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It was a shame when mission-stuff got in the way of mission bonding. Becca really was enjoying spending more time with their trainee. When her significant other inevitably grounded her, she wanted to take a more proactive role in helping with training up the newbies. Maya had a knack for it, and the Scot wanted to do her part to lead their next generation of heroes.

Sadly, team-building would have to take place amidst the action now. The creature looked different from a bird. There was some connection there, she had to guess, but the creature’s features were closer to those of a lizard in some ways. Were they stumbling into some genetic experiment? Maybe just a miracle.

”If aw we dae today is gie a sneak peak ay some marvel ay nature, Ah’ll call today a win,” she admitted hopefully. She kept her shield raised, carefully stepping around the small creature. ”Til then, stick close. If there are mair ay this wee thing, we coods gie swarmed. For aw we know, they’re venomous.”

Taking the lead, they stepped forward and their tunnel seemed to meet with another, like approaching the base of the forking paths. Before she could look down the path not taken, Valkyrie heard skittering approaching. A lot of it. Bracing for trouble, she tensed and watched as a group of two-foot-tall lizards ran past the team and ahead of them toward the warmth further into the tunnel.

Except… in the low-light, with her cat eyes, she realized those weren’t lizards.

Disbelief and curiosity pushed Valkyrie to follow the pack, waving for the rest of the team to stay close. She had to know she was not crazy.

The temperature kept rising until the tunnel finally opened up. They had been running toward something. And this was sure something.

They knew there was some kind of geothermal network under the ice and snow. Valkyrie was not expecting a dome-like natural cavern that went for miles in all directions. They were still underground, but churning currents of magma, some clusters of dim luminescent crystals, and reflective metal deposits provided enough light to keep the interior of the cavern visible.

Which was great. It would have been a shame if Valkyrie was the only one to see a brachiosaurus in the distance craning its massive neck low to eat from squat, subterranean vegetation. ”Nae birds,” she spoke breathlessly. ”They were definitely nae birds.”

Becca was indeed a hot mess all of three years ago. It was crazy to look back at how far she had come, maturing into her adulthood and her new life. As far as she was concerned, Serena had a head start on her there. She would do her best to encourage good behavior from her slightly younger friend.

Taking the initiative as Alice’s big sister helped. ”Ah’m sure she’ll appreciate havin’ a place tae gae when she needs it.” Nessa and Booker, for all they bickered, clearly loved one another and were good at offering sibling support. Some days Nessa said that just meant being on the couch and decompressing with video games.

They had a low bar set by their other family, evidently. ”It’s twenty-twenty and Ah refuse tae believe there arenae some bisexual princesses, at the least,” she joked. ”And ye can totally pull it off. Yer an X-Man; ‘at’s gonna impress th’ lassies. Actually, we can aways introduce ye tae Queen Achlus on th’ next Atlantis trip,” she suggested playfully, remembering the smoky beauty she definitely did not spend her first visit crushing on.

Rebecca felt bad because she knew she should work harder to stay in touch when life got crazy. Serena did disappear to take care of things in her own life, but they lived in a globalized world. Going forward, she was going to stop letting friends vanish. You would have thought she would have learned that after Agnes.

”Aye, Ah suppose we hae started a wee family ay our own,” she admitted proudly, taking a big bite of her brownie and savoring the gooey chocolate. In Rebecca’s eyes, Kalos was already part of her life in a way any sister or daughter would be.

And much like Rebecca, Serena was learning how to be part of someone’s family. She wanted to do right by Alice, which was admirable. It sounded like they needed each other, with how the rest of their family acted. ”Ah dinnae think ye owe forgiveness fer ‘at, at least nae noo. Bit noo ‘at ye and Alice hae each aither, ye’ll make things work, Serena. Focus on ‘at first, and th’ rest, ye’ll figure it.”

After being born into a standard Glasgow life, it was fascinating and horrifying to know that families like Serena’s still existed. Rebecca laughed at what her grandmother almost made Serena do. ”She clearly has ne’er met ye. Ah say dae nae agree til she can marry ye aff tae a princess. Know yer worth, girl.”

Becca always regretted not becoming better friends with Sam. He was an important person in Gawain’s life and her peer on the X-Team. Things just never seemed to line up for them, and the mess with Jules did not make things easier. Still, this Sam had never put Jules through all that trouble; he was as innocent. Well. About as innocent as Sam got.

She would accept the bump on his head as penance as she stifled a giggle. ”It was Gawain’s bit as his girlfriend, Ah hae rights tae it.” She scrunched her nose, admittedly annoyed by the pilfering of a potential snack, before remembering her purpose and softening. ”Luckily, Ah came hear fer somethin’ sweet, sae ye gie tae live today, Sam.”

Becca grasped the handle of the freezer, wondering if it had been recently polished. It felt smoother than normal. ”Ah mean, Ah was gang ahead wi’ assumin’ becomin’ a wee brat puts ye on sabbatical.”

Reaching into the freezer, Becca spotted a carton of death by chocolate. Pleased to see some survived the day, she reached for the carton.

And it slipped out of her hands, falling back into the shelf. Was it covered in ice? A cardboard carton should not be so slippery.

Two more failed attempts and she furrowed her brow. She went into the utensil drawer and pulled the ice cream scooper out. It almost immediately fell from her hand, clattering on the floor. It. Was. Her. ”Fuck a duck, this kid’s testin’ mah patience awready.”

Wow, had Serena been gone that long? Life had moved so fast these past years, Atlantis now felt so long ago for Becca. ”Aye. And Ah’m here tae catch ye up! Efter we showed up an' overthroogh a bigoted telepathic tyrant, we've started allowin' some ay th' oppressed yoong physical mutants tae move haur fur protection. A fresh start fur th' puir kids.” It was heart-warming to see the gorgon children finally working through the damage that came from living in their warped society.

”Kalos was th’ first, though. Got attached tae Mirror, and noo she’s loch a… yoonger sister? Daughter? Bit ay baith, Ah suppose.” It was hard to explain what Kalos was specifically to Maya and Becca, but whatever it was, it was family.

Family was an interesting topic and Serena had plenty of family stuff to unpack. She came from a Downton Abbey-like background with all the infighting and compelling tv-level drama, and like a good tv drama, Serena was actually the long-lost half-sister estranged from her own family.

Rebecca blew out a breath. ”Wow. That’s… quite a lot. Ye find it abit yer family, then abit yer sister-- who’s a good kid, by th’ way, in case ye were worried.” Distractable? Sure. But she would take thirty Alices over some of her actual problem students. ”Soonds loch yer dad was quite th’ character, though.” Having a kid with one woman, then her sister; that really was a twist out of a soap opera.

But that did not have to be the focus here. ”Hoo are ye wi’ yer family noo? Dae ye talk t’ them, ur are ye th’ black sheep? An’ Alice? Ah hope ye two hae hit it aff noo ‘at ye’ve met proper?”

Becca looked around the living area she had grown accustomed to since moving in with Mirror and smiled. It was not exactly an apartment on the west side of Manhattan, but it had its charm. "Aye, th' staff suites are designed tae offer a wee bit mair space than th' standard rooms. After aw, it's gotta fit me, Maya, an' Kalos."

Nearly reaching for a brownie, Becca stopped and realized she should clarify. "Oh. Kalos is a girl frae Atlantis Maya sort ay adopted." Whether she was seen more as a little sister or a surrogate daughter was murky.

Finally nibbling a corner from a deliciously dense brownie, Becca watched Serena's face when Amelia's name was dropped. Yeah, maybe she should hold off on bringing up Serea's ex.

They could focus on Serena and Alice. Becca smiled warmly at the wholesome change of topic to Serena's sister. "We haen't, bit Ah pieced it together. Last name Rivers, posh Brittish accent, blonde roots. Seemed likely tae me. Sae was she jist a sister ye didnae know abit? Ur hud ye jist nae seen 'er in a lang time?"

Amelia was settling down, though this change in her still had Becca bristling. At least she could take solace in Ami’s offer. Setting up a meeting, clearing the air, and settling secrets. Becca wanted to comment on secrets she was sure SUPER still carried, but she held her tongue. This was not the time to push issues.

The secrets did bother Amelia, but what she went through that night was not totally banished from her mind. ”Ah think yer richt. Tae talk tae someain. If ye’re really thinkin’ ay goin’ back tae SUPER, they damn better cover ye fer that.” If you were going to put people into situations where they had to warp their morals or take a life, you better take care of them. And maybe, just maybe, if they could get them to accept Amelia’s current mental duality, they could work with her on that as well. Becca did not want to trust SUPER, but the world was messy and she did not get everything she wanted.

Becca managed a smile. ”When yer ready, if yer ready, Ah’ll make th’ call. Frae there… we’ll gie ye wherever ye feel ye need tae be.” Amelia was an adult, and the best Becca could be now was a friend to have her back.