fandomhigh | Newbie Shuttle, Portalocity Terminal, BWI (Saturday Morning Fandom Time)

After everyone was done shouting at and/or hugging him to say goodbye – and there had been a lot of both –Victor Mancha had two choices in getting from Los Angeles to BWI. The first was taking a commercial flight, which would have been reassuringly normal.

The problem was that, even if he somehow got past the metal detectors, he suspected his circuitry might count as the kind of portable electronic device that wasn’t very takeoff-and-landing-friendly. He didn’t exactly have an easy off switch, and crashing a plane by mistake seemed like a big step towards super-villainhood.

Which meant he got to the Baltimore airport via portal. He’d never been through one before so he didn’t have much to go by, but it seemed like a nice portal: If nothing else, it smelled far better than Cloak’s ... cloak had. Victor was grateful to know that hadn’t been the state-of-the-art in teleporting.

And now he was on the East Coast other than New York for the first time. Once he’d exhausted the little potential for exploration the terminal had, he sat in a semi-comfortable airport chair, suitcase at his feet, and tried to break the Tetris high score on his phone while keeping watch for any other kids.

[OOC: Operation newbies: Go! I will be slow for a few hours after 5:30 EST, but otherwise around all night.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

While she was keeping a sharp lookout for anything she might perceive as a threat, the fact that Sia wasn't finding any and was able to walk around unnoticed was encouraging. She wasn't used to portals or airports, not spaceports, but she took those things in stride and once she spotted people who looked to be her age asked, "Is this where the group to Fandom is meeting?"

"Looks like it," Victor said, cheerfully enough. "Hi, I'm Victor. I'm still trying to learn everybody else's name."

"Mine is Marasiah," she said. Which was probably a name he'd either remember forever or forget immediately. "There are fewer people than I expected somehow."

Victor's mom had been Marianella. He'd remember Marasiah because it sounded similar.

... also because of the photographic memory. Details.

"I didn't know what to expect," he admitted. "It's kind of been a little while since I went to school."

"Tutors?" she assumed. That was her excuse.

You try being a princess in exile and going to class.

"Homeschooling," Victor equivocated. "Things got kind of weird for a while."

"When aren't they," she said a little dryly, figuring she could relate there. "Is that why you're here?"

Victor laughed softly. "I've been waiting for them to un-weird for about a year now," he said. "Doesn't seem to be happening. And yeah, pretty much. There was a -- bad breakup thing. Seemed like getting away for a while made sense."

He glanced over. "What about you?"

"It was time for a change of scenery," she replied.

Because the real answer was a little complicated and this was still technically true.

"Hope we both find the change we're looking for, then," he answered.

"Sure is," Frank chimed in helpfully. "Kind of huge, right? I've never been in an airport before, so I got kind of lost at first."

"Congratulations on finding it, then," she said, with a little smile.

"You too," he offered, smiling back. "I'm Frank, by the way. Freshman. How about you?"

"Marasiah. Sophomore, I believe." If she sounded the tiniest bit unsure, well. It was rare, but it happened occasionally.

"Neat," said Frank. Older women. Nice. "Where are you from, Marasiah?"

"Coruscant," she replied ~~because that's one of those things canon doesn't answer~~, because that was as good a place to give as any. "Nowhere near here."

"It's weird, right?" Frank offered sympathetically. "I'm from New York, so, kinda far but not that bad. Is Coruscant in Europe?"

...sure, Frank.

He must have been one of those who never got to leave his homeworld.

"Another planet," Sia replied.

"Oh, you too? Just like that other guy!" Yes, Frank. Like that other guy. "I've never met people from other planets before. That's really cool. Are you excited to be here, or do you do space travel, like, all the time?"

"I do a lot of traveling," she replied. "This is however my first exposure to another galaxy."

She said that like it was nothing, too. Blame the Vong for making that seem normal.

"I do hope so," Thomasina said, "or I'm afraid I've found myself in yet another unexpected place."

At least it seemed to be the same time, this time, were that the case.

"Thomasina Coverly. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Marasiah," she said, still working up to feeling comfortable enough to throw her last name around. "Are unexpected places a habit for you?"

"Within the last few days, at least," Thomasina explained. "I am... rather suddenly finding myself coming to Fandom, due to a change in circumstances."

That seemed the easiest way to describe what happened without getting into details like, "I jumped out of my bedroom window in 1812 because my room caught fire, and landed on the ground in 2012." It seemed unfathomable to Thomasina, and it had happened to her.

"It is not a habit I'd particularly developed prior, though, no."

"Changes in circumstances aren't always bad things," Sia decided. "Which I'm sure you'll be finding out one way or another soon enough."

Thomasina nodded enthusiastically. "This one certainly has offered me many opportunities for learning," she explained, in a tone that indicated that this was the best possible outcome.

Nerd.

Newbie Shuttle, Portalocity Terminal, BWI (Saturday Morning Fandom Time)

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