( AND A-ONE - video | action if you desire! )

[gummies]

[Clickity-click. Hi guys. Hope you weren't hoping for a damsel in distress asking IS THIS THE REAL LIFE, because all you're getting from Shea the Bright Little Crayon is a very long, dramatically pitched,]

Hello-ooooooo?

[And pause.]

Man, this is some fancy gadget. Don't see the maker's name anywhere.

[Yes, that would be the sound of her shaking it to see if anything jingles inside. Now that's the sign of good workmanship. You're lucky she didn't just decide to sell it off.

(She's lucky, actually. But moving on.)]

Anyway-! I'm feelin' kinda lost right now, but I'm guessing one or two of you might be able to help me out? I'm looking for my big sis. Her name's Riley. Long brown hair, eyes like this, [she presses her fingers against the corners of her eyes and pulls softly,] Always smoking or talking about our bike. Always dresses in black, too. Can't be hard to miss!

[And yep! That's pretty much it. But after a beat her voice becomes a little distant, suddenly groaning with slight discomfort.]

Man, I should not have eaten that thing...

Anyway - thanks! Bye.

Comments

[gummies]

Why pay rent when you can crash in places for free? [Stick around, kids, you'll learn stories of success with this one. Or just how to be a hobo.] Don't drink, though. That stuff's expensive.

[gummies]

Shame. Woulda liked to meet a movie star. [Oh, well.] What's your name?

[gummies]

Mothership? What's that?

[lost_humanity]

Their base of operations, a large organic ship that orbited the Earth like a massive satellite. It was hidden behind the moon for several years.

[gummies]

Whoa! You hid a ship behind the moon?

[askedtobe]

It's Peter- Petrelli. Not a movie star, just a guy that used to be a nurse.

[lost_humanity]

The Taelons did. I just happened to be in their employ for some time.

[gummies]

Oh, right. So - were they aliens? Or did they have a weird name for some other reason?

[gummies]

[Humans with gender-specific and family names. She's... still not used to that. But she thinks she likes it.]

Nurse? You should be super useful around these parts, then! In case somebody gets hurt. [She leans in, lowering her voice momentarily,] Don't take my word for it, but it looks like it's gonna happen a lot.

Anyway! Name's Shea. Just Shea. Nice to meetcha, Peter Petrelli.

[lecousindangereux]

Yeah. That's why being a grown up is knowing how to get people to buy it for you.

[Clearly they were both raised with strong family moral values.]

[gummies]

[AW YEAH.]

You gotta introduce me to the grown ups you know, then!

[lecousindangereux]

I don't-

[Hmm. This did add tricky things.]

...know anyone here. But come on. It's still got guys. How hard can it be?

[gummies]

Can't be that hard. This place is packing with people who look like they'll get us just about anything.

[lecousindangereux]

Maybe even real food. I don't know why so much comes in paste form here but I'm going to lose my freaking mind.

[Pause]

We should make a team. To get things.

[For Maeby]

[gummies]

Fine by me! What's your name?

[lecousindangereux]

Maeby. You?

[gummies]

I like your name. Mine's Shea.

[lecousindangereux]

The only thing my parents managed some creativity on. I'm still kinda shocked I did get called 'child' to save time. Anyway, you think they got hamburgers in space?

[gummies]

'Course they've got hamburgers in space! Hamburgers are like, some universal classic. Trust me.

[She doesn't have the slightest idea.]

You lived with your parents?

[lecousindangereux]

And my uncles and my cousin and any one else who could squeeze in and- look, 'nuff to say I could really use my own room. I can't remember what it's like to have a house that doesn't smell like regret and sadness.

[askedtobe]

You too, Shea.

[ He might be smiling, just a little, from the whole whispering under her breath thing. ] Don't know how much help i'll be, since I don't think there's a whole lotta humans around here, but I'll do what I can, I guess. Can't help to try.

[gummies]

Jeez! That's a whole lotta people. [Mind - kinda blown.] So you guys had your own house and everything?

[The point is kind of flying over her head. Families and households are kind of a foreign concept.]

[gummies]

Think taking care of an alien would be real hard? Like - I bet their blood's colored different and everything. How weird would that be?

[lecousindangereux]

A model house. It looks functional and expensive on the outside, but is really falling apart and filled with cheap crap and unfinished plumbing.

[If Maeby had actually attended high school, she'd mention this was also a (bad) metaphor for her family. As it is, she finally notices something.]

So?

[gummies]

At least you had plumbing! [SWEET] Wondering what that's like. [regret and sadness aside.]