I've always wanted way more pets than I was allowed as a child, and I imagined that when I had a family of my own, I'd also have a couple cats and a dog, maybe more than that if we could take care of them...

[Her expression loses some of her enthusiasm then.]

I gave up on all of that being a possibility when everything happened, though.

[Ah... That's sort of sad. Lex never had dreams like that when he was young. He hadn't cared about first world luxuries like that. Even now, the notion of a 'family of his own' seems foreign. Even so...]

I don't think it's too late. I never used to have anything or anyone, but now... Now I have someone waiting for me, back home. Along with five cats. [Just... let that sink in for a second, Tori. He has five cats.]

F-Five cats?! Wow, and you're asking me if I like cats...

[She laughs softly.]

But thanks. Honestly, the fact that you have a home again gives me at least a little hope. Still, even if I manage to be able to handle some pets, I wonder if I could really subject a child to how [what] I am now, you know?

[Ah yes. He knows that feel. He doesn't entertain it often, mostly because he doesn't like children in general, but... On rare occasions, when he really has nothing better to do, he mulls over the 'what could've been's.]

If you're uncertain, then I should hope no one would force you into that position. One doesn't need children in order to have a family, I think.

I guess not... but I've always really wanted them. Even when I was a kid, I wanted to be a mother when I was an adult. I just... didn't expect to become like this. But I guess you're right--you don't need children to have a family. My sisters are my family. The people I've adopted as family are my family, too. [The Riddler will always be her family, especially.] Kids would just be nice...

[She sighs, looking upward.]

...but my complicated situation elsewhere probably wouldn't be good for a kid, either. [Come on, Lex. You want a distraction? Ask her what she means by that. It'll be fun.]

[He wouldn't want a distraction at the cost of someone else's state of mind, but... Honestly, he isn't thinking that far ahead right now.]

Complicated?

My love life is less than simple. A close friend of mine jokes about me having a "harem," even. [She blushes, her glance moving downward again. Not to his face, but to the floor.] I used to be thrown into games of life and death all the time. Those games made me grow bonds with people, and sometimes those bonds were less than platonic. I love them, I really do. But... I think only one of them would really be a suitable parent out of all of us.

[A small breath of laughter.]

I guess I really never got into that discussion with you when you were Bobby, did I? Probably for the best, heh. Even I indulged in making my childhood dreams a reality... well, it wouldn't be a good idea unless all of them, and myself, were a bit more stable, would it? As it stands, one of them can't even stand the other two. He can stand barely anyone, for that matter. [Little does she know about the alternate universe kid running around the town still. And the father is said person who can't stand most people. Wow.]

Edited 2015-07-12 12:10 (UTC)

[.....Well okay then. The first thing to really come to his mind is 'first world problems', but then he instantly reprimands himself for it. Even with all his experience being other people, there's no way he could place himself in a teenage girl's shoes. Especially not anymore. Isn't it a good thing that what worries someone like her is having too many people who care for her in that way?

Even so, there's just a little bit of remaining spite. The only people left who care about him at all are Benny and Bobby. He often gets the feeling that people like Simon, Lang and even his uncle only tolerate him out of obligation. Calisto's no longer in town, either.]

... I see. Regardless of the amount of suitors, having children in a 'game of life and death' would be foolish. [He's been to those games as Bobby, he knows how brutal it can get.]

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