B-Squad Common Room, SPD HQ [Evening, 11/23/2026]

[needsaparrot]

The last time Xander missed a really important call, he'd had no other excuse than not hearing the ringtone over his hometown falling into a sinkhole around his ears.

This time, at least he could say it wasn't his fault. The thing hadn't given so much as a buzz in the last two days -- which was actually kind of ridiculous, like half his construction clients had decided to go on vacation or something -- and then all of a sudden the message light was blinking at him from atop the pizza box he hadn't even opened yet.

Funny how, once he'd let it play, Xander really didn't give a crap that it wasn't his fault (or even entirely believe that, because... because there should've been something.)

He wasn't much in the mood for pizza anymore, either.
__
[Open for texts/calls/people who live in THE FUTURE. Mmm, pizza.]

Comments

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Xander, I..." It was getting to feel so wrong to say 'sorry', when the losses kept piling up, were so painful and huge. "I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could do."

[needsaparrot]

By this time, he'd heard enough from Jen to have at least a vague, one-eyed glimpse of the picture. "Are people missing from your place too?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"And places. Random ones. Kamchatka. Philadelphia. One of the guys you helped rescue has disappeared." Parker's voice was tight with worry. "I'm trying to get to Fandom, with the rest of my crew."

[needsaparrot]

"People are gone from the Ranger histories, Jen says. Like they never existed."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Christ." Parker grimaced. "I'm trying to get to Fandom; nothing's disappeared from there yet, but getting more than one ticket is... challenging." Or nearly impossible. "Are you and Bridge leaving yet?"

[needsaparrot]

"I haven't even talked to him about this yet; we just started putting things together." And by we, he meant himself, Jen, and the pizza. "Jarod still okay? And his sister?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Jarod's okay. Emily and the rest of their family are living off the grid right now." How terrible would it be, if he just forgot them, after so long trying to get them back? "Isabel's... you should call her. She's not good."

[needsaparrot]

"We're supposed to go see her pretty soon." Xander leaned back on the couch and rubbed his forehead. "If that's still on; hell if I know."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"At Ronan's place? Because that's where she and Wyatt are now," Parker said, stomach sinking. "Have you talked to her in the last couple days?"

[needsaparrot]

"No. What's she doing... dumb question, I guess." Xander glanced at his phone. "She might've tried to call; Mel's message didn't come through live. Whatever this is may be messing with the phones too, least on this end."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"I wouldn't bet it's not." Parker grimaced, shaking her head, thinking of Mel. She'd known her far more through Xander than the one or two times she'd run into her, but she was Xander's first Slayer that he took responsibility for. First one who called him 'Watcher.' "God, this reminds me of you disappearing for seven months and coming back seven *years later."

[needsaparrot]

"You think?" Kind of the first thing he'd thought of too. "That's not really upping my itch to go anywhere by portal, though, gotta say."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Can't say I disagree, not the way Portalocity is screwing around, but what's the other choice? Wyatt? I don't want the guy to have to airlift me out of here unless he has to." And even that was iffy, after Isabel and Wyatt's near-miss. "Remember how they routed me through twelve places that one summer before I crashed at your place?"

[needsaparrot]

"I remember how Alanna fell through our ceiling, too." And how long had it been since anyone had heard from them? When technology barely worked to start with, it was always hard to tell if something was wrong, or just someone's reality drifting away from Fandom.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Note to self: start a new interdimensional company after this mess is resolved," Parker said, trying to joke, but sounding far too grim. "God. I hope she's okay too. Haven't heard from her in a while." She shook her head. "I've already moved a ton of money to the bank at Fandom, to make sure that people can... stay. As long as they need to."

[needsaparrot]

"I'll talk to Bridge about going, but I think I already know what he'll say -- the point of SPD is to be here to stop crap like this." Not that there was any crap like this, but. Alien crap, weird-ass universe-destroying crap, same principle.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"That's great, but have your damn parachutes ready. This is taking out whole worlds, Xander," Parker said, sounding sharper than she wanted to. Her voice softened. "Don't wait so long you scare the crap out of us."