Andromeda flinches, too raw to hide her response. "Okay. I'll... I'll go."
Cheeks burning, she flees. There's already coverage online of Silver Shield's entrance, so although she hadn't paid attention to her arrival, Andromeda quickly finds an image of the veteran hero's outfit. It does not make her feel any less embarrassed. That's... more cutouts than I expected. She must want everyone to know she keeps in shape?
She circles wide, not wanting to plow across the dance floor again, and especially not wanting to watch anyone dancing.
"Silver Shield, I am Andromeda, one of the students at Daedalus. I have a problem with a chronal and/or dimensional anomaly; I am aware of some of your past work, and I hope that you can help me." Simple, direct, I just have to hope she'll listen.
The silver-haired tech hero (retired) and businesswoman is surrounded by several men in slick-looking and expensive suits when Andromeda approaches and introduces herself. Their conversation interrupted, they all turn and give her a variety of appraising looks. Andromeda gets the sense of being on display, assessed for market value.
Two of the men do not have files in Andromeda's database, and the others have affiliations with a number of global tech companies. She recognizes the same kind of blinks that she must make to call up files in the unrecognized men. She gets the crawling sensation of someone grinning somewhere.
"That sounds very important," Silver Shield says before the assessment goes any longer. "Mr. Gao, Mr. Dovreski, I should hear what this young lady has to say. If you'll excuse me."
They don't look especially happy at the intrusion, but Silver Shield doesn't seem to care as she steps away from them. "Nadia Elliott. I appreciate the distraction. Tell me more about the nature of your anomaly problem."
Her sheath ripples. Embarrassing, but she can't help it. "Andromeda." Redundant "This gala was the site of temporal manipulation and came under attack by time wraiths. The temporal manipulation has stabilized, but not without lingering effects. One of the heroes who was fighting the time wraiths was apparently swapped with a duplicate from another timeline. They have substantially differing memories, paraphernalia, and physicality; their memories do not seem to have distortion or fog from overlapping chains of causation. This leads me to believe that their home timeline is a stable location, rather than their new persona being the result of a small number of discrete changes in their personal history."
Sufficient?
Chloe really doesn't know what to say here after that. She just let's them stay in the moment a little longer.
...it was actually really quiet. Chloe glances up and realizes she's put them both in her tempo. Everyone around them had slowed down to near frozen levels. "Whoops."
Given their privacy now, she elects to come out with her plan. "I got to tell the rest of the team, I think. Keeping my identity from them was to prevent something like this happening. Getting my powers hijacked...you see how easy it is to massively alter things? Only no one else considers the chronowraiths who dine on aberrant timelines like Thanksgiving turkey."
She feels very warm with Sam's arms around her waist. "...this is stable enough to avoid them. But I don't think I can change things back, and too many people are aware that something happened. I need the team's trust...and I need them to not blame you. I was the one careless enough to get hacked."
Samanthan's arms tighten, holding Chloe closer, as if wanting to keep her to herself but relaxes "I do not care about them blaming me." she does, and isn't good at lying, it is almost comical in how obvious it is.
It would be much easier if her matrix hadn't provided terabytes of rational on why nanites designed to remove people's memories would be BAD.
No one was supposed to know about the causes of her changes.
Andromeda had ruined possibility.
But considering the anger simmering inside her is something for later.
Now...
"Disclosure of data provides the clearest course for cohesion and mutual protection." clinical analysis comes out, but then she looks around at the calm sea of people and lights, with a slightly sad smile tugging at her from the beauty of it.
"Are you sure?" this tone was softer in Chloe's ear, a small doubt in the voice, protectiveness, caring, worry. Too many emotions for one dampened nerd girl to contain.
Her sheath ripples. Embarrassing, but she can't help it. "Andromeda." Redundant "This gala was the site of temporal manipulation and came under attack by time wraiths. The temporal manipulation has stabilized, but not without lingering effects. One of the heroes who was fighting the time wraiths was apparently swapped with a duplicate from another timeline. They have substantially differing memories, paraphernalia, and physicality; their memories do not seem to have distortion or fog from overlapping chains of causation. This leads me to believe that their home timeline is a stable location, rather than their new persona being the result of a small number of discrete changes in their personal history."
Sufficient?
Silver Shield becomes thoughtful. "That would explain the deja vu I experienced earlier tonight." She checks a readout on her wrist. "And my chronometer is 0.09 seconds off. Interesting."
She urges Andromeda fully away from the dance floor and to one of the standing tables. She accepts a sparkling water from one of the servers and motions for Andromeda to take whatever she'd like. "I can tell you that I've had experience with alternate timeline swaps, but solely in body and not in mind. The problem is that the solution involved the Apotheosis Tear, and it's been sealed off. I don't have the clearance to reopen it, and I'm afraid getting approval and access to it will be impossible. It's far too dangerous. The last time it was used, Earth became embroiled in an inter-dimensional war."
I know. "I had read something about that. There was a question I had though." She declines the water; food and drink got embarrassing easily. "I know that there aren't truly infinite timelines stable enough for travel or transposition. But how would you find a specific one? Journals lack specificity on that topic, but you've done it, haven't you?"
"Nothing's 100% certain. I'm not going to do it immediately. Need to ease into this new life first. You probably also need to figure out what's gone different with your dad and family," Chloe points out. She closes her eyes and enjoys the subtle scent that is definitively Sam.
"Thanks for staying long enough to dance. I hope that it was all right for you. I feel awkward and like my arms and legs are too long for my body," She grimaces. "Or too short? They don't feel right, is what I mean."
I know. "I had read something about that. There was a question I had though." She declines the water; food and drink got embarrassing easily. "I know that there aren't truly infinite timelines stable enough for travel or transposition. But how would you find a specific one? Journals lack specificity on that topic, but you've done it, haven't you?"
Silver Shield nods solemnly. "I have. I used a variety of alien technologies and a sentient extradimensional scout craft recklessly and arrogantly to push the limits of human knowledge. Due to some miscalculations and an unforeseen quantum entanglement, I sent the Sentinels unchaperoned across realities and dimensions. They made it back, but there were... consequences.
"I'll look at the problem, but you should understand that Earth cannot afford to take the kind of risks I took a year ago. I suggest you... consider the good news that the swap involved a stable timeline."
Chloe can feel Sam's mouth quirk a little "My extremity condition at the moment of temporal dislocation means I cannot share the same experience." she wiggles her toes in her flats.
A small sigh goes through the brainiac before the pulls away "Before intervening forces cause turmoil..." who those forces are is out there in the air between them "We should go to the bathroom... and allow an alternate ego to take part in whatever that conversation is." her head inclines toward the intervening force and Silver Shield.
"I'll 'run interference' for you with your father and... others. I am just a kid in this timeline." she leans forward, pressing her nose to Chloe's so all that can be seen is bright green eyes in a curtain of red. Her matrix suggested this but it is causing her cheeks to flame in an interesting way. "while you are a super hero, Chloe Parker-Myeong."
An untaken sparkling water drops to the floor in shards. "You want-" She stops, breathes, breathes, breathes, plans.
"I am sorry. This is difficult to hear, but I appreciate your candor." She stops, unable to marshal anything else that polite, retargets. "You should be aware. Two of the men you were talking to," she describes them, "you shouldn't trust them; you shouldn't assume you can outsmart them, even you ma'am. Thank you."
The Tear's location is known; the equipment she used is not. An operation to acquire it would be very likely to render the follow-up mission impractical.
She slides back along the side, forcing herself to look squarely at Shayera as she considers.
I can't go back to her without anything. Once more she sweeps the crowd, this time without the benefit of her target having a single clearly identifiable feature. Still, her dossier is recent and updated, and it's not long before Shin Akebono (β) is highlighted from among the crowd.
"Mr. Akebono?" She cuts into his evening abruptly. "I would like to talk to you about one of your missions, and about the Inquiry"
"Please, never call me that, I'm not even twenty," Shin replies to Andromeda. He looks at her distress before speaking to Ragnarok. "Let's continue our conversation later, okay?"
He walks with Andromeda closer to the balcony overlooking the Praetorium. "Fors this have to do with your friend who needs to talk to Whippoorwill? I promised to reach out, and I will. It's not going to be instantaneous."
He glances down at the Golden Era exhibits depicting some of the first generation of Halcyon heroes. "As for Inquiry, he's back with the Iron Federation. Helped me out of a jam a while back but that was months ago. Which mission did you want to talk about?"
Andromeda's expression, already neutral, flattens when she learns that Inquiry is inaccessible, but perhaps it he? will be unnecessary. "I know you explored other realities through the Apotheosis Tear; I know someone was transposed in body, but not in mind. Did you find them?"
Her ears feel hot as she pushes back through the crowd to find her dance partner. He offers her a smile, turning his head partly away from her and looking back with his eyes while the lights of the dance floor form a halo behind him. I'm probably supposed to find that attractive. He's handsome enough, and confident to the point he could be called smug, Shayera assesses. Valence, Andromeda called him. Wondering if Xaiara's heart would be fluttering, she takes his hands and lets him lead her.
Valence guides her in some simple steps. He doesn't exhibit any formal training, and Shayera wasn't about to reveal her own dancing experience. "Thanks for staying with me. Hopefully your roommate isn't too mad. Hey. You look on edge. Is there something I can do?"
She tries to recall if Andromeda had mentioned they were roommates, but decides that could be sussed out later. She again thinks back to her earliest days after having been rescued. "It's loud. There are a lot of people."
A veil of static wraps around them, distorting the sound and fogging out everything about two feet away from them. The deep bass vibrations of the music passes through easily so the pair can continue to dance in time, but the riot of sensation from the dance floor is pleasingly blocked out.
"Better?" Valence asks in a normal voice. "If it's too much, let me know."
Shayera looks back and forth at the hazy dance floor around them. It was quieter, but she felt disconnected. She wonders which one her doppelganger would hate more. "I don't know. Maybe for one dance."
"Sure. Um, Scythe, have you thought about what we talked about?"
She meets his eyes, seeing earnestness there but also confidence that she's going to agree to whatever he had asked for. That has to be Xaiara's decision. "I, um, haven't decided. I don't want to talk about this here," she says, hoping he'll drop the subject.
Valence seems to accept that. "All right."
They dance through the next song in silence. When it concludes Shayera steps away, the sound and lights of the Gala coming back in a rush. "Thank you," she says to him, then slips away to find Andromeda or Silver Shield.
After some wandering about, she spots a silver-clad woman that matched the images she'd seen earlier. Setting aside her disappointment that Andromeda wasn't with her, she intercepts the retired hero. "Hi! Look at us! Matching dresses!" she says, referring to the shimmering silver fabric of her own. "I'm Shayera, and I go by Wingblade in my timeline. Nice to meet you."
Silver Shield blinks at the sudden introduction but quickly recovers. "Nadia Elliott. Silver Shield. Are you the wayward traveler across timelines that I've heard about?"
"Then Andromeda did find you. Great. Makes this easier. Yep, I got swapped out with an alternate here, and while I must say, it's not a bad timeline you have for yourself, I'd like to go home soon."
Silver Shield presses her lips tightly. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid 'soon' is not something I can deliver. And I don't know if I can even send you back at all. Exploring alternate timelines is a dangerous proposition under the best of circumstances. We've narrowly averted disaster too many times already to take the risk again."
"So it's not that you can't, you won't."
"I didn't say--"
"I've been on the receiving end of conversations like this before," Shayera interrupts. "Are you not even going to bother trying? I've got friends, smart friends on the other end who are going to be looking for me! We don't need to charge blindly into the unknown!"
Silver Shield looks conflicted. "There are other interests at stake. I have to answer to them now, unfortunately. I can... request clearance to look into ways to help you. And I will. I assure you."
"That...can probably wait. If it doesn't I'll just...uh..."
Chloe can't quite remember what she was going to say, her brown eyes lost in the green sea staring at her. She fidgets and feels hot to the touch. Another annoyance of going back two years and getting weird feelings and ideas.
"Right. Bathroom. Um. If I kissed you in there would it be weird?" She pulls back as if anticipating a strong reaction to that question.
There's a flash of surprise and discomfort on Shin's face. "That...is hard to say. We had to skip through a couple different realities to find her body. We managed a swap between her two versions." He looks back at the crowd. "...your winged friend got body swapped?"
For a moment, a split second, Samantha's mind stops. Neither Samantha nor Sam had ever felt the like of it. The utter stillness. Everything in her mind is singularly focused on those eyes and the single word...
Kiss...
(minus the ed)
In the new space suddenly between them there is a flame to her cheeks but also hold a slow shake of her head, shifting the curtain once containing their focus. "If witnessed, the social norms your parents are constrained by would mean future sleepovers would be suspect... but otherwise..." Samantha shakes her head again to signify the lack of weirdness.
But her matrix tells her something about moments being passed, accompanied by the sound of frustrated sounds echoing through her databases. "Conversations has moved on to other sources" another inclination toward the intervening force and now someone named Shin.
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It was the best she was going to get from this cocktail party conversation, Shayera surmises. After a quick exchange of contact information with Silver Shield, she's ready to bring the evening to a close and clear her head.
The dress was annoying and not conducive to flight, but Shayera didn't really care at that point. She slips away from the dance floor, takes the elevator down to the street level, and leaves the building through the main entrance. Familiar with the overwhelming scale of her own Halcyon, the size and scope of this Halcyon City doesn't immediately surprise her. Having toured a good percentage of the hero museum, she estimated that this world was slightly larger than her native timeline.
She was right.
She takes to the air, flying higher and higher to experience the skyscraper-filled downtown area from a familiar vantage, marveling at the shapes and silhouettes of the towers stretching upwards. Shayera picks out a few landmarks that match her home city, but the sprawling cityscape stretches farther and with infinitely more variety than what she was used to. Hating the dress she wore even more, Shayera couldn't wait to put on some practical clothes and just soar through the new and improved Halcyon City.
Her awestruck reverie is brutally interrupted by invisible bands of force snaring her out of the sky and slamming her into the side of a building! Held in a vice-like grip, she's pulled away from the wall and smashed again against it, then flung across the chasm into another granite-clad edifice! Stars swim in her vision as the unseen force crushes her against the skyscraper.
"Who. Are. You?" asks a familiar voice.
"Nnghh. You're not making much of a case for me to say yes to your proposal," she tells Valence.
"Cute. But you're not Scythe. Who the Hell are you?"
Shayera snorts. The force against her doesn't let up, but Shayera doesn't let herself panic. "F~*+ right I'm not Scythe. I'm Wingblade. I'm Scythe's good twin, you could say. From a different timeline and everything."
The pressure relaxes slightly. Then abruptly she's yanked away from the wall, reoriented so she's facing Valence, then pressed against the wall again. "You're going to have to do better than that. What is this, some attempt from Andromeda and her crew to infiltrate the Finals?"
"Dude. I have no idea what that means. This evening, I got swapped with your Scythe, who's probably in my timeline now causing chaos in my totally awesome life. I, however, being a good guy, am trying to cause as little disruption to my doppelganger's life as possible. Sorry for lying to you. I thought it was for the best."
Valence glares at her. "Another timeline. Right. So you know nothing about our time on the island of Montigua?"
"Um, no idea. Did you and my variant have a fun-in-the-sun getaway vacay? I really don't know."
The force peels her off the wall and slams her down to the concrete. "This is Xaiara's dress that you're tearing up, you know," Wingblade hisses as she rises painfully to her feet. She looks up at the floating, outraged... boyfriend? of Xaiara and holds up her hands. "Hey! I'm trying to go home! I don't want to take Xaiara's place! Can you just not right now?"
Valence takes a long look at her. "I don't know how to believe you right now. Let's see what Kennedy has to say."
Confusion reigns on her face. "Like the president, or wh--" Shayera is cut off by an avalanche of material trapping her in a cocoon and her world goes black!
There's a flash of surprise and discomfort on Shin's face. "That...is hard to say. We had to skip through a couple different realities to find her body. We managed a swap between her two versions." He looks back at the crowd. "...your winged friend got body swapped?"
"No. Full transposition. Memories, body, some paraphernalia. How did you track down her body?"
"Alien tech. Don't ask me how it worked, I haven't a clue." Shin looks to her. "So she's from an alternate reality. That makes sense why she thinks Whippoorwill is going to want to talk to her. Unfortunately she's stuck out in deep space and won't likely return for several more months." He frowns. "How long has it been since she arrived? A few days, a month?"
"Less than an hour; I don't believe in wasting time," Andromeda responds curtly. "How do I find Inquiry's pilot?"
"...and the fate of her reality hinges on her immediate return?" Shin asks, "Or is the person she swapped with is in peril because it's a deadly reality?"
Andromeda's eyes blaze. "She's my friend, and she's trapped and alone."
"So the person who switched with her has no one on her side that your friend can count on?"
"She's not- The version here is better with people, better controlled. The help Shayera needs isn't the help Xaiara needs. And on the other reality Shayera has an evil twin. Who calls herself by Scythe's codename." Fear shows behind the the anger in Andromeda's eyes. "They might not help her at all."
"I can only imagine what you must be feeling for your friend. Is her replacement a danger to the people here at the gala?"
"You are trying to calm me in a way that I find infuriating. No. She's..." A flicker of something crosses Andromeda's face. "Safe."
"I'm glad she's safe. I think that you hope that your friend is safe too. I think I understand the situation and your worry. I'll speak to those in the community that have the tech or ability to travel to other realities to see what can be done. It will take time, days to weeks. But if her replacement is safe here, there's no reason to assume your friend isn't safe there."
Andromeda closes her eyes, exhales, tries not to alienate the asset. "Thank you. I am concerned that my determination to see this corrected has been misunderstood as a determination to do so with more immediacy than allows for success. However, I have already given you reasons to assume that she is not safe. I, at least, will not forget that."
Shin looks at her. "...I do know about her. The rage. I experienced it once when I took a serum made from her blood. She's made much more progress since those days. She has more tools to help her manage. More than that...she's a survivor. I'm more worried about anyone who would try to hurt her."
Andromeda looks at him with deep scorn, "You are trying to placate me with the idea that she may only experience her greatest fear. Thank you for your part in rescuing her," she clings to civility with her fingernails. "I hope you will help to do so again."
"That is my intention. As for our reality's new guest, perhaps you should help her acclimate since it's likely she may be here for more than the evening?" Shin suggests. "Treat her as you hope her friends are treating Scythe."
Andromeda didn't punch Shin. No column of force smashed him through the wall and into the night. No tendril of force picked him up, shook him, and shoved him up through the ceiling so his stupid patronizing little legs were still visible and kicking.
She smiles. "I suspect she's also distressed at the idea of being separated from her life and her loved ones, but yes, I will make certain to treat her as a valued guest in ways that don't involve marshalling resources to get her home as well."
"Yeah, I felt similarly when I was stranded in this time over a year ago," Shin empathizes. "It can be very disorienting."
"Do you still want to go back?"
"I don't think so. Not anymore. But I would want to at least let my family know what happened."
Andromeda nods. "I don't know how to do that, but I'm going to be learning a lot more. I'll try." She's about to go, but pauses. "I don't think she trusts me yet. It's rational, but unhelpful. Do you have advice on gaining her trust?"
"Action over words. Show her that you're her ally by asking what she needs and do it if you can." He writes a number on a notepad taken from his pocket and hands it to Andromeda - and she feels her force field clashing with another force attempting to drain it. It doesn't appear to be a conscious effect by his body language and recedes as he pulls back. "My number if you or she needs someone to talk to about this. I'll get the ball rolling on what needs to be done."
"Thank you," she doesn't sound much more sincere now that she means it. "That's not really what got you to trust your first team though, is it? If people were that simple, I wouldn't need advice."
"No. They kept me from getting locked up and treated with hostility after I arrived. Even though my version in this timeline attacked them." He shrugs his shoulders. "I don't think she'll have the same problem, I hope."
As Andromeda is wrapping up her conversation with Horizon, Ava and Jessie approach. "You didn't tell us you were going to the dance!" the Androidian says with mock indignation.
"We looked all over the museum for you and Xaiara," Jessie says. "Ava was like, 'we should see if they're upstairs,' and I was like, 'there's no way, they'll be too close to dancing!'"
Ava laughs. "I knew you wouldn't be dancing without encouragement, but that's where we come in. It will be our mission to get you out there shaking your ass to the music!"
"I'll show you my future nemesis, if you agree!" Jessie offers. "He's downstairs in one of the big displays. I'll show him to you when we're done."
"Where's Xaiara? She's not avoiding this either!" Ava strains her neck, searching the crowd for the winged girl.
* * *
Time had slipped by for Indarius, enjoying the moment he had with Glass on the dance floor. As one song ends and before the next one begins, he's interrupted by Nimbus, leader of the Heralds. "Can I borrow you for a sec? Excuse me," he tells Glasswing, who nods.
"I'd been meaning to talk with you about some concerning reports, but we've been so busy with the Alliance off-world, you know," he explains, pulling Indy away from the dance floor. "Actually, do you mind going downstairs to the museum? There's an exhibit I'd like for you to see."
Assuming he agrees, Nimbus takes Indy down to the main level and leads him into the Bronze Age exhibit. He stops at a fairly large wing showcasing some of the biggest threats the heroes of the Seventies and Eighties had to deal with. "With Feya Firestorm away with the Alliance, I think that leaves you as the biggest mystical hero still technically in operation. And there has been... rumors that this guy's due to return." He points to the exhibit showcasing the Star Pharoah, Ahk'nathal.
|
Having had a good time with Glasswing he appologizes for having to step away with Nimbus, but heads downstairs with him.
"Yeah my team has had a bit of an ear to the ground for stuff involving him, but there's been next to nothing of substance to report."
He moves to examine the exhibit itself. "You have access to the like super computer for the Alliance while they're away don't you? Anything in there about this guy?"
Chloe draws Samantha with her into the bathroom to try and look out for anyone who might get a sneak peek. "That guy looks familiar. I think he's a new member of the Heralds? Should ask Indarius. Wish were both older so I didn't feel weird about this right now. Okay, I'm going to make a brief entrance as my other self, then I'll be back and we can try to enjoy the night and leave the emergency to later."
She concentrates on her ring. Anyone else would see it happen instantaneously - for Chloe, slowing time down, she got to experience half a minute of armor sliding into place over her body (And her dress getting similarly stored away) as she became her alter ego.
One which was significantly taller than she had been. In fact, the same height she had been before. Chroknight checks themself out in the mirror. "Oh. Huh. I think...I'm physically the same as I was in the previous stream. Probably because of the armor. That's convenient."
They look down at Sam, now feeling even more awkward. "I'll be right back," They say, before blurring away into the Praetorium.
First thing was to check on the bits that were significantly changed. Like Xaiara, if they could find her. Lucky that they had (mostly) all the time in the world. But somehow, she didn't seem to be anywhere in the Praetorium. Maybe she ran away?
Asking Andromeda would probably help paint a clearer picture, as they come out into real time next to her as Ava and Jessie are speaking to her. "Hey, real quick, how many of you remember time rupturing around us by a show of hands? I'm trying to get a handle on how much has changed. If you don't remember, best not to think about it too much."
Upon activating her ring and encasing herself in the armor, Chloe hears an automated voice in her ear. ERROR: TEMPORAL DILATION DETECTED. IMPLEMENTING CHRONAL COMPENSATION MEASURES.
====================
"A decent amount, yeah," Nimbus nods grimly. "None of it especially hopeful. Various records going back easily centuries, though evidently the guy's got a cult that tries to scrub him from the collective consciousness so the next time he'll have a better chance at succeeding in his conquest."
He points to various figures with the main Egyptian-themed bad guy. "He also has these powerful lieutenants. He supposedly calls them his children, but whether that's biological or some mystical adoption process, I don't know."
Studying the exhibit, Indarius sees the list of the Children of Ahk'nathal.
Eti-N'amun, the Mistress of Asps. Medusa-like in appearance, this woman appears to have a head full of snakes for hair.
sA-hNm, the Master of Locusts. Appearing as a young man cloaked in a cloud of swarming insects.
Khamsin, the Desert Wind. Clad in wrapped bandages and wielding a scimitar in each hand, they are androgynous.
Aya Ma'aferet Nehebtuan, the Seer of Fates. This young woman wears a jackal-shaped funerary mask and an Egyptian-style dress.
Hap-Ro Ka, the Raging Auroch. This male figure is massively muscled and appears unmatched in strength.
==================
Asking Andromeda would probably help paint a clearer picture, as they come out into real time next to her as Ava and Jessie are speaking to her. "Hey, real quick, how many of you remember time rupturing around us by a show of hands? I'm trying to get a handle on how much has changed. If you don't remember, best not to think about it too much."
Ava and Jessie each give Chroknight a blank look. "What sort of things would have changed?" the spider-controller asks.
Ava blinks slowly. "If events have been altered, I am not aware of their prior state."
"If others come looking for you, you are undergoing distress which would best be avoided if olfactory sensitivity is a consideration." Sam notes internally that statistically that would be the phrase that will allow the greatest chance of no further questions.
As soon as her friend is gone, Sam is on her phone. Connecting to tablet in the car, then to her network at home.
"Is everything okay?" a cultured but worried voice speaks in her earpiece.
"Yes. There was a temporal disturbance produced by the entity known as chroknight. All other than the ones in the epicenter have fully acclimated to the aberrations."
The small annoyed sound on on the other line would include a glare across data lines that would freeze entire systems in the sudden chilling hate.
"Chroknight was the catalyst but not the danger." Samantha says with a sharpness "The danger is elsewhere, but I need to concentrate on the catalyst to stop the Danger. Collect all known data on Chroknight and start creating simulations to predict behavior patterns and potential whereabouts."
In truth, Samantha was surprised at the ease of the transformation. She know Chloe's mother had changed things, she theorized (with high probability) that she was Chroknight in this time. And if she wanted the danger of the intervening force to be stopped, that woman was her best hope.
A acidic burn twisted inside her, her matrix started to say something but she turned it off. Later. She will deal with that later.
Silence is in the earpiece, but Samantha imagines a tapping of a firmly held ruler against a bustled skirt, and let out a small sigh.
"Please, Governess."
|
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"A decent amount, yeah," Nimbus nods grimly. "None of it especially hopeful. Various records going back easily centuries, though evidently the guy's got a cult that tries to scrub him from the collective consciousness so the next time he'll have a better chance at succeeding in his conquest."He points to various figures with the main Egyptian-themed bad guy. "He also has these powerful lieutenants. He supposedly calls them his children, but whether that's biological or some mystical adoption process, I don't know."
Studying the exhibit, Indarius sees the list of the Children of Ahk'nathal.
Eti-N'amun, the Mistress of Asps. Medusa-like in appearance, this woman appears to have a head full of snakes for hair.
sA-hNm, the Master of Locusts. Appearing as a young man cloaked in a cloud of swarming insects.
Khamsin, the Desert Wind. Clad in wrapped bandages and wielding a scimitar in each hand, they are androgynous.
Aya Ma'aferet Nehebtuan, the Seer of Fates. This young woman wears a jackal-shaped funerary mask and an Egyptian-style dress.
Hap-Ro Ka, the Raging Auroch. This male figure is massively muscled and appears unmatched in strength.
Taking in the various names present Indy nods along. "Yeah, there was a robbery at a game store a while back. I guess the guy stole a piece with this star pharaoh guy and hit one of the customers woth a magic baton. Trail went cold, but sounds like it'd line up with cult trying to erase any evidence."
He looks around, "I wouldn't be surprised if this exhibit was actually a pretty big target in that case."
Splaying out a few fingers he recounts some info that's been gathered. "So we've got mysterious reoccuring self-proclaimed star king heralded by meteor showers. A cult of fanatics working to make his next trip easier. Several powerful entities in support of him, that are his so-called children. Apparently he also attracts other powerful magical beings. The Alliance being away leaves us pretty vulnerable too. Sounds like a perfect little storm, did the database say anything about a weakness or why he keeps coming back?"
"The database is still pulling data. The records are nearly forty years old," Nimbus answers Indy. "I'll let you know what else we find out, but in the meantime, do what you can to prepare yourself. No offense, but since you fall under the category of 'powerful magical beings,' you should take extra precaution."
* * *
Samantha hears a faint series of clicks on the other end. She gets nothing else to indicate that the AI program heard her plea or acknowledged it, although something about those clicks conveyed an emotion nonetheless.
Excitement.
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"The database is still pulling data. The records are nearly forty years old," Nimbus answers Indy. "I'll let you know what else we find out, but in the meantime, do what you can to prepare yourself. No offense, but since you fall under the category of 'powerful magical beings,' you should take extra precaution."
Indy frowns as much as he can, "I've been warned about such, apparently my curse against another 'powerful magical being' is likely to save him from having to serve, but in doing so putting myself in direct fire instead."
He turns and shrugs at Nimbus, "Let me know what you can find, I'll do my best to prepare myself and my team. Especially if we're worried that he's going to be making an appearance very soon."
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As Andromeda is wrapping up her conversation with Horizon, Ava and Jessie approach. "You didn't tell us you were going to the dance!" the Androidian says with mock indignation.
"We looked all over the museum for you and Xaiara," Jessie says. "Ava was like, 'we should see if they're upstairs,' and I was like, 'there's no way, they'll be too close to dancing!'"
Ava laughs. "I knew you wouldn't be dancing without encouragement, but that's where we come in. It will be our mission to get you out there shaking your ass to the music!"
"I'll show you my future nemesis, if you agree!" Jessie offers. "He's downstairs in one of the big displays. I'll show him to you when we're done."
"Where's Xaiara? She's not avoiding this either!" Ava strains her neck, searching the crowd for the winged girl.
Asking Andromeda would probably help paint a clearer picture, as they come out into real time next to her while Ava and Jessie are speaking to her. "Hey, real quick, how many of you remember time rupturing around us by a show of hands? I'm trying to get a handle on how much has changed. If you don't remember, best not to think about it too much."
Ava and Jessie each give Chroknight a blank look. "What sort of things would have changed?" the spider-controller asks.
Ava blinks slowly. "If events have been altered, I am not aware of their prior state."
Andromeda's brow furrows as she tries to keep herself under control with so many people wanting so many things of her all at once. She steps back, still carefully for now, not quite surrounded, her sheath flexing and pulsing but not out of space yet. Shivers of fear and prickles of heat run up and down her as her disturbed sheath makes it impossible to ignore those sensations. Where is Shayera then? Bug Girl? She was talking to Silver Shield; she didn't trust me. **We** looked all over?? She was going to make me dance? Make Xaiara dance? Why does Ava- Why does Anyone even like Bug Girl? Bug Girl?!? Where **is** Shayera? By now we should have found her. Did she just leave? She's not stupid; she wouldn't just leave. Did someone take her? No. Unless time or sensory data is corrupted again, she hasn't fought here. Make her think they could help her? Who would she trust; who did she even talk to? Ava likes Bug Girl???
Where is Valence?
Her head snaps up, her eyes locking onto each person one by one.
Chroknight: "Yes I remember. We do need to talk. Later."
Bug Girl: "Your nemesis sounds like a joke. No time. Correct me if I misunderstood. Later."
Ava: "They aren't dancing right here, so I couldn't. More importantly, I think Shayera's been taken. I need to know if anyone saw Valence leave; I need someone who can find a trail even if it was aerial. I need- Sam "-the Dragon. I need to see what he can find. Now."
"Okay, best you don't think too hard about it. If you find yourself having an existential crisis, remember the old adage: 'The only reality that matters is your own'," Chroknight tells the two. "Also, love the dresses."
They see Andromeda flip a switch on for herself, their armored helm nodding. "Don't know what Indarius could do, but hey, you know, there's other methods of tracking her down."
Okay, you said that, now make it happen. CORVIS, I need you little buddy. Help me track the temporal tourist.
"Hey, it would help me if you could give me some of her differences? It'll make for a more accurate reading. Why would Valence take her?" Please don't just ignore me out of hand...
"From all that we can tell, the Star Pharoah is due to arrive in a matter of months," Nimbus says. "As for you being in the line of fire, honestly I think that's a win for us. You'll put everything into resisting him, which is more than we could expect from the other magic being."
* * *
Jessie folds her arms with indignation. "My nemesis controls swarms of locusts," she huffs. "Tell her."
Ava puts an arm around Jessie. "With sufficient numbers, a countering swarm of orb weavers, jumping spiders, and hunters should be able to decimate the swarms of locusts that sA-hNm would bring to bear."
"Hah. See?" Jessie says in triumph, then waves at a glossy black shape on the wall. It waves a spindly arm back.
At Andromeda's suspicion, Ava frowns. "Why would you think that Xaiara's been taken? And by Valence of all people? They've been playing the will they?/won't they? game for a couple weeks now. Maybe they've decided it's a will?" She leans in toward Andromeda, looking apologetic. "She didn't confide in you because we all know you don't like Liam."
Meanwhile, CORVIS flies about and rewinds some images, attempting to locate if not the whereabouts of Shayera, but also Valence. After a few moments, Chroknight gets a brief video showing the winged girl leaving through the main entrance by herself. Valence hangs around the dance floor for a short while, but discretely slips away and phases through the wall to the outside.
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"From all that we can tell, the Star Pharoah is due to arrive in a matter of months," Nimbus says. "As for you being in the line of fire, honestly I think that's a win for us. You'll put everything into resisting him, which is more than we could expect from the other magic being."
Indarius takes a deep breath and nods, not letting himself be drawn too deep to what happened last time he had a commanding force overhead. "I hope to prove you right Nimbus. You haven't happened to ehar anything back from the Alliance have you? We can hold the fort, but I know it'd do people good to have heard something about their exploits."
Nimbus shakes his head, "No word on their return yet."
***
A bit later Indarius returns upstairs, carefully pushing and manuvering his way through the crowd. Perhaps his time with Glasswing for the evening was up. He could still mingle with others though. He was about to try and find someone interesting when he got distracted at the punchbowl.
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Having Bug Girl call in Ava to put her arm around her and be her back up against Andromeda and to put her arm around her was... It's too much. Xaiara dating **Liam**?? Not trusting me because she thinks I'd...
"I hate this stupid timeline"
"The tin can is right. There was a time rupture. It got mostly fixed, but a lot of little things changed and got worse. Worst, we lost our Xaiara. She got swapped with another one- called Shayera -she's... she's fine. She's nice. She wants to go home and get Xaiara back to us. She's not with Valence, she's with some guy from her world named Brawn. If this- if this Liam **is** with Xaiara, and it's not just part of his Finals-Manticorp scheming, then even then he's..." Corposant crackles and she squeezes her eyes shut. "She'd trust me; I know she'd trust me. Even when I don't want..." She sneaks a peek at Bug Girl and Ava and Ava's arm and Bug Girl's "we". "I mean.. I don't try to stop Gui and Ne'Veah. Or when I thought Chloe wanted... She's my friend and I..."
She looks up at Chroknight as they finish their investigation. "Did he take her?"
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"Replaced?" Jessie gasps.
Ava's arm drops back down to her side. "I noticed some cosmetic differences to her wings, and she was more socially adept the last time I saw her," she explains. "She exhibits such fine control over her wings, I couldn't be sure she had the ability to alter their appearance."
Jessie pounds a fist into her other hand. "Well... we need to get our Xaiara back! For the sake of Team AJAX!"
"Dunno about taking her, but CORVIS did spot Not-Xaiara leaving the building and then Valence slipping through the wall a couple minutes after the fact. If things have shifted around so relationships have changed, might be that he knows Xaiara well enough to spot an imposter. Which given that without proper context means he could think she's anything from an Androidian to a shapeshifter to a clone."
They look to Andromeda. "Let's look outside. Best case, I figure they're having a talk where she's explaining the situation to him."
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Having conflicting memories of the Governess did not help the young woman's anxieties from attempting to boil out. But having a task helped always with that, so why her creation worked on the data collection, Samantha slipped on to the counter, and started to hack into the security feeds to review all conversations being done about timelines, especially ones from Her.
Andromeda doesn't trust herself to speak, fearing that the End has come, before she realizes that it's a dropped hors d'oeuvres quietly destructing against her Sheath that's producing that burnt toast smell, not 'Team AJAX.'
"Her name is Shayera; she's a person too, not just a not-Xaiara. We're going to save her for herself, not just to get Xaiara back."
She looks up at Chroknight. "If she'd been made, but only an explanation had been needed, she would have told me." Reluctantly allowing her gaze to take in everyone in the conversation she does herself the favor of not making eye contact as she adds, "Please don't tell anyone who doesn't need to know. People already wanted Xaiara as a lab rat; Shayera is in danger."
"You realize who you're asking to keep secrets, right?" Chroknight shrugs their shoulders. "But slow it down. Things have changed. And you probably don't realize just how much if you still remember the time twister."
They think about it for a moment, but twist in the knife. Someone who could take a hit should be the devil's advocate. "And to be clear, if she is a different person from Xaiara, then we don't know anything about her. You're acting as if she's your best friend but you just met less than an hour ago. She could have taken the first chance to rabbit she saw once the invulnerable force field user wasn't around to stop her."
Andromeda's jaw sets and she stares carefully to Chroknight's right. "I'm not stupid, Tin Can. Seeing her differences is how I could see which parts are the same. It's how I knew she was a different person the first time she spoke. How I knew she'd trained with a different flyer than Xaiara. How I knew that she'd been saved earlier and better than Xaiara. How I knew that she already... She already was better than me. She wants to go home; she believed that I was going to help her." She didn't trust you to do it. Maybe she thought there was something she should do on her own?
A thought strikes her, and she turns near Ava. "Did Xaiara ask you for help charming Liam?" "No. She asked what she should do because Liam seems interested in her."
A little tension leaves Andromeda's stance.
"Good. Then she's... Good. She's not more different than I remember."
"If this Shayera is a liar, if she fooled me the whole time, then she's up to no good. Otherwise she's almost our friend, and she's missing in a strange city. Let's find her."
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Now on his way back across the room in search of Glasswing, Indy notices the heated conversation between Chroknight, Andromeda, Jessie, and Ava. Fearing that tensions were on the rise from the whole time debaucle he meanders over with a handful of tiny cheese cubes on sticks.
"Everything uh.." -chomp- "good?"
"Not that strange to her if she's also from a Halcyon City. I'm saying she could know of a hundred places we don't to hide out if she doesn't want to be found, some of which probably still exist in this timeline. I'm telling you, for real - you are turning molehills out of mountains. And it's been less than an hour. If she hasn't gotten in touch by tomorrow, then we can follow up with Valence."
They pause, a scathing comment about her true feelings dying on their tongue. "I get it, you're feeling like crap because you're worried about your friend and feeling like you need to do something instead of enjoying the party here. If you think we should go after her, I just want to know if we're doing it for her sake, or if it's to make you feel better. Either way I'm with you, but be honest with us."
They look over as Indy arrives. "Chief. How much do you remember of the past hour for you?"
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Popping another cheese piece in his mouth he shrugs, "MmmMm, all of it pretty clearly, sorting through what's from where still but-"
He points the toothpick at Chroknight, "Everything I witnessed." He taps the side of his head with the toothpick then recalls a similar thing that he did to another being and quickly pulls it away.
"Clear as crystal. Probably something to do with the dragon physiology or something, but the differences between the time or universe splits? It's actually all really easy to sort out give me about a day or two and I'd be able to be way more sure, but I'm very confident."
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Jessie remains looking shocked. She turns to Indarius. "Are we really in a different timeline and you can remember what happened before? Are we different to you?" Her eyes narrow. "Was Andromeda always such a grumpy-puss or is that new?"
Ava arches an eyebrow. "Modern theories posit that timestreams emphasize consistency and recurrence. Thus, Andromeda would be a 'grumpy-puss' in most variations."
Regarding Andromeda with actual affection, Jessie laughs. "I feel so much better then. I'd hate it if our new Andromeda wasn't a big sour puss but secretly a giant softie on the inside."
"Liam's departure most likely correlates to Shayera's. Considering they both fly, their encounter could be blocks, if not miles, from here," Ava says, switching the topic back to finding not-Xaiara. "Our chances of picking up their trail diminish by the minute."
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"Oh you're looking for the alternate Xaiara? Shayera was it?"
He looks to Andromeda since her countenance says all that needs to be said about the importance of this whole situation to her. "Got anything that was hers? Should be able to whip up a tracking spell no sweat if so."
Serious matter out of the way he leans towards Jessie to whisper, "Major grump-asaurus and that's coming from the biggest lizard in the room."
Frustration boils the air around Andromeda as she listens to Chroknight. "I already said why she's in trouble. Go rewind yourself and listen." Ava's and Jessie's gentle teasing moves that heat to a slight prickle on her cheeks. "I'm... I'm allergic to cat dander. I can't be a... Ava understands that time is important. Shayera used my phone to make an extra-dimensional device of hers work here. Is that enough? A part of it is part of her gear."
Following the conversation takes the cameras to watch, various mobile devices, and algorithms to explain it all to her as Sam sits in the bathroom. The words extra dimensional device worries her. So she starts her own separate search for the temporal aberration while flagging her data structure as a potential problem.
Chloe stated she left the building, as well as Valence so she starts there, tracking back with the data feeds, then trying to continue to security and traffic cameras, dash cams, smart doorbells, mobile phones, social media, drones, alarms, motion sensors... the proliferation of monitoring devices in a city as big as theirs makes such a task just a matter of resources and time.
Following Shayera's path outside is easy for Samantha, utilizing traffic and security cameras. She spots her walking down the street, looking up at the nighttime lights of Halcyon City. She tugs at the hem of her dress and sinches her heels tight, then takes off into the sky.
With juat about every available surveillance camera pointed down or at street-level, Samantha loses track of Shayera quickly. She spreads her search wider and wider, but doesn't immediately locate her whereabouts.
* * *
Ava looks at Andromeda, her eyes wide. "She used your phone to make hers work? Did it? Was she successful?" She holds out her hand for the device. "May I? If she could clone your device to allow her to connect to the cellular networks, I should be able to ping its location."
Assuming Andromeda gives Ava her phone, the Androidian's fingers fly across the touch screen for a time. "Hmm. I have a location. North Halcyon. The Heights, specifically." She holds up the phone showing a marker on a map of the high-end district of fancy homes and gated estates.
What do you do??
"We'll talk later about that, but you should know that any memories you have of this timeline may not come about until you encounter something in relation to the change. Don't be surprised when it happens," They tell Indarius before replying to Andromeda.
"Fine. I'll look for her." Chroknight's body language seems deflated as they back down, listening to Ava. "North Heights? I'll be back in a relative minute."
They all freeze in place from Chroknight's perspective as they rush out of the Praetorium and into the night. Trying to find a lead even with all of the time they had for Shayera's presence would be difficult, but at least CORVIS could help cover the aerial angles.
"CORVIS, all I wanted tonight was to show off in a hot dress and dance with a pretty girl. Instead I got my powers jacked by a nanny-bot AI, nearly got the timeline destroyed, and had said pretty girl reset it with my dad married to a nice woman with a mean daughter who is now my best friend's best friend, since apparently that pretty girl decided on her own to erase the last two years of our lives for reasons I'm having trouble being mad at her for because of her stupid pretty green eyes. And now I'm searching for someone else's pretty girl surrogate from another universe that somehow got dumped here. Not to mention that Deedee and Empyrean have apparently vanished and no one else seems to care - or possibly even consider-"
They stop between cars, gently pulling back a pedestrian who was about to step into traffic back onto the curb. "We really can't assume that Shayera's the only one that's been stranded here. I spend a relative year trying to avoid this kind of disaster and didn't even think someone would steal my powers and do it on purpose. Fine. Let's pick up the pieces then get back so Dad doesn't panic if I'm not there."
They race towards the Heights, hoping to scout it out swiftly, confirm that Shayera was just taking time to be alone and gather herself so she could alleviate Andromeda's anxiety.
The densely-packed streets and buildings open up the farther Chroknight runs away from the city's center until they enter the rolling hills to the north of Halcyon. The urban sprawl gives way to winding roads leading to gated communities and walled estates where Halcyon's wealthy reside when not in penthouses.
Chroknight finds the opulent mansion that for some reason is where Shayera had gone. With the house set far back from the road behind a camera- and sensor-lined fence, they realize they're going to have to slip past the security in order to infiltrate the compound.
CORVIS, on the other hand, is able to fly over the wall and check out the mansion. In moments, he flies back, excitedly reporting that Shayera is there, but she's not alone!
Chroknight comes back into real time. It's been a matter of a few moments for Andromeda and Indarius, but Chroknight's text comes in for them with an urgent buzz.
Chroknight: Dropping a pin
Chroknight: Found her here, will update
A location pin for an address in the Heights shows up for them.
"Oh, CORVIS buddy, get that camera there?" Chroknight asks the bird to assist as they nearly stay too long and get spotted - but thankfully CORVIS is capable of nudging the camera enough to let them stay in its blind spot.
They slip forward past the security measures and follow CORVIS' lead to where Shayera is located. Hoping she's not at a weird high school party where they do designer drugs and hook up.
Samantha frowns as she catches the conversation remotely. She hadn't paid enough attention to the words spoken it seems, catching that the temporal anomaly had the intervening force's phone. Shaking her head slightly in irritation, she starts jumping along the web to any wireless signals in the residence that isn't hardened allowing lateral movements along the internet of things that most do not think about in their house. Treadmills, refrigerators, microwaves, alarm clocks, streaming devices, any of which that might be connected to the outside for updates but also connected to the home network so she then can slide into cameras and anything else she can find.