trans_9 | Exploring the Wild Green Yonder

"Okay, kids in the middle. I don't care if you can fight or can shoot lightning out your ears, stay in the center where we can protect you. If there's something the adults can't handle, then feel free to jump in. Noncombatants are with them. Anyone with a weapon, if someone is engaging an enemy in hand to hand, obviously, hold fire, even if you're a crack shot. Safeties of your weapons on until it seems like we might be running into something. For most of us, being able to shoot is only a thumbflick away and I don't want any friendly fire. Be careful not to hit anything that looks like a window, so we're not all tossed into space," Cybil said, standing at the front of the group.

"Andromeda. Cortana. Let us know what you can as we go, and if you think there's something we need to see, let us know to take a look. You're our tourguides."

And the important part.

"If you think you heard or saw something strange, calmly let the rest of the group know, even if you're not sure. We shouldn't be jumping at shadows and we can't panic, but we shouldn't be too relaxed either. We have no idea who or what might be here with us. Be careful. Not careless. Not paranoid."

Her gun was out in her hand, safety was on for now, and it was aimed at the floor.

"Kara, Harper, and Flash, I want you on point with me. Sam, Connor, Murphy, I want you bringing up the rear. The other people with superpowers in the middle, where you can get to the front or back easily if you're needed at either and where you're closest to the kids and the people without guns or powers to protect them."

She would, quite frankly, be amazed if anyone actually listened to her. She was just a cop. But

"Everyone ready? Let's go."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

//SHRA...? Hang on a moment, relax your mind.// Without trying to pry too far into her memories, for now, he probed her thoughts just enough to get the context of what she was referring to.

//...I see.... On my homeworld, mutant registration spread into global control by the Sentinels, hunting any who threatened them.//

He was surprised that Stark didn't have a connection to Richards. The Atomic Knights had been a recurring feature of several worlds he'd glimpsed. "Bruce Banner, Henry Pym, Victor Von Doom. Have you ever worked with any of them?"

Vincent spoke aloud to Kate then, trying to mask their internal conversation. "Pro-registration? I'm afraid you'll need to be a bit more detailed."

She relaxed it, adding mentally, //That came first before this. Also the mutant population shrank drastically. Nobody's sure why. But then the Registration Act happened, with Stark being one of the figureheads for it. Cap was against it. There was a war, and then Cap was killed, and now some of us against registration have had to hide.//

She added out loud, "It's not what you did to me, not just me. It's what you did to Cap, to Spiderman, to other Avengers, to a lot of good heroes that S.H.I.E.L.D. hunted. Or had the Registration Act not happened yet for you?"

Wednesday lets out a huff of a laugh, looking between Tony, Kate, and Vincent. "The coming gods, with your petty squabbles," he murmurs. Not so different from the rest of us.

The guy was dropping a lot of names, ones well-known to him. Mostly for academic achievements, yes, but they weren't quite in his circle. "I'd say the closest I've come to working with is Banner, but he's hard to find, sounds like." Oh, yes. The team that didn't exist yet. Tony was guarded, now, his expression carefully neutral. How much did they know? "I'm not saying any more. I don't care what world this is, I signed a stack of NDAs about six inches thick." Non-disclosure agreements with S.H.I.E.L.D.. and.. he knew when it was a good time to shut his mouth.

That, and they knew more than he did about himself.

Registration. Heroes. He'd barely met any of them, had barely tipped a toe in their world, yet.. well, he made enemies. He was that kind of man. It didn't bother him, usually, but this was different. He didn't understand what had happened, but it sounded bloody.

"You cleared one thing up for me. I get to meet Spider-man in the future." His lips twitched, as if wanting to smile, despite her hostility. He was just feeling too uncertain at that moment to bluff any better than that. "I don't usually do politics. Never heard of your Act. I'm sorry, but for right now, your resentment's misplaced." A pause, than, as he considered all that, carefully. "I'm sure I'll find something else to do that'll earn all that hostility." A real smile, then. Too bad, too. She had a cute face.

Then the old man spoke, the one with one eye, and he sighed, murmuring under his breath. "Is the cryptic nonsense thing infectious?"

"Look, I'm not thinking we have the luxury of arguing amongst ourselves like this," said Cybil.

"Andromeda, you said that on the crew roster, it says we're from different worlds, right? Are these three all from different ones?"

"Affirmative. Katherine Bishop, Vincent Amorason, and Anthony Stark are designated as each being from a different variant of Earth--though, apparently, in the same cluster. Upon examination, it appears that similar worlds are often linked together in groups as far as categorization goes. Beyond that, however, there is little more information I can give you. I cannot tell what the exact differences between your worlds are, as I have no access to further information."

"So it stands to reason, this man is not the one you know. If someone were to come in here from a world where I was a dirty cop, I wouldn't be the Cybil Bennet they know. This stuff is strange and it probably makes less sense to me than it does to some of you since my life isn't like a comic book, but I'm thinking we need to judge each person on their own merits when they come in. That much seems obvious."

Kate relaxed at that.

"Sorry, heard what I needed to hear. Had to make sure. And we're not gods, we're humans. Which means even more complications."

She then stepped closer to Stark, and added with a sharp look from her blue eyes, "You were an Avenger. If you ever get back to your world, try not to screw it up this time?" There was then a small smile before she returned to her spot in the group.

She then added to Cybil with an apologetic expression, "Sorry, ma'am. It won't happen again."

More alarm bells were going off for Vincent regarding the old man. He was dangerous. No question.

He turned to Stark and shrugged. "As I understand it, just about everyone meets Spider-Man."

He regarded Kate for a moment. Perhaps she was more sharp-witted than he'd initially estimated her at; and she was certainly lovely enough to look at. Perhaps he'd make a point to try to ally himself with her as situations warranted.

For now though, there were more immediate concerns. "Administrator, Stacy, whatever you prefer to be addressed as; is there any task requiring the attention of ourselves or other selectees? How many have been released thus far?"

||There are no ongoing missions at this time. There are 30 crew members on the active roster. More are being released as I speak.||

"Guess we should throw out the welcome mat. Andromeda, are there any more rooms we need to see that are important or can they wait? These people are likely just as scared as we were first waking up. They should be our priority."

"Just the Mess Hell, restrooms--which are pretty self-explanatory, and the Art Hall...which is unusual, but not vital. Stacy's internal sensors are in serious need of recalibration and repair, but I can lead you to generally where the other life signs are."

"Let's get going."

Wednesday quirks a smile at Kate, but doesn't directly rebut her statement. There'll be time for that later.

Wasn't this sort of like.. cheating? Meeting people who knew an older version of himself? Getting a glimpse of what might be.. if he got too caught up in things. "I'm sorry. Whatever happened, it obviously hurts. I just.." Tony trailed off, frowning, and Cybil had taken command of the conversation, then. It got him off the hook, anyway.

"Well, there you go. Maybe it never happens in my section of the universe." The Avengers had yet to even form, let alone begin to fight amongst themselves. He took her warning seriously. "Yes, ma'am." A salute was offered, military or not, but he wasn't entirely mocking. He took his alter ego seriously.

More 'staff' was coming, and that was a little alarming. There was no telling who or what might come out of those pods. They might as well be more hostages. A wry smile, then. "Hello, welcome, we know nothing? Still, I guess we're better than being greeted by tentacles and disembodied voices.."

Exploring the Wild Green Yonder

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