Masks 2

Tlaloc smiled at Esen, then went to sit at the bar.

"Right, who are you?" he asked Lex. "Wait...I think I remember you from my dimension. You died. You seemed like a good kid, though."

Maria bristled.

"I've died a few times here as well," she agreed. "Hasn't stuck yet! When was it, first invasion? Did that happen for you guys? Confederate invasion, 'bout a billion dead, and all that?"

If it was that early, he might not have ever heard her doing the god voice, even!

"You couldn't do The Voice back then," Tlaloc said. "Interesting. Explains a bit. In any case, yes you died during the Confederation's invasion. The Raven died too..."

He said this, glancing at Desmond before looking back to Lex.

"And Maria died before the war, alongside her friend Adrasteia," he said, sadly.

He frowned, looking at the bar counter a moment before continuing.

"The war wasn't as costly for us. The pantheons came out in force to protect Earth, but I feel it all may have ended up worse. During the Battle of Kilimanjaro, the Old Gods enacted a ritual they believed would save Earth. Instead it needlessly killed them all, and Zeus was left in a prime position to assume overlordship of Earth. He crushed any and all resistance, and basically rules as a God-Emperor. A select number of gods oppose him, myself included."

Heavy shit! Anyway, after being very nervous in the car by herself, checking she didn't have any spinach and such in her teeth with the car rear mirror despite...Had she ever eaten spinach? She hoped not, it sounded awful. Probably super healthy, not that that maybe mattered anymore? She needed to eat more vegetables anyway probably still. Not the time Orla!

Anyway, Orla Cillin got out of the car. Orla was smol, so smol. Even with the big ol' boots she was wearing, (red and white sort of sneaker combat boots thing, looked awful) pushing 5' 1 at most, if you gave the measuring tape some slack. She was wearing a button-top short sleeved white shirt with a few of the pins she'd bought in Neo Themiscyra, which were a little helmet, a sword and a bow. Her arms had some wrist bracelets, green and blue beads, red and orange, pink and purple, etc, and her arms were actually a little buff! She was a little buff in general actually, but didn't carry herself like she was or give the initial impression of so. Also, covered in freckles, up and down so many freckles, all over her arms and face. She was a ginger too, ginger-red rather than ginger-blond-strawberry, short, wavy instead of frizzy, little poofy and down to neck length. She had a kind of half-smile on her face, spiked with nervousness, like, on one hand she was happy to be here so a natural smile, on the other, so nervous so forcing a smile on anyway.

Orla smoothed down her skirt, brushing down her clothing neurotically, ran her hands through her hair a bit and fiddled with the strap on her Lex-brand bag that she'd managed to hold onto for all this time, and walked up to the rather intimidating looking compound.

As Orla approached, Emily materialized from the ground before her.

"Welcome! Okay, so your room is over there..." she said, pointing to one of the rooms which helpfully highlighted itself for a second. "If you need anything, feel free to either ask me or ring the room service button in your room. Clothes, food, you name it really. And with that...just relax. Talk to people. Once everybody's here the meeting will begin."

"Oh!" Orla had done a little jump/skip back at the materialisation. "Hi! Er, cool!" She chirped, voice waving a little bit. She hadn't really seen the building and everything properly last time, especially looking like this. "I'll just drop off my bag and, yeah! Okay, I don't need a name tag or anything? Or, I guess you know everything, sure! Okay, thanks Emily. Um." Her fractured smile beamed sincerely for a moment, she hesitated, gave Emily a quick hug, and then Orla shuffled off to drop her bag off.

"This is so weird! Wonder if there'll be anyone my own age, or younger! Like, some boy wonder genius kid or something, or a protegee to someone else, that'd be nice." She thought to Khazra, mentally babbling a little. "Tell me if you want anything or notice anything too, right?"

Heavy shit was right. Theraea mostly just listened as Tlaloc gave his backstory, since... actually, she hadn't asked about it when they met. So that's exciting! Except the part about Zeus ruling an entire Earth, but... you know, it happens.

"I guess the Confederate invasion is a pretty common thing around here. ...I mean, around other heres. A lot more of a constant than the... what was it, robot invasion? That was more of a 'this universe' thing."

If Orla came near enough for Theraea to see, she waved! Gotta wave to everyone.

Emily hugged Orla back! One had beaten her to the hugs! Such disgrace!

"Will do," Khazra told Orla.

***

"Multiversal constant: The Confederation are monsters," Tlaloc said.

She shook her head as Tlaloc's 'oh she's a Goddess' lightbulb went off. "Bit more complicated than your first conclusion, I believe." Was her comment. It wasn't that much more complicated, but Lux believed it merited a distinction. You know, perhaps with better role models on Earth, the other Lex would have grown up not to eschew the label. Strange. And the Garden's fate was...well, it wouldn't have gone as it had here. That bothered her, but she wasn't entirely sure if it fell to her to correct it...Did she have responsibilities for all the Earths and all the Gardens? Was it wrong if she left it to the individual Lexes, or did the Starbright Prince, as a figure regardless of origin, bear the collective responsibility for the welfare of all possible Earths and Gardens?

She was totally listening to Tlaloc and not contemplating this, yep. That's what the frown and the knuckle bite signified. Totally.

"...Interesting..." she murmured, at the end of his history of the current state of his universe. She shook her head.

Right, what did he say? Something about--oh. Zeus rules the world? Gross. "I suppose the outlook is promising once you take him down, though..." She mused, still distracted by the wheels of her own mind turning over the possibilities. "For a more united response to threats--oh, sorry! Not to minimize the state of things! That sounds like a pretty awful present." Present as in the time, not a gift.

An itty bitty figure hopped out of the car, Lux took a casual magically magnified glance...and did a double take.

Was that...That was a child, right? Nocturne was not the sort to recruit child soldiers, so there must be something here she didn't know. Surely. "...Not to a huge hypocrite here Emily, but I do believe a certain guest's presence here needs to be explained to everyone? I don't distrust that there's a solid explanation, but this...seems like a potential powder-keg approaching, no?" Lex remembered damn well the screaming contests that ensued from her mere presence--that seemed like a shitty way to start the meeting!

And it hadn't deterred her in the slightest, regardless, back in the day.

"Oh, right," Emily said.

Suddenly a voice boomed over the loudspeakers.

"You may notice a guest arriving!" said Emily's voice. "That is Orla. Yes she is a teenager. No she will not be joining the resistance, because that would be many different kinds of messed up. She's just here to meet you all. She's currently undergoing training with the Amazons, and she will be for several years now. That is all"

The loudspeakers turned off.

Nodding at that, Tlaloc looked to Lex.

"Yeah, here's hoping we can," Tlaloc told her.

That was enough for the giant moth lady to give Orla a much bigger wave.

"Hi, Orla!" she called, going all loud and booming.

Explosion: DEFUSED

Lux looked kind of stare off into space-y after that, allowing some room for Devana and Minimax to step in with questions!

<Hey, Evs? ...This is kind of fucking me up, a bit.> She told herself, managing to recognize it this time! Woo!

OH GOD THAT WAS SO AWFUL UUUUURRRRRRRR-

Okay. Orla snapped out of her rabbit-in-the-headlights state at the sound of Emily on her intercom and ran to her room, pausing only to wave back at the...What-the-heck-was-that-but-it-was-waving-so-must-be-nice-thing-person. "HI!" She yelled back in a staccato burst before vanishing to have a minor embarrassed state in private.

She came back out a minute late after having regained her nerves slightly.

Having successfully navigated a social situation with a god, Esen feels emboldened to make new friends. She noticed that Theraea waved earlier and seemed very friendly... for a nine-foot tall alien moth bug thing. Nevertheless, Tlaloc turned out all right. She walks up.

"Hi, uh, so you're from space? Like, space space? Like you're an alien?"

Theraea turned to look down at Esen with her big, black eyes. Not helping the fact that she's a scary moth alien thing, but whatever.

"Hi! Um, well, not exactly space? I mean, I guess 'alien' could still be accurate, since I'm not from your planet. Or any planet. Or... any universe. So kind of like space, but way more empty and weird."

A waterlogged Sam clambered out of the pool.

"Oh.. Oh shit... I was so relaxed I almost fell asleep in there. Crap."

He made his way back to the bar.

"Ok, nevermind alcohol, I need some Red Bull Hyper Ultra. I'll be ok, my kidneys can take it."

Emily nodded and presented Sam with a cold can of Red Bull Hyper Ultra.

***

"Fair," Everan said to Lex. "It's kind of making me think too. What's the part that gets to you?"

"Uh, not from the universe? That's, wow... I have no idea how that would even work. So, you just sort of, showed up?"

Esen is very confused.

Finn scrunches her nose. Man, say one thing about fire and the guy would talk fer an hour... reminded her of Travis, but edgier.

“Sounds like makin’ a science from magic. Ain’t such a fan of that. Let the beautiful and unknowable be as it is. I ain’t properly concerned with th’whole Dreams thing or talent or whatever either. Like I said, I’m just cruisin’. I’m nae a big important wizert like all of ye. Just me.”

She pats his shoulder. “Think that’s enough fer now, old fella. I got drinks to drink, schmoozin’ tae do, and cute folks tae meet. You have... guns t’he talkin about with that guy??? Later, broodybeak.”

Raven nodded as she left. He also took the oppurtunity to split from talking to Red Reaper who was not nearly as useful as he had hoped and so Raven went over to the resteraunt.

That worked out, because Orla then ran over to one of the two other people she knew here, and was maybe less likely to tell her off for coming here, and god that awful Hawaiian shirt. Orla sprinted over to the Red Reaper, nearly slipped, slowed down a bit-

"Heey!! -err, Red?! Is Red okay? Hey! You're okay! And here! Hi!" She grinned widely at him, not super sure if it was okay to give him a hug so at a hesitant distance at the mo.

"Nice shirt. Really fits your whole look, by the way."

<Oh...basically all of it, but...>
<I failed>
<On that other Earth. Really quickly.>
<and the world didn't end?>
<or. Earth didn't>
<but.>
<what if the Garden was also just>
<fine>

She shifted, crossing one leg over the other. After taking another drink, her glass was empty, and she stared at it, wondering if she should get another.

<I guess. Does my duty extend where another 'me' failed>
<Or are those worlds better without 'me' in it>
<Or...I don't know.>

The Red Reaper looked at Orla.

“Really didn’t expect to see you again,” he told her. “And thanks. What are you doing here?”

***

“I mean, if there are that many universes out there. Infinite universes or even near infinite. There’s no way you could defend them all. Defending this one is hard enough. I think correcting and protecting the entire multiverse is a bit beyond our capabilities.”

***

Desmond arrived at the restaurant. He could order whatever he wanted from Emily.

Raven ordered an cheeseburger, onion rings, bacon, eggs and some pancakes with maple syrup and butter. He had been eating nothing but foreign food for the past while and everything he had been eating in America had been getting progressively shittier over the decades. He trusted Emily to make a good show of it.