ic Tropical Getaway: A Blanket of Stars

[Poncho]

Michael kept his hands clenched as he listened, peering over his knuckles at Lawrence as he spoke. He couldn't help it now but to do what he had been trying to avoid, to speed up his thoughts as he listened to his friend talk. This was a lot of information to try and comprehend, a lot of information that he had just had given to him. Lawrence wasn't even from this timeline? That was bizarre. And then 'Cosmic Entities'. Well, that was far beyond him. Something even the Praetorians couldn't handle; that's like something the Freedom League couldn't handle. He closed his eyes and thought, listening to the entire explanation, then running it over again in his head.

 

Man, that was rough. And throwing it on them like that wasn't cool. It was like, the opposite of cool. But Lawrence was also suffering under a tremendous burden under all of this. It was probably just as bad to him that he was burdened by this and that he was putting his friends and classmates in danger. Lawrence was the kind of person who seemed to keep those burdens inside himself, that stiff upper lip, so to speak. How much was he hiding under his regular nature? Hard to know, really. But he had shared this. And that meant a lot.

 

And this was, in it's own way, completely terrifying. What was he supposed to do against something like that? He barely had any powers himself, he was still figuring it out. So he was scared, and frustrated, and angry. Wouldn't everyone be feeling that same way though? He glanced around the fire, at the others, then back at Carmen and smiled at her. His answer was obvious before he even thought about it, his brain just had to catch up to his heart.

 

Michael stood up from the sand and brushed off his shorts, and his hair went from brown to red as he released what was left in his battery. He walked over to Lawrence and crouched down in front of him, offering his hand.

 

"Lawrence. If you need help, I've got your back. Even if it's something we can't deal with, I won't abandon you or let you handle it alone, and I think all of us are gonna say the same thing if they get pressured. So...you're not alone, and if you are, it's only gonna come when my heart stops beating. And if there's something that only you can do, I'll help knock down any door you need knocked down to get there. Part of being a friend is helping people share their burdens, and if I needed help I know you would help me. So don't apologize for something you can't control, because...well, what are friends for but helping each other out of jams."

[Kaede Kimura]

Blue Bolt

 

Vueriz had looked up when Michael handed out the marshmallows, taking a handful from the golden boy, although that wasn't really that many. She had to admit, every rebel fiber of her body insisted that her and the boy should be natural enemies, but he was just so darned nice and helpful and she'd feel like a jerk for being rude to him. "Thanks." She said, as she popped her mask off briefly, holding her breath the whole time, to pop the sweet into her mouth, sharp teeth catching oddly on the confection. As a result, she completely missed Consuelo's marshmallow mouthed question as the translator took a few moments to reactivate when she reaffixed her mask. She fell back on the perfect response she'd found to such moments: "Haha, yes." She replied to the alien and mumbled noises her classmate had made.

 

She took the canister from Consuelo with relish, tucking it into her bag with a quiet chuckle. She could eat earth foods, although they were quite hard on her stomach, but she found that several of the chemicals the humans used for commercial use could easily be made into tasty things to supplement her diet with some more Fluorine which she'd lack eating just regular foods. She refocused briefly on her project, and was tightening the containment on the image projector when Lawrence began explaining why he really brought his classmates here. She chose not to comment as she wanted the whole story before she said anything, but her mind still kicked into high gear as she contemplated the sheer scale of the threat he was talking about. She had no experience with interdimensional threats or destroying timelines. Travel between dimensions and through time were both banned in her own galaxy, so she'd never dealt with errant time travelling robot girls let alone hyperdestructive interdimensional invaders. This was beyond her abilities.

 

But so was launching herself beyond her people's observed universe.

 

She grit her teeth as Lawrence clarified that he wasn't asking for them to fight. She appreciated that this was just meant to warn them, but screw that. She wasn't going to stand by if someone was in danger. Shortly after Michael stood, she put her small project aside for the moment and joined him, although she didn't need to crouch to properly meet Lawrence's eyes. "No one comes to a school for super heroes to be normal. I may not be up to making separate dimensions of time or anything, but I won't know until I try. Besides, maybe I can replicate the trick that got me here and they can be on a short trip to the edge of the universe." She shrugged as she said it, even as a corner of her brain was screaming at her to stop.

 

But what sort of cool rebel listened to something like common sense?

[Huckleberry]

Rot

 

As Lawrence continued with his story, several things clicked into place in Consuelo's head, and her mind arrived at the most logical conclusion, based on what she was hearing.

 

Wow. I've heard about this kind of thing before on TV. A kid gets raised in a cult, their mom gets them out, but the cult keeps trying to get them back. And, like, being raised in a cult seems to always really mess with the kid's head. Looks like Lawrence is no exception. He seems to literally believe he and he alone has to save the multiverse. Yikes!

 

It's a little weird the rest of the kids are just taking what he's saying as true . . . I guess that's what happens when you have godlike powers and your family is super rich and well-connected. People believe you no matter how crazy what you're saying is. But, I mean, it all just sounds so unrealistic. Still, it's good that he's reaching out, though. 

 

"Lawrence, it's, like good that you're talking about your past. People care about you. We care. You can always talk. And . . . no matter who told you that you alone have to save the world, I don't think that's true. That's just a voice in your head. You're part of the world. All that pressure is make-believe."

 

"You're part of our family, even if you are really stuffy and aloof."

[Dracostern]

Cerebral and Cerebellum 

 

As Lawrence's story continued, it got way more complex. Iris seemed to be understanding but Daniel was struggling to. Sure they had been gun ho earlier but that was more so because of the atmosphere and a genuine willingness to help. They did care about their new friends, of course they did! But this was all very much. Things had gone from strange scince experiments and an alien or two to literal string theory for them. 

 

They would nod their heads as Iris looked around, gauging everyone's reaction. Thankfully they all seemed supportive and serious. Even if some of them were a little confused. She then turned her head to Consuelo who had the most wildly different reaction to the others. From the way she spoke to some of the words she said. Iris got the idea that this girl was not buying it. Not that it surprised the psychic, since to any normal person this story seemed extremely farfetched. 

 

Iris didn't know how to respond to the story right now and was still processing everything. 

Daniel meanwhile was in a similar boat, though he was more so trying to make sure he got everything right.  He was not as smart as his sister, though he wouldn't outright admit that, and so he was lost on a lot of it. His eyes roamed over everyone, almost all of them seemed to understand, aside from Ryan, so he would pretend to as well, maybe Iris could explain some of the more in depth stuff to him a bit later.

Edited February 10 by Dracostern

[RocketLord]

Spaceman

 

Parker takes it all in. Different timelines, different universes, other versions of Lawrence, and Collapse. The name alone sends shivers down Parker's spine. He takes it all in. His friend has obviously not had an easy time, knowing all of this, and it does explain a lot. 

 

"That's not necessarily how it works, Consuelo," he says, rather than address Lawrence immediately. Though he adresses Consuelo at first, he is looking around at everyone. "Lawrence isn't alone, but that doesn't mean he won't ultimately have to be the counter." He stands up. "I was breaking down barriers between universes when I was ten. There's a lot of impossible things out there. Maybe they're right, maybe they're not." A little revelation about himself, too.

 

Stopping, he walks over by Lawrence, then lower to his knees and hugs his friend. "It can't have been easy growing up with all this. I'm so sorry you had to go through it."

[Thevshi]

Timeout

 

Lawerence was quiet as he let what he had sink in to the others. Michael was one of the first to react, getting up and moving over to crouch down by Lawrence and offer him his hand and a promise to be there for him. The blond teen shook the offered hand with a smile. "Thank you Michael, again I am hoping it never comes to that. But a large part of the reason I joined the group you started putting together after the New Year was the warning Quirk gave me about us needing to be ready."

 

He then looked over to Vueriz as she came over to offer her support as well. "Thank you Vueriz."

 

And then Consuelo spoke up, sounding very skeptical about what Lawrence had just reveled, which to him seemed rather shortsighted considering it was just over two months ago she had been present for Quirk's most recent visit and warning. "Even if I wanted to stick my head in the sand regarding Collapse, that still does not change the fact that I have already had two cosmic beings either pop in to visit or outright try to kidnap me. And I have little reason to doubt that the latter is going to try again."

 

Parker came over and gave Lawrence a hug, which the teen reciprocated. "Thanks Parker, but it has not been all doom and gloom. The bright spots have far outweighed the dark, especially with friends."

[Huckleberry]

Rot

 

Consuelo couldn't help but feel a little aggravated as Parker leaned into the idea that Lawrence was the one person that had to save the world. Figures. He probably thinks the same thing about himself, too.

 

She looked forlornly at the neglected Superiority Jar. Just a few crumpled bills in there. Probably forgotten. Dang! I really wanted to help Parker - he's so cute! But I guess it's true you really can't change a person.  . . . 

 

Consuelo thought she had done a good job of being neutral and supportive of Lawrence. He does sound a bit annoyed at me. I guess that would be normal for someone in his position, though. He probably sees everything through the filter of his traumatic childhood, finding evidence to support the crazy stories he was told in every experience. He probably even thought that nonsense with Quirk confirmed it. Poor guy.

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass II

 

Mizuki got up. She had a lot to think about after what Lawrence said. "Well... if I wanna be awake when we leave for home, I better get some stuff done. If I don't do some sort of night patrol for a couple hours I just can't sleep." She said walking over to where she had been keeping some of her stuff. "Force of habit.. see ya guys."

[Kaede Kimura]

Blue Bolt

 

Vueriz grinned behind her mask at her classmate's thanks, patting his arm as Mizuki stood, she waved goodbye to her classmate before making her way across the sand to resume work upon her little project. She wanted to get it done before more people left or started falling asleep. It just needed to finish the propulsion mechanism, perhaps a gravitic inverter? No, that would take too much power, something self sustaining would be better... A quantum foam manipulator, yes.

 

She just needed something to kickstart it, some sort of power source... "Hrm, hey can anyone here generate electricity with their powers?"