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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Oct 3, 2018 20:37:01 GMT -5
...........................
Bzzzzzzzzzzzz...
...........................
Bzzzzzzzzzzzz...
"Uuuuuuuuuuuugh..."
The moment Lydia opened her eyes, the morning sunlight pierced her retinas and struck her cranium, turning her headache from a dull throb into sharp, splitting agony. Her mouth was dry, every muscle in her body was sore, and a boiling pool of toxic sludge was churning in her stomach. While her half-opened eyes weakly attempted to adjust to the light, she focused them on her bedside clock; seeing that it was 9:27 AM made her realize only now that she had forgotten to set her alarm.
Sparks shot through her arm as she slowly raised it off the bed and grabbed her vibrating phone off her nightstand. She knew it was a call, and she was almost completely certain who it was.
Begrudgingly, Lydia hit the accept button and pressed her phone to her ear.
"Hello...?"
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ThePopcornFairy
Poster On Dah Wall
Slightly Used and Mostly Confused
Posts: 223
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Post by ThePopcornFairy on Oct 3, 2018 20:42:00 GMT -5
"Where ARE you?!" a deep, agitated, all-too-familiar voice demanded from the other end. "We've been waiting for you for over an hour! You're putting all of us severely behind schedule!"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Oct 3, 2018 20:49:13 GMT -5
Lydia weakly attempted to sit up, only managing to roll onto her back. From there, she glared at the ceiling as her father chewed her out through the phone. Not only was his voice driving more nails into her already pounding head, but the redundancy of this situation was obnoxious in its own right. She would've figured he'd be used to this behavior from her by now.
"Sorry, Dad," she grunted, her voice droning with discomfort and nary a trace of actual empathy. "Forgot to set the alarm. Not exactly used to having to do that on a Friday."
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ThePopcornFairy
Poster On Dah Wall
Slightly Used and Mostly Confused
Posts: 223
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Post by ThePopcornFairy on Oct 3, 2018 20:55:23 GMT -5
Dr. Pendleton let out a long, irritated sigh, easily recognizing the situation based on his daughter's tone and behavior. "Lydia, are you hungover? You've known about this assignment well in advance! Why do you have to constantly risk jeopardizing this project by inebriating yourself mere moments before your role becomes pivotal?"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Oct 3, 2018 21:00:58 GMT -5
"Dad, I'm fiiiiine," Lydia groaned, painfully forcing herself upright in spite of the daggers jabbing her in every joint imaginable. "I just woke up with a headache. I'll be ready to fly by the time I get there, you'll see. When have I ever ruined a mission by having a little bit to drink the night before? It's not like I'm walking into the lab completely wasted."
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ThePopcornFairy
Poster On Dah Wall
Slightly Used and Mostly Confused
Posts: 223
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Post by ThePopcornFairy on Oct 3, 2018 21:10:25 GMT -5
"Lydia, I've told you time and time again that your conduct and lack of self-control reflects poorly on all of us," Dr. Pendleton scolded. "No matter how vital your position is, you can't expect the rest of us to bend over backwards just for you when we've all put in a considerable amount of time and effort. And it wouldn't be so bad if you didn't keep doing this! This self-destructive behavior has to stop, not only for your wellbeing, but for the integrity of this project."
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Oct 3, 2018 21:14:54 GMT -5
That was the beauty of having a boss who was also your father. You got reprimanded twice as hard.
"Oh, what're you gonna do, fire me?" Lydia grumbled bitterly, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and frowning at the wall. "Find another pilot who's both perpetually sober and STUPID enough to actually take this job?"
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ThePopcornFairy
Poster On Dah Wall
Slightly Used and Mostly Confused
Posts: 223
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Post by ThePopcornFairy on Oct 3, 2018 21:20:17 GMT -5
"Don't you take that tone with me, young lady!" Dr. Pendleton snapped, well past the point of tolerating her attitude. "I'm not going to argue about your life choices anymore. Just get down here so we can launch! The longer you keep us waiting, the more we risk our guy's position changing!"
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Oct 3, 2018 21:26:19 GMT -5
"Young lady"? I'm twenty-six, Dad...
"No problem," Lydia mumbled halfheartedly, clearly also not in the mood to argue, instead focusing on mustering what little energy she had in order to stand. "Just give me... a half hour. I'll be there. Okay?"
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ThePopcornFairy
Poster On Dah Wall
Slightly Used and Mostly Confused
Posts: 223
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Post by ThePopcornFairy on Oct 3, 2018 21:29:40 GMT -5
"You better." And that was all Dr. Pendleton said before ending the call, begrudgingly trusting his daughter's word and leaving both her and the project's fate in her hands.
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Post by Pink Moon Wolf on Oct 3, 2018 22:24:56 GMT -5
"Ungrateful jack*ss..." Lydia grumbled as she finally stood up off the bed, sluggishly stormed out of the bedroom, and made her way towards the kitchen. Sure, she was used to her father's nagging and general apathy, but it was never an ideal wake-up call.
Soon enough, Lydia had assembled her typical hangover breakfast: eggs over medium, multigrain toast, black coffee, antacid, ibuprofen. She sat down on her living room couch, eating numbly but drinking heavily while she picked up the folder lying on her coffee table, opting to reread her case files one more time before she was hurled into action.
Her target this time around was a guy named Riordan von Felden. A mage, and a dangerously powerful one at that. He was a member of a small band also consisting an ex-criminal vampire and a mentally unstable inventor with a legendary weapon of mass destruction. This group had been marked with a collective red flag, but Mexus was targeting Riordan specifically due to his unstable output of raw magic. Keeping tabs on him would be especially important, but he was likely also the best option through which to keep tabs on all three of them.
After studying every little detail of her case file and pictures, Lydia set the folder aside and looked around as she continued to sip her coffee, desperate for the caffeine to stave off her hangover. Her living room was a mess; she always claimed she would clean it later, but later never came. Newspapers littered the coffee table and shelves, some local, some imported from other universes, and many of them reduced to only the job postings. Random knick-knacks and aviator memorabilia lay scattered about, and hidden amongst them were several bottles of empty or half-empty liquor. A robot arm on a tripod stood nearby; a gift from Mexus that refused to work properly for her and was always one wrong move away from getting tossed out in frustration.
Her eyes landed on a framed picture sitting atop the side table to her right. Within that framed picture, Max offered her an excited grin as she stood before the glistening waters and sandy shores of Giant's Lake, a remnant of the day Lydia had flown the two of them down to the rainforest for a brief, impromptu vacation. Looking at this picture now filled Lydia only with regret. It seemed like such a long time ago that Max was genuinely happy to see her. She knew she should get rid of the photo to avoid any future heartache, but... later. Not now. She wasn't ready.
Oh, look at that, she was out of coffee. What little remained of her eggs was cold by now, but she opted to shovel it down regardless. Her meals would be small and scattered for the next couple hours, after all. With breakfast out of the way, Lydia got up off the couch, stuffed her dishes in the dishwasher, and prepped a second cup of coffee to go. While her travel mug was getting filled, she returned to her room to get herself ready...
After thoroughly brushing the taste of last night out of her mouth, Lydia donned the usual attire: a white tank top, green jacket, green pants, brown boots, hair in a ponytail, no makeup. Minimal effort was required of her looks for a job as unglamorous as hers. By this point, she was feeling... adequate. Not great, but not bad. She was awake, at least, albeit in a state of emotional numbness... but at this point, what else was new?
She looked into her full-length bedroom mirror, offering her reflection a deadpan frown and earning one back for her efforts. Suffice to say, she wasn't a fan of what she saw. What she wouldn't give to see something other than her own mediocre mug in that mirror for once...
She slapped herself in the face, after which she shot her reflection a semi-deranged smile.
"How does that feel? Feels good. Then do it again."
After another slap, she looked into the mirror again, mustering a calm, cool grin. "The Lydia Pendleton machine... zero defects."
Two seconds later, her smile vanished. Looking appropriately disgruntled again, Lydia turned, picked up the briefcase sitting next to her door, grabbed her case file off the couch and stuffed it inside, retrieved her travel mug and keys from the kitchen, then stepped out of her apartment and into the world, not exactly ready but at least willing to face another day on the job.
She stretched, took a deep breath, and looked to the clear blue sky, enjoying the view while she still could.
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