ic Far From Home

[Thevshi]

Unknown

Wednesday February 14, 2018 (hopefully)

 

When Rev and SFX entered the portal, they immediately felt as if they were being pulled forward at incredible speed, yet at the same time felt as if they were going nowhere.  All around bright light flashed by, creating a sort of tunnel around them. 

 

Just a little ways ahead of them were the simulacrums who were still holding on to Lawrence.  However, some sort of distortion appeared around the three, appearing to be centered on Lawrence. 

 

"You will be taken to the master."  Said the simulacrum that looked like Robert.   "It is inevitable."

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"Whoa! A time thing!"

 

"It may be inevitable. But I'll but my boot up your backside even if it is!" challenged Rev. She looked down at her bare feet. She had kicked her trainers off back at the house in preparation for lift off. But then the time thing had appeared in a thingy type of way. 

 

"Well, my foot, anyway..." she added, losing (she felt) some impetus in the flow of words. 

 

"Anyway, we have been charged with the duty of dutifully protecting our charge!" she said. "Namely, Master Lawrence Thingy" she explained, forgetting his surname but making sure she pointed a finger with full accusation. 

 

"And if we need to kick your backsides to protect him, it will be our pleasure to do so!"

Edited February 11, 2018 by Supercape

[BlazingCoconut]

Well to her immense relief, she hadn't disappeared, nor did she seem to be a different person.  So that was good.  Another thing that seemed to be working in their favor was that they could see the not people with Lawrence ahead of them.  That was good too.  That there was some kind of disturbance which might be caused by Lawrence seemed even more positive.  So she followed her friend and began creating a series of code that might come in handy.

 

Rev was always good with banter in a fight, and she let her take the lead in that.

 

However, she couldn't resist adding, "we promised to keep him safe!  That's what we're going to do!"

 

It wasn't as cool as what Rev said, but it seemed appropriate.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

The two simulacrums looked up at the two teenagers as the spoke.  "The master is getting tired of your interference."  Stated the one that looked like Megan. 

 

"You will be destroyed if you persist at trying to stop us."  Added the Robert look-a-like.

 

Lawrence looked over at the two teenage girls.  "Zhu!  Lexa!   Hurry, I cannot keep them from moving us through space-time much longer."  He said, a pained look on his face as he seemed to be exerting himself as much as possible.  The time distortion around the three flickered slightly, but for the moment remained. 

[Supercape]

Rev

 

Rev ignored the threats of the simulacrums and marched up to Lawrence, grabbing his arm. 

 

"If the master is getting tired, maybe he should go to sleep. Perhaps with a glass of milk. Maybe you could read a story to him whilst you tuck him in with his favourite teddy bear" she sneered. 

 

"I get you are his lackeys and will do whatever he says. I guess that's unfortunate, because I'll have to snap all your fingers so that you let go of Lawrence here. And, if what he says is right, I'm going to start snapping...them....right...now...."

[BlazingCoconut]

Zhu didn't know how the Not people were tracking Lawrence, but it was worth seeing if it was a visual thing or not.  She sent the illusary Lawrence ahead even as she quipped, "Lawrence!  Get back here, leave the fake Lawrence with those two while we take care of this!"

 

The fake Lawrence began to exhibit the same visual effects as the real one, visual distortion emanating from him, "No SFX!  They're pretending to be my parents, I want to trap them here!"

 

As he did that she was already prepping code to try and help out.  They couldn't let them take him... wherever this was and whoever the master was.

Edited February 11, 2018 by BlazingCoconut

[Thevshi]

GM

 

The two simulacrums paid no attention to SFX's illusionary Lawrence.  Whether it was because they were not fooled by her clumsy attempt to con them or something else she could not tell.

 

Rev meanwhile managed to pull Lawrence free from the two simulacrums with a forceful pull, but as she did, the physics of wherever they were (or perhaps it was the distortion Lawrence was causing) caused them to fly backward where they collided with SFX.  As they all began to fall backward, Lawrence reached out with one hand and grabbed one of SFX's wrists.

 

Suddenly the two teenage girls felt a strange jolt, and then they all landed in a pile on a hard surface, the tunnel of light gone.  It took a moment but they began to regain their senses and took in their surroundings.  They were in a wide open area with lots of low buildings, which at first suggested that they were in a city.  But then they saw what appeared to be walls off in the far distance, going up into the air.  Looking up, they saw a high domed ceiling above them, from which large sections had been replaced with some sort of translucent material.  Out beyond the dome they could see the star filled blackness of space beyond a bright glowing cloud nebula and a small, brightly shining blue star.

 

Even as the shocking view beyond was starting to wear off, they realized there was a crowd of people nearby that had stopped, startled by their sudden appearance.  Only, these were not like any people Rev or SFX had ever seen.  There were what looked like some humans, with bright green or purple hair, wearing unusual jumpsuits.  But they were nothing compared to others in the crowd.  Amongst the crowd were what looked like humanoid insects, other humanoids covered in fur and what looked like some sort of man-sized amorphous blob. 

[BlazingCoconut]

Zhu

When Zhu's senses unscrambled enough to figure out what was going on she looked over to Lawrence, "I think you saved me... I thought it was supposed to be the other way around?"

 

The she looked over to her best friend, making sure that she was okay.  When she visibly looked well enough she turned back to Lawrence.

 

She smiled at him as she got back to her feet, a little worried that her choice of clothes was likely not up to par for whatever place they had landed in.  Which begged the question where this was, or given that Lawrence was a time controller, when.  However, there were some clues.  Above them was some kind of dome and the nebula suggested that they were not in the solar system.  There were no easily visible nebula with the naked eye from the earth.  So it was likely it was a where rather than a when.  At least she took the time to store the image of the stars so she could see if there were any familiar constellations visible.

 

"I think we need to move from here," she said.  "I might be able to conceal us if we can get out of view for a bit."

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"This doesn't look like Kansas..." muttered Rev, pushing her hair back into place. Not that it had much of a place in the first place. But still, it felt like the right thing to do. 

 

"It doesn't really look like Earth. We could be anywhere in the galaxy. Or universe. Or even out of it" she said, a mixture of fear and excitement in her voice. 

 

"In any case, those thingy things, you know, who looked like your parents...hmmm....what shall we call them....Parentenders? like parents but pretending to be, so you know...parentenders..."

 

....

 

"Well, whatever, they are going to on the look out for you. And their master doesn't sound like the forgiving sort. So we better get moving. Err...somewhere. Not here....pick a direction, Zhu!"

[BlazingCoconut]

Zhu nodded in agreement, "yes, we're not on Earth, I'm pretty sure of that... but where I don't know.  There's not much of an internet here that I can access for reference.  Pretenders works pretty good for a name as well..."

 

She looked around the area they were in and nodded towards the direction that seemed to have less beings and hopefully more cover and concealment.  Standing in the middle of the path was not helping them at the moment.

 

Then, as they started she looked at Rev, worried, "do you think that we'll get an excused day?  I had a quiz and I don't want to get a failing grade on it..."

[Thevshi]

GM

"I am pretty sure I stopped them from moving us forward in time."  Lawrence replied as the two girls discussed their predicament.  "I guess I was not able to stop any movement through space, or at least not soon enough."

 

Just as the three started moving away, some of the nearby crowd still staring, others having turned back to their own business, two figures moved out from the crowd ahead of them, moving in their direction.  One appeared human, the other looked like some human sized reptile.  Both were wearing similar uniforms and were armed, although their weapons were currently holstered.  They did not appear to be aggressive, or at least the human looking one did not seem to be.  The human looking one called out toward them, but whatever he was saying, neither Zhu nor Lexa could understand any of it.

 

Before the two figures could reach the three, or Zhu and Lexa could decide how they wanted to react to the sudden attention, Lawrence stiffened slightly beside them.  "They found us."  He said in a low voice, just as the simulacrums of Megan and Robert appeared halfway between the three youth and the two uniformed figures moving toward them.

 

"You cannot run."  Stated the two simulacrums together as they faced Zhu, Lexa and Lawrence.

"You cannot hide."  Came two more voices to either side of them, as another Megan and Robert simulacrum appeared, one on each side.

 

"The master will find you."  Came a third pair of voices, as a third set of simulacrums appeared behind the trio.

[Thevshi]

GM

 

The sudden appearance of the six simulacrums appeared to startle the crowd of beings around the lost trio from Earth.  But before any of the others gathered nearby could react, Lawrence once again managed to be the first to act.  His hands moved in a blur as he grasped one of Zhu and Lexa's hands. 

 

Just as they had felt at Lawrence's home, the world around Zhu and Lexa appeared to slow down ever so slightly.  Lawrence then released their hands, as quickly as he had grasped them to allow them to have them both available as needed.

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"I wouldn't worry about your grades right now, Zhu, I think we should just worry about ge---Cherrybomb Sucks! Six of you now?" groaned Rev as she saw the mysterious simulacrum's appear. 

 

"Take my hand, Lawrence, I got something up my sleeve. It's going to be brilliant!"

 

Literally. It might well also startle and dazzle Zhu and Lawrence, and the bystanders around, but it would give her and Zhu and Lawrence some breathing space. 

 

As she slipped her hand round the young master's, and pulled him slightly behind her, she lit up the pilot light on her right hand, and then, with a swing, launched a fuel bomb to the ground, which exploded with brilliant orange-white light...

 

 

Edited February 12, 2018 by Supercape

[BlazingCoconut]

"I always worry about gra... GAH!" she shouted as the fuel bomb went off blinding her!  She staggered around for a moment before calming and using the botnet to tell her where people and things were.  It was sufficient for her to get a bearing on all of the Pretenders who were closing in.  Using Rev's idea of getting some breathing space, she sent a string of commands to the holoprojector on her wrist.  Instantly, lasers, music and other distractions filled the area around them as fantastic beasts sprung from the ground and a truly epic soundtrack from her last video began playing to a synchronized beat.

 

Of course, just as the Pretenders didn't respond to the illusionary Lawrence, they also ignored all of her holograms as well as they seemed to bear in on them with little worry from either the flare or the distraction.

 

[Thevshi]

GM

 

Lawrence was just able to close and cover his eyes when Rev set off her flare, avoiding the blinding effect.  Most of the simulacrums were able to avoid the effect as well, although one of the ones made to look like Lawrence's mother was effected by the flare.  Many of the nearby crowd were not as fortunate, and a bit of panic began to set in for both the blinded bystanders as well as those that were further away.  The two uniformed individuals were also affected, turning away slightly as they lost their vision.

 

Then the simulacrums began attacking with their strange energy attacks. Both SFX and Rev were hit, the latter being hit by two beams.  As had happened at the house, SFX felt a numbness wash over her, but as before she was able to shake it off.  Rev felt the same feeling, but was not able to completely resist it, as she found herself unable to move, frozen in place.  Lawrence slipped out of her frozen grasp unintentionally, but landed on his feet.

 

The two uniformed beings chose not to reach for their weapons, being unable to see.  The reptilian one used its right hand to feel its way down its left arm to where a metal bracer covered the forearm, he began typing something on interfaces along that device.  The other appeared to be speaking into some sort of communication device, but again neither SFX nor Rev could understand what he was saying.  This caused one of the Megan simulacrums to turn around and shot him with the blue energy beam, which caused the uniformed man to freeze in place similar to Rev.

 

Many of those nearby the confusion that could still see began to run away from the unfolding chaos, while a few remained behind to try to help lead away those that were momentarily blinded. 

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"ow ow ow!" grunted Rev as she forced her body to work again. It wasn't exactly pain. But it did wound her ego to be hit by...well, whatever it was. 

 

And the flare light didn't seem to work. 

 

Sometimes, running was wise. 

 

"Grab hold, Zhu!" she told her friend, whilst balancing Lawrence with her left arm. Now, with Zhu on her right, it was time to fly. Darn it, won't be too easy, she noted, with just her legs to fly. But, this didn't need to be accurate...just enough to get them away. 

 

Zhu and Lawrence safely gripped, she fired her feet jets, the fuel burning into a full powered thrust - and then, picking a direction at random, they were away, pulling big G!

[BlazingCoconut]

Zhu held on for dear life.  Flying was scary enough and while she wanted to help her friend, there was little she could do when there was no materials to work with.  Her botnet was reporting that there was no materials to work with even as she tried to create some kind of barrier for Lawrence.  There just was not enough material in the sky to make it happen.  At least her eyes were starting to clear as tears from the blinding flash streaked down her cheek.

 

So instead, she held on to Lawrence tightly and shouted, "faster Rev!  Faster!"

Edited February 13, 2018 by BlazingCoconut

[Thevshi]

GM

 

It was a good thing Zhu reached out to grab ahold of Lawrence, as his hold on Rev's arm was not the best, and at the speeds Rev was going, he might have not been able to hold on if not for Zhu.  But as fast as Rev was, that speed did little when there was only limited space for them to go.  They did not even cover two thousand feet in the direction Rev had chosen, when they came to a wall that arched up toward the ceiling above.  And as high as that ceiling was, it was still limited.

 

As Rev came to a halt to try to decide what direction to head next five of the simulacrums appeared in the air near them.  "We told you that you could not run."  They said in unison as they began firing the blue paralysis beams at Rev.  The majority of the attacks misses, or at least seemed to miss, but as Rev was moving aside to avoid one beam, she was struck by another. 

Once again she felt the chill of the paralysis effect cause her body to go ridged, and then she, Lawrence and Zhu began to fall….

[Supercape]

Rev

 

Oh hell........

 

A thousand curse words swam through Rev's head. And a flashback to the crash she had. That feeling of paralysis just before the inevitable impact. 

 

"Noooooooo!....." she gurgled through mumbling lips. 

 

With a huge adrenaline soaked surge of effort, she fired her Jets again...launching her forward but not upwards. 

 

"Graaaaaah!" she creamed, and moved her legs a little, aiming the Jets downwards to slow their fall. Just in the nick of time, too. She landed, with Zhu and Lawrence with an almighty clunk that, whilst jarring, was at least not lethal. 

 

"Oooh...they teleport....the sneaks!" she grumbled, starting to move again. "Well, they won't take Lawrence without a fight, I'll tell you that!" she proclaimed, feeling defiant, even if the odds were pretty loaded against them. 

 

 

[BlazingCoconut]

While she wanted to kiss the ground as they finally landed, she didn't.  They'd be back, she knew it and nothing she had tried had been remotely effective.  It was worrying, but she had promised to watch over Lawrence and she wasn't about to give up at all!

 

"No they won't!" she agreed with Rev as she watched around to see where they would appear from.  "They can also home in on him..."

Edited February 14, 2018 by BlazingCoconut

[Thevshi]

GM

 

The chase through the sky had been spotted by many of the crowd that was making its way through this space city.  So there had been many looking into the air before Rev and the other two had begun to fall, so by the time Rev just managed to stop their and land, the crowd had cleared a space around them.

 

Looking up into the air, Zhu and Rev saw the five simulacrums begin to levitate downward toward the ground, but before they could reach all the way down there was a loud *WOOSH* in the air as a new figure flew into view, slightly off to one side and midway in the air between the three on the ground and the simulacrums.

 

The newcomer was a female humanoid, with dark orange skin and a lithe build.  She had long hair that was black/dark purple in color and her eyes were a dark yellow.  She was dressed in a full length white bodysuit, with black diamonds patterns with golden yellow trim that covered the shoulders and upper chest.  She had black boots with similar golden yellow trim and a long black cape that flowed down behind her.  The figure spoke in a loud voice that carried over the open space, looking between the two groups, but whatever it was she was saying it sound like the language Zhu and Rev had heard from the other beings that had encountered so far.

 

Suddenly there was a loud *WUMP* as something landed a short distance away from Zhu, Rev and Lawrence.  That something turned out to be a towering reptilian humanoid that stood at least eight feet tall.  The reptilian had massive, stocky build and was covered in green and brown scales and a ten foot long tail that ended in a spiked ball.

 

Two other figures were approaching in the air as well, one a hairless male humanoid with dark green skin dressed in a black and dark blue bodysuit.  The other was a female humanoid with dark blue skin and white hair.  She was wearing a gold-yellow coat with long tails, with a skintight costume of pale icy blue underneath and orange leather knee-high boots.

 

But Zhu, Rev and Lawrence were just taking in these newcomers when the simulacrums stopped descending and hovered where they were for a moment.  Then, they vanished.

 

"You children have proven to be quite an annoyance."  Stated a cold, hollow voice.  Zhu heard it speaking in Mandrin, while Rev and Lawrence heard the words in English.  A quick glance around reveled a figure that had appeared on the rooftop of a nearby one story building.  The figure was tall, but completely concealed beneath a tattered hooded black robe.  No face was visible within the hood of the robe, only a shadowy darkness.  "I had not anticipated your interference, but Lawrence Harrow will not escape me."

[BlazingCoconut]

At that moment Zhu would have killed for a hook up to whatever passed as the internet in this neck of the woods.  While she had a phenomenal memory, being able to look up who people were or do photo matching was something that she relied on.  The three people that were close to them were not recognizable, although she was sure that she had seen the reptilian on the cover of some science fiction magazine.  While she was happy the creepy parental copies had disappeared, she wasn't sure that they were any better off.

 

"Rev... are these the good guys or the bad guys?" she asked looking around at the floating people and the large reptilian.

 

She really wanted to trigger off the code she had written for the snare, but if they were the ones who had made the pretenders disappear then perhaps at least some of them were friendly.  The robed guy was obviously not, but could they hope for three out of four?

 

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"Hey, I don't know" replied Rev, bamboozled. "I don't even know if they are guys at all!"

 

She was looking from left to right, trying to work it all out and not making any sense of it whatseoever. 

 

"All I know is that we gotta protect Lawrence. Easier said than done, I guess. Especially as we don't know what we are protecting him from. But as long as we are by his side, I guess we are doing something at least half right" she concluded. 

 

"I guess he wont escape you" answered Rev, uncertainly, to the strange figure. "You seem to follow wherever he goes. What do you want from him?"

[Thevshi]

GM

 

The hovering figure in white and black had been focused on the robed figure when it had spoken, but when SFX and Rev began to talk, the humanoid turned her head to look down at them.  "You are Terran, correct?"  She said in English with an accent unlike anything any of them had heard before.

 

But before any answer could be given to that question, the robed figure answered the one posed by Rev.  "He is the key to vast power, or the defense against it.  Either way, his destiny shall be mine to shape.  It would save yourselves great suffering to hand him over."  The figure stated in its cold, hollow voice.  Once again SFX heard it speaking Mandarin, Rev and Lawrence in English, what the others nearby heard one could only guess.

 

The large reptilian figure standing nearby looked down at Lawrence and the two teenage girls for a moment, then looked back up at the robbed figure as it moved forward, placing itself between the trio of humans and the robbed figure.

 

"There will be no handing over of anyone.  I will give you one warning to stand down."  Replied the hovering female humanoid, continuing to speak in English, a steely firmness now in her voice as she also focused on the robbed figure.

[Supercape]

Rev

 

"We cannot hand him over" said Rev, bluntly. "To anybody. And as far as Zhu and I are concerned, his destiny is his own to forge, and nobody else's" she added. 

 

She ignited the pilot lights on her palms, ready to fight if need be. 

 

"Zhu, I don't know which way to turn, but if the dice drop, then I'm siding with the lizard" she offered. "Seems the best bet..."