BOOK 3 of the ORPHIC Series
CHURLISH
/ˈCHərliSH/
marked by a lack of civility.
~~~~~
Lucille 'Lucy' Opal Baker finds herself in the 21 century sporting the title of Aunt while lugging along h...
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"Do you ever suddenly find it strange to be yourself?"
Seoul, South Korea August, 2015
ONCE LUCY WAS SURE HELEN was in safe arms—the rest of her remaining staff took her in a subwing of the building—she waited impatiently with Henry until a nondescript black SUV appeared. His butler, Klause, exited the vehicle and opened the door for Henry. She looked at him as he stepped inside, his gaze lifting to meet hers.
"Buon giorno."
Good morning.
Klause greeted with a respectful tilt of his head. He re-entered the vehicle as Lucy responded with a nod. She pulled her eyes away from Klause as Henry opened his mouth to speak. He wisely shut his mouth, letting his eyes flick in front of him.
"Don't call me, Henry. Not for a while." She said.
He nodded without looking at her, rolling the window up. She watched the SUV drive away, and nearly collapsed as relief drowned her. Her legs trembled like branches in the wind, and she felt tears prick her eyes.
She was safe.
She'd done a good job and she was safe and Helen was and—and Henry wasn't upset that she was rightfully upset and that was so different. She hadn't made him angry so much which meant she'd been good and he wouldn't condition her and he wouldn't take her to the lab and—
She placed a hand on her neck, wincing at the soreness, the aching pain.
She had to stop thinking like that.
She activated her abilities, white wisps collecting around her palms, electrons shifting rapidly. She gave herself a boost into the air, before manipulating the molecules around her.
"They're heading back towards you." Lucy heard Clint over her earpiece. "So whatever you're gonna do, do it now."
She wondered, vaguely, what she'd missed as she flew towards the quinjet. She followed the vehicle's path, gazing down at what it was hovering above. She lost sight of Natasha as Steve slammed a familiar tall figure into the side of a train.
Lucy lunged forwards, landing inside of the vehicle just as a shield narrowly cut off her head. She ducked as it bounced off of Ultron's body, before grasping it and ramming it right back into Ultron. It dented him before returning to Steve's arm.
"Thanks, Steve!" She shouted over the sound of the train engine, rolling to Steve's side. "Real nice!"
Steve grinned at her, though the expression on his face faltered as his eyes flicked to her neck again. The concern was obvious on his face, but he could barely got a word out as Ultron blasted them with a ray of burning beams.
