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[alwaysroomforhope]

It's fairly early in the morning when Mel, Sokka and Steph crest the final hill and find themselves looking down from the Heights towards Gotham City. Mel is keeping the girls happy in the back; Steph's driving. She doesn't ask before slowing gradually to a stop, eyes on the vista before them.

Gotham. Smoky, dark, twisted, gothic. It almost looks organic, lumpy and misshapen as it is, every building sprouting gargoyles and added wings, twisted into fantastic shapes.

It's so familiar it makes Steph's heart lurch; she hasn't been home for almost a year. She knows the skyline inside out, knows exactly how it feels to leap from the casino to the street below and swing up exactly in time to land on the train, knows where the instabilities in the gargoyles are and just how hard to throw a grapple to get from one end to the other of Ninth in under two minutes. It's filthy and ugly and disease-ridden and smoky and it's home.

Except ...

... this isn't the home she left.

It's with a sigh of pure relief that she realises, slowly, that this is Gotham before the quake, missing the light-filled spires of Luthor's redesign, all the old buildings still standing tall. This is Gotham before she had the baby, before the No Mans' Land.

This isn't her world.

The grin she turns to Sokka is enormous and full of relief.

"It's not mine. I won't find th— her here. Oh, thank fuck for that."

Comments

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph, who had blissfully ignored the PA, glances back at Mel just once, and at the older girl's tone her foot hits the brake.

But gently. Babies on board, after all.

"What is it?"

[slayer_fray]

Mel's already got the door open and is half out, Hana in her arms.

"Stay there," she tells Steph and Sokka before stepping out into the road, her other hand cupping her mouth to yell out:

"Erin!"

[officer-fray.livejournal.com]

The car hangs in the air for a few moments before the engine noises changes and it slowly lowers itself to the ground.

And a confused Erin Fray steps out.

"Mel?"

[slayer_fray]

Mel stares for a second, not sure how to react.

"Jesu, Erin," she repeats, before racing forward, Hana laughing with the movement.

"It's really you?"

[officer-fray.livejournal.com]

Erin's trying to take all this in. So far today she's been transported to another dimension or time, pulled a depressed guy out of Gotham and almost got eaten by some giant... thing.

And now there was Mel coming after her with a baby?

"Um. Yes?"

[slayer_fray]

Let's hope Erin adapts well and quickly, because the arm not occupied with baby is about to be thrown around her shoulders in a one-handed, non-baby-squishing hug.

"Oh god I thought I lost you, I'm so sorry, I..."

Of course, it takes a second for her to register the car behind her sister.

"You came from Haddyn, right?"

And therefore isn't the Erin that already dealt with the issue of the twins.

[officer-fray.livejournal.com]

It's been a long time since Erin's been squished by her sister (even one-handed). And when you add to the fact that Mel is carrying a baby you can appreciate her state of mind.

It still doesn't stop her from squishing back though.

"Where else would I be coming from," she replied. "Or do I want to know?"

[slayer_fray]

"Probably don't."

Yanno, Mel really doesn't want to have this conversation include anyone like Steph or Sokka, much as she loves them. So when a quick glance over her shoulder shows they're not going anywhere, she jerks her head over to the road siding.This could take a while.

"But you'll think I'm spun if I say I haven't been there for two years, right?"

[officer-fray.livejournal.com]

Erin blinked. "I just saw you two weeks ago. You were rebuilding Versi and-"

She looked at her sister and then at the baby.

"What the rutting hell is going on, Mel?"

[slayer_fray]

The baby looks at Erin, and grins as much as one can grin when teeth are only just beginnig to show.

"Alternate timelines, different worlds, long story... why did Versi need rebuilding?"

Because that's the important part.

[officer-fray.livejournal.com]

Erin's brain is trying to keep up. Really.

"You don't remember Harth's attack? The big giant lizard thing that... Do you have a baby?"

No. Really. That's the important part.

[slayer_fray]

"Two, actually."

Mel can concede that her babies are the most important thing in any conversation.

"Her sister's in the car. Hana," Hana is lifted up from Mel's hip and presented proudly to Erin, "this is your aunt Erin."

"An!" Hana announces and reaches out for the pretty blonde hair that looks like Aunt Steph's.

[officer-fray.livejournal.com]

"Two? Two?" Erin says in shock.

And then she reaches out to touch her niece because... okay she's pretty damn cute and the "An!" thing just makes you go "Wow!"

Erin stares at the little girl for a moment and the looks at her sister in a boggly type fashion.

"You're a mom!"

She'll get used to this... well maybe never.

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Sokka's jaw dropped right about the time Mel's did, his eyes up and staring in shock at the car. Of course, he knows Erin, of course he could explain.

But zomg CAR!

Give him a minute.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph - once they've pulled over and let Mel and Hana out - yeah, she's laughing at him.

But affectionately.

"I'll get you one for your birthday," she suggests, reaching over into the back for Loo, eyes staying on the woman Mel's talking to while she pulls the sleepy baby into her arms. "Who's that?"

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

"Can my birthday be tomorrow?" Sokka asks, craning his neck to try and see more of the car out of the front window. With the question, he glances off toward his sister and Erin and smiles a little, reaching back for Loo-

Of course, Steph already beat him to that, and it takes him a minute to stop panicking to realize that.

"That's Erin, Mel's older sister. And since she didn't have a flying car in Apocalyptica, I'm guessing it's a whole new one straight from Haddyn."

[alwaysroomforhope]

"Sure. We'll trade for the landrover." Steph grins. "I'm sure Mel's ... sister, wow ... won't mind."

Mel said stay here, so Steph does, despite her eyes widening enormously at the man who's climbing shakily out of the jet after the blonde.

"-- holy shit, it's Commissioner Gordon!??"

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

"...someone from Gotham, yeah?"

[alwaysroomforhope]

"Yeah," Steph confirms, bouncing Loo a little, staring at the man. "Yeah, the police commissioner. Only he's really young, so ... if he's from that Gotham, then we won't find her there, he's never looked so young when I was there ... But ... wow, check the moustache. Never grow facial hair like that, Sokka. I'm telling you this as a friend."

Steph is suddenly Very Solemn.

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

"I'm too aware of how much fun you and Mel would make of me if I even tried to grow facial hair - why do you think I shave every day?"

Not that it stops stubble, the older he gets, but the point is still there!

Sokka smirks a little and offers his arms for baby, protective abruptly with Mel's sister out there. "You sure your mom wouldn't be down there still? We can still go in if you want."

[alwaysroomforhope]

It's just that it's not really her mom she wants to find. But she hasn't told him that, has she?

Loo flings her arms out for Sokka abruptly, lurching towards him, and Steph grins and lifts her over, thoughtful.

"Depends what they say is in there. I still have to go and look, though. Maybe we should try somewhere out of the city first. There should be records and stuff at the hospital on the mainland, down that-way."

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

Sokka frowns even as he takes Loo in his arms and bounces her a bit. "Was she sick? Your mom?"

If they're looking for hospital records, after all.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph is intent on the flying car for a moment.

"She was a nurse," she explains, and glances over at him. "...and a junkie. So yeah."

And they're not looking for her dad. He probably remembers why, too.

It's the truth, what she said, it's just that it's not the whole truth, and Steph's only a good liar when it isn't to people that she cares about.

But Marie's still in the back of the car.

[notanoptimist.livejournal.com]

It's why Sokka's eyes are on her for only a moment more before he nods, accepting that. "I'm gonna go check on them, okay?" he asks, and gets Loo snug on his hip before exiting the car.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph grins at him, in silent thanks, and turns to check on Marie.