Theo looks at his son. "I'm sorry if I'm a fu<kup. I just want to be a better father than Zeus was to me. I love you, Helios. Nothing will change that."
Theo looks at his son. "I'm sorry if I'm a fu<kup. I just want to be a better father than Zeus was to me. I love you, Helios. Nothing will change that."
"Helios?" the boy asks in surprise, "Dad, you named me Herbert."
Helios giggles.
"We're not saying that not changing the timeline isn't desirable, we're saying that it's too *late*," Unity complain. "But we'll go along with trying, so long as no one gets hurt."
"We could help carry some people, if needed," they suggest.
"Good! Fly!!" orders Darkstar pointing at the craft of people that need to be rescued.
"I can provide a soft landing for some. Not sure how many," says the Atlantean warrior.
"Dad? Are you going to save any of them?" Helios asks Theo.
"Herbert?! I told your Mother to call you Helios!!"
"You bet you a$$ I am, son!"
"Let's go then!" says Herbert/Helios as he lifts into the air.
The winged Utopian flaps gently and is hovering beside him.
They wait for Theo to lead the flight.
"I CAN'T FLY YET!" Theo shouts up at Helios and Wingman. "ONLY HOVER!!"
Helios and the winged Super-Henri laugh as if this is the most hilarious thing they've ever heard, "This is before *GASP* he *CHORTLE* could fly *COUGH SPUTTER CHOKE SMIRK*" they snort.
Each of the young heroes grabs one of Theo's arms and continue to laugh as they lift Daddy-Theo into the air.
Theo glowers as both Wingman and Helios laughs as they all fly toward the crash.
"C'mon, Kevin," yells Helios/Herbert to the Charles-clone. The three-headed beast spreads its wings and lets off a telepathic roar.
Henri receive a telepathic message from the ground telling you to turn the ship around and fly overhead again so that, this time, the passengers of the troubled ship following can eject and be rescued.
Henri replies telepathically, "Should the next flyby be at a lower altitude?" Out loud, he says to Kate, "Are you hearing the plan?"
"Yes, and communicating with the other ship. They're ready on your orders."
The pilot of the other ship is the one who needs to make a decent Piloting check. Henri's could help that pilot if you'd like.
"Kate, tell them to maintain course and altitude. Do not follow me."
Over comms, "Team, I will turn the lead ship left and circle under the ejecting passengers and should pass below you. Legato, I will try to throttle back to give you a chance to catch any that the others are unable to reach. You are my eyes."
Nissa offers encouragement to the Pilot with life-saving advice.
“Stay on target. Watch the canopy.”
"OKAY, BOYS! THROW ME!!" The Olympian command his son and Wingman.
Both nod to each other. The experienced flyers spin together in a quick 360°, using centrifugal force to launch Theo at the ship.
Unity chuckle slightly at Theo's antics as they shift to their larger chimera form and take to the air.
They fly up to the expected location the Utopians will eject to and position themselves, ready to swoop in and grab a couple with their many limbs.
"Kate, tell them to maintain course and altitude. Do not follow me."
Over comms, "Team, I will turn the lead ship left and circle under the ejecting passengers and should pass below you. Legato, I will try to throttle back to give you a chance to catch any that the others are unable to reach. You are my eyes."
Legato tries his best to describe without realy functional distance guessing....
"I'll do my best buddy. Remember those gargoyles? How long their wing span was? Maybe two of those, get to one.
Legato also prepares himself in case anyone misses the boat. To magically catch them. He releases some magic and extends it.
While Nissa helps guide the wobbly ship, Legato and Henri coordinate the strategic placement of the rescue ship below and not far behind. The others get in position.
Eight Utopians pop out of the wobbly ship.
Theo, carried by his son and his son's winged friend, does some amazing acrobatics, including a bounce off the wobbly ship, catches three of them. The teens sweep down and grab Theo as he falls with his prizes. The weight is a lot, but they go down slowly and land close enough to the timeship.
Unity grabs a couple of the Utopians and is less overwhelmed the weight. They could put them down right on the timeship.
That's 5.
Henri and Legato's combined effort allows three of them to land on the rescue ship, which is in flight still. They struggle to stay on...
... but being around heroes must have inspired them, because they do.
A water hand reaches up in the air and waves to Nissa who is the sole passenger of the wobbly ship now. The hand is large enough to catch the wobbly ship, if the ship were aimed at it.
In the rescue ship, Ta-Hashar curses in amazement in Altantean, seeing the giant hand. "That's true Atlantean magic!"
The giant hand turns into a baseball glove and prepares to catch the wobbly ship.
"Perhaps a variety of Atlantean magic of some sort," says Ta-Hashar.
Nissa aims the ship as best she can, being too tiny to do more than ram the control for a nudge in the right direction—
If Nissa needs to make a last minute escape or keep from getting thrown..
Unity, with two Utopians dangling from their forelegs, glide down to a landing on the ship below, droppping off their 'passengers' before landing themself.
"Apologies for the rough rescue, I don't think we'll be making it back to the shield so we're going to have to try something else," they say, only lying a *little* bit even though they suspect the Utopians can't understand them.
The giant catcher's mitt made of water wraps itself around the wobbly shim and, after Nissa flies free and an "all-clear" is given, smashes it down into the water, breaking parts of the hull and leaving it in the water.
Inside the rescue craft, Henri gets a message relayed by Communicator Kate, "Head west. There's a small island a mile from shore. You should be able to land there even with the winds. We will meet you there."
The Utopians climb into the craft quickly. It's standing room only inside if the heroes join; it the heroes fly after the craft, they can reach the island a few minutes after it does.
Theo stands next to his son on the way to the island. "That was good work, son. Hopefully one day, I'll get to your level!" The Olympian smiled at Helios. "So? I'm sure your doing very well with the female population of Utopia eh?" Theo goes on asking about any friends or loved ones back in his timeline.
Considering how full the ship is, Unity say, "We can just fly over there, if the weather will hold long enough."
Henri nods and charts his course, watching the weather for signs of changing for the worse, and seeks a relatively sheltered area for the craft and its occupants once they get there.
Henri is guided towards a beach, wide enough for the ship to land in. The super-teens seem to know it well. The softness of the landing is further softened when the water reaches up to embrace the ship. Ta-Hashar mutters something in an astonished tone.
By the time the passengers of the rescue craft, including the recently rescued Utopians, exit the craft, the heroes who travelled to the island by their own means, have arrived. Everyone is together now.
The super-teens cluster together around little nanite Nissa who seems like she's laying down the law.
The Utopians are clustered together, with Mindy and Kate explaining things to them, including who you are.
Nissa floats over to her daughter. “Darkstar, what you’re about to tell them is not going to be easy to accept. You need to consider their feelings, as well as the responsibility your team bears for alerting us.
“Would you like me to help break the news gently? I failed you as a mother, so I’m recognizing my own responsibility as well. I want to support you. Nothing I say will undermine what you are doing.”
She hopes Darkstar sees her intent is sincere. Surely her daughter knows how heavily Guilt bears down upon her own mmmm..matrix.
Darkstar turns to her would-be Mother and says, "You can say whatever you want to them as long as you remove them from the timeline. I've already contacted Guardian Nine. They will send out the other people you took with you in the timeline we are protecting."
Darkstar hovers between the super teens, who are now approaching shyly, and the visiting heroes.
"What you say to us, now, does matter. And, when you meet the New Utopians again, and you will meet them again, do not mention at any point this meeting. All those times you tell them how proud you are of the person they are becoming, that you believe in them, that you know they'll survive and persevere ... under no circumstances can you mention that you've already seen them become that person etcetera."
More than one of the teens wipes tears away during this ultimatum.
Darkstar finally relents, "Despite my desire for caution, I have agreed that you may exchange introductions and other human pleasantries ... but no asking them about past/future events yet to come!"
You can say anything you want to the Utopians who are leaving, but Darkstar will freeze the lips of anyone who discusses what happens in the next 17 years with the New Utopians super team.
“This is my dad, Theo the Olympian, Unity, Henri and Legato, and I am Nissa the Subatomic Bombshell!
“Your ship has crashed, sadly, and you would have perished. We have altered your fates and… we invite you to join others who were chosen by Guardian Nine to join us as we travel across the multiverse!
“We hope this adventure will please you and bring you happiness, as we regrettably must bring you off-world for reasons that are difficult to comprehend. But understand, even knowing that saving you had the potential to destroy your world… we had to save you. You are innocent, and that alone means your lives are important.”
Her words are heartfelt. Brutally honest enough that she hopes the rescued realize she isn’t looking for praise, but acceptance. She hopes her demeanor helps them accept that she and the others were trying to do what’s best for the planet, and does not come at the expense of a single innocent life.
With the support of Kate and Mindy, not to mention the fact you rescued them, they are willing to go along with this. They are nervous and are going to need a lot of support, but Boston Theoretical has linguists and psychologists among their AI support staff. They'll be able to help.
The super teens approach the heroes.
Helios says, "Darkstar won't let me say much so, I'll just say, it's good to see you again, Dad." He steps back before adding, "Oh, and I'm Helios; Herbert is a name I used when we ...". He sees Darkstar glaring and shuts his mouth.
The winged person goes next, speaking in Utopian, "I'm The Pilot. These wings are a gift from Mother. It is an honour to meet you all."
The Atlantean starts in Atlantean next,"When I visit your world, they call me The Young Altantean." Darkstar glares at him. He turns to Ta-Hashar and bows deeply, "Your Majesty." Darkstar hands begin to frost over and the Young Altantean steps back.
"I'm Kevin," the Charles clone communicates telepathically. "Mother stole your DNA while you were sleeping. She knows now it wasa wrong."
Darkstar "And, I'm the portion of the nano-entity that contains Nissa's personality matrix. I was once part of Opportunity, but, I was sent to make sure these four didn't make any trouble."
Henri simply raises a hand in greeting when Nissa names him.
Helios says, "Darkstar won't let me say much so, I'll just say, it's good to see you again, Dad." He steps back before adding, "Oh, and I'm Helios; Herbert is a name I used when we ...". He sees Darkstar glaring and shuts his mouth.
Theo hugs his son once more. "Helios. It is the job of the next generation to be better than the previous. It's been that way since Gaia birthed the Titans. Utopia needs a hero. Be that Hero, my son. But don't forget to also be true to yourself. Protect the ones you love. And suffer no peacock", Theo grins.
"I'm sorry about messing this up, Dad. We wanted to celebrate my 17th birthday, so, we borrowed a Timeship ..." Helios replies.
The Atlantean interrupts, "I borrowed it. But it must have malfunctioned ... or I messed up. This is my fault."
The Pilot adds, "You weren't supposed to hear us talking and, well, I guess we slowed your departure just long enough. We didn't realize how soon after you left that the survey ship crashed."
"I just really wanted to see you all again, together like this," adds Helios. "Sorry for breaking the timeline everyone ... but, I'd do it again. This was great."
Theo listens to Utopian Teen Force explain their actions, and chuckles. "You know. I don't think you are entirely to blame."
"It would appear at the same time of the Timeship malfunction, I used The Chalice to see if the events of rescuing Mother would be benefically in the future. And as you witnessed, I was able to see you all in The Chalice's reflection" The Olympian explained. "The convergence of two powerful temporal and planar artifacts likely caused the incident. And I am so glad it did." The godling pats the shoulders of the Utopian Teens.
"Darkstar? Your grandfather would like a private word with his collective granddaughters", Theo seriously spoke.
Darkstar replies to Theo, but without trying to lower her voice, allowing everyone to hear, "Records indicate you visited him on numerous occasions, including the week of his birth. You should not, on any occasion in the future, tell him that you've already seen him in the future or imply it. Holding all of this back may be difficult."
"This explains so much ..." says Helios, only half-joking.
Theo smiles at the collective nanite form. "Thank you, Darkstar."
The godling put his hand on his son's shoulder, The Olympian adds, "I hope this helps, in hindsight, if nothing else."
"Helios, I don't know what the future holds for us from this point. If you haven't yet, find me in your timeline. I'll be looking for you."
"Sorry for breaking the timeline everyone ... but, I'd do it again. This was great."
“I’m glad you did.”
Nissa turns to Darkstar. She struggles to find the right words, but there are none. So she doesn’t say anything.
She just hugs her daughter!
…and the moment looks as beautiful on the outside as it feels on the inside.
Darkstar bristles and then hugs her mom back.
The Pilot walks over to Legato, looking shy and pensive. "I know you are not him, but, you look like someone Mother shows us. When we go to sleep troubled, Mother sometimes sends us dreams of someone to talk to ... well, someone who will listen."
Kevin the Chimera nods three heads and then adds, telepathically, "The Quiet One."
Unity nod at Kevin. "Since there aren't many other three-headed people around, and we can't really ask you questions, is there anything you wanted to ask us before we go our separate ways for now?" they ask.
One of the three heads sneaks a furtive glance at Darkstar before saying, "I'll have lots of chances to ask you questions, but, umm ... I don't want to get in trouble, but would it be too much to ask if you took up those relaxation exercises you eventually start doing a little sooner? There were a couple of years when I was younger that I would have appreciated you being a little more chill when I messed up."
Darkstar, although she didn't hear anything, looks at Kevin and Unity with suspicion.
The Utopians look a little astonished when they see a fishing boat approaching. They've never seen one outside of the shield surrounding Utopia before, but they've never seen sunlight outside of Utopia either.
The Utopians you promised to take with you are there, as are Guardian Nine and Guardian Four.
Theo gives his son another quick hug, then breaks away walk over to Mia, filled with secrets he can tell her.
The Olympian looks deep into Meo's eyes and brushes her cheek with thumb. "I will be back", Theo said with a strong feeling of absoluteness. "I love you."
Nissa asks Darkstar, “Any chance you can help me guide the wand? I’ve never taken this many people at once.” She asks Theo and Unity, “Can the chalice or sword or both help? I’m gating us straight to L.C…”
A gate of swarming white motes of light manifests from the Wand. The Utopians gasp and step back. Even Mindy, who has seen it before, is wide-eyed, but this time she studies it more curiously.
You have with you 11 Utopians, Hamel, Ta-Hashar, the 5 of you, and the 5 refugees from other worlds. "Can you handle all of us?" calls out Hamel over the amazed chatter from the Utopians. "I could stay behind with these other refugees. I think I've almost figured out where they came from."
What say you? Lighten your load by 6 or invite the whole bunch to come through?
Henri offers, "With the crisis averted, I think I'd like to visit with Hamel some more about what they were trying to do all those years ago. I could wait here with him and the others to give you some buffer. I have faith you'll be back soon. I would also like to visit with him and Darkstar about the nanites I have within me now."
"I've seen you take more," says the Atlantean in Atlantean.
Darkstar glares a warning.
Unity shake their heads. "This break in the weather probably won't last. Does it even seem like the wand cares about numbers?"
Nissa replies with certainty: “It cares.”
Darkstar bristles and then hugs her mom back.
The Pilot walks over to Legato, looking shy and pensive. "I know you are not him, but, you look like someone Mother shows us. When we go to sleep troubled, Mother sometimes sends us dreams of someone to talk to ... well, someone who will listen."
Kevin the Chimera nods three heads and then adds, telepathically, "The Quiet One."
"Yeeah. That's someone else. I'm real loud. But even loud can listen. Gotta listen to write stories." Legato chuckles with that but shows a crease of slight unnerve as he himself has had similiar dreams as a child.
"This is like.. a temporary stay behind ya? Not like "we're gonna live here now" stay behind?" Reaching confirmation that at some point they they'll get picked up.
"In that case. I'll stay too. I can get some great material for my fiction stories for later. Plus.. If the weather breaks I can at least create emergency shelter for them." Legato will offer.
Assuming there is a plan to pick them up sometime in the future, Legato fumbles in a few pockets before finding a zipper in his inner coat, down low that he unzips and pulls a set of keys out, tacky with Japanime holographics on an old ignitiion type key. Legato clips it to the Theo branded bag and then tosses it at Theo"But like. Please please move my car. I have to have a ton of traffic tickets by now. Its parked at the Historical MWRA Deer Island Treatment Plant, near the east end. Don't lose the bag, I've gotta give it the family later and report my investigation."
Darkstar has been listening and growing impatient and angry, "None of you will be returning to Utopia immediately. I think I've made myself clear about protecting the continuity."
"You can stay in the Timeship until it is repaired!" offers Helios.
"You can stay in the Timeship until it is repaired," concedes Darkstar.
"We have to return that Timeship within 3 days," reminds the Atlantean.
"It's a timeship," replies Helios. "Getting it back on time shouldn't be the problem."