Outside MHA #4; Late Thursday Night [11/18].

[somethingwithturquoise]

Well. So. That was...a whole thing.

Honestly, Summer was kind of disappointed. That didn't take nearly as long or as much effort as she thought it was going to, and while there was a certain cleverness to what ultimately brought down the New and So-Called "IMPROVED" Galactic Federation, it was all kind of an anticlimax, and then....that was it. Sure, once again, the planets under Federation control were being thrown into utter chaos, but that she was a little more willing to leave to her mom and her crew because she was honestly just a little bit over it and kind of just wanted to get back home again. She missed people. She missed Fandom. And, obviously, she was totally on call if anything started up again, which she was sure it was going to, but for now?

Home sweet home, baybeeeee!

She parked her spaceship in the junkyard, feeling glad her spot was still there but a little disappointed not to see any ships she didn't recognize, grabbed her bags, and headed back to MHA under the cover of darkness, Pancakes prancing along next to her. And it felt good to get back, with a little wistful grin at Caritas as she passed it by before slipping into MHA and heading on upstairs, down the hallway, to her apartment, slipping her key out of her pocket and ready to just get back in and revel in being home.

...only to have the key not fit into the lock.

"What the hell?" she murmured, frowning down at it as she tried again, and jiggled the handled. Pulled. To no avail.

"What the fuck?" she gave it another tug, another attempt to unlock it. "Did someone change the locks?"

Someone defintiely changed the locks.

"Great," she murmured. "Just fucking great. I swear to god, Jon, you asshole, if you rented my apartment out...I paid you six months rent in advance! In cold hard cash! So help me..."

She was already on her knees in front of the door, shaking her head as she dropped her bag and started digging around for some hairpins. "If I have to break into my own damn apartment, because someone fucking sublet it out, despite the rent being paid in full for six fucking months, I am going to choke a bitch. I will." Pancakes let out a protesting meow. "I'll fucking do it, just you wait.

"Wait," she then realized, blinking, pausing in her attempts to pick the lock and pulling out her phone. "Have I been gone for more than six months--no. Nope. Definitely not, okay, good, because I was going to be fucking pissed if I was gone for...I mean, I still am pissed," she resolutely returned to her work, "but not about that. At least I didn't just lose half a year, even if I guess I lost my apartment!"

Pancakes let out another meow, this one more impatient and upset, and Summer cooed at her with a small apologetic smile.

"Ohhhh, I know, baby," she said. "I wanna get home, too, but Mama's just got to break into her own damn apartment, apparently just reaaal fast and we'll be golden, okay?"

And as she got back to work, she shook her head. "I swear to god," she said again, "he better not have fucking rented out my apartment to someone else, or else this is about to get real fucking awkward!"

She was just glad that, with all her experience breaking into Rick's lab (and, hey, she even broke into Rosa's place that one time, too, and that was Rosa!), a lock like this should be easy-peasy.

And if not? Well, fuck, then, she could just portal in, dammit.

[[ OH HEY GUESS WHO DECIDED SHE WANTED TO COME BACK BECAUSE SOMEONE HAS BEEN TOO BUSY TO WRITE HER SOME CRAZY SPACE ADVENTURES and is insisting that, okay, other characters got to have their time to shine a little, we're OVER it. I was going to do this over the weekend, but, well, this happened and I couldn't refuse? Like, how could I not do this??? Anyway, oh, hey, yeah, the post is totally open ]]

Comments

[mother_love]

"Right" Billy said simply, still considering her for a moment.

"Well, Jon said he sent notices and the new keys are in the mail boxes downstairs. I guess..." Well yeah this was gonna be an obvious statement but he was already into it... "I guess you have been out of town for a bit?"

Seemed logical. Wasn't like there was a lot of insanity and oddness to explain absences. This place wasn't as strange and weird as some people were making out. Right?

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Well, yeah," said Summer. Logical, obvious, either way, it necessitated a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head. "I've been off in space taking down an evil galactic empire."

Like, geez, Newb, duh. Obviously.

"I literally just got back, like, ten minutes ago."

She gestured to the bags gathered in front of the door for proof.

[mother_love]

"Riiiiight. Space. As in outer space, space?"

Yeah judge the newbie Summer, go ahead. Couldn't you remember what it was like to be the confused and bewildered newbie?

Billy considered her a moment and then gave a slight sigh and shook his head. So much for nothing overly weird or strange....

"Right, of course you have...." Billy really was going to need that cigarette break tonight.

[somethingwithturquoise]

No, actually, she kind of couldn't.

But that was neither here nor there.

Judging the newbie was a time-honored tradition that Summer Smith celebrated with pride, dammit!

...they were just so cute when they were all green and squishy and clueless.

"Dude," she said, grinning at that sigh in particular. "My engine's still probably warm, I could give you a ride right now if you don't believe me."

Not dirty.

She had a boyfriend.

Well...

...maybe a little dirty. Look, space was super horny, the last few months had been rough, okay? She was allowed.

[mother_love]

"No, no... it's ok. I believe you," Billy said, holding a hand up in surrender.

Wasn't like it was his responsibility, and if she really didn't live next door, someone else could deal with it. Wasn't anything he was going to get overly involved in. But still... if she was actually his neighbor, it would probably be a good idea to stay on friendly terms and all.... seeing as he was the new guy.

"I'm Billy, by the way," he said, giving her a slight smile.

[somethingwithturquoise]

Damn. Summer really did love taking newbs up in her spaceship, too, but whatever, man! Your loss, clearly.

She gave a slight smile back despite the disappointment. "Summer," she offered back, then tilted her head toward the cracked-open door. "The cat you saw rushing in was Pancakes. So...." Now that the threat of potentially having the cops called on her seemed to have passed, she gave her new neighbor a thoughtful and appreciative once-over. "Just how new are you, anyway?"

Did he also just get here literally ten minutes ago? Because with that response to the whole space bit, she'd believe it!

[mother_love]

Always another time Summer, there was always another time....

"Been here about a month... something like that" Billy said with a non-committal hand wave. "Granted the first half of that was spent just trying to leave the island so... about 2 weeks of being semi settled in?"

He gave a general wave down the hall. "Met a few others here and there. But pretty sure I still count as fresh meat around here in any case."

Slight pause.

"Not from anywhere as exciting as space or anything, ended up here trying to get from Cancun so... yeah... ended up a little bit off course" he added with a chuckle.

[somethingwithturquoise]

Not unless you were Lucille and Tisarwat, anyway. She still owed them a double-date to the moon, but, hey! At least she hadn't forgotten!

"Oooooh," said Summer, looking impressed. "Cancun! Jealous. I can see why you would have wanted to get the hell out of here if that was the case."

Then there was a pause, a considering one, because she knew this could be kind of plot-breaky, and also Fandom liked to mess with it, anyway, if it felt so inclided, and there was a good chance he was still green enough to not really believe her, but she'd feel bad if she didn't at least offer....

"I take it you're stuck, then? You know....I got a portal gun. I can't guarantee it'll work, because it's not immune to Fandom blockages, because, trust me, I've learned the hard way that if Fandom wants you here, it's gonna keep you here until you wear her down into submission, but...if you wanna try to get somewhere, all it takes is maybe a little..."

She held up a finger like a gun and shot it at the floor, "Pew!"

[mother_love]

"Hey at this point, I'd be willing to try my luck at anything. But I think the island (man it still sounded insane talking about it this way) has it firmly decided I am here for the foreseeable future. Seems it even dropped a business opportunity into my lap so..." Billy gave a bit of a shrug.

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Okay," said Summer, who barely even got back and was already latching onto opportunity like it was her single tether to Earth's gravity or something, her hand held up as she considered, "first off, have you tried going through Portalocity? They can be real bitches about it sometimes, but you'd be shocked how many newbies who get stuff didn't even know about it, and obviously, I don't know who you've got an in with yet, so it doesn't hurt to ask. And secondly....what business?"

Those two thoughts were not related in the slightest, no, but the way her brain worked, they didn't have to be.

[mother_love]

"Yeah I've had the "joy" of encounters the gnomes" Billy said with a groan. "I handwavely tried to get theme to conjure something up. No go. They acted like they had never heard of Cancun, or Mexico for that matter" he said shaking his head.

"A day or two later I got a letter congratulating me on my shop. Sent me the keys and everything. So, I think I may be here for a while regardless." Billy fell silent for a moment and then remembered Summer's other question. "Oh, evidently I now own the surf shop in town... I think the island is messing with me. Giving me a surf shop at the start of winter!"

[somethingwithturquoise]

Summer snorted, because Billy had pretty much took the words right out of her mouth with that one, and, she was going to blame this one being in space for a few months, so, clearly, she should be forgiven for it, she added, "Well, at least there's a little Summer here still."

Because, hi, she didn't get nearly enough chances to make terrible puns with her name, this was a woman who might, in this dimension or possibly another, give her own daughter the most absurd pun name ever, so she she was going to take it and run with it, dammit.

"But I know I can get to Cancun," she said. "It might not be exactly your Cancun, and it might not let me take you with me, but, uh, excuse you, I will portal to Cancun for far less than just trying to get someone back home, like...maybe not right now because I just got back from space, but, seriously, dude, when I'm settled in a again, yeah, we should totally try it."

[mother_love]

"Will definitely take you up on it sometime" Billy said with a nod and then tilted his head a little towards Summer. "And it's not like I don't know where to find you now" he said with a quick wink. "Can always track you down if you try to ditch on me."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"He says," said Summer with a wry smirk, "to the woman with a spaceship and a portal gun."

[mother_love]

"Got me there!" Billy conceded with a smirk and a finger gun shoot in Summer's direction. "I am sure we run into each other here and there" he added with a grin. "And welcome back."

[somethingwithturquoise]

"Thanks," Summer sort of preened a little as if coming back was some great feat to be proud of, which, well...it usually kind of was. "Good to meet you, Billy. I have a feeling we're going to get along much better than the last person who lived in your apartment."

NOT A HIGH BAR.