(I couldn't find a relevent photo. Sorry not sorry.)

"Welp.. She's dead."

"Lauryn, don't be an asshole."

"You're not my mom!"

"So what're we supposed ta do with her?! Do we even know what in Spiderman's nutsack is going on?!"

"If she's pale raise the tail, if she's red raise the head~"

"Lauryn, what in the hell does that even mean?"

"Shut up! She's waking up, morons."

Your head throbbed as you sat up slowly. Mark was sitting next to you, Sean was crouching next to Lauryn, who was building a castle with the cards, and Barry leaned against the windowsill. Chica sniffed your neck protectively, before snorting and laying down behind you.

"So... Ultron.. What's up with that..?" Lauryn questioned, bending a card slightly.

You blinked a few times. Right, the text-to-speech voice saying that Bristol died and you were basically in a world of trouble with a stranger.

"Basically, Bristol was nothing compared to the storm we have coming." You stated abruptly. The room went silent, save for the soft 'fwip' of the card Lauryn had been playing with flying from her hand.

"N-nani?" Sean asked after a moment. Mark just stared.

"Well it was a good run." Lauryn noted, standing suddenly and shouldering her Rainbow Dash backpack. "You're on your own. Good luck, nerds!" The geek sped-walked to the door, only to be caught at the doorframe by Mark, who gently grabbed the Pikachu keychain on her bag. The editor sighed, walking backwards so that Mark didn't snap off her singed charm.

"What?" She asked defeatedly, looking down at Mark.

"As much as it pains me to say this.." Mark looked down at his feet. "I think you and I both know that I-"

"-I love you too, Mark!"

"What?"

"What?"

Mark cleared his throat again, ignoring the interjection. "I think you and I both know that it's important we stay together. We all have targets on our backs, and as much as I hate it, you're our best bet at figuring out what the hell is going on."

"You're gosh diggity darn right I am!" Lauryn slammed the door shut, spinning to face you. "C'mon (Y/n), let's go shopping." You furrowed your brow and looked at her.

"What good would that do?" You inquired, crossing your arms defiantly.

"Ah-ha-hah! All the good in the world, friend." Lauryn exclaimed loudly, causing Chica to take a few steps back. "For starters, we gotta throw off Ultron's drones-"

You nodded and pretended to understand.

"-and we get to do some girl talk!" the shut-in sang cheerfully "Aw man, we're going to have some fun, hun. We can get a slushy at the mall, look at shoes-"

Lauryn turned her back to the others and wrapped her arm around your shoulders. She leaned in and whispered, almost silently. "-And we can talk about boys." She giggled childishly, while out of you peripheral you spotted Mark and Sean rolling their eyes in sync.

"That's great, but.. We don't have any money.." You commented, silencing the woman-girl.

"Oh, honey, you don't have any money. I however have a stack of gift cards, that maybe might contain money, burning a hole in my back pocket."

"Great."

"Well gentlemen and Chica, we'll be off. Stay safe, and if we aren't back in four hours, know that we're probably dead and you're all in horrible danger. Later, nerds!" With that, Lauryn grabbed you and swung the door shut behind the two of you. "Onward, dear (Y/n)!"

Together you strode out into the sunlight, her keychain jingling rhythmically, and your heart beating quickly. There was something wrong.

You couldn't place it. Something in the air held a feeling of anxiety and foreboding.

'Is it her? What is Lauryn's deal anyway? She's awfully chipper, even after her house exploding.."

"Hey. (Y/n).." Lauryn froze, glaring down at you. "Did I ever tell you how I met Barry?" Her face could rival that of Stone-Faced Tyler himself. You swallowed, shaking your head slightly. "I figured as much. It's a long story, so I won't tell it. I will, however, say that it involves familiar faces, lots of coding, and being pelted with m&ms."

"Cool?"

"Not cool, hun. Those suckers left welts." Lauryn began walking again, briskly.

"What does this have to do with.. uh.. Ultron?" You questioned, struggling to keep up with her long strides. Without looking at you, the girl spoke.

"Barry won't be there when we get back."

Oof.. What a shameless author insert. :3

Anyhoo, hello! I'm writing again, if you couldn't tell. If you didn't read my status update on my main page, I'll sum it up for you:

"Don't go to college, learn a trade that you like. Also I have more chapters in my head because work is boring."

I don't really have much more to say other than that. Oh! Thank you to everyone who has been so patient while waiting for this update. I received a LOT of "u r still alive????" and "UPDATE YOU FOOL OMG I HATE THAT YOU DON'T UPDATE UGH" messages whilst I was away, so that just makes your patience and understanding that much more supportive and flattering. I really, really appreciate all of you being so great to me, even when I'm not providing content. Y'all are amazing, really.

Alright, that's my sappy rambling over with. I'll quit stalling and give ya your P.S. thing. I've made you wait far too long already. But, I really do love you all. I'll catch you next update. See ya! ~Lizard

P.S. 01010011 01110111 01100101 01100101 01110100 00100000 01100100 01110010 01100101 01100001 01101101 01110011 ;P