ic Zip Zap

[Tarrakhash]

Delta's tactical analysis filled his HUD with information at a massive rate, realized what it was he was up against he flinched just a little as the rock he was using as cover went up in dust, the dust ran into his telekinetic shield flickering lights showing where dust and field connected like stars in his filed of vision but Delta was a soldier, tactical advantages were his to see and take whenever he could. He shimmered again as he teleported away, another rock suddenly filling up the space in front of him as he leaned around it again.

 

His shoulder jerked as again he took another shot, tearing through more of the metal plating the robot, he was sure he could see it's inner circuits slowly dissolving under his blasts but it was not enough to take it down yet. His HUD updated with more and more data with each blast, soon, and very soon he was going to manuvere the machine into a position he could take advantage of. His diodes flashed as he switched to high processing mode trying to find someway to take advantage of the terrain.

 

Analysis started to filter in as he ducked back behind the rock, possible options filling his vision as he tried to end this battle as soon as possible.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The Robot staggered back, this time fizzing. A giant livid scar of glowing metal seared over its plating, testament to the power of Delta. A few sparks flew from its chest. 

 

"K-K-KILL HUMAMAMAMAMAMAN!" he squarked. Something had clearly glitched in its most limited vocal circuits. 

 

But its weapon systems seem online. It pointed both arms at Delta again, and this time, it protruded two nozzles. 

 

Whooomf!

 

In an instant, a massive line of fire ejected from its hands. Flamethrowers! This time, the rock glowed and cracked, but stayed frim. However, it did not provide Delta with much protection, for the fire curled around the bolder and smoldered most fiercely!

[Tarrakhash]

Familiarity with war was something that Delta had plenty of, and the nozzles triggered a memory of his squad mate Alpha...Alpha was almost as large as the robot but it was the flamethrowers that he used that jarred the memory with speed beyond what a normal human could achieve Delta dropped down below the rock and  rolled away from the heat of the flamethrower. He didn't bother getting to his feet but teleported again, this time behind another rock with a clear line of sight on the crevice his movement had been luring the Robot towards, aiming down he fired at the ground the machine was standing on.

 

On the edge of the crevasse there was a weak point, a jutting piece of rock was barely supported, a piece of rock that the robot's full weight was resting on. Wasting no time the focusing lenses adjusted with in the arm cannon and he let off two quick shots at the rock and blasted shrapnel everywhere as the supports shattered under the focused Nilhus energy. Bits of rock started to fall, and with any luck so would the robot.....hopefully ending this battle.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The ground beneath the robot splintered and sundered, just as Delta had planned. It might have been as physically strong as Delta, but its speed of body was not. And when it came to a match of wits and cunning, there was no contest at all. 

 

It fell down the crack, squarking and smoking as it did, tumbling down the crevise getting bent and broken with every crunching collision. 

 

"Help! Help!"

 

It was a quite different type of voice, coming from inside the robot. 

 

"Get me out of here!"

 

The robot was clearly out of action. A few lights and sparks indicated it still had some kind of power, but the fact that its head was twenty feet from its body was just one clue that it posed no further threat. It had lodges itself some thirty feet down the crevise, quite bent out of shape. 

 

And yet there was a voice coming from inside!

[Tarrakhash]

Delta paused, thought about it, looked down in the crevasse and then over to Lulu,"Stay in cover, someone in is in the machine...not sure if it's an operator or a prisoner." Turning to his sensors suite he scanned the robot and it's surroundings before teleporting down next to the robotic cadaver and bent to examine it more closely.

 

Leaning close he spoke loudly,"Who is in there? How did you get in there?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Stay in cover? Sure...no problem!" said Lulu, keeping her voice clear and calm despite inner turmoil. 

 

Down below, the robots chest cavity emitted a loud hiss of steam, and then slowly creaked open. This released a large plume of smoke, testament to the damage Delta had caused. But when that cleared...

 

A small man was standing there. Well, it probably wasn't a man, but who knew for sure. He was about three feet high, dressed in some environmental suit with a very cool shiny helmet concealing his head, some equally shiny and cool boots, and what looked like something between a fork and a crossbow strapped to his back. 

 

"I thought I was going to die in there! It malfunctioned! Kill all humans indeed! I didn't programme it to do that!" muttered the little fellow in a vexed tone. 

 

He gave a wave at Delta. 

 

"Greetings from planet Earth. Well, my earth anyway. Are you alright?"

[Tarrakhash]

Delta frowned, his processing power running at full speed to try and put together what this creature was saying before he went with simply asking, he wasn't ready to start mind bending, he had been on the receiving end of that far too long,"What do you mean Earth? We just got transported here from Earth? And what kind of machine was that?"

 

He didn't trust the creature, not at all, he couldn't tell if it had been controlling the robot at the time of the attack but he knew how to find out. Moving closer to the Robot he bent down to examine it, see what it was exactly,"Did you build this machine?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"That?" asked the small man, who bounded up the crevasse like a supercharged frog to land by Delta. He was considerably shorter, with two fingers on each hand, and a squat build. 

 

"That's my Killbot Mk2! Still got a few glitches I see. It really should be protect all humans. But I fear the dimensional jump has frazzled some of its already rather wobbly circuits!" 

 

He took off his helmet to greet properly. It was a human face, for the most part, although rather dysmorphic, and certainly ugly". 

 

"I am pleased to meet you, Sir!" he said, in a rather unremarkble voice with an odd English or French lilt. "I am Zip. Chief Engineer of the Great Enlightenment" he said with a bow. "And resistance fighter against...ah....well, you probably haven't come across Collapse, have you. Yes, I think I went back a few years too. Maybe more than a few years..."

 

"I'm sorry you got dragged into my little transdimensional wormhole" he said, apologetically. "I'm trying to harvest Nihilhus energy through hyperdimensional crystals, you see. Trying to create a...aha...time bomb, you might say. Vital for the resistance!" he added, proudly. 

 

He looked around. 

 

"And looks like we got dragged into some god awful half-dimensional bubble. Oh dear! By Copernicus, what a vile stench!"

[Tarrakhash]

Ugly was certainly not a problem for Delta with all the metal in his own face, but he listened closely to the various things that Zip spouted on about and frowned,"What year did you come from? And, more importantly, how did you suck us in? We had idiots playing with Nihilhus energy and getting us sucked in....tell me they are still to blame at least somewhat? I think they need to be taught a lesson."

 

He still didn't trust Zip but he'd learned if you gave someone enough rope they often made their own noose,"And tell me more about what you are trying to do, and how you plan on getting back to where you came from?"

 

In the meantime he referenced his Databases to try and work out what the heck a half-dimensional bubble was, and what the usual mode of exiting was...he needed to get Lulu and the idiot back to their world, as well as himself.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Why, the year 227 After Enlightenment!" replied Zip. "I mean, I don't know what that translates to in your Earth. I guess i fell back around fifity years. Give or take a hundred!" he said. "I could even be from your past!"

 

"Errr...if you want me to blame them, I certainly shall!" he said, pointing at Lulu and the ASTRO scientist. "YOU! THOU SHALLST NOT PLAY WITH NIHILIHUS ENERGY!" he said, full of fury. 

 

He turned away and gave Delta a wink. "_{Although it may be our only hope}!" he whispered cheerfully. 

 

"There is a being called Collapse. In your future, if you have not heard from him. HIs power is almost infinite, and he is quite mad. He draws strength by collapsing whole alternate realities. It...gets messy. And the more realities collapse into each other, the stronger he gets. There are resistances from various realities. As for me, I am...an unusual sort of fellow, blessed with remarkable intellect thanks to centuries of rather unpalatable selective breeding. I have a plan for a time bomb...which would sunder the dimensions apart again, serving both the function of getting everything a bit less untidy, and depowering - at least a bit - Collapse...!"

 

"Unfortunately its all a bit experimental right now. Like my dimension hopper. Seems to have landed us here...BUT!" he added. "I am sure I can get us out again. Quite where too, well, thats a bit more uncertain...."

 

 

[Tarrakhash]

Delta blinked, masses of information being spewed out by Zip, none of it making sense. Although the being called Collapse had enough in common with the Tyranny of Lord Omega to have Delta have to actively damping the emotions flowing through him he took a deep breath and shook his head,"It's 2018 AD, 2nd of December in the time we were in...that said there is nothing saying this pocket dimension has the same time stamp."

 

Tilting his head, Delta continued to scan the creature, the diodes on his head flickering more rapidly as he processed what he could and stored the rest to allow his processors to work on further. He frowned at the thought of selective breeding that sounded a lot like Dr Düsters programs to build super soldiers, a frown creased his lips and he shook his head that said, a time bomb sounded like something Delta didn't want to deal with in any way shape or form,"You mean you can't figure out how to control the destination? Is there anything we can do to refine that?"

 

There was a pretty good chance somewhere in his databanks there was information for dimensional travel, he knew that Dr Düster had used their teleportation belts to do dimensional travel but he wasn't sure how it all worked....

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Of course I can refine it!" said Zip proudly. "I am in the process of refining it. But this is very complicated hyperdimensional anti-entanglement quantonium physics we are talking about!" he said stiffly. "I am sure you don't understand!"

 

"I have a PhD in physics!" said Agent Lulu, proudly. 

 

"I have six!" snapped baxck Zip, fast and proud.

 

"It's not so bad" added Zip to Delta. "I'm sure to get you home eventually...might take two or three or maybe more hops. But it won't take long, at all! But...if I may ask....hmmm....what made the vortex appear in your dimension, eh? Do you have Nihilus energy? For I could most surely use some!"

[Tarrakhash]

Delta let Lulu and Zip wave their degrees around while he listened before pointing at the ASTRO scientest,"They were experimenting with Nihilus energy and Lulu detected, I helped her refine her search as I have some experience with Nilihus energy first hand....." Frowning again, still not sure this Zip was as good as he seemed to act,"I draw on Nihilus energy to power my body. I can generate it. I'd suggest before we randomly hop around you let me look at your generator hopper. I have more than a little experience with dimensional, teleportation and quantum travel."

 

Shaking his head he added,"The person who filled my databanks created many different dimensional travel machines...I'm sure I have plans, or even adjustments for your machine."

 

 

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Ah...interesting!" said Zip, stroking his chin, his eyes widening. "You do, do you? I wonder how come! Few indeed dare experiment with Nihilus enegy. Usually it is Lord Omega or his drones...."

 

He said the last words pointedly. 

 

"Are you a drone? If so, I may need more than a Killbot...although...." to mitigate his suspicion he looked at Agent Lulu and the ASTRO scientist. "You do at least travel with humans..."

 

"Now....this being so, I am not so sure I should hand my dimensional hopper over to you. It is the only way off this rock, and it would be quite a feat of trust to hand it over so blindly! Especially to a...well....what exactly are you? what Terminus taint to do you carry?"

[Tarrakhash]

Delta waited, letting him ramble, reach his conclusion and level the accusation before dropping down on his haunches so he was the same level as the little man,"I am better than any drone, I never experimented with Nihilus energy, on the contrary, I was the experiment. I was created to replace the Drone's but I developed an independent mind and escaped....." Sadly his brothers were still trapped in Dr Düster's clutches, shaking his head he pushed aside the usually morbid and depressing feelings that followed that thought and focused on the little man,"So I fight against Lord Omega, and others who would threaten Earth Prime and the stability of the dimensions. Not to mention little people who seem to be determined to construct some kind of dimensional bomb. The good news is I'm not judgemental, I prefer to let peoples actions speak for them rather than judge them on their past, history or race.....or letting a robot try and kill me."

 

He gave the creature a level stare,"If I wanted to kill you, you would still be in the smouldering pile of wreckage that is your very peaceful Killbot. Nice name by the way." Sarcasam and irony were dripping from his words, anger smouldering inside ,of him at the accusations hidden in the little mans words,"Now we can work together to get out of here....or I can find my own way home, really is your choice. I didn't ask for your help, or to be trapped here."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"An independent mind is a fine thing indeed!" replied Zip. "And I am most pleased to hear you fight against Lord Omega, who is just as reprehensible as Collapse" he said. "But you must understand, sir, that the Time Bomb I am devising...well, bomb can sound so ugly!"

 

He flexed his four fingers and two thumbs (with prostigious cracking of knuckles under his gloves), and proceed to use them to animate his explanation. 

 

"If you imagine that Collapse gains strength with every dimension he forces together, my genius has invented the Time Bomb! Which forces dimensions apart again! It is, I can understand you thinking, a brute force, and you would not be entirely wrong. But it is designed to uncollapse dimensions. Putting things back to their natural order, so to speak!" he said, proudly. 

 

"But as for the dimension hopper, no. I simply wont hand it over to a stranger! But neither will I leave you in the lurch, sir! No! My conscience will simply not allow it! Come then, let us be on our merry way..."

 

He reached to his belt and pressed a button. 

 

"Hmm....that normally works...." he muttered. 

 

The belt fizzed a little. 

 

"Ah...that looks like someth---"

 

vvvvzzzzziiip!

 

They stood in the middle of an apocalyptic Freedom CIty. Orange hellish clouds thundered overhead, the buildings were in ruins, and the broken wreckage of war was all around them. 

 

"Oh dear...this doesn't look like home for either of us, I wager. Dear me...not at all...." muttered Zip, putting on his helmet....

[Tarrakhash]

Delta listened to his explanation, once again, he had understood it the first time but Zip seemed to be very sure of his intelligence a statement that was supported by his refusal to allow someone else to look at the device. He'd rather be wrong and jump through multiple hoops than have someone else correct his errors. This analysis of the creature was further strengthened when he punched the button on his belt, and more annoyingly it didn't work....

 

And then it did...

 

Fingers flipped back and the massive arm cannon hummed to life as Delta glanced around for threats,"Lulu, get to some cover again...Zip...you are an idiot. What are you trying to do? Get us killed?"

 

Glancing around again he growled, low and deep in his throat,"Tell me you don't have to wait to use that thing again?"

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Why no...it recharges in just a few days!" said Zip, proudly. 

 

From the horizon, there was the sound of thunder. No! A sonic boom. 

 

Something in a blue and white cape and costume was hurtling towards them at phenomenal speed. 

 

"ZIP!  I'LL STOP YOU THIS TIME!" it roared from the distance. Although the super-hero - or super villian (or some such permutation) that has screamed through the air on his (or her - one couldnt see from this distance) was moving at such a speed it would be not long before he was standing in front of them. Or worse. 

 

"Or a few seconds, if one is being bold!" stuttered Zip, frightened. "That fool is some idiot called Captain Cosmos. Not from my reality. Very stupid. And quite insane..." he added. "And rather intent on killing me. And probably you, by extention!" he added again...

[Tarrakhash]

Delta growled,"A few days?"

 

The echo of some super hero's voice yelling was followed by Zip suddenly being able to charge it in a few seconds, shaking his head he spat out,"I'll slow him down, you get that damn thing working and quick!"

 

The disc on his back, painted red, that generated his Nihilus energy started to glow, the red coloring only making it less obvious that he was gathering his powers. His mental abilities were relatively new and with a frown he glanced in the direction of Captain Cosmos.

 

The man was a blur to normal vision but his HUD sped up the rate at which he was observing and targeting reticles formed, giving him time distance and speed, the man was moving very rapidly reaching out with his left hand he focused a great deal of force and with a loud kiai he unleashed his mental power, yellow energy crackling over his body as he shoved the super being into the ground.

 

The noise was fairly awesome in and of itself and his opponents strengths started to scroll up in his line of sight as he went smashing through rubble and bits of buildings seemingly without a problem before coming to a halt. Grunting with effort he said,"Get that thing working...he's going to need to walk the rest of the way but I think I can hold him for a bit longer."

 

The disc continued to glow as he maintained his telekinetic grip on Captain Cosmos stopping him from taking off again.

[Supercape]

GM

 

There was a loud crunching noise as Captain Cosmos hit the ground. And an explosion of dust and rubble. Far off, they could hear the grind of failing metal, and something collapsed. 

 

Zip was furiously fiddling with his arm band. "Ive just got recalibrate the science!" he declared.

 

Captain Cosmos could be seen getting up, wobbling. "Zip! I'm dying! Its coll---"

 

vvvvzzzzziiip!

And they landed in a graveyard. Around them, the groans of living corpses....everywhere!

 

"Bit dead round here!" commented Zip as he fiddled again, and the living dead starting closing in on them. 

 

vvvvzzzzziiip!

"Why hel-hel-hello folks!" said a rabbit dressing a mask, his chest puffed out, his hands on his hip. "What..I say whats up folks?"

 

By his feet, a mouse in a cape and a mask adopted the same pose. "Welcome to ani---"

 

"This place is very silly!" interrupted Zip, punching his dimension hopper once again. 

 

 

vvvvzzzzziiip!

London, full of smog. Giant Zepplins flew through the air, and the smell of the industrial revolution was left, right, and centre. They were by a park, and gentlemen and gentlewoman (As well as very children) took casual and elegant strolls, although they did most certainly stop and stare. One took up a brass pair of goggles, which hooted and whistled, and let of some steam. "By Vishnu! What a curious spectacle! Have those fellows at the Institute of Metaphysical Engineering being playing silly sausages again?" he declared. 

 

"This place is less silly. Almost" explained Zip. "Earth Victoriana. And...I am out of power...." he sad, irritated with himself. "Something interrupted the flow of dimensional space-time information. My guess would be those...ah....silly sausages at the Institute of Metaphysical Engineering...."

[Tarrakhash]

The cyborg soldier would have given anything to hear the remainder of Captain Cosmos sentence but was cut off by a zip, got his bearings,  leveled his weapons and was zipped again. Shaking his head, he glanced at the Mouse and Rabbit looking like he was going to see anything and then frowned as he zipped yet again.

 

And then they stopped, glancing around he sighed, breathing in and out slowly he glanced at the data that was cascading down his field of vision through his HUD and sighed. He realized that something inside of him was keeping track of each jump in some manner he couldn't figure out what it meant but he knew it would be stored, analyzed and at some point it would feed him information with context which would allow him to decipher it.

 

Then Zip's words hit him and he sighed again, a low growl escaped his head as his mechanical hand shot out to grab Zip by the collar, lifting him up so he was level with the insectiod eyes that had replaced Delta's natural eyes he let out a low growl of anger,"You had better let me look at this device, or by all that is Victorian in this place you will be visiting another plane and it won't be with the help of your device."

 

He let go of the smaller creature but it didn't fall, suspended by his telekinetic abilities he put him down safely as he turned to Lulu and the scientist,"Any idea where we are exactly?"

 

Looking around himself he shook his head again,"And Zip, I'm serious, let's find this Institute and see if we can get them to let us use their workshops to figure this device out."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"What, did you spend twenty years studying interdimensional quantum realities? I think not!" said Zip, rather inignant. "No, sir! You shall not! Last time I handed it over, it was a veritable disaster! It was...."

 

He paused, and looked around. 

 

"Why, it was here! Some professor at the Institute of Metaphyisical Engineering! Professor Phineas Blakewell, if I recall correctly - and, when you are as smart as I am, recalling correctly is something you can certainly count on!" he said, pointing his gloved two fingered hands towards his temples. 

 

"Goodness me, what a monstrosity!" said the wife (or presumably wife) of the gentleman with the steampunk spectacles, pointing at Delta. "Can't they do anything? Quite horrid!"

 

"Nonsense, woman!" replied the keen eyed gentleman. "I understand it is all the rage in Oxford! Metal flesh! Steam powered limbs! Why, it would revolutionise our treatment of war veterans!" he said. 

 

"I suppose so..." said the wife, bringing out a fan and fanning herself, her eyes rolling. "But it is still rather horrid!"

 

"Sir!" said the Gentleman. "Mr Arthur Goose, at your service! May I ask....are you from Oxford?" he asked Delta, politely. 

 

"Oh never mind me...." grumped Zip, less than pleased to be of secondary interest. 

[Tarrakhash]

Grimacing he leaned forward and between gritted teeth hissed at Zip,"No I didn't study for twenty years, I had an entire planets libraries, scientific papers and more stuffed into my head. Literally lifetimes of research are piled into my brain but you are the only one who could possibly comprehend interdimensional quantum realities and still not get the quarks in the correct sequence so that they don't make the flux capacitor short circuit when you get to 20 quintillion megajoules...that's why you keep getting random bursts of Nilihus energy wastage!"

 

The rest of Zip's words were wasted on the angry cyborg, grinding his teeth in frustration he rolled his eyes at the woman's declarations of his ugliness, although the man leaping to his defense made him relax just a smidgen and Zip's disappointment at becoming secondary almost made him feel better about being here.

 

"Mr. Goose, it is a pleasure to meet you too, you may call me Delta. I am not from Oxford, but I am a war veteran...so you are partially correct. Do you work at the Institute of Metaphysical Engineering? I am in need of someone who can assist me with either Interdimensional Quantum realities...or teaching a stubborn midget how to accept he may be wrong. Don't suppose you know someone who can help with either of these?"

 

The verbal stab at Zip wasn't needed but Delta was one who would hold a grudge for a fair little while, plus he was starting to believe that Zip was not going to be his ticket back home he'd have to figure it out himself.

[Supercape]

GM

 

"Hmph! So you say!" blubbered an incredulous Zip. "Lets have the discussion after you invent a dimensional hopper belt. Or, for that matter, a microwave biscuit. Which I have" he said, proudly. 

 

"What the hell is a Microwave biscuit?" demanded Agent Lulu. 

 

"Language!" said the wife, shocked. 

 

"You shall never know its mysteries!" answered Zip to Lulu. "What is a microwave biscuit? Alas...you shall never know, Madam!"

 

Mr Goose, Esq, did not pay attention to such babble. He was attending to Delta. 

 

"Alas, sir, I do not. I am a Lawyer, not a scientist. And certainly not of the calibre of those fine gentlemen of the institute!" he said. "Although I do walk in their social circles. But my, you seem rather versed in science for a war veteran...mayhap you served on a Turing Battleship? But I must not pry, fascinating as you are, Sir. Please, allow me to assist. The name of Goose still has some weight, thanks to both profession and stock. And dare I say it, wealth!" he said proudly, putting his hands in his lapels. 

 

His wife rolled her eyes again. She really was an expert at it. 

 

"May you do me the honor of allowing me to escort you to the Instituete, sir?" he asked Delta. "'Tis a pleasant stroll through Greenwich park, just over yonder...!"

 

Mr. Arthur Goose pointed across the park (Which was indeed Greenwich Park) to the magnificent building at the top of the hill. 

[Tarrakhash]

"A lawmaker is a good profession, fight for what is right, Mr. Goose.",looking back at the others squabbling he gestured for them to follow,"I was a marine, I served off of many ships, battlecruisers, strike ships whatever it needed. That said knowledge is useful in war, you never know when you are getting get stuck behind enemy lines and need to solve a problem." He smiled at Goose's words and nodded,"I'd be happy to take advantage of your generosity if you are happy to help."

 

The part of his brain that was computer was triangulating where they were in relation to the rest of the world, pulling up maps from the approximate time and more information was filling his HUD,"Where are these gentlemen located? I recognize Greenwich park, which building are they in?"