#tandydaggerbowen

I.

Alma checked for Tandy throughout the building and outside of it several times and sent a half dozen text messages before she decided to call for backup. She was caught between fear that Tandy was hurt (because she would never miss her recital intentionally), fear (because of course she’d be abandoned eventually), and anger. Part of her knew she was being unfair by directing that anger at Lorna, but she was resentful of the idea that Lorna might know where Tandy was when she didn’t.

[text → Lorna] Is Tandy with you??

Lorna was busy developing a strategy when she heard the faint buzz of her phone. She had half a mind to ignore and focus on the task at hand before ultimately giving up five minutes later and reaching for her phone. She saw it was a text from Alma and frowned, even more so at the subject matter. She didn't know where Tandy was, but didn't think that was anything of alarm, but apparently Alma did.

[text → Alma] No she isn't. Why?

Alma’s anger lessened, but her concern grew as she read Lorna’s reply.

[text → Lorna] Tandy didn’t come to my recital. They promised to.

When Lorna read that, she straightened up, knowing that things just got serious.

[text → Alma] You already tried contacting her, right? [text → Lorna] Of course I did. No reply. What do we do?

Lorna stayed silent for a bit before replying. She would have gotten up and went looking for Tandy, but Lorna knew better now. In the time she took thinking, she got another text. Thinking it was from Alma she saw it was from Tyrone. Oh no. Things just got more complicated.

[text → Alma] Tyrone just reached out to me. SHIELD's apprehended her.

II.

Lorna took a more subtle approach to her style when she decided to break Tandy out. Sure she could have gone all out, with her helmet and everything, but Alma's mind control could only cover so much and she doubted it would work very well to convince everyone Lorna belonged there as well. She hid her hair behind a beanie and chose casual, yet fitting clothes. She recommended Alma go in first, fit in, convince the right people she belonged there while Lorna snuck around the side, to enter an inconspicuous and less crowded area. She waited for Alma outside of a service exit, knowing Alma was more than capable of this. When the door open she hid until she saw it was Alma who opened it and then walked inside, but not before a glance around to make sure no one saw. “Okay, the security and systems room is on the lower level. It’s probably best we get there by the stairs since we’re more likely to see people in the elevators.” Once she was sure Alma understood, she started walking, having already felt the room and making the camera currently glitch as they walked by. She opened the door to the stairs, peeking her head in there before letting Alma go through. There was some people in the stairwell but they were a couple floors above, she could feel the vibrations of their feet move along the metal. “Alright, let’s move,” she said as she went down the stairs. “You head in there first, work your magic and then I’ll come in and we’ll find out where Tandy is located and disable her holding cell.”

Alma was grateful that Lorna had decided not to go full-Polaris with her outfit, because if she had, she might have started laughing and attracted attention. She was well aware that others found the Brotherhood leader frightening, but if a fearful thought ever crossed her mind, the image of Lorna magnetically stuck to Aunt Nadi in the grocery store quickly dispelled it. Alma was in a costume of sorts, but only because it was her pajamas, and leaving her dorm room at night in daytime clothing would have raised suspicions if she was seen. Thankfully, other students still paid her little mind except on the occasions they were whispering behind her back, and she hadn’t needed her powers until they began enacting their plan. Alma communicated mostly in nods and gestures to assure Lorna that they were on the same page, choosing to only use her voice to channel her powers. She spoke through the door, a simple “Hey, I need the door opened,” and a moment later it was being opened by a SHIELD agent who was ordered to take a nap before he could see her. The man hit the ground with a thud, and several more followed as the other agents collapsed. “Polaris,” she said softly, although what she heard was likely, ‘It’s clear. I know where she is; can you disable it?’

Once Alma gave her the okay to enter, Lorna came in, eyes moving to the agents dropped on the floor. Lorna was impressed, as always, with Alma. She moved to the controls, honestly not knowing what they all meant. “I should be able to,” her eyes caught the feed of Tandy in a cell and she sighed. “Okay, I think I can bring down this place’s guard for a while. Enough for us to get Tandy out, but once we get to Tandy we’ve got to get out fast because someone’s bound to notice something’s off.” With a few clicks of a button, it was done. “Let’s go,” she told Alma before heading out the stairs they came in and walking down another level to the holding cells. However, she was prepared to deal with a few guards patrolling the halls.

Tandy rested their head against the cold concrete wall. Their eyes were closed, and they let out a deep sigh. There was an ache growing in their head the longer they stayed in there, while attempting to come up with some sort of way out of this. Impulsive plans were Lorna's strong suits, not theirs. They didn't have any sort of magic trick to get themselves out of this. They'd want information on Lorna in exchange for letting them go, and they were not about to do that. Their eyes shot open, and body tensed up at the sudden idea that if they had Lorna, they were threatening her with locking up Tandy unless she gave herself up. "Fuck," they cursed quietly, about to tug at a strand of hair until they remembered their hands were cuffed behind their back. There had to be something else SHIELD wanted that Tandy could give. That would distract them from Lorna. Hell, they weren't even sure SHIELD had Lorna or that was just a bluff. They hoped it was a bluff. That's when they heard footsteps running down the hall, and they got up, heading to the bars of the cell. "Hello? Am I gonna get that phone call I'm entitled to now?"

Alma nodded in reply and took the lead down to the holding cells. “Tell me if you feel anyone---I can make them leave,” she whispered. Alma may have been willing to break someone out of SHIELD custody, but she still wanted to leave as little damage in her wake as possible. She could feel the strain from the level of control she was exerting over her powers as she sent the guards away or asleep, but felt confident she could keep it up long enough to get Tandy out. The sound of their voice made Alma breathe a sigh of relief. She ran to Tandy, the cape attached to her Batman pajamas billowing behind her, gave them a tight hug, then stepped back so Lorna could remove the handcuffs.

Tandy was confused as to what was going on, since she weren't getting much of a response. The gate suddenly opened up, and she stepped out cautiously, glancing behind herself. While her head was turned, she was caught off guard by the sound of footsteps again, then being tackled with a tight hug. Her body relaxed the moment she saw who it was. "Alma," she breathed out in relief. "What are you--" she cut herself off as she noticed Lorna behind her, eyes widening a bit. "Oh, thank god," she murmured next. "It's good to see both of you, even though, I certainly didn't expect ​you​ to come break me out with Lorna," she directed towards Alma. "Nice outfit, by the way."

Alma grinned, her nose scrunching up in the way that showed she was suppressing laughter. She gestured to Lorna then fingerspelled, "​B-A-D  I-N-F-L-U-E-N-C-E​." In the excitement of breaking in and finding Tandy, she'd almost forgotten about what she was wearing until it was pointed out. Alma stuck out her tongue in reply; the fatigue from using her powers was making it hard to formulate any words, nevertheless speak them aloud, but helping Tandy was worth it.

III.

Tandy shifted in the corner of the couch they found themselves sitting in within Nadia and Eva's home. Their fingers were curled around a strand of their hair, and their knee was bouncing without them even aware of it. They couldn't be blamed for being on edge, since learning what they had about their...activities. They had finally been forced to tell Tyrone what was going on, much to his disbelief. He did eventually believe that they weren't playing a complicated practical joke on him, and was ready to answer questions about themselves. Their first had been ​why​ they were possibly filming their father, and thankfully, their futureself hadn't kept the information from him. He hadn't known as much as they hoped, though, just that they were spying on their father for SHIELD for some reason after being apprehended one day. Apparently, they had informed him, but not gone into much detail besides the fact Alma and Lorna had been the ones to break them out of SHIELD. That was what had led them to Nadia's home, hoping for more information without needing to see Lorna, because of some other information they had learned. "Thank you, by the way, for letting me over," they called out to Nadia in the kitchen who was grabbing them tea. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Lorna It was about time to see Alma. The pictures made her wish she could remember all the moments they had shared. She was so proud of Alma, she couldn't even put it in words. It was weird seeing her all grown up, but it was just as weird seeing herself aged ten years older. Not that bad, she had to admit. She knew Alma was going to be with Nadia so she decided to stop by, not before telling some other members in the Brotherhood where she was going if they wanted to reach her. Then they told her something funny, about breaking Tandy out a second time. When asked to explain, they did and it made even less sense. What was Tandy doing being caught by SHIELD? It wasn’t something she wanted to focus on anyway. She was happy to pay Nadia and Alma a visit. She knocked on the door, a hat over her hair, she was beginning to realize why she had cut it shorter. Easier to hide all her green hair under a cap or beanie. Still, she had to be careful with her face as well, but she felt good that she was in the presence of Nadia. Safe, she might say.

“It’s no bother,” Nadia replied from the kitchen as she poured two glasses of lemonade, then added another on second thought. Alma would hear Tandy’s voice and be in the living room in no time. “I guess we usually have some kids around in the summers, but they’re all either taking classes or have been invited elsewhere. Eva’s teaching summer school during the week, but I’m not needed on a daily basis during the summer, so I’m glad you came by---any distraction from this absurdity is welcome.” As predicted, Nadia heard footsteps coming down the stairs in a rush, and as she returned to the living room with their drinks, she saw Alma bounce onto the couch next to Tandy and wrap her arms around her in a hug.

“Someone else?” Alma asked at the sound of the doorbell.

Nadia was beginning to adjust to the eery way she would hear one set of words, with echoes of others that Alma meant but didn’t say rippling around them, ringing like bells. (‘Are you expecting someone else? Who is it? Do you know who it is? I’ll get it; hang on---oh, is there extra sugar in my lemonade!?’) It was an entrancing sound, even without Alma using her full powers. “Uh, I wasn’t, I don’t know yet...no, there’s enough sugar in there already---I’m surprised your teeth haven’t rotted out, Bumblebee.”

Alma was too cheerful to fake a pout about the sugar; instead she laughed in reply as she went to the door. When she opened it, she clapped her hands in excitement. “Lorna!” (‘What brings you here? Want some lemonade? I’ll steal extra sugar for us. Tandy’s here!’)

"I can understand that, the need for a distraction," Tandy replied, hearing the footsteps coming down the stairs. She couldn't help her grin as she saw Alma, wrapping her arms back around her. "Good to see you, too," she told her. Her eyebrows raised as she heard her ask about someone else, catching the words her pseudo little sister didn't say. Who else would be here? She snorted at Nadia's talk of Alma's teeth rotting out from all the sugar, shaking her head in amusement at the faux pout she got in response of it. She ran her fingers through her hair as she went to get to get the door, still trying to figure out how she'd end up bring up the situation. That was when she heard Alma happily call out Lorna's name. Shit. She couldn't even hide or pretend not to be there because she heard Alma tell her she was there. As Lorna came into the room, she turned her head and gave a sheepish wave. "Hey," she mumbled out, glancing away quickly.

Lorna smiled at being greeted by Alma, but then snorted at what continued after that and then realized it was so weird hearing her voice like that and she looked confused for a moment there, but decided to shrug it off and not bring attention to it. That would be rude. “I came to see you, actually. And Nadia of course,” she motioned toward her, smiling in greeting. However, Tandy was not someone she was expecting and so she gave a small wave in her direction. “Hey,” she responded, slipping her hands into her pockets and turning back to the other girls. “Where’s this lemonade that needs sugar?” ​And does it have alcohol?​ She knew better than to ask that.

“Sorry,” Alma signed. It was easy to forget that ten years ago, Lorna had only heard her voice once. Whether they found it beautiful or eery, it took everyone some getting used to. “Really? I’m glad!” She exaggerated her facial expressions and mouthed the words to make it easier for Lorna to get the gist of what she was saying even if she didn’t recognize the signs. She looked between Lorna and Tandy, then pointed towards the kitchen to answer Lorna’s question about lemonade.

As Alma walked to the kitchen, Nadia saw her sign ‘awkward’ and chuckled. “Well it’s good to see you,” Nadia said, and got up to give Lorna a quick hug. “I’m guessing I’m missing something though…?” It was a strange role swap to see Alma more in-the-know than she was, and she couldn't help but give Alma a suspicious side-eye as she returned with more (undoubtedly oversweetened) lemonade.

Lorna hugged Nadia back and then pulled back as she gave her a strange look. “What, no, why do you say that?” She gave a soft chuckle and then reached for the lemonade. Should she act like everything was normal? Tandy didn't know did she? Things had been weird, but maybe it was just Lorna putting her own thoughts onto Tandy. “This is good,” she commented about the lemonade, trying to push all that awkwardness away. “So, Alma, you already know we've got some memory loss, but Nadia's showed me some pictures and you have to fill me in at least. What's our relationship like? Especially with the whole Brotherhood stuff.” She said before taking another sip of the lemonade.

Tandy knew their mind was wandering again because of Lorna's presence. The last time they had seen each other was awkward, to say the least. Was that because neither knew if the other had been sent forward with them? Or had the green haired woman's nervousness come from the fact they knew they were together in the future already? They snorted at Lorna's response to Nadia, somehow making it more obvious Dee was missing something. Getting up, they went over to grab their own lemonade, sipping at it and avoiding eye contact. "We should tell each other what we know or found out, too, get us all on the same page," they remarked, glancing up at the three. "We wouldn't anyone not telling each other anything, anyway," they added.

“Told you so!” Alma signed to Nadia, vindicated in her belief that lemonade could always use a little more sugar. She sucked her bottom lip while she tried to think of how best to explain it all, and gave Nadia a look that meant she would need to interpret for her. “It’s good, but complicated,” she signed. “Um, not long after the time you last remember, when it became clear the registration law would pass… I had been living with Aunt JuJu for a while, and things were stable, and I was finally growing, physically. I was ‘failure to thrive’ before that. Then my dad tried to take me back… without telling Jubilee, just took me in the middle of the night. He thought I might tell, so he kept me asleep, and I woke up in one of his hideouts, and he said it wasn’t safe for me to go back, and he took my iPad away so I couldn’t contact anyone, and I couldn’t listen to music or make it, so I didn’t cope well and he had to control me a lot. We think it was a combination of the stress and my recent growth spurt that activated my secondary mutation. Aunt JuJu got me back, but Aunt Nadia and Aunt Eva were fighting, and I was still scared, so I couldn’t get my powers under control. It got really bad, and Auntie Dee called you and asked if you knew anyone who might be able to help, since you were closer than the Institute, and if registration started being enforced, the Brotherhood wouldn’t turn me in. My new powers were more dangerous than the first, so it would have been bad if the government knew. She didn’t like the Brotherhood knowing but you guys were able to help me until my powers were a little less unstable, and Auntie Dee and Eva worked things out, and we moved to Connecticut where I wouldn’t have to register, and could get help at Xavier’s. You looked out for me whenever I was in New York, though. If you didn’t make me feel safe, I would have been too scared to start going back to New York to take precollege classes at Juilliard.” She looked at Lorna and Tandy, then laughed. “Also, you two dated. It was gross. And sometimes you broke up, and it was awkward. And sometimes you weren’t together but still were definitely having sex, and it was gross and awkward.”

Nadia’s voice was shaky as she interpreted what Alma said. She had been told most of the story, but it didn’t make it easier to hear. Having to say the last part aloud, though, made Nadia go from tears of sadness to tears of laughter. “Speaking of awkward!” she muttered when she finally caught her breath.

As Lorna listened to Alma’s story, she grew upset at what had happened. Registration had passed? It couldn't be. Inhaling deeply, she shook her head ready to speak on about what had happened to Alma but then---“Alright, alright! It wasn't that funny.” She did not want to bring attention to her and Tandy’s obviously private relationship issues and yet there it was all out in the open. “Clearly our future selves are a little ridiculous. I mean---Tandy and I are friends.” Removing her hat, she ran her hand through her hair before putting it back on, her cheeks a little pink from embarrassment. It was shame she didn't know she had. Wouldn't anyone be a little embarrassed at finding out you ended up in a relationship with your friend? “Really happy to hear how well you've done since then Alma. I don't know if I say it often now, but I'm really proud of you.” She also couldn't help but feel pride that she managed to make Alma feel safe enough to go to school. “I guess it works out that you were a little nosy.” She said with a smirk, looking over in Tandy’s direction before quickly turning back to Alma before she got a chance to notice. Apparently it was no secret. Literally everyone in the future knew that wasn't affected with memory loss. ​Jesus​.

While listening to Alma explain what she knew, Tandy felt her stomach drop at the fact her father had tried to take her from Jubilee. It made her even more sick to learn he had taken away any means she had to communicate. What a fucker he was. She was glad everything was alright now, then, and that they were somewhere where she didn't have to register. Her cheeks filled with heat at the last bit that was more personal than the others, and also confirmed what she had wanted to be wrong about. "It really isn't," she said weakly, rubbing her forehead. How did they end up together? She'd never thought of her like ​that​. Okay, there was attraction there because of the play flirting they did, but she never would have have guessed they got together. Well, they weren't together right then. Apparently they were on and off. It didn't make them feel any better. "That explains why Ty gave me a funny look when I said I saw Cess the other night," she mumbled. Her cheeks turned a bit red as she smirked over at her, running her fingers through her hair after. "It makes more sense now, too, why you broke me out of jail, apparently." She turned toward Alma. "I'm still not sure why you helped, though, cause I don't think I'd want you involved in that."

"Thanks. You don't say it very often, but you show it,” Alma signed. Even though leading the Brotherhood usually kept Lorna away from her performances, there was almost always a ‘break a leg’ text or a little something delivered to her to let her know Lorna remembered. As Tandy started talking about the things that made sense now, Alma’s eyes widened in horror.

“You what?! Alma!” Nadia shrieked. The young woman she saw in front of her wasn’t a child, but in Nadia’s mind, she was a little girl. “I would hope you wouldn’t want her involved in that! How long ago was this?!”

Lorna was far too grateful for the change of topic, but had to wince at Nadia's reaction. Understandable, but she hoped Tandy didn't get her in too much trouble. “Whoa, whoa, Alma's a big girl now,” Lorna tried to calm things down, stepping closer to them all now, not wanting things to turn into an argument, especially not because of something Alma does in the future, Lorna would have liked that reaction to what Alma’s father did, but that didn’t happen. “Besides it happened like,” she looked at Alma then at Tandy before giving a shrug, “I dunno, couple of years ago?” How was Alma now? How old was she then? Not exactly the time to be working those things out.

Tandy scrunched up their face when they realized not everyone was aware of what Lorna and Tandy had gotten Alma involved in. Their eyes swept over to Lorna as she tried to calm Nadia down, which didn't appear to be going well. "It only happened once," they weakly added, while meeting Lorna's gaze. "And we're all still alive, so, it couldn't have been ​that​ bad." Okay, that was probably a bad thing to say right then. "I'm not really sure why I was arrested, which is part of the reason I'm here. Ty only said he knew I was arrested because it happened mid phone call. Then he filled Lorna in, and next thing he knew, Lorna had gotten me back home." They decided not to add the part about how when he had come over the next morning that Lorna was still there.

“A big girl? Really, Lorna, that’s how you’re justifying it? She was a teenager. Just because we were both criminals at that age doesn’t mean it’s okay.” Nadia realized it didn’t make sense to yell at Lorna for something she did in the future, but the thought of Alma in danger, whether in 2016 or 2023, was upsetting. “I’m sorry,” she added briskly. “But I really don’t think you should try to justify your future self’s actions in this instance.” She was trying to control her emotions, but Nadia couldn’t prevent the glare at Tandy. “Being alive is a poor indicator of how bad something is. Alma’s lived through a lot of terrible things.”

Alma pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged her legs. “It wasn’t like that,” she mumbled almost silently. “I didn’t kill anyone, and nobody forced me do it. I wanted to help. I needed Tandy.” She still felt that she did, but she had no idea where her Tandy was, if she was switched and ten years in the past, or if she was gone forever. She wanted to believe it would all work out, but when had things ever gone smoothly before? “These versions of them haven’t done anything yet. They might never.” Freshly reminded that it wasn’t her Lorna and Tandy she was visiting with, she stopped speaking aloud and signed ‘sorry’ to Lorna.

Lorna wasn’t used to at being yelled at like this. Her father scolded her before, but he never yelled at her and she had seen her fault then. Here she didn’t and probably never would. That didn’t mean she didn’t felt bad for getting Nadia upset, though. “There’s no reason to argue over something that happened years ago. Who knows, maybe your future self would have understood. We’re all pretty different people now than we were then.”

Tandy glanced down somewhat shamefully as Nadia yelled. It was sorta a nice feeling, though, to have someone who was like a parental figure give her a harsh talking to. She felt like shit and guilty, but also cared about. Her chest ached when she heard Alma say she needed her. She looked towards her. "I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry I got you into this." She moved her eyes in Lorna's direction. "Obviously we've changed, we're dating. Or not dating. Apparently," she muttered, rubbing her hand over her face. "I--The only reason I found out about this is cause I guess soon after you guys broke me out I--began to do something. And I don't know why."

Alma looked at Tandy and smiled halfheartedly, reaching for her hand to squeeze. She wanted to reassure her that it wasn't her fault, but the tension in the air caused her to struggle for words to sign. If she vocalized, she knew she could get her point across, but she feared her powers would only make everyone more agitated. As her fears played in her mind, her face began to tingle, and she felt herself starting to slip away. It felt nice and warm...there was a gentle breeze, and she would have opened her eyes to see what the pocket dimension she was falling into looked like, had she not suddenly remembered that it was a distressing sight to those in her dimension, and focused on reining in her powers.

Nadia looked at her niece nervously, whose eyelids had begun to flutter, and was no longer responding to her surroundings. A moment after Nadia rushed over, though, Alma started to look around and reached a shaking hand towards her lemonade. Any intent to argue disappeared. Of course Alma would insist on helping Lorna get Tandy out of prison; they had come to her aid when Alma's powers and her life were out of control, when the few seconds of terror Nadia just experienced from watching Alma's control slip lasted days on end. Nadia realized that in Alma's position, she would have done the same thing.

Although Nadia was still fixated on making sure Alma was alright, Alma was working to be engaged with the present. She pointed to Tandy and raised her eyebrows to ask what it was she had started to do after being broken out.

Lorna frowned when Nadia rushed over, wondering what had happened with her, but no more than a moment later, she seemed fine. "I think there's a lot of things we do now that we can't understand why," Lorna muttered, crossing her arms, but glancing over at Tandy, wondering what she had meant by that. She didn't mean to turn the attention over to Tandy, but it was better than having attention on her and to have Nadia angry with them. Maybe she was still upset, but it seemed it had more or less died down for now, hopefully whatever Tandy said next wouldn't reignite it.

Tandy didn't know what had happened with Alma after she reached for their hand to squeeze it, which they squeezed back. They watched in concern, only breathing a sigh of relief once she appeared alright again. Their eyes fell to Lorna again at her muttering. They had to look away again after the question of ​what​ they began doing. "I'm spying on a guy running a cult that calls himself Lord of Light for SHIELD," they unhappily informed. They would leave out the part that man was their father. "But--Ty says we're not working for SHIELD, that I'm just doing this for them...Alma, do you know what I had been arrested for? Or had one of us mentioned something about why?"

Alma frowned. She knew, but struggled for words. She had gotten her powers under control, but more anxiety threatened to shake it. The quick shift from Nadia’s anger to fear---had her slip been that noticeable? Just unexpected. Nadia didn’t have nearly a decade of experience with the new ability; Lorna and Tandy didn’t even know what those abilities were. Did they know Nadia was reacting to that? Would she have to explain? Alma looked around, trying to find the source of a voice she was hearing that didn’t belong to anyone present. She slapped her hands over her ears, which didn’t help, as usual. Knowing that no one with her would understand what was happening or know what she needed only made her feel worse. Alma jumped up and ran from the living room, up the stairs, and into her bedroom.

Nadia heard the door slam and looked helplessly in the direction of the stairs, then at Tandy. “I’m sorry; she’s been having some trouble with her newer powers, all the stress, you know?” she sighed. “I wish I knew what she needed.” Just then, her phone vibrated, and when she looked at it, she saw it was from Alma. “She says you broke Lorna out of jail, Tandy, and you were caught on security footage. And you must have made a deal with SHIELD so you wouldn’t be in jail or hiding from authorities.” The phone vibrated again and Nadia smirked. “Which is probably a good thing, she says, because you make a bad criminal and should leave the edgy antihero thing to Polaris, FYI.”

Lorna took a step forward upon seeing Alma leave, wondering what had happened and if there was something they did that made her leave but then Nadia explained. It didn't make Lorna feel any better but she understood now. She felt bad they didn't know how to help her. They weren't their future selves. Sighing she returned her eyes to Nadia to listen only to look back to Tandy. “You were caught on the security tapes? What a rookie move,” she teased Tandy, giving a small grin. “We'll make sure to remember our roles for the future when we return.” If we return? Lorna wasn't sure about that but she didn't want to be stuck in this future. Despite chuckling it off she felt guilty at being the cause of Tandy's current misfortune and hoped Tandy didn't hold it against her.