Doubts and Discoveries

"I'm Jake Nelson," says Armor. "No powers, I'm just an athletic sleuth with a knack for the sciences. On my world, I enjoy a certain amount of popularity that most costumed folks lack; something about being a hardworking guy plugging away on behalf of the rest of mankind." He grins ruefully. "I sure wouldn't mind having more up my sleeve than research-and-development skills, but so far hitting the gym and the library have been enough."

"In my free time, I'd recently finished reconstructing the art of alchemy -- the experiments worked out great -- and was looking forward to putting my conclusions about interdimensional travel into practice by putting the finishing touches on my prototype device. Never got the chance, though; like Cross, I just woke up here, is all."

Doc said to Morgan and the others, "As for these Garou, I'm not sure why we see names and echoes repeated across realities. It might be as simple as we see what we look for. I do know that most of them have very strong wills."

Crumble found it hard to look away from Tigerwasp and her movements weren't helping. Doc glanced at his bodyguard with a hint of amusement and replied to Tigerwasp, "I'd love to help you out of your..." Clearly about to say 'clothes' Doc hesitated then added, "Um... that didn't come out right. I meant I'd be glad to help you. I have some ideas that you might like." Perhaps Doc was more affected by Tigerwasp than he wanted to admit.

Doc listened intently to everything that was said and he tried to make patterns and plans. He commented to Armor and the others, "Interesting, we all had temporal experiences of one sort or another. I can well believe that some other power is involved, we had best expect more. I'd very much like review your design."

"Is there a shower? If you are going to talk technical, then I can spend a good hour so in the bathroom." Tigerwasp offered. She had no interest in technical discussions. She generally had an adverse effect on anything technological; mobile phones and computers seemed to absolutely loathe her touch. She hoped the shower wasn't digitally controlled. Maybe she could luxuriate in a bath. That last thought brought a smile to her full and painted lips.

Doctor Chronos wrote:Doc listened intently to everything that was said and he tried to make patterns and plans. He commented to Armor and the others, "Interesting, we all had temporal experiences of one sort or another. I can well believe that some other power is involved, we had best expect more. I'd very much like review your design."

"No problem on pooling our assets," said Armor. "Do you have any interdimensional resources of your own? My device is plug-and-play with the right kind of power source, but I'll need to make some quick alterations if there's nothing external to tap and modify."

Armor wrote:"No problem on pooling our assets," said Armor. "Do you have any interdimensional resources of your own? My device is plug-and-play with the right kind of power source, but I'll need to make some quick alterations if there's nothing external to tap and modify."

Doc replied, "I have..."

Joe interrupted, "No you don't. Bad idea."

Doc frowned with irritation and continued, "I have a non-mechanical power which is cross-time."

Joe shook his head in disagreement and said, "Local tech is cheap and replaceable and my ass is neither."

Doc hand waved that and said, "We have several options..."

Tigerwasp wrote:"Is there a shower? If you are going to talk technical, then I can spend a good hour so in the bathroom." Tigerwasp offered. She had no interest in technical discussions. She generally had an adverse effect on anything technological; mobile phones and computers seemed to absolutely loathe her touch. She hoped the shower wasn't digitally controlled. Maybe she could luxuriate in a bath. That last thought brought a smile to her full and painted lips.

Doc said, "Joe, would you?"

Joe nodded and said to Tigerwasp, "This way... and I have one heck of an idea for re-clothing you."

(If Tigerwasp follows Joe he'll lead her to a huge bath room which has a monster Jacuzzi. If she stays to listen in on Doc and the others he'll talk with her there).

Joe shifted his clothes into a tee-shirt and shorts, then into a night-club black party suit. He said, "It's called Eufiber. With a bit of practice you can shift it into whatever you want. It'd take a lot of effort but Doc could split off some of his and then heal both sets."

In the main room, Chronos continued, "The local technology is cheap and available, if primitive and non-temporal. I have a limited supply of a much higher level of tech which I brought with me. The clothes on my back as it were. It's more advanced, will present integration issues, is also non-temporal, and on top of that isn't replaceable. Alternatively, through raw power I can try to force my way through to other timelines. This works best if we can find a naturally occurring flaw in this one."

Doc hesitated then let the other shoe drop, "But... that's more of a last desperate chance thing. I can't predict where or when we'll end up. Appearing in a volcano or in a pre-historic ocean are possibilities, Joe dislikes the idea for good reason. What I think we should try, at least to start, is getting your setup to work, probably by hooking it up to the local's power grid."

Doc hesitated again then said, "And I suspect we're going to be disappointed. Someone took a lot of trouble to strand us here. This solution seems too easy."

Doctor Chronos wrote:Doc hesitated then let the other shoe drop, "But... that's more of a last desperate chance thing. I can't predict where or when we'll end up. Appearing in a volcano or in a pre-historic ocean are possibilities, Joe dislikes the idea for good reason. What I think we should try, at least to start, is getting your setup to work, probably by hooking it up to the local's power grid."

Doc hesitated again then said, "And I suspect we're going to be disappointed. Someone took a lot of trouble to strand us here. This solution seems too easy."

"You're probably right about whoever's behind this," Armor replied off-handedly, "but it shouldn't be too hard to solve your volcanoes-or-oceans problem; the occult arts are just one more branch of science in my book, and I figure rigging up a talisman to let a physical self travel around in spirit form will be cheaper and easier than installing a car's transmission." He sounds blandly casual, more like a mechanic than a mystic. "It was the precaution I'd had in mind before making a go of it myself."

"But as you suggest, we should probably first deal with who wants to strand us here, and why. I can guard us against a possible jump into the sun; I can't yet fend off the unknown opposition. Any ideas on how best to start the investigation?"

Armor wrote:"You're probably right about whoever's behind this," Armor replied off-handedly, "but it shouldn't be too hard to solve your volcanoes-or-oceans problem; the occult arts are just one more branch of science in my book, and I figure rigging up a talisman to let a physical self travel around in spirit form will be cheaper and easier than installing a car's transmission." He sounds blandly casual, more like a mechanic than a mystic. "It was the precaution I'd had in mind before making a go of it myself."

Doc said, "Interesting... I think I'm going to like working with you."

Armor wrote:"But as you suggest, we should probably first deal with who wants to strand us here, and why. I can guard us against a possible jump into the sun; I can't yet fend off the unknown opposition. Any ideas on how best to start the investigation?"

Doc had apparently spent some time thinking about this. He replied, "First we verify that we're actually stuck here. If we're not, then we should consider making a quick survey of what is close by and then relocating. That would be just a precaution, I don't *feel* anyone making ripples watching us through time but I'm not sure I would. They may have just dumped us and left."

"I'm bothered by the scale and competence of whoever did this. Assume your gear works and works perfectly. Assume we can follow your trail back so you can get back to when you came. I have the feeling after we find whoever did it then we'll get spanked and perhaps more seriously this time. If we're going to hunt tigers then we need to know what we do when we find them. Something to consider, with me around we're all effectively immortal. I think we should go slow, build up muscle, and be ready and prepared."

Tigerwasp wrote:"That sounds perfect. Still, I'm not sure it will work for me, but I like to give it a try....sometime after the bath." She then set about filling the immense tub. Oils and bath foam were added. Having espied some shampoo and conditioner, she resolved to wash her hair as well. She was very much looking forward to the next 2 hours. Without further ado, she commenced to undress. Joe's presence did not appear to worry her in the slightest.

Joe raised an eyebrow at Tigerwasp's undressing in front of him and more confident than his apparent age would indicate, made no move to retreat. Instead he eyed the seductive creature in front of him and asked innocently(?), "Would you like me to wash your back? There's room for two in there."

"I'm bothered by the scale and competence of
whoever did this. Assume your gear works and works perfectly. Assume
we can follow your trail back so you can get back to when you came. I
have the feeling after we find whoever did it then we'll get spanked and
perhaps more seriously this time. If we're going to hunt tigers then
we need to know what we do when we find them. Something to consider,
with me around we're all effectively immortal. I think we should go
slow, build up muscle, and be ready and prepared."

Armor mulls it over, but in easy-going fashion; he's amenable to plenty, as long as the job gets done. "If you feel there's no point in preparing for a jump until we're strong enough for the opposition, then we can of course focus on that first; investigating our situation, recruiting allies, building up assets, all of it. If, though, you'd prefer I start in on the device, we can begin as soon as you purchase a few key items; should run you a little less than two hundred dollars, all told -- though if you've got a bit of scrap metal on hand, even so much as a dented tin can, I can readily whip up a little gold first, so long as alchemy works as well here as it did back home." He pauses, momentarily uncertain. "Of course, if science doesn't work the same way hereabouts, I'm little more than a quick-thinking acrobat with a funny costume. Speaking of which: are you sure we're all effectively immortal? Have you tested all of your powers to make sure they're still working perfectly?"

" That's a good point",Southern Cross replied." We should all probably check out our powers to see how they function in this reality. Doc Chronos, since you've been here for some days, I take it you've registered? Could you tell us what registration involves and why the people here are so paranoid about metahumans?"

Assume this is the jist of Chronos' reply.
Metas have been around for a long time. The typical heroes we all know are stll here. However, about 45 years ago the Nation of Gaia (think United Nations) enacted the EBRA (enlightened being registraton act) forcing all to register their unnatural gifts.
Some who have failed to register are painted as terrorists and thoughtless vigilantes.

There is not a fear in as much as their is a general distrust of metas by the public.

Registraton involves being quantified and qualified by a local clinic followed by a bond being placed on you in case of damage or harm being done by you. If this happens, you pay the Council back the bond or they enlist you and you work for them for a term.

Tigerwasp wrote:Tigerwasp turned to Joe with a wry smile. She had, thus far, only managed to divest herself of her long gloves.
"That's very sweet of you, but this bath is all mine." She cooed. As soon as she had spoken, she wondered if that was really the best choice. Having her back massaged was also appealing. In the end, the promise of luxuriating and relaxing in self-indulgent bliss won out.
"Perhaps another time. Still, if you really want to be useful, you can help me get these boots off. I love them to bits, but they are a lot easier to get on than off." Talk of her boots set her mind to pondering slight alterations. She wondered if the eufibre could cope with that part of her attire also; could she cope in even higher heels? It was a delicious thought: one she decided to contemplate in cosseting decadence of the awesome bath. Gone now, were all thoughts of her isolation in a strange world, divest of all monies and contacts. The bath beckoned.

Joe gave a mock frown at TW's turning him down then smiled at her request. She was playing with him, this wasn't going to go anywhere, but he'd stay as long as she'd let him.

As if to answer her unspoken question, Joe's eufiber shoes dissolved and his pants retracted into a bathing suit. Joe knelt down and grabbed Tigerwasp's booted ankle with one hand and stroked her calf though the boot with his other hand as he reached up. Joe slowly and sensually pulled the boot off, taking care to brush against TW's skin with his hand as it did so. Joe said, "Give me your other foot."

Armor wrote:...He pauses, momentarily uncertain. "Of course, if science doesn't work the same way hereabouts, I'm little more than a quick-thinking acrobat with a funny costume. Speaking of which: are you sure we're all effectively immortal? Have you tested all of your powers to make sure they're still working perfectly?"

Chronos replied with confidence, "I'm sure. There are some minor differences but it's just a matter of practice, and that means hours, or at most days."

Southern Cross wrote:" That's a good point",Southern Cross replied." We should all probably check out our powers to see how they function in this reality. Doc Chronos, since you've been here for some days, I take it you've registered? Could you tell us what registration involves and why the people here are so paranoid about metahumans?"

Doc replied, "Joe and I registered... although since no one asked if I could make people immortal I didn't volunteer." Doc smiled, "They know just enough for me to claim it was obvious. And I think you should register. It's easier to control the system if you're not hiding from it."


One of Doc's servants knocked politely on the door and handed him a letter/package marked 'urgent, read now'.

Chronos wrote:Joe gave a mock frown at TW's turning him down then smiled at her request. She was playing with him, this wasn't going to go anywhere, but he'd stay as long as she'd let him.


As if to answer her unspoken question, Joe's eufiber shoes dissolved and his pants retracted into a bathing suit. Joe knelt down and grabbed Tigerwasp's booted ankle with one hand and stroked her calf though the boot with his other hand as he reached up. Joe slowly and sensually pulled the boot off, taking care to brush against TW's skin with his hand as it did so. Joe said, "Give me your other foot."

Joe was correct. Tigerwasp was playing with him. It was all fun to her and so she continued to play along. Once she was divest of boots and gloves, she peeled off her skin-tight top and thong.

Given the extremely clingy nature of the rubber, har exquisite form came as no surprise to him. Even her completely hairless fanny seemed natural given the attire she favoured. His view was quite brief however, as she then stepped into the foamy bath. The oily waters caressed her perfect flesh. A broad smile illuminated her glossy lips. She then sprawled beneath the concealing bubbles and found that the bath was indeed big enough that she could almost swim in it. She could certainly float. She submerged herself completely to quickly rise with a shake of her sodden tresses.

"Would you mind washing my hair?" She asked teasingly. "Without getting in." She added for clarification. As an afterthought, she continued. "How little do you think I could actually get away with not wearing? - adventuring wise."

Joe shamelessly ogled TW in his brief view and felt like applauding. Joe poured a large amount of shampoo into his hands, then taking his time, he started to stroke it into TW's head. He answered humorously, "How little? I think what you have on now is great, don't get all dressed up on my account. "

He added, deliberately making a double entendre, "I'm not sure. What with everything that we've been doing, it hasn't come up."

........................

Doc opened the package then frowned upon reading it. "Interesting... someone knows we're from off this timeline and wants to talk with us. From the way this is phrased I can't tell if they were expecting your arrival. They refuse to talk over electronic media and want to meet with us in person in Italy. They sound scared. Maybe someone who knows more about what's going on. I think we should go... but I also think you all should register first. With those two you met earlier it's kind of a forced move to register 'something'. If dealing with the authorities is going to be a problem then we should just manufacture shadow identities but right now you're non-persons."

Doctor Chronos wrote:Doc opened the package then frowned upon reading it. "Interesting... someone knows we're from off this timeline and wants to talk with us. From the way this is phrased I can't tell if they were expecting your arrival. They refuse to talk over electronic media and want to meet with us in person in Italy. They sound scared. Maybe someone who knows more about what's going on. I think we should go... but I also think you all should register first. With those two you met earlier it's kind of a forced move to register 'something'. If dealing with the authorities is going to be a problem then we should just manufacture shadow identities but right now you're non-persons."

Armor frowned. "I'm up for the meet in Italy, but I think you may be mistaken about us being non-persons; I wouldn't expect someone new to this timeline to know my reputation, but I looked myself up on your computer and apparently I do exist here -- or did, anyhow; my counterpart went missing maybe two weeks ago, but until then it's pretty much identical. Same story for Wasp and Cross: aside from some minor differences in style and past history, we're effectively indistinguishable from our namesakes on this world."

Tigerwasp wrote:"Did you say I could get a eufibre outfit or not? I can't remember what the complications were." Whther the eufibre was available or not, she now felt the need to prune her attire so that she became more distracting to this world's populace.

Joe ruffled TW's hair and then smoothed it out, while he'd prefer her more interesting bits were out for him to ogle he'd found himself enjoying himself just the same.

Joe answered, "Eufiber isn't native to this timeline. Doc and I have the only suits, so the only way to get some is to take some of his and cut a piece off, then heal both sides. It's a fair bit of effort, but Doc can edit time so his suit was never injured and yours got enough mass to survive. I'd just give you mine but it'd keep enough of my power so it'd vanish on you at some point and leave you naked."

Joe's tone was somewhat humorous on that last statement, and he switched from massaging Tigerwasp's head to massaging her neck and shoulders.

Armor wrote:Armor frowned. "I'm up for the meet in Italy, but I think you may be mistaken about us being non-persons; I wouldn't expect someone new to this timeline to know my reputation, but I looked myself up on your computer and apparently I do exist here -- or did, anyhow; my counterpart went missing maybe two weeks ago, but until then it's pretty much identical. Same story for Wasp and Cross: aside from some minor differences in style and past history, we're effectively indistinguishable from our namesakes on this world."

Shaken, Chronos stared at Armor. After a moment he said, "That's... impossible. You don't just run into Temporal Clones this far away from home, much less ones who are nicely gone. I'm not sure which is worse, the idea that someone went to that amount of effort to set this up, or the idea that someone could do that without any effort."

"And if we had counterparts here,how come those guys didn't recognize us?" Southern Cross replied. "I think I'd better check up on my counterpart's history. No telling what kind of allies and/or enemies he had,and I don't want to get blindsided".

Southern Cross wrote:"And if we had counterparts here,how come those guys didn't recognize us?" Southern Cross replied. "I think I'd better check up on my counterpart's history. No telling what kind of allies and/or enemies he had,and I don't want to get blindsided".

Armor gives his characteristic nod. "I'd also recommend we use Doc's OPNET connection to scan for unusual facts involving the site of that proposed meet; a possible meta started vying for control of LexCorp after Luthor vanished during a business trip somewhere in Italy a little over a year ago. As for the local authorities, it's my initial guess that self-appointed 'Guardians' of the city run things a bit" -- he pauses -- "differently in Spokane."

Joe continued to massage Tigerwasp slowly adjusting his movements down her back, encouraging her to move upwards. He chuckled a little and replied, "Doc would answer the question 'how much time is left' with 'how much time would you like?' He's always adjusting time... in practice it's a good thing. It makes all sorts of things possible."

Joe thought, This massage for example...

Southern Cross wrote:"And if we had counterparts here,how come those guys didn't recognize us?" Southern Cross replied. "I think I'd better check up on my counterpart's history. No telling what kind of allies and/or enemies he had,and I don't want to get blindsided".

Obviously guessing, Chronos said, "You're not world famous? Or whoever built your identity for you didn't know if you'd want to be? Actually that's a question, how important on your own timeline were you?"

"I never adventured in my own timeline" Southern Cross replied. " I guess I'd better tell you my origin then? To keep a long a story short, I was kidnapped from my own reality, rebuilt from the ground up, and have been trying to get back to my home reality ever since".

Southern Cross wrote:"I never adventured in my own timeline" Southern Cross replied. " I guess I'd better tell you my origin then? To keep a long a story short, I was kidnapped from my own reality, rebuilt from the ground up, and have been trying to get back to my home reality ever since".

Armor gives a good-natured shrug. "On my world, I'm something of a celebrity," he explains. "In fact, my biggest advantage is little more than, well, popularity. I typically work cases by relying on that friendly response; the cops tell me details they've kept out of the papers, reporters tell me what they've kept from the police -- and if all of it leads me to a member of the general public who's too scared to come forward, he usually confides in me without needing to be persuaded. Something about making my costumed debut on live national television, an ordinary human rescuing hostages from a super-powered villain."

Tigerwasp wrote:The massage was very enjoyable and not even realising what she was doing, tigerwasp co-operated with Joe's ministrations. Technical talk left her cold. The concept of adjusting time to fit, like a pair of slacks, was bizarre to her. she decided it would be in her best interests not to pursue that line of enquiry further.

"So what's the plan after I've bathed, done my hair and re-applied my face?" She enquired.

With more access to Tigerwasp's gorgeous body Joe expanded his massage, stroking her sides, right next to her breasts. He replied, "I think you should register. It's easier to control the system if you're not hiding from it."

Armor wrote:Armor gives his characteristic nod. "I'd also recommend we use Doc's OPNET connection to scan for unusual facts involving the site of that proposed meet; a possible meta started vying for control of LexCorp after Luthor vanished during a business trip somewhere in Italy a little over a year ago. As for the local authorities, it's my initial guess that self-appointed 'Guardians' of the city run things a bit" -- he pauses -- "differently in Spokane."

Chronos asked, "I've never heard of Luthor or LexCorp. Are they important?"

Southern Cross wrote:"I never adventured in my own timeline" Southern Cross replied. " I guess I'd better tell you my origin then? To keep a long a story short, I was kidnapped from my own reality, rebuilt from the ground up, and have been trying to get back to my home reality ever since".

Chronos looked a little puzzled and he asked, "Adventured? What do the supers on your timeline normally do? And how different were those two realities?"

"Quite different,considering my home reality had no confirmed powered beings and the next reality definitely did" Southern Cross replied." Furthermore, the South won the Civil War in that reality, unlike my home reality,where the North won. I had to help organize that reality's supers into the Avengers in order to fight off a Cyberman takeover."
"And you haven't heard of Lex Luthor or Lexcorp?" he went on,clearly shocked." I can understand not being aware of Lexcorp,as it was a product of John Byrne's post-Crisis Superman revamp in the '80's, but to not recognize Superman's arch-foe? Either Superman never got the recognition he did in my and Armor's realities, he never existed there, or someone else took Luthor's place as Superman's arch-foe. I'm betting the Ultra-Humanite, the first super-villain."

Southern Cross wrote:"And you haven't heard of Lex Luthor or Lexcorp?" he went on,clearly shocked." I can understand not being aware of Lexcorp,as it was a product of John Byrne's post-Crisis Superman revamp in the '80's, but to not recognize Superman's arch-foe? Either Superman never got the recognition he did in my and Armor's realities, he never existed there, or someone else took Luthor's place as Superman's arch-foe. I'm betting the Ultra-Humanite, the first super-villain."

"On this odd world," Armor put in, "super-beings claiming to be cousins of Wonder Woman are currently fighting a Saudi war -- and while I've never heard of the addictive drug in question, a medical remedy for 'Mite' has just been announced by STAR Labs."