![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schizoauthoressTitle: In Hiding
Author: D.L.SchizoAuthoress
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: The Tomorrow People (1992-1995) "Origin Story" and "The Culex Experiment"
Warnings: mentions of child injury (canonical)
Prompt/Fill: none
Word Count: 1186
Summary: Lisa's mother is protective at the best of times, and this is definitely not the best of times.
What happened to Lisa Davies between "The Origin Story" and "The Culex Experiment".
Note: I think General Damon's first name is Marmaduke. In "The Origin Story, Part Five" he sighs and calls Megabyte "Junior" just before he explains what he really does for a living. (So poor Megabyte's real name is Marmaduke Damon, Junior? I buy it.) I made up Lisa's mother's first name.
In Hiding
Lisa Davies has always liked long names, and she's wished that "Lisa" was short for something. When she was six years old, she went through a phase where she answered only to "Shaliza". As she and her mother are briefed on what to expect as they enter the Witness Protection Program, Lisa considers asking for that as her new name.
She dismisses the idea almost immediately. It's too close to her real name, her dangerous name -- and besides, no one said they'd let her choose.
Lady Mulvaney, the unscrupulous British aristocrat, is only one of the dangers that lurk out there for Lisa's kind, though she certainly had been frightening enough. Lady Mulvaney had orchestrated the kidnapping attempt which had nearly killed Lisa -- she'd been hit with a taser midway through an effort to teleport out, and ended up unconscious in the sea -- and resulted in the capture of Adam, with Lisa's mother being kept as a hostage to ensure his cooperation.
Even the U.S. and British governments have interest in the Tomorrow People -- as evidenced by the joint project run by their Scientific Intelligence Authority. Although the head of department, General Marmaduke Damon (who was also the father of Megabyte, her fellow Tomorrow Person) has good intentions, that isn't enough to protect anyone. Colonel Masters and his betrayal, selling them out to Lady Mulvaney, had proved that beyond any doubt.
Lisa's mother is protective at the best of times, and this is definitely not the best of times. Lisa wakes up in the middle of the night to find her mother curled up in a chair at her bedside, wide awake and afraid. It isn't safe for Charmaine Davies and her daughter anymore... which is why after today, they won't be the Davies.
In the end, Lisa did sort of get to choose her new name -- the agent hands her a short list of first names. Her mother has a similar list. For surname, they are stuck with what the government wants them to be. Lisa wonders if the leeway was due to General Damon's influence -- and wasn't that weird, having connections to a general -- but she doesn't feel like asking.
Instead, she smiles at her mother and asks, "What do you think of the name Melissa?"
****
Melissa Powell takes modern dance classes and is considering going out for girls' softball. She's friendly, but doesn't seem interested in finding close friends -- the general consensus of the student body (the part that notices her) is that she's shy. Her mother calls her Lissa, but she asks her classmates to call her Mel.
And she's only been in town for two months when a face from her past startles her back into being Lisa Davies. Her heart leaps with pure joy on seeing Adam's face, but in the next moment her stomach clenches with fear. He looks the same as he did, and she doesn't look all that different, so someone might see them together and make connections.
'You can't be here!' she thinks at Adam, letting her fears and worries color the telepathic communication. If it were anyone else -- little Kevin, or Megabyte the jokester -- she wouldn't. But it's Adam, and they've always had a rapport.
He frowns and sits down heavily on the park bench behind him. Lisa worries that she put too much power in her words, but "Melissa" looks away like she didn't notice, so as not to betray the Tomorrow Person hidden inside.
'I'm sorry,' Adam's voice whispers in her mind. She feels a flash of his contrition, and the realization of the possible danger. 'I wanted to see you, but I didn't think.'
'The island, this weekend,' Lisa replies, sending back forgiveness and her own apology. 'I have to warn my mother, you know.'
His amusement warms his mental voice like laughter, but richer somehow. '...or come home to a house full of chocolate brownies?'
She allows herself a small smile at the thought. The touch of Adam's mind to hers fades, and when she looks up, she catches a brief glimpse of his retreating back. Having been reminded of the need for secrecy, Adam will no doubt find someplace private before teleporting out.
****
She's been Melissa for six months and is reconsidering the softball tryouts as she stammers through apologies to the sophomore gym teacher. Mrs. Hauser is also the coach for girls' softball and she doesn't like Melissa very much; not that Melissa can really blame her. She did just launch a golf club through the windshield of Mrs. Hauser's SUV. It was an accident, but that doesn't undo the damage.
And she can't tell anyone why she lost her grip on the club. Everyone's already whispering over her -- and she can hear the mean-spirited giggles from Marcia and Bunny, who've never liked her -- Melissa doesn't want to think of how they'd whisper and stare if she told the truth.
Kevin Wilson, the youngest of the Tomorrow People, has always been powerful. Before today, she would put him on par with Adam, who is both the oldest and the one who found the Ship first. But as Melissa, face burning as she blushes under everyone's scrutiny, watches one of the custodians cleaning up the glass, she decides that Kevin is even stronger than Adam. She lost her grip mid-swing because she got caught up in a psychic scream of distress from Kevin -- who is, as far as she knows, somewhere in Great Britain -- separated from her by the Atlantic Ocean and most of the North American landmass.
She can't risk herself or her mother by investigating right away. So Melissa agonizes through her final class of the day, paying not one jot of attention to the teacher, and is the first one out the door when the last bell rings. Melissa slips away, and it's all Lisa now, although nobody outside her head can tell the difference. She reaches out for the Ship's presence and teleports to the island directly from a stall in the nearest girls' bathroom, too worried about her friend to bother with more subterfuge than that.
****
It has taken her a long time, but Lisa no longer plunges into the sea when teleporting to the island in the South Pacific. The alien ship beneath the sand functions as a beacon for her kind, but it is damaged as well as ancient, so the 'calibration' is off. She can usually compensate for the difference, and appear in the main chamber -- the boys aren't nearly as consistent about it.
The Ship is wailing its own fear, and the force of it inside her brain nearly knocks her on her butt. Nonetheless, Lisa bravely approaches the glowing column where the Ship's not-quite-a-mind presence resides, and lays both hands over the alien glyphs on the console.
"I'm here," she says and thinks at the same time. "I'm here, I'm here, tell me what happened."
As the Ship pours Kevin's pain and terror, as well as Adam and Megabyte's anger and confusion, into her, Lisa has only a moment to regret her choice of words before she passes out.
*-*-*-*
Author: D.L.SchizoAuthoress
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: The Tomorrow People (1992-1995) "Origin Story" and "The Culex Experiment"
Warnings: mentions of child injury (canonical)
Prompt/Fill: none
Word Count: 1186
Summary: Lisa's mother is protective at the best of times, and this is definitely not the best of times.
What happened to Lisa Davies between "The Origin Story" and "The Culex Experiment".
Note: I think General Damon's first name is Marmaduke. In "The Origin Story, Part Five" he sighs and calls Megabyte "Junior" just before he explains what he really does for a living. (So poor Megabyte's real name is Marmaduke Damon, Junior? I buy it.) I made up Lisa's mother's first name.
In Hiding
Lisa Davies has always liked long names, and she's wished that "Lisa" was short for something. When she was six years old, she went through a phase where she answered only to "Shaliza". As she and her mother are briefed on what to expect as they enter the Witness Protection Program, Lisa considers asking for that as her new name.
She dismisses the idea almost immediately. It's too close to her real name, her dangerous name -- and besides, no one said they'd let her choose.
Lady Mulvaney, the unscrupulous British aristocrat, is only one of the dangers that lurk out there for Lisa's kind, though she certainly had been frightening enough. Lady Mulvaney had orchestrated the kidnapping attempt which had nearly killed Lisa -- she'd been hit with a taser midway through an effort to teleport out, and ended up unconscious in the sea -- and resulted in the capture of Adam, with Lisa's mother being kept as a hostage to ensure his cooperation.
Even the U.S. and British governments have interest in the Tomorrow People -- as evidenced by the joint project run by their Scientific Intelligence Authority. Although the head of department, General Marmaduke Damon (who was also the father of Megabyte, her fellow Tomorrow Person) has good intentions, that isn't enough to protect anyone. Colonel Masters and his betrayal, selling them out to Lady Mulvaney, had proved that beyond any doubt.
Lisa's mother is protective at the best of times, and this is definitely not the best of times. Lisa wakes up in the middle of the night to find her mother curled up in a chair at her bedside, wide awake and afraid. It isn't safe for Charmaine Davies and her daughter anymore... which is why after today, they won't be the Davies.
In the end, Lisa did sort of get to choose her new name -- the agent hands her a short list of first names. Her mother has a similar list. For surname, they are stuck with what the government wants them to be. Lisa wonders if the leeway was due to General Damon's influence -- and wasn't that weird, having connections to a general -- but she doesn't feel like asking.
Instead, she smiles at her mother and asks, "What do you think of the name Melissa?"
****
Melissa Powell takes modern dance classes and is considering going out for girls' softball. She's friendly, but doesn't seem interested in finding close friends -- the general consensus of the student body (the part that notices her) is that she's shy. Her mother calls her Lissa, but she asks her classmates to call her Mel.
And she's only been in town for two months when a face from her past startles her back into being Lisa Davies. Her heart leaps with pure joy on seeing Adam's face, but in the next moment her stomach clenches with fear. He looks the same as he did, and she doesn't look all that different, so someone might see them together and make connections.
'You can't be here!' she thinks at Adam, letting her fears and worries color the telepathic communication. If it were anyone else -- little Kevin, or Megabyte the jokester -- she wouldn't. But it's Adam, and they've always had a rapport.
He frowns and sits down heavily on the park bench behind him. Lisa worries that she put too much power in her words, but "Melissa" looks away like she didn't notice, so as not to betray the Tomorrow Person hidden inside.
'I'm sorry,' Adam's voice whispers in her mind. She feels a flash of his contrition, and the realization of the possible danger. 'I wanted to see you, but I didn't think.'
'The island, this weekend,' Lisa replies, sending back forgiveness and her own apology. 'I have to warn my mother, you know.'
His amusement warms his mental voice like laughter, but richer somehow. '...or come home to a house full of chocolate brownies?'
She allows herself a small smile at the thought. The touch of Adam's mind to hers fades, and when she looks up, she catches a brief glimpse of his retreating back. Having been reminded of the need for secrecy, Adam will no doubt find someplace private before teleporting out.
****
She's been Melissa for six months and is reconsidering the softball tryouts as she stammers through apologies to the sophomore gym teacher. Mrs. Hauser is also the coach for girls' softball and she doesn't like Melissa very much; not that Melissa can really blame her. She did just launch a golf club through the windshield of Mrs. Hauser's SUV. It was an accident, but that doesn't undo the damage.
And she can't tell anyone why she lost her grip on the club. Everyone's already whispering over her -- and she can hear the mean-spirited giggles from Marcia and Bunny, who've never liked her -- Melissa doesn't want to think of how they'd whisper and stare if she told the truth.
Kevin Wilson, the youngest of the Tomorrow People, has always been powerful. Before today, she would put him on par with Adam, who is both the oldest and the one who found the Ship first. But as Melissa, face burning as she blushes under everyone's scrutiny, watches one of the custodians cleaning up the glass, she decides that Kevin is even stronger than Adam. She lost her grip mid-swing because she got caught up in a psychic scream of distress from Kevin -- who is, as far as she knows, somewhere in Great Britain -- separated from her by the Atlantic Ocean and most of the North American landmass.
She can't risk herself or her mother by investigating right away. So Melissa agonizes through her final class of the day, paying not one jot of attention to the teacher, and is the first one out the door when the last bell rings. Melissa slips away, and it's all Lisa now, although nobody outside her head can tell the difference. She reaches out for the Ship's presence and teleports to the island directly from a stall in the nearest girls' bathroom, too worried about her friend to bother with more subterfuge than that.
****
It has taken her a long time, but Lisa no longer plunges into the sea when teleporting to the island in the South Pacific. The alien ship beneath the sand functions as a beacon for her kind, but it is damaged as well as ancient, so the 'calibration' is off. She can usually compensate for the difference, and appear in the main chamber -- the boys aren't nearly as consistent about it.
The Ship is wailing its own fear, and the force of it inside her brain nearly knocks her on her butt. Nonetheless, Lisa bravely approaches the glowing column where the Ship's not-quite-a-mind presence resides, and lays both hands over the alien glyphs on the console.
"I'm here," she says and thinks at the same time. "I'm here, I'm here, tell me what happened."
As the Ship pours Kevin's pain and terror, as well as Adam and Megabyte's anger and confusion, into her, Lisa has only a moment to regret her choice of words before she passes out.
*-*-*-*